Vehicle body station and vehicle body machining method

Abstract

The invention discloses a vehicle body station and a vehicle body processing method.The vehicle body station comprises a station fence area, a process equipment queue is arranged in the station fence area, and the process equipment queue comprises at least one set of process equipment arranged according to a preset process sequence; the vehicle body conveying channels are arranged on the two sides of the process equipment; the working positions are arranged on the vehicle body conveying channel, and the working range of the process equipment covers the working positions on the two sides; and the waiting position is arranged outside the station fence area and corresponds to an entrance of the vehicle body conveying channel. By the adoption of the method, the problem that process equipment is idle in the vehicle body machining process can be solved, the equipment utilization rate is increased, meanwhile, the investment of the process equipment is reduced, especially the investment of special process equipment is reduced, and the layout of a production line is optimized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of flexible production line technology in automobile manufacturing, and in particular to a body panel station and body processing method. Background Technology

[0002] In the automotive body manufacturing process, various processing techniques such as welding, gluing, and stud welding are typically performed sequentially at multiple body workstations. In existing technologies, body workstations are generally arranged symmetrically on the left and right sides, meaning that corresponding process equipment is placed on both sides of the body conveyor channel, allowing multiple robots to process both sides of the body simultaneously.

[0003] However, due to the typically symmetrical structure of car bodies and the limited accessibility of process equipment, in traditional symmetrical layouts, process equipment on one side can only operate on the corresponding side of the car body. This makes it difficult to reuse the other side at different stages, leading to an increase in the number of equipment, a larger footprint, and low equipment utilization. Furthermore, during the car body's entry and exit from the workstation, process equipment must wait for the car body to be in place or out of the workstation before it can start operating. This results in idle time for process equipment within the cycle time, leading to underutilization of workload. In addition, for some specialized process equipment, such as stud welding, adhesive application, or local structures requiring specialized welding clamps, the actual work is less distributed on both sides of the car body. If these specialized process equipment are still configured on both sides, some specialized process equipment may remain underloaded for extended periods, resulting in resource waste. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the shortcomings mentioned above, this invention provides a bodywork station and a body processing method.

[0005] Firstly, a body panel workstation is provided, including: The workstation enclosure area contains a process equipment queue, which includes at least one group of process equipment arranged in a preset process sequence. Vehicle body conveying channels are located on both sides of the process equipment; The working positions are set on the vehicle body conveying channel, and the working range of the process equipment covers the working positions on both sides. Waiting positions are set outside the workstation enclosure area and corresponding to the entrance of the vehicle body conveying channel.

[0006] As an optional implementation, when the process equipment queue is arranged in a horizontally expanding manner, multiple process equipment are arranged horizontally along the vehicle body conveying direction according to the preset process sequence. The vehicle body conveying channel includes an upstream vehicle body conveying channel and a downstream vehicle body conveying channel, and waiting positions are provided at the entrances of the upstream vehicle body conveying channel and the downstream vehicle body conveying channel.

[0007] As an optional implementation, a first working position corresponding to the first side of the process equipment is provided in the upstream vehicle body conveying channel, and a second working position corresponding to the second side of the process equipment is provided in the downstream vehicle body conveying channel, and the working range of the process equipment covers the first working position and the second working position.

[0008] As an optional implementation, when the process equipment queue is arranged in a bidirectional expansion manner, multiple process equipment are arrayed along the vehicle body conveying direction and perpendicular to the vehicle body conveying direction to form a process equipment matrix; wherein, the process equipment in each row of the process equipment matrix is ​​arranged according to the preset process sequence, and the sequence number of each process equipment increases in the column where it is located. The vehicle body conveying channel includes a common vehicle body conveying channel and a non-common vehicle body conveying channel. The common vehicle body conveying channel is set between adjacent process equipment perpendicular to the vehicle body conveying direction, and the vehicle body conveying channel that is not the common vehicle body conveying channel is the non-common vehicle body conveying channel. Waiting positions are provided at the entrance of the common vehicle body conveying channel and the non-common vehicle body conveying channel.

