Method for providing a body component of a motor vehicle at a production plant and an allocation device

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for providing a body component (3) of a motor vehicle at a production facility having a plurality of production units for series production of motor vehicles, wherein a part of a geometry of the body component is captured as a 3D point cloud (6) by means of at least one 3D sensor device (2), and a 3D model (7) of the part of the body component (3) is generated therefrom, and the 3D model (7) is compared with stored vehicle-model-specific geometry models, and based on the comparison, the body component (3) is provided at an output point of the production facility for one of the plurality of production units. The invention further relates to an allocation device (1).

Description

The invention relates to a method for providing a body component of a motor vehicle on a manufacturing plant according to the preamble of claim 1 and to an assignment device according to claim 9.A sensor for a roller conveyor and a method for detecting objects located on a roller conveyor are disclosed in EP 3 164 731 B1 as follows: Roller with a sensor for a roller conveyor, wherein the sensor comprises a transmitter, a receiver, a sensor element integrated into the roller, and an evaluation unit for detecting objects located on the roller conveyor on the basis of a sensor signal of the sensor element, wherein the sensor element has a high-frequency line and wherein the sensor signal is a high-frequency signal fed into the high-frequency line by the transmitter and subsequently received in the receiver, wherein the evaluation unit is designed to detect the presence of objects on the basis of influences of the high-frequency signal on the high-frequency line, characterized in that the high-frequency line is designed as a plurality of high-frequency lines distributed over the circumference of the roller; at least one wound line strip, which is designed as a microstrip line, slot line or coplanar line and whose curves in the circumferential direction take up additional area on the surface of the sensor element; or a hollow conductor with openings distributed over the circumference.In production systems for series production of motor vehicles, body components are frequently still sorted manually.It is the object of the invention to provide vehicle body components in an automated and particularly efficient manner at a production plant for a series production of motor vehicles.This object is achieved according to the invention by a method for providing a body component of a motor vehicle having the features of patent claim 1 and by an assignment device having the features of patent claim 9.Advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims, the description and the drawing.A first aspect of the invention relates to a method for providing a body component of a motor vehicle on a manufacturing system having a plurality of manufacturing units for a series production of motor vehicles.Motor vehicles are manufactured or produced in manufacturing facilities. Usually, not only a motor vehicle of one type or a vehicle model is manufactured in a manufacturing facility, but a plurality of vehicle models, for example a brand or a manufacturer. Production in such a production plant can thus not be of the same type. For the production or an assembly of a respective vehicle, a respective production unit can be provided in the production plant. The manufacturing unit may include a sensorless transport vehicle, a manufacturing line, and / or an assembly site. If the respective motor vehicle to be produced or the body component on which it is based is received by a automated guided vehicle, the latter can travel to a first installation place in order to mount a first body component on a second body component, at which installation place the body components are mounted with one another. In this case, successive transport vehicles can transport different vehicle types in each case, with the result that a body component matching the vehicle type is to be stored in each case at an installation location.Alternatively, if a plurality of vehicle models are to be produced there, the production plant can have a plurality of production lines along which the different vehicle models are produced. In a production process of a respective model along a respective production line or production line configured for this or specialized for this vehicle model, the vehicle model can be assembled from a plurality of vehicle parts at respective mounting locations arranged on the production line.For the assembly of a respective body of a respective model, body components are thus required at the respective production unit and in particular at the assembly site.The motor vehicle is designed, for example, as a passenger car or as a commercial vehicle. The motor vehicle can be drivable, for example, by means of an internal combustion engine and / or by means of at least one electric drive device. A body may be understood to mean the exterior or supporting part of the vehicle which surrounds and protects the vehicle chassis, the engines and the vehicle systems. The vehicle body includes, for example, the vehicle doors, the vehicle windows, and the vehicle wheels. Thus, different body components can be required in the production line. The vehicle-model-specific body components, i.e. the body components which are required for producing a vehicle model, should therefore be assigned in the production plant, for example after delivery, to a respective production unit in which they are installed to form the respective vehicle model.The method is characterized in that a part of a geometry of the body component is captured as a 3D point cloud by means of at least one 3D sensor device (3D: three-dimensional) and a 3D model of the part of the body component is generated therefrom, and the 3D model is compared with stored vehicle model-specific geometry models, in particular with body component geometry data, in particular by an electronic computing device, and the body component is produced, assigned or provided at an output point of the production installation for one or one of the plurality of production lines, in particular a vehicle model matching along which body component is produced on the basis of the comparison.In other words, a body component or a plurality of body components are led, for example, via a transport system to the output point via, for example, one or a plurality of delivery strings. Away from the output point, the transport system can feed a respective body component of a respective production line. In this case, provision can be made for delivery strings to be taken off or branched from the output point, which are each assigned to a respective production unit and a vehicle-model-specific body component delivered in each case to the output point is intended to be supplied or fed to the corresponding or matching production unit. At the output point, at least a part of the geometry of the body component is detected as 3D point wool by means of the 3D sensor device. By means of the 3D point cloud, a 3D model of at least the part of the body component is to be generated and compared with stored or stored vehicle model-specific geometry models, which represent or can describe body component geometry data. The comparison of the 3D model with, in particular a plurality of, geometry models can be carried out by means of an electronic computing device. On the basis of the comparison, that is to say on the basis of the result of the comparison, wherein a result can be that a body component is assigned to a vehicle model or vehicle type, the body component is assigned to a production unit which produces this vehicle type or along which the vehicle type is produced.This results in the advantage that a body component is assigned to a production unit in an automated manner, i.e. without human intervention or intervention, whereby the production cost of a vehicle model is reduced.One embodiment of the invention provides that the at least one 3D sensor device has at least one 3D camera, in particular a 3D LED camera (LED: light emitting diode), and / or a laser scanner and / or a LiDaR.A 3D camera is a camera system that enables the pictorial representation of distances of an entire scene or environment, for example as a 3D point cloud, i.e. enables the creation of a height profile of the body component that can be reflected by the 3D point cloud. 3D cameras can include the following systems: stereo cameras, in which the environment is recorded with two cameras simultaneously. Triangulation systems in which a light source images a defined pattern onto the object. A camera takes this pattern from a different angle of view and calculates the distance from the distortion. TOF (Time of Flight) cameras, which draw conclusions about the distance by measuring the time of flight of the light. Interferometry: These systems rely on interference between a measurement and object beam.A LiDaR (light detection and ranging) is an active optical sensor system and, by definition, has a light source, in particular a laser, for emitting light or light pulses. Furthermore, an active optical sensor system has, by definition, at least one optical detector in order to detect reflected components of the emitted light as sensor signals. The sensor signals can be received for creating the 3D point cloud and / or the 3D model of the electronic computing device. The 3D point cloud is a three-dimensional image or a real environment or an object. The 3D point cloud arises when the environment is digitally captured by, for example, laser scanning.The laser scanner in the sense of the invention is in particular a 3D laser scanner, which supplies one or more 3D point clouds as a result by means of a 3D laser scanning method and thus provides a complete image of a measurement scene or of the body component. Either individual dimensions such as lengths and angles are determined on the basis of the 3D point cloud or 3D point clouds, or a closed surface of triangles is constructed from it, for example for creating the 3D model of the body component (called mesh or mesh).This results in the advantage that the 3D point cloud for creating the 3D model, which images or describes the body component, can be generated by means of the 3D sensor device and dimensions of the part of the geometry of the body component can be detected in all three spatial directions and can be compared with the vehicle-model-specific geometry models.One embodiment of the invention provides that the body component is a vehicle door. The vehicle door is understood to mean a door, in particular of a motor vehicle, which, in an openable and closable manner, opens or closes an opening, for example for entering persons into or out of a motor vehicle. In addition, the vehicle door in the sense of the invention can also be understood to mean a trunk door or a trunk cover. A trunk cover may openly close a trunk of a motor vehicle. This results in the advantage that a vehicle-specific vehicle door can be supplied to or assigned to the corresponding or matching production unit in order to provide this vehicle door in a mountable manner for a vehicle type to be produced or a vehicle model to be produced.One embodiment of the invention provides that the part is an inner side of the vehicle door. In other words, the geometry of a side of the vehicle door facing the vehicle interior in the closed and fully assembled state is intended to be detected. At the time of the detection, the vehicle door may not yet have an inner lining, as a result of which a marked and easily detectable geometry is formed. The profile or configuration of a vehicle door inner side, which profile is particularly dependent on the vehicle model, has the advantage that a vehicle door can be assigned to a vehicle model particularly easily on the basis of its inner side.One embodiment of the invention provides that the vehicle-model-specific geometry models or the body component geometry data are body component-specific CAD models (CAD: Computer Aided Design). In other words, the generated 3D models are compared with CAD models or virtually created models of body components. In this case, a vehicle model is assigned to each of the CAD models. The CAD models can depict any body component that is to be installed in the manufacturing facility. The generated 3D model can now be compared with all the body components to be installed in the production plant, which