Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02639734 2008-09-16
ASSEMBLY DEVICE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the installation of vehicle door hinges.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
It is important that vehicle door hinges be installed properly. Otherwise, the
vehicle doors themselves may
be misaligned, leading to significant quality problems.
It would be desirable to provide a novel approach to this task.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Several preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described,
by way of example only,
with reference to the appended drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a side view of an assembly device;
Figures 2 and 3 are perspective views of the device of figure 1;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of a vehicle door hinge;
Figures 5 to 8 are perspective views of a portion of the device of figure 1;
HON-QHC/CDA 1
CA 02639734 2008-09-16
Figures 9 and 10 are plan views of the portion of figure 5;
Figures 11 to 19 are perspective views of another assembly device or portions
thereof.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
It should be understood that the invention is not limited in its application
to the details of construction and
the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or
illustrated in the drawings. The
invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being
carried out in various ways.
Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein
is for the purpose of
description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of "including,"
"comprising," or "having" and
variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter
and equivalents thereof as well as
additional items. Unless limited otherwise, the terms "connected," "coupled,"
and "mounted," and
variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect
connections, couplings, and
mountings. In addition, the terms "connected" and "coupled" and variations
thereof are not restricted to
physical or mechanical connections or couplings. Furthermore, and as described
in subsequent paragraphs,
the specific mechanical configurations illustrated in the drawings are
intended to exemplify embodiments
of the invention however, other alternative mechanical configurations are
possible which are considered to
be within the teachings of the instant disclosure. Furthermore, unless
otherwise indicated, the term "or" is
to be considered inclusive.
As will be discussed below, in one aspect, there is provided a device for
installing vehicle door hinges on a
vehicle chassis, comprising a jig assembly having a number of vehicle hinge
clamp units, each hinge
clamp unit being arranged to receive a corresponding vehicle door hinge of the
type having a pair of hinge
portions pivotally coupled together for movement about a hinge axis, each
hinge portion including a
plurality of mounting locations to mount the hinge portion either on the
vehicle chassis or on a
corresponding door, each clamp unit including a jaw section to receive one
hinge portion of a
corresponding vehicle door hinge and a first drive section for driving the jaw
section between clamped and
HON-QHC/CDA 2
CA 02639734 2008-09-16
unclamped positions, at least one of the clamp units including a clamp body,
the jaw section in the at least
one clamp unit being pivotable relative to the clamp body about a jaw pivot
axis between a first position
and a second position, the first position being selected to align the vehicle
door hinge with the vehicle
chassis, the second position being selected to expose a predetermined mounting
location which is otherwise
obstructed and/or inaccessible when the hinge section is in the first
position.
In some embodiments, the jaw pivot axis is arranged in an operative
configuration to be substantially in
line with the hinge axis of a corresponding vehicle door hinge clamped
therein.
In some embodiments, the clamp body includes a pair of first frame portions,
the jaw section being
positioned between the first frame portions.
In some embodiments, the jaw section includes a pair of second frame portions,
each pivotally coupled to a
corresponding first frame portion.
In some embodiments, the first drive section includes a hydraulic, electric
and/or pneumatic drive unit.
In some embodiments, the jaw section includes a handle portion grippable by a
jig operator for manually
pivoting the jaw section relative to the clamp body. The jaw section includes
a pair of opposed frame
portions extending beyond the jaw pivot axis toward a distal end region, the
handle portion including a
handle member extending between the opposed frame portions.
In some embodiments, a second drive section is provided for displacing the jaw
section relative to the
clamp body between the first and second positions. The second drive section
includes a hydraulic, electric
and/or pneumatic drive unit.
In some embodiments, the predetermined mounting location includes at least one
first fastener passage to
receive a fastener, the first fastener passage alignable with a second
fastener passage on the vehicle chassis,
HON-QHC/CDA 3
CA 02639734 2008-09-16
further comprising a fastener drive unit for delivering the fastener through
the first fastener passage and the
second fastener passage to secure the vehicle door hinge to the vehicle
chassis.
In some embodiments, the clamp body includes a first base member with the
first frame portions extending
outwardly therefrom, the jaw section including a second base member with the
second frame portions
extending outwardly therefrom and between the first frame portions.
