The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 18, 1998
Filed:
Dec. 27, 1994
Thomas E Pearson, Grosse Ile, MI (US);
Thomas James, Rochester Hills, MI (US);
Ford Global Technologies, Inc., Dearborn, MI (US);
Abstract
A method to automatically align the internal splines (20) of a torque converter (16) to mating external splines (18) of a transmission subassembly (14) during the assembly of the torque converter (16) to the transmission subassembly (14). The apparatus includes a robotic end effector assembly (26) coupled to an arm (22) of a robot (24). The end effector assembly (26) includes a compliance mechanism (51) and a distance sensor (48) that provide for compliance to allow the splines to align and detect if the splines are not properly mating. The end effector assembly (26) also includes an oscillator assembly (69) that is activated to cause non-aligned splines to become aligned during the automated assembly process.