Description

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR INSERTING FLAT JOINT

INTO INSULATION PANEL

Technical Field

[I] The present invention relates to a robot type foam plug inserting apparatus and a foam plug inserting method, and more particularly to a foam plug inserting apparatus and a foam plug inserting method used in installation of insulators insulating the interior of a cargo tank of a ship.

[2]

Background Art

[3] In general, several thousand to several tens of thousands of insulation panels are installed on inner walls of a cargo tank of a ship to thermally insulate the cargo tank. The insulation panels are manually installed.

[4] As illustrated in FIG. 1, in conventional insulation panel installation work, the insulation panels 1 are fixed to a hull of the ship through stud bolts respectively.

[5] Then, based on the technical standard of the cargo tank, a plurality of foam plug holes corresponding to bolt holes for the stud bolts are formed by a predetermined interval and gaps 4 are formed in a lattice-like shape between the insulation panels 1.

[6] When the insulation panels 1 are installed in the hull along the inner walls of the tank by the stud bolts, and the like, an insulation panel work region 9 is formed on the upper side of the insulation panels 1 in the direction of the lattice.

[7] The gaps 4 between the insulation panels 1 maintain a gap 30 mm and are formed in the lattice-like shape along the center of the insulation panel work region 9. Flat joints 6 are temporally pressed into the gaps 4 and manually inserted into the gaps 4. Here, the flat joints 6 are standardized goods with a thickness 35 mm and are rectangular panel or plate type inserts in which heat radiation preventing material such as glass fiber is laminated between synthetic resin foil.

[8] Cylindrical foam plugs each having a recessed hole at a lower end thereof are inserted into the foam plug holes formed in the insulation panel 1.

[9] In this description, it can be understood that the inserts indicate the flat joints 6 inserted into the gaps 4 and the foam plugs inserted into the foam plug holes.

[10] In the technical standard for a cargo tank, there exists a quality regulation by which the depth between the upper end of the inserted flat joints 6 and the inlets of the gaps should be within a range of 0 mm to 5 mm, and by which gaps between the flat joints 6 does not exceed maximum 3 mm at the intersections between the flat joints 6.

[I I] However, in the conventional construction of the insulation panels, when the flat

joints are inserted into the gaps between the insulation panels after the flat joints are moved to the work region, the inserted states are completely manually regulated in correspondence to the quality regulation rules. Thus, the quality of the flat joint construction is not uniform, it is inconvenient to install inadequately installed flat joint again, and work efficiency becomes lower.

[12] Moreover, in the conventional technology, since the flat joints to be inserted into the gaps of 30 mm are standardized goods with thickness 35 mm, a worker must press the flat joints to have a thickness less than 30 mm to insert the pressed flat joints into the gaps. In this case, excessive or local deformation occurs in the flat joints so that the construction of the flat joint may be defective or the thermal efficiency may be lowered.

[13] Furthermore, in the interior of a cargo tank in which the conventional construction of insulation panels is performed, since the entire walls of the interior of the cargo tank, i.e. the bottom, the side walls, and the ceiling are all worked on manually, there are reliability differences between the installation regions by workers skill, the fatigue of workers and the possibility of an accident can increase and the work efficiency can be lowered.

[14]

Disclosure of Invention

Technical Problem

[15] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the present invention provides a flat joint inserting apparatus in which flat joints are continuously inserted into gaps between insulation panels installed on the interior walls of a cargo tank of a ship so that work efficiency of insulation construction work can increase.

[16] Further, the present invention provides a flat joint inserting apparatus in which an inserting unit, a feeding unit, and a flat joint loader are modularized to be individually attached to and detached from an insertion member assembling system.

[17] Furthermore, the present invention provides a flat joint inserting apparatus for loading a plurality of flat joints as insertion members for the insulation that are manually installed and for automatically inserting the flat joints into gaps while moving so that reliability for quality can be guaranteed, defective can be minimized, the workability can be maximized, and an accident can be prevented.

[18]

Technical Solution

[19] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flat joint inserting apparatus including: a frame including a driving unit for the movement; a

cartridge type feeding unit installed to the frame and to load a plurality of flat joint to be inserted into gaps between insulation panels in an insulation panel work region; a flat joint loader installed in the frame to sequentially move the flat joint loaded on the feeding unit to be inserted into the gaps; and an inserting unit cooperated with the feeding unit and the flat joint loader to insert the flat joint into the gaps.