[0009] As an optional implementation, the public vehicle body conveying channel is provided with a public workstation corresponding to the process equipment, and the non-public vehicle body conveying channel is provided with a non-public workstation corresponding to the process equipment. The working range of the process equipment covers the public and non-public workstations adjacent to the process equipment.

[0010] As an optional implementation, the body shop is equipped with a vehicle with a steering function for transporting the body while keeping the front of the body facing the same direction.

[0011] As an optional implementation, the workstation enclosure area further includes a fence and a light grating; wherein, The fence is set outside the workstation fence area to provide physical enclosure; The grating is formed on the fence and corresponds to the exit and entrance positions of the vehicle body conveying channel.

[0012] As an optional implementation, the process equipment includes one or more of the following: welding robot, spot welding clamp, automatic glue application equipment, and stud welding equipment.

[0013] Secondly, a body processing method is provided, the method comprising: During the first half of the preset processing cycle, the grating of the upstream vehicle body conveying channel is turned off, and the carrier is controlled to transfer the vehicle body in the upstream vehicle body conveying channel as a whole according to the preset process sequence; during the transfer process, the grating of the downstream vehicle body conveying channel is turned on, and the process equipment is controlled to process the second side of the vehicle body at the second working position of the downstream vehicle body conveying channel. In the latter half of the preset processing cycle, the grating of the upstream vehicle body conveying channel is turned on, and the carrier is controlled to transfer the vehicle body in the downstream vehicle body conveying channel as a whole according to the process sequence; during the transfer process, the grating of the upstream vehicle body conveying channel is turned on, and the process equipment is controlled to process the first side of the vehicle body at the first working position of the upstream vehicle body conveying channel. During the transport of the vehicle, the vehicle's front direction is kept constant by controlling the vehicle's movement posture.

[0014] Thirdly, a body processing method is provided, characterized in that the method includes: During the first half of the preset processing cycle, the grating of the non-public vehicle body conveying channel is turned off, and the carrier is controlled to transfer the vehicle body in the non-public vehicle body conveying channel as a whole according to the preset process sequence; during the transfer process, the grating of the public vehicle body conveying channel is turned on, and the process equipment is controlled to process both sides of the vehicle body in the public work position of the public vehicle body conveying channel. During the latter half of the preset processing cycle, the grating of the public vehicle body conveying channel is turned off, and the carrier is controlled to transfer the vehicle body in the public vehicle body conveying channel as a whole according to the process sequence; during the transfer process, the grating of the non-public vehicle body conveying channel is turned on, and the process equipment is controlled to process the side of the vehicle body in the non-public work position of the non-public vehicle body conveying channel that is close to the process equipment. During the transport of the vehicle, the vehicle's front direction is kept constant by controlling the vehicle's movement posture.

[0015] This invention provides a car body workstation and a car body processing method, comprising: a workstation enclosure area, within which a process equipment queue is set, the process equipment queue including at least one set of process equipment arranged according to a preset process sequence; car body conveying channels set on both sides of the process equipment; workstations set on the car body conveying channels, the working range of the process equipment covering the workstations on both sides; and waiting positions set outside the workstation enclosure area and corresponding to the entrance of the car body conveying channels. By setting car body conveying channels on both sides of the process equipment, this invention allows the working range of the same set of process equipment to cover both sides of the car body, thereby enabling single-sided equipment to process both sides of the car body, significantly reducing equipment investment. Simultaneously, by setting waiting positions at the entrance of the car body conveying channels and using a vehicle with steering function to sequentially transfer the car body to both sides of the process equipment while maintaining the same front-end direction, the processing sequence of the car body and the processing direction of the equipment are switched to create staggered production cycles, improving equipment utilization and avoiding the waste of space and equipment resources caused by arranging process equipment on both the left and right sides of the car body conveying channels. Furthermore, through lateral expansion and bidirectional expansion methods, a flexible production line structure can be formed. In summary, the technical solution of this invention not only reduces the floor space occupied by the production line, but also improves the equipment reuse rate. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a car body workstation provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a bodywork station in a lateral expansion process equipment provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating a body processing method using a laterally extended process equipment, as provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a bodywork station in a bidirectional expansion process equipment provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 A flowchart of a body processing method for a bidirectional extended process equipment provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0017] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the invention.