In some embodiments, the jig assembly includes a jig frame arrangement
supporting each of the clamp
units, a positioning unit for positioning the jig frame arrangement relative
to the vehicle chassis, and a
control unit for controlling the positioning unit. The control unit is, in one
example, operable in a first
phase to displace the clamp units between the clamped and unclamped positions,
a second phase to displace
the jig assembly between a set location and a target location adjacent the
vehicle chassis and a third phase
to displace the jig assembly between the set and home locations.
In some embodiments, the jig frame arrangement includes a first jig frame
portion for mounting the jig
assembly to an overhead lift assist unit, a second jig frame portion for
supporting the clamp units and a
third drive section for adjusting the position of the second jig frame portion
relative to the first jig frame
portion.
Some embodiments may further comprise a support member extending upwardly from
the second jig frame
portion for supporting the second drive section. The second base member may
thus extend toward a distal
end region, the second drive section extending between the support member and
the distal end region. The
second drive section is pivotally coupled to the support member and to the
distal end region.
In some embodiments, the first and second jig frame portions are joined by a
pivot coupling therebetween.
In some embodiments, the third drive section includes a hydraulic, electric
and/or pneumatic drive unit.
HON-QHC/CDA 4
CA 02639734 2008-09-16
In some embodiments, the pivot coupling includes first and second pivot
members forming a pivot axis
therebetween, the first pivot member joined to the first jig frame portion,
the first jig frame portion
arranged to be coupled with the overhead lift assist unit, the second jig
frame portion extending laterally
outwardly from the pivot coupling to support the clamp units thereon.
Some embodiments further comprise a plurality of delivery units, each for
delivering one or more fastener
drive units between a set position and a drive position in which to drive the
corresponding fastener into the
corresponding aligned first and second fastener passages. Each delivery unit
may include a support portion
for supporting the fastener drive unit, the support portion being mounted on
the second jig frame portion
and a fourth drive section for displacing the support member relative to the
second jig frame portion.
In an alternative embodiment, the fourth drive section includes a linear
actuator.
In another aspect, there is provided a method for installing vehicle door
hinges on a vehicle chassis,
comprising:
providing a plurality of vehicle door hinges, each matched with a
corresponding vehicle
door, each door hinge including a hinge body portion, a vehicle-side mounting
flange and
a door-side mounting flange, the vehicle-side mounting flange including a
plurality of
passages for receiving a fastener therein;
- providing a jig with a plurality of clamp units, each to clamp a
corresponding vehicle
door hinge, each clamp unit operable in a first position to align each vehicle-
side
mounting flange in an operatively aligned orientation with a corresponding
mounting
location on a vehicle chassis;
- clamping each vehicle door hinge with the corresponding clamp unit in the
first position;
HON-QHC/CDA 5
CA 02639734 2008-09-16
identifying at least a first of the vehicle door hinges and a first clamp unit
in which the
first vehicle door hinge is clamped and in which at least one of the passages
on a
corresponding vehicle-side mounting flange is at least partially blocked by
one of the
body portion or the door-side mounting flange when the first clamp unit is in
the first
position;
providing the first clamp unit with a movable mount relative to the jig,
enabling the first
clamp unit to move between the first position and a second position, the
second position
being arranged to unblock the at least one passage;
- moving the first clamp unit to the second position; and
- installing fasteners in the passages to secure the vehicle-side mounting
flange to the
vehicle chassis.
In still another aspect, there is provided a device for installing vehicle
door hinges on a vehicle chassis,
comprising a jig assembly having a number of vehicle hinge clamp units, each
hinge clamp unit being
arranged to receive a corresponding vehicle door hinge of the type having a
pair of hinge portions pivotally
coupled together for movement about a hinge axis, each hinge portion including
a plurality of mounting
locations to mount the hinge portion either on the vehicle chassis or on a
corresponding door, each clamp
unit configured to receive one hinge portion of a corresponding vehicle door
hinge, at least one of the
clamp units including a clamp body which is movable between a first position
and a second position, the
first position being selected to align the vehicle door hinge with the vehicle
chassis, the second position
being selected to expose a predetermined mounting location which is otherwise
obstructed and/or
inaccessible when the hinge section is in the first position.
