JPS6358146B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is applicable to a multi-vehicle assembly line where vehicles with different specifications are transported in an irregular order, and when performing air bleeding work on the brake system of each vehicle. The present invention relates to an automatic air blowing device for a bleeder valve of a transport vehicle, which is capable of automatically blowing oil adhering to a bleeder valve portion of a wheel with air according to the specifications of each vehicle.

Generally, in order to automate the air blowing work on a vehicle assembly line that mixes many types of vehicles, it is necessary to move the air blowing device synchronously to the vehicle assembly line where vehicles with different specifications are transported in an irregular order. Since it is necessary to move the air blow device to a predetermined bleeder valve position according to the specifications of each vehicle to perform air blow work, it has been extremely difficult to manage the work. In addition, in order to prevent the air blow device from becoming inoperable due to misalignment, or to prevent the air blow device from damaging the car body paint, it is necessary to move the air blow device in synchronization with the vehicle and position it accurately at the predetermined bleeder valve position. It is necessary to do so.

By the way, in recent years, the performance of industrial robots used in welding lines and painting lines has improved significantly due to technological advances, and it has become possible to perform specified tasks accurately and with high precision.
It has become possible to accurately position air blow devices on vehicle assembly lines.

In view of this, the present invention uses the industrial robot with improved performance in a vehicle assembly line that mixes many types of vehicles, and operates in the manner described above while moving synchronously with vehicles moving at a predetermined speed. A transportation method that allows the predetermined air blowing work to be performed accurately and automatically on each vehicle in response to differences in the specifications of each vehicle and irregularities in the order of transportation, without causing damage to the vehicle body paint. An object of the present invention is to provide a bleeder valve automatic air blowing device for a vehicle.

At that time, if the vehicle assembly line is a hanger conveyor line, the accuracy of the relative position between the hanger and the vehicle is not high because the vehicle is simply placed on the hanger, and therefore the vehicle and the industrial robot are The reality is that the positional accuracy is not accurate.

As a result, when a vehicle is placed on a hanger in a state that exceeds the expected variation in the position of the vehicle on the hanger, an industrial robot is activated to automatically blow air from the bleeder valve to the vehicle. Even when the arm tip is accurately positioned at the desired position, interference between the vehicle and the industrial robot may occur.

Therefore, in the present invention, the air jetting nozzle for automatic air blowing provided at the tip of the arm of an industrial robot is made of a flexible material, and when this air jetting nozzle bends due to interference with a vehicle, this can be detected. The purpose is to stop the work immediately and prevent damage to the vehicle's paint or damage to the air jet nozzle.

That is, the present invention provides a vehicle assembly line consisting of a multi-model hanger conveyor line on which vehicles of different specifications are conveyed in an irregular order, and a central assembly line in which the conveyance order of the vehicles and work information for each vehicle are stored. It consists of an information processing device and an industrial robot placed at an appropriate location on the vehicle assembly line. Accordingly, the work information for a predetermined number of vehicles is read out and stored, and when it detects that a vehicle has been transported to a predetermined position on the vehicle assembly line, the operation is started, and the transport speed of the vehicle assembly line is detected. ,
After comparing and calculating the conveyance speed and work information and moving the arm closer to the vehicle based on the calculation result,
The arm is moved over a predetermined distance in synchronization with the vehicle, while the air jet nozzle is moved between each wheel of the vehicle based on the work information, and the bleeder valve portion of each wheel is sequentially blown with air. In addition, the air jet nozzle is configured with a coil spring attached to the tip of an air hose, and a notification sensor is provided on the outer periphery of the air jet nozzle to detect bending of the air jet nozzle. This is a characteristic feature.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, 1 represents, for example, three types of vehicles 2a..., 2b..., 2c...
A multi-model mixed vehicle assembly line consisting of a hanger conveyor line in which vehicles are conveyed while suspended by hangers 3 in an irregular order, 4 is a central information processing unit, and the central information processing unit 4 is , vehicles 2a..., 2b on the vehicle assembly line 1
..., 2c... transportation order and vehicles 2a, 2b, 2c
In addition, work information for each vehicle 2a, 2b, 2c, such as the bleeder valve position required to perform a predetermined air blowing work, is stored. Further, reference numeral 5 designates an industrial robot placed at a suitable location on the vehicle assembly line 1, and the automatic air blowing device A is configured as described above.

The industrial robot 5 is of a stationary type, and an arm support part 5b is slidably and rotatably fitted into an upright cylindrical main body 5a.
An arm 7 having an air jet nozzle 6 at its tip 7a is telescopically supported, and the air jet nozzle 6 is moved vertically and within a horizontal plane by sliding and rotating the arm support portion 5b. Further, the arm 7 is configured to be moved in a direction perpendicular to the vehicle assembly line 1 by extending and contracting the arm 7, thereby performing a predetermined air blowing operation on the vehicles 2a, 2b, and 2c on the vehicle assembly line 1.
As shown in enlarged detail in FIG. 4, the air jet nozzle 6 has a coil spring 8 rotatably attached to the tip end 7a of an arm 7, which has both predetermined rigidity and flexibility. An air hose 9 that guides high-pressure air is connected to the rear end of the spring 8, and its movable range is, for example, the arm tip 7.
a by 90 degrees upward and downward, respectively, and by 90 degrees in the horizontal plane in the transport direction X of the vehicle assembly line 1 and 180 degrees in the opposite direction, as shown in FIG. The air jet nozzle 6 is always opposed to each bleeder valve part at an appropriate angle, so that each bleeder valve part can be uniformly blown with air. In addition, the coil spring 8 of the air jet nozzle 6
As shown in FIG. 4, a notification sensor 10 consisting of a touch switch is provided on the outer periphery, and detects the bending of the air jet nozzle 6 due to contact with the vehicle, thereby preventing contact between the air jet nozzle 6 and the vehicle during air blowing work. The device is configured to detect abnormal contact and notify the user of the abnormal contact.

Furthermore, the industrial robot 5 is equipped with a drive control section 11 as shown in FIG. The drive control section 11 includes a work information storage section 12, a conveyance speed storage section 13, a detection means 14, an input section 15, a calculation section 16, and a robot drive section 17. The work information storage unit 12 always stores the work information of vehicles transported on the vehicle assembly line 1 from the central information processing unit 4 for a predetermined number of vehicles (for example, 3 vehicles) in accordance with the transport order of the vehicles. The conveyance speed storage section 13 stores the conveyance speed of the vehicle assembly line 1 taken out by a conveyance speed measuring device (not shown). Further, the detection means 14 is composed of a sensor such as a phototube placed at a predetermined position in front of the industrial robot 5 on the vehicle assembly line 1,
Alternatively, it detects that 2c has been transported to the predetermined position. Furthermore, the input section 15
is for inputting and storing the detection signal of the detection means 14. In addition, the calculation section 16 includes a work position calculation section 18 that receives the detection signal from the input section 15, the work information signal from the work information storage section 12, and the transport speed signal from the transport speed storage section 13, and a synchronous operation calculation section. It consists of a section 19 and a work timing calculation section 20. The work position calculation section 18 includes the detection means 1
4, it is confirmed that air blowing work will be performed on the vehicle detected to have been transported to a predetermined position using the work information signal stored first in the work information storage section 12, and the vehicle is The robot 5 is detected at the same time by the detection means 14.
An operation start signal is outputted to cause the arm 7 of the arm 7 to extend from its contracted standby position and start moving. Further, the synchronous operation calculation section 19
The first work information signal in the work information storage section 12 and the transport speed signal in the transport speed storage section 13 are compared and calculated, and the arm 7 of the industrial robot 5 is moved synchronously with the detected vehicle. It outputs a synchronization signal so that the robot approaches the vehicle and then moves synchronously along the vehicle for a predetermined period until the predetermined air blowing work based on the work information signal in the work information storage section 12 is completed. be. Furthermore, while the arm 7 of the industrial robot 5 is moving synchronously along the detected vehicle, the work timing calculation unit 20 calculates the timing based on the first work information in the work information storage unit 12. It outputs an air blow signal to cause a predetermined air blow operation to be performed. In addition, the robot drive section 1
Reference numeral 7 receives the operation start signal, synchronization signal, and air blow signal from the arithmetic unit 16, and drives and controls the robot 5 based on these signals.
Therefore, the industrial robot 5 reads work information for a predetermined number of vehicles from the central information processing unit 4 in accordance with the conveyance order of the vehicles, stores it in the work information storage section 12, and stores it in the work information storage section 12, and transfers the work information to any vehicle 2a, 2b or 2c. The detection means 14 detects that the robot 5 has been transported to a predetermined position on the vehicle assembly line 1, and at the time of detection, the robot 5 starts operating (movement of the arm 7), and at the same time, the transport speed of the vehicle assembly line 1 is changed to the transport speed. A measuring device (not shown) takes out the transport speed, and the calculation unit 16 compares and calculates the conveyance speed with the first work information stored above. Based on the calculation result, the arm 7 is moved to the vehicle by the robot drive unit 17. After approaching the vehicle, the arm 7 is rotated in synchronization with the vehicle and its tip is moved for a predetermined distance parallel to the vehicle assembly line 1, while the air jet nozzle 6 provided at the arm tip 7a is moved. is moved between each wheel 21a to 21d of the vehicle based on the first work information stored above, and each wheel 2
Bleeder valve part 2 located on the inner surface of 1a to 21d
2a to 22d are sequentially blown with air at appropriate injection angles.

