JPH02279479A - Assemble method for body parts and conveyor carriage therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the assembling efficiency of body parts by assembling these body parts during a while a conveyor carriage mounted with a work positioning means is circulated through a work receiving stage, an assembling stage and a delivery stage in consecutive order. CONSTITUTION:In a body assembly line, when it is applied to a left hood ridge subline 1, by way of example, there is provided with a conveyor carriage 25 which is circulated along a loop route, and a work positioning device 26, positioning and holding workpieces and assembled body parts, is mounted on this conveyor carriage 25. When the conveyor carriage 25 is reached to a receiving stage 22, plural numbers of workpieces, constituting a left hood ridge 61, picked out of a work rack 44 by a loading robot 43 are mounted on the work positioning device 26. Next, these plural works are welded with one another by a welding robot 45 of an assembling stage 23, assembling the left hood ridge 61, and this assembly is made so as to be delivered to an assembling stage 7 at a delivery stage 24.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a method for assembling vehicle body parts suitable for use in a supply line for assembling vehicle body parts, and a transport vehicle used therefor.

(Prior Art) When assembling car body parts, generally, in order to facilitate the supply of the assembled car body parts to the car body assembly line,
A supply line for assembling body parts will be built near the body assembly line.

Conventionally, such supply lines include a work loading stage for loading multiple workpieces, and a positioning jig to position and fix the workpieces to each other, and in this state, the workpieces are joined together by spot welding etc. to build the car body. An assembly stage for assembling parts and a delivery stage for delivering the assembled body parts to a predetermined position in the next process, such as the body assembly stage of a body assembly line, are installed, and a fixed route such as a chain conveyor or belt conveyor is installed between these stages. It is usually constructed by tying it with a conveying means.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, in the conventional supply line described above, a plurality of workpieces and assembled vehicle body parts are picked up from the conveyance means and transferred to a predetermined position at the assembly stage and the delivery stage, respectively. As a result, there is a problem in that the transfer work requires a lot of effort and time, and complicated equipment such as a robot is required for the transfer, which increases cost I-.

The present invention provides a method for assembling vehicle body parts that advantageously solves these problems, and a transport vehicle used therefor.

(Means for Solving the Problems) A method for assembling car body parts according to the present invention provides a method for assembling a vehicle body part, in which a conveyance vehicle equipped with a work positioning means capable of mutually positioning and holding a plurality of works, the workpiece positioning means a work receiving stage that receives, mutually positions and holds the works; an assembly stage that joins the positioned and held works to each other to assemble car body parts; and a delivery stage for delivering the product to a predetermined position.

In addition, in the method of the present invention, when the carrier arrives at the assembly stage, the carrier may be positioned and fixed on the assembly stage to join the workpieces together; is capable of autonomously traveling along a predetermined route, and the workpiece positioning means includes a plurality of workpiece holding means capable of holding the workpieces, the arrangement of which can be changed, and the conveyance vehicle is arranged between the delivery stage and the workpiece positioning means. Between the workpiece receiving stage and the workpiece receiving stage, the workpiece positioning means may be rotated through a type switching stage in which the arrangement of the workpiece holding means is changed depending on the type of vehicle body part to be assembled next.

Further, the conveyance vehicle of the present invention used in the above method autonomously travels along a predetermined route (is equipped with a power source and a traveling direction determining means, and has a plurality of workpiece holding means, so that a plurality of workpieces can be The apparatus is equipped with workpiece positioning means that can hold the workpieces and change the arrangement of the workpiece holding means.

(Function) In this method of assembling car body parts, once the workpiece positioning means on the transport vehicle has positioned and held a plurality of workpieces at the work receiving stage, the transport vehicle can be moved without any transfer work. Along with this, the work is transported, the work is positioned and fixed on the assembly stage, the assembled vehicle body parts are transported, and the vehicle body parts are placed at a predetermined position on the delivery stage.

Therefore, according to this method, it is possible to save the labor and time required for transferring workpieces and body parts to each stage of the supply company that assembles car body parts, and it is also possible to save the time and effort required to transfer workpieces and car body parts to each stage of the supply company that assembles car body parts. It is possible to place workpieces and car body parts at specific positions.

The workpiece may be positioned and fixed on the assembly stage by separating the workpiece positioning means from the transport vehicle and positioning and fixing it, but if the entire transport vehicle is positioned and fixed on the stage, the workpiece positioning means can be removed from the transport vehicle. Since a separable structure is not required, the structure of the carrier can be further simplified.