Referring to figure 1, there is provided a device 10 for installing vehicle
door hinges on a vehicle chassis
12. An example of such a vehicle door hinge is shown at 16 in figures 4 and 5
and has a chassis-side hinge
HON-QHC/CDA 6
CA 02639734 2008-09-16
portion 18 which is pivotally coupled to a door-side hinge portion 20 for
movement about a hinge axis
shown at 22. The hinge portions have respective pairs of hinge axis webs 18a,
l 8b, 20a, 20b through
which the hinge axis 22 extends. The lower hinge axis web 20b of the door-side
hinge portion 20 extends
outwardly from the hinge axis 22 and is provided to abut a corresponding back
stop wall flange 24 on the
chassis-side hinge portion 18. In this way, the lower hinge axis web 20b and
the back stop wall flange 24
serve to limit travel of the door-side hinge portion 20 and thereby the door
itself. The hinge axis 22 is, in
this case, defined by a hinge pin shown at 23 extending through aligned
passages in the webs 18a, 18b and
20a, 20b.
It can be further seen that each hinge portion 18, 20 includes a number of
mounting locations which, in this
case, are provided in the form of fastener passages 18c, 20c respectively to
be aligned with corresponding
fastener passages 12a on the vehicle chassis 12 (figure 5), thereby to receive
a threaded fastener (not
shown) or, for example, to define a zone in which to form a bead of weld
between the corresponding hinge
portion and the vehicle chassis 12 or the door, as the case may be. It can be
seen in figure 5 that the lower
hinge axis web 20b interrupts, obstructs or limits access to the lower of the
fastener passages 18c on the
chassis side hinge portion 18.
Referring to figure 1, the device 10 has a jig assembly 30 with a number of
stationary vehicle hinge clamp
units shown at 32. Each hinge clamp unit 32 is arranged to receive a
corresponding vehicle door hinge 16.
Referring to figures 1 and 2, each clamp unit 32 includes a jaw section 34 to
receive one door-side hinge
portion 20 of a corresponding vehicle door hinge 16 and a first drive section
36 for driving the jaw section
34 between clamped and unclamped positions (the former of which being shown in
figure 5). The first
drive section 36 in this case is a pneumatic drive unit 38 but can be provided
in other forms including a
hydraulic ram, an electric solenoid, as examples. The pneumatic drive unit 38
is provided with supply air
by way of a pair of air lines shown schematically at 38a, 38b. The air lines
38a, 38b are in turn in fluid
communication with a pneumatic control arrangement 42 including a number of
pneumatic actuators shown
at 44 and other pneumatic control accessories which represented by the control
station shown in dashed
HON-QHC/CDA 7
CA 02639734 2008-09-16
lines at 46 in figure 3. The control station 46 in turn is responsive to a
control pod shown at 48 (figure 1)
on a lift assist unit 50, as will be described below.
The control pod 48 and/or the control station 46 is provided with a number of
buttons and/or indicator
lights, for example as shown at 48a in order to execute a number of movements
for the device 10 or its sub
components. The control functions provided by the control pod 48 may be
provided by other devices either
mounted directly on the device 10 or on the lift assist unit 50, or for that
matter at a location remote from
the device 10, as desired. The control functions may also be provided by a
wireless control unit, as desired.
The control pod 48 may thus include one or more programmed logic controllers
or some other form of
controller. It may be included in a software program configured to run on a
general purpose computer,
such as personal computer, or on a more substantial computer mainframe, which
is operable to work within
a network, for data to be uploaded to a central database. The network may thus
involve several general
purpose computers, for example those sold under the trade names APPLE " or
IBM ", or clones thereof,
which are programmed with operating systems known by the trade names WINDOWS "
, LINUX or other
well known or lesser known equivalents of these. The system may involve pre-
programmed software using
a number of possible languages or a custom designed version of a programming
software sold under the
trade name ACCESS " or similar programming software. The computer network may
be a wired local area
network, or a wide area network such as the Internet, or a combination of the
two, with or without added
security, authentication protocols, or under "peer-to-peer" or "client-server"
or other networking
architectures. The network may also be a wireless network or a combination of
wired and wireless
networks. The wireless network may operate under frequencies such as `radio
frequency' or "RF" using
protocols such as the 802.11, TCP/IP, BLUE TOOTH and the like, or other well
known Internet, wireless,
satellite or cell packet protocols. The system may, alternatively, include a
single custom built computer
which is dedicated to the function of the system alone.
Referring to figures 2, 5 and 6, at least one of the clamp units, hereinafter
referred to as the movable clamp
unit, is shown at 54 and is configured to permit its jaw section 58 to be
moved in order to provide an
HON-QHC/CDA 8
CA 02639734 2008-09-16
optimum position in order to enable the vehicle door hinge 16 to be installed
on the vehicle chassis 12.
