Measuring and testing – Specimen stress or strain – or testing by stress or strain... – By loading of specimen
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-17
2003-02-25
Oen, William (Department: 2855)
Measuring and testing
Specimen stress or strain, or testing by stress or strain...
By loading of specimen
C250S221000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06523417
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention is in the field of equipment for end-of-assembly line testing of seats, in particular vehicle seats with manual and/or power adjustments.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
All automotive seats manufactured today include adjustment features, whereby the operator can adjust one or more of the seat cushion, seatback and head rest.with manual controls or electrical switches controlling mechanical or power adjustment mechanisms built into the seat. The more “premium” the vehicle in which they are installed, the more adjustment features the seats tend to have. Seats that are purely manually-adjusted, purely power-adjusted, or a hybrid of manual and power adjustments are known.
Referring to
FIG. 1
, adjustable seats
12
are typically completed on an assembly line, moving down and off the line on a specialized shipping pallet
14
. It is common to palletize two seats on a single pallet as shown, for simultaneous testing. At or near the end of the line, the adjustable parts of the palletized seats are typically inspected and tested by a human operator using a combination of physical manipulation of the seat's manual adjustment controls, such as levers, and/or power adjustment switches such as
13
b
,
13
c
. In the example of
FIG. 1
, seatback
12
b
and seat cushion
12
c
are power adjustable.
In a typical end of the line seat testing station, a palletized seat arrives at the station and is locked into a fixed testing position by a “pallet pusher” or similar, known positioning device. If the seat has power adjustments, the operator plugs a power supply tether into a wiring harness connector built into the seat. This wiring harness connector is wired into the various adjustment motors, switches, and control modules in the seat; when the seat is installed in a vehicle, the wiring harness connector is plugged into a mating harness on the vehicle which supplies power, control signals and data communication from various systems on the vehicle. The electronic tether plugged into the wiring harness connector at the end-of-line testing station supplies power, control signals and data communication so that an operator can run the powered seat through its various adjustments.
As the operator runs a seat (manual or powered) through its adjustments at the testing station, end of line testing apparatus verifies basic seat adjustment functions performed by the operator by providing a signal corresponding to various adjustment positions or end-of-travel limits. There are generally two types of seat testing system: “internal” and “external”.
The “internal” type tests powered seat component function through the tether connection to the wiring harness connector, communicating through the tether with a computer software or PLC-type controller to monitor and verify internally-generated seat adjustment parameters such as motor speed, motor stall current, direction of motor travel, switch function, etc. In more sophisticated seats with built-in “seat modules”, other internal seat parameters can be tested through the wiring harness connector and seat module via the tether, for example the function of seat heating equipment. A problem with this “internal”, tether-type testing apparatus is that an internal failure of an adjustment mechanism, for example a premature motor stall or a broken or improperly coordinated connection between a motor and the part being adjusted, can result in a “pass” indication to the operator on a display screen while the actual seat adjustment is inadequate.
The “external” type of seat testing apparatus can be used for either manual or powered seats, and comprises an external array of limit.switches connected to wands, probes or contact arms to generate a signal of physical seat position when contacted or moved by an associated part of the seat. For example, when the operator moves or runs the seatback to its full-recline position, the seatback will contact and move a limit switch actuator to generate a full-recline verification signal to the operator. This signal is typically in the form of a light display visible to the operator.
Referring to
FIG. 2
, one example of a prior art end-of-line tester is generally illustrated at
20
, comprising contact arms
22
a
-
22
d
mounted on a frame
26
. Frame
26
in turn is supported on a sliding base
28
whose position can be moved toward and away from seat
12
on a track or rail
30
by a powered pusher mechanism
32
of known type. Base
28
may slide on rail
30
via carriage portions
28
a.
Contact arms
22
a
-
22
d
end in limit switches
24
a
-
24
d
, positioned for contact with associated portions of seat
12
in their respective fully-adjusted positions. For example, uppermost limit switch
24
a
is located to be engaged by headrest
12
a
when the seat is either fully reclined or fully aft (depending on the seat's adjustability and the preferred test parameter); limit switch
24
b
should be contacted by the upper seatback
12
b
; limit switch
24
c
should be contacted by the lower seatback
12
b
, and, lowermost limit switch
24
d
should be contacted by seat cushion
12
c
in the fully aft position.
Once tester
20
is pre-positioned with limit switches
24
a
-
24
d
as described above, the operator (not shown) typically will lean over seat
12
and operate its adjustment controls (such as
13
b
,
13
c
shown in
FIG. 1
) to recline seatback
12
b
, and to move seat cushion
12
c
fore and aft. When seatback
12
b
reaches its full-recline position (shown in broken lines) it should contact certain limit switches to trigger a “pass” signal to the operator in known fashion. Having been successfully tested, seatback
12
b
is then brought forward to its full-up position, and the operator translates seat cushion
12
c
rearwardly until it reaches a full-aft position (broken lines) in which limit switch
24
d
generates a “pass” signal.
It is also known to use test equipment such as that shown at
20
to check for the “presence” of major seat parts such as seatback
12
b
and seat cushion
12
c
, for example by pushing tester
20
into contact with seat
12
in its at-rest position (solid lines) and generating “presence” signals upon contact of limit switches
24
a
-
24
d
with their associated seat portions.
One problem with “external” prior art testers of the type shown in
FIG. 2
is that they can be “fooled” by operators who simply press the limit switches to generate a “pass” signal whether or not the seat parts have been successfully adjusted. Another problem with such testing apparatus is that it is limited to testing static seat positions, for example the “presence” of major parts and the “full-aft” or “fully-reclined” limits of travel. Additionally, the overall number of seat adjustment functions capable of being tested by such apparatus is limited by the need to position contact arms and limit switches at every point where a desired presence or travel limit should be sensed. A further problem is the need to frequently re-position such testers and their contact arms. A tester configured for contact with a particular seat model cannot be used for other models without adjusting the number and placement of the contact arms; a tester configured for “presence” testing must be reconfigured for “adjustment” testing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an end of line tester apparatus, system, and method which is capable of testing a virtually unlimited number of seat adjustment functions; which cannot be fooled by an operator; and which cannot mistakenly verify (or fail to verify) a seat part adjustment due to internal error of a seat adjustment mechanism. The inventive tester is further capable of measuring not only the presence and end-of-travel limits of the adjustable seat parts, but further can measure a full range of both seat motion and internal adjustment function in real time.
In its broadest form the invention comprises an array of optical ranging type position sensors located behind the seat assembly at the test station, with one or more sensors associated
Bonza Lisa M.
Donahue Thomas J.
Dunn Ian R.
Pohlman Duane S.
Electrical Power & Design, Inc.
Oen William
Stevens Maurice
Young & Basile P.C.
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