[20] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flat joint inserting method including: opening a pair of jig plates by a predetermined distance; feeding flat joints by loading the flat joints between the jig plates; pressing the jig plates by approaching the jig plates each other by a predetermined distance to press a loaded flat joint; inserting the flat joints by actuating first to sixth elevation cylinder all to be lowered to lower the jig plates and a pressing frame coupled with any one of the first to sixth elevation cylinders such that the pressed flat joint is inserted into a notch between insulation panels; pulling a right jig plate of the jig plates out of the notch and returning the right jig plate to its initial position to be correspond to the stopping of the first and fourth elevation cylinders and the elevation of the fifth and sixth elevation cylinders; pulling a left jig plate of the jig plates out of the notch and returning the right jig plate to its initial position to be correspond to the stopping of the first and fourth elevation cylinders and the elevation of the second and third elevation cylinders; and returning the pressing frame to its initial position to by the elevation of the first and fourth elevation cylinders and finishing a single operation cycle.

[21] In the description of the present invention, the insertion member assembling system includes a first module for the flat joints attached to and detached from the flat joint inserting apparatus, a second module for the foam plugs attached to and detached from the flat joint inserting apparatus, a driving unit for generating a traveling force while the first and second modules are mounted in a frame, and a known robot control device for controlling the flat joint inserting apparatus and the insertion member assembling system.

[22] In the description of the present invention, the automatic travel on the overall walls of the cargo tank of a ship means that the flat joint inserting apparatus travels and stops along one of lattice directions of a insulation panel work region as illustrated in FIG. 1 while tacking any one of a horizontal pose, a vertical pose, and an overhead pose, on the bottom, the inner walls, and the ceiling of the cargo tank.

[23]

Advantageous Effects

[24] The flat joint inserting apparatus of the present invention automatically travels on the overall walls of the cargo tank of a ship at any one of all poses while being supported by the insulation panels, and automatically inserts the flat joints, corresponding to the

standard regulation, into the gaps between the insulation panels, so that stable and effective insertion of the insulation panels can be performed at any pose.

[25] Moreover, in accordance with the flat joint inserting method of the present invention, the flat joints are pressed by a pair of jig plates and the plurality of roller pressing devices and are easily and rapidly inserted while maintaining a surface pressure.

[26] Furthermore, in accordance with the flat joint inserting apparatus and method of the present invention, uniformity of quality is guaranteed, the insertion of the insulation panels are precisely inserted without re-installation, workability is high, and uniformity of work can be realized.

[27]

Brief Description of the Drawings

[28] The objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[29] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional insulation panel structure attached to a cargo tank of a ship and a conventional insertion member constructing structure;

[30] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a flat joint inserting apparatus and an insertion member assembling system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[31] FIG. 3 is a perspective view for illustrating an assembly of the flat joint inserting apparatus and the insertion member assembling system in FIG. 2;

[32] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a flat joint loader in FIG. 2;

[33] FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating an inserting unit in FIG. 2;

[34] FIGS. 6 to 12 are perspective views illustrating operation of the flat joint inserting apparatus in FIG. 2;

[35] FIGS. 13 to 15 are schematic views illustrating a flat joint inserting method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[36] FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a main operation of the insertion member assembling system including the flat joint inserting apparatus, illustrated in FIG. 2; and

[37] FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a driving unit driving operation illustrated in FIG.

16.

[38]

Mode for the Invention

[39] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to Figs.

1 to 17 which form a part hereof.

[40] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional insulation panel structure

attached to a cargo tank of a ship and a conventional insertion member constructing structure, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a flat joint inserting apparatus and an insertion member assembling system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view for illustrating an assembly of the flat joint inserting apparatus and the insertion member assembling system in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a flat joint loader in FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a inserting unit in FIG. 2, FIGS. 6 to 12 are perspective views illustrating operation of the flat joint inserting apparatus in FIG. 2, FIGS. 13 to 15 are schematic views illustrating a flat joint inserting method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a main operation of the insertion member assembling system including the flat joint inserting apparatus, illustrated in FIG. 2, and FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a driving unit driving operation illustrated in FIG. 16.

[41] First, as illustrated in FIG. 2, a flat joint inserting apparatus 30 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes an inserting unit 300 corresponding to a robot, a flat joint loader 310, and a feeding unit 400.

[42] Another set with the same structure as the flat joint inserting apparatus 30 in accordance with this embodiment, and still another set including an additional inserting unit, an additional flat joint loader, and an additional feeding unit (not shown) may be installed to a frame 100 together with the flat joint inserting apparatus in accordance with the embodiment to simultaneously inserting several flat joints, for the purpose of illustration, only the flat joint inserting apparatus 30 in accordance with this embodiment will be described.

[43] The flat joint inserting apparatus 30 in accordance with this embodiment of the present invention is independently modularized to be attached to and detached from the insertion member assembling system 10.

