JP2000006861A - Body assembly method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a method of assembling a vehicle body having a structure in which a sub-assembly is expanded and inserted into a main assembly. SOLUTION: The transport and insertion of a rear assembly 24 are performed by a cooperative operation of a pair of robots 27, and the positioning of the rear assembly 24 is performed by moving a front and rear base 42 of a movable jig 29 and a pair of positioning posts 43. The rear assembly 24 can be used without increasing the size.
Jig 28 for gripping the front and front assemblies 23
By creating a new model for each model, it can be applied to different models, eliminating the need for major remodeling when changing models, and supporting the production of multiple models on the same line, greatly reducing capital investment.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for assembling a vehicle body by inserting a front or rear sub-assembly into a vehicle body main assembly.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When assembling a truck cabin,
A front assembly and a rear assembly as sub-assemblies are assembled and joined to an under-assembly as a vehicle body main assembly constituting a floor portion. When the front assembly and the rear assembly are joined to the under assembly, the front assembly and the rear assembly are expanded in the vehicle width direction within the elastic deformation range, inserted into the under assembly, and fixed to each other by welding.

A conventional method of assembling a vehicle body when assembling a cabin will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 shows a schematic configuration in a state where a conventional vehicle body assembling method is performed.

As shown in the drawing, a set jig 2 for positioning and fixing an under-assembly 1 is provided at a site where the cabin is assembled, and a set jig 4 of a front assembly 3 is disposed in front of the set jig 2. A set jig 6 for the rear assembly 5 is disposed rearward.
The front assembly 3 and the rear assembly 5 are set horizontally on set jigs 4 and 6.

On the other hand, a frame 7 is formed around the jig of the under-assembly 1, and the set jigs 4, 6 are turned 90 degrees to rotate the front assembly 3 and the rear assembly 5
The set jigs 4 and 6 come into contact with the frame 7 when the arm is in the upright position, and the front assembly 3 and the rear assembly 5 are positioned with respect to the under assembly 1.

The set jigs 4 and 6 are provided with a rotating means 8 for rotating themselves, a restraining means 9 for holding the front assembly 3 and the rear assembly 5 in a freely positionable manner, and a rear assembly 5 for inserting the rear assembly 5 into the under assembly 1. An expanding means 10 for expanding the vehicle in the vehicle width direction is provided. Further, the frame body 7 is provided with a dedicated welding device (not shown) for welding the front assembly 3, the rear assembly 5, and the under assembly 1 to each other.

When the front assembly 3 and the rear assembly 5 are carried into the set jigs 4, 6, the restraining means 9
And is expanded in the vehicle width direction by the expanding means 10. When the set jigs 4 and 6 are rotated 90 degrees (in the direction of the arrow X) by the rotating means 8, the frame 7 is rotated.
The jigs 4 and 6 are positioned in contact with each other, and are inserted into the under-assembly 1 with the front assembly 3 and the rear assembly 5 standing upright. In particular, the rear assembly 5 is inserted while being expanded by the expanding means 10. After being inserted into the under-assembly 1, the front assembly 3 and the rear assembly 5 are closed by the expanding means 10 and welded by the welding device 11.

[0008]

In the conventional vehicle body assembling method, the structure and shape of the joint between the front assembly 3 and the rear assembly 5 and the under-assembly 1 are different for each vehicle type, so that the front assembly 3 and the rear assembly 5 are set. Many members such as exclusive restraint means 9 and expansion means 10 must be provided on the set jigs 4 and 6 to be set. For this reason, the set jigs 4 and 6 are required for each type of vehicle, and a dedicated line is required. It is necessary to newly set the set jigs 4 and 6 and the line for each model change.

Further, the set jigs 4 and 6 need many members such as the restraining means 9 and the expanding means 10.
The size of the frame 6 is increased, and the frame 7 is required to perform positioning while suppressing the burden on the rotating means 8, and the increase in size is inevitable.

[0010] By the way, in place of the set jigs 4 and 6, the work is transported and positioned by a robot.
No. 10825. However, if the method of expanding the sub-assembly and inserting it into the main assembly is to be applied as it is to a conventional robot-based technique, a mechanism for expanding the sub-assembly must be incorporated into the gripping hand of the robot. . For this reason, the gripping hand of the robot is complicated, and the size and weight are increased, so that a larger robot is required. In addition, it is necessary to manufacture a gripping hand of a robot for each vehicle type, which increases the manufacturing cost and increases the investment amount.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in a vehicle body assembling method having a structure in which a sub-assembly is expanded and inserted into a main assembly, it is possible to cope with assembling a plurality of types of vehicles without increasing the size of the apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of assembling a vehicle body.

