Robotic assembly of vehicle headliners
AssigneeGeneral Motors Corporation
InventorsEdward C. Hess, Edward Trevino
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method is disclosed of using a robot with a single fixture to install a headliner in a vehicle body on an assembly line wherein both the configuration of the vehicle body and the material and/or color as well as the configuration of the headliner vary and are combined at an assembly station.
Claims2
A method of using a robot to install a headliner in a vehicle body on an assembly line wherein both the configuration of the vehicle body and the material and/or color as well as the configuration of the headliner vary and are combined at an assembly station comprising the steps of:
- forming all the various vehicle bodies and headliners with common sunshade accommodating holes,
- providing an arm of the robot with a fixture having locators corresponding to the sunshade accommodating holes in the vehicle bodies and headliners,
- sequentially conveying the vehicle bodies relative to the robot,
- coordinating and sequentially conveying the headliners relative to the robot so as to correspond in a prescribed matchup with the vehicles bodies approaching the robot,
- having the robot arm pick up, support and hold a preselected headliner by the fixture locators engaging in the sunshade accommodating holes in the headliner,
- having the robot arm with the headliner supported thereon enter a preselected headlinerless vehicle body through its windshield opening and extend beneath its ceiling,
- having the robot arm with the headliner supported thereon locate and also engage the fixture locators in the sunshade accommodating holes in the vehicle body, and
- having the robot arm move the supported and located headliner thereon into position against the vehicle body ceiling for affixing thereto.
A method of using a robot to install a headliner in a vehicle body on an assembly line wherein both the configuration of the vehicle body and the material and/or color as well as the configuration of the headliner vary and are selectively combined at an assembly station comprising the steps of:
- forming all the various vehicle bodies and headliners with a pair of common sunshade accommodating holes,
- providing an arm of the robot with a fixture having a pair of locators corresponding to the sunshade accommodating holes in the vehicle bodies and headliners,
- sequentially conveying the vehicle bodies to and from the robot,
- coordinating and sequentially conveying the headliners to the robot so as to correspond in a prescribed matchup with the vehicles bodies approaching the robot,
- having the robot arm pick up, support and hold the leading headliner by the fixture locators engaging in the sunshade accommodating holes in the headliner,
- having the robot arm with the headliner supported thereon enter the leading headlinerless vehicle body through its windshield opening and extend beneath its ceiling,
- having the robot arm with the headliner supported thereon locate and also engage the fixture locators in the sunshade accommodating holes in the vehicle body, and
- having the robot arm move the supported and located headliner thereon into position against the vehicle body ceiling and effect pressurized affixing thereto.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.