Method for depositing at least one adhesive pad onto an element

Abstract

TITLE. Method for depositing at least one adhesive pad onto a component. The invention relates to a method for depositing at least one adhesive pad onto a component. This depositing method comprises, firstly, a step of gripping said at least one adhesive pad at the level of a distribution system, this by means of a suction cup and by suction under a determined gripping suction pressure, secondly, a step of conveying said at least one adhesive pad from the distribution system to the component, this by means of the suction cup and by suction under a determined conveying suction pressure, secondly, a further step of applying said at least one adhesive pad onto the component by means of the suction cup, and thirdly, a further step of checking that said at least one adhesive pad adheres to the component.This process is characterized in that the control step comprises, on the one hand, a traction step, on said at least one adhesive pad and by means of the suction cup, aimed at removing said at least one adhesive pad from the element and, on the other hand, a detection step of the presence or absence of said at least one adhesive pad on the suction cup.

Description

Title of the invention: Method for depositing at least one adhesive pad onto an element

[0001] The present invention relates to a method of depositing at least one adhesive pad on an element, more particularly consisting of an element of a motor vehicle.

[0002] This invention relates to the field of tooling, more particularly to the field of manufacturing tools which are designed to grasp an object at the level of an element located in a determined place, to move this object to another place where an element is located, to position this object at the level of this element, and to equip this element with this object.

[0003] This invention relates, then, more particularly to a tool which is designed to deposit an adhesive pad on an element more particularly constituted by an element of a motor vehicle.

[0004] Without being limited to it, this invention will find a particularly suitable application when it comes to depositing an adhesive pad on an element having an opening, more particularly at the level of this opening and with a view to closing this opening by means of this adhesive pad.

[0005] Methods for depositing at least one adhesive pad on an element, in particular an element of a motor vehicle, are already known.

[0006] Such a dispensing method includes a step of picking up an adhesive pad from a dispensing system for at least one such adhesive pad, in particular by means of a suction cup. This dispensing method also includes a step of conveying the adhesive pad from the dispensing system to the element by means of the suction cup. The dispensing method also includes a step of applying the adhesive pad to the element by means of the suction cup. Finally, the dispensing method includes a step of checking that the adhesive pad adheres to the element.

[0007] It will be noted that the control step is usually implemented by an optical detector and consists, on the one hand, of recording and capturing reference data corresponding to the element and the opening it comprises, before the step of applying the adhesive pad to the element and at the opening, on the other hand, of recording shuttering data corresponding to the element and the opening of this element, after the step of applying the adhesive pad to the element and at the opening, and, on the other hand, of comparing the reference data and the shuttering data. to observe either a difference between these data which allows us to determine that the opening is blocked by the adhesive pad, or a correspondence between these data which allows us to determine that the opening is not blocked by the adhesive pad.

[0008] This control step has a number of drawbacks. In particular, this control step requires the presence, on the one hand, of an optical detector (more particularly at the level of the suction cup) which is an additional part, on the other hand, of a data management system (reference and shutter) and, on the other hand, of means of connection (in particular wired) of said optical detector to the data management system.

[0009] It will be noted that this control step makes it possible to determine accurately whether the opening of the element is blocked by an adhesive pad, even in the absence of such an adhesive pad on the element and at the opening. This may be the case when no adhesive pad has been applied to the element. This may also be the case when, on the one hand, the opening is made on a substantially vertical part of the element or when the adhesive pad is applied to the underside of the element and, on the other hand, the adhesive pad has not adhered to the element due to a lack of adhesive on the pad, insufficient application force of the adhesive pad on the element, or contamination of the element's surface (in particular by grease or silicone) which prevents the adhesive pad from adhering.

[0010] However, when the application of the adhesive pad is ensured on a substantially horizontal part of the element and from the top of this element, this control step may determine that the opening is closed by the adhesive pad when this adhesive pad may simply rest on the element without adhering to it or adhering to it insufficiently, in particular due to an insufficiency or absence of adhesive on the adhesive pad, due to soiling of the surface of the element or due to too weak an application force of the adhesive pad on the element.

[0011] Furthermore, regardless of the orientation of the part of the element containing the opening, this inspection step does indeed determine the presence of an adhesive pad on the element, but it does not determine whether this adhesive pad adheres properly to the element. However, if such an adhesive pad does not adhere properly to the element, it will not fulfill the function for which it was designed. In particular, even if the presence of this adhesive pad has been confirmed during the inspection step, it may not fulfill its sealing function (against air and / or water) and / or its acoustic function (notably sound attenuation or even sound insulation), which is not acceptable.