The movable clamp unit 54 provides this capability, by providing a clamp body
shown at 56. Referring to
figure 6, the jaw section 58, in this case, is pivotable relative to the clamp
body 56 about a jaw pivot axis
60, between a first position shown in figure 5 and a second position shown in
figure 6. The first position is
thus selected to align the vehicle door hinge 16 with the vehicle chassis 12,
while the second position is
selected to expose the fastener passage 18c which is otherwise obstructed
and/or inaccessible when the jaw
section 58 is in the first position, as will be explained..
The jaw pivot axis 60 is arranged in an operative configuration to be
substantially in line with the hinge
axis 22 of a corresponding vehicle door hinge 16 clamped therein.
Referring to figure 5, the clamp body 56 includes a pair of first frame
portions 62 and the jaw section 58 is
positioned between them. The jaw section 58 includes a pair of second frame
portions 64, each pivotally
coupled to a corresponding first frame portion 62. Each of the second frame
portions 64 is fixed to a
corresponding handle frame portion 66 which extends beyond the jaw pivot axis
60 toward a distal end
region 64a. A handle portion 70 is provided near the distal end region 64a and
includes a handle member
72 extending between the second frame portions 64.
The jaw section 58 includes a movable jaw member 74 which is coupled to the
drive section 75, the latter
being fixed to a central region of the second frame portions 64. In this case,
the first drive section 75
includes a pneumatic drive unit in the form of a triple ram pneumatic actuator
76 having three ram elements
shown at 76a held within and movable under the action of pneumatic fluid
charged to and discharged from
a drive housing 76b. The movable jaw member 74 works against a pair of
stationary jaw members 78
which are located at a proximal end region 64b of and between the second frame
portions 64. The jaw
members 74, 78 are thus arranged so that the hinge axis 22, of the door side
hinge portion 20 held therein,
is collinear with the jaw pivot axis 60. The jaw members 74, 78 have inner
surfaces 74a, 78a which engage
opposite sides of the door-side hinge portion 20. The inner surface 74a of the
movable jaw member 74
includes one or more, in this case a pair, of alignment projections 80 to
engage a corresponding fastener
HON-QHC/CDA 9
CA 02639734 2008-09-16
passage in the door side hinge portion 20. In this case, the projections 80
are provided as pin members
which are removably held in anchor passages 74b in the inner surface 74a of
the movable jaw member 74
and extend into complementary pin receiving passages 78b in the stationary jaw
member 78.
An alignment flange is also provided at 82 which is attached to the lower of
the second frame members 64
and the stationary jaw member 78. The alignment flange serves the function of
providing a guide / support
for the hinge.
Referring to figure 2, the jig assembly 30 includes a jig frame arrangement 88
supporting each of the clamp
units 32. The jig frame arrangement 88 includes a pair of horizontal jig frame
portions 90, the upper one
of which supports a pair of anchor rings 92 for attachment to an overhead lift
assist unit 50 (figure 1).
The jig assembly 30 is provided with a plurality of chassis coupling units
shown at 94 for coupling the jig
assembly to the vehicle chassis 12, as well as a pair of spaced alignment pins
96 (figure 3) which are
arranged to enter complementary alignment passages in the vehicle chassis 12.
The chassis coupling units
94 include a pair of complementary coupling members 94a, 94b, (figure 2) of
which one is movable under
the action of a pneumatic actuator shown at 94c between open and closed
positions.
Referring to figure 1, the lift assist unit 50 supports the control pod 48
which controls the lift assist unit 50,
the chassis coupling units 94 as well as the clamp units 32, 54 and the
pneumatic actuators shown at 44, for
example to actuate the clamp units 54 between clamped and unclamped positions.
The device 10 is used in the following manner. First, the device 10 is
installed on a suitable lift assist unit
50 or some other transporting device, such as a robot or the like. In this
case, the lift assist unit 50 is
coupled to the anchor rings 92. The operator may then manipulate the control
pod 48 and direct the lift
assist unit 50 to position the jig assembly 30 at an operative elevation
relative to the vehicle chassis 12. For
instance, this operative elevation may be considered reached when the
alignment pins 96 are aligned with
their corresponding complementary alignment passages in the vehicle chassis
12.
HON-QHC/CDA 10
CA 02639734 2008-09-16
It may be at this time that the operator installs the required four vehicle
door hinges 16, each in their
allotted clamp units 32, 54. As in this case, the vehicle door hinges 16 may
differ depending on its location
on the vehicle chassis 12.