In addition, the main body 5a of the industrial robot 5 is
It is movably placed on a plurality of slide rails 25 extending in a direction perpendicular to the vehicle assembly line 1 provided on a floor 24 via a truck section 23, and one end of the truck section 23 is attached to the floor 24. The other end of a retraction cylinder 26 fixed to the robot 5 is connected to the other end of the retraction cylinder 26, and in the event of a failure with the arm 7 of the robot 5 extended, the entire robot 5 is retracted by actuation of the retraction cylinder 26, and the arm 7 is assembled into the vehicle. A retracting means 27 is configured to prevent the vehicle from stopping within the line 1.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.
Vehicles on vehicle assembly line 1 are central information processing unit 4
For example, 2a, 2b, 2
When the vehicle 2b is transported in the order shown in c, when the predetermined air blowing work for the vehicle 2a is completed, the work information storage unit 12 of the industrial robot 5 stores the vehicle 2b.
The work information for the vehicle assembly line 1 is stored first, and the transport speed of the vehicle assembly line 1 taken out by a transport speed measuring device (not shown) is stored in the transport speed storage section 13. ing. Then, when the vehicle 2b is transported to a predetermined position on the vehicle assembly line 1, the detection means 14 detects the vehicle 2b, and this detection signal is inputted to the calculation unit 16 via the input unit 15, and the work position is Arithmetic unit 18
from the synchronous operation calculation section 19, a synchronization signal based on the calculation result of the first work information signal and the transport speed signal, and from the work timing calculation section 20, the operation start signal from the vehicle 2b. Air blow signals based on work information for each robot are output to the robot drive section 17, respectively. As a result, the industrial robot 5 is driven and controlled by the robot drive section 17, and at the same time as the vehicle 2b is transported to a predetermined position, the arm 7, which is waiting for contraction, begins to extend and moves toward the vehicle 2b. After approaching the vehicle 2b, the air jet nozzle 6 moves synchronously along the vehicle 2b for a predetermined section, and in the meantime, based on the work information for the vehicle 2b, for example, the left front wheel 21a, the right front wheel 21b, the right rear wheel 21c, the left rear wheel, etc. Moving sequentially to the wheel 21d, each wheel 21a to 21d
Each of the inner bleeder valves 22a to 22d is sequentially and uniformly blown with air at an appropriate injection angle. As a result, the industrial robot 5 automatically performs a predetermined air blowing operation on the vehicle 2b. Then, each time the following vehicle 2c etc. is transported to a predetermined position, the arm 7 and air jet nozzle 6 of the industrial robot 5 repeat the same operation as described above, so that each of the vehicles 2a to 2
A predetermined air blowing operation according to the specifications is performed every c. At that time, if the accuracy of the vehicle placement position on the vehicle assembly line (hanger conveyor line) is high, the high degree of accuracy possessed by the industrial robot 5 may make it impossible to perform air blowing work or cause the vehicle body painting to be damaged. 7 will not hurt you.

