Systems and methods for mounting wheels to partially assembled vehicles in motion

A method for mounting wheels to a partially assembled vehicle in motion, said method comprising:

• transporting the partially assembled vehicle continuously forward through a work area by way of a conveying subsystem, said conveying subassemblies comprising carrier trolleys or hangers attached to a conveyor for movement along a fixed pathway of the conveyor, each of said carrier trolleys or hangers adapted to hold one of said partially assembled vehicles during travel through the work area;
• receiving, at a controller, data from a part sensor indicating entrance of the partially assembled vehicle into the work area;
• commanding, by way of the controller, a continuous velocity sensor to measure speed data for the partially assembled vehicle at the work area;
• receiving, at the controller, the speed data from the continuous velocity sensor;
• receiving, at the controller, image data from a first machine vision camera regarding wheel rim hole positions for a wheel located at a storage area;
• calculating, at the controller, a first set of offsets between the rim hole positions and expected rim hole positions using an artificial intelligence model;
• commanding, by way of the controller, a first robot to place one of the lug nuts at each of the rim hole positions in accordance with the first set of offsets;
• receiving, at the controller, data from a second machine vision camera image data regarding wheel hub position;
• calculating, at the controller, a second set of offsets between the wheel hub position and expected wheel hub position using the artificial intelligence model;
• commanding, by way of the controller, the first robot to place the wheel with the lug nuts at the hub of the partially assembled vehicle in accordance with the second set of offsets including by commanding, by the way of controller, the first robot to dynamically move in ways matching the speed and position of the partially assembled vehicle through the work area by one of the carrier trolleys or hangers such that the wheel is installed to the partially assembled vehicle while the partially assembled vehicle remains in motion along the conveyor;
• receiving, at the controller, inspection scan data from a third machine vision camera regarding actual position information for the installed wheel;
• and
• updating, at the controller, the artificial intelligence model in accordance with the inspection scan data.

A system for mounting wheels to a partially assembled vehicle in motion, said system comprising:

• a conveying subassembly for transporting the partially assembled vehicle through a work area, said conveying subassemblies comprising a conveyor and carrier trolleys or hangers attached to the conveyor for movement along a fixed track, each of said carrier trolleys or hangers adapted to hold one of said partially assembled vehicles during travel through the work area;
• a first set of robots configured to manipulate the wheels for the vehicle and dynamic travel through the work area alongside the conveying subassembly at a non-zero velocity such that the velocity of the first set of one or more robots can be made consistent with that of the carrying trolleys or hangers;
• a second set of robots configured to manipulate lug nuts for the wheels;
• a part sensor located at an entrance portion of the work area configured to detect the partially assembled vehicle within the work area;
• a continuous velocity sensor located at the entrance portion of the work area configured to measure velocity of the partially assembled vehicle at the work area;
• a machine vision system comprising:
• a first set of cameras positioned to view a storage area for the wheels;
• a second set of cameras positioned to view the entrance portion of the work area;
• and
• a third set of cameras positioned to view an exit area of the work area;
• and
• a controller in electronic communication with each of the first set of robots, the second set of robots, the part sensor, the continuous velocity sensor, and the machine vision system, said controller comprising software instructions which when executed, configure the controller to:
• receive data from the part sensor indicating entrance of the partially assembled vehicle to the work area, and subsequently command the continuous velocity sensor measure speed data for the partially assembled vehicle at the work area;
• receive image data from the first set of cameras regarding wheel rim hole positions for a set of the wheels to be installed to the partially assembled vehicle;
• calculate a first set of offsets between the rim hole positions of each of the set of wheels and expected rim hole positions for the wheels using an artificial intelligence model;
• command the second set of robots to place one of the lug nuts at each of the rim hole positions of each of the set of wheels in accordance with the first set of offsets;
• receive data from the second set of cameras regarding wheel hub positions of the partially assembled vehicle;
• calculate a second set of offsets between the wheel hub positions of the partially assembled vehicle and expected wheel hub position using the artificial intelligence model;
• command the first set of robots to place the set of wheels with the lug nuts at the hubs of the partially assembled vehicles in accordance with the second set of offsets by matching the speed and position of the partially assembled vehicle through the work area such that the set of wheels is installed while the partially assembled vehicle remains in motion;
• receive inspection scan data from the third set of one or more cameras regarding position of the set of wheels installed at the partially assembled vehicle;
• and
• update the artificial intelligence model in accordance with the inspection scan data;
• wherein the artificial intelligence model utilizes a multi-iterative, best fit, weighted vector analysis.