Apparatuses and processes for working on a part
AssigneesAirbus Operations GmbH, Airbus Operations S.L.U.
InventorsChace Fadlovich, Michael Woogerd, Eric Pospisil, Mike Grimstad, Joseph Berry, Juan Francisco Garcia Amado
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus for performing operations on a part, and in particular on the fuselage of an aircraft. The apparatus utilizes movable arches which carry an and effector and which move along a track fixed to a structure. Additional, fixed arches are positioned at specific longitudinal positions and when the movable arches are aligned with the fixed arches, the end effector may move from the movable arch to the fixed arch.
Claims19
An apparatus for performing an operation on a part, the apparatus comprising:
- a track extending in direction parallel with a longitudinal axis of the part;
- a first arch mounted to the track, the first arch configured to move along the track to a longitudinal position;
- at least one end effector associated with the first arch, the at least one end effector configured to move circumferentially around the longitudinal axis of the part;
- a means for moving the first arch, the means for moving mounted to as to move with the first arch, and
- a second arch mounted to the track in a fixed longitudinal position, wherein the end effector is configured to move from the first arch to the second arch when the first arch is positioned at the fixed longitudinal position.
A process for performing an operation on a part, the process comprising:
- moving a first arch, which is mounted to a track, along the track to a desired longitudinal position, the track extending in a direction parallel with a longitudinal axis of the part, wherein the desired longitudinal position coincides with a second arch which is mounted to the track and is fixed longitudinally relative to the desired longitudinal position on the track;
- and,
- moving at least one end effector circumferentially around the longitudinal axis of the part from the first arch to the second arch, wherein the at least one end effector is associated with the first arch, and is configured to move from the first arch to the second arch when the first arch is positioned at the fixed longitudinal position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.