Mobile Door Support for Assembly Line Flexibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current motor-vehicle assembly line systems face inefficiencies due to overhead structures for supplying and installing doors, leading to high maintenance costs and limited flexibility, especially in small-scale productions where these solutions become impractical.
Innovation Solution
A mobile support system for motor-vehicle doors that eliminates the need for overhead structures, featuring articulated members and a slider mechanism allowing for vertical support and horizontal adjustment, enabling easy installation and reconfiguration without requiring civil engineering work.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If overhead lines are used to supply motor-vehicle doors, then door supply function is achieved, but static load on building structure increases and flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using overhead lines to supply doors from above, the invention uses ground-based mobile support units that move along the assembly line at ground level. This inverts the traditional supply approach, eliminating the need for overhead structures while maintaining reliable door supply to the assembly stations.
Solution Approach 2:
The support units are designed to be mobile rather than fixed, allowing them to dynamically follow the assembly line flow. This enables flexible positioning and easy reconfiguration of the door supply system without requiring permanent overhead installations, thus reducing static load on the building structure.
2Ease of operation
If overhead structures are installed for door supply, then door installation is enabled, but maintenance costs and building load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The door supply system is divided into independent mobile support units rather than a single fixed overhead structure. Each unit can be independently maintained, repaired, or replaced without affecting the entire system, significantly reducing maintenance complexity and costs while preserving door installation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile support units are designed to be easily movable and reconfigurable, allowing for simple maintenance operations without requiring complex overhead access systems. The ground-based design enables straightforward servicing compared to elevated overhead structures.
3Reliability
If fixed overhead lines are used, then door supply is achieved, but line reconfiguration flexibility is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses mobile support units that can dynamically adjust their positions along the assembly line rather than being fixed in place. This enables easy reconfiguration of the door supply system to adapt to different production requirements, vehicle models, or line layouts while maintaining stable door supply through controlled movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile support units are designed with universal applicability, capable of serving multiple assembly stations and adapting to different door types and production volumes. This multi-functionality allows the same system to support various line configurations and production scales without requiring dedicated overhead structures for each scenario.
4Ease of operation
If overhead door supply system is implemented, then door handling is enabled, but adaptability to different production scales is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile support units can dynamically adjust their operational capacity and positioning based on production scale requirements. For small-scale production, fewer units can be deployed; for larger scales, more units can be added or positioned more frequently along the line, providing scalable adaptability while maintaining efficient door handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The support units are designed with universal functionality that allows them to effectively serve different production scales and vehicle segments. The same basic unit design can be deployed in varying quantities and configurations to accommodate everything from limited series production to high-volume assembly, eliminating the need for scale-specific overhead systems.
Data Source
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AI summary
Described herein is a support (1) for motor-vehicle doors (D), in particular designed for installation on a mobile assembly station (SK) of a motor-vehicle assembly line. The support is height-adjustable and includes a supporting unit that enables positioning of the doors (D) in a variable way between a position corresponding to a collapsed position of the supporting unit and position corresponding to a deployed position of the supporting unit.