Vehicle door assembly line

Details Vehicle door assembly line Vehicle door assembly line

1998-12-21

2001-03-20

Bryant, David P. (Department: 3726)

Metal working

Means to assemble or disassemble

Means to interrelatedly feed plural work parts from plural...

C029S791000, C029S799000, C029S824000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06202296

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a vehicle door assembly line, such as, for automobiles, for assembling corresponding left and right doors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art automobile manufacturing processes include left door and right door assembly lines where different parts, such as door moulding, window regulator, handle, and window glass, are installed in the proper order. In the prior art, the left door and right door are assembled on separate assembly lines. Thus two assembly lines are required. As a result, two conveyor systems are needed which double the space of a single conveyor system.
One prior art improvement is described in Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 6-285729. In this prior art system, a carrier with left and right vertical frames is driven to travel along a rail. A horizontal support member pivotally movable about a vertical axis is mounted on each of the vertical frames so that the left and right doors can be set on the support members separately. The parts are installed in the doors as left door and right doors are conveyed. In this prior art conveyor system, assembly workers standing on both right and left sides of the manufacturing line and are able to install parts on both the left and right doors simultaneously. Further, it is possible to turn both the left and right doors in a desired direction.
However, in this prior art pallet conveyor system, it is necessary to swing the right and left doors in the horizontal plane in order to assemble parts on both the interior and exterior sides of the left and right doors. Once the parts are assembled, the right and left doors are rotated or swung around to check the quality of the installation. This swinging operation reduces the work efficiency. Furthermore, it is necessary to provide adequate space to rotate around the left and right doors, and this requires an increase in the area required for the conveyor system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the primary object of the present invention to improve the efficiency of the left and right door assembly line by reducing the work load of the associates and reducing the area required for the equipment.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is provided a vehicle assembly line comprising: a conveyer arranged to transport an alternating succession of left and right doors in a conveyance direction, the doors being arranged at a first pitch with the right doors and the left doors facing in opposite directions when viewed from above the assembly line; a succession of first work positions provided along one side of the conveyor at a second pitch which is twice as large as the first pitch; and a succession of second work positions provided along the other side of the conveyor also at the second pitch, but offset in the conveyance direction from the succession of first working positions so that the work positions are staggered with respect to a longitudinal centre line of the conveyor.
Thus, as the line moves along, an assembly worker on one of the first work positions will be presented with a repeated succession of left-door interior sides and right-door exterior sides, whereas an assembly worker on one of the second work positions will be presented with a repeated succession of left-door interior sides and right-door exterior sides, whereas an assembly worker on one of the second work positions will be presented with a repeated succession of left-door exterior sides and right-door interior sides. With this arrangement, it becomes possible to improve the working efficiency of workers assigned to right-door and left-door assembling work at the respective work positions by reducing the load on the workers, and to reduce the area required for the equipment.
Preferably, the vehicle door assembly line further includes an alternating succession of right door pallets and left door pallets aligned with the longitudinal centre line of the conveyor and adapted to be carried on the conveyor. Each of the right door pallets support one of the right doors and each of the left door pallets support one of the left doors. The right and left pallets have a length substantially the same as the first pitch. The first and second work positions have a length substantially the same as the length of the right and left door pallets.
The right and left door pallets may each include a front frame having at least one receiver for supporting one end of each of the right and left doors, and a rear frame having at least one receiver for supporting the other end of each of the right and left doors. One of the receiver of the front frame and the receiver of the rear frame is movably mounted on the associated frame via a slider such that the position of the one receiver can be adjusted in a direction parallel to the longitudinal centre line of the conveyor so as to enable the front and rear frames to support therebetween a right or a left door of a different size.
It is preferable that the right door pallets, while being carried on the conveyor, keep the right doors in alignment with the longitudinal centre line of the conveyor. The left door pallets, while being carried on the conveyor, keep the left doors in alignment with the longitudinal centre line of the conveyor.
Alternatively, the respective receivers of the front and rear frames of each of the right door pallets may be offset from the longitudinal centre line of the conveyor toward the one side of the conveyor, and the respective receivers of the front and rear frames of each of the left door pallets are offset from the longitudinal centre line of the conveyor toward the other side of the conveyor.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the right door pallets each support one of the right doors with its interior side facing in the same direction as the one side of the conveyor, and the left door pallets each support one of the left doors with its interior side facing in the same direction as the other side of the conveyor.
Each of the first work positions may preferably accommodate one assembly worker and enable the same worker to assemble door parts onto one right door when the right door is substantially in lateral alignment with the first work position and, thereafter, to perform visual inspection of the quality of the next following left door when the next following left door is substantially in lateral alignment with the first work position, and wherein each of the second work positions is sized and arranged to accommodate a second assembly worker and enable the second assembly worker to assemble door parts onto one left door when the left door is substantially in lateral alignment with the second work position and, thereafter, to perform visual inspection of the quality of the next following right door when the next following right door is substantially in lateral alignment with the second work position. The first work position is sized and arranged further to enable the one assembly worker to perform partial assembling work on the next following left door, and the second work position is sized and arranged further to enable the second assembly worker to perform partial assembly work on the next following right door.


REFERENCES:
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patent: 4685208 (1987-08-01), Sekiraku
patent: 4964497 (1990-10-01), Bundo et al.
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patent: 5297483 (1994-03-01), Kakida et al.
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patent: 5428880 (1995-07-01), Tomioka et al.
patent: 1-317882 (1989-12-01), None
patent: 2-65934 (1990-03-01), None
patent: 6-171565 (1994-06-01), None
patent: 6-285729 (1994-10-01), None

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