[0018] The following will describe in detail, with reference to specific embodiments, a vehicle body workstation provided by the present invention. Figure 1 This is a structural schematic diagram of a car body workstation provided in an embodiment of the present invention, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the bodywork station includes: Workstation enclosure area 110, within which a process equipment queue is set up, the process equipment queue includes at least one set of process equipment 120 arranged according to a preset process sequence (the figure shows one set of process equipment as an example). The preset process sequence is a pre-determined order of operation for multiple process equipment by production line technicians based on the flow requirements of the car body processing technology. This process sequence defines the order in which each process equipment participates in the processing of the same car body as it passes through the process equipment queue. For example, technicians can sort the welding robot, spot welding clamp, automatic glue application equipment, and stud welding equipment according to the flow requirements of different processes such as spot welding, stud welding, glue application, and assembly during car body processing, thus obtaining the process sequence. Following this process sequence, the welding robot, spot welding clamp, automatic glue application equipment, and stud welding equipment are installed sequentially within the workstation enclosure area 110.

[0019] The car body conveying channels 130 located on both sides of the process equipment 120 (in Figure 1 In the process equipment 120, the car body conveying channel 130 includes 1301 on the left side and 1302 on the right side. Waiting position 140 is located outside the workstation enclosure area 110 and corresponds to the entrance of the vehicle body conveying channel 130. Figure 1 In the input field 1301, the waiting bit corresponding to the input field 1301 is 1401, and the waiting bit corresponding to the input field 1302 is 1402. The workstations 150 are located on the car body conveying channel 130, and the working range of the process equipment covers both sides of the workstations 150. Figure 1 In the process, a work station 1501 is set in the body conveying channel 1301, and a work station 1502 is set in the body conveying channel 1302. The working range of the process equipment 120 covers work stations 1501 and 1502.

[0020] As an optional implementation, the body shop is equipped with a vehicle with a steering function for transporting the body while keeping the front of the body facing the same direction.

[0021] In implementation, such as Figure 1 As shown, a process equipment 120 is used to process both sides of the vehicle body. Therefore, the vehicle body transport vehicle must ensure that the front direction of the vehicle body remains unchanged during the transport process so that after the process equipment 120 completes the processing of the left side of the vehicle body, the process equipment 120 can turn to the opposite side to process the right side of the vehicle body.

[0022] Optionally, the vehicle can be an intelligent transport vehicle with the ability to maintain its vehicle posture, ensuring that the vehicle's heading remains unchanged during transfer between different workstations, waiting positions, and vehicle transport channels. For example, the vehicle may include at least one set of independently steerable steering wheels, each of which can adjust its steering angle according to changes in the transport path. This allows the vehicle to translate or change direction as a whole when moving in a straight line, laterally, or along a curved path, without rotating around its vertical axis, thus maintaining the original orientation of the vehicle body. Alternatively, the vehicle can also record the vehicle's heading and, upon reaching the target position, correct its heading by rotating in place.

[0023] Optionally, the process equipment in this embodiment of the invention has dual-sided operating capability, enabling processing of workstations located on both sides of the equipment while maintaining the vehicle body's frontal direction. The process equipment can selectively operate on different workstations by adjusting its own range of motion, switching its operating posture, or redirecting its operating units. For example, a rotating mechanism can be installed at the bottom of the process equipment's base; when processing is required on workstations located on different sides, the operating direction of the process equipment can be changed through this rotating mechanism. Alternatively, if the robotic arm of the process equipment can extend to the processing areas on both sides, vehicle body processing on different workstations can be performed directly by adjusting the extension posture of the robotic arm.

[0024] As an optional implementation method, such as Figure 1 As shown, the workstation enclosure area 110 also includes a fence 1101 and a light grating 1102; wherein, Fence 1101 is installed outside the workstation fence area 110 to provide physical enclosure; The grating 1102 is formed on the fence 1101 and corresponds to the exit and entrance positions of the vehicle body conveying channel 130 (wherein, such as Figure 1 As shown in the figure, there are four light gratings 1102, located at the exit and entrance of the vehicle body conveying channels 1301 and 1302 respectively, and set on the fence 1101.

