Metal working – Method of mechanical manufacture – Assembling or joining
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-13
2003-01-14
Vidovich, Gregory M. (Department: 3726)
Metal working
Method of mechanical manufacture
Assembling or joining
C029S254000, C029S243530, C029S715000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06505393
ABSTRACT:
PRIORITY CLAIM
This application is partly based on and claims the priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of German Patent Application 198 34 702.2, filed on Jul. 31, 1998, through prior U.S. application Ser. No. 09/366,036, filed on Aug. 2, 1999. The entire disclosures of the above identified German Patent Application and prior U.S. Application are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a riveting apparatus for riveting large surface area components having a curved contour to fabricate a barrel-shaped structure such as an aircraft fuselage.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Automatic and semi-automatic robotic riveting apparatus are known for connecting large surface area components using rivets. Such known apparatus are suitable for the fabrication of aircraft fuselage shells and other barrel-shaped or cylindrical structures that are fabricated from a plurality of individual curved components having large surface areas. For example, German Patent 35 35 761 and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,261 (Hawly et al.) disclose an automatic robotic riveting apparatus by means of which curved workpieces having large surface areas can be rivet-fastened or the like. The disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,261 is incorporated herein by reference.
The known riveting apparatus comprises a machine frame in which a workpiece is mounted so as to be movable along the X-axis. Two riveting systems or tool carriers that cooperate with each other for carrying out the riveting process are respectively arranged on a riveting positioning frame that is movable in the Z-direction, while the riveting systems or tool carriers are selectively positionable in the Y-direction and tiltable about the X-axis. One of the riveting systems comprises a riveting device including all the necessary tools for boring rivet holes, feeding and sinking rivets, and counterholding during a rivet closing process. The other riveting system comprises a pressure sleeve, a rivet snap or anvil, and a counterholder for forming the closing head of each respective rivet. In order to carry out a riveting process, the two riveting systems are driven and positioned to the corresponding rivet location in a computer aided or computer guided manner, and then the various steps of the riveting process are carried out and coordinated also in a computer aided manner.
It is a disadvantage of this known automatic riveting robot that it can only be used in a limited field of applications due to its high structural mass. A further disadvantage is that only certain rivet connections can be produced by this conventional automatic riveting robot, because the riveting systems are not individually movable in all spacial axes. Further disadvantages result because the workpieces, for example aircraft fuselage shell components, must be slidingly pushed or advanced in the X-axis direction during the riveting process, which requires a rather heavy and complicated holding jig or support frame structure for precisely positioning the large workpieces.
Another riveting apparatus suitable for forming a rivet connection for large surface area components is disclosed in German Patent 37 15 927 and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,491 (Stoewer). The disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,491 is incorporated herein by reference. This known riveting apparatus comprises two mechanically separated apparatus parts, namely one respective apparatus part on the primary or set head side of the rivet and another apparatus part on the closing head side of the rivet. Each one of these apparatus parts respectively essentially comprises a machine guide arrangement carrying a tool unit. A computer is provided to control the positioning as well as the working steps carried out in the process of forming and preparing the rivet holes and then inserting rivets into the holes, as well as closing the rivets.
In this known riveting apparatus, for carrying out the riveting operation, machine guide arrangements are provided respectively on both sides of the components or workpieces that are to be rivet-connected to each other and that are held in a supporting frame. The machine guide arrangements and respective apparatus parts on the two sides of the workpieces are necessary to allow the respective tool units to be guided to and positioned at the respective riveting locations. However, in practice, it is very difficult and complicated or even impossible to properly arrange the respective machine guide arrangements for forming rivets at particular individual rivet locations, especially in the area within an aircraft fuselage for forming a lengthwise or transverse seam of the fuselage. This is especially true because the interior of the fuselage shell comprises frames, stringers, spars, ribs and struts and the like, which represent obstacles or obstructions around which the machine guide arrangement and the respective tool units must be moved, and which in some cases completely block access to the required rivet locations.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,260 (Sarh) discloses a system for riveting radial or circumferential joints of an aircraft fuselage. In this known system, an outer riveting apparatus includes crescent-shaped base members that are supported on the fuselage itself and are directly secured to the fuselage by suction cups or the like, and a first riveting device that is movably supported on the crescent-shaped base members, so as to ride along the base members while fastening rivets along a circumferential joint of the fuselage. Further in the known system, an inner riveting apparatus includes a base unit or base plate that is mounted on the floor beams of the interior of the fuselage itself, and a second riveting device that cooperates from inside the fuselage with the first riveting device outside the fuselage to fasten the rivets along the respective circumferential joint.
Thus, both the inner apparatus and the outer apparatus of the known system of U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,260 are mounted on and fully supported by the fuselage that is being assembled. This limits the mobility of the apparatus relative to the fuselage. Namely, the supporting base of the outer apparatus itself is not mobile relative to the fuselage. Instead, a crane is necessary to lift the outer apparatus and move it from one circumferential fuselage joint to the next, and therefore the system is not suited to riveting longitudinal joints. Moreover, the known arrangement must have its crescent-shape adapted exactly to the contour of the particular type of fuselage being assembled, and presents the danger that the weight of the two apparatus will deform or misalign the aircraft sections being joined. Other known systems in which the inner and/or outer riveting apparatus are mounted and supported on the fuselage itself suffer the same disadvantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above it is an object of the invention to provide a two-part riveting apparatus for riveting barrel-shaped components, which makes it possible to carry out a flexible or adaptable positioning of the tool units on or relative to the respective workpiece in longitudinal and circumferential directions, and especially at previously inaccessible or difficult to access rivet locations which are at least partially obstructed due to strengthening components or equipment mounting components, such as frames, stringers, spars, ribs, struts or the like in the interiors of a barrel-shaped structure. Moreover, it is an object of the invention to provide such an apparatus that is fully independent of the workpiece being assembled, i.e. is not supported or mounted on the workpiece, but instead is supported and mounted independently from the workpiece. Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus that can fully automatically carry out the riveting operation with great precision in a computer controller manner. The invention further aims to avoid or overcome the disadvantages of the prior art, and to achieve additional advantages, as apparent from the present specification.
The above objects have been achieved according to t
Koehler Bernd
Kosuch Norbert
Stoewer Udo
Airbus Deutschland GmbH
Blount Steven A
Fasse W. F.
Fasse W. G.
Vidovich Gregory M.
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