[44] For this purpose, the flat joint inserting apparatus 30 in accordance with this embodiment uses an installation space 109 formed in the center of the frame 100. In other words, the inserting unit 300 is coupled in the installation space 109 formed in the center of the frame 100.

[45] Inner transoms 110 and 111 for the inserting unit 300 are arranged in the front side and in the rear side of the frame 100 about the installation space 109 and are coupled between left and right shaft members 120 and 121 of the frame 100.

[46] In the upper corners near to the installation space 109 among the corners of the inner transoms 110 and 111, loading recesses 118 and loading protrusions 119 are formed respectively.

[47] The inserting unit 300 has insertion protrusions 308 and insertion recesses 309 formed in the ends thereof to be preferably matched to the loading recesses 118 and the

loading protrusions 119 of the inner transoms 110 and 111 of the frame 100.

[48] Here, the insertion protrusions 308 and the insertion recesses 309 are a contraposition relation with respect to the loading recesses 118 and the loading protrusions 119.

[49] Moreover, the inner transoms 110 and 111 include a plurality of lever type clamp devices 117. Preferably, the clamp devices 117 are installed to press both ends of the inserting unit 300 so as to fix the inserting unit 300 to the inner transoms 110 and 111.

[50] Thus, the inserting unit 300 can be attached to and detached from the frame 100 when the inserting unit 300 is temporally fixed or separated by the plural clamp devices 117, while keeping the contraposition in the installation space 109 of the frame 100.

[51] The frame 100 includes a controller (not shown) of the insertion member assembling system 10.

[52] The controller uses a driving source such as a pneumatic source, a hydraulic source, and an electric power source, and controls an operation of the insertion member assembling system 10 including a driving unit 200, the inserting unit 300, the flat joint loader 310, the feeding unit, a second feeding unit (not shown) for foam plugs, and a second inserting unit (not shown) for the foam plugs.

[53] Moreover, the controller is preferably electrically connected to various sensors used for the control of the insertion member assembling system 10, such as a proximity sensor for checking the coupling state, an encoder for a motor, a plurality of photo sensors respectively installed in the rear and front sides of the frame to detect an edge, laser sensors respectively installed in the front and rear sides of the frame to detect a step, a potentiometer (for example, a front pressure sensor or a rear pressure sensor) to measure deformation of a compensation spring in order to regulate a surface pressure, various limit switches (for example, pressure limit sensors) for the control of excessive operation of a motor or a linkage, a contact sensor to check the attachment and detachment of the insertion member assembling system 10, and a sensor to check the loading of the flat joints or the foam plugs.

[54] Preferably, the controller is set to store a control algorithm for operation control, which will be understood through operations, control, and assembly to be described later, using a recognition control using various sensors, a motion control using various motors, and various actuators such as a first elevation cylinder 330 to a sixth elevation cylinder in a memory as a program and to execute the program stored in the memory by a main processor.

[55] Here, the first elevation cylinder 330 or an actuator type device means a device to elongate or reduce overall length of the cylinder using an electric power or a pneumatic force, or to elevate or lower an object within a predetermined stroke range. In other words, the first elevation cylinder 330 is configured to move a linear block up and

down such that the linear block moves up and down, and is a general name for a linear driving device and a linear control system in which a motor is coupled with a power transmission to reciprocate the linear block on a linear rail and to elevate and lower an object (a jig plate, a pressing table, and the like) coupled with the linear block.

[56] Since the execution of the program by the controller relates directly to the operations of the driving unit 200, the inserting unit 300, and the feeding unit 400, the execution will be understood from the operations of the driving unit 200, the inserting unit 300, and the feeding unit 400.

[57] The flat joint inserting apparatus 30 in accordance with this embodiment is configured to be loaded on the frame 100 and to continuously insert the flat joints 6 into the gaps 4 in FIG. 1 while traveling along the insulation panel work region 9 as illustrated in FIG. 1 in whole poses such as a flat pose, a horizontal pose, a vertical pose, and an overhead pose, by the driving unit 200.

[58] A longitudinal direction (X-axis direction), a width direction (Y-axis direction), and a height direction (Z-axis direction) of the frame 100 and the inserting unit 300 in the flat joint inserting apparatus 30 of this embodiment are depicted in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5.

[59] The frame 100 is moved by the driving unit 200.

[60] In a front end and a rear end of the frame 100, a pair of first driving modules 210 is installed in the front side of the frame 100 and a pair of second driving modules 250 is installed in the rear side of the frame 100. The driving modules 210 and 250 are arranged at right and left sides about a virtual central axis to face each other and to form respective pairs.

