WO2018210913A1

WO2018210913A1 - Assembly apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2018210913A1
Application number: PCT/EP2018/062686
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lei Zhou; Dandan Zhang; Lvhai Hu; Roberto Francisco-Yi LU; Huiyou Zhou
Original assignee: Tyco Electronics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.; Te Connectivity Corporation; Suzhou Harmontronics Automation Technology Co., Ltd.; Tyco Electronics Uk Ltd
Priority date: 2017-05-17
Filing date: 2018-05-16
Publication date: 2018-11-22
Also published as: CN108942132A; CN108942132B

Abstract

An assembly apparatus adapted to assemble a first member (10) to a second member (20) includes: a guiding portion and a main body. A receiving portion (301) adapted to receive and position the second member is formed in the main body. A positioning slot (302) communicated with the receiving portion is formed in each sidewall of the receiving portion. Lower end portions (12) of the pair of elastic legs (11) are received and positioned in the positioning slots, respectively. The guiding portion has a front end (311) far away from the main body and a rear end (312) connected to the main body. The guiding portion is gradually widened from the front end toward the rear end to gradually and outwardly expand a distance between the lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs, so that the lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs are smoothly slid along the guiding portion to the sidewalls of the main body and slid along the sidewalls into the positioning slots. When the lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs are slide into the positioning slots, the second member is clamped by the pair of elastic legs of the first member, and the protrusions (23) of the second member are fitted into the installation holes of the first member, respectively.

Description

Assembly Apparatus

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 201710348408.1 filed on May 17, 2017 in the State Intellectual Property Office of China, the whole disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an assembly apparatus adapted to assemble a first member with a pair of elastic legs to a second member.

Description of the Related Art

In the relevant art, it is desired, sometimes, to assemble a first member with a pair of elastic legs to a second member. Upper end portions of the pair of elastic legs of the first member are connected with each other, while lower end portions thereof are separated from each other. An installation hole is formed in the lower end portion of each of the pair of elastic legs. A protrusion adapted to be fitted into the installation hole is formed on each sidewall of the second member.

Before assembling, a distance between the lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs of the first member is less than a distance or width between a pair of sidewalls of the second member. As a result, an expanding tool is required to expand outwardly the lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs of the first member, so that the distance between the lower end portions of the pair of the elastic legs of the first member is slightly greater than the distance between the pair of sidewalls of the second member. The lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs of the first member is then moved to the second member until the installation holes in the lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs are aligned with the protrusions on the second member, respectively. Finally, the expanding tool is released so as to allow the second member to be clamped between the pair of elastic legs of the first member, and the protrusions on the second member to be fitted into the installation holes of the first member, respectively, thereby finishing assembling the first member to the second member.

In the related art, due to the need of special expanding tool, the above assembly apparatus and the assembly process are both complicated, thereby increasing assembly cost thereof. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present disclosure is to solve at least one aspect of the above mentioned problems and disadvantages occurred in the prior art.

According to an object of the present disclosure, there is provided an assembly apparatus which has simple construction and may easily assemble a first member to a second member.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an assembly apparatus, adapted to assemble a first member to a second member, the first member including a pair of elastic legs, upper end portions of which are connected with each other, and lower end portions of which are formed with an installation hole, respectively; a protrusion adapted to be fitted into the installation hole being formed on each sidewall of the second member. The assembly apparatus includes: a base and an assembly module located on the base; and the assembly module comprises: a main body in which there is provided with a receiving portion adapted to receive and position the second member, a pair of sidewalls of the receiving portion being formed with positioning slots communicated with an inside of the receiving portion, respectively, and the lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs of the first member being adapted to be received and positioned in the positioning slots, respectively; and a guiding portion comprising a front end far away from the main body and a rear end connected to the main body, and gradually widened from the front end toward the rear end so as to be adapted to gradually and outwardly expand a distance between the lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs of the first member, so that the lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs of the first member may be smoothly slid along the guiding portion to the sidewalls of the main body and slid along the sidewalls of the main body into the positioning slots. When the lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs of the first member are slide into the positioning slots, the sidewalls of the second member are clamped by the pair of elastic legs of the first member, and the protrusions of the second member are fitted into the installation holes of the first member, respectively.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the guiding portion is in a triangle form and has a pair of inclined smooth guiding surfaces, the lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs of the first member being adapted to be slid along the pair of inclined smooth guiding surfaces from the front to the back, respectively.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, when the lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs of the first member are received and positioned in the positioning slots, the installation holes in the lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs are aligned with the protrusions of the sidewalls of the second member positioned in the receiving portion, respectively.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the lower end portions of elastic legs of the first member are in a disc form.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the assembly apparatus further includes a plurality of the assembly modules adapted to assemble a plurality of the first members to a plurality of the second members, respectively.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the assembly apparatus further includes a load module located on the base, the first member being adapted to be pre-loaded on the load module.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a receiving groove is formed in the load module, the first member being adapted to be pre-loaded in the receiving groove.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, prior to being expanded, the distance between the lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs of the first member is slightly less than the width between the pair of sidewalls of the second member.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a width between the pair of sidewalls of the main body of the assembly module is slightly more than the width between the pair of sidewalls of the second member.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a width of the front end of the guiding portion of the assembly module is less than the distance between the lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs of the first member before being expanded; and a width of the rear end of the guiding portion of the assembly module is equal to the width of the pair of sidewalls of the main body.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the assembly apparatus is integrated as a unitary piece.

