Assembly line for mounted units

Details Assembly line for mounted units Assembly line for mounted units

1999-12-22

2001-10-02

Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3661)

Data processing: generic control systems or specific application

Specific application, apparatus or process

Article handling

C700S199000, C700S266000, C700S245000, C700S280000, C382S104000, C340S441000, C340S442000, C340S444000, C340S445000, C340S447000, C073S146000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06298281

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
The invention concerns an assembly line for mounting tires on their mounting wheels, with a view to obtaining mounted assemblies ready to be delivered on time to customers, who are generally motor vehicle manufacturers. It concerns, in particular, the system of computerized management of production and delivery of mounted assemblies.
Such an assembly line L (
FIG. 1
) contains, in the manner known, for example, through U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,919, conveyor bands or belts or metal roller conveyors
1
making possible the routing of tires P, wheels R and mounted assemblies E from one point to another on the assembly line, said tires and said wheels coming from a supply warehouse
2
via appropriate means of transportation. Each wheel R and each tire P, after having been centered on their respective conveyor devices
1
, are lubricated in lubricating stations
2
P
and
2
R
in order to facilitate, as known per se, mounting of the tire, which is carried out by means of a mounting machine or mounter
3
, the two beads being set in place in the mounting groove by pressure arms and a roller. An inflating means
4
, an inflating bell, for example, makes it possible to introduce inflating gas in the mounted assembly E. Said mounted assembly E, balanced on a balancing machine
7
, is then conveyed on a conveyor belt
1
to a storage warehouse
8
, comprising several chutes
80
, whence it will be picked up by means of mobile units
81
in order to be placed in a means of delivery
9
a,
9
b
to the vehicle manufacturers.
Said delivery is made at present in accordance with successive daily orders from the manufacturer or manufacturers; hence, the birth of assembly lines and so-called advanced storage warehouses, that is, close to the manufacturer's assembly line, so as to be able to deliver the mounted assembly E in sync with the vehicle production unit, that is, to deliver the mounted assembly intended for a given vehicle, so that the latter can be equipped at a given time, a time determined by the kinematics of the vehicle assembly line.
It is customary also to supply mounted assemblies simultaneously to several vehicle manufacturers, only one or more having to be delivered in sync from the same assembly line of mounted units. It is also common in any industrial process worthy of that name to anticipate risks of production stoppage, whatever the causes, and to provide accordingly for stocks of standby mounted assemblies, the problem being one of being able at any time to honor customers' orders within a given time frame.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To attain said objectives, in accordance with the invention, the line of production and delivery of mounted assemblies, each consisting of a tire and its service wheel, mainly comprising means of routing tires and wheels, means of assembly of the tires on their wheels, means of control and storage of mounted assemblies E, lines and units for delivery of said assemblies, is characterized in that, in order to deliver assemblies in sync to at least one vehicle manufacturer, it further comprises a computer system comprising:
a) one computer making it possible to create and memorize a file of orders from the manufacturer(s) (link a),
b) a programmable robot for management of the automatic loading controls of the delivery units according to a memorized cartography, and querying
c) a programmable robot for management of the storage means, controlling the entrance and placement of the assemblies after memorization of the scheduling of said means and controlling their exit to the loading lines (link e),
d) a main computer containing, as known per se, several units, including a data input unit, a unit for memorization of several files, a digital control unit carrying out several processing operations and an output unit, said computer making possible:
the capture of data on the entrance and exit movements of the storage means (link f),
the processing of said data, as well as data processing transfers from the manufacturer(s) verifying them, modifying them and scheduling them (link b),
the memorization of said manufacturing data and data on availabilities of the storage means, as well as those on establishment of the rotating stock,
the establishment and transmission of the filling card of the delivery units (link c),
the processing, organization and initiation of the necessary production (links h, k),
the scheduling of the storage means, and
the transfer to the robots managing loading and managing storage means (link g).
The production and delivery line advantageously comprises, in addition and after the tire inflation means, a machine for placement of heels, making it possible, by application of a pressure on the sidewalls of the tire inflated to a given pressure, to displace the heels and reposition them under the effect of the internal inflation pressure.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4504919 (1985-03-01), Fujii et al.
patent: 6034676 (2000-03-01), Egan et al.
Peshek et al., Advancwed Control System For Automatic Tire Building, IEEE., pp. 93-102, Sep. 1989.*
Blackwell et al., Machine Vision In The Tire Industry, 1989, IEEE, pp. 67-79.

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