The operator then manipulates the control pod 48 to open the chassis coupling
units 94 so that they are
ready to be coupled with the vehicle chassis 12 at their respective target
locations. The operator then
displaces the jig assembly 30 to the vehicle chassis 12 to cause the alignment
pins 96 which to reach their
target positions which occurs when they are fully engaged with their
complementary alignment passages.
The operator then manipulates the control pod 48 to trigger the closing of the
chassis coupling units 94,
thus causing the jig assembly 30 to be locked in position on the vehicle
chassis 12. At this stage, the
fastener passages 18c on the chassis-side hinge portions should be aligned
with the second passages on the
vehicle chassis 12 and the operator may then drive a fastener (with a suitable
fastener driving tool such as a
socket wrench, for example) into the aligned first and second passages for
each chassis-side hinge portion
18 of each vehicle door hinge 16, but for that located in movable clamp unit
54.
For the movable clamp unit 54, as best seen in figure 9, the operator is not
able to access the fastener
passage 18a with the fastener driving tool 98, because the lower hinge axis
web 20b extends into the path
of the fastener driving too198. To provide access, the operator grips the
handle member 72 and displaces
the jaw section 58 outwardly from the first position of figure 9 to the second
position of figure 10. This
causes the lower hinge axis web 20b on the door side hinge portion 20 to be
shifted so that it no longer
interrupts or limits access to the lower fastener passage 18c on the chassis
side hinge portion 18. With the
jaw section 58 in its second position, the operator may then drive a fastener
into the lower fastener passage
18c using the fastener driving too198. The operator may then drive a fastener
into the upper fastener
passage 18c and then return the jaw section 58 to its first position. The
operator may then manipulate the
control pod 48 to release the chassis coupling units 94 and thereby release
the device 10 from the vehicle
chassis 12.
HON-QHC/CDA 11
CA 02639734 2008-09-16
Another device is shown at 100 in figure 11 for installing vehicle door hinges
on the vehicle chassis 12.
The device 100 has a jig assembly 102 with a number of vehicle hinge clamp
units shown at 104. Each
hinge clamp unit 104 is arranged to receive a corresponding vehicle door hinge
16 of the type as earlier
described above.
Referring to figure 12, the jig assembly 102 includes a jig frame arrangement
106 supporting each of the
clamp units 104. A positioning unit 108 positions the jig frame arrangement
106 relative to the vehicle
chassis 12, and a control unit 110 controls the positioning unit 108.
Referring to figure 11, the jig
assembly 102 also includes a plurality of chassis coupling units 114 for
coupling the jig assembly 102 to
the vehicle chassis 12, as well as a pair of spaced alignment pins 116 which
are arranged to enter
complementary alignment passages in the vehicle chassis 12.
As can best be seen in figure 13, the control unit 110 includes a frame member
110a extending laterally
outwardly from the first jig frame portion 164. The frame member I 10a
supports a handle member 110b
traversely mounted on the frame member 110a with opposite ends which carry a
pair of control pods 112.
Each control pod has a control pod housing 112a with a manipulator 112b
extending outwardly therefrom.
A number of buttons and/or indicators are mounted in each control pod housing,
as shown at 112c.
Referring to figure 14, each clamp unit 104 includes a jaw section 128 to
receive one hinge portion of a
corresponding vehicle door hinge and a first drive section 129 for driving the
jaw section between clamped
and unclamped positions. The first drive section 129 in this case is a double
ram pneumatic drive actuator
having a pair of ram elements 129a held within a drive housing 129b, but can
be provided in other forms
including a hydraulic ram, an electric solenoid, as examples.
Further, at least one of the clamp units, in this case the movable clamp unit
identified at 126 in figure 11,
14 , is configured to permit its jaw section 128 to be moved in order to
provide an optimum position for
enabling the vehicle door hinge 16 to be installed on the vehicle chassis 12.
The movable clamp unit 126
includes clamp body shown at 130 and the jaw section 128, in this case, is
pivotable relative to the clamp
HON-QHC/CDA 12
CA 02639734 2008-09-16
body 130 about a jaw pivot axis 132 between a first position shown in solid
lines in figure 15 and a second
position shown in dashed lines in figure 15.
Referring to figure 14, the jaw pivot axis 132 is arranged in an operative
configuration to be substantially in
line with the hinge axis of a corresponding vehicle door hinge clamped
therein.
