Fori Automation, Inc.

Chrysler Group LLC

Paul George Doan

Arthur Koerner

Dean A Colwell

Dean Colwell

Michael D Kelly

Gordon W Smith

LiKe Xu

Brad Holoday

James J Phlypo

Like Xu

A drive mechanism for an AGV that includes a drive unit for propelling the AGV and a steering unit for steering the AGV. The drive unit has a drive motor, drive transmission, and a drive wheel. The steering unit has a steering motor. Both motors are fixedly mounted on the AGV and remain stationary relative to each other while the drive motor rotates the drive wheel and the steering motor steers the drive wheel. The drive transmission couples the drive motor to the drive wheel and can be at least partially mounted within a gear housing that is rotatably mounted via a bearing so that the drive motor can be operated to move the AGV via power transferred to the drive wheel via the drive transmission, and the steering motor can be operated to steer the drive wheel by rotation of the gear housing and drive wheel via the bearing.

Drive mechanism for automated guided vehicle

An automated guided vehicle is equipped with a stabilization system for precisely locating, leveling, or otherwise positioning the AGV and its payload with respect to a work piece. The stabilization system includes one or more extension members that extend away from the AGV to engage the ground or a locating assembly installed in the ground. Each extension member may be part of a locating assembly or a leveling assembly. The locating assembly extension member may extend at least partially into an opening of another locating assembly to align the two locating assemblies. The locating assembly may also be configured to provide a leveling function.

Automated guided vehicle (AGV) system

A plate pin assembly for use with a fixture that holds multiple plate pin assemblies for use in chassis-body marriage during the manufacturing of automobiles. The plate pin assembly has a lower end that fits into a bushing hole on the fixture to attach the plate pin assembly to the fixture, an upper end that supports or otherwise interacts with the vehicle chassis or body, and a quick-disconnect mechanism to enable fast changeover of the plate pin assemblies on the fixture when switching from one vehicle application to another.

Quick-disconnect work support assembly

A twin strand conveyor uses roller chains to move pallets along straight conveyor sections and an unpowered corner assembly that enables the pallets to glide around corners of the conveyor. The pallets are transferred from an upstream conveyor section into the corner assembly using a corner injection unit that includes powered rollers that lift the pallets off the roller chains an onto a set of ball transfers that support the pallets as they glide through the corner assembly. A pickup unit having powered rollers draws the pallets off the ball transfers and onto the roller chains of the downstream conveyor section. Side guides are used to direct the pallets around the turn and onto the downstream conveyor section. One or more movable guides can be used in conjunction with a third or more conveyor sections to permit selective diverting of the pallets between the different conveyor sections.

Pallet conveyor with corner assembly

A twin strand conveyor uses roller chains to move pallets along straight conveyor sections and an unpowered corner assembly that enables the pallets to glide around corners of the conveyor. The pallets are transferred from an upstream conveyor section into the corner assembly using a corner injection unit that includes powered rollers that lift the pallets off the roller chains an onto a set of ball transfers that support the pallets as they glide through the corner assembly. Side guides are used to direct the pallets around the turn and onto the downstream conveyor section. A pickup unit having powered rollers draws the pallets off the ball transfers and onto the roller chains of the downstream conveyor section. The rollers of the corner injection unit and pickup unit can be powered by the same motor used to drive the chains of the respective conveyor sections.

Power conveyor with corner assembly and pallet therefor

A vehicle tie rod adjustment device for changing the toe of a vehicle wheel by adjusting the overall length of a tie rod assembly. The tie rod adjustment device generally includes a housing, a gear train, an adjustable gear head, and a nut runner. The pivotal gear head threadably adjusts the tie rod assembly by rotatably engaging a hex or flatted portion and a lock nut, and includes one or more roller elements spaced around a guide fork recess to reduce a sliding friction with the tie rod assembly. According to another embodiment, the tie rod adjustment device includes a locking mechanism for maintaining the adjustable gear head in a proper alignment so that one or more components of the gear head can be removed.

