Apparatus for controlling the start of coating adhesive

A substrate and an article to be assembled with the substrate are conveyed separately to an assembly station in which they are assembled. A conveyor line conveying the substrates to the assembly station is provided with an adhesive coating station where the substrate is coated with an adhesive. A conveyor line conveying the articles is provided with a conveyance velocity detection means for detecting a conveyance velocity at which the article is conveyed. A timing in which the substrate starts being coated with the adhesive by an adhesive coating means is adjusted in accordance with a change in the conveyance velocity. A period of time required from a time for the start of coating the adhesive to a time for the start of assemblying the substrate with the article is made constant by adjusting the timing of the start of coating the adhesive.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to an apparatus for controlling the start of 
coating substrates with an adhesive and, more particularly, such an 
apparatus adapted to coat the adhesive on the substrates which, in turn, 
are assembled with an article conveyed one after another. 
2. Description of Related Art 
Technology of assembling substrates coated with an adhesive in advance with 
an article conveyed one after another includes, for example, an assembly 
of window glass panels with a vehicle body, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 
4,453,303. As the window glass panels are assembled with the vehicle body 
conveyed on a conveyor line, the conveyor line is provided with a window 
glass panel assembly station where a window glass panel assembly robot is 
disposed. To the window glass panel assembly station is connected a window 
glass panel conveyor line for supplying window glass panels to the robot, 
and this line is provided with an adhesive coating robot for coating the 
window glass panels with an adhesive. After the window glass panels are 
coated with the adhesive, the glass panels are transferred to the window 
glass panel assembly robot which, in turn, assembles the glass panels with 
the vehicle body. 
In the assembly of the window glass panels with the vehicle body, it is 
important to timely match a timing of conveying the window glass panels 
with the timing of conveying the vehicle body. The vehicle bodies are 
conveyed via a conveyor line different from the conveyor line on which the 
window glass panels are conveyed so that the window glass panels to be 
assembled with the vehicle body should be conveyed in the window glass 
panel assembly line in a good time to be timely matched with the vehicle 
bodies to be conveyed one after another in the assembly station, enabling 
the assembly of the window glass panels with the body without a timely 
delay. Conventional technique involves synchronizing a conveyance tact of 
the window glass panels with the conveyance tact of the vehicle body. 
In the assembly of vehicle bodies in the recent years, however, there is 
the growing tendency to assemble plural vehicle models on the same 
assembly line so that it is required to change the conveyance tact of the 
vehicle bodies several times a day. If the conveyance tact of the vehicle 
bodies would be changed in conventional techniques, a conveyance tact of 
the window glass panels should be changed so as to correspond to the tact 
system of the vehicle bodies. It should be noted, however, that the change 
of the conveyance tact of the window glass panels requires further changes 
of various steps involved with the conveyance of the glass panels, thus 
making control systems over a series of the steps complicated. 
This is the issue, too, in applying an adhesive on substrates such as 
window glass panels to be conveyed in synchronization with the vehicle 
body conveyed one after another, on which the window glass panels are 
mounted. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Therefore, the present invention has the object to provide an apparatus for 
controlling the start of coating substrates with an adhesive capable of 
dealing with a change of a conveyance velocity of an article such as a 
vehicle body with which the substrates are assembled without complication 
of a control system over the conveyance step of the substrates. 
The present invention is based on the basic recognition that attention to 
be paid most in changing a conveyance velocity of the article is directed 
to a management of time between from the start of coating the substrate 
with the adhesive to the assembly of the coated substrate with the 
article. An adhesive performance is generally said to undergo great 
influences from the time elapsing from exposure of the adhesive to air to 
a practical application to the mounting so that, if the management of time 
could be ensured, whatever change is made of the conveyance tact of the 
substrates does not constitute any obstacle to a practical assembly 
system. 
Based on the above basic concept, the present invention is adapted to 
adjust a timing of the start of coating the substrate with the adhesive in 
accordance with a change in a conveyance velocity of the article with 
which the substrate is assembled, thus constantly equalizing the time 
required from the start of application of the adhesive to the substrate to 
the assembly of the substrate with the article. Thus the present invention 
enables a uniform adhesive performance of an adhesive to be maintained 
without complication of a control system over the conveyance step of the 
substrates even if the conveyance velocity of the article would be changed 
in different ways. 