are described by the CAD models. If a match with a CAD model is established as a result of the comparison, the higher-order vehicle model or the vehicle model assigned to the respective CAD model can be determined by the electronic computing device and, accordingly, the body component which has been detected by the 3D sensor device can be supplied to the corresponding production unit or production unit which produces this vehicle model. The CAD models can be retrievably stored on a data memory comprised by the electronic computing device. This results in the advantage that these CAD models can be used as vehicle-model-specific geometry models which have already been produced beforehand for the production or production of the respective body components. Thus, no further geometry models to be produced solely for the comparison need be produced, whereby a production outlay is reduced.An embodiment of the invention provides that for the provision a signal is transferred, in particular by the electronic computing device, to the transport system and / or to a process plant and the transport system feeds the body component to the corresponding production unit. The corresponding production unit means that on which a vehicle model is produced, to which the respective body component fits for the production of which the body component is required. The process plant may be the manufacturing plant or at least a part of the manufacturing plant. The process plant may include one or more manufacturing units. Depending on the signal, the process plant can execute a vehicle model-specific automatic program. The automatic program can describe a use of a respective body component in the production of a vehicle model to which the respective body component 3 can have been assigned. For this purpose, the body component can be transferred to a production unit determined by the automatic program. The process plant can thus identify which vehicle model is in the plant or which vehicle model a respective body component has to be assigned to without connection to a production network. Via the production network, the process plant and / or the transport system can be provided with an assignment of a body component to a vehicle model. However, the method according to the invention makes it possible, without a connection to the production system, to perform a matching of the "bead chain", that is to say of the body components arranged, for example, in a row on the transport system, with a vehicle model and the assignment to a vehicle model. The invention can thus also be referred to as "island solution". Additionally or alternatively, an assignment of a body component carried out by the assignment device can be confirmed and / or checked when the assignment device is connected to the production system. This results in the advantage that an assignment of body components without their marking can be carried out or achieved, for example, by attaching an RFID tag to each body component (RFID: Radio Frequency Identification).The transport system can comprise at least one delivery line and a plurality of delivery lines along which body components can be conveyed. The one or more delivery strings may transport or transport body components of different vehicle models to the delivery location. The supply strings can each be assigned to a production unit and can supply body components transferred or assigned to them at the output point to them. Depending on the signal, a body component can be transferred to a supply line which is assigned to a production unit, wherein the signal can describe the result of the comparison of the respective body component, i.e. the vehicle model. This results in the advantage that the respective body components assigned to a vehicle model can be supplied to a production unit in an automated manner.One embodiment of the invention provides that during the comparison at least one surface of the 3D model is brought into coincidence with in each case at least one surface of the stored vehicle model-specific geometry models. In other words, an easily identifiable, in particular a distinctive, geometric area in the 3D model is to be extracted by the electronic computing device, for example, or recognized or defined as such, and aligned with a geometric area in the stored geometric models. By the registration made in the comparison, a match can be found as a result of the comparison.The surface, which can also be referred to as the distinctive geometric area, can be, for example, an area framed or bounded by a viewing edge or visible edge. Such a possible visible edge can be, for example, the outer border of the geometric component or a visible border of an embossing and / or profiling and / or recess of the body component or a border of an embossing and / or profiling and / or recess that can be detected or detected by the 3D sensor device. For a comparison of the pure shape of a surface, geometric dimensions can additionally be compared, such as, for example, a longest side of the surface or of the entire body component or a depth of the surface in the case of a profile proceeding from a reference height, which can be, for example, an absolute spatial depth in one of the three spatial directions or side edge of the body component. For this purpose, the dimension of the body component can be recognized by the 3D sensor device and the dimensions can be stored in the stored geometry models or the dimensions can be readable from the geometry models. This results in the advantage that the body components can be assigned to a vehicle model in a particularly efficient and / or reliable manner.One embodiment of the invention provides that the comparison is carried out by means of a method of machine learning by a self-learning algorithm and / or a neural network. For training or training the self-learning algorithm or the neural network, the vehicle model-specific geometry models, such as CAD models, can be used. This results in the advantage that a self-learning algorithm, which has been trained once, or a neural network, which has been trained once, can be used or used in a plurality of production installations which produce at least in part the vehicle models whose geometry models have been used for training.A second aspect of the invention