GB2075437A

GB2075437A - Equipment for assembling and conveying vehicle body shells

Info

Publication number: GB2075437A
Application number: GB8112498A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
Current assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
Priority date: 1980-04-25
Filing date: 1981-04-22
Publication date: 1981-11-18
Also published as: JPS56152542A; NZ196910A; GB2075437B; AU521694B2; JPS6138070B2; ZA812633B; AU6969781A

Abstract

The equipment comprises a base (2) on which the vehicle body shell is assembled from its sub-assemblies, a frame (9) disposed above the base (2) and adapted for holding the sub- assemblies in their assembled conditions, and a device (8, 8a) for lifting and conveying the frame. The base (2) is provided with a plurality of upright protrusions (3) adapted for engaging with drain holes in some of the sub-assemblies and at its front and rear regions with a plurality of posts (4, 5). The frame (9) can be set at a predetermined position with respect to the base (2) by means of the posts and has a plurality of means (11) for clamping together the edges of adjacent sub-assemblies while they are joined, e.g. by spot welding. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Equipment for assembling and conveying vehicle body shells This invention relates to equipment for assembling a vehicle body shell and for transporting the assembled body shell. Equipment in accordance with the present invention is particularly, although not exclusively suitable for small quantity production of vehicles such as a knock-down system.

Four-wheeled motor vehicles generally have a body constructed of a floor, a roof, side panels such as front side panels and center side panels at the right and left, a bulkhead, a dash board, front and rear wheel housings, a bonnet, doors, etc. The usual procedure for assembling these body parts, although subject to variation from model to model, is to weld together groups of the parts to form sub-assemblies on respective sub-assembly lines and then to bring these sub-assemblies together in the form of a vehicle body, thus obtaining the dimensional accuracy, and to spot weld the subassemblies together before being fully welded into a white body in the final step.

In the mass production technique, this assembly procedure principally includes two separate fabrication processes before the final step for separately obtaining a complete floor pan assembly and a main body assembly, thus requiring two separate process lines and thereby attaining the effect of mass production.

The same kind of procedure is often used even in small quantity production such ss in knockdown systems. This results in the disadvantage that the process lines and their associated facilities become less economical than is the case with mass production methods, both in financial terms and in terms of space. Moreover, where the assembly operation is performed by a comparatively small number of workers, all or some of them have to cover the separate process lines. Thus, an effective labour-saving is unattainable and consequently it is difficult to reduce the cost. As a result, vehicles fabricated by such a knock-down system tend to be expensive.

According to the present invention there is provided equipment for assembling and transporting a vehicle body shell, comprising: a base for assembling thereon a vehicle body shell from prefabricated sub-assemblies of said vehicle body shell, this base being provided thereon with a plurality of upright protrusions for engagement with drain holes in at least some of the subassemblies, the base being further provided in the region of its front and rear ends, with respect to a vehicle body shell thereon, with a plurality of posts; a frame being disposed above the base and adapted for engagement with the sub-assemblies to hold them in position, this frame being fixable in a predetermined position with respect to the base by means of the posts; clamping means being provided on the frame for holding together edge regions of adjacent sub-assemblies of the vehicle body shell, and means being provided for conveying said frame.

Using equipment in accordance with the present invention, the assembly of a vehicle body can be done in a single stage without the necessity of dividing this into two stages, thereby enabling an improvement of working efficiency, simplification of equipment and facilities. and effective labour saving as well as a simplification of the structure of the assembly equipment and the rationalization of conveyor systems, thus resulting in that a substantial cost reduction can be achieved in a small quantity production of vehicles such as a knock-down system.

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:~ Figure 1 is a side view of equipment for assembling the body shell of a motor vehicle; Figure 2 is a plan view of the equipment shown in Figure 1; Figures 3 to 5 each illustrate an example of a clamp suitable for use in the equipment of Figures 1 and 2; Figure 6 is a scrap view showing a body panel positioned on the equipment; and Figures 7 to 9 are scrap views showing clamping methods at junctions between various body panels.

In the equipment shown in Figures 1 and 2, a base 2 is supported above a foundation floor 1 by legs 2a, and pins 3 are mounted upright on the base 2 in predetermined positions by use of respective bases 3a. The positions of the pins 3 depend on the vehicle model, and are such that the pins 3 fit in and retain drain holes formed in front, main and rear floor panels W1.

On the base 2 there are mounted upright posts 4 on both sides of the front portion of the base 2 and posts 5 on both sides of the rear portion thereof, the front posts 4 being positioned so as to pass vertically through an engine compartment at the front of the vehicle body shell. At corresponding sides of the upper portions of the posts 4 and 5 there are attached clamps 4a and 5a of an open-close type by means of respective supports 14 and 15, and at the upper ends of the posts 4 and 5 there are formed respective engaging portions 4b and 5b adapted to cooperate with engaging portions 9g and 9h as will be described later. The clamps 4a and 5a, may comprise known mechanisms such as, for example, those illustrated in Figures 3 to 5. Figure 3 shows a toggle clamp and the Figures 4 and 5 show variable clamps.At a position between the ends of each rear post 5, there is provided an adjustable abutment 5c. Mounted upright on the front end portion of the base 2 are support pillars 6, each of which is provided at its upper end with a rocking clamp 6a and at a position between its ends with an adjustable abutment 6b of the same structure as the abutment 5c.

