Vehicle e-coat drain plug insertion tool
US10639796B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 3, 2017 |
| Grant date | May 5, 2020 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 5, 2038 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T29/53483
- WIPO fieldHandling
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
Methods and systems for installing a plug into an aperture of an article are provided, such as drain hole in an electrocoated vehicle floor pan. A robot system used herein includes a robot and a tool, where the tool includes a plug reservoir, a sensor, and an actuator. The sensor is configured to detect the aperture of the article and the actuator is configured to place one of the plugs from the plug reservoir into the aperture. The robot system can include a tool change nest, where the plug reservoir can be received with the tool change nest and the removed from a remainder of the tool. Quick change of plug reservoirs using the present technology improves operation speed and use of one or more tool change nests can reload and/or reconfigure the robot system for plugging various apertures with minimized input or interaction.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.