Automated assembly line
First Claim
1. Assembly line for electronics industry, said assembly line comprising a number of pallets (1) fitted to receive components of a product to be assembled, each pallet being provided with an RF-tag (2) containing stored information about the product being assembled;
- a main conveyor (3) constructed in the shape of an endless loop and fitted to convey the pallets (1);
assembly work stations (4;
41,42, 43 . . . ) disposed along the main conveyor for receiving pallets from the main conveyor and carrying out assembly work operations on the product on the pallet in the framework of the working area (5) of the work station, each one of said assembly work stations being provided with a reading device (6) for reading the contents of the RF-tag before execution of the operation and a data processing apparatus for controlling the assembly work station on the basis of the data read from the RF-tag so as to cause the work station to execute a number of predetermined assembly operations, such as placing a component on at least one of the product or the pallet, wherein the assembly line comprises an automatic storage system (7) disposed in a vicinity of an assembly work station (4), said automatic storage system comprising a number of storage devices (8), and transfer means (9) disposed between the storage devices and the assembly work station for supplying a predetermined component from a predetermined storage device to the working area of the work station on the basis of the data read from the RF-tag, the transfer means (9) including a component conveyor (11) extending from a vicinity of the storage device (8) to the working area (5) of the assembly work station (4).
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An assembly line comprising a number of pallets (1) carrying electronic components for assembly, provided with individual RF-tags (2) containing stored product information, a main conveyor (3) in the shape of an endless loop, conveying pallets (1); assembly stations (4) spaced along the main conveyor. Each station is equipped with a reading device (6) for reading the RF-tags and a data processing apparatus controlling the work station operations, depending on the data read off the RF-tag; an automatic storage system (7) placed in the vicinity of workstations (4) comprising a number of storage devices (8), as well as transfer means (9) feeding pre-selected components from a pre-selected storage device to the assembly stations.
41 Citations
9 Claims
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1. Assembly line for electronics industry, said assembly line comprising a number of pallets (1) fitted to receive components of a product to be assembled, each pallet being provided with an RF-tag (2) containing stored information about the product being assembled;
- a main conveyor (3) constructed in the shape of an endless loop and fitted to convey the pallets (1);
assembly work stations (4;
41,42, 43 . . . ) disposed along the main conveyor for receiving pallets from the main conveyor and carrying out assembly work operations on the product on the pallet in the framework of the working area (5) of the work station, each one of said assembly work stations being provided with a reading device (6) for reading the contents of the RF-tag before execution of the operation and a data processing apparatus for controlling the assembly work station on the basis of the data read from the RF-tag so as to cause the work station to execute a number of predetermined assembly operations, such as placing a component on at least one of the product or the pallet, wherein the assembly line comprises an automatic storage system (7) disposed in a vicinity of an assembly work station (4), said automatic storage system comprising a number of storage devices (8), and transfer means (9) disposed between the storage devices and the assembly work station for supplying a predetermined component from a predetermined storage device to the working area of the work station on the basis of the data read from the RF-tag, the transfer means (9) including a component conveyor (11) extending from a vicinity of the storage device (8) to the working area (5) of the assembly work station (4). - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
- a main conveyor (3) constructed in the shape of an endless loop and fitted to convey the pallets (1);
Specification