[61] The first driving modules 210 and the second driving modules 250 are configured to travel on the insulation panel work region 9 as illustrated in FIG. 1 or along rails (not shown) to be installed on the surfaces of the insulation panels around the insulation panel work region 9.

[62] The configuration of the first and second driving modules 210 and 250 is exemplarily disclosed in a rail type traveling apparatus of Korean patent application No. 10-2006-0130090 (corresponding to PCT application No. PCT/KR2007/006658) and a traveling apparatus using a rail of Korean patent application No. 10-2006-0130119 (corresponding to PCT application No. PCT/KR2007/006655), which are filed by this applicant.

[63] The inserting unit 300 presses a flat joint loaded into the inserting unit 300 from the plural flat joints 6 using a pair of jig plates 320 and 321 and inserts the pressed flat joint 6 into the notch between the insulation panels.

[64] The feeding unit 400 mounts and loads the plural flat joints 6 in the form of a cartridge to feed them to the inserting unit 300.

[65] The flat joint loader 310 pulls down the flat joints 6 one by one from the feeding unit

400 using an elevation latch device 311 in accordance with a feeding signal from the controller and sequentially loads the flat joints 6 between the jig plates 320 and 321 of the inserting unit 300.

[66] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, when the frame 100 is disposed above the insulation panel work region 9, the driving unit 200 travels on the base around the insulation panel work region 9.

[67] For example, respective wheels that are provided to the first and second driving modules 210 and 250 travel on the insulation panel work region 9.

[68] Supporting member 306 and 307 are perpendicularly erected on the ends of the inserting unit 300 to attach and detach the feeding unit 400.

[69] Brackets 406 and 407 provided at the ends of the feeding unit 400 are inserted into the supporting members 306 and 307 of the inserting unit 300, and are fixed by a plurality of fastening devices such as ball locks or snap fasteners.

[70] By doing so, the feeding unit 400 feeds the plural loaded flat joints 6 to the inserting unit 300 sequentially.

[71] Here, the feeding unit 400 temporally keeps and accommodates the plural flat joints

6 in the form of a linear cartridge such as a linear magazine.

[72] As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the feeding unit 400 includes a plurality of coil spring type feeding springs 402 to generate an elastic repulsive force, and a pair of spring guide shaft members 403 having steps formed in ends for contacting one-side ends of the feeding springs 402 to generate a supporting force.

[73] Moreover, the feeding unit 400 includes a pair of sliding units 404 having sliding holes to be extrapolated around the spring guide shaft members 403 for the compression of the feeding springs 402, and a plate type pushing table 401 coupled with the sliding units 404 to receive the elastic repulsive force of the feeding springs 402 through the sliding units 404 to push the plural flat joints 6 forward.

[74] Here, each one side of the respective sliding units 404 is respectively fixed to the rear upper center and the rear lower center of the pushing table 401. The spring guide shaft members 403 are coupled in the sliding holes formed in the other sides of the sliding units 404 to respectively slide. Preferably, in the sliding holes of the sliding units 404, bushings or linear bearings are coupled to help the sliding.

[75] The feeding unit 400 includes a pair of U -shaped pushing table guide frames 405 to push the pushing table 401 close to the rear side of a flat joint positioned in the rear side and to guide the flat joints 6 and the pushing table 401 after loading the plural flat joints 6.

[76] The feeding unit 400 includes a feeding housing 408 to which respective free ends of the pushing guide frames 405 are fixed to a rim in a rear open space.

[77] The feeding housing 408 includes a feeding outlet 409 formed to discharge the flat

joints from the lower corner bottom meeting the front side thereof, a latch device opening 410 communicated with the central region of the feeding outlet 409 and formed by opening the front central region of the feeding housing 408 upwardly, and an latch device inlet 411 punctured at the upper side of the upper corner, which meets the front side of the feeding housing 408, in the same area as that of the latch device opening 410.

[78] Especially, it is preferred that a plate type rib 412 is further provided to guide the elevation latch device 311 of the flat joint loader 310 to the rims of the latch device inlet 411 and the latch device opening 410, and will be described later.

[79] In other words, the feeding unit 400 is configured to move the loaded flat joints 6 toward the feeding outlet 409 by the pushing table 401 to receive the elastic repulsive force due to the compression during the compression of the feeding springs 402 on the spring guide shaft members 403 when the plural flat joints 6 are loaded on the pushing table guide frames 405.

[80] The feeding unit 400 is disposed at an outer side of the inserting unit 300 and the flat joint loader 310 is disposed at the other outer side of the inserting unit by interposing the inserting unit 300 therebetween.

