FR2493278A2 - Conveyor for mass production of automobile bodies - has double return conveyor to facilitate handling of different body types - Google Patents

Abstract

MANUFACTURED PRODUCT TRANSFER INSTALLATION, APPLICABLE IN PARTICULAR TO AUTOMATED ASSEMBLY LINES BY ROBOTS. THE LOWER RETURN LINE 3 OF THE EMPTY SUPPORT MOUNTS 2, FORMING THE ACCUMULATION STORAGE LINE, CONSISTS OF THREE WAYS 16, 17, 23 PARALLEL SEPARATED BY PARALLEL LINES 18A, 18B OF CENTRAL SUPPORTS SUPPORTING THE UPPER ADVANCEMENT LINE 1 , AND DISTINCTLY SUPPLIED WITH SPECIFIC SUPPORT MOUNTS 2 INTENDED TO RECEIVE ELEMENTS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF PRODUCTS 7 TO ASSEMBLE. APPLICATION IN PARTICULAR TO LARGE-SERIES ASSEMBLY CHAINS OF MOTOR VEHICLES.

Description

Installation for the transfer of manufactured products, in particular parts of motor vehicle bodies.

The present invention relates to an improvement to the installation for transferring manufactured products, in particular motor vehicle body parts, in particular for assembly lines automated by robots, which is the subject of main patent application NO 79/29 990 filed on December 6, 1979 in the name of the plaintiff, and more specifically to a provision intended to increase the possibilities of use.

The subject of the main patent application essentially resides in a transfer installation composed of an upper line for advancing support assemblies of bodywork elements, and a lower return line for empty support assemblies, forming storage line by accumulation of said support assemblies extending substantially under the upper line of advance, comprising two parallel tracks, separated by a center line of central supports supporting the upper line of advance, and externally each delimited by a lateral structure forming a flying buttress for said upper line of advancement, thus ensuring a seat width and overall rigidity compatible with assembly by robots and the clearance necessary for the deflections of the arms of the latter.

The aim of the present invention is to selectively ensure on the same transfer chain the assembly of at least three distinct variants or types of bodywork elements, and in particular of bodywork intended on the one hand for a cadence vehicle constant production, and other parts to a vehicle with decreasing production rate and a vehicle with increasing production rate, in order for example to absorb with optimum flexibility the transition periods during the decreasing extinction of a an aging model and the gradual simultaneous launch of a new model.

To this end, the installation for transferring manufactured products, in particular motor vehicle body parts, according to the present invention, is characterized in that the center line of central supports according to the main patent application is split in two parallel lines simultaneously supporting the upper line of advance, and delimiting a third central return path of the empty support assemblies, substantially located under said upper line of advance.

As in the main patent application, each of the parallel return channels is distinctly supplied with specific support assemblies intended to receive elements of different types of bodywork.

Preferably, of these three parallel return paths, one is assigned to the specific support assemblies for a vehicle with a constant production rate, the second for a vehicle with a decreasing production rate, and the third for a vehicle with a production rate. increasing in compensation for the second.

The understanding of the present invention will be facilitated by reading the following description of a nonlimiting example of a preferred embodiment of such an installation for transferring manufactured products, in particular motor vehicle body parts, with reference to the single attached figure, constituted by a cross section of a transfer installation according to the invention.

Thus, a tool appears in this figure where the common elements or similar to those described in the main patent application are generally designated by the same references, the transfer installation essentially consists of an upper line 1 of step-by-step advancement for the support assemblies 2, constituted in this case by carriages provided with suitable means 5, 6 with fluid control for centering and locking the bodywork elements 7, and a lower line 3 for the return of the empty support assemblies 2 , forming a storage line by accumulation, the supply of mounting supports 2 of each of these lines from the other as well as the drive in translation of said mounting supports 2 on these two means being effected by means mentioned in the main patent application. Likewise, the upper line 1 for advancement comprises lateral means 14, also with fluid control, for indexing and locking the support assemblies 2 in front of the various implantation and work stations of the robots 15.

According to the spirit of the main patent application, the return line 3 of the empty support assemblies 2 consists of two parallel channels 16, 17, separated by a center line of central supports of the tins to support the upper line 1 of advance, two parallel tracks 16, 17 each being externally delimited by a lateral structure, consisting of external alignments of pillars 19 parallel to the center line of central supports, and horizontal crosspieces 20 resting in their central zone on the central supports and by their ends on the external pillars 19, said lateral structure forming a flying buttress for the upper line 1 of advancement, thus ensuring a seat width and an overall rigidity of the transfer compatible with assembly by robots 15 and the clearance necessary for optimal movement of the working arms 15a of the latter.

In accordance with the object of the present invention, the central line of central supports is split into two parallel lines 18a, 18b of pillars aligned substantially perpendicular to the lateral limits of the upper line 1 of advance in order to simultaneously support the latter , and thus delimiting a third central channel 23 for the return of the empty support assemblies 2, substantially situated under said upper advancement line 1.

Each of the parallel return channels 16, 17 and 23 is distinctly supplied with support assemblies 2 provided with specific centering and locking means 5, 6 intended to receive elements of different types of bodywork.

These three parallel return channels 16, 17 and 23 forming storage lines by accumulation, one of the choice can thus advantageously be assigned to the support assemblies 2 specific to a vehicle at a rate of constant production, the second to a vehicle at a rate of decreasing production, and the third to a vehicle with increasing production rate in compensation for the second, thus making it possible for example to absorb with transition flexibility the transition periods during the decreasing extinction of an aging model and the launch progressive, simultaneously, of a new model.

The scope of this installation for transferring manufactured products, in particular bodywork elements, is in no way limited to the embodiment described above, but may extend to all variant embodiments derived from the same principle of base, this is for example that the lower line 3 of return of the empty 2 support montagessupports may very well in some cases have more than three parallel return paths, without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (3)

1. Installation for transferring manufactured products, in particular parts of motor vehicle bodies, applicable in particular to assembly lines automated by robots, this installation being composed of an upper assembly line (1) -supports (2) of said bodywork elements (7), and of a lower line (3) for return of the empty support assemblies (2), forming a storage line by accumulation of said support assemblies (2), extending substantially below the upper line (1) of advancement, comprising two parallel tracks (16, 17), separated by a median line of central supports supporting the upper line (1) of advancement, and externally each delimited by a lateral structure ( 19, 20) forming a flying buttress for said upper line (1) of advancement, thus ensuring a seat width and overall rigidity compatible with assembly by robots (15) and the clearance necessary for the deflections of the arms (15a) of the latter, characterized by the fact that the central line of central supports is split into two parallel lines (18a, 18b) supporting the upper line (1) of advancement, and delimiting a third central channel (23) for returning the assemblies -supports (2) empty, substantially located under said upper line (1) of advancement. 2. Installation for transferring manufactured products, in particular motor vehicle body parts, according to claim i, characterized in that each of the parallel return channels (16, 17, 23) is distinctly supplied with support assemblies ( 2) specific for receiving elements of different types of bodywork (7). 3. Installation for transferring manufactured products, in particular motor vehicle body elements, according to claim 2, characterized in that on the three parallel return paths (16, 17 23), one is assigned to the assemblies -supports (2) specific to a vehicle with a constant production rate, the second to a vehicle with a decreasing production rate, and the third to a vehicle with an increasing production rate in compensation for the second.