[0012] To verify that the adhesive pad adheres properly to the component, the inspection step can be supplemented by a validation step, which may consist of a waterproofing test (in particular, a test known as a water column test) or an impact test (in particular, a puncture test). Such a validation step, on the one hand, is an additional, time-consuming step that lengthens the manufacturing time of the component and increases its manufacturing cost, and on the other hand, requires the acquisition and implementation of additional, specific, and potentially cumbersome equipment.

[0013] The disadvantages mentioned above are amplified by the fact that such an element usually has a plurality of openings, or even a large number of these openings.

[0014] The present invention is intended to remedy, at least in part, the drawbacks of prior art methods.

[0015] To this end, the invention relates to a method for depositing at least one adhesive pad onto an element. This depositing method comprises, firstly, a gripping step which consists of gripping said at least one adhesive pad at the level of a distribution system for at least one such adhesive pad, this by means of a suction cup and by suction under a determined gripping suction pressure, secondly, a conveying step which consists of conveying said at least one adhesive pad from the distribution system to the element, this by means of the suction cup and by suction under a determined conveying suction pressure, secondly, an application step which consists of applying said at least one adhesive pad onto the element by means of the suction cup, and thirdly, a control step which consists of checking that said at least one adhesive pad adheres to the element.This application process is characterized by the fact that the control step comprises, on the one hand, a traction step which consists of applying, on said at least one adhesive pad and by means of the suction cup, a traction which aims to remove said at least one adhesive pad from the element and, on the other hand, a detection step which consists, at least during the traction step, of detecting the presence or absence of said adhesive pad on the suction cup.

[0016] Another characteristic relates to the fact that the traction step consists, on the one hand, of exerting a determined traction suction pressure on said at least one adhesive pad, this by means of the suction cup and, on the other hand, of moving the suction cup away from the element.

[0017] According to another feature, the detection step comprises, on the one hand, a step a measurement step which consists of measuring a pressure at the level of the suction cup or at the level of a pneumatic circuit associated with this suction cup, this at least during the traction step, on the other hand, a comparison step of the pressure measured during the measurement step with a setpoint pressure and, on the other hand, a determination step which consists, either and in the case of a measured pressure less than or equal to the setpoint pressure, of determining the presence of said at least one adhesive pad on the suction cup, or and in the case of a measured pressure greater than the setpoint pressure, of determining the absence of said at least one adhesive pad on the suction cup.

[0018] Thus, the deposition process according to the present invention includes a control step, on the one hand, which includes a traction step and a detection step and, on the other hand, which advantageously allows checking that an adhesive pad is absent from the suction cup and, therefore, that such an adhesive pad adheres satisfactorily to an element which then allows said adhesive pad to fulfill its function, more particularly of sealing and / or acoustic, at the level of an opening which includes said element.

[0019] With regard to said traction step, this is implemented by means of the suction cup which advantageously makes use of the suction cup which the removal device already includes, without having to resort to an additional device, or even one separate from the removal device.

[0020] This control step also includes a detection step which is implemented at the level of the suction cup and / or at the level of means which are associated with this suction cup which, again, advantageously allows the use of means which the removal device includes without having to resort to an additional device (more particularly in the form of a sensor), or even one separate from the removal device.

[0021] Furthermore, this control step can be implemented during the traction step (i.e., when the suction cup is moved away from the element) and therefore does not require an additional time-consuming step, thus advantageously avoiding any increase in the duration of the adhesive pad dispensing cycle. Additionally, this control step advantageously allows for a particularly short dispensing cycle time, specifically on the order of 1.2 seconds.

[0022] Additionally, the traction and detection steps are, at least in part, implemented by a pneumatic system included in the removal device, which manages the pressure within the removal device (more particularly at the suction cup), and which already controls the suction cup so that these steps (traction and detection) do not require additional means and can be easily controlled, more particularly by means (more particularly by the pneumatic system), which the removal device already includes, and which already control the suction cup of this removal device.

[0023] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent during the following description relating to embodiments which are given only by way of indicative and non-limiting examples.

[0024] Thus, the present invention relates to the field of tooling, more particularly to the field of manufacturing tools which are designed to grasp an object at the level of an element located in a determined place, to move this object to another place where an element is located, to position this object at the level of this element, and to equip this element with this object.

[0025] The invention relates, therefore, to a method for depositing at least one adhesive pad onto an element, more particularly an element of a motor vehicle. Such an element may be a structural element, a chassis element, a body element, or a bodywork element of such a motor vehicle.

[0026] In particular, this element comprises at least one opening, while the method of depositing said at least one adhesive pad consists of depositing said at least one adhesive pad in such a way as to close such an opening.

[0027] The method of depositing at least one adhesive pad comprises a plurality of steps which can be implemented by means of a device for depositing at least one adhesive pad.