relates to an assignment device for providing a body component of a motor vehicle on a manufacturing system having a plurality of manufacturing units for a series production of motor vehicles, comprising at least one 3D sensor device which is designed to carry out a method according to the first aspect of the invention.Advantages and advantageous refinements of the first aspect of the invention are to be regarded as advantages and advantageous refinements of the second aspect of the invention and vice versa.In order to carry out the method, the electronic computing device is part of the invention. The electronic computing device, which is configured to provide a body component of a motor vehicle at the manufacturing facility for a series production of motor vehicles, is characterized in that it is configured to carry out an embodiment of the method according to the invention. The electronic computing device can have a data processing device or a processor circuit which is configured to carry out an embodiment of the method according to the invention. The processor circuit can comprise a microprocessor, for example. Furthermore, the processor circuit can execute program code in order to carry out the method according to the invention.It can be provided that, according to the method, an error message and / or a request for an input of a user is output and / or an initial state is assumed, for example, by the electronic computing device if situations, not described in detail here, result or occur in the method.In particular, the assignment device can comprise or have the described electronic computing device.Further features of the invention are evident from the claims, the figures and the description of the figures. The features and combinations of features mentioned above in the description and the features and combinations of features mentioned below in the description of the figures and / or shown alone in the figures can be used not only in the respectively specified combination but also in other combinations or alone.The invention will now be explained in more detail on the basis of a preferred exemplary embodiment and with reference to the drawings. It shows: FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of an assignment apparatus with a transport system with body components and 3D sensor device; and FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of a comparison of a 3D model with a vehicle-model-specific geometry model of a body component by means of bringing surfaces to coincide.FIG. 1 shows an assignment device 1, which can be designed to carry out a method for providing a body component 3 of a motor vehicle on a production installation having a plurality of production units for series production of motor vehicles. The assignment device 1 can show at least one 3D sensor device 2 and a transport system 4. The assignment device 1 can be arranged in a production plant or be part of a production plant in which different vehicle models, i.e. not of the same type, are produced.The production or the assembly of individual respective vehicle models from vehicle model-specific body components, i.e. body components which are assigned to a vehicle model, can be carried out. The body components 3 assigned to a different vehicle model in each case can be conveyed into a detection region of the 3D sensor device 2 by means of a delivery line 10 surrounded by the transport system 4. The delivery line 10 can be designed, for example, as a ceiling conveyor belt, i.e. a conveyor belt which is attached to a ceiling.As shown in FIG. 1, the body components 3 may be vehicle doors. The vehicle doors may not yet have an interior trim and in particular have at least one characteristic surface or a characteristic profile on the inner side, i.e. on the side facing a vehicle interior in the finished state and in the closed state of the vehicle door. This profile can be produced, for example, by holes or recesses. The body components 3 or the vehicle doors can be supplied with this inner side of the 3D sensor device facing the 3D sensor device.For detecting the respective body component 3, the delivery line 10 can stop the delivery in the detection region for a defined period of time, for example 0.5 to 10 s, in particular 2 to 5 s, so that the respective body component 3 supplied to the detection region does not move or is not delivered in the detection region for this period of time. The assignment device 1 can be branched into a plurality of supply strings after or behind the assignment device 1, as viewed in a conveying direction of the drive train 10. The supply strings can each be assigned to a production unit.Furthermore, FIG. 1 shows that a vehicle door inner side can be detected by the 3D sensor device 2. Then, by means of a comparison, which can be carried out in an electronic computing device comprised by the assignment apparatus 1, with vehicle-model-specific geometry models, the vehicle door inner side can be assigned to a vehicle model. A result of the comparison or comparison, i.e. to which vehicle model the respective body component 3 located in the detection region has been assigned, can be output as a signal to the transport system 4 and / or to a process installation and can be received by the transport system 4, for example via a control device comprised by the transport system 4. As a function of the signal, the transport system 4, i.e. the computing device, can assign the respective body component to a delivery line during further conveying, i.e. when leaving the detection region in the conveying direction, or transfer it to a delivery line which leads to a production unit in which the vehicle model to which the body component or the respective body component corresponds is produced. Additionally or alternatively, the process plant may execute a vehicle model-specific automatic program as a function of the signal that may have been output to the process plant. The automatic program can describe a use of a respective body component 3 in the production of a vehicle model to which the respective body component 3 can have been assigned.The 3D sensor device 2 can be adjustable in height and side, for example, by means of a mechanical arm or a mechanical device, such that the detection region can be adapted