Metal working – Means to assemble or disassemble – Including means to relatively position plural work parts
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-30
2001-04-10
Watson, Robert C. (Department: 3723)
Metal working
Means to assemble or disassemble
Including means to relatively position plural work parts
C029S271000, C269S037000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06212749
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a mount assembly system and more particularly, to a system for providing repeatable net position of body mounts, facilitating the automation of a vehicle body and frame marriage process.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One of the most impressive operations in a vehicle assembly plant involves the marriage of a vehicle body structure to its chassis. Commonly used methodology involves a substantial reliance upon manual intervention to accomplish this complex task. Automating this type of vehicle assembly process is highly desirable due to the labor intensive and physically demanding operations involved. Automation is complicated by factors like the stack-up of build tolerances that occurs as components are assembled together. In the case of body on frame vehicles including medium and heavy duty trucks, a number of unique frame assemblies with different rail spacing widths or different frame rail material properties may be employed for various GVW applications. A desire to marry the resulting variants to a common body design further complicates automation.
During the marriage process, body mounts are commonly manually aligned to enable assembly of the bolts that secure the body to the frame. Attempts at automation of the marriage process have been made by using means such as “post-piercing” of the assembled frame before marriage. This is somewhat of a limited solution since it is rather costly and is not universally employable, especially in vehicles with large ladder-type frames. Accordingly, advances in component design that facilitate marriage automation in a cost-effective manner are needed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Aspects of the invention reside in a generic mount assembly system that facilitates the automated marriage of a pair of mating components or assemblies through the interposed mount. Depending on the specific application involved, the intended advantages include: providing repeatable net positioning, avoiding part number proliferation, overcoming build-tolerance stack, and improving operator working conditions. The resultant aspects are achieved through employment of a mount alignment feature that operates to position the mount(s) during their assembly onto one of the to-be-mated components or assemblies.
With more specificity, a mount assembly system includes a first component or assembly with a mount fastened thereto in an initially repositionable manner, wherein the mount moves relative to the component or assembly in concert with a repositioning element. The repositioning element includes a positioning feature that is engageable by a positioning fixture to effect proper alignment to a repeatable net position selected for the later introduction of a second component or assembly that will arrive at a predetermined point in space coinciding with said repeatable net position for marriage of the first and second components or assemblies together.
A preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention described here as an aid in readily conveying the nature of the invention, enables automated assembly of a truck body to its frame and includes a frame having a pair of brackets on opposed sides thereof. The brackets support the body on the frame, through an interposed body mount. During assembly, the frame and brackets accept a pair of body mounts in a repositionable manner whereupon, a positioning fixture engages the frame and engages repositioning elements of the mounts to align the body mounts, which are then fixed in place on the brackets relative to the frame. In this case the positioning fixture includes a pin as a repositioning effector that engages within positioning orifices that have previously been provided in a fixed position relative to the body mount.
The numbered claims found at the conclusion of this specification particularly and distinctly define the subject matter of the invention per se. As is typical, the claims are presented to cover a range of inventive breadth, and may have evolved through the give-and-take process of patent examination. The preceding summary of the invention is intended to be consistent therewith, and any inconsistencies are to be resolved by giving governing weight to the language of the claims.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5409283 (1995-04-01), Ban
patent: 5775666 (1998-07-01), Tsukamoto et al.
Chow E. Allan
Lauro Thomas R.
General Motors Corporation
Sedlar Jeffrey A.
Watson Robert C.
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