[0028] This deposition method includes a grasping step which consists of grasping said at least one adhesive pad at the level of a distribution system of at least one such adhesive pad, more particularly on an assembly, which this distribution system comprises, which may take the form of a roll, and which comprises a strip as well as at least one adhesive pad which temporarily adheres to this strip.

[0029] This gripping step is implemented by means of a suction cup (which is included in the depositing device) and by suction under a determined gripping suction pressure.

[0030] In this regard, it will be noted that this determined suction pressure is between -50kPa and -100kPa, preferably between -75kPa and -90kPa.

[0031] This deposition process also includes a conveying step which consists of conveying said at least one adhesive pad from the distribution system to the element, this via the suction cup and by suction under a determined conveying suction pressure.

[0032] In this regard, it will be noted that this determined delivery suction pressure is between -50kPa and -100kPa, preferably between -75kPa and -90kPa.

[0033] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, this determined conveying suction pressure can be substantially equal to the determined grasping suction pressure, which makes it possible to maintain said at least one adhesive pad within the suction cup.

[0034] In addition, this application method includes an application step which consists of applying said at least one adhesive pad to the element, this by means of the suction cup.

[0035] Finally, this application process includes a control step which consists of checking that said at least one adhesive pad adheres to the element. In fact, this control step consists, more specifically, of checking that said at least one adhesive pad adheres appropriately to the element, so that said at least one adhesive pad fulfills its function, more specifically of sealing (to air and / or water) and / or acoustic (in particular of attenuation, or even sound insulation) at the level of an opening in said element.

[0036] The control step comprises, on the one hand, a traction step which consists of exerting, on said at least one adhesive pad and by means of the suction cup, a traction which aims to remove said at least one adhesive pad from the element and, on the other hand, a detection step which consists, at least during the traction step (or even before and / or after), of detecting the presence or absence of said at least one adhesive pad on the suction cup (and, consequently and respectively, the absence or presence of said at least one adhesive pad on the element).

[0037] As regards the said traction step, this consists, on the one hand, of exerting a determined traction suction pressure on said adhesive pad, this by means of the suction cup and, on the other hand, of moving the suction cup away from the element.

[0038] In this regard, it will be noted that this determined traction suction pressure is between -50kPa and -100kPa, preferably between -75kPa and -90kPa.

[0039] According to another feature, the determined traction suction pressure may be greater than the determined gripping suction pressure and / or the determined conveying suction pressure.

[0040] However, and according to a preferred embodiment, the determined traction suction pressure is less than or equal to the determined gripping suction pressure and / or the determined conveying suction pressure.

[0041] This feature advantageously allows, on the one hand, the grasping and conveying of said at least one adhesive pad under a pressure (a determined grasping suction and a determined conveying suction) which can be moderate (but sufficient for such grasping and conveying) and, on the other hand, by exerting a traction suction pressure which may be lower, to determine whether the adhesive pad does not adhere properly to the element or adheres properly to the element, or even adheres strongly to the element.

[0042] As mentioned above, the control step also includes a detection step.

[0043] This detection step includes, on the one hand, a measurement step which consists of measuring a pressure at the level of the suction cup or at the level of a pneumatic circuit associated with this suction cup (more particularly a pneumatic circuit which establishes the determined grasping suction pressure, the determined conveying suction pressure and / or the determined traction suction pressure at the level of the suction cup), this at least during the traction step, or even subsequently.

[0044] On the other hand, this detection step includes a step of comparing the pressure recorded during the recording step with a setpoint pressure.

[0045] Furthermore, this detection step includes a determination step which consists, either and in the event of a measured pressure less than or equal to the set pressure, of determining the presence of said at least one adhesive pad on the suction cup (and, therefore, the fact that said at least one adhesive pad does not adhere at all to the element or does not adhere appropriately to this element to fulfill its function), or and in the event of a measured pressure greater than the set pressure, of determining the absence of said at least one adhesive pad on the suction cup (and, therefore, the fact that said at least one adhesive pad adheres to the element, this in an appropriate manner so that this adhesive pad fulfills its function).

[0046] According to another feature, the set pressure is between -50kPa and -100kPa, preferably between -75kPa and -90kPa.

[0047] According to a particular embodiment, the setpoint pressure is equal to the determined intake suction pressure.

[0048] Alternatively, the setpoint pressure is equal to the determined traction suction pressure.

[0049] Yet another feature of the invention is that the application method includes a step for selecting the determined suction grip pressure. This selection step advantageously allows the determined suction grip pressure to be adapted to the characteristics of the suction cup (in particular to the diameter of a suction duct comprising this suction cup and / or to the size of the surface of the adhesive pad on which the suction cup exerts suction) and / or to the characteristics of said at least one adhesive pad (in particular to its size – for example, its diameter and / or thickness – its flexibility, mechanical resistance, surface finish or tackiness, in particular known by the Anglo-Saxon term "tack") and / or to the adhesion of said at least one adhesive pad to the band of the set mentioned above.

