Progressive Tool and Industries Company

Mark W Hazelton

Michael R Dugas

Patrick J Kenny

Robert O Alexander

Robert R Stoutenburg

An automotive body framing system includes a clamping frame assembly for accurately positioning and clamping loosely assembled main body panels and header members in accurate alignment with each other to be welded into a rigid permanently assembled relationship. The loosely assembly panels and members are mounted upon a conveying sled upon which the floor panel of the assembly is accurately located. A clamping frame assembly including front and rear frame sections pivotally connected in end-to-end relationship with each other is movable into a clamping position overlying the body from front to rear and supported in an inverted V configuration by support posts which support the front and rear ends of the frame assembly. Clamps mounted on the front and rear frame sections are actuable to clamp the various components in accurately assembled relationship to each other while leaving the entire opposite sides of the body accessible to welding devices. In one form of the invention, the clamping frame and support parts are mounted upon the move with the conveying sled. In another form of the invention, the clamping frame and support posts are located at a welding station and the body is conveyed by the sled to and from the operative relationship with the clamping frame.

Automotive body framing system

A carrier is mounted for movement along a conveying path defined by a pair of conveying rails, one of which has a relatively short gap at a work station. A manipulator device is located at the work station and includes a relatively short conveying rail section which may selectively located to span the gap in the one rail or located in a position displaced from the rail. An article support frame is mounted upon the carrier for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to the rails between conveying position and a transfer position. A rail gripping device fixed to the support frame slides along the one rail to support the support frame in its conveying position during movement of the carrier along the rails. When the carrier arrives at the work station, the gripping device engages the short rail section of the manipulator which is then actuated to displace the rail section from the rail to pivot the support frame to its transfer position in which an article supported on the support frame may be processed by tooling located at the work station.

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West Bloomfield, MI, United States of America

Mark W Hazelton