Assembly Pallet With Rotatable Platform And Adjustable Cross-Member
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Solution Overview
Problem
In modern assembly lines, particularly in the automotive sector, there is a need for pallets that offer high flexibility in orienting and positioning components to ease and quicken assembly operations, reduce physical strain on operators, and allow for easy adaptation to operator-specific requirements.
Innovation Solution
A pallet design featuring a base structure with a rotatable platform, vertically movable columns, and an arch-like cross-member that can be positioned at various heights and orientations, enabling the component to be securely held and easily accessed from multiple angles, with locking mechanisms ensuring stability and adaptability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the pallet uses a fixed structure for supporting pieces, then the structure is simple and stable, but the flexibility in orienting and positioning components is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The pallet is divided into modular components: a base structure, multiple vertically movable columns with independent positioning, and an arch-like cross-member that can be rotated and locked at different orientations. This segmentation allows each component to be adjusted independently, providing flexibility in component positioning while maintaining structural simplicity through standardized modules.
Solution Approach 2:
The pallet incorporates dynamically adjustable elements including vertically movable columns that can be positioned at different heights along the uprights, and an arch-like cross-member that can be rotated around a vertical axis and locked at various angular positions. These dynamic features enable the pallet to adapt to different assembly requirements without requiring a completely different structure for each configuration.
2Ease of operation
If the pallet structure is made complex to allow quick adaptation to operator requirements, then adaptability improves, but the structure becomes more complicated and harder to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The pallet is equipped with pre-configured locating pins on the base structure and corresponding receptacles on the arch-like cross-member, along with latch mechanisms and locking means that are already in place. This preliminary preparation allows operators to quickly adjust the pallet configuration by simply engaging or disengaging these pre-positioned elements, rather than requiring complex assembly procedures or specialized tools, thus improving ease of operation without proportionally increasing structural complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the piece is positioned at a fixed height on the pallet, then the structure is simpler, but it becomes harder to adapt to different operator heights and assembly needs
Solution Approach 1:
The columns are designed to be vertically movable along the uprights of the base structure, with latch means that can lock the columns at different vertical positions. This dynamic vertical adjustment capability allows the arch-like cross-member and the piece it carries to be positioned at various heights, accommodating different operator heights and assembly requirements while maintaining a relatively simple mechanical structure through the use of guided movement and discrete locking positions.
Data Source
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AI summary
A pallet for conveying pieces or components in assembly lines comprises a base structure (2), which is to be positioned on a conveyor line (L), a platform (3) rotatably mounted above the base structure (2), a pair of vertical uprights (22) which are spaced from each other and extend upwardly from two peripheral areas of said platform (3), a pair of vertical columns (24) which are respectively supported within said vertical uprights (22) and are movable vertically between a lowered position and a raised position, and an arch-like cross-member (37) having end portions (371) removably coupled with, and above, vertical locating pins (27) projecting from the upper ends of said columns (24), said cross-member being provided with connecting means (38) for supporting a piece or component, such as an engine block (B) in a cantilever fashion, at an elevated position with respect to the plane of said rotatable platform (3). The arch-like cross-member (37) can support the piece at different heights, due to the possibility of adjusting the height of the columns (24). Moreover it can be positioned on said columns (22) in any of two positions which are rotated by 180 degrees relative to each other around a horizontal axis extending in the direction of the arch-like cross-member (37). These features, along with the possibility of rotating the platform (3), enable the piece to be oriented in a plurality of different ways and at different heights, in order to render the assembly operations easy and simple.