In addition, if the transport vehicle is made to be able to autonomously travel along a predetermined route, its travel route can be easily changed, and the arrangement and expansion of each stage can be easily changed. This allows for an extremely large degree of freedom in setting and changing the installation location and production capacity of the machine.

If the arrangement of the workpiece holding means of the workpiece positioning means can be changed and the change is made at the type switching stage, for example, mixed assembly of multiple types of car body parts that differ for each car type can be easily performed, and the transport The structure for changing the arrangement of the work holding means provided on the truck can be simplified.

Further, according to the carrier of the present invention, as described above, it is possible to easily change the arrangement of each stage, add more units, etc., and also facilitate the mixed assembly of a plurality of types of car body parts that differ depending on the car model, for example. be able to.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a route diagram showing the layout of a car body assembly line equipped with a supply line that is used in one embodiment of the method for assembling vehicle body parts of the present invention. 3 indicates the radiator core support subline, 4 indicates the right hood ridge line, 5 indicates the front floor line, and 6 indicates the rear floor line.

On this car body assembly line, the car body parts assembled in the above-mentioned supply lines 1 to 4, such as the Rajek core support, left and right hood ridges, and darts lowers, are collected in the engine compartment assembly stage 7 and joined together there, thereby forming the engine compartment. Assemble the engine compartment and the front floor and rear floor, which are vehicle body parts assembled in the supply lines 5 and 6, to the floor main assembly stage 8 and join them together there to assemble the floor main,
After that, additional spot welding to the floor main was performed at stage 9, which was placed in three locations in parallel.

On the other hand, in the figure, 10 indicates the roof panel supply line, 11 indicates the parcel shelf supply line, 12 indicates the air box subline, work 3 indicates the rear floor supply line, 14 indicates the left body side supply line, and 15 indicates the right body side supply line. On the car body assembly line here, the roof panels, parcel shelves, airboxes, rear panels, and left and right body sides, which are the car body parts assembled in Supply Lines 10 to 15, are assembled together with the floor main body parts that have been reassembled. The body mains that generally constitute the car body are assembled by gathering them to stage 16 and joining them together there. After that, additional spot welding to the body mains is performed at the body main expansion stage 17, which is arranged in three locations side by side. .

Here, each of the above-mentioned supply lines includes, for example, the left hood ridge line 1 as shown in FIG. 2, and, for example, the front floor line 5 as shown in FIG.
Type switching stage 21 and work receiving stage 22
, an assembly stage 23, and a delivery stage 24, each of which moves autonomously along a loop-shaped route as shown by A-L in FIG. A corresponding number of transport vehicles 25 are provided.

In this embodiment, the transport vehicle 25 disposed in each of the above-mentioned supply lines determines the traveling direction by, for example, detecting a guide tape laid on the floor along each of the above-mentioned routes using an optical sensor. It is equipped with a steering mechanism that steers the steering wheels and a drive mechanism that operates a motor using a battery built into the trolley 25 to drive the drive wheels, and can autonomously travel along each of the above routes. It is equipped with a transceiver that transmits and receives radio signals to and from the stages, and when the cart approaches each stage, each stage stops at a predetermined position based on the signals transmitted by those stages, and each stage It can start based on the signal output after the work is completed, and is further equipped with a forward detection device that detects the front using an ultrasonic transmitter/receiver at the front end of the trolley 25. 25, the vehicle can temporarily stop until the obstacle is removed or the truck in front starts moving. (Since such carts are well known, illustrations of each mechanical device are omitted.) Also, on each transport cart 25, a work positioning device 26 is provided as a work positioning means for positioning and holding the work and the assembled car body parts. 4, and the workpiece positioning device 26 is of the type that holds the workpiece and car body parts below, such as one for the rear floor, as shown in FIG.
Each robot is fixed on a base 27, which is fixed on the top of the robot 5, and is placed on a base 27, which is positioned so as to be separable and positioned by a locating pin (not shown) set upright there. A workpiece holder serving as a workholding means supports a plurality of members 30 via a movement mechanism 29 in which one end of a flexible shaft (trade name) 28 is connected to a ball screw shaft of the reciprocating movement mechanism instead of a servo motor.