In order to achieve the object, the present invention consists of an 
apparatus for controlling the start of coating a substrate with an 
adhesive prior to the assembly of the substrate with an article being 
conveyed one after another, comprising: 
an adhesive coating means for coating the substrate with the adhesive; 
a conveyance velocity detection means for detecting a conveyance velocity 
at which the article is conveyed; and 
a timing adjustment means for adjusting a timing in which the adhesive 
starts being coated on the substrate by the adhesive coating means so as 
to make constant a period of time required from a time for the start of 
coating the adhesive to a time for the start of assembling the substrate 
with the article in accordance with a variation in the conveyance velocity 
of the article.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The present invention will be described by way of examples in conjunction 
with the accompanying drawings. The examples are directed to application 
of the apparatus according to the present invention to an assembly step of 
vehicle window glass panels. 
Layout of Window Glass Panels Assembly Step 
Referring to FIG. 1, reference symbol L1 denotes a vehicle body conveyor 
line which is designed to convey plural different models of vehicle 
bodies. Vehicle bodies 1 are conveyed intermittently in a pitch in a 
direction indicated by the arrow A in parallel to the vehicle body 
conveyor line L1 which, in turn, is provided with a window glass panel 
mounting station S1. In the window glass panel mounting station S1, window 
glass panels 3 are automatically mounted by a window glass panel mounting 
robot 2 on vehicle bodies which are conveyed one by another. The robot 2 
is designed so as to mount a forward window glass panels 3a and a rearward 
window glass panel 3b by itself in a manner as will be described in detail 
hereinbelow. 
The window glass panels 3 are fed to the station S1 through a main window 
glass panel conveyor line L2 and a preliminary window glass panel conveyor 
line L3. The conveyor line L2 is connected to the conveyor line L3 by a 
vertical conveyor 4 which is designed so as to upwardly convey window 
glass panels 3. 
The main window glass panel conveyor line L2 is to deliver the window glass 
panels 3 directly to the window glass panel mounting station S1 and is 
disposed, for example, on a second floor of a housing together with the 
station S1. The conveyor line L2 is provided with a window glass panel 
positioning station S2, an adhesive coating station S3, and a window glass 
panel inverting station S4 in a direction in which the window glass panels 
3 are conveyed--in a direction as indicated by arrow C--in this sequence 
from the upstream side to the downstream side of the conveyor line. A 
positioning device 6 is disposed in the station S2, and an adhesive 
coating robot 7 is disposed in the station S3, which is designed so as to 
coat an adhesive B (FIG. 9) on the window glass panels 3 being conveyed 
one after another. In the station S4, an inverting device 8 is disposed to 
turn the window glass panels 3 to allow its surface with the adhesive B 
coated to face downwardly and the window glass panels are then transferred 
to a feed table 9 through which the glass panels 3 are fed to the window 
glass panels mounting robot 2. 
The preliminary window glass panel conveyor line L3 is to deliver window 
glass panels 3 to the main window glass panel conveyor line L2 and is 
disposed, for example, on the first floor or ground floor of the housing 
in such a manner that it is connected to the main conveyor line L2 with 
the vertical conveyor 4. In the preliminary conveyor line L3 is provided a 
primer coating robot 10 which coats a primer P (FIG. 9) on the window 
glass panels 3 which are conveyed in a direction as indicated by the arrow 
in the drawing. 
In the course of conveyance, the window glass panels 3 are first coated 
with the primer P in the preliminary window glass panel conveyor line L3 
and transferred to the main window glass panel conveyor line L2 through 
the vertical conveyor 4. The glass panels 3 transferred are then coated 
with the adhesive B in the adhesive coating station S3 and thereafter 
transferred to the window glass panel inverting station S4 where the 
window glass panels 3 are turned so as to allow their surfaces with the 
adhesive B coated to be directed downwardly and are placed on the feed 
table 9 for feeding the glass panels 3 to the window glass panel mounting 
robot 2. Briefly speaking, the window glass panels 3 are fed one after 
another to the robot 2 through the preliminary conveyor line L3 and the 
main conveyor line L2 in such a state of being in pairs of the forward 
window glass panels 3a and the rearward window glass panels 3b. 
