Electric lamp or space discharge component or device manufacturi – Process – With assembly or disassembly
Patent
1985-10-30
1990-02-20
Rowan, Kurt
Electric lamp or space discharge component or device manufacturi
Process
With assembly or disassembly
445 66, H01J 900
Patent
active
049022580
ABSTRACT:
A robotic assembly system for the automatic assembly of a complex article such as a CRT display unit has a number of workstations positioned along an open conveyor system at each of which as assembly operation is performed by a conventional stand-alone robot.
Each workstation is provided with a basic lift mechanism (36, 17, 21, 24, 28) which when operated lifts a pallet (4) supplied thereto from the relatively imprecise surface of the conveyor (1) into a predetermined horizontal plane above the conveyor where it is accurately located. A stand-alone robot, programmed to operate with reference to this constant datum position performs the assembly operation associated with that workstation. In order to assist the assembly operation, an air bearing table (17) is incorporated in the lift mechanism to provide the pallet, and any article carried by the pallet, with lateral compliance while held at the datum position. On completion of the assembly operation, the lift mechanism is retracted, lowering the pallet back onto the conveyor for transportation to the next workstation.
The invention is particularly suited for assembly operations involving the handling of potentially hazardous components such as, for example, CRTs during the assembly of a display motor. A modification to the basic lift mechanism enables the assembly of a CRT into its surrounding bezel to be performed. The modification includes the addition of a further lift device (35, 38) which, when operated, lifts a platform (30) through an aperture (34) in the pallet into a second predetermined horizontal plane. To perform the assembly operation, a pallet (4) already supporting a part-cabinet (8) including its bezel surround (9) as a result of a previous assembly operation, is raised into the first datum position. The platform is then raised into the second datum position above the first. A stand-alone robot, programmed to operate with reference to the second datum places and releases a CRT face-plate down on the platform. The platform is then lowered back through the aperture in the pallet leaving the CRT supported in the bezel surround. The pallet is finally lowered onto the conveyor for transportation to the next workstation.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3049214 (1962-08-01), Cormia
patent: 3126938 (1964-03-01), McCoy
patent: 4201284 (1980-05-01), Brems
patent: 4360097 (1982-11-01), Brems
patent: 4369872 (1983-01-01), Sticht
patent: 4382500 (1983-05-01), Oyama
patent: 4489821 (1984-12-01), Inaba
patent: 4502585 (1985-03-01), Sticht
IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, vol. 26, No. 3A, Aug. 1983, L. J. Rigbey, pp. 882-883.
Dunsmore John
Teale David C.
Frisone John B.
International Business Machines Corp.
Rowan Kurt
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