The clamp body 130 includes a first base member 134 with a pair of first frame
portions 136 extending
outwardly therefrom. The jaw section 128 includes a second base member 138
with a pair of second frame
portions 140 extending outwardly therefrom and between the first frame
portions 136. The jaw section
128 is thus pivotally coupled to the clamp body 130 by way of a pair of pivot
couplings (one of which is
shown at 142) in adjacent pairs of first and second frame portions 136, 140.
The jaw section 128 (for the movable hinge clamp unit 126) includes a movable
jaw member 144 which is
coupled to the first drive section 129, the latter being fixed to the second
base member 138. The movable
jaw member 144 works against a pair of stationary jaw member portions 146
which are located at a
proximal end of and between the opposed frame portions and interrupts the
pivot axis 132, in order that the
hinge axis is collinear with the jaw pivot axis 132. In this case, the
stationaryjaw member portions 146
are integrally formed with the second base member 138 and the second frame
portion 140.
The jaw section 128 includes a second drive section 148 for displacing the jaw
section 128 relative to the
clamp body 130 between the first and second positions. The second drive
section 148 has a single ram
element 148a operable relative to a cylinder 148b.
Referring to figure 12, the device 100 further includes a number of fastener
drive units 160 for delivering a
fastener through a corresponding first fastener passage 18c, as discussed
above, when aligned with a
second fastener passage to secure the vehicle door hinge 16 to the vehicle
chassis 12. It can thus be seen
that two fastener drive units 160 are provided for each clamp unit 104, 126,
as is discussed below.
HON-QHC/CDA 13
CA 02639734 2008-09-16
Referring to figures 11, 12, the jig assembly 102 includes a jig frame
arrangement 162 with a first jig frame
portion 164 for mounting the jig assembly 102 to an overhead lift assist unit,
not shown. A second jig
frame portion 166 supports the clamp units 104, 126 as well as the positioning
unit 108. In this case, the
positioning unit 108 is provided as a third drive section 168 (in the form of
a pneumatic ram 168a and
cylinder 168b) for adjusting the position of the second jig frame portion 166
relative to the first jig frame portion 164. The first and second jig frame
portions 164, 166 support the clamp units 104, 126, the fastener
drive units 160 and the third drive section 168.
Referring to figure 11, the first jig frame portion 164 is upright and has an
upper distal end region 164a
which provides a convenient mounting location for the lift assist unit, shown
schematically at 165. The
second jig frame portion 166 extends laterally in both directions from the
first jig frame portion 164 and
includes, in this example, a pair of aligned horizontal jig frame members 170.
A pair of first support
members 172 extend upwardly from the jig frame members 170, each near a
respective distal thereof. As
best seen in figure 14, each first support member 172 provides a support
structure for the clamp units 104,
126 and their respective drive sections. Referring to figures 12 and 19, the
jig frame members 170 also
support a pair of second support members 174 which support the fastener drive
units 160, so that they can
travel relative to the clamp units 104, 126 in a manner to be described.
Additionally (as best seen in figures 14 and 15) for the movable clamp unit
126, a support flange 176
extends from the first support member 172 for supporting the second drive
section 148. It can be seen that
the second base member 138 of the jaw section 128 extends toward a distal end
region 138a. Thus, the
second drive section 148 extends between, and is pivotally coupled to, the
support flange 176 and the distal
end region 138a.
As can be seen in figures 11 and 12, the first and second jig frame portions
164, 166 are joined by a pivot
coupling 180 therebetween. The pivot coupling 180 includes first and second
pivot members 182, 184
forming a pivot axis therebetween, the first pivot member 182 joined to the
first jig frame portion 164.
HON-QHC/CDA 14
CA 02639734 2008-09-16
Referring to figure 12 and 19, also provided is a plurality, in this case a
pair, of delivery units 186, each for
delivering the fastener drive units 160 between a set position and a drive
position in which to drive the
corresponding fastener into the corresponding aligned first and second
fastener passages. Each delivery unit 186 is anchored to a corresponding
second support member 174. A fourth drive section 190 is
positioned on the second support member 174 for displacing a pair of fastener
drive units relative to the
second jig frame portion 166. The fourth drive section 190 is, in this
example, a linear actuator 190a
having a drive frame plate 192 which travels along path 190b and in turn
supports second support member
174.
