System for assembling motorcar vehicle body

• US 5,143,270 A
• Filed: 11/06/1991
• Issued: 09/01/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Kubo, Takashi, Sasamoto, Hiroshi, Ohtaki, Keizaburo, Hamada, Akio
• Primary Examiner(s): Heinrich, Samuel M.
• Application Number:
  US07/788,695
• Time in Patent Office: 300 Days
• Field of Search: 228/4.1, 228/6.1, 228/18, 228/47, 228/49.1, 219/79, 29/430, 29/793, 29/794
• US Class Current: 228/4.1
• 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: Y10T 29/49829 Advancing work to successive stations [i.e., assembly line]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53409 including converging conveyors

Abstract

A system for assembling a motorcar vehicle body is divided into a first-floor portion and a second-floor portion. The first-floor portion has a main working line provided with a vehicle body assembling station, a floor panel assembling line, and a floor panel parts working line. The second-floor portion has another floor panel parts working line and a roof panel working line. There are provided apparatuses for charging floor panel consitituting parts worked in the floor panel parts working line disposed on the first-floor portion to a floor panel assembling line, and for lowering floor panel constituting parts worked in the floor panel parts working line disposed on the second-floor portion from the second-floor portion to charge them to the floor panel assembling line so that these constituting parts are combined together in the floor panel assembling line to assemble the floor panel. There are also provided apparatuses for charging the floor panel to the vehicle body assembling station, and for lowering the roof panel worked in the roof panel working line form the second-floor portion to a neighborhood of the vehicle body assembling station and charging it to the vehicle body assembling station so that the side panels which are set to welding jigs are combined in the vehicle body assembling station to the floor panel and the roof panel to assemble the motor car vehicle body.

Claims

1. A system for assembling a motorcar vehicle body by combining a floor panel, side panels and a roof panel, said system comprising:

a first-floor portion;

a second-floor portion;

said first-floor portion having a main working line provided with;

a vehicle body assembling station having disposed on both sides thereof welding apparatuses with welding jigs on which the side panels can be set in position;

a floor panel assembling line which is disposed on an upper-stream side of said vehicle body assembling station; and

a floor panel parts working line which is disposed on a still further upper-stream side of said vehicle body assembling station for working partial floor panel constituting parts;

said second-floor portion having another floor panel parts working line for working remaining floor panel constituting parts and a roof panel working line;

means for charging the floor panel constituting parts worked in said floor panel parts working line disposed on said first-floor portion to the floor panel assembling line;

means for lowering the floor panel constituting parts worked in said floor panel parts working line disposed on said second-floor portion from said second-floor portion to charge them to said floor panel assembling line so that these constituting parts are combined together in said floor panel assembling line to assemble the floor panel;

means for charging the floor panel to said vehicle body assembling station; and

means for lowering the roof panel worked in said roof panel working line from said second-floor portion to a neighborhood of said vehicle body assembling station and charging it to said vehicle body assembling station so that the side panels which are set to said welding jigs are combined in said vehicle body assembling station to the floor panel and the roof panel to assemble the motor car vehicle body.

2. A system for assembling a motorcar vehicle body according to claim 1, wherein said floor panel assembling line comprises a combining station for charging thereinto each of the constituting parts which constitute the floor panel by each transfer means, said combining station comprising:

a setting jig for positioning and holding the constituting parts in a predetermined positional relationship; and

welding robots which are provided on both sides of said combining station for welding the constituting parts on said setting jig.

3. A system for assembling a motorcar vehicle body according to claim 2, wherein:

the floor constituting parts comprise a front component, a front floor and a rear floor;

a direction of discharging the floor panel from said combining station is defined to be a front direction;

among the front component and the rear floor, one to be combined to a rear portion of the front floor is defined to be rear-parts, and one to be combined to a front portion of the front floor is defined to be front-parts;

a rear-parts working line for working said rear-parts is provided on said first-floor portion as said floor panel parts working line;

a front floor working line for working said front floor and a front-parts working line for working said front-parts are provided on said second-floor portion as said another floor panel parts working line;

rear-parts transporting means is provided for transporting the rear-parts from said rear-parts working line to a feeding position in the rear of said combining station;

front floor transporting means and front-parts transporting means are respectively provided for lowering the front floor and the front-parts from said second floor portion to a feeding position above said combining station;

said transfer means for the rear-parts being so arranged that the rear-parts transported to said rear feeding position are transferred forwards to set them on said setting jig; and

each of said transfer means for said front floor and said transfer means for said front-parts being so arranged that the front floor and the front-parts transported to said upper feeding position are lowered to set them on said setting jigs with longitudinal positional alignment.

4. A system for assembling a motorcar vehicle body according to claim 3, wherein said upper feeding position is above a location of said welding robots on one side of said combining station;

and each of said front floor transfer means and said front-parts transfer means comprises a lifting frame which is disposed on a supporting column so as to be movable up and down, said supporting column being vertically provided above the location of said welding robots on the other side of said combining station, a movable frame which is provided on said lifting frame so as to be shifted between an upper position of said combining station and one side thereof, and a transfer jig which is suspended from said movable frame for holding the front floor and the front-parts.

5. A system for assembling a motorcar vehicle body according to claim 4, wherein an exchanging station for exchanging said setting jig by withdrawing it from said combining station is provided between said combining station and said rear feeding position;

and wherein said rear-parts transfer means comprises a travelling frame which moves back and forth between said rear feeding position and said combining station along a guide frame extended over an upper space of said exchanging station, and a transfer jig which holds the rear-parts and is suspended from said travelling frame so as to be movable up and down.

6. A system for assembling a motorcar vehicle body according to claim 1, wherein said second-floor portion further comprises:

a working line for working interposing parts, such as a dash board upper piece or the like, which are to be interposed between the right and left side panels; and

means for lowering the interposing parts together with the roof panel to a neighborhood of said vehicle body assembling station for charging them to said vehicle body assembling station.

7. A system for assembling a motorcar vehicle body according to claim 6, wherein said vehicle body assembling station further comprises a charging apparatus which charges the roof panel and the interposing parts from a transfer station disposed in the neighborhood thereof and is movable back and forth between said assembling station and said transfer station;

said transfer station further comprises, on a side thereof, a transfer device which advances a pallet which can place thereon the roof panel and the interposing parts in a predetermined positional relationship, to said transfer station from a side direction to hand over the roof panel and the interposing parts on said pallet to said charging apparatus;

a drop lifter which hands over said pallet to and from said transfer device is provided so as to be movable up and down between said second-floor portion and said transfer device; and

said second-floor portion further comprises a loading apparatus which places the roof panel and the interposing parts on said pallet lifted by said drop lifter in a predetermined positional relationship.

8. A system for assembling a motorcar vehicle body according to claim 1, wherein said second-floor portion further comprises side panel working lines, and means for lowering the side panels worked in said working lines from said second-floor portion to set them to said welding jigs.