[0012]

According to the present invention, there is provided a vehicle body assembling method according to the present invention, comprising: a main body fixed and positioned by a pair of left and right robots each having a portable jig gripping a sub-assembly; Conveying the sub-assembly to the assembly, expanding the connecting portion of the sub-assembly in the vehicle width direction within the elastic deformation range and inserting it into the vehicle body main assembly side, and positioning and fixing the portable jig by the movable jig The sub-assembly is transported and inserted by a pair of left and right robots by providing a positioning step of positioning the sub-assembly by welding and a welding step of welding the sub-assembly to the vehicle body main assembly side. Positioning is performed by a movable jig, and the subassembly is grasped. The portable jig corresponding to different vehicle types by creating for each vehicle model to correspond to the production of multiple models by the same line to reduce the investment vehicles changes.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a layout state of an apparatus for implementing a vehicle body assembling method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of an assembling portion of a rear assembly.
FIG. 3 shows an assembled state of the cabin.

The assembled state of the truck cabin 21 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, a cabin 21 has a front assembly 23 and a rear assembly 24 as sub-assemblies, while an under-assembly 22 as a vehicle body main assembly constituting a floor portion.
Are joined together. The lower portions of the front assembly 23 and the rear assembly 24 are expanded in the vehicle width direction within the elastic deformation range, and
The upper portions of the front assembly 23 and the rear assembly 24 are inserted into the front assembly 23 by expanding the rear assembly 24, and are fixed to each other by welding.

Referring to FIG. 1, the layout of an apparatus for implementing the vehicle body assembling method will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the under-assembly 22 is transported by the transport device 26 to the assembly site 25 where the cabin 21 is assembled, and is positioned and fixed. A pair of left and right (up and down in the figure) robots 27 are provided on the front side and the rear side of the assembly site 25, respectively.
The portable jig 28 is gripped by the gripping portion.

The front assembly 23 and the rear assembly 24 are respectively conveyed to the installation site of each pair of robots 27 by conveyance devices 31 and 32 of an overhead conveyor type.
, The front assembly 23 or the rear assembly 24 is held.

A pair of robots 27 has multiple degrees of freedom (for example, 6 robots).
Degrees of freedom) and a cooperative operation control function, so that they are operated in cooperation with each other. Assembly part 25
A movable jig 29 is provided on the side of the movable jig 29.
Performs positioning while holding the portable jig 28. Also,
The holding unit of each robot 27 holds the welding device 30.

The device on the rear assembly 24 side will be described with reference to FIG. The device on the front assembly 23 side has the same configuration.

As shown in FIG. 2, the gripping hands 33 of each robot 27 have six degrees of freedom. Each gripping hand 33 holds a portable jig 28, and a pair of portable jigs 28 rear assembly. 24 are retained. The portable jig 28 is provided with a positioning pin, a locator and the like according to the rear assembly 24, and holds the rear assembly 24 in a predetermined posture by the pair of portable jigs 28. The gripping hands 33 of each robot 27 can be gripped by the welding device 30.

The robot 27 holding the rear assembly 24 via a portable jig 28 performs operations such as forward / backward movement, up / down movement, rotation, turning, and the like by cooperative operations, and moves the rear assembly 24 that has been carried in to an elastic deformation range. And is conveyed to the assembly site 25 after being expanded in the vehicle width direction. The movable jig 29 installed on the side of the assembly site 25 has a front and rear base 42 supported on a base 41 so as to be reciprocally movable in the front and rear direction (the direction of arrow A). 4
3 can move freely toward and away from each other and simultaneously in the left and right direction (arrow B
Direction).

The portable jig 28 is held between the pair of positioning posts 43, and the portable jig 28 is positioned by the movement of the front and rear bases 42 and the pair of positioning posts 43, that is, held on the portable jig 28. The positioned rear assembly 24 is positioned.

Next, a method of assembling the cabin 21 by the above-described apparatus with reference to FIGS.
4 will be described as an example. 4 to 8 show the cabin 2
The process of assembling one under assembly 22 is shown. Incidentally, the assembly of the front assembly 23 is similarly performed. On the main jig (not shown) of the assembly site 25, the under-assembly 22 is
6 and is positioned and fixed (fixing step).

As shown in FIG. 4A, a pair of robots 2
The portable jig 28 is gripped by the gripping hand 33 of 7, and the rear assembly 24 conveyed by the conveying device 32 is held by the pair of portable jigs 28 in an upward state. Fig. 4 (b)
As shown in the figure, the gripping hand 33 is turned 90 degrees in the direction of arrow C by the cooperative operation of the pair of robots 27 to raise the rear assembly 24, and further, the gripping hand 33 is opened in the direction of arrow D to elastically deform the rear assembly 24. It expands in the vehicle width direction within the range.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the movable jig 29
The front and rear bases 42 are retracted, and a pair of positioning posts 4
3 are moving away from each other. A pair of robots 2
7, the gripping hand 33 moves forward, and the rear assembly 24 in the state of being expanded in the vehicle width direction is transported to the portion of the under-assembly 22. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the lower part of the rear assembly 24 in the state of being expanded in the vehicle width direction is inserted into the under assembly 22, and the upper part of the rear assembly 24 is inserted into the front assembly 23 (not shown). After the rear assembly 24 that has been expanded in the vehicle width direction is inserted into the under assembly 22 (the front assembly 23), the gripping hand 33 is closed in the direction opposite to the arrow D to close the expansion in the vehicle width direction (insertion process). ).