In the above exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the assembly apparatus has simple construction and may easily assemble the first member to the second member, thereby reducing the assembly cost thereof.

Other objectives and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of the present disclosure when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and may give a comprehensive understanding of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features of the present disclosure will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows an illustrative perspective view of an assembly apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein a first member is pre-loaded on a load module of the assembly apparatus, and a second member is positioned on an assembly module of the assembly apparatus;

Fig. 2 shows an illustrative perspective view of the assembly apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the first member is taken out of a load module;

Fig. 3 shows a schematic view illustrating the first member smoothly sliding along a guiding portion to a main body; and

Fig. 4 shows a schematic view illustrating the first member sliding into positioning slots in sidewalls of the main body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The technical solution of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter in further detail with reference to the following embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the specification, the same or similar reference numerals indicate the same or similar parts. The description of the embodiments of the present disclosure hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings is intended to explain the general inventive concept of the present disclosure, and should not be constructed as a limitation to the present disclosure.

In addition, in the following detailed description, for the sake of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, one or more embodiments may also be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are illustrated schematically in order to simplify the drawing.

According to a general technical concept of the present disclosure, there is provided an assembly apparatus adapted to assemble a first member to a second member. The first member includes a pair of elastic legs upper end portions of which are connected with each other and lower end portions of which are formed with an installation hole, respectively. A protrusion adapted to be fitted into the installation hole is formed on each sidewall of the second member. The assembly apparatus includes a base and an assembly module located on the base. The assembly module includes: a main body in which there is provided with a receiving portion adapted to receive and position the second member, a pair of sidewalls of the receiving portion being formed with positioning slots communicated with an inside of the receiving portion, respectively, and the lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs of the first member being adapted to be received and positioned in the positioning slots, respectively; and a guiding portion comprising a front end far away from the main body and a rear end connected to the main body, and being gradually widened from the front end toward the rear end to gradually and outwardly expand a distance between the lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs of the first member, so that the lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs of the first member is smoothly slid along the guiding portion to the sidewalls of the main body and slid along the sidewalls of the main body into the positioning slots. When the lower end portions of the pair of elastic legs of the first member are slide into the positioning slots, the sidewalls of the second member are clamped by the pair of elastic legs of the first member, and the protrusions of the second member are fitted into the installation holes of the first member, respectively.

Fig. 1 shows an illustrative perspective view of an assembly apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein a first member 10 is pre-loaded on a load module 200 of the assembly apparatus, and a second member 20 is positioned on an assembly module 300 of the assembly apparatus. Fig. 2 shows an illustrative perspective view of the assembly apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the first member 10 is taken out of a load module 200.

As shown in Figs. 1-2, in an illustrated embodiment, the assembly apparatus is adapted to assemble the first member 10 to the second member 20. In the illustrated embodiment, the first member 10 includes a pair of elastic legs 11, upper end portions 14 of the pair of elastic legs 11 are connected with each other, and lower end portions 12 of the pair of elastic legs 11 are formed with an installation hole 13, respectively. A protrusion 23 adapted to be fitted into the installation hole 13 is formed on each sidewall of the second member 20.

As shown in Figs. 1-2, in an illustrated embodiment, the assembly apparatus mainly includes a base 100 and an assembly module 300 located on the base 100. The assembly module 300 mainly includes a main body 320 and a guiding portion 310.

As shown in Figs. 1-2, in an illustrated embodiment, a receiving portion 301 adapted to receive and position the second member 20 is formed in the main body 320. A positioning slot 302 communicated with an inside of the receiving portion 301 is formed in each sidewall of the main body 320. The lower end portions 12 of the elastic legs 11 of the first member 10 are adapted to be received and positioned in the positioning slots 302, and the protrusion 23s of the second member 20, when being received in the receiving portion, are located in the positioning slots 302, so that the protrusions 23 are allowed to be fitted into the installation holes 13, respectively.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic view illustrating the first member 10 smoothly sliding along a guiding portion 310 to a main body 320; and Fig. 4 shows a schematic view illustrating the first member 10 sliding into the positioning slots 302 in sidewalls of the main body 320.

