Work holders – Holder mounted for movement – Relative to a station
Patent
1997-06-24
1998-11-24
Watson, Robert C.
Work holders
Holder mounted for movement
Relative to a station
269309, B23Q 164
Patent
active
058397213
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a movable workbench which is moved along an assembly line by manpower. This invention is also relates to an assembly line device which moves the movable workbench along a rail arranged along an assembly line to constitute an assembly line of products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of electrical and electronic equipment is assembled in such a way that a chassis for attachment and so forth are put on a movable workbench and moved along an assembly line, and at each work position of the line a variety of parts are attached by an operator or an automatic mechanism.
Generally, a conveyor line is used as an assembly line. At a conveyor line, a belt conveyor or a chain conveyor carries a number of movable workbenches at a certain interval and at a certain speed, and operators and others along the line attach and inspect a variety of parts.
In the aforementioned assembly line, usually workbenches are carried in one direction and the workbenches which have become empty after the work is finished are returned to the starting point of the line. This is due to the fact that because it is difficult to form an arc-shaped line on the same plane, it is impossible to use a loop-type assembly line.
In addition, such an assembly line generally needs a large sum of money to install, and is difficult to extend or change.
Thus the object of this invention is to propose a movable workbench which can solve such problems, and an assembly line device using the workbench.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the movable workbench according to this invention has a work board, and first and second casters attached to the back of the work board; wherein the first casters have an attachment plate attached to the back of the work board, a rotary plate supported by the attachment plate in such a way as to rotate freely around an axis of rotation perpendicular to the back of the work board, and a pair of rollers whose axes of rotation intersect at an angle of less than 180.degree., and which are supported by the rotary plate at an interval such that the rollers will not interfere with each other; and wherein the rollers, on a rail extending in the direction in which the movable workbench moves, are able to roll along the rail.
It is desirable to attach to each of the rollers a plate to prevent the rollers from running off the rail which extends at right angles to the axis of rotation of the rollers.
The work board is generally a rectangular board having a certain thickness. In such a case, on the two corners on the same side of the work board the first casters are attached while on the other two corners the second casters are attached.
A rotary board may be attached to the work board in such a way as to rotate freely.
Next, this invention relates to an assembly line device using the movable workbench constituted as described above. The device according to this invention has an assembly line in which each work position is arranged along a closed line according to a procedure of each assembly process, a rail put along the assembly line, and a plurality of movable workbenches which can move along the rail. The movable workbenches are constituted as described before.
As the rail, it is desirable to use a rail having a circular outer face such as a cylindrical pipe.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates an assembly line according to this invention;
FIG. 2 illustrates a movable workbench according to this invention, in which FIG. 2A is a side view thereof and 2B is a plan view thereof;
FIG. 3 illustrates the first caster of the movable workbench shown in FIG. 2, in which FIG. 3A is an enlarged side view thereof, and 3B shows the relationship between a pair of rollers and a rail;
FIG. 4 illustrates the function of the movable workbench; and
FIG. 5 illustrates a modified example of the movable workbench, in which FIG. 5A is a side view thereof, and 5B is a plan view thereof.
DETAILED DESCRIPT
REFERENCES:
patent: 1615860 (1927-02-01), Williams
patent: 2152801 (1939-04-01), Harrington
patent: 3424106 (1969-01-01), Scroggs et al.
patent: 3807312 (1974-04-01), Flodell
patent: 4403553 (1983-09-01), Binder
patent: 5653172 (1997-08-01), Roscher
patent: 5662317 (1997-09-01), Beakes et al.
Narakawa Industry Co., Ltd.
Watson Robert C.
Wilson Lee
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