After the insertion step is completed, as shown in FIG. 5B, the front and rear bases 42 are advanced and the pair of positioning posts 43 are moved closer to each other, and the portable jig 28 is moved by the pair of positioning posts 43. Pinch. The gripping of the portable jig 28 by the gripping hands 33 of the pair of robots 27 is released, and the positioning of the portable jig 28 is performed by moving the front and rear bases 42 and the pair of positioning posts 43. The positioning of the rear assembly 24 held by 28 with respect to the under-assembly 22 (front assembly 23) is performed (positioning step).

As shown in FIG. 7, the pair of robots 27 having released the portable jigs 28 respectively hold the welding devices 30 with the gripping hands 33, and operate the robots 27 individually to move the welding devices 30. , Rear assembly 24 to underassembly 22 (front assembly 23)
(Welding process).

After the welding is completed, the pair of robots 27 release the welding device 30 and grip the portable jig 28 with the gripping hand 33 as shown in FIG. Then, the pair of positioning posts 43 move away from each other, the front and rear bases 42 of the movable jig 29 are retracted, and the assembled cabin 21 is carried out, and the portable jig released from the positioning posts 43. The tool 28 is returned to the loading section of the rear assembly 24 by the pair of robots 27.

By repeating the above steps, the cabin 21 having a structure in which the connecting portion of the rear assembly 24 is expanded in the vehicle width direction within the elastic deformation range and inserted into the under assembly 22 (the front assembly 23) is assembled. When the shape of the rear assembly 24 or the front assembly 23 is changed due to a change in the type of vehicle, only the portable jig 28 is replaced with one corresponding to the changed shape, and the insertion process and positioning are performed by the same operation as described above. The process and the welding process are performed to assemble the cabin.

In the above-described method for assembling the cabin 21, the rear assembly 24 is transported and inserted by a cooperative operation of the pair of robots 27, and the rear assembly 24 is positioned by the front and rear bases 42 of the movable jig 29 and the pair of positioning posts. Because it was done by moving 43,
The size of the apparatus does not increase, and a different type of vehicle can be accommodated by creating a portable jig 28 for holding the rear assembly 24 and the front assembly 23 for each vehicle type. For this reason, large-scale remodeling is not required when changing the vehicle type, and it is possible to cope with the production of a plurality of vehicle types on the same line, so that the capital investment can be greatly reduced.

[0032]

According to the vehicle body assembling method of the present invention, the sub-assembly is transported to the vehicle body main assembly which is positioned and fixed by a pair of right and left robots each having a portable jig for holding the sub-assembly. An insertion step of expanding the connection portion in the vehicle width direction within the elastic deformation range and inserting it into the vehicle body main assembly side, a positioning step of positioning and fixing the portable jig by the movable jig to position the sub-assembly, A welding process for welding the sub-assembly to the vehicle body main assembly is provided, so that the sub-assembly is transported and inserted by a pair of left and right robots, and the positioning of the sub-assembly for welding is performed by a movable jig. Create a portable jig for holding the sub-assembly for each model Different may correspond to vehicle types may correspond to the production of multiple models by the same line to reduce the investment at the time of model change. .

As a result, in the vehicle body assembling method in which the sub-assembly is expanded and inserted into the main assembly, it is possible to cope with assembling a plurality of vehicle types without increasing the size of the apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a layout diagram of an apparatus for performing a vehicle body assembling method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an assembly part of a rear assembly.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of an assembled state of a cabin.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a cabin assembling process.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a cabin assembling process.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a cabin assembling process.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a cabin assembling process.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of a cabin assembling process.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a state where a conventional vehicle body assembling method is performed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 21 Cabin 22 Under assembly 23 Front assembly 24 Rear assembly 25 Assembly part 26, 31, 32 Transport device 27 Robot 28 Portable jig 29 Movable jig 30 Welding device 33 Gripping hand 41 Base 42 Front and rear base 43 Positioning post

Claims (1)

[Claims] When a front or rear sub-assembly is assembled to a vehicle body main assembly, a connecting portion of the sub-assembly is expanded in a vehicle width direction within a range of elastic deformation and inserted into the vehicle body main assembly. A fixing step of positioning and fixing the vehicle body main assembly; and transporting the subassembly to the vehicle body main assembly by a pair of right and left robots each equipped with a portable jig for gripping the subassembly, and connecting the subassembly. An insertion step of expanding the part in the vehicle width direction within the elastic deformation range and inserting the part into the vehicle body main assembly side; and a positioning step of positioning and fixing the portable jig with a movable jig to position the sub-assembly. And the sub-up Body assembly method is characterized in that a welding step of welding the body main assembly side Nburi.