[81] The flat joint loader 310 is coupled with the frame 100 to be attached to and detached from the frame 100 when the flat joint loader is disposed at the other outer side of the inserting unit 300 by adopting a loader bracket 108 of the frame 100 as a base. In this case, the flat joint loader 310 can be fixed by the fastening device such as the ball lock or the snap fastener.

[82] As illustrated in FIG. 4, the flat joint loader 310 includes a horizontal unit 313 in which a feeding motor 312 is mounted on the lower side, and a vertical unit 315 erected on an end of the horizontal unit 313 to be supported by a plural right triangle reinforcing frames 314.

[83] Moreover, the flat joint loader 310 further includes a pair of linear rails 316 extended from the both sides of the vertical unit 315 in the up-to-down direction about the opposite sides of the reinforcing frames 314.

[84] The flat joint loader 310 includes a motor pulley 317 coupled with the lower end of the vertical unit 315 between the linear rails 316 to rotate when to receive the rotational force of the feeding motor 312, and a driven pulley 318 coupled with the upper end of the vertical unit 315 perpendicularly upward from the motor pulley 317 to rotate.

[85] The flat joint loader 310 includes an elevation belt 319 engaged with the motor pulley 317 and the driven pulley 318, and a belt connecting device 319a fixed to an outer surface of the elevation belt 319.

[86] The belt connecting device 319a is coupled with the elevation latch device plate 311

using a latch device coupling groove 319b.

[87] The outer surface of the elevation belt 319 to which the belt connecting device 319a is fixed is lowered down when the feeding motor 312 rotates forward direction and is elevated during the inverse rotation of the feeding motor 312.

[88] Due to the lowering and the elevation, a downward driving force or an upper driving force is provided to the elevation latch device 311 coupled with the belt connecting device 319a, and stops the elevation latch device 311 at a desired position such as the top dead center or the bottom dead center when the feeding motor 312 stops.

[89] Especially, the elevation latch device 311 includes a bar-shaped fixing frame 311a inserted into the latch device coupling groove 319b, a pair of linear blocks 31 Ib fixed to the fixing frame 31 Ia to slide on the pair of linear rails 316, and a rotating frame 31 Id to rotate within a predetermined rotation angle r (for example, 0 degree to 90 degrees) about a spring hinge 31 Ic of the fixing frame 311a. The rotating frame 31 Id has a plurality of stopping ends 31 Ie formed in one side thereof.

[90] The rotation of the elevation latch device 311 means the movement between a reference position where the fixing frame 311a and the rotation frame 31 Id are maintained horizontal, and a moved position where the fixing frame 311a and the rotation frame 31 Id form a right angle.

[91] In more detail, the elevation latch device 311 keeps any one of a pressing state and a released state in accordance with the operation sequence of the present invention.

[92] The pressing state of the elevation latch device 311 means a state where the stopping ends 31 Ie of the rotating frame 31 Id contact and are supported by the upper side of the fixing frame 31 Ia at the reference position of the elevation latch device 311 and cannot move upward.

[93] On the contrary, the released state of the elevation latch device 311 means a state where, when a downwardly applied predetermined force is transmitted to the rotating frame 31 Id, the rotating frame 31 Id rotates about the spring hinge 311c and is positioned at the moved position (indicated by a dotted line).

[94] After the released state of the elevation latch device 311 , if the pressing force is removed, the rotating frame 31 Id the elevation latch device 311 returns to the initial position due to the inherent restoring function of the spring hinge 31 Ic and the elevation latch device 311 is in the pressing state again.

[95] The pressing state and the released state are continuously repeated in response to the operation of the flat joint loader 310.

[96] A first flat joint is pulled down by the elevation latch device 311 from the flat joints loaded on the feeding unit and the elevation latch device 311 stops, and simultaneously with this, the next flat joint occupies the empty space from which the first flat joint is pulled down.

[97] After this, as will be described in the operation thereof, the elevation latch device 311 moves upward and stops for the returning to the initial position. In this case, the second flat joint serves as a stopping step of the rotating frame 31 Id of the elevation latch device 311 so that the pressing force is generated, and then the rotating frame 31 Id rotates to keep the released state. Thus, the stopping state does not occur and the elevation latch device 311 can return to the initial position.