[0025] As an optional implementation, the process equipment 120 includes one or more of a welding robot, a spot welding clamp, an automatic adhesive application device, and a stud welding device.

[0026] As an optional implementation method, such as Figure 2 As shown, when the process equipment queue is arranged in a horizontally expanding manner, multiple process equipment 120 are arranged horizontally along the vehicle body conveying direction according to a preset process sequence. The vehicle body conveying channel 130 includes an upstream vehicle body conveying channel 1301 and a downstream vehicle body conveying channel 1302. Waiting positions 1401 and 1402 are respectively set at the entrances of the upstream vehicle body conveying channel 1301 and the downstream vehicle body conveying channel 1302.

[0027] In implementation, such as Figure 2 As shown, multiple process devices (three process devices in the figure are labeled 121, 122, and 123 respectively for distinction) are arranged in a preset process sequence along the vehicle body conveying direction. For example, if the preset process device sequence is 121, 123, 122, then the process devices can be conveyed in this order... Figure 2 In the horizontal direction shown, process equipment 121, process equipment 123 and 122 are arranged in sequence. On both sides of process equipment 121, 122 and 123, an upstream vehicle body conveying channel 1301 running horizontally to the right and a downstream vehicle body conveying channel 1302 running horizontally to the left are respectively provided. Waiting positions 1401 and 1402 are respectively provided at the entrance of the upstream vehicle body conveying channel 1301 and the downstream vehicle body conveying channel 1302.

[0028] In this embodiment of the invention, the vehicle body conveying directions of the upstream vehicle body conveying channel and the downstream vehicle body conveying channel are opposite. When arranging the process equipment, since the vehicle body passes through each process equipment in sequence with the vehicle body conveying direction of the upstream vehicle body conveying channel, the vehicle body conveying direction of the upstream vehicle body conveying channel can be used as the vehicle body conveying direction when arranging the process equipment.

[0029] As an optional implementation method, such as Figure 2 As shown, the upstream vehicle body conveying channel 1301 is equipped with first working positions 1511, 1512, and 1513 corresponding to the first side (right side) of process equipment 121, 123, and 122, respectively. The downstream vehicle body conveying channel 1302 is equipped with second working positions 1521, 1522, and 1523 corresponding to the second side (left side) of process equipment 121, 123, and 122. The working range of the process equipment covers the first and second working positions. Figure 2 In the process, the working range of process equipment 121 covers the adjacent first working position 1511 and second working position 1521, the working range of process equipment 123 covers the adjacent first working position 1512 and second working position 1522, and the working range of process equipment 122 covers the adjacent first working position 1513 and second working position 1523.

[0030] As an optional implementation method, Figure 3 A flowchart of a body processing method for a laterally extended process equipment provided in an embodiment of the present invention is shown below. Figure 3 As shown, the specific steps are as follows: S301, in the first half of the preset processing cycle, the grating of the upstream body conveying channel is closed, and the carrier is controlled to transfer the body in the upstream body conveying channel as a whole in the body conveying direction; during the transfer process, the grating of the downstream body conveying channel is opened, and the second side of the body at the second working position in the downstream body conveying channel is processed by the process equipment. The process of transferring the car bodies in the upstream car body conveying channel as a whole according to the car body conveying direction means that N process equipment in the upstream car body conveying channel are arranged according to a preset process sequence, and the upstream car body conveying channel has N working positions corresponding to the process equipment. During the overall transfer process, the car body parked in the waiting position of the upstream car body conveying channel is transferred to the first working position in the upstream car body conveying channel, the car body in the i-th first working position is transferred to the (i+1)-th first working position, and the car body in the N-th first working position is transferred to the waiting position in the downstream car body conveying channel.

[0031] S302, in the second half of the preset processing cycle, the grating of the upstream body conveying channel is turned on, and the carrier is controlled to transfer the body in the downstream body conveying channel as a whole according to the body conveying direction; during the transfer process, the grating of the upstream body conveying channel is turned on, and the first side of the body at the first working position of the upstream body conveying channel is processed by the process equipment; during the carrier transfer process, the front direction of the body remains unchanged by controlling the movement posture of the carrier.