Window Glass Panel Mounting Robot 
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the window glass panel T 5 mounting robot 2 
comprises a base portion 2a, an arm member 2b, and a glass panel holding 
portion 2c. The arm member 2b is mounted on the base portion 2a and is 
movable in a vertical direction as indicated by the arrow m and pivotable 
about an axis n1 in a direction as indicated by the arrow .theta. 1 and 
about an axis n2 in a direction as indicated by the arrow .theta. 2, and 
the glass panel holding portion is mounted on an end portion of the arm 
member 2b and is pivotable about an axis n3 in a direction as indicated by 
the arrow .theta. 3 and about an axis n4 in a direction as indicated by 
the arrow .theta. 4 as well as about an axis n5 in a direction as 
indicated by the arrow .theta. 5. The window glass panel mounting robot 2 
is movable by means of a transferal mechanism by a motor 200 or by other 
means between a forward window glass panel mounting position I-1 and a 
rearward window glass panel mounting position I-2. 
Referring now to FIGS. 4 to 6, the glass panel holding portion 2c is shown 
to comprise a frame member 220 which is in a vertically H-shaped form and 
is supported at its middle portion by the arm member 2b in a suspended 
state. At four corners of the frame member 220 is mounted each an a sucker 
means 221 in suspended state. 
As shown in FIG. 6, the sucker means 221 is provided with a rod 222 
extending in a vertical direction which, in turn, comprises a first rod 
member 222a consisting of the upper half of the rod 222 and a second rod 
member 222b consisting of the lower half thereof. At a lower end of the 
second rod member 222b is mounted a sucking pad 223 which is pivotable 
about an axis of the rod 222, i.e., the second rod member 222b. An upper 
portion of the second rod member 222b is slidably inserted vertically into 
a hole 222d formed on an lower end portion of the first rod member 222a 
and the second rod member 222b is always urged in a downward direction as 
indicated by the solid line in the drawing, namely, in a direction apart 
from the first rod member 222a, by means of a spring force of a spring 
222c mounted in a compressed state in a vertical direction at a middle 
portion of the second rod member 222b. The first rod member 222a is 
provided at its middle position in a vertical direction with an engaging 
expansion portion 224 formed in an expanded state outwardly in a radial 
direction, and the engaging portion 224 is provided at its lower portion 
with a tapered surface 224a tapered downwardly. At four corners of the 
frame member 220 is fixed each a cylindrical support member 225 having a 
through hole 225a extending in its vertical direction, and a tapered 
surface 225b is formed at an upper portion of the through hole 225a. The 
tapered surface 225b is engageable with the tapered surface 224a of the 
first rod member 222a. An engagement of the tapered surface 224a with the 
tapered surface 225b permits a support of the sucker means 221 in a 
suspended state from the frame member 220. At an upper position of the 
engaging expansion portion 224 of the first rod member 222a is formed a 
flange portion 226 expanded outwardly in a radial direction, and a 
U-shaped tip portion of a paw 227a of a regulation means 227, as will be 
described hereinafter, is engaged between the flange portion 226 and the 
expansion portion 224. 
At an upper end of the first rod member 222a is formed a branch portion 228 
where the rod member is branched into two sections. At the branch portion 
228 is bridged a pin 229 which is connected to one end of a draft spring 
230. The other end of the draft spring 230 is connected to a pin 231 
mounted on the frame member 220 in a horizontally projecting manner, 
whereby the rod 222 of the sucker means 221 is urged by the draft spring 
230 in a horizontal direction toward the pin 229. 
On an upper surface at the middle portion of the frame member 220 are 
symmetrically disposed control means 227 for controlling a suspended state 
of the sucker means 221 at left-hand and right-hand positions. Each of the 
control means 227 is provided with a hydraulic pressure cylinder 232 
extending toward the side of the frame member 220, and a tip portion of a 
piston rod 232a of the hydraulic pressure cylinder 232 is connected to a 
horizontal cylinder member 234 at a middle portion in a lengthwise 
direction, the cylinder member 234 extending in a direction perpendicular 
to the hydraulic pressure cylinder 232 through a link 233. At the both 
ends of the horizontal cylinder member 234 is inserted and fixed a 
connecting rod 235 at its one end side, the connecting rod 235 is 
pivotably supported at its other end side by a bracket 236 which is fixed 
to the frame member 220. At the other end of the connecting rod 235 is 
fixed a base portion of the control paw 227a. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 
237 denotes a stopper member for controlling an excessive degree of an 
upward transformation of the sucking pad 223. 
At the pre-stage for mounting the window glass panels on window openings of 
the vehicle body, the cylinder 232 is in compressed state and the control 
paw 227a is in a state in which it is upwardly pivoted about the 
connecting rod 235 in such a manner as indicated by the imaginary line as 
shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. This contruction brings a pressing action against 
the extension portion 224 of the first rod member 222a to be in released 
state, and the spring force of the spring 222c displaces the first rod 
member 222a, thus bringing the tapered surfaces 224a and 225b into 
disengaged state and, as a result, the sucker means 221 (rod 222) into 
suspended state. 
