Claims
- 1. A computer program for use in a workpiece riveting process, the program being operated according to the steps comprising:
(a) recalling data about a joint to be riveted; (b) determining if a rivet is located in a riveting tool; (c) sending a signal to feed a rivet to the riveting tool if step (b) is negative; (d) energizing an actuator of the riveting tool to advance the rivet; (e) measuring workpiece thickness; (f) determining if the workpiece thickness is acceptable, and if not, stopping the riveting process; (g) determining a rivet size characteristic, and if unacceptable, stopping the riveting process; and (h) determining the force used to join the workpieces by the rivet, and if unacceptable, stopping the riveting process.
- 2. The program of claim 1 further comprising sending an error signal if an unacceptable condition is determined.
- 3. The program of claim 1 further comprising storing determined values and displaying historical trends between riveting process cycles.
- 4. The program of claim 1 further comprising determining which rivet should be fed to the riveting tool from multiple different rivet options.
- 5. The program of claim 1 wherein the actuator is an electric motor, further comprising causing rotation of a portion of the electric motor which linearly drives a rivet punch.
- 6. Computer software for use in a workpiece riveting process having a rivet and a riveting tool with an electric motor, the software being operated according to the steps comprising:
(a) energizing the electric motor of the riveting tool and advancing the rivet; (b) determining thickness of a workpiece; (c) determining if the workpiece thickness is acceptable, and if not, altering the riveting process; (d) determining a rivet characteristic, and if unacceptable, stopping the riveting process; and (e) determining the force needed to join workpieces by the rivet, and if unacceptable, stopping the riveting process.
- 7. The software of claim 6 further comprising sending an error signal if an unacceptable condition is determined.
- 8. The software of claim 6 further comprising storing determined values and displaying historical trends between riveting process cycles.
- 9. The software of claim 6 further comprising determining which rivet should be fed to the riveting tool from multiple different rivet options.
- 10. The software of claim 6 wherein the rivet characteristic is rivet size.
- 11. The software of claim 6 further comprising causing rotation of a portion of the electric motor which linearly drives a rivet punch.
- 12. Computer software for use in a workpiece riveting process having workpieces, a rivet, a riveting tool, a rivet feeder and an electronic control unit, the software being operated according to the steps comprising:
(a) determining if the rivet is located in the riveting tool; (b) sending a signal to feed the rivet to the riveting tool if step (a) is negative; (c) energizing an actuator of the riveting tool to advance the rivet; (d) measuring the thickness of at least one of the workpieces; (e) determining if the thickness is acceptable; (f) determining a size characteristic of the rivet; and (g) determining the force used to join the workpieces by the rivet.
- 13. The software of claim 12 wherein the actuator is an electric motor, further comprising deenergizing the electric motor if an unacceptable condition is determined.
- 14. The software of claim 12 further comprising sending an error signal if an unacceptable condition is determined.
- 15. The software of claim 12 further comprising storing determined values and displaying historical trends between riveting process cycles.
- 16. The software of claim 12 further comprising determining which rivet should be fed to the riveting tool from multiple different rivet options.
- 17. The software of claim 12 further comprising causing rotation of the actuator which linearly drives the rivet into the workpieces in a self-piercing manner.
- 18. A computer program for use in a riveting process employing a self-piercing rivet, a joint, and a riveting tool having an electric motor, a transmission, a punch and a die, the program being operated according to the steps comprising:
(a) recalling data about the joint to be riveted; (b) energizing the electric motor and converting rotary motion of the motor to linear motion in the transmission operably driven by the motor; (c) linearly advancing the self-piercing rivet in response to step (b); (d) determining a riveted characteristic of at least one of: (i) the self-piercing rivet and (ii) the joint; and (e) comparing the determined riveted characteristic of step (d) with the data of step (a).
- 19. The program of claim 18 further comprising receiving a signal from a sensor located in the riveting tool indicating the riveted characteristic.
- 20. The program of claim 19 wherein the riveted characteristic indicates the thickness of at least two workpieces riveted together by the self-piercing rivet.
- 21. The program of claim 18 further comprising deenergizing the electric motor to prevent the self-piercing rivet from directly contacting against the die when the rivet is in a substantially optimum workpiece-engaging position between the punch and the die.
- 22. The program of claim 18 wherein the riveted characteristic indicates the length of the rivet.
- 23. The program of claim 18 wherein the riveted characteristic indicates the quality of the riveted joint.
- 24. The program of claim 18 wherein the riveted characteristic indicates the quantity of force applied by the punch.
- 25. The program of claim 18 further comprising receiving a signal responsive to a force applied by a clamp linearly advancing at least partially with the punch, to a workpiece being riveted.
- 26. The program of claim 18 further comprising deenergizing the electric motor and sending an error signal if an undesirable riveted characteristic is determined.
- 27. The program of claim 18 further comprising allowing the riveting tool to operate in a subsequent riveting cycle if an acceptable riveted characteristic is determined.
- 28. The program of claim 18 further comprising causing a robot to move the riveting tool.
- 29. The program of claim 18 further comprising determining the actual torque of the electric motor and comparing the actual torque to a desired torque.
- 30. The program of claim 18 further comprising determining the actual speed of the electric motor and comparing the actual speed to a desired speed.
- 31. The program of claim 18 further comprising determining the actual electrical power characteristic of the electric motor and comparing the actual electrical power characteristic to a desired electrical power characteristic.
- 32. The program of claim 18 wherein the riveted characteristic indicates a rivet punch assembly location.
- 33. The program of claim 18 wherein the riveted characteristic indicates the thickness of workpieces to be joined.
- 34. The program of claim 18 further comprising storing determined values and displaying historical trends between riveting process cycles.
- 35. The program of claim 18 further comprising determining which rivet should be fed to the riveting tool from multiple different rivet options.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/358,751, filed on Jul. 21, 1999, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/119,255, filed on Jul. 20,1998.
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09358751 |
Jul 1999 |
US |
Child |
09824872 |
Apr 2001 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09119255 |
Jul 1998 |
US |
Child |
09358751 |
Jul 1999 |
US |