to a shape or size of a respective body component 3. At one end of a respective supply line, the respective body component 3 can be transferred to a respective production unit. The 3D sensor device 2 can have a 3D camera, in particular a 3D LED camera, and / or a laser scanner and / or a lidar. The 3D sensor device 2 can be configured to acquire or generate a height or depth profile of the respective body component 3 located in the acquisition region. For this purpose, at least a part of a geometry of the body component 3, as shown in FIG. 1, for example of a door inner side, can be captured as a 3D point cloud.FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of a comparison of a 3D model 7 with a vehicle-model-specific geometry model of a body component 3 by means of bringing surfaces into registration. If a body component 3 is located in the detection region of the 3D sensor device 2, the 3D sensor device 2 can detect at least a part of the geometry of the body component 3.The part of the geometry, which can be, for example, a vehicle door inner side, can be detected as a 3D point cloud 6, which is created, for example, by the electronic computing device, which can be included in the assignment device, of a 3D geometry model. The electronic computing device can comprise a data memory on which vehicle-model-specific geometry models of all body components 3 relevant or installed in the production plant are stored in a retrievable manner. Additionally or alternatively, the vehicle-model-specific geometry models can be provided to the electronic computing device in such a way that they can be called up, for example via a data interface. The geometry models can be, for example, CAD models 8, as shown in FIG. 2.The 3D sensor device 2 can be designed to record a height or depth profile of at least the part of the geometry of the body component 3. By means of the electronic computing device, it is thereby possible, for example on the basis of recesses, such as holes, to identify or define a characteristic surface 5 which faces the 3D sensor device 2. When comparing with the vehicle-model-specific geometry models or CAD models 8, the electronic computing device can attempt to bring these one or, for example, a plurality of surfaces 5 into alignment with corresponding surfaces 5 of a geometry model. In this case, the respective models, i.e. the 3D model 7 and the geometry model, can be scaled accordingly, so that both models are comparable. If at least one surface 5 of the 3D model 7 is brought into coincidence with a surface 5 of a geometry model, the electronic computing device can read out which vehicle model is stored in the geometry model and the geometry model is assigned to it. This vehicle type assigned to the geometry model or the stored vehicle model can represent a result of the comparison.This result can be transferred from the electronic computing device as a signal to the transport system 4 and / or to the process plant. The comparison can be carried out by means of a method of machine learning, for example a self-learning algorithm and / or a neural network. The self-learning algorithm and / or the neural network can be trained or have been trained, for example, with geometry models or CAD models 8 and can be stored on a or the data memory of the electronic computing device and provided in an executable manner. In particular, in the comparison, body component geometry data extracted from the geometry models can be compared with the surfaces extracted from the 3D model. The body component geometry data can be understood to mean, for example, prominent edges or shapes, in particular lines intersecting at a specific angle with respect to one another.The method and the assignment device 1 provide an advantageous detection of a door type by means of a point cloud by 3D camera.List of reference characters1 Assignment device 2 3D sensor device 3 Body component 4 Transport system 5 Surface 6 3D point cloud 7 3D model 8 CAD model 9 Comparison 10 Delivery lineReferences included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedEP 3 164 731 B1

[0002]

Claims

Method for providing a body component (3) of a motor vehicle on a manufacturing installation having a plurality of manufacturing units for series production of motor vehicles, characterized in that, by means of at least one 3D sensor device (2), a part of a geometry of the body component is detected as a 3D point cloud (6) and a 3D model (7) of the part of the body component (3) is generated therefrom, and the 3D model (7) is compared with stored vehicle-model-specific geometry models and, on the basis of the comparison, the body component (3) is provided at an output point of the manufacturing installation for one of the plurality of manufacturing units.Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the at least one 3D sensor device (2) has at least one 3D camera and / or a laser scanner and / or a LiDaR.Method according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the body component (3) is a vehicle door.Method according to claim 3, characterised in that the part is an inner side of the vehicle door.Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the vehicle-model-specific geometry models are CAD models (8).Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a signal is transferred to a transport system (4) and / or to a process plant for the purpose of providing, and the transport system (4) feeds the body component (3) to the corresponding production unit.Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that during the comparison at least one surface (5) of the 3D model (6) is brought into coincidence with in each case at least one surface (5) of the stored vehicle model-specific geometry models.Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the comparison is carried out by means of a method of machine learning by means of a self-learning algorithm and / or a neural network.Assignment device (1) for providing a body component (3) of a motor vehicle on a production installation having a plurality of production units for series production of motor vehicles, comprising at least one 3D sensor device (2) which is designed to carry out a method according to one of the claims.

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