At the stage of mounting the window glass panels, the hydraulic pressure 
cylinder 232 is operated to extend and controls the floating state of the 
sucker means 221 of the rod 222. The window glass panel 3 is pressed 
against the vehicle body 1 in this state. 
The determination of the positions of the window glass panel 3 against the 
vehicle body 1 may be effected by engaging a positioning pin such as a 
stad bolt or the like mounted on each of the both sides of the window 
glass panel 3 with a positioning hole formed on the side of the vehicle 
body 1 in conventionally known manner. 
The positioning hole on the vehicle body 1 may be detected by a visible 
sensor mounted, for example, on the frame member 220. 
As the sucker means 221 is in suspended state at the pre-stage for mounting 
the window glass panel 3 on the vehicle body 1, it presents the advantages 
that the position of the window glass panel 3 can be readily determined at 
the time of actually mounting the window glass panel 3 on the vehicle body 
1. In other words, the positioning pin mounted on the window glass panel 3 
serves as a guide member when it is inserted into the positioning hole 
formed on the side of the vehicle body 1 and enables the window glass 
panel 3 to be quickly fitted at a given position of the vehicle body 1. 
The window glass panel mounting robot 2 is operated to initially mount the 
forward window glass panel 3a at the front window glass panel mounting 
position I-1 and then transferred to the rear window glass panel mounting 
position I-2 where the rearward window glass panel 3b is mounted by the 
robot 2. 
As shown in FIG. 2, the robot 2 is located at the rear window glass panel 
mounting position I-2 and the arm member 2b and window glass panel holding 
portion 2c of the robot 2 are appropriately transferred and pivoted to 
hold a forward window glass panel 3a which has been transferred to the 
feed table 9 after coating. Then the robot 2 is transferred to the front 
window glass panel assembly position I-1 where the forward window glass 
panel 3a is assembled on the vehicle body 1 by appropriately transferring 
and pivoting its arm member 2b and holding portion 2c as the body 1 is 
conveyed and suspended in the window glass panel mounting station S1. 
During the assembly of the forward window glass panel 3a, a rearward 
window glass panel 3b is coated with the adhesive B in the station S3 and 
turned by the inverting device 8 so as to allow the coated surface of the 
glass panel to face downwardly. After the assembly of the forward window 
glass panel 3a, then the robot 2 is transferred to the rear window glass 
panel assembly position I-2 where the arm member 2b and holding portion 2c 
thereof are appropriately transferred and pivoted to hold the rearward 
window glass panel 3b placed and then appropriately transferred and 
pivoted to assemble the rearward window glass panel 3b. After completion 
of the assembly of the forward and rearward window glass panels 3a and 3b, 
respectively, the vehicle body 1 is then conveyed in the direction as 
indicated by the arrow A. At the same time, the robot 2 is operated to 
hold a forward window glass panel 3a for a vehicle body which follows in 
the same manner as have been described hereinabove. 
With this arrangement, the window glass panel assembly robot 2 mounts the 
forward window glass panel 3a in the front window glass panel assembly 
position I-1 located in a distance away from the feed table 8 prior to the 
mounting of the rearward window panel 3b while the robot 2 is transferred 
between the front and rear window glass panel assembly positions I-1 and 
I-2, respectively. Thus a spare time during the vehicle bodies are 
conveyed in a pitch can be utilized effectively for transferring the robot 
2 with the forward window glass panel 3a held by its arm member 2b to the 
front window glass panel assembly position I-1 and being on the standby 
for the next coming vehicle body 1. Thus it is possible to save time to be 
required for preparation for the assembly of the forward window glass 
panel 3a and consequently a time for the assembly of the window glass 
panels can be shortened. 
Inverting Device 8 
As shown in FIG. 2, the inverting device 8 comprises an arm 8b rotatable 
about a horizontal axis 8a, and a glass panel holding portion 8c disposed 
at a tip portion of the arm 8b. The glass panel holding portion 8c can 
hold the window glass panel 3 nd the arm 8b is turned upwardly at the 
angle of 180 degrees while the glass panel 3 is held by the holding 
portion 8c, thus inverting the coated surface of the glass panel 3 which 
faces upwardly so as to face in a downward direction. Thereafter, the 
window glass panel 3 is transferred to the feed table 9. 