As shown in Figs. 1-4, in an illustrated embodiment, the guiding portion 310 has a front end 311 (a left end in Fig. 2) far away from the main body 320 and a rear end 312 (a right end in Fig. 2) connected to the main body 320. The guiding portion 310 is gradually widened from the front end 311 toward the rear end 312 so as to be adapted to gradually and outwardly expand a distance between the lower end portions 12 of the pair of elastic legs 11 of the first member 10, so that the lower end portions 12 of the pair of elastic legs 11 of the first member 10 may be smoothly slid along the guiding portion 310 to the sidewalls of the main body 320 and slid along the sidewalls of the main body 320 into the positioning slots 302.

As shown in Fig. 4, in an illustrated embodiment, when the lower end portions 12 of the pair of elastic legs 11 of the first member 10 are slide into the positioning slots 302, the sidewalls of the second member 20 are clamped by the pair of elastic legs 11 of the first member 10, and the protrusions 23 of the second member 20 are fitted into the installation holes 13 of the first member 10, respectively.

As shown in Figs. 1-4, in an illustrated embodiment, the guiding portion 310 is in a substantial triangle form and has a pair of inclined smooth guiding surfaces 313 along which the lower end portions 12 of the pair of elastic legs 11 of the first member 10 are adapted to be slid from the front to the back, respectively.

As shown in Fig. 4, in an illustrated embodiment, when the lower end portions 12 of the pair of elastic legs 11 of the first member 10 are received and positioned in the positioning slots 302, the installation holes 13 in the lower end portions 12 of the pair of elastic legs 11 are aligned with the protrusions 23 of the sidewalls of the second member 20 positioned in the receiving portion 301, respectively.

As shown in Figs. 1-4, in an illustrated embodiment, the lower end portions 12 of elastic legs 11 of the first member 10 are in a disc form. A diameter of the lower end portions 12 in the disc form is substantial equal to a width of the positioning slots 302, so that when the lower end portions 12 of the pair of elastic legs 11 are reached the positioning slots 302, the lower end portions 12 of the pair of elastic legs 11 may be received and positioned in the positioning slots 302, while the installation holes 13 in the lower end portions 12 are aligned with the protrusions 23 of the sidewalls of the second member 20, respectively. It is appreciated that the height of the protrusions 23 protruding from the sidewalls of the second member 20 is not larger than the thickness of the sidewalls of the second member 20, so that movement of the first member 10 along the sidewalls of the main body 320 is not hindered by the protrusions 23.

As shown in Figs. 1-4, in an illustrated embodiment, the assembly apparatus includes a plurality of assembly modules 300 adapted to assemble a plurality of first members 10 to a plurality of second members 20, respectively.

As shown in Figs. 1-4, in an illustrated embodiment, the assembly apparatus further includes a load module 200 located on the base 100, the first member 10 being adapted to be pre-loaded on the load module 200.

As shown in Figs. 1-4, in an illustrated embodiment, a receiving groove 201 is formed in the load module 200, the first member 10 being adapted to be pre-loaded in the receiving groove 201.

As shown in Figs. 2-3, in an illustrated embodiment, prior to being expanded, the distance between the lower end portions 12 of the pair of elastic legs 11 of the first member 10 is slightly less than the width between the pair of sidewalls of the second member 20.

As shown in Figs. 1-4, in an illustrated embodiment, a width between the pair of sidewalls of the main body 320 of the assembly module 300 is slightly more than the width between the pair of sidewalls of the second member 20.

As shown in Figs. 2-3, in an illustrated embodiment, a width of the front end 311 of the guiding portion 310 of the assembly module 300 is less than the distance between the lower end portions 12 of the pair of elastic legs 11 of the first member 10 before being expanded.

As shown in Figs. 2-3, in an illustrated embodiment, a width of the rear end 312 of the guiding portion 310 of the assembly module 300 is equal to the width between the pair of sidewalls of the main body 320.

As shown in Figs. 1-4, in an illustrated embodiment, the assembly apparatus is integrated as a unitary piece.

A process for assembling the first member 10 to the second member 20 will be illustrated hereinafter with reference to Figs. 1-4.

First, as shown in Fig. 1, placing the first member 10 in the receiving groove 201 of the load module 200, and positioning the second member 20 in the receiving portion 301 of the assembly module 300;

Second, as shown in Fig. 2, taking out of the first member 10 from the load module 200 for example with a robotic arm and moves the first member 10 toward the guide portion 310 of the assembly module 300;

Next, as shown in Fig. 3, placing the lower end portions 12 of the pair of elastic legs 11 of the first member 10 on both sides of the guide portion 310, and sliding the first member 10 along the guide portion 310 toward the main body 320; and

Finally, as shown in Fig. 4, sliding the lower end portions 12 of the pair of elastic legs 11 of the first member 10 into the positioning slot 302 of the main body 320.