Referring to figure 19, the second support member 174 provides a mounting
region 194 for the fastener
drive units 160. A bracket 196, or some other form of anchor, mounts each
fastener drive unit 160 to the
mounting region adjacent an access passage 194a which receives a pair drive
end portions 198, each of
which is operatively connected to the body 160a of corresponding fastener
drive unit body 160. The drive
end portions 198 thus extend from the second support member 174 to an
operative end region which is
equipped to hold the head of a fastener 200 in the proximity of a
corresponding first fastener passage.
Thus, a pair of drive end portions 198 are associated with each corresponding
clamp unit 104, 126 so that
each can deliver a fastener to a respective first fastener passage. As best
shown in figure 18, the fourth
drive section 190 is thus operable to displace the pair of fastener drive
units 160, and by consequence the
pair of drive end portions 198 toward the first fastener passages, between the
set position (as shown for the
first support member 172 in dashed lines) and the drive position (with the
first support member 172 in solid
lines).
It will further be seen that the upper access passage 194a, shown in figure
16, is vertically elongate for the
fastener drive units servicing the upper right clamp unit in figure 12, since
the first fastener passages 18c on
the chassis side hinge portion held therein are vertically aligned, while the
lower access passage 194a in
figure 19 is also vertically elongate for the fastener drive units 160
servicing the lower left clamp unit 32 in
figure 12, since the first fastener passages on the chassis side hinge portion
held therein are also vertically
aligned. However, it will be seen that the passages for the remaining other
two clamp units are horizontally
HON-QHC/CDA 15
CA 02639734 2008-09-16
elongate. This can be seen by the upper access passage 194a in figure 17 and
the upper access passage
194a in figure 17.
As with the device 10, the device 100 is installed on the lift assist unit
165, or another suitable transfer or
transport device, such as a robot or the like. The operator may then
manipulate the control unit 110 and
direct the lift assist unit 165 to position the jig assembly 102 an operative
elevation relative to the vehicle
chassis 12.
Referring to figures 11, 12 and 13, as before, it may be at this time that the
operator installs the required
four vehicle door hinges 16, each in their allotted clamp units 104, 126. In
this case, the vehicle door
hinges 16 will differ depending on its location on the vehicle chassis 12.
The operator then manipulates one of the manipulators 112b or the appropriate
buttons 112c to open the
chassis coupling units 94 so that they are ready to be coupled with the
vehicle chassis 12 at their respective
target locations. The operator then displaces the jig assembly 102 to the
vehicle chassis 12 to cause the
alignment pins 116 which to reach their target positions which occurs when
they are fully engaged with
their complementary alignment passages.
The operator then manipulates the control unit 110 to trigger the closing of
the chassis coupling units 114,
thus causing the jig assembly 102 to be locked in position on the vehicle
chassis 12. At this stage, the
fastener passages 18c on the chassis-side hinge portions should be aligned
with the second passages on the
vehicle chassis 12. The operator then loads the appropriate fasteners 200
(figure 19) in the pair drive end
portions 198 of each delivery unit 186, with the latter being in the set
position as shown in dashed lines in
figure 18.
For the three vehicle hinge clamp units 104, the operator then manipulates the
control unit, first to displace
the delivery units, by way of activating the linear actuators 190a to transfer
the delivery units 186 from
their set position to the drive position (in solid lines in figure 18).
Second, the operator then activates, via
HON-QHC/CDA 16
CA 02639734 2008-09-16
the appropriate manipulator or button, the delivery units themselves, thereby
rotating the drive end portions
to turn the fasteners into position in the aligned first and second passages.
The operator may then, by
appropriate manipulation of the control unit 110, retract the delivery units
to their set position.
For the single movable clamp unit 126, the operator initiates the additional
step of activating the control
unit 110 to activate the second drive section 148 to displace the jaw section
128 relative to the clamp body
130 from the first to the second position, as shown in figure 15, thereby to
expose the lower second
fastener passage automatically, in a manner done manually with the device 10.
Thus, the control unit is operable in a first phase to displace the clamp
units between the clamped and
unclamped positions, a second phase to displace the jig assembly between a set
location and a target
location adjacent the vehicle chassis and a third phase to displace the jig
assembly between the set and
home locations.
While the present invention has been described for what are presently
considered the preferred
embodiments, the invention is not so limited. To the contrary, the invention
is intended to cover various
modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope
of the appended claims.
The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest
interpretation so as to encompass all such
modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
HON-QHC/CDA 17