Adhesive Coating Robot 7 
Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 7, the adhesive coating robot 7 comprises a 
work arm 700 and a drive member 701 capable of approaching to a horizontal 
surface arbitrarily in an X- or Y-direction. The drive member 701 is 
provided with a nozzle 703 which, in turn, is transferable in a X-, Y- or 
Z-direction by the drive member 701 and can be inclined at an inclination 
angle .theta. with respect to the horizontal surface. This construction of 
the robot 7 permits the nozzle 703 to face the window glass panel 3 on the 
line l on which it is fixed to the vehicle body 1 and the adhesive B, for 
example, a polyurethane sealer, is coated to a given thickness Ho on the 
line l, as shown in FIG. 9. The arm 700 is then moved on the line l along 
the circumference of the window glass panel 3, thus coating the adhesive B 
along the line l. 
Main Window Glass Panel Conveyor Line L2 
Referring to FIG. 2, the main window glass panel conveyor line L2 is shown 
to comprise a plurality of pallets 20 disposed in a spaced relationship in 
the direction as indicated by reference symbol C. The pallets 20 are 
connected to each other with an endless chain and are designed so as to be 
intermittently conveyed in a pitch by a drive means such as a cylinder 
(not shown). The window glass panel 3 is placed on the pallet 20 and it is 
transferred from the vertical conveyor 4 to the 1 main window glass panel 
conveyor line L2 using a carrier 11 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 10. It is to 
be noted herein that the carrier 11 is omitted from FIG. 1. 
As shown in FIG. 10, the carrier 11 is guided by a rail 110 disposed in an 
area above the main window glass panel conveyor line L2 and is 
transferable between the vertical conveyor 4 and the main window glass 
panel conveyor line L2. The carrier 11 comprises a main body 11a, an arm 
11b hanging down from the main body 11a and movable vertically by a drive 
means (not shown), and a vacuum cup 11c mounted on a lower end of the arm 
11b, thus sucking and holding the window glass panel 3. The carrier 11 
which has received the window glass panel 3 from the vertical conveyor 4 
is then transferred on the main window glass panel conveyor line L2 in a 
locus of transferal indicated by reference symbol F in FIG. 10. 
Thereafter, the arm 11b of the carrier 11 is then transferred downwardly 
on the pallet 20 and the window glass panel 3 is loaded thereon, thus 
allowing the vacuum cup 11c to release the window glass panel 3. 
The pallet 20 is provided on its upper surface with two pairs of height 
reference rods 201 and 202, respectively. In this embodiment, as the 
window glass panel 3 is placed in such a manner that its lengthwise 
direction are brought into agreement with the direction of conveyance 
indicated by reference symbol C, in which the pallet 20 is conveyed, one 
pair of the height reference rods 201 are mounted upright on one side of 
the pallet 20 in a spaced relationship in the direction C while the other 
pair of the height reference rods 202 are likewise mounted upright on the 
other side of the pallet 20 in a spaced relationship. It is further to be 
noted that the height reference rods 201 are fixed on the one side of the 
pallet 20 and the other pair of the height reference rods 202 are mounted 
transferably in a direction perpendicular to the direction of conveyance C 
in which the window glass panels are conveyed in a manner as will be 
described more in detail hereinbelow. 
As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the other pair of the height reference rods 
202 are disposed upright on one and the other sides of a connecting bar 
203 which, in turn, is transferable on rails 204 in a direction 
perpendicular to the conveyance direction C of the window glass panels. As 
shown specifically in FIG. 12, the connecting bar 203 is connected at its 
middle portion to a piston rod 205a of a cylinder 205 and transferred by 
driving the cylinder 205, thus allowing the other pair of the height 
reference rods 202 to be moved. In this embodiment, for example, the other 
pair of the height reference rods 202 is movable to comply with the kind 
of the window glass panels to take a first position as indicated by the 
solid line in FIG. 12, a second position as indicated by the imaginary 
line 202a, and a third position as indicated by the imaginary line 202b. 
As shown in FIG. 11, the pallet 20 is provided with pairs of reference rods 
207 so as to abut with both end portions of the window glass panel 3 in 
its lengthwise direction, namely, a curved portion thereof. The pairs of 
the reference rods 207 are mounted on the pallet 20 through arms 208 a 
base portion of which is pivotable about its axis 208a. Each of the arms 
208 is connected to respective cylinder 209 secured on each side portion 
of the pallet 20 and an extension or contraction of a pair of the 
cylinders 209 allows a pair of the arms 208 to move in a relative manner 
so as to become apart from or come closer to the window glass panel 3, 
thus eventually going the reference rods 207 apart from or abutting them 
with the glass panel 3 and dealing with a difference of curvatures of 
curved portions of the window glass panels 3. 