[0032] The process of transferring the vehicles in the downstream vehicle transport channel as a whole according to the vehicle transport direction refers to transferring the vehicles parked in the waiting position of the downstream vehicle transport channel to the first second working position along the vehicle transport direction in the downstream vehicle transport channel, transferring the vehicle at the j-th second working position to the (j+1)-th second working position, and transferring the vehicle at the N-th second working position away from the current second working position.

[0033] In implementation, the processing flow can be divided into two stages: the first half and the second half of a preset processing cycle, which can be the production line cycle time. Setting the processing cycle to the production line cycle time ensures that the alternating processing of the two car body conveyor channels is synchronized with the overall line's conveying rhythm, thereby guaranteeing continuous and stable operation. If the processing cycle is not set to the production line cycle time, problems may arise such as the previous station releasing a car before the next station has completed its transfer, or the upstream station processing a car while the downstream station releases it prematurely. Figure 2As shown, the complete transfer path of a car body is as follows: starting from waiting position 1401, the vehicle sequentially completes the work of process equipment 121, 122, and 123 on the left side of the car body along the first working positions 1511, 1512, and 1513, then transfers to waiting position 1402, and then sequentially completes the work of process equipment 121, 122, and 123 on the right side of the car body along the second working positions 1521, 1522, and 1523, finally completing the processing work of process equipment 121, 122, and 123. The first working positions 1511, 1512, and 1513 and the second working positions 1521, 1522, and 1523 operate at staggered times. Taking a cycle of t as an example, during the period 0-0.5t, the grating 1102 of the upstream car body conveying channel 1301 is in a closed state to prevent the grating alarm from being triggered when the vehicle enters or leaves the work station enclosure area. The vehicle (such as an intelligent transport vehicle) at the first workstation 1513 moves with the vehicle body to the waiting position 1402, the vehicle at the first workstation 1512 moves with the vehicle body to the first workstation 1513, and the vehicle at the waiting position 1401 also moves with the vehicle body to the first workstation 1511. Since there is a distance between the workstations, and the process equipment would waste time if it waited for each vehicle body to arrive at its target position during the movement of the vehicle, it would be inefficient. Therefore, during the movement, process equipment 121, 122, and 123 can perform operations on the right side of the vehicle body at the second workstations 1521, 1522, and 1523, respectively. During these operations, the grating 1102 of the downstream vehicle body conveying channel 1302 is activated to prevent subsequent vehicles from entering. During the 0.5tt period, process equipment 121, 122, and 123 are moved to the side of the first working positions 1511, 1512, and 1513 respectively to perform operations on the left side of the vehicle body. The vehicle bodies at the second working positions 1521, 1522, and 1523 are sequentially transferred to the next position. The vehicle body at the second working position 1521 completes all processes on both sides of the vehicle body and can then be removed from the production line. The carrier at waiting position 1402 carries the vehicle body to the second working position 1523. Throughout the process, the vehicle's heading direction remains unchanged. This allows a single row of process equipment to complete processing on both sides of the vehicle body, improving equipment utilization while reducing the space occupied by additional process equipment.