[98] As illustrated in FIG. 5, the inserting unit 300 includes a pair of jig plates 320 and

321 made of a thin stainless steel or a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), an pressing frame 322 elevated and lowered within a range from the upper side to the lower side between the jig plates 320 and 321, a pair of side walls 340 respectively disposed at both outer sides of the pressing frame 322, a pair of horizontal units 360 disposed at the outer sides of the jig plates 320 and 321 between the side walls 340 to be close to and to be spaced away from each other by a ball screw 350 that is installed in the lower sides of the side walls 340 during the horizontal movement, a plurality of roller pressing devices 370 to 373 erected from the upper side of the horizontal unit 360 to slidably support the jig plates 320 and 321 while contacting the outer sides of the jig plates 320 and 321, and first to sixth elevation cylinders 330 to 335 perpendicularly erected from the upper side of the horizontal unit 360 by fixing cylinder housings.

[99] The roller pressing devices 370 to 373 are upper roller pressing devices 370 and 372 having oblique supports and lower roller pressing devices 371 and 373 having horizontal supports. The roller pressing devices 370 to 373 includes a plurality of rollers coupled with the respective ends of the roller pressing devices 370 to 373 to slidably contact the outer surfaces of the jig plates 320 and 321 and to freely rotate so as to keep a contact pressure in corporation with the jig plates 320 and 321.

[100] The first to sixth elevation cylinders 330 to 335 are coupled with their linear block 336 to elevate or lower the linear blocks 336 in the up-to-down direction. Due to the coupling between the elevation cylinders and the linear blocks using the linear blocks 336, the first elevation cylinder 330 and the fourth elevation cylinder 333 are coupled with the both ends of the pressing frame 322 to stop or elevate the pressing frame 322.

[101] Moreover, through the coupling, the second elevation cylinder 331 and the third elevation cylinder 332 are coupled with the outer surfaces of the left jig plate 321 to stop or elevate the left jig plate 321.

[102] Due to the coupling, the fifth elevation cylinder 334 and the sixth elevation cylinder 335 are coupled with the outer surface of the right jig plate 320 to stop or elevate the right jig plate 320.

[103] Between the pressing frame 322 and the right jig plate 320, a departing space such a flat joint loading entrance 339 is formed. The flat joint loading entrance 339 is

designed to be aligned with the feeding outlet of the feeding unit in the up-to-down direction.

[104] Meanwhile, each of the side walls 340 includes a horizontal frame 341 having the insertion protrusions 308 and the insertion recesses 309 in the contraposition relationship with respect to the loading recesses 118 and the loading protrusions 119 when the frame 110 is attached and detached in the installation space 109, and having a coupling state checking proximity sensor.

[105] Each of the side walls 340 includes a plurality of vertical frames 342s to extend downwardly from the lower side of the horizontal frame 341 to form a wall frame, and a horizontal moving motor 343 fixed in a motor mounting hole of the vertical frame 342, wherein the ball screw device 350 using the rotational force of the horizontal moving motor 343 is preferably coupled with the lower side of the side wall 340.

[106] Here, the ball screw device 350 includes a thread rolling both end type screw shaft 344 coupled with the lower side of the side wall 340 to rotate by connecting a rotation shaft and a pulley of the horizontal moving motor 343 by a belt, and ball screw nut blocks 345 engaged with the both threads of the thread rolling both end type screw shaft 344 that are formed in the opposite direction.

[107] The ball screw nut blocks 345 are total four and are respectively coupled with the both ends of the pair of the horizontal units 360 such that the ball screw nut blocks 345 and the pair of the horizontal units 360 approach or go away from each other during the horizontal movement of the pair of the horizontal units 360 in response to the forward and inverse rotation of the horizontal moving motor 343.

[108] Hereinafter, the operation of the flat joint inserting apparatus in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to a flat joint inserting method.

[109] The controller is positioned at a corresponding insertion position while recognizing the ends of the flat joints during the travel using the driving unit.

[110] Next, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the controller performs an opening of the jig plates.

[I l l] In the opening of the jig plates, the forward rotational driving forces of the horizontal moving motor 343 and the ball screw device 350 are used, while the jig plates 320 and 321 are opened by which the jig plates 320 and 321 of the pair of the horizontal units 360, the first to sixth elevation cylinders 330 to 335, the plurality of roller pressing devices 370 to 373, and the plurality of ball screw nut blocks 345, which are disposed to face each other about the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the inserting unit 300, are departed from each other by a limited distance.

[112] After that, as illustrated in FIG. 7, a flat joint feeding operation is performed.

[113] In the flat joint feeding operation, the flat joint loader 310 lowers the elevation latch device 311 in the above-mentioned pressing state and pulls down and loads the first

flat joint 6 loaded on the feeding unit 400 in a space formed between the jig plates 320 and 321.

[114] As illustrated in FIG. 16, after the returning of the elevation latch device 311, a jig plate pressing operation is performed.