When the lower end portions 12 of the pair of elastic legs 11 of the first member 10 are slide into the positioning slots 302, the sidewalls of the second member 20 are clamped by the pair of elastic legs 11 of the first member 10, and the protrusions 23 of the second member 20 are fitted into the installation holes 13 of the first member 10, respectively. In this way, the first member 10 is assembled to the second member 20.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above embodiments are intended to be illustrative, modifications may be made to the above embodiments by those skilled in the art, and structures described in various embodiments may be freely combined without having structural and principle conflict.

Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to the attached drawings, the embodiments disclosed in the drawings are intended to illustrate the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, but should not be constructed as a limitation to the present disclosure.

Although some embodiments of the general concept of the present disclosure has been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications may be made to these embodiments without departing from the principle and spirit of the present disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.

It should be noted that term "comprising" or "including" should be understood as not excluding other elements or steps, and term "a" or "an" should be understood as not excluding plural elements or steps. Further, any reference numerals in claims should not be understood as a limitation to the present disclosure.

Claims

What is claimed is,

1. An assembly apparatus, adapted to assemble a first member (10) to a second member (20),

the first member (10) including a pair of elastic legs (11), upper end portions (14) of which are connected with each other, and lower end portions (12) of which are formed with an installation hole (13), respectively; a protrusion (23) adapted to be fitted into the installation hole (13) being formed on each sidewall of the second member (20),

characterized in that, the assembly apparatus includes a base (100) and an assembly module (300) located on the base (100); and

the assembly module (300) comprises:

a main body (320) provided with a receiving portion (301) adapted to receive and position the second member (20), a pair of sidewalls of the receiving portion being formed with positioning slots (302) communicated with the receiving portion (301), respectively, and the lower end portions (12) of the pair of elastic legs

(11) of the first member (10) being adapted to be received and positioned in the positioning slots (302), respectively; and

a guiding portion (310) comprising a front end (311) far away from the main body (320) and a rear end (312) connected to the main body (320), and gradually widened from the front end (311) toward the rear end (312) so as to be adapted to gradually and outwardly expand a distance between the lower end portions

(12) of the pair of elastic legs (11) of the first member (10), so that the lower end portions (12) of the pair of elastic legs (11) of the first member (10) are smoothly slid along the guiding portion (310) to the sidewalls of the main body (320) and slid along the sidewalls of the main body (320) into the positioning slots (302),

when the lower end portions (12) of the pair of elastic legs (11) of the first member (10) are slide into the positioning slots (302), the sidewalls of the second member (20) are clamped by the pair of elastic legs (11) of the first member (10), and the protrusions (23) of the second member (20) are fitted into the installation holes

(13) of the first member (10), respectively.

2. The assembly apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the guiding portion (310) is in a triangle form and has a pair of inclined smooth guiding surfaces (313), the lower end portions (12) of the pair of elastic legs (11) of the first member (10) being adapted to be slid along the pair of inclined smooth guiding surfaces (313) from the front to the back, respectively.

3. The assembly apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

when the lower end portions (12) of the pair of elastic legs (11) of the first member (10) are received and positioned in the positioning slots (302), the installation holes (13) in the lower end portions (12) of the pair of elastic legs (11) are aligned with the protrusions (23) of the sidewalls of the second member (20) positioned in the receiving portion (301), respectively.

4. The assembly apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the lower end portions (12) of elastic legs (11) of the first member (10) are in a disc form.

5. The assembly apparatus according to claim 1, further including a plurality of the assembly modules (300) adapted to assemble a plurality of the first members (10) to a plurality of the second members (20), respectively.

6. The assembly apparatus according to claim 1, further including a load module (200) located on the base (100), the first member (10) being adapted to be pre-loaded on the load module (200).

7. The assembly apparatus according to claim 6, wherein:

a receiving groove (201) is formed in the load module (200), the first member (10) being adapted to be pre-loaded in the receiving groove (201).

8. The assembly apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

prior to being expanded, the distance between the lower end portions (12) of the pair of elastic legs (11) of the first member (10) is slightly less than the width between the pair of sidewalls of the second member (2) .

9. The assembly apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

a width between the pair of sidewalls of the main body (320) the assembly module (300) is slightly more than the width between the pair of sidewalls of the second member (20).

10. The assembly apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: a width of the front end (311) of the guiding portion (310) of the assembly module (300) is less than the distance between the lower end portions (12) of the pair of elastic legs (11) of the first member (10) before being expanded; and

a width of the rear end (312) of the guiding portion (310) of the assembly module (300) is equal to a width of the pair of sidewalls of the main body (320).

11. The assembly apparatus according to any one of claims 1-10, wherein:

the assembly apparatus is integrated as a unitary piece.