Robot Tool for Setting Sealing Plugs

• US 20180021953A1
• Filed: 09/29/2017
• Published: 01/25/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Original Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Inventors: KOSSMANN, Max, BIX, Johannes, SCHMIEDEL, Ingo
• Granted Patent: US 10,486,310 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B23P 19/001 Article feeders for assembling machines screws or nuts being carried by a disposable strip or disc B25B23/045
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 15/0019 End effectors other than grippers
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1687 Assembly, peg and hole, palletising, straight line, weaving pattern movement
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 25/24 Superstructure sub-units with access or drainage openings having movable or removable closures; Sealing means thereforinlet covers for vehicle fuel tanks B60K15/05
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 65/02 Joining sub-units or components to, or positioning sub-units or components with respect to, body shell or other sub-units or components
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/41 Tool

Abstract

A robot tool is provided for setting sealing plugs in openings in a vehicle body component by way of a placing installation, in which a plug magazine having a plurality of plugs is accommodated, which can be set into the respective openings in direct succession by the placing installation without reloading. A method is provided for securely setting the plugs, wherein a peripheral elastic lip is provided at an outlet of the setting device, which lip retains the plugs in the plug magazine and can be elastically bent by an axial motion of the plugs in the axial direction of the robot tool.

Claims

1. A robot tool for placing sealing plugs into openings in an automotive body component, comprising:

a sealing plug magazine having a plurality of lined-up sealing plugs;

a placing installation on which the sealing plug magazine is disposed, wherein by way of the placing installation the sealing plugs are capable of being placed in a directly sequential manner and without reloading into respective openings of the automotive body component; and

an encircling elastic lip provided on an outlet of the placing installation, wherein the encircling elastic lip holds the sealing plugs in the sealing plug magazine and, by way of an axial movement of the sealing plugs, is capable of being elastically bent in an axial direction of the robot tool.

2. The robot tool according to claim 1, wherein

the elastic lip is disposed on the placing installation so as to be axially spaced from an external axial periphery of the placing installation.

3. The robot tool according to claim 2, wherein

each of the sealing plugs has a non-elastic cover, and

a frontmost sealing plug in a region of the placing installation is held on the cover by the elastic lip.

4. The robot tool according to claim 1, wherein

each of the sealing plugs has a non-elastic cover, and

a frontmost sealing plug in a region of the placing installation is held on the cover by the elastic lip.

5. The robot tool according to claim 1, wherein

the elastic lip bears on a respective cover of the frontmost sealing plug and, in a course of an ejection movement of the sealing plug, serves as a guide for the sealing plug and is capable of being bent back by the cover.

6. The robot tool according to claim 1, wherein

the robot tool is adapted for human-robot interaction, and

the placing installation is capable of being guided to the opening sequentially and in an automated manner.

7. The robot tool according to claim 1, further comprising:

an electric spindle drive by way of which the sealing plugs are capable of being ejected in predefined steps from the sealing magazine disposed on the placing installation.

8. The robot tool according to claim 1, wherein

the robot tool is configured to receive interchangable placing installations such that dissimilar sealing plugs are placeable into respectively dissimilar openings.

9. A method for placing a sealing plug into an opening in an automotive body component using a robot tool according to claim 1, the method comprising the steps of:

ejecting a sealing plug to be placed from the outlet of the placing installation by a predetermined measure via the spindle drive of the placing installation;

inserting the partially ejected sealing plug via the placing installation in an automated manner into an opening to be closed such that part of the sealing plug engages in the opening from behind so as to be held therein;

ejecting the sealing plug from the placing installation;

retracting the placing installation, wherein

the elastic lip is bent when the sealing plug is ejected and retains a successive sealing plug in the sealing plug magazine after the ejection of the sealing plug.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein

in order for the sealing plug to placed, the placing installation is configured so as to freely oscillate, and

the sealing plug, by way of an oscillating movement of the placing installation, is positioned in self-acting manner so as to be centric to the opening to be closed.