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Device for assembling motor-vehicle bodies by spot-welding

  • US 6,138,889 A
  • Filed: 02/01/1999
  • Issued: 10/31/2000
  • Est. Priority Date: 02/03/1998
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. Device for assembling motor-vehicle bodies by spot welding, comprising:

  • a welding station, provided with programmable robots having spot welding heads,means for feeding floor panels of motor-vehicle bodies in sequence to the welding station,a pair of locating gates on two opposite sides of the welding station, provided with devices for receiving and supporting component elements of two motor-vehicle body sides which are to be assembled with a respective floor panel,wherein said locating gates are provided with self-propelled lower carriages guided on two parallel rails provided on the floor of the welding station, at the two sides thereof,wherein said locating gates are movable on said rails, between a working position, adjacent to the two sides of the floor panel which is at the welding station, and a waiting position, spaced longitudinally from the work position,wherein when said locating gates are in their waiting position, they are able to receive and support the component elements of the sides of a body to be assembled,wherein when said locating gates are in their working position, they are able to move transversally with respect to the longitudinal direction of said rails, coming closer to each other until they reach an operative position immediately adjacent to the floor panel which is at the welding station,wherein said locating gates are provided with locating and locking means adapted to enter into operation when said gates are in said operative position for causing engagement of the component elements of the body sides carried by said gates and the floor panel which is at the welding station with each other, in order to keep them in a position proper for assembling the body, while said robots carry out a series of welding spots, andmeans for feeding the assembled body out of the welding station, and further wherein;

    said means for feeding the floor panels to the welding station and the means for feeding the assembled bodies out of the welding station are constituted by an overhead conveyor line, located at an elevated position relative to the welding station, and comprising a line portion upstream of the welding station, for conveying the floor panels to be assembled, and a line portion downstream of the welding station for conveying the assembled bodies, as well as by a lifting device provided with vertically movable supporting means, for picking up a floor panel from the overhead conveyor line and lowering it down to the welding station, where it is taken from said receiving and supporting means provided at the welding station, and then for lifting the assembled body from the welding station up to the overhead conveyor line,said programmable robots are able to carry out a number of welding spots for framing the body firstly, while the latter is being locked by the locating gates, and later on a number of a welding spots for completing welding, while the locating gates have already been disengaged from the body and have been returned to their waiting position, at which they are able to receive the component elements of the sides of a new body, simultaneously with the execution of said welding spots for completing welding of the body which is at the welding station, andwherein the assembly device is inserted in a line for production of motor-vehicle bodies of one version arranged in parallel with a main production line for production of bodies of other versions of the same model of motor-vehicle.

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