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Automotive service line

  • US 10,150,455 B1
  • Filed: 02/13/2018
  • Issued: 12/11/2018
  • Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2018
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A service line for servicing a vehicle, comprising:

  • stations disposed in a serial direction along the service line, each station including a pair of conveyors disposed along the serial direction, a driver side conveyor configured to support and convey driver side tires of the vehicle and a passenger side conveyor configured to support and convey passenger side tires of the vehicle;

    two or more transition plates, a driver side transition plate disposed between the driver side conveyor of a first station and the driver side conveyor of a second station, and a passenger side transition plate disposed between the passenger side conveyor of the first station and the passenger side conveyor of the second station, the driver side transition plate including at least one roller configured to rotate in the serial direction when at least one of the driver side conveyors conveys the vehicle along the serial direction and to lock to prevent rotation in the serial direction when the at least one of the driver side conveyors is stopped, the passenger side transition plate including at least one roller configured to rotate in the serial direction when at least one of the passenger side conveyors conveys the vehicle along the serial direction and locking to prevent rotation in the serial direction when the at least one of the passenger side conveyors is stopped;

    an oil change substation including a hose and a vacuum-inducing device, the hose having a first end operably connected to a vacuum-inducing device and a second end, the oil change substation configured to, when the second end of the hose is introduced in an oil reservoir of the vehicle and the vacuum-inducing device is activated, suction out oil from the oil reservoir of the vehicle through the hose; and

    a parts locker array including;

    a plurality of parts lockers;

    each parts locker including;

    a locker access door configured to alternatively open and close to permit and impede, respectively, access to the parts locker'"'"'s interior; and

    a locker locking mechanism configured to alternatively lock and unlock to impede and permit, respectively, opening of the parts locker access door;

    a locker array controller configured to communicate locker unlocking instructions upon validation of vehicle identifying information, wherein the locker array controller is configured to transmit the unlocking instructions to a specific one of the parts lockers based on the vehicle identifying information for a respective locker locking mechanism to unlock a respective locker access door to permit opening of the respective locker access door to permit access to parts in the specific one of the parts locker'"'"'s interior that specifically correspond to the vehicle.

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