[0050] According to an alternative or (and preferably) additional feature, the dispensing process includes a step for selecting the determined delivery suction pressure. This selection step advantageously allows the determined delivery suction pressure to be adapted to the characteristics of the suction cup (in particular to the diameter of a suction duct comprising this suction cup and / or to the size of the surface of the adhesive pad on which the suction cup exerts suction) and / or to the characteristics of said at least one adhesive pad (in particular to the size - for example, the diameter and / or the thickness - the flexibility, the mechanical resistance, the surface condition or the tackiness).

[0051] Alternatively or (and preferably) additionally, the dispensing method includes a step for selecting the determined traction suction pressure. This selection step advantageously allows the determined traction suction pressure to be adapted to the characteristics of the suction cup (in particular the characteristics of the suction cup mentioned above) and / or to the characteristics of at least one adhesive pad (in particular the characteristics of the adhesive pad mentioned above) and / or to the required adhesion force of the adhesive pad on the element so that the adhesive pad adheres appropriately to the element in order to perform its function.

[0052] An additional feature relates to the fact that, during the delivery step, this dispensing process may include a step of adjusting the suction pressure to the determined delivery suction pressure.

[0053] This adjustment step advantageously allows said at least one adhesive pad to be kept in place on the suction cup despite possible degradation of said at least one adhesive pad (for example, a crack or split in said at least one adhesive pad) and / or despite an irregular surface condition of said at least one adhesive pad.

Claims

Demands

1. A method for depositing at least one adhesive pad onto an element, this depositing method comprises, firstly, a gripping step which consists of gripping said at least one adhesive pad at the level of a distribution system for at least one such adhesive pad, this by means of a suction cup and by suction under a determined gripping suction pressure, secondly, a conveying step which consists of conveying said at least one adhesive pad from the distribution system to the element, this by means of the suction cup and by suction under a determined conveying suction pressure, secondly, an application step which consists of applying said at least one adhesive pad onto the element by means of the suction cup, and secondly, a control step which consists of checking that said at least one adhesive pad adheres to the element.characterized by the fact that the control step comprises, on the one hand, a traction step which consists of applying, on said at least one adhesive pad and via the suction cup, a traction aimed at removing said at least one adhesive pad from the element and, on the other hand, a detection step which consists, at least during the traction step, of detecting the presence or absence of said at least one adhesive pad on the suction cup.

2. A method for depositing at least one adhesive pad onto an element according to claim 1, characterized in that the traction step consists, on the one hand, of exerting a determined traction suction pressure on said at least one adhesive pad, this by means of the suction cup and, on the other hand, of moving the suction cup away from the element.

3. Method of depositing at least one adhesive pad on an element according to claim 2, characterized in that the determined traction suction pressure is less than or equal to the determined gripping suction pressure.

4. Method of depositing at least one adhesive pad on an element according to any one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that the determined traction suction pressure is between -50kPa and -100kPa, preferably between -75kPa and -90kPa.

5. Method for depositing at least one adhesive pad onto an element according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the determined suction pressure of grasping and / or the determined suction pressure of conveying is between -50kPa and -100kPa, preferably between -75kPa and -90kPa.

6. A method for depositing at least one adhesive pad on an element according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the detection step comprises, on the one hand, a measurement step which consists of measuring a pressure at the level of the suction cup or at the level of a pneumatic circuit associated with this suction cup, this at least during the traction step, on the other hand, a comparison step of the pressure measured during the measurement step with a setpoint pressure and, on the other hand, a determination step which consists, either and in the case of a measured pressure less than or equal to the setpoint pressure, of determining the presence of said at least one adhesive pad on the suction cup, or and in the case of a measured pressure greater than the setpoint pressure, of determining the absence of said at least one adhesive pad on the suction cup.

7. Method of depositing at least one adhesive pad on an element according to claim 6, characterized in that the set pressure is equal to the determined gripping suction pressure.

8. Method of depositing at least one adhesive pad on an element according to claims 2 and 6, characterized in that the set pressure is equal to the determined traction suction pressure.

9. A method for depositing at least one adhesive pad onto an element according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a step of selecting the determined gripping suction pressure.

10. Method of depositing at least one adhesive pad on an element according to claim 2, characterized in that it comprises a step of selecting the determined traction suction pressure.

11. A method for depositing at least one adhesive pad onto an element according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, during the delivery step, the method includes a step of adjusting the suction pressure to the determined delivery suction pressure.