Automated assembly apparatus and automated assembly method
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsYuki Hashimoto, Kensuke Uehara
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An automated assembly apparatus includes an assembly robot, which has a plurality of hands of different heights and an XY-axis moving unit movable in a horizontal direction, and a plurality of operation base units which have operation bases and Z-axis moving unit capable of moving the operation bases in a vertical direction. The automated assembly apparatus further includes a control unit which raises in advance, before the assembly robot reaches above the operation bases, the operation bases by the Z-axis moving unit to positions where the operation bases do not interfere with the plurality of hands.
Claims12
An automated assembly apparatus, comprising:
- an assembly robot, which has a plurality of hands of different heights and an XY-axis moving unit movable in a horizontal direction;
- and
- a plurality of operation base units, each comprised of an operation base and a Z-axis moving unit capable of moving the operation base in a vertical direction;
- and
- a control unit which raises at least one of the plurality of operation bases of the operation base units in the vertical direction by the respective Z-axis moving unit to a position at which the operation base does not interfere with at least one of the plurality of hands to be used for an assembly operation at the respective operation base, before the assembly robot reaches a position in which the one of the plurality of hands is positioned above the operation base.
An automated assembly method for automatically assembling components by using an assembly robot having a plurality of hands of different heights and an XY-axis moving unit movable in a horizontal direction, and a plurality of operation base units, each having an operation base and a Z-axis moving unit capable of moving the operation base in a vertical direction, the automated assembly method comprising:
- raising at least one of the plurality of operation bases of the operation base units in a vertical direction by the respective Z-axis moving unit to a position at which the operation base does not interfere with at least one of the plurality of hands to be used for an assembly operation at the respective operation base, before the assembly robot reaches a position in which the one of the plurality of hands is positioned above the operation base;
- and
- the assembly robot thereafter reaching above the operation bases and assembling the components.
An automated assembly method for automatically assembling an assembly component to a component to be assembled by using an assembly robot having a plurality of hands of different heights and an XY-axis moving unit movable in a horizontal direction, and a plurality of operation base units, each having an operation base and a Z-axis moving unit capable of moving the operation base in a vertical direction, the automated assembly method comprising:
- a first operation step of performing a first job on a component to be assembled using a first hand, which is one of the plurality of hands, and a first operation base, which is one of the plurality of operation bases;
- and
- a second operation step of performing a second job on the component to be assembled using a second hand among the plurality of hands and a second operation base, which is an operation base other than the first operation base, after the first operation step,
- wherein the second operation base is raised, during a period between a start of the first operation step and a start of the second operation step, to a height at which the plurality of hands and the second operation base do not interfere with each other.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.