[115] Firstly, the returning of the elevation latch device 311 will be described. The second flat joint loaded on the feeding unit 400 is forwarded to and loaded on the side of the feeding outlet by the elastic repulsive force of the feeding springs 402 and the pushing table 401, and simultaneously the flat joint loader 310 elevates the elevation latch device 311 in the above-mentioned released state to return to the initial position such that the second flat joint 6a loaded on the feeding outlet is ready to be pulled down.

[116] In the jig plate pressing operation, the inverse rotational forces of the horizontal moving motor 343 and the ball screw device 350 are used, and in this time, the jig plates 320 and 321, the first to sixth elevation cylinders 330 to 335, the plurality of roller pressing devices 370 to 373, and the plurality of ball screw nut blocks 345 of a pair of the horizontal units 360 go to each other as close as a predetermined approaching distance.

[117] In this case, the jig plates 320 and 321 compress the first loaded flat joint 6 to be thinner than the notch 30 mm from the thickness 35 mm of the standardized goods, for example, about 25 mm.

[118] As illustrated in FIG. 17, a flat joint inserting operation is performed.

[119] In the flat joint inserting operation, the first to sixth elevation cylinders 330 to 335 all descend and insert the compressed flat joint 6 and the jig plates 320 and 321 into the notch between the insulation panels in a corresponding installation region.

[120] As illustrated in FIG. 10, an initial position returning operation of one side jig plate is performed.

[121] In the initial position returning operation of one side jig plate, the fifth and sixth elevation cylinders 334 and 335 ascend and pull the right jig plate 320 from the notch to return the right jig plate to the initial position.

[122] At that time, since the first and fourth elevation cylinders 330 and 333 descend and keep the stopped state, the pressing frames 322 of the first and fourth elevation cylinders 330 and 333 are pressing the upper side of the flat joint 6, so that the flat joint 6 cannot be drawn up due to the friction against the right jig plate 320 but stays in the notch as it is.

[123] As illustrated in FIG. 11, an initial returning operation of other side jig plate is performed.

[124] In the initial returning operation of other side jig plate, the left jig plate 321 is withdrawn from the notch due to the elevation of the second and third elevation cylinders 331 and 332 and is returned to the initial position.

[125] At that time, since the first and fourth elevation cylinders 330 and 333 continue to keep the stopped state, the pressing frames 322 of the first and fourth elevation cylinders 330 and 333 are pressing the upper side of the flat joint 6 so that the flat joint 6 cannot be drawn up due to the friction against the left jig plate 321 but stays in the notch as it is.

[126] Since the flat joint 6 are not further compressed as the right jig plate 320 and the left jig plate 321 return to the initial positions, the flat joint 6 is expanded to the initial thickness 35 mm from the compressed thickness (for example, 25 mm). However, since a gap of the notch maintains about 30 mm, the flat joint 6 remains in the notch in the slightly compressed and stably inserted state.

[127] Finally, as illustrated in FIG. 12, a pressing frame returning operation is performed.

[128] In the pressing frame returning operation, the rest two, that is, the first and fourth elevation cylinders 330 and 333 ascend to return the pressing frames 322 to the initial positions, then a single operation cycle is finished and the flat joint inserting apparatus moves the next position by the driving unit.

[129] The single operation cycle, as illustrated in FIGS. 13 to 15, can be understood by the operation the pressing frames 322 to insert the flat joints 6 into the notch 4 between the insulation panels 1 and the right and left jig plates 320 and 321.

[130] The flat joint 6 is inserted between the right and left jig plates 320 and 321, and is inserted into the notch 4 together with the pressing frames 322 positioned on the flat joint 6. After that, the right and left jig plates 320 and 321 are returned to their initial positions and the flat joint 6 keeps in being inserted into the notch 4.

[131] Hereinafter, a main operation of the insertion member assembling system and a driving operation of the driving unit will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17.

[132] As illustrated in FIG. 16, the controller is turned on (SlO).

[133] The controller performs a driving unit initialing operation (S20) of preparing a pressing motor and a driving motor of the driving unit to be in an initial driving mode, and of detecting whether the driving unit is installed in the insulation panel work region 9 using the contact sensor to check the attachment and detachment.

[134] After that, the controller performs a pressing motion operation (S30) of calculating a surface pressure using detected values inputted from the front pressure sensor, the rear pressure sensor, and a pressure limit sensor (not shown) which are installed to the driving unit, and of controlling the pressing motor that is installed to a first driving module and a second driving module to be synchronized in response to the calculated result.

[135] In a first module connection checking operation (S40) to be performed thereafter, a corresponding proximity sensor (not shown) checks whether the inserting unit and the

feeding unit for flat joint insertion are coupled with the frame.