[0034] As an optional implementation, when the process equipment queue is arranged in a bidirectional expansion pattern, multiple process equipment are arrayed along the vehicle body conveying direction and perpendicular to the vehicle body conveying direction, forming a process equipment matrix. In this matrix, the process equipment in each row is arranged along the vehicle body conveying direction according to a preset process sequence. The sequence number of each process equipment increases sequentially within its column. The vehicle body conveying channel includes a common vehicle body conveying channel and non-common vehicle body conveying channels. The common vehicle body conveying channel is located between adjacent process equipment perpendicular to the vehicle body conveying direction. Vehicle body conveying channels that are not common vehicle body conveying channels are non-common vehicle body conveying channels. Waiting positions are provided at the entrances of both common and non-common vehicle body conveying channels. For example, the preset process sequence is process equipment 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, etc. Figure 4 As shown, multiple process devices 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, and 129 are arranged in two rows and three columns along the vehicle body conveying direction and perpendicular to the vehicle body conveying direction, forming a process device matrix. The first row of the process device matrix contains process devices 124, 125, and 126, and the second row contains process devices 127, 128, and 129, all following a preset process sequence. The first column contains process devices 124 and 127, the second column contains process devices 125 and 128, and the third column contains process devices 126 and 129. The sequence number of each process device increases sequentially within its column. The vehicle body conveying channel 130 includes a common vehicle body conveying channel 1304 and non-common vehicle body conveying channels 1303 and 1305. The common vehicle body conveying channel 1304 is located between longitudinally adjacent process devices. Figure 4 In the middle process equipment 124, process equipment 127 are longitudinally adjacent; in the middle process equipment 125, process equipment 128 are longitudinally adjacent; and in the middle process equipment 126, process equipment 129 are longitudinally adjacent.

[0035] As an optional implementation method, such as Figure 4 As shown, the public vehicle body conveying channel 1304 is provided with public workstations 1524 corresponding to process equipment 124 and 127, public workstations 1525 corresponding to process equipment 125 and 128, and public workstations 1526 corresponding to process equipment 126 and 129. The non-public vehicle body conveying channel 1303 is provided with non-public workstations 1514, 1515, and 1516 corresponding to process equipment 124, 125, and 126, respectively. The non-public vehicle body conveying channel 1305 is provided with non-public workstations 1517, 1518, and 1519 corresponding to process equipment 127, 128, and 129, respectively.

[0036] Optionally, the bodywork station may also include an off-line area 160 for storing bodies that have completed all processes in the work area.

[0037] As an optional implementation method, Figure 5 A flowchart of a body processing method for a bidirectional extended process equipment provided in an embodiment of the present invention is shown below. Figure 5 As shown, the specific steps are as follows: S501, during the first half of the preset processing cycle, closes the grating in the non-public body transport channel and controls the carrier to transfer the body in the non-public body transport channel as a whole according to the preset process sequence. During the transfer process, opens the grating in the public body transport channel and processes both sides of the body at the public workstation in the public body transport channel through the process equipment; In this context, the overall transfer of car bodies within the non-public vehicle body transport channel according to a preset process sequence refers to the arrangement of N process devices within the non-public vehicle body transport channel according to a preset process sequence, and the non-public vehicle body transport channel having N non-public workstations corresponding to these process devices. During the overall transfer process, the car body parked at the waiting position in the non-public vehicle body transport channel is transferred to the first non-public workstation in the non-public vehicle body transport channel, the car body at the ith non-public workstation is transferred to the (i+1)th non-public workstation, and the car body at the Nth non-public workstation is transferred to the waiting position in the next segment of the public vehicle body transport channel.

[0038] S502, in the second half of the preset processing cycle, closes the grating of the public body transport channel and controls the vehicle to transfer the body in the public body transport channel as a whole according to the process sequence; during the transfer, opens the grating of the non-public body transport channel and processes the side of the body in the non-public work position of the non-public body transport channel that is close to the process equipment through the process equipment; during the transfer of the vehicle, the front direction of the body remains unchanged by controlling the movement posture of the vehicle.

[0039] The process of transferring the vehicles in the public vehicle transport channel in the whole according to the process sequence refers to transferring the vehicles parked in the waiting position of the public vehicle transport channel to the first public work station along the vehicle transport direction in the public vehicle transport channel, transferring the vehicles in the j-th public work station to the (j+1)-th public work station, and transferring the vehicles in the N-th public work station away from the current public work station.

