Patent ID: 11926491
Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
Field: Handling (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  G | IPC B

Claim 7:
8. An emblem installation method comprising:
applying a force within a first range of forces to multiple emblems individually and in succession via multiple vacuum gripper modules of an end effector on a robotic arm, the multiple emblems disposed at a first location;
monitoring, via one or more force sensors operatively connected to the multiple vacuum gripper modules and to a wet-out roller of the end effector, a magnitude of the force applied by the multiple vacuum gripper modules while applying the force within the first range of forces;
applying a vacuum to the multiple vacuum gripper modules to grip the multiple emblems simultaneously with the multiple vacuum gripper modules;
moving the robotic arm from the first location to a second location adjacent a workpiece while the multiple emblems are gripped by the multiple vacuum gripper modules to transfer the multiple emblems from the first location to the second location;
applying a force within a second range of forces to the multiple emblems via the multiple vacuum gripper modules while releasing the vacuum to the multiple vacuum gripper modules individually and in succession to place the multiple emblems at different predetermined locations on a work piece;
monitoring, via the one or more force sensors operatively connected to the multiple vacuum gripper modules and to the wet-out roller, a magnitude of the force applied by the multiple vacuum gripper modules while applying the force within the second range of forces;
applying a force within a third range of forces to the multiple emblems via the wet-out roller to wet-out the multiple emblems on the work piece after placing the multiple emblems at the different predetermined locations on the work piece;
monitoring, via the one or more force sensors operatively connected to the multiple vacuum gripper modules and to the wet-out roller, a magnitude of the force applied by the wet-out roller while applying the force within the third range of forces; and
wherein an electronic controller in communication with the one or more force sensors is configured to execute a set of stored instructions to apply the force within the first range of forces to grip the multiple emblems with the multiple vacuum gripper modules, the force within the second range of forces to place the multiple emblems at the different predetermined locations on the work piece, and the force within the third range of forces to apply the wet-out roller to the multiple emblems on the work piece.