Patent Application
20090235846
The present invention relates generally to pallets for assembly plants, and more specifically to a reconfigurable pallet.
During assembly of vehicles in an assembly plant individual components must be supported prior to installation in the vehicle. In the case of heavy or bulky components it may be necessary or desirable to support these components in a specific configuration which facilitates installation of the component into the vehicle. For example, it may be desirable to support the component in an orientation which corresponds to its in-vehicle orientation and in a manner which enables access to locations, such as boltholes, used to attach the component to the vehicle.
An example of this is a vehicle engine or powertrain (i.e. engine plus transmission), where engine and powertrain specific support structures are used for the purpose of presenting the engine or powertrain to the vehicle body in a manner which facilitates attachment of the engine or powertrain to the vehicle body.
Commonly, customers may be offered various hardware options, such as engines or powertains, with a specific vehicle body. Hence, to meet the need described above, multiple support structures must be employed each of which will be specific to a single hardware option or component version and which will be incapable of being used for other options. Frequently, for convenience and to ensure their strength and rigidity, these support structures are mounted on a platform. Together the support structure and the platform to which is attached constitute a pallet. As a result, a unique pallet is required for each version of the component associated with the assembly line.
A pallet that can be reconfigured to support multiple versions of a component associated with an assembly line is desired.
A pallet of the present invention includes a platform and a plurality of support assemblies located at multiple positions on the platform. One support assembly is associated with each support location of the component. The support assemblies each include a support element and a plurality of bases, one base for each version of the component to be supported.
The support element is positioned in the desired base. An interface on the base for receiving a footing of the support element places the support element in the desired location. The support element includes a locator. Once positioned in the base, the locator corresponds to a predetermined location on the component which has a mount for alignment. The height of the interface places the locator at the appropriate height for the mount of that version of the component.
The support element is constrained by several linkage assemblies. Each linkage assembly has a foundation secured to the platform. A first arm is rotatably connected to the foundation with a locking joint and a second arm is rotatably connected to the first arm with a free joint. A locking mechanism is associated with the locking joint to selectively prevent rotation of the first arm about a first axis. Securing the locking mechanism prevents movement of the first arm relative to the foundation. An aperture for receiving the support element is defined by the second arm.
Once the footing for the support element is received by the interface of the base and the locking mechanism for each linkage assembly is secured, the location of the support element is fixed. However, the support element is still free to slideably move within the aperture. Gravity and weight of the component restrict the support element from moving during pallet usage.
To configure the support assembly for another version of the component the locking mechanisms are both released. The footing is moved from the interface of the current base to the interface of another. The locking mechanisms are again secured to fix the support element in position.
The linkage assemblies allow the pallet to quickly and easily be reconfigured by a single operator. Configuring a single pallet to be used with multiple versions of a component on an assembly line reduces costs.
The above features and advantages, and other features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and best modes for carrying out the present invention when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.
Referring to the Figures, wherein like reference numbers refer to the same or similar components throughout the several views,
The pallet 10 includes a platform 12 and a plurality of support assemblies 14 located at multiple positions on the platform 12. As shown, four support assemblies 14a-d are located one at each corner 16 of the platform 12. One support assembly 14 is associated with each support location for the component. The number and location of the support assemblies 14 is determined by the design and type of the component to be supported. An x, y and z direction are defined by the pallet 10. Each support assembly 14a-d is located at a specific x-y-z coordinate as described below.
The support element 18 includes a locator 22 along an end 24, as shown. The locator 22 corresponds to a predetermined location on the component which has a mount for alignment with the locator 22. The locator 22 is positioned at a specific location and height to correspond to the component mount. In the embodiment shown, the locator 22 is a pin that could correspond to a female receptacle defined by the component at the mount. For example, the component is an engine and a pin receiver is positioned on the engine at the component mount location. Alternately, the locator 22 may be a support plane that corresponds to a plane on the component at the mount. Other arrangements may be used for the locator 22, such as, a female receptacle defined by the locator 22 and a male coupling on the component at the mount.
The support element 18 is positioned in the desired base 20, in this instance base 20c. The support element 18 has a footing 26. The footing 26 is received by the desired base 20c. In the embodiment shown, the multiple bases 20a-c each have an interface 28 for receiving the footing 26. The interface 28 places the support element 18 in the desired x-y coordinate location. The interface height HI of the desired base 20c places the locator pin 22 at the appropriate component height HC for that version of the component. Therefore, each base 20a-c is associated with a specific x-y-z coordinate appropriate to the version of the component being supported on the pallet 10 by the base 20a-c.
The support element 18 is constrained by several linkage assemblies 30. The linkage assemblies 30 guide and support the support element 18 and ensure that there are no loose parts associated with the pallet 10 to prevent dropping of parts during pallet reconfiguration. Each linkage assembly 30 has a foundation 32 secured to the platform 12. A first arm 34 is rotatably connected to the foundation 32 with a locking joint 36. A second arm 38 is rotatably connected to the first arm 34 with a free joint 40. An aperture 42 for receiving the support element 18 is defined by the second arm 38 and is positioned remotely from the free joint 40. The support element 18 can freely rotate and slide in the z-direction when located within the aperture 42.
The locking joint 36 rotatably connects the first arm 34 to the foundation 32. The first arm 34 rotates about a first axis 44 that is oriented in the z-direction. A locking mechanism 46 is associated with the locking joint 36 to prevent rotation of the first arm 34 about the first axis 44. Securing the locking mechanism 46 prevents movement of the first arm 34 relative to the foundation 32 and thus, to the platform 12.
The free joint 40 rotatably connects the second arm 38 with the first arm 34. The second arm 38 rotates about a second axis 48 that is also oriented in the z-direction, and is parallel to the first axis 44. The x-y coordinate location of the second axis 48 may be changed by rotating the first arm 34 about the first axis 44, when the locking mechanism 46 is not secured. Once the locking mechanism 46 is secured, the x-y coordinate location of the second axis 48 is fixed.
The support element 18 rotates within the aperture 42 about a third axis 50 that is oriented in the z-direction and parallel to the first and second axes 44 and 48. The x-y coordinate location of the third axis 50 may be changed by rotating the second arm 38 about the second axis 48. Both linkage assemblies 30 are arranged in the manner described, as depicted in
To configure the support assembly 14a for another version of the component the locking mechanisms 46 are both released. The footing 26 is moved from the interface 28 of base 20c to the interface 28 of base 20a or 20b, as desired, and the support element 18 is moved within aperture 42 for vertical adjustment. The locking mechanisms 46 are again secured to fix the support element 18 in position.
To reconfigure the entire pallet 10 this is repeated for each of the support assemblies 14a-d located on the pallet 10. To ensure proper positioning of the support element 18 for each of the support assemblies 14a-d the bases 20 may be colored or numbered alike for each version of the component. That is, base 20a of support assembly 14a has a matching color to a similar base 20a of each of the support assemblies 14b-d on the pallet 10. Base 20b of support assembly 14a would have another color matching each similar base 20b of each of the support assemblies 14b-d and base 20c of support assembly 14a would have a third color matching each similar base 20c of each of the support assemblies 14b-d. Positioning the footings 26 for each support assembly 14a-d with similarly colored bases 20 to one another would ensure that the locators 22 are in the proper location for each version of the component. For example, the component is an engine and each version of the engine would have a color associated therewith. All of the bases 20 utilized to support that engine version would be the associated color.
Additionally, the bases 20a-c for each support assembly 14a-d may have different interface heights HI than one another. That is, the interface height HI for the base 20a of the support assembly 14a may differ from the interface height of the base 20a of the support assembly 14b which differs from the interface height of the base 20a of the support assemblies 14c and 14d. The interface height HI for the bases 20a-c is determined by the component mount requirement at each support assembly 14a-d location for that version of the component.
Although several embodiments of locking mechanisms 46 are disclosed, other locking mechanisms 46 which would selectively prevent relative rotational movement between the foundation 32 and the first arm 34 may be utilized. Devices such as those utilizing friction elements, screws/pins, spring loads, etc., are known in the art for preventing relative movement between two elements and would be applicable as locking mechanisms 46.
In the above embodiments an example of the component to be supported is an engine. This is in no way meant to be restrictive and other components may be utilized with the reconfigurable pallet of the present invention.
While the best modes for carrying out the invention have been described in detail, those familiar with the art to which this invention relates will recognize various alternative designs and embodiments for practicing the invention within the scope of the appended claims.
