Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B21—MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D—WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D1/00—Straightening, restoring form or removing local distortions of sheet metal or specific articles made therefrom; Stretching sheet metal combined with rolling
  • B21D1/14—Straightening frame structures
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01B—MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS
  • G01B5/00—Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of mechanical techniques
  • G01B5/0025—Measuring of vehicle parts

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a "universal bench for the assembly, control and repair of motor vehicles.”
• the object of the present invention is precisely an apparatus capable of reconciling the various aforementioned requirements, and of remedying the drawbacks pointed out.
• a first important object of the invention is to obtain a very rigid bench, particularly in torsion, so as to keep the work surfaces excellent flatness, ensuring a serious reference base for measurements or verifications, whatever the the method and material used for these measurements or verifications.
• the structure of the frame (fig. 1, item 1) has therefore been designed as a real monobloc prismatic box, formed by the assembly of 2 longitudinal sides and 2 main faces, reinforced by transverse partitions.
• the 2 longitudinal sides are thick metal sections, joined by transverse reinforcing partitions in sufficient number, the first and the last of which constitute the ends of the frame.
• the 2 main faces made up of continuous metal plates, of suitable thickness to resist without deformation to the forces, sometimes significant, applied during the operations of straightening the hull or the chassis of the vehicle, include windows, arranged between the reinforcing partitions transverse and intended to provide not only relief in the areas less frequently used for fixing measuring or checking devices, but also good accessibility towards the interior of the frame and the underside of the vehicle.
• the dimensions of the frame i allow it to handle not only the bodies or chassis of the most common passenger or commercial cars, or the cabs of trucks, but also, and without the addition of inconvenient and imprecise extensions, their long variants, such as "limousines", "station wagons” and light utility vehicles.
• a second important object of the invention is to obtain a very versatile bench, capable of receiving tools and apparatus of various origins, and in particular recent devices introduced by certain vehicle manufacturers. It is for this purpose that the frame itself:
• This device comprises a simple device for turning over by tilting about its longitudinal axis, so as to be able to use one or the other of its main working faces.
• This device (fig.1, item 5) consists, in the center of each of the end partitions of the frame, in a hole behind which is welded a nut intended to receive an axis of., Removable pivot. Using a high-lift garage floor jack and a set of "candles" (or even 2 wheel jacks, or any other similar equipment) an easy and immediate turnaround is obtained.
• brackets - shown in the appended figures - has two perpendicular faces, reinforced by two parallel triangular partitions (or “gussets").
• the 2 faces are drilled, one of 4, the other of 6 holes, according to a modular distribution with a square mesh identical to that of the main frame, these holes being placed so that one face of the square - the one - here being fixed by the other face to the edge of the frame - exactly flush with the main face, the side or the end of said frame, as the case may be (see fig.1).
• the interval between the 2 parallel reinforcing partitions comprises two zones which have surfaces with precisely determined spacing, and pierced with holes allowing the passage of pins or bolts intended to immobilize various accessories such, for example, that a nut (fig. 3) or an alignment bar (fig. 1 and 4).
• the bracket-console is finally completed, on the inside back of its faces, by identical, interchangeable and removable plates, carrying "caged" nuts, themselves interchangeable if necessary.
• removable supports for removable raceways allowing very rapid positioning of the "rolling" vehicle on the bench. adaptation of an axle for road transport. . more generally, adaptation of any ancillary device for fixing, maintaining, moving, checking, repairing, etc.
• Another additional device consists of shims of standard thickness, (fig.5) and which consist of a substantially prismatic block, pierced right through:. 4 holes arranged at the angles of the square mesh previously described (modular drilling of the frame and of the brackets); . a large-diameter central hole, which not only provides lightening and savings in material, but also allows the possible passage of an axis, an adjustment screw, etc ...
• the dimensions of these wedges allow them notably :
• Another additional device consists of a new system of light backing plates provided with so-called “cage” or “captive” nuts, arranged according to the square-based module.
• the two versions shown, by way of non-limiting example, fig.6 and 7, have an identical cross section, and differ only in their width and the number of their nuts. These, inexpensive, are quickly replaced when needed.
• these backing plates can be made self-adhesive, for example by housing small permanent magnets, able to hold them in position during tightening, while allowing light displacements by sliding, in order to perfect the centering.
• a third important object of the invention is to take advantage of the grid formed by the modular drilling of at least one of the main faces of the frame, possibly extended by the brackets, to produce a simple device making it possible to easily check and precisely the position in space of a point to be checked on the vehicle, by measuring its coordinates in 3 dimensions. This goal is achieved by determining:
• an extendable rod capable of:
• At least one projection plate which aims to subdivide the modular grid of the bench materializing the horizontal projection plane, in the zone considered.
• At least one weighted extensible rod which aims to materialize the vertical projection of the point to be checked, using the combined properties of the plumb line and the tape measure.
• the extendable rod is essentially composed of a graduated tape and a hollow basket receiving the graduated tape and its balancing spring at rest, and terminated by a ballast point.
• the hollow mass is capable of allowing the adjustment of the balancing spring and the blocking of the graduated tape.
• Movable indexes also offer, if necessary, greater ease of reading on the spraying plate and on the vertical graduated tape.
• a system of adjustable clamps makes it possible to suspend the extendable rod under conditions suitable for ensuring the precision of the measurements, despite the very great diversity that usually presents the elements to be checked on vehicles: holes, bolt heads, etc. necessary to materialize the horizontal projection plane with a more precise dimensional subdivision than that constituted by the modular drilling of the bench, capable in particular of obtaining a reading precision greater than the dimensional tolerances commonly accepted in terms of automobile bodywork.
• the so-called “projection” plate (s) (fig, 8, item 7) therefore have, on their upper face, a millimetric grid graduation (or any other graduation offering a reading precision of the same order, to be used for example in country where the metric system is not in use) so that the position can be read directly in length and width, the projection of the points to be checked.
• projection plates have a small and constant thickness, and external dimensions such that they allow the exact juxtaposition of several of these plates, for example in the case where it is desired to have a larger reading surface, to quickly and simultaneously control several points of the vehicle.
• the adaptation feet located under the underside of the plate, are arranged according to the module corresponding to the holes in the bench, and are housed without appreciable play in said holes, thus ensuring the precise positioning of the plate relative to the bench, that is to say to the frame and / or to the brackets carrying out, if necessary, the extension of the reference surface (this is the case shown in FIG. 8).
• the extendable rod preferably comprises a ribbon, made of a flexible but inextensible material (fig. 8 ref. 8), the upper end of which receives a sufficiently low friction connection to ensure the exact verticality of the assembly. freelance.
• this same extensible rod comprises, at the bottom of the ribbon, a mass of generally cylindro-conical shape evoking the universally known silhouette of the classic plumb bob, and the lower part of which serves as ballast for the whole of the extensible rod.
• This lower part ends with an axial point having an angle sufficiently acute to locate with precision, on the aforementioned grid plate, the projection of the point to be checked.
• the main body (fig. 9, item II) of the hollow mass is designed in such a way that it can receive, not only, at its lower part, the ballast point described above, but also:
• a balancing device for the assembly in the form, for example, of a spiral spring (fig. 9, ref. 14) of the common type, the tension of said spring possibly being able to be adjusted so that the mass does not spontaneously tend to go up or down.
• the output "channel" of the graduated tape at its upper part, the output "channel" of the graduated tape, the outline of said "channel” having a curvature suitable for ensuring the output of the tape in the axis of the mass, so as to keep said mass perfectly vertical .
• Said outlet channel carries at its end a fixed index intended to accurately identify the length of tape in service.
• the tape may be blocked in position.
• the orientable open ring could be coupled to a permanent magnet of suitable shape, without this adaptation going out of the frame of invention.
• Figure 1 is a perspective view of the assembly of the bench object of the invention, where one distinguishes:
• FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a bracket-console, where one can distinguish the 2 faces and the 2 gusset-reinforcements, as well as (ref. 2p) one of the possible embodiments of counterplates with "cage” nuts. ".
• FIGS. 3 and 4 are perspective views which illustrate two examples among the many ancillary devices that the bracket-bracket is capable of receiving thanks to the 2 assembly zones provided between the gussets-reinforcements:
• FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the shim already shown in FIG. 1 (reference 3).
• FIGS. 6 and 7 are perspective views of plywood with "caged” nuts already shown in FIG. 1 (reference 4).
• FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the assembly of the measuring device using the modular grid of the bench which is the subject of the invention as illustrated in FIG. 1, reference 6, of which said FIG. 8 constitutes the detail on an enlarged scale. We can distinguish:
• FIG. 9 is a section through the lower mass of the extendable rod, showing its internal arrangement, in the embodiment described below, in a non-limiting manner:
• the tape blocking device with its pushbutton (item 18) and the bulge (item 19) allowing the tape to be wedged against the wall of its outlet "channel".
• FIG. 10 is a partial section intended to illustrate, without limitation, one of the possible embodiments of the outlet "channel" for the tape.
• FIGS. 11 and 12 are sections illustrating one of the possible embodiments of the adjustable clamps which allow the attachment of the extendable rod to the parts to be checked of the vehicle. Said figures have been drawn up: - in section, in order to illustrate the operating principle - in the extreme dimensional conditions of their use:
• Figure 11 holes of the smallest current diameters (lower part of the figure) and the largest. strong (upper part).
• Figure 12 hexagonal nuts of common widths on flats, the weakest (lower part of the figure) and the strongest (upper part). We can distinguish:
• the open ring (figure 11, item 20), orientable, intended to receive, by means of a few chain links, or by any other means offering negligible friction, the upper end of the extendable rod
• the frame (ref. 1) can be obtained by casting. However, and mainly for reasons of weight, it will be preferred an assembly of thick sheets, by welding.
• the main faces in this case consist of continuous metal plates (steel sheet) perforated by flame cutting.
• the transverse reinforcing partitions are closer together in the subject areas. to significant or frequent efforts.
• brackets also in steel, will be produced, depending on the volumes to be produced and the means available, either by casting (this is the case illustrated in figure 2, where the windows of (lightening of the gussets-reinforcements as well as the machining extra thicknesses in the assembly areas), or, most often, by mechanically-welded assembly. In the latter case, the two faces are advantageously obtained by folding a flat profile.
• the making of the nut holder backplates does not raise any difficulty.
• Their method of fixing can be envisaged, on the brackets, as shown in FIG. 2, or on the outer edge of the face considered - in particular for the cast brackets - by any pro adapted (screw, plastic rivet, etc.).
• magnetic attachment is preferable, particularly in the form of lengths of magnetized tape of suitable dimensions, readily available commercially and often self-adhesive.
• the shims are advantageously made of aluminum, an incompressible material but sufficiently light to facilitate handling.
• the evolution of the price of the material could in the future lead to less expensive solutions.
• the extendable rod (ref. 8 and 9) of the measuring device uses many common and inexpensive elements (graduated tape, balancing spring).
• the main body (ref. 11) will advantageously be made of two molded plastic half-shells, of a light color (fluorescent yellow for example) in order to remain very visible even in generally low lighting conditions (under vehicles, sometimes dark workshops, etc ).
• the half-shells are joined by one or more screws and / or an open elastic ring such as that shown in figure 9, item 13, and include, at their upper part, the reading window and the fixed index (item 17). , painted in a color, red for example, which contrasts with its surroundings ("tape, body of the mass, etc.).
• the tension of the balancing spring is adjusted by means of a threaded axis (ref. . 15), terminated by a slot where the end of the spiral spring engages (the rotation of this axis, using a screwdriver, in one direction or the other, increases or decreases the tension of the spring.
• the projection plate (ref. 7) is made up of a rectangle of sheet steel or light alloy, gridded by photoengraving, and fitted with 4 centering feet which fit into the modular drilling of the bench.
• suspension clamps (fig. 11 and 12) does not call for any particular remark, other than the need to subject the exposed parts to stress or wear (nozzle claws, surfaces in contact and in motion) to a suitable thermal or thermochemical treatment.
• the universal bench, object of the invention is mainly intended for checking and repairing the bodywork and chassis of motor vehicles, as well as some of their mechanical components, particularly after collision, that the dimensional checks are carried out by means of of "Positive Control” sets of fittings or that they call upon "measuring” equipment, of various origins. Its precision and robustness allow all straightening and element replacement operations ("restructuring"). It can be associated with many fixed or mobile traction equipment, of North American origin in particular.
• the original measuring device that the team is intended for use not only by body repairers, before (diagnosis), during (continuous monitoring of straightening, implementation of restructuring) and after repair operations (control) , but also, thanks in particular to its very small footprint which makes it easily portable, by the Experts during their damage assessment missions and advice on the choice of operating methods.
• this bench whether or not equipped with its measuring device, is also particularly suitable for being used for assembling or checking vehicles, in small series or medium. In this case, it is well suited to the assembly of variants derived from a basic model (utility, sports or prestige car, for example) as well as that of vehicles shipped abroad in unassembled parts ("KD "). In the case of sufficient series, this universal bench can be integrated into any assembly "line” or “chain”, and associated with any appropriate handling device: ground running, suspension, lifting, horizontal pivoting, tilting, etc. ..

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Vehicle Cleaning, Maintenance, Repair, Refitting, And Outriggers (AREA)
• A Measuring Device Byusing Mechanical Method (AREA)

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Cited By (1)

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Citations (11)

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• 1979
  • 1979-08-24 FR FR7921327A patent/FR2463910A2/fr active Granted
• 1980
  • 1980-03-26 US US06/227,093 patent/US4447961A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1980-03-26 DE DE803038755T patent/DE3038755T1/de active Granted
  • 1980-03-26 WO PCT/FR1980/000045 patent/WO1980001998A1/fr active Application Filing
  • 1980-03-26 AT AT0902580A patent/AT394778B/de active
• 1983
  • 1983-07-21 US US06/515,814 patent/US4489500A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related

Patent Citations (11)

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