MANUFACTURING FACILITY WITH ROBOTIC CARRIER AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING
First Claim
1. A workpiece manufacturing facility, comprising:
- a plurality of workstations capable of performing work on a workpiece thereby dimensionally advancing a configuration of the workpiece;
a plurality of assembly stations capable of assembling components of the workpiece to the workpiece; and
a carrier moveable between any of said work stations and between any of said assembly stations, said carrier transporting at least one workpiece between at least one work station and at least one assembly station and said carrier including a robotic manipulator capable of introducing the workpiece to said workstations and said assembly stations in a dimensionally accurate position and said robotic manipulator being capable of performing work on the workpiece.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A workpiece manufacturing facility includes a plurality of workstations capable of performing work on a workpiece to dimensionally advance a configuration of the workpiece. A plurality of assembly stations is capable of assembling components of the workpiece to the workpiece. A carrier is moveable between any of the work stations and between any of the assembly stations. The carrier transports at least one workpiece between at least one work station and at least one assembly station. The carrier includes a robotic manipulator capable of introducing the workpiece to the workstations and the assembly stations in a dimensionally accurate position and the robotic manipulator is capable of performing work on the workpiece.
21 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A workpiece manufacturing facility, comprising:
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a plurality of workstations capable of performing work on a workpiece thereby dimensionally advancing a configuration of the workpiece; a plurality of assembly stations capable of assembling components of the workpiece to the workpiece; and a carrier moveable between any of said work stations and between any of said assembly stations, said carrier transporting at least one workpiece between at least one work station and at least one assembly station and said carrier including a robotic manipulator capable of introducing the workpiece to said workstations and said assembly stations in a dimensionally accurate position and said robotic manipulator being capable of performing work on the workpiece. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of manufacturing a workpiece in a manufacturing facility having a plurality of production stations, comprising the steps of:
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providing a mobile carrier unrestrained by physical attributes and including a robotic manipulator, said carrier having random access to each of said production stations; digitally directing said carrier to traverse said manufacturing facility and access at least one of said production stations thereby providing access for said robotic manipulator to said production station; digitally directing said robotic manipulator to transfer a workpiece to said production station and to facilitate work upon the workpiece at said production station thereby dimensionally advancing the workpiece; and digitally directing said robotic manipulator to remove the workpiece from the production station and to transfer the workpiece to another production station for further processing of the workpiece. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification