Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Transport device for a motor vehicle or a partially assembled motor vehicle
during the
production process
This invention relates to a transport device for a motor vehicle or a
partially assembled motor
vehicle during the production process. The transport device is configured to
receive the motor
vehicle or partially assembled motor vehicle, which is conveyable by means of
the transport
device to the various work stations. The transport device has a continuous and
contact-free power
supply during the production process.
Transport devices of this kind are known. Diirr Automation GmbH in Stuttgart
offers a system of
this kind, in which various kinds of transport devices can be supplied with
electrical energy. This
system, known as "MOVITRANSTM", is offered, for example, in the 2003/2004
catalogue
(available from Diirr Automation GmbH). The system permits the wired, yet
contact-free transfer
of power and information to the individual, movable transport devices.
Transport devices include
the vehicle suspension units in overhead rail conveyance systems as well as
skillet conveyors and
so-called AGVs (automated guide vehicle systems). The transport devices are
configured to
receive vehicles or partially assembled vehicles during the production
process, the vehicles or
partially assembled vehicles being conveyed by means of these transport
devices to the various
work stations along the assembly line. At these work stations, the vehicles or
partially assembled
vehicles undergo tests and/or further assembly operations. The MOVITRANS
system is
described, for example, on pages 22 and 23 of Durr Automation GmbH's 2003/2004
product
catalogue.
The object of this invention is to propose a means for the flexible testing
and configuration of
vehicles during the production process.
This object is established according to the invention by providing the
transport device with a
terminal for supplying power to the on-board electrical system of the motor
vehicle or partially
assembled motor vehicle to be conveyed by the transport device, the on-board
electrical system of
the motor vehicle or partially assembled motor vehicle being connectable to
said terminal, and
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said terminal being supplied with electrical energy via the transport device's
contact-free power
supply.
The advantage of this is that the vehicle's on-board voltage is already
available during the
production process, which means that the vehicle's electrical and electronic
components (e.g.
controllers in the vehicle) can already be tested - in particular for their
proper working order -
during the production process.
It is to advantage that power is supplied via an already existent system, with
which a "circulating"
power supply for the production hall and, in particular, the movable transport
devices therein is
organised, so that no additional contacts, rails and sliding contacts are
needed for the external
power supply to the vehicle or partially assembled vehicle.
The on-board voltage is still available after the vehicle has passed through
the work station at
which the vehicle's battery is installed and connected up. Thanks to this
invention, tests
performed on the electrical components do not draw on the battery, thus
preventing any
significant discharging during the production process.
This is of particular benefit in view of the increasing number of electrical
components in vehicles
and the resulting increase in the number of tests that are necessary. The fact
that the vehicle can
already be supplied externally with the on-board voltage while the vehicle is
still in the transport
device has the advantage that electrical components can already be tested
during the production
process.
Of particular benefit is the fact that tests can be performed as soon as all
the necessary
components for the given function packages have been fitted and connected up
at the work
stations concerned. If faults are detected and the necessary corrective
measures are not excessive,
these faults can advantageously be ironed out at the work station in question.
This obviates the
necessity of removing the vehicle from the assembly line for purposes of
corrective action.
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In another embodiment, the terminal can be activated and deactivated by a
control unit.
The advantage of this is that the on-board electrical system can be de-
energized if this is
necessary to ensure employee safety or to avoid damage to electrical
components during assembly
work at any one work station. Once the assembly work in question has been
completed, the
external power supply can be reactivated.
In yet another embodiment, the control unit is a centralised host computer.
The information transfer to the transport device may be realised by means of a
local network.
This may be effected, for example, by means of the MOVITRANS system described
under the
prior art. When the transport device approaches certain work stations, the
host computer may thus
specify that the terminal on the transport device be deactivated, thus
interrupting the external
power supply to the vehicle.
In a further embodiment, the control unit is a mobile control unit that can be
attached removably
to the transport device or to the motor vehicle or partially assembled motor
vehicle being
conveyed by the transport device; power can be supplied to said mobile control
unit via the
transport device.
It is practical that the mobile control unit can also be supplied with power
via the on-board
system, independently of the terminal on the transport device. This means that
the mobile control
unit can still be supplied with power even if the external power supply to the
vehicle has been
deactivated. The mobile control unit thus remains fully functional even if the
external power
supply to the vehicle is interrupted.
As an alternative to or in addition to having the mobile control unit activate
and deactivate the
external power supply to the vehicle, provision may be made for the
centralised host computer to
activate and deactivate the external power supply to the vehicle.
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If the external power supply can not be activated and deactivated by the
centralised host computer
but only by the mobile control unit, this function is a decentralised
function.
If the external power supply can be activated and deactivated by both the host
computer and the
mobile control unit, it is possible, for example, for the host computer to
initially deactivate the
external power supply as a work station is approached, so that the necessary
assembly operations
can be performed. Once these assembly operations have been completed, which
can be
established, for example, by way of an appropriate dialogue between the
assembly worker and the
mobile control unit, the mobile control unit can reactivate the external power
supply so that, for
example, the necessary functional tests can be performed on the components
just fitted.
In yet another embodiment, the mobile control unit can be linked up to a
diagnostic connector in
the vehicle.
This makes it possible, for example, for the mobile control unit to learn,
prior to the production
process, which function package is to be realised in the vehicle to be
produced. The software for
the controllers needed in the vehicle for these functions can then be loaded
from the mobile
control unit via the diagnostic connector. The link-up with the vehicle's
diagnostic connector also
permits the appropriate tests to be carried out during the production process.
In still another embodiment, a mobile control unit can be attached removably
to the transport
device or to the motor vehicle or partially assembled motor vehicle being
conveyed by the
transport device; power can be supplied to the mobile unit via the transport
device or via the
vehicle's electrical system, and the mobile unit can be linked up to a
diagnostic connector in the
vehicle.
In contrast to the two previously-recited embodiments, the transport device's
terminal for
supplying external power to the vehicle can not be activated and deactivated
by the mobile
control unit. In all other respects, this embodiment works in exactly the same
way as previously
explained.
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In yet a further embodiment, the transport device is integrated in a network
for wired data
exchange with a host computer. When mounted, the mobile control unit is
likewise integrated in
the wired data-exchange network.
This arrangement permits data exchange between the mobile control unit and the
host computer.
For example, the results of tests carried out can be transmitted from the
mobile control unit to the
host computer. Similarly, current software versions can be transmitted from
the host computer to
the mobile control units. It is to advantage that this can also be effected
during the production
process at times when the mobile control units are not in use. The wired
network may, for
example, be the "MOVITRANS" system described at the beginning.
In another embodiment, the mobile control unit is equipped with a
transmitter/receiver unit for
wireless data exchange with a host computer or with other stationary or mobile
control
computers. These other control computers may, for example, be test stations
along the assembly
line or assembly workers' hand terminals.
Provided it is equipped with the full range of functions, the mobile control
unit thus constitutes a
mobile test and configuration computer. Configuration is effected by transfer
to the vehicle - by
means of the mobile control unit - of the software needed for the vehicle's
equipment package
and by activating the various functions in the vehicle. This applies to a
vehicle variant in which
the hardware and the necessary components for defined equipment packages are
installed, and the
software that enables these components to work is activated by an appropriate
control unit.
The advantage of having the mobile control unit attached removably to the
transport device or to
the vehicle or partially assembled vehicle is that the mobile control unit can
remain with the
vehicle if the vehicle has to be removed from the assembly line because a
fault has been detected.
The mobile control unit can then be deposited expediently in the vehicle, and
because the
equipment package intended for the vehicle in question is stored in the mobile
control unit, the
vehicle can easily be re-integrated in the production process - for instance,
when the fault has
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been rectified. As a result, no special preparations need be made before
returning a vehicle that
was removed from the assembly line, providing the fault has been rectified.
The vehicle can be
re-integrated in the production process without any problem at all.
The drawing shows a transport device 1. A vehicle 2 is attached to this
transport device 1. The
vehicle 2 can be conveyed with the transport device 1 in the direction of the
arrow, thus enabling
it to pass through the various work stations during the production process.
Assembly operations and also tests may be performed at the individual work
stations. Via the
suspension means for the transport device 1, voltage can be applied to a
terminal 3 on the
transport device 1. The on-board electrical system of the vehicle 2 can be
connected to this
terminal 3 with the cable 4 shown here.
The terminal 3 on the transport device I can be activated and deactivated,
with the advantage that
by way of said terminal, the external power supply to the vehicle 2 can be
switched on and off.
The terminal 3 can, in the first instance, be activated/deactivated via a host
computer 5. To this
end, the transport device I is not only supplied with electrical energy via
the suspension means. In
addition, a wired connection is provided for data exchange. Via this wired
connection between
the host computer 5 and the transport device 1 (and hence also the terminal
3), the external power
supply to the vehicle 2 can be switched on and off.
Alternatively, or in addition, the terminal 3 can be controlled via a mobile
control unit 6. This
option is illustrated by the dashed line 11. The mobile control unit 6 can
likewise be supplied
with power via the suspension means for the transport device 1 and,
alternatively, via the on-
board electrical system of the vehicle 7. This mobile control unit can also be
linked with the host
computer 5 via the wired data-exchange connection. The mobile control unit 6
can be supplied,
for example, with the current software versions for the controllers in the
vehicle 2 via this data
exchange connection.
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The mobile control unit is attached removably to the transport device 1. The
advantage of this is
that in the event of a test showing up a malfunction that necessitates
removing the vehicle from
the assembly line, the mobile control unit 6 can remain with the vehicle. The
fact that the
information concerning the detected fault is stored facilitates the necessary
corrective action,
which in itself is an advantage. An additional benefit is that the mobile
control unit 6 contains the
information as to which components have already been installed in the vehicle
and to what extent
the necessary software has already been loaded. As a result, the vehicle can
easily be re-integrated
into the production process.
The drawing shows a connecting line 7 leading from the mobile control unit 6
to a diagnostic
connector 8 in the vehicle 2. The mobile control unit 6 can initiate and
monitor appropriate test
steps via this diagnostic connector 8. In addition, software can be
transferred from the mobile
control unit 6 to the corresponding controllers in the vehicle via this
diagnostic connector.
Especially if the mobile control unit is not designed to activate/deactivate
the terminal 3, the
connecting line 7 can be configured such that, on external initiation, the
mobile control unit 6 can
also supply power to the on-board electrical system of the vehicle 2 via this
connecting line 7.
It can also be seen from the drawing that both the mobile control unit 6 and
the host computer 5
may be provided with a transmitter and receiver unit 9 and 10. These permit
wireless
communication between the mobile control unit 6 and the host computer 5 or
other control
computers, for example test stations along the production line or assembly
workers' hand
terminals.