[0040] In implementation, the processing flow is also divided into the first half and the second half of the processing cycle. Taking a cycle of t as an example, such as... Figure 4As shown, during the 0-0.5t period, the vehicle body at non-public workstation 1516 moves towards waiting position 1404; the vehicle body at non-public workstation 1515 also moves towards 1516; the vehicle body at non-public workstation 1514 also moves towards 1515; and the vehicle body at waiting position 1403 moves towards non-public workstation 1514. The vehicle body at non-public workstation 1519 moves towards the lower line area 160; the vehicle body at non-public workstation 1518 also moves towards 1519; the vehicle body at non-public workstation 1517 also moves towards 1518; and the vehicle body at waiting position 1405 moves towards non-public workstation 1517. During the movement, process equipment 124, 125, and 126 perform operations on the right side of the vehicle body at workstations 1524, 1525, and 1526, respectively. Simultaneously, process equipment 127, 128, and 129 perform operations on the left side of the vehicle body at common workstations 1524, 1525, and 1526, respectively. During the 0.5tt period, process equipment 124, 125, and 126 move to non-common workstations 1514, 1515, and 1516 to perform operations on the left side of the vehicle body. Simultaneously, process equipment 127, 128, and 129 move to workstations 1517, 1518, and 1519 to perform operations on the right side of the vehicle body. At common workstation 1524, the processing of both sides of the vehicle body by process equipment 124, 125, and 126, and the left side processing by process equipment 127, 128, and 129, have been completed. For side body processing, the vehicle moves to the left from common workstation 1524 to waiting position 1405. At the same time, the body at common workstation 1525 moves to 1524, the body at 1526 moves to 1525, and the body at waiting position 1404 moves to 1526, waiting for process equipment 124, 125, 126, 127, 128 and 129 to turn back in the next cycle for body processing. Subsequent workstations follow the same pattern. Throughout the entire process, the direction of the vehicle head remains unchanged.

[0041] The body processing method provided in this invention allows for flexible adaptation of the body workstation to different factory site conditions by arranging the process equipment queue in a lateral expansion or bidirectional expansion manner. When the production site has a long available space in the body conveying direction, a lateral expansion method can be used to arrange the process equipment queue to fully utilize the site length and achieve multi-equipment collaborative operation. When the production site has limited length in the conveying direction but still has expansion potential in the width direction, a bidirectional expansion method can be used to combine and arrange the process equipment, thereby reducing dependence on site length. Through the flexible selection of the above arrangement methods, the body processing method can be stably implemented under different factory structure conditions, avoiding the introduction of additional reversing lines or flipping mechanisms due to site limitations, reducing production line construction costs and modification complexity, and enhancing the flexibility and versatility of production line design. In addition, by dividing the processing actions and body transfer actions into time sequences within the same processing cycle, the processing cycle is matched with the production line cycle time, making full use of transfer time, thereby simplifying the production line structure and improving the utilization efficiency of process equipment.

[0042] It should be understood that, although Figure 3 and Figure 5 The steps in the flowchart are shown sequentially as indicated by the arrows, but these steps are not necessarily executed in the order indicated by the arrows. Unless otherwise specified herein, there is no strict order in which these steps are executed, and they can be performed in other orders. Figure 3 and Figure 5 At least some of the steps in the process may include multiple steps or multiple stages. These steps or stages are not necessarily completed at the same time, but may be executed at different times. The execution order of these steps or stages is not necessarily sequential, but may be executed in turn or alternately with other steps or at least some of the steps or stages in other steps.

[0043] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0044] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a related manner. Similar or identical parts between embodiments can be referred to mutually. Each embodiment focuses on describing the differences from other embodiments. In particular, the system embodiments are basically similar to the method embodiments, so the description is relatively simple; relevant parts can be referred to the descriptions of the method embodiments.

[0045] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0046] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative of several implementations of the present invention, and while the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these all fall within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of this invention patent should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A car body workstation, characterized in that, include: The workstation enclosure area contains a process equipment queue, which includes at least one group of process equipment arranged in a preset process sequence. Vehicle body conveying channels are located on both sides of the process equipment; The working positions are set on the vehicle body conveying channel, and the working range of the process equipment covers the working positions on both sides. Waiting positions are set outside the workstation enclosure area and corresponding to the entrance of the vehicle body conveying channel.

2. The car body workstation according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the process equipment queue is arranged in a horizontally expanding manner, multiple process equipment are arranged horizontally along the vehicle body conveying direction according to the preset process sequence. The vehicle body conveying channel includes an upstream vehicle body conveying channel and a downstream vehicle body conveying channel, and waiting positions are provided at the entrances of the upstream vehicle body conveying channel and the downstream vehicle body conveying channel.