[136] Furthermore, the controller performs a working condition setting operation (S50) of receiving a working condition value containing at least a pose checking value, and a foam plug installation checking value of determining whether the foam plug insertion will be performed simultaneously with the flat joint insertion at the corresponding pose.

[137] The pose checking value means a value of determining whether the installation of the insulation panels will be performed at any one of the flat pose, the horizontal pose, the vertical pose, and the overhead pose.

[138] In this case, the controller performs a work type determining operation (S60) of determining a work type using the foam plug installation checking value received in the working condition setting operation (S50) and of determining whether any one of a first work type of performing only the flat joint insertion and a second work type of simultaneously performing the flat joint insertion and the foam plug insertion will be performed.

[139] If it is determined that the foam plug insertion is performed, the controller further performs a second module connection checking operation (S61) of checking whether the second feeding unit and the second inserting unit are coupled with the frame for the foam plug insertion by a corresponding proximity sensor.

[140] After that, the controller performs a robot initializing operation (S70).

[141] In the robot initializing operation (S70), a series of initializing operations of preparing the motors, and the elevation cylinders, and a robot type gripper which are installed in the inserting unit corresponding to the robot, the feeding unit or the second feeding unit and the second inserting unit, in the initial operation mode, is performed.

[142] After the robot initializing operation (S70), the controller performs a work position recognizing operation (S 80) of recognizing the gaps between the insulation panels or the foam plug holes of the insulation panels using the photo sensor for detecting the edges.

[143] In the work position recognizing operation (S80), if it is determined that the flat joints are inserted into the gaps between the insulation panels, the controller performs an operation (S81) of inserting the flat joints into the gaps by the inserting unit and the feeding unit, and after that, performs a step detecting operation (S 82) of checking the inserting state of the flat joints using the step detecting laser sensor.

[144] The operation of checking the inserting state, in this embodiment, means a series of operations of detecting and recording a depth between inserted flat joint or foam plug and an insertion position, that is, a size of a step.

[145] Moreover, in the work position recognizing operation (S80), if it is determined that the foam plugs must be inserted into the foam plug holes of the insulation panels, the

controller performs an operation (S83) in which the foam plugs are inserted into the foam plug holes by the second inserting unit and the second feeding unit, and after that, performs a step detecting operation (S84) of checking the inserting state of the foam plugs using the step detecting laser senor.

[146] If the step satisfies the quality regulation in the flat joint or foam plug step detecting operations (S82 and S84), the controller performs a driving unit driving operation (SlOO), and if not, the controller performs a worker informing operation (S90) of stopping the work and of informing the state to a worker.

[147] On the contrary, if the step is good, the controller performs the driving unit driving operation (SlOO) and continues or finishes the insertion of the flat joint or the foam plugs by a work finish determining operation (Sl 10).

[148] As illustrated in FIG. 17, in the driving unit driving operation (Sl 10), the controller performs a driving motion operation (SlOl) in which the insertion member assembling system travels as the driving unit is driven like in the pressing motion operation (S30).

[149] After the driving motion operation (SlOl), a rear and front obstacle detecting operation (S 102), a front and rear intersection detecting operation (S 103), and an on- travel work position detecting operation (S 104) are performed.

[150] In the rear and front obstacle detecting operation (S102), if an obstacle is detected by the photo sensor, this is informed to the worker and the work is temporally stopped.

[151] In the front and rear intersection detecting operation (S 103), it is checked whether there are front and rear intersection by the photo sensor. Here, the checking result is used to determine whether the insertion of the flat joints is omitted or interval between the intersections is neglected.

[152] The on-travel work position detecting operation (S 104) is an operation of detecting any one of the gaps between the insulation panels, the ends of the flat joint, and the foam plug holes by the photo sensor.

[153] Therefore, the flat joint inserting apparatus of the present invention automatically travels on the overall walls of the cargo tank of a ship at any one of all poses while being supported by the insulation panels, and automatically inserts the flat joints, corresponding to the standard regulation, into the gaps between the insulation panels, so that stable and effective insertion of the insulation panels can be performed at any pose.

[154] Moreover, in accordance with the flat joint inserting method of the present invention, the flat joints are pressed by a pair of jig plates and the plurality of roller pressing devices and are easily and rapidly inserted while maintaining a surface pressure.

[155] Furthermore, in accordance with the flat joint inserting apparatus and method of the present invention, uniformity of quality is guaranteed, the insertion of the insulation panels are precisely inserted without re-installation, workability is high, and uniformity

of work can be realized. [156] While the invention has been shown and described with respect to the embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the inventing as defined in the following claims. [157]