1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to positioning apparatuses, and particularly relates to an apparatus for moving and positioning production devices.
2. Related Art
On conventional production lines, production devices like robots on each work station are immovably fixed by bolts. A fixing plate having screw holes is installed on or under the floor of each workstation. A robot is placed on the fixing plate, and the bolts are extended through holes in the robot into corresponding screw holes in the fixing plate. The robot is thus fixed in place. If the workstations on the production lines are changed, auxiliary tools, such as screwdrivers, lifting devices, and/or trailers are needed to remove the robots and/or move the robots to new workstations. Typically, when moving one of the robots, the robot is first lifted on the trailer. The trailer is then moved to a new workstation for installation of the robot. When re-fixing the robot, the holes of the robot should be corresponded to screw holes in the fixing plate of the new workstation. However, the robot is generally very heavy, and it is rather inconvenient to align the holes of the robot with the screw holes of the fixing plate. For avoiding said inconvenience, many robots may be left idle on production lines instead of being moved and utilized at new workstations, which results in under-utilization of resources and inefficient production.
Further, the above-described means for moving the robots takes time. It is desirable that a robot can be quickly removed when the production line does not need the robot, thereby providing valuable shop floor space. Similarly, it is desirable that the robot can be quickly re-installed when the production line needs the robot.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.
Embodiments of the present invention provide an apparatus for moving and positioning a production device. The apparatus comprises a fixing plate, a trailer, a plurality of supports, and a supporting base. The fixing plate fixes the production device. The trailer for moving and positioning the production device comprises two bearing arms extending horizontally, which can be lift up or lowered. Each support comprises a plurality of balls, disposed on a top thereof, and the balls define a supporting plane for supporting the production device. The supporting base, fixed to a bottom of the production device, comprises two supporting wings on two sides, and a plurality of positioning pins, fixed to an underside thereof. The fixing plate further comprises a plurality of positioning sleeves matching with the positioning pins of the supporting base.
Other advantages and novel features will be or become more apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring to
The support 20 and the adjusting apparatus 30 are fixed on the trailer 10, the supporting base 42 is provided to fix to a bottom of the robot 40, which is defined by a weight direction of the robot 40, and the fixing plate 60 is embedded in a factory floor 1.
Referring to
The robot 40 is placed on the trailer 10, and the bottom of the robot 40 is fixed on the supporting base 42 by bolts 41, as shown in
The adjusting apparatuses 30 connect corresponding supports 20 and the bearing arms 14 of the trailer 10. The supports 20 comprise a plurality of balls 28, disposed on a top surface thereof. Moreover, as shown in
In the embodiment, each adjusting apparatus 30 comprises a first retainer 32 and a pair of first adjusting bolts 381, and a second retainer 33 and a second adjusting bolt 382. The first retainer 32 and the second retainer 33 correspond to each other. The first retainer 32 is fixed to the first end of the connecting panel 22 via a pair of bolts 351, and the second retainer 33 is fixed to the second end of the connecting panel 22 via a single bolt 352. In another embodiment, the first retainer 32 may be integrally formed with the first end of the connecting panel 22, and/or the second retainer 33 may be integrally formed with the second end of the connecting panel 22.
According to the embodiment, the second retainers 33 are provided in addition to the first retainers 32, when the first retainers 32 cannot provide enough retaining force for retaining the robot 40. In an alternative embodiment, the adjusting apparatus 30 may comprise only the first retainers 32, without the second retainers 33.
The first retainer 32 and the second retainer 33 respectively comprises bodies 341 and 342 with adjusting parts 361 and 362 extending perpendicularly from the bodies 341 and 342. The adjusting parts 361 and 362 have screw holes 371 and 372 respectively defined thereon, the screw holes 371 and 372 respectively matching with the first adjusting bolts 381 and the second adjusting bolt 382. In the embodiment, a height of the bodies 341 and 342 is substantially greater than a thickness of the supporting wings 44 of the supporting base 42. The bodies 341 and 342 respectively define fixing holes 311 and 312, respectively corresponding to the screw holes 29 of the first and second ends of the connecting panel 22.
In the embodiment, the fixing plate 60 is embedded in the factory floor 1, and the trailer 10 is readily slid on the fixing plate 60. Power supply and control circuits are provided on the factory floor 1, for powering and controlling the robot 40. Each of two neighboring sides of the fixing plate 60 has a stop 62 fixed thereon and having a positioning face 64. The positioning faces 64 of the two stops 62 have a fixing corner, accurately positioning the trailer 10 loaded with the robot 40. A pair of positioning sleeves 66 are embedded on a top surface of the fixing plate 60, receiving a pair of pins 46 fixed to an underside of the supporting base 42.
Referring also to
In the present embodiment, the bearing arms 14 of the trailer 10 can be inserted under the supporting wings 44 of the supporting base 42. By operating the handle 12, the transmission apparatus of the trailer 10 can lift the bearing arms 14 until the balls 28 of the supports 20 abut against the supporting wings 44. When the bearing arms 14 are lifted further, the robot 40 is fully supported on the balls 28.
The first adjusting bolts 381 of the first retainers 32 are screwed down to press on the supporting wings 44 of the supporting base 42. In the embodiment, the second retainers 33 are provided for exerting more retaining force when the robot 40 is supported on the trailer 10. The bolts 352 extend through the fixing holes 312 and are engaged with the corresponding screw holes 29, thereby fixing the second retainers 33 to the second ends of the connecting panels 22. The height of the bodies 342 of the second retainers 33 is substantially greater than the thickness of the supporting wing 44 of the supporting base 42. Thus, the adjusting parts 362 extending from the bodies 342 are located above the supporting wings 44. The second adjusting bolts 382 are screwed down to press on the supporting wings 44 of the supporting base 42, thereby retaining the robot 40 on the trailer 10.
Subsequently, the trailer 10 with the robot 40 thereon is moved to a designated position on the fixing plate 60 at a new workstation. The trailer 10 abuts against the positioning faces 64 of the stops 62. In this position, each of the positioning pins 46 of the supporting base 42 is positioned directly above each of the positioning sleeves 66. The transmission apparatus of the trailer 10 is released, the bearing arms 14 descend, and the positioning pins 46 are engaged with the positioning sleeves 66. Thus, the robot 40 is accurately positioned on the fixing plate 60. By releasing the second adjusting bolts 382,the second retainers 33 are removed from the second ends of the connecting panels 22. Finally, by releasing the first adjusting bolts 381,the trailer 10 is removed from the supporting base 42. In this manner, the robot 40 can be moved from one workstation to another workstation.
It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary embodiments of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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200420088766.1 | Sep 2004 | CN | national |