On the other hand, if the accuracy of the placement position of the vehicle on the vehicle assembly line (hanger conveyor line) is not high, even if the air jet nozzle 6 is positioned at the desired position for automatic air blowing, the air jet nozzle 6 may come into contact with and interfere with various parts of the vehicle, such as the bleeder valve part of the air jet nozzle, but the flexibility of the coil spring 8 of the air jet nozzle 6 absorbs some of this interference. On the other hand, with large interference,
The coil spring 8 bends, but at this time, the notification sensor 10 detects the bending of the coil spring 8, and the abnormal contact is detected and notified, so the work can be stopped immediately and an accident can be prevented. It can be prevented. Further, even if the industrial robot 5 breaks down while the arm 7 is extended, the retracting means 27 can be activated to retract the entire robot 5, thereby preventing the accident from spreading to the vehicle assembly line 1. At the same time, operator intervention is enabled, and a drop in efficiency of air blowing work can be prevented.

As explained above, according to the present invention, on a vehicle assembly line consisting of a hanger conveyor line for a mixture of many vehicle types, air blowing work of the bleeder valve part is automatically and automatically performed by an industrial robot according to the specifications of each vehicle. To do this accurately, the air jet nozzle at the end of the arm of an industrial robot is constructed of a flexible coil spring, and a notification sensor installed on the outer periphery of the coil spring detects bending due to contact or interference with the vehicle. This greatly contributes to the automation and labor saving of the air blowing work of the bleeder valve part of the conveyor vehicle, and also prevents interference between the vehicle and industrial robots that occurs when the accuracy of vehicle placement on the hanger conveyor line decreases. However, the work can be stopped immediately without damaging both the vehicle and the industrial robot.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is an overall schematic plan view, Fig. 2 is a schematic front view, Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the main parts seen from below, and Fig. 4 is an illustration of an air jet nozzle. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the swing range of the air jet nozzle in a plane; FIG.
The figure is a configuration block diagram showing a drive control section of an industrial robot. 1...Vehicle assembly line, 2a-2c...Vehicle,
3...hanger, 4...central information processing unit, 5...
...Industrial robot, 6...Air jet nozzle, 7...
...Arm, 7a...Arm tip, 8...Coil spring, 9...Air hose, 10...Notification sensor, 21a-21d...Wheel, 22a-22d
... Bleeder valve section, 27 ... Retraction means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle assembly line consisting of a hanger conveyor line for a mixture of multiple vehicle models, in which vehicles with different specifications are transported in an irregular order, and the transport order of the vehicles and work information for each vehicle are stored. It consists of a central information processing unit and an industrial robot placed at an appropriate location on the vehicle assembly line. It reads and stores work information for a predetermined number of vehicles in accordance with the order, starts operation when it detects that a vehicle has been transported to a predetermined position on the vehicle assembly line, and retrieves the transport speed of the vehicle assembly line. Then, the conveyance speed and the work information are compared and calculated, and the arm is moved closer to the vehicle based on the calculation result, and the arm is moved for a predetermined distance in synchronization with the vehicle, while the air is ejected. The nozzle is moved between each wheel of the vehicle based on the above work information, and the bleeder valve section of each wheel is sequentially blown with air, and the air jet nozzle has a coil spring attached to the tip of the air hose. 1. An automatic bleeder valve air blowing device for a transport vehicle, characterized in that the air blowing nozzle is configured with a notification sensor provided on the outer periphery of the air blowing nozzle to detect bending of the air blowing nozzle. 2. The automatic air blowing device for a bleeder valve for a conveyance vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein the industrial robot is a stationary type, and an arm protruding from the main body rotates while the tip moves in parallel to the vehicle assembly line. 3. The industrial robot has a means for retracting the entire robot so that the arm does not stop in the vehicle assembly line in the event of a failure.
The bleeder valve automatic air blowing device for the conveyance vehicle described in Section 1.