The base 27 also has - input shafts 31 on its side.
A switching drive input mechanism 33 having three output shafts 32 selectively coupled via three electromagnetic clutches and a gear mechanism (not shown) is provided, and the three output shafts 32
are each coupled to the other end of the flexible shaft 28, and the drive input mechanism 33 here selectively rotates each ball screw shaft of the moving mechanism 29 by driving the - input shafts 31. In this way, the workpiece receiver can move the member 30 three-dimensionally to an arbitrary position (details can be found in, for example, Utility Model Application No. 62-1 filed by the present applicant).
(See No. 87087).

In this embodiment, the input shaft 31 is driven by a switching drive device 34 provided on the type switching stage 21.
This drive device 34 is operated by the type switching stage 21.
A servo motor shift mechanism 36 selectively aligns one servo motor 35 to each drive input mechanism 33 of the workpiece positioning device 26 on the transport vehicle 25 that has arrived at The servomorph is provided with an air cylinder-driven servomorph hooking/detaching mechanism 38 that moves the servomotor forward and backward, and hooks and detaches the output shaft of the servomotor from the input shaft 31 via a compression ring 37.

The servo motor hooking/detaching mechanism 38 also attaches/disconnects a connector 39 provided on the drive input mechanism 33 side and the servo motor 35 side, and this connector 39 is provided at the joint between each flexible shaft 38 and the ball screw. The control circuit for the brake of the rotary encoder 40, which is equipped with an electromagnetic brake that is released only when the current is applied, and the signal circuit for the encoder are switchable, together with the control circuit for each electromagnetic clutch of the drive manual mechanism 33. It is connected to the control panel 41 of the drive device 34.

The control panel 41 of the above-mentioned switching drive device 34 operates according to a program input in advance, and
5 approaches the type switching stage 21, it transmits a radio signal instructing it to stop, stops the carrier 25 at a predetermined position on the stage, and then operates the servo motor shift mechanism 36 to shift the servo motor 35 to one of the stages. The output shaft of the servo motor is connected to the input shaft 31 via the cambling 37 by aligning it with one drive input mechanism 33 and then operating the servo motor hooking/disengaging mechanism 38 to move the servo motor 35 and connector 39 forward. At the same time, the connectors 39 were connected to each other, and then the brakes of each row reencoder 40 were released and the clutches of the switching allowance drive input mechanism 33 were sequentially selectively connected, and the connection enabled driving. Moving mechanism 29
Each of the reciprocating mechanisms 29 is actuated by a predetermined amount by the servo motor 35 while directly feeding back the operating amount from the output signal of the rotary encoder 40 and the amount of rotation of the ball screw. It was originally operated and installed there. Workpiece holder is member 3
0 in place. After each reciprocating mechanism has operated a predetermined amount, each ball screw shaft is stopped by the electromagnetic brake of the encoder 40, and the workpiece holder is moved to the member 3.
0 is fixed in the above position, and then the servo motor 35 and the connector 39 are moved back by the servo motor locking/unhooking mechanism 38 to separate the coupling 37 and the connector 39, respectively, and then the servo motor shift mechanism 36 is used to move the next drive input. The servo motor 35 is moved toward the mechanism 33.

By repeating this procedure, when all the workpiece receivers have placed the members 30 in relative positions suitable for positioning and holding the plurality of workpieces constituting the vehicle body parts to be assembled next, the control panel 41 instructs the vehicle to start. A radio signal is output and the carrier vehicle 25 is started toward the receiving stage 22.

In addition, in FIG. 4, only two moving mechanisms 29 and two drive input mechanisms 33 for driving the moving mechanisms 29, and one servo motor 35 and one servo motor shift mechanism 36 and one servo motor hooking/detaching mechanism 37 for moving the same are shown in FIG. As shown, the moving mechanism 29 and the drive input mechanism 33 are provided on the base 27 in the number necessary to hold the workpiece, and the servo motor 35, the servo motor shift mechanism 36, and the servo motor hooking/unhooking mechanism 37 are also mounted on the base 27. For example, a larger number may be provided as required, such as on both sides of the base 27.

The moving mechanism 29 may further include a rotating mechanism or the like as required to increase the degree of freedom of movement.

Further, a pressurized air tank is mounted in the transport vehicle 25 as required, and a clamp mechanism (not shown) driven by an air cylinder is provided as required on the moving mechanism 29 of the workpiece positioning device 26. The carriage 25 is
The clamp mechanism fixes and releases the workpiece on the workpiece holding member 30 by operating the air valve based on the signal transmitted by each stage and supplying air pressure from the tank.