3. The car body workstation according to claim 2, characterized in that, The upstream vehicle body conveying channel is provided with a first working position corresponding to the first side of the process equipment, and the downstream vehicle body conveying channel is provided with a second working position corresponding to the second side of the process equipment. The working range of the process equipment covers the first working position and the second working position.

4. The car body workstation according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the process equipment queue is arranged in a bidirectional expansion pattern, multiple process equipment are arrayed along the vehicle body conveying direction and perpendicular to the vehicle body conveying direction to form a process equipment matrix. Among them, the process equipment in each row of the process equipment matrix is ​​arranged according to the preset process sequence, and the sequence number of each process equipment is incremented in the column. The vehicle body conveying channel includes a common vehicle body conveying channel and a non-common vehicle body conveying channel. The common vehicle body conveying channel is set between adjacent process equipment perpendicular to the vehicle body conveying direction. The vehicle body conveying channel that is not the common vehicle body conveying channel is the non-common vehicle body conveying channel. Waiting positions are set at the entrance of the common vehicle body conveying channel and the non-common vehicle body conveying channel.

5. The car body workstation according to claim 4, characterized in that, The public vehicle body conveying channel is provided with a public workstation corresponding to the process equipment, and the non-public vehicle body conveying channel is provided with a non-public workstation corresponding to the process equipment. The working range of the process equipment covers the public and non-public workstations adjacent to the process equipment.

6. The bodywork station according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The vehicle body workstation is equipped with a vehicle with a steering function for transporting the vehicle body while maintaining the front-facing orientation of the vehicle body.

7. The bodywork station according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The workstation enclosure area also includes a fence and a light grating; wherein... The fence is set outside the workstation fence area to provide physical enclosure; The grating is formed on the fence and corresponds to the exit and entrance positions of the vehicle body conveying channel.

8. The car body workstation according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The process equipment includes one or more of the following: welding robot, spot welding clamp, automatic glue application equipment, and stud welding equipment.

9. A method for processing a car body, characterized in that, The method is applied to the car body workstation as described in any one of claims 2-3 and 6-8, and the method includes: During the first half of the preset processing cycle, the grating of the upstream vehicle body conveying channel is turned off, and the carrier is controlled to transfer the vehicle body in the upstream vehicle body conveying channel as a whole according to the preset process sequence; during the transfer process, the grating of the downstream vehicle body conveying channel is turned on, and the process equipment is controlled to process the second side of the vehicle body at the second working position of the downstream vehicle body conveying channel. In the latter half of the preset processing cycle, the grating of the upstream vehicle body conveying channel is turned on, and the carrier is controlled to transfer the vehicle body in the downstream vehicle body conveying channel as a whole according to the process sequence; during the transfer process, the grating of the upstream vehicle body conveying channel is turned on, and the process equipment is controlled to process the first side of the vehicle body at the first working position of the upstream vehicle body conveying channel. During the transport of the vehicle, the vehicle's front direction is kept constant by controlling the vehicle's movement posture.

10. A method for processing a car body, characterized in that, The method is applied to the car body workstation as described in any one of claims 4-8, and the method includes: During the first half of the preset processing cycle, the grating of the non-public vehicle body conveying channel is turned off, and the carrier is controlled to transfer the vehicle body in the non-public vehicle body conveying channel as a whole according to the preset process sequence; during the transfer process, the grating of the public vehicle body conveying channel is turned on, and the process equipment is controlled to process both sides of the vehicle body in the public work position of the public vehicle body conveying channel. During the latter half of the preset processing cycle, the grating of the public vehicle body conveying channel is turned off, and the carrier is controlled to transfer the vehicle body in the public vehicle body conveying channel as a whole according to the process sequence; during the transfer process, the grating of the non-public vehicle body conveying channel is turned on, and the process equipment is controlled to process the side of the vehicle body in the non-public work position of the non-public vehicle body conveying channel that is close to the process equipment. During the transport of the vehicle, the vehicle's front direction is kept constant by controlling the vehicle's movement posture.

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