Nearby each of the reference rods 207 on every arm 208 is mounted a vacuum 
cup 210 to suck and hold the window glass panel 3. Likewise, a pair of 
vacuum cups 211 are mounted upright on the pallet 20 to suck and support 
the window glass panel 3. 
At the pre-stage in which the pallet 20 receives the window glass panel 3 
from the carrier 11, the reference rods 202 and 207 are displaced to match 
with the kind of the window glass panel 3 to be received by the pallet 20. 
In particular, the reference rods 207 are set so as to match with a curved 
shape of a curved portion of the glass panel 3. Accordingly, the window 
glass 3 placed on the pallet 20 is sucked and held by the vacuum cups 210 
and 211, thus dealing with a curvature of the curved portion of the glass 
panel 3. 
The window glass panel 3 held on the pallet 20 is then conveyed to the 
window glass panel positioning station S2 where the position of the glass 
panel 3 placed on the pallet 20 is corrected by an association of the 
positioning device 6 with a displacement of the pallet 20. 
The pallet 20 is displaced in a manner as will be described hereinbelow. As 
shown in FIG. 13, the pallet 20 comprises a frame 230 as a base, which 
further comprises an outer frame section 231, an intermediate frame 
section 232, and an inner frame section 233. The outer frame section 231 
is provided with a pair of first guide rods 235 that guide the 
intermediate frame section 232 surrounded by the outer frame section 231 
so as to become displaceable in a direction indicated by reference symbol 
Y. The intermediate frame section 232 is provided with a pair of second 
guide rods 236 that, in turn, guide the inner frame section 233 surrounded 
by the intermediate frame section 232 so as to become displaceable in a 
direction indicated by reference symbol X. The inner frame section 233 is 
rotatably mounted at its center portion with a rotary shaft 238, and the 
pallet 20 is fixed on an upper end of the rotary shaft 238, as will be 
shown in FIG. 11. This construction allows the pallet 20 to be rotatable 
about the rotary shaft 238 and further displaceable in the X- and 
Y-directions. 
Referring further to FIG. 11, the pallet 20 is fixed to the rotary shaft 
238 of the frame 230 with a clamp means 240 which, in turn, is mounted on 
the outer frame section 231. The clamp means 240 basically comprises a 
recipient portion 231a disposed over the outer frame section 231 and a 
press member 241 disposed on the upper surface of the pallet 20. A 
downward displacement of the press member 241 clamps the pallet 20 from 
the downward and upward directions in association with the recipient 
portion 231a, thus fixing the pallet 20. 
The clamp means 240 is constructed such that the press member 241 is 
loosely engaged with the pallet 20 and fixed to an upper end portion of a 
rod 242 passing therethrough in a vertical direction. On a lower end 
portion of the rod 242 is provided a screw portion 242a to be engageable 
with a female screw member 243 which, in turn, is rotatably mounted to the 
outer frame section 231. On an outer circumference of the female member 
243 is provided a pinion 244 to be engageable with a rack 245 which, in 
turn, extends up to the outside of the outer frame section 231 and is 
connected at its outer side end to a cylinder 246. This construction 
permits a vertical movement of the rod 242 by an extension or compression 
of the cylinder 246, followed by a vertical movement of the press member 
241, thus clamping or unclamping the pallet 20. The pallet 20 is 
constantly urged by a belleville spring (FIG. 11) mounted on the outer 
circumference of the rotary shaft 238. 
Referring to FIG. 13, the pallet 20 is transferred in the conveyance 
direction C on a pair of guide rails 25 laid on the main window glass 
panel conveyor line L2 by rotating rollers 248 mounted on the outer frame 
section 231. 
Referring now to FIGS. 14 and 15, the positioning device 6 comprises a pair 
of first rollers 601 and two pairs of second rollers 602. The first 
rollers 601 are to determine an X-directional position of the window glass 
panel 3 by abutting with side end surfaces 3a thereof in its lengthwise 
direction, namely, in its X-direction, to be mounted in a transverse 
direction of the vehicle body 1, while the second rollers 602 are to 
determine a Y-directional position of the glass panel 3 by abutting with 
side end surfaces 3b thereof in a widthwise direction, namely, in its 
Y-direction, to be mounted in an upward direction thereof. More 
specifically, one of the first rollers 