Vehicle tie rod adjustment device

A method and apparatus for seating a tire bead in the bead seat of a wheel includes the basic steps of: engaging the wheel and generating reciprocating movement of the wheel along the axis of rotation to fully seat the tire bead on the wheel. The method and apparatus further involves the step of rotating the tire and wheel about the wheel's axis of rotation while generating the reciprocating movement, as well as the step of applying pressure to the side walls of the tire while generating the reciprocating movement.

Tire bead seating station

A telescoping tire inflation apparatus for inflating wheel-mounted tires having a variety of different diameters and widths without requiring a hardware change. The apparatus includes a bell assembly that moves from a retracted position to an extended position where either an outer bell housing or an inner bell housing engages a larger-sized or smaller-sized wheel-mounted tire, respectively. A controller presets the inner bell housing to either a retracted position wherein the inner bell housing is disposed within the outer bell housing or an extended position where the inner bell housing telescopes downwardly from the outer bell housing. The inner bell housing can be moved to its extended position to push downward upon the sidewall of a relatively smaller-sized wheel-mounted tire, thereby creating a gap between the tire bead and the rim of the wheel through which compressed air supplied to the inner bell housing enters the tire at a high rate. With the inner bell housing in the retracted position the outer bell housing is capable of doing the same for a larger-sized wheel-mounted tire.

Tire inflation apparatus with multiple inflation bells

Tire inflation apparatus and method having floating platen

A machine for supporting and lifting an automotive chassis module into position for assembly with a vehicle body being conveyed overhead along an assembly line includes a mobile vehicle having at least one fixture arranged above the vehicle for receiving and supporting the chassis module, and a guided lift mechanism for moving the fixture vertically between lowered and raised positions. The lift mechanism includes a push chain that is coupled to the fixture and a sprocket that engages the chain and is operative when driven to displace a section of the chain vertically to move the fixture. The lift mechanism further includes at least one support member extending between the fixture and the vehicle which operates to guide the fixture in the vertical direction while isolating the push chain from any loads transverse to the vertical direction.

Chassis/body marriage lift machine

A method and apparatus for automatically inserting valve stems of varying sizes into wheels of various sizes in which the appropriate valve stem size is selected by analyzing images of the wheel detected by a camera. The camera is used to determine the diameter, width, and color or contrast of the wheel as well as to determine when a valve stem opening in the wheel is in a proper position for insertion of a valve stem.

Automatic valve stemming method and apparatus

Wheel lubricating apparatus includes a conveyor for transporting wheels on their side in succession into position to be lifted by a lower unit into clamp engagement with an upper stationary unit to support the wheel to be lubricated against rotation. A pair of lubricant brushes are supported by a rotary carriage on opposite sides of the wheel and are rotated in alternating half rotations during each successive soaping cycle to apply soap to the bead seats of the wheels.

Wheel soaping apparatus

A method and apparatus is provided for reducing the combined runout of an uninflated automobile tire and wheel assembly. Runout is reduced by aligning a tire mark located on the tire with a wheel mark located on the wheel, where the tire mark is indicative of the high point of radial runout of the tire and the wheel mark is indicative of the low point of radial runout of the wheel. The location of the wheel mark is tracked using a video camera while the wheel is rotated relative to the tire and rotation is halted once the linear distance between the marks is minimized. The locations within the video image of the tire and wheel marks are determined relative to a Cartesian coordinate system having its origin at the center of the video image. The direction of relative rotation is selected based upon which quadrants contain the marks and, in the case of the marks being in the same or non-contiguous quadrants, the direction of rotation is selected based upon a comparison of the slope of a line extending through the origin and the wheel mark with the slope of a line extending through the origin and the tire mark. The speed of rotation can be varied during rotation in accordance with the distance between the marks.

Growing community of inventors

Macomb, MI, United States of America

Paul George Doan