Apparatus and method for assembling multi-component objects
AssigneeI.M.A. Industria Macchine Automatiche S.P.A.
InventorsAlessandro CARAPIA, Pierluigi CASTELLARI
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method to produce multi-component objects, including a first component and a second component assembled to it, provides to feed the first component to a loading station, to feed the second component to the same loading station and then to assemble them so as to produce the multi-component object.
Claims12
Assembly apparatus for assembling together at least one first component and at least one second component in order to make up a multi-component object, wherein said apparatus comprises at least:
- a first loading station configured for loading said components,
- an unloading station configured for unloading said multi-component object,
- an intermediate second loading station disposed between said first loading station and said unloading station;
- a first conveyor member mobile along a ring-shaped path which passes through said stations;
- first support means integral with said first conveyor member in order to temporarily and selectively support at least one of said first components and second components, wherein said first support means are divided into two groups disposed on said first conveyor member on opposite sides along said path, so that when a first group of said two groups is located in correspondence with said first loading station, a second group of said two groups is located in correspondence with said unloading station;
- first actuation means connected to said first conveyor member in order to make said first actuation means advance selectively along said path;
- said assembly apparatus it further comprising:
- a second conveyor member substantially the same as and overlapping with said first conveyor member;
- second support means integral with said second conveyor member in order to temporarily and selectively support at least one of said first components and second components, wherein said second support means are divided into two groups disposed on said second conveyor member on opposite sides and angularly offset along said path with respect to said first support means;
- second actuation means connected to said second conveyor member in order to make said second actuation means advance selectively along said path;
- and
- control means, connected to said first actuation means and to said second actuation means in order to selectively command them so that said first and second conveyor members move independently one with respect to the other along said path.
Assembly method to assemble together at least one first component and at least one second component in order to make up a multi-component object, by means of an assembly apparatus comprising at least a loading first station for loading said components, an unloading station for unloading said multi-component object, and an intermediate second loading station disposed between said first loading station and said unloading station, so that it can receive said at least one second component in order to join it to said at least one first component;
- said method comprising:
- providing a first conveyor member mobile along a closed path which passes through said three stations;
- providing first support means integral with said first conveyor member so that said first support means temporarily and selectively support at least one of said first components and second components, wherein said first support means are divided into two groups disposed on said first conveyor member on opposite sides along said path, so that when a first group of said two groups is located in correspondence with said first loading station, a second group of said two groups is located in correspondence with said unloading station;
- providing first actuation means connected to said first conveyor member in order to make said first actuation means advance selectively along said path;
- providing a second conveyor member substantially the same as and overlapping with said first conveyor member;
- providing second support means integral with said second conveyor member so that said second support means temporarily and selectively support at least one of said first components and second components, wherein said second support means are divided into two groups disposed on said second conveyor member on opposite sides and angularly offset along said path with respect to said first support means;
- providing second actuation means connected to said second conveyor member in order to make said second actuation means advance selectively along said path;
- and
- providing control means, connected to said first actuation means and to said second actuation means in order to selectively command them so that said first and second conveyor members move independently one with respect to the other along said path.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.