Therefore, the workpiece positioning device 26 can position and hold a plurality of workpieces, such as the workpiece 42 forming the rear floor 67 shown in FIG. 4, in relative positions when they are to be joined together. Further, the type switching stage 21 can change the arrangement of the work holding member 30 of the work positioning device 26 according to the type of car body parts to be assembled next, which differs depending on the car model, such as a sedan type or a hard top type. .

Moreover, in this embodiment, the servo motor 35, which is the drive source of the moving mechanism 29, is shared by a plurality of moving mechanisms, and the servo motor 35 is not provided on the transport vehicle 25, so the number of servo motors can be extremely reduced. As a result, the cost required therefor can be reduced, and the circuit configuration for controlling the servo motor 35 can be simplified.

In the left hood ridge supply line 1 shown in FIG. When the transport vehicle 25 in which the arrangement of the workpieces 30 has been changed on the type switching stage 21 arrives at a predetermined position on the next receiving stage 22, the loading robot 43 is placed on the workpiece positioning device 26.
Next, the workpieces constituting the left hood ridge 61 to be assembled, for example, panels and frames, are picked up from the workpiece racks 44 separated for each type of car body parts and placed on the transport carriage 2.
5, upon receiving a signal from the stage instructing to start after the completion of the placement, the workpieces are fixedly held on the workpiece positioning device by the clamp mechanism, and
Move toward the next assembly stage 23.

When the transport vehicle 25 arrives at a predetermined position on the assembly stage 23, and as a result, the plurality of workpieces are positioned and fixed at predetermined relative positions and at predetermined positions on the stage, the welding robot 45 performs spot welding. Using the gun 46, the plurality of works are joined together by spot welding to assemble the left hood rim 61, and when the transport vehicle 25 receives a signal from the stage instructing it to start after the assembly is completed, it moves to the next stage. The delivery stage 24 is then moved to the delivery stage 24.

Delivery stage 24 of this left food ridge supply line 1
In this embodiment, the stage 7 also serves as the engine compartment assembly stage 7, and the engine compartment assembly stage 7 also serves as the delivery stage 24 for the right hood ridge supply line, the dart lower supply line, and the radiator core support subline.

That is, engine compartment assembly stage 7
The right hood ridge 62, the darts lower 63, and the radiator core support 64 are assembled in the same manner as in the left hood ridge line 1 with the right hood ridge line 4, darts lower line 2, and radiator core subline 3, respectively. The three conveyance carts 25 each positioning and holding the left hood ridge 61 gather together to surround the - empty conveyance carts 25, and the above-mentioned Position and fix each vehicle body part.

In this stage 7, the welding robot 45 with the welding gun 46 assembles the engine compartment 65 by spot welding the left and right hood ridges 61, 62, the dart lower 63, and the radiator core support 64 to +1[, and then assembles the engine compartment 65. Each of the transport vehicles 25 releases the vehicle body parts that it has transported and returns to the supply line type switching stage 21 to which it belongs, while the central transport vehicle 25 keeps the engine compartment 65 in the positioned state. It is held and conveyed to the floor main assembly stage 28 along the loop-shaped path M shown in FIG.

The assembly and disassembly order of the conveyance carts 25 in the engine compartment assembly stage 7 is determined by the control panel 51 provided adjacent to the stage 7 so that the carts and vehicle body parts do not interfere with each other. Control as appropriate using radio signals. That is, for example, first, the empty carrier 25 is placed at a predetermined receiving position indicated by the reference numeral 52 in FIG.
The left and right hood ridges 61
A conveyance vehicle 25 holding the needle knife 62 is placed on the delivery stage 24 on both sides of the empty conveyance vehicle 250, and finally a conveyance vehicle 25 holding the needle lower 63 is placed on the delivery stage 24 on the rear side of the empty conveyance vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 3, the floor main assembly stage 8 includes, in addition to the carrier 25 that holds the engine compartment 65, a carrier 25 that holds the front floor 66 assembled in the front floor supply line 5, and a rear floor. The transport vehicles 25 that hold the engine compartment 65 and the front floor 67 assembled in the supply line 6 are assembled, and here again, by aligning the three transport vehicles 25 in their respective predetermined positions, the engine compartment 65 and the front floor are assembled. 66 and the rear floor 67 are positioned and fixed at predetermined relative positions, and in this state, the welding robot 45 joins these vehicle body parts to each other by spot welding to assemble the main floor 68.