Above the base 2 there is an overhead rail 7, and an assembly frame 9 is suspended by a hook 8a from a winch 8 which can travel along the rail 7. The frame 9 comprises a body 9a having a pair of longitudinal members 9b extending parallel to the length of the base 2, a pair of cross members 9c extending between the longitudinal members 9b, and a hanger member 9d engaged by the hook 8a, the hanger member 9d being X-shaped in plan. Front and rear extension members 9e, 9f extend obliquely downwards respectively to the front and to the rear from respective front and rear lower portions of the longitudinal members 9b of the body 9a. The parts of the frame 9 may be formed from channel section bar, angle bar, a prismatic member of a box-like section or a cylindrical member, and are secured together by welding or the like.At respective ends of the front and rear extension member 9e and 9f there are fixed the engaging portions 99 and 9h referred to above. The pair of front engaging portions 9g and the pair of rear engaging portions 9h are respectively connected with each other by a cross member 9i and 9j, thereby enhancing the rigidity of the structure. The longitudinal members 9b of the body 9a are provided near their front and rear ends with hangers 10 and a plurality of clamps 1 1 adapted to be slidable and position-adjustable along the longitudinal members 9b. Likewise, the extension members 9e and 9f are also provided with clamps 1 1.

The assembly and subsequent conveying of a vehicle body shell using the equipment of Figures 1 and 2 will now be described. The body shell W will be assembled from floor panels W1, front side panels W2, main side panels W3, a rear panel W4, a roof panel W5 and front panel W6 which will have been prefabricated separately. First, the front, main and rear floor panels W1 are set in position on the case 2 using the pins 3. The front panel W6 and the rear panel W4 are clamped in position by the clamps 6a, 6b of the stem 6 and the clamps 5c of the posts 5, respectively, and the front and main side panels W2 and W3 of the vehicle are disposed at the sides.Then the assembly frame 9, suspended from the rail 7, is conveyed above the base 2 and positioned by bringing the engaging portions 99, 9h on both sides at the front and rear into engagement with their mating engaging portions 4b, 5b of the posts 4, 5 so that the engaging portions 99 and 9h are set and held at their predetermined positions above the base 2 by means of the clamps 4a and 5a, respectively.

Before the setting of the frame 9, the roof panel W5 is spanned over the side panels W3 and the rear panel W4, and respective joint portions between the side panels W2 and W3, between the rear panel W4 and the side panels W3 and the roof panel Ws, and between the rear panel W4 and the roof panel W5 are all clamped by the clamps 1 1, thereby provisionally holding the panels together in the form of the vehicle body shell as a whole.

The clamping methods for those joint portions are exemplified in Figures 7, 8 and 9. Each panel W is provided at its joint edges with a flange portion W8 to be clamped by the clamp 11 or otherwise held under pressure. Figure 6 shows a head 3b of one of the pins 3 fitted and positioned in a respective drain hole W7 formed in one of the floor panels W,.

In this way, all of the panels provisionally assembled into the vehicle body shell are held on the single base 2 by the frame 9 and are tacked together at the joints by spot welding to the extent that the constituent panels are held together sufficiently rigidly for the shell to remain in one piece when removed from the base 2.

After the spot welding, the clamps 4a and 5a are released and the engaging portions 9g and > 9h of the frame 9 become free from the posts 4 and 5, respectively. Then the hangers 10 are hooked to edges of window frame W9 of the spot welded vehicle body shell W, and the frame 9 is raised by the winch 8 with the hook 8a. Before this lifting operation, the clamps 6a, 6b and 5c are released, leaving the body shell supported on the pins 3 fitting in the drain holes formed in the floor panels W1. The vehicle body shell W can thus be raised off the base 2 by the frame 9 and conveyed to the next step for a complete welding operation to obtain a white body.

As will be appreciated from the foregoing description, prefabricated panels of a vehicle body shell can be spot welded together in a single stage without requiring two stages, unlike the prior art.

This makes it possible to achieve improved working efficiency, simplification of operation and labour saving. Furthermore, since the assembling operation is performed at a single place, an economical utilization of space and equipment is achieved. Still more, the equipment is simple and easy to handle, and these advantages greatly contribute to the cost reduction and rationalization in small quantity production such as a knock-down system. Yet more, since the frame itself serves as to convey the completed body shell, the provision of only a single apparatus permits the movement of the following step white continuing operation, and this leads to great advantages such as the simplification and rationalization of equipment and a further improvement of working efficiency.

Claims

1. Equipment for assembling and transporting a vehicle body shell, comprising: a base for assembling thereon a vehicle body shell from prefabricated sub-assemblies of said vehicle body shell, this base being provided thereon with a plurality of upright protrusions for engagement with drain holes in at least some of the sub-assemblies, the base being further provided in the region of its front and rear ends, with respect to a vehicle body shell thereon, with a plurality of posts; a frame being disposed above the base and adapted for engagement with the sub-assemblies to hold them in position, this frame being fixable in a predetermined position with respect to the base by means of the posts; clamping means being provided on the frame for holding together edge regions of adjacent sub-assemblies of the vehicle body shell, and means being provided for conveying said frame.

2. Equipment as claimed in claim 1, in which securing means is provided for removably securing the frame to the base.

3. Equipment as claimed in claim 2, in which the securing means is provided at upper ends of the posts.

4. Equipment as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the frame is further provided with means for suspending the assembled vehicle body shell.

5. Equipment as claimed in claim 4, in which the suspending means is displaceable along the frame.

6. Equipment as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, in which the clamping means is displaceable along the frame.

7. Equipment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the frame includes means for cooperating with the frame conveying means.

8. Equipment for assembling and transporting a vehicle body shell substantially as described herein with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.