After that, first, leaving the transport vehicle 25 that has transported the front floor 66, the engine compartment 6
After the transport vehicle 25 that has transported the engine compartment 5 releases it, the engine compartment assembly stay is moved along route M:
27 to the receiving position 52, and the rear floor 67
The carriage 25 that has carried the front floor 66 returns along route F to the type switching stage 21 of the rear floor supply line 6, and then the carriage 25 that has carried the front floor 66 moves the assembled floor main 68 to the next stage. The main light on the floor will be transported to Stage 9.

The floor main multi-light stage 9 is provided at five locations because the number of spot welding points is extremely large and the work takes time.
enters there according to the signal transmitted from the vacant stage 9 and stops at a predetermined position. When the welding robot 45 completes the additional welding of the grooves and seven welds, the conveyance vehicle 25 moves to the body main assembly stage 6 as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, in the roof panel supply line IO, the parcel shelf supply line 11, the air box supply line 12, and the rear panel supply line 13, transport carts 25 are patrolling, similarly to the left hood ridge supply line 1 described above. In these supply lines 10 to I3, the assembly stage 23 is used in combination with the delivery stage 24.

That is, in this embodiment, an overhead conveyor 53 as shown in FIG. Suline 1
Roof panel 69, parcel shelf 70, air box 71 and rear panel 7 assembled with 0 to 13 respectively
2 is delivered to the above-mentioned overhead conveyor 53 at the assembly and delivery stage 23, 24, and the conveyor 5
3, the body is transported to the main body assembly stage 16.

Here, the overhead conveyor 53 is equipped with a large number of orthogonal coordinate type robots 54 that hold the vehicle body parts 69 to 72 in their respective positions. is lowered to a predetermined position on the stage, and each of the vehicle body parts is positioned and fixed at a predetermined position on the stage.

Furthermore, in the main body assembly stage 16,
The left and right body side lines 14.15 have three workpiece receiving stages 22 and three assembly stages 23 for inner and outer panels, respectively, and the left and right sides are assembled in the same manner as in the left hood ridge line l described earlier. The body sides 73 and 74 are respectively connected to the transport vehicle 2.
5, these supply lines are transported to positions on both sides of the floor main 68, which is the delivery stage 24, and fixed there in a positioned state as shown in FIG. body side 73
．． 74, and upper parts such as a roof panel 69, a parcel shelf 70, an air box 71, and a rear panel 72.
A welding robot 45 joins them together by spot welding to assemble the main body.

After that, the overhead conveyor 53 first releases each vehicle body part, and then it is lifted by the drop lifter 55 and returned to each supply line 10 to 13 along the route N, and along with this, the left and right body sides 73 and 74 are conveyed. The conveyance carts 25 that have come there also return to the type switching stage 21 for the left and right body side supply lines 14 and 15, and then the conveyance carts 25 that have conveyed the front floor 66 transfer the assembled main body to the next body. It is transported to the main expansion stage 17.

The body main expansion stage 17, like the floor main expansion stage 9, is provided at five locations because the number of spot welding points is extremely large and the work takes time. When the welding robot completes the expansion, the body main is transferred to a delivery stage (not shown), where it is delivered to a drone lifter (not shown). As shown in FIG. 3, the process returns to the type switching stage 21 of the front floor supply line 5 along the route.

As mentioned above, according to the car body assembly line here, car body parts are assembled from a plurality of workpieces in each supply line,
You can collect those car body parts and assemble the main body. Moreover, according to the above-mentioned supply line, the transport vehicle 25 equipped with the workpiece positioning device 26 holds the workpieces and car body parts from receiving the workpieces to delivering the assembled car body parts to a predetermined position. It is possible to save time and effort in transferring workpieces and car body parts, and it is also possible to arrange workpieces and car body parts at predetermined positions on each stage with relatively simple equipment.

Furthermore, since the transport vehicles 25 in the above-mentioned example can each autonomously travel along a predetermined route, the traveling route can be easily changed, and the arrangement of each stage can be easily changed or added. Furthermore, it is possible to have a large degree of freedom in setting and changing the installation location of the supply line, production capacity, etc.

Here, the arrangement of the workpiece holding member 30 of the workpiece positioning device 26 can be changed, and the change can be made at the type switching stage 21, so that, for example, mixed assembly of a plurality of types of car body parts that differ for each car model is possible. In addition, the configuration of the moving mechanism 29 of the workpiece positioning device 26 and the control device for the servo motor 35 that drives it can be simplified.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show each of the above-mentioned supply lines 1 to 6,
10 to 15, each stage 21 to 24, engine compartment assembly stage 7, floor main assembly stage 8, floor main expansion stage 9, body main assembly stage 16, body main additional light stage I7, and a body not shown. This shows a specific example of a method for positioning and fixing the workpiece positioning device 26 and, by extension, the workpiece etc. positioned and held therein at a predetermined place on the main transfer stage.In the example shown in FIG. When the arrival of the carriage 25 is detected, the lifter 81 is raised from the floor below the carriage 25 as shown by the arrow, and the locate pin 82 erected there is fitted into the locate hole provided on the bottom of the carriage 25. At the same time, the transport vehicle 25 is lifted by the lifter 81, and the workpiece positioning device 2G is positioned and fixed together with the transport vehicle 25. In the example shown in FIG. The lift lid 83 is raised as shown by the arrow, and the locate pier installed there,
84 is fitted into the locating hole provided on the back surface of the base 27 of the workpiece positioning device 26 that is separably placed on the trolley 25 as described above, and the lifter 83 is used to remove only the workpiece positioning device 26. Lift up and position and fix it.

According to the method shown in FIG. 6, the workpiece positioning device 26 can be integrated with the transport vehicle 25, so the structure of the transport vehicle 25 can be simplified, and according to the method shown in FIG. Since the attitude of the workpiece 26 can be easily changed, the attitude of the workpiece or vehicle body parts can be easily changed while remaining in the positioned state, so that the work at each stage is easy.

8 and 9 show a specific example of a method for positioning a plurality of transport vehicles 25 adjacently on the engine compartment assembly stage 7, floor main assembly stage 8, etc.; , a connecting protrusion 85 and a chuck 86 are provided. Here, chuck 86
In the figure, a cylindrical piston 87 moves forward and backward due to the supply of air pressure from the left side in the figure and the reaction force of the spring 88 due to the stoppage of the supply, and the ball 8 is moved on the inner circumferential surface of the truncated cone.
9 in the radial direction and the ball 89 is hooked into and removed from the annular groove of the connecting protrusion 85, the conveying carriage 25 provided with the connecting protrusion 85 and the conveying carriage 25 provided with the chuck 86 are separated. Can be interconnected.

Therefore, according to the above method, any one of the transport vehicles 25
By simply positioning and fixing the transport vehicle 25, other transport vehicles 25 connected thereto can also be positioned and fixed, and multiple transport vehicles 25
The structure of the holder for positioning can be simplified.

FIG. 10 shows another example of the transport vehicle used in the present invention,
Although the transport vehicle 90 of this example is equipped with the workpiece positioning device 26 similar to that described above, it does not run autonomously, and is equipped with a pin 92 that can be engaged with a chain 91 laid in the floor surface, so that it constantly moves. Chain 91 and pin 9
2, the carriage moves along a predetermined path, and the carriage itself is lifted from the floor by a lifter as shown in FIG. is positioned and fixed in a predetermined position.

If such a transport vehicle 90 is used, the configuration of the transport vehicle can be simplified.

Although the invention has been described above based on the illustrated example, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned example. For example, the workpieces may be joined to each other in the assembly stage 23 of Suline using a joining material such as a screw or adhesive, or the workpieces themselves may be joined together using a joining material such as a screw or an adhesive. This may be done by plastically deforming.

Further, the workpiece positioning device 26 may be configured to move the workpieces 30 by a normal robot equipped with a motor, and the type switching stage 21 may be configured to instruct only the placement of the workpieces.

(Effects of the Invention) Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to save the effort and time required to transfer the workpieces and body parts to each stage of the supply line that assembles car body parts, and with relatively simple equipment. Workpieces and car body parts can be placed at predetermined positions on each stage, and if the workpiece positioning means is positioned and fixed to the stage along with the transport vehicle, the workpiece positioning means can be separated from the transport vehicle. Since this is no longer necessary, the structure of the transport vehicle can be further simplified.

In addition, if the transport vehicle is made to be able to autonomously travel along a predetermined route, the travel route can be easily changed, the arrangement of each stage can be easily changed, the number of units added, etc. can be easily changed, and the supply This allows for an extremely large degree of freedom in setting and changing the installation location and production capacity of the machine.

If the arrangement of the workpiece holding means of the workpiece positioning means can be changed and the change can be made at the type switching stage, for example, mixed assembly of car body parts of different types for each car model can be easily performed. At the same time, the configuration for changing the arrangement of the workpiece holding means on the transport vehicle can be made easier.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a route diagram showing the layout of a car body assembly line equipped with a supply line to which an embodiment of the method for assembling vehicle body parts of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a left hood ridge supply line and engine of the vehicle body assembly line. FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing the compartment assembly stage; FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing the front floor supply line, floor main assembly stage, and floor main multiple light stage of the vehicle body assembly line; FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing the vehicle body assembly line. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a part of the transport vehicle and workpiece positioning device used in the assembly line, and a part of the switching drive device of the type switching stage; FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the main body assembly stage of the vehicle body assembly line; 6 and 7 are perspective views showing specific examples of a method for positioning and fixing the workpiece positioning device in the vehicle body assembly line, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing another method for positioning and fixing the transport vehicle used in the vehicle body assembly line. , FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the chuck in the method shown in FIG. 8 in a state in which it is engaged with the connecting protrusion, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing another example of the carrier used in the method of the present invention. 1...Left hood ridge line 2...Dazs lower line 3...Radiator core support sub line 4...Right hood ridge line 5...Front floor line 6...Rear floor line 7...Engine compartment assembly stage 8.
・Floor main assembly stage 9 ・Floor main additional light stage 10 ・Roof panel supply line 11 ・Parcel shell supply line 12 ・Air box supply line 13 ・Rear panel supply line 14 ・・・Left body side supply line 15...Right body side subline 6...Body main assembly stage 17...Body main additional light stage 21...Type switching stage 22...Work receiving stage 23... - Assembly stage 24... Delivery stage 25... Transport vehicle 26... Work positioning device 29... Movement mechanism 30... Workpiece receiver is member 34... Switchable drive device 44... Work shelf 45...Welding robot 53...Overhead conveyor 61...Left hood ring 62...Right hood ridge 63...Danchuro Aro 4...Radiator core support 65...Engine compartment 66...Front floor 67 ...Rear floor 6
8...Floor main 69...Roof panel 7
0...Parcel shelf 71...Air box 7
2... Rear panel 73... Left body side 74... Right body side 81.83... Lifter 82, 84... Locate pin 85... Connection protrusion 8
6...Chuck 90...Transportation cart 91.
...Chain 92...Hanging bottle A-M...
・Route N of the transport vehicle...Route of the drop lifter Fig. 6 Fig. 7

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A transport vehicle equipped with a work positioning means capable of mutually positioning and holding a plurality of workpieces, the workpiece positioning means receiving the plurality of workpieces and moving the workpieces mutually. A work receiving stage for positioning and holding; an assembly stage for assembling car body parts by joining the positioned and held works; and a delivery stage for delivering the assembled car body parts to a predetermined position for the next process. A method for assembling car body parts, characterized by circulating the car body parts through the 2. Assembly of vehicle body parts according to claim 1, characterized in that, when the conveyance vehicle arrives at the assembly stage, the conveyance vehicle is positioned and fixed on the assembly stage and the workpieces are joined to each other. Method. 3. The carrier is capable of autonomously traveling along a predetermined route, and the workpiece positioning means includes a plurality of workpiece holding means capable of holding the workpieces in a reconfigurable arrangement, and the carrier is arranged to move between the transfer stage and the delivery stage. Claim 1, wherein the workpiece positioning means is circulated between the workpiece receiving stage and the workpiece holding means via a type switching stage that changes the arrangement of the workpiece holding means of the workpiece positioning means depending on the type of vehicle body part to be assembled next. Or the method of assembling vehicle body parts described in 2. 4. In order to autonomously travel along a predetermined route, it is equipped with a power source and a traveling direction determining means, and has a plurality of workpiece holding means, which can hold a plurality of workpieces, and the workpiece holding means can hold a plurality of workpieces. Claims 1 to 3 include a workpiece positioning means that can change the arrangement of the means.
A transport vehicle used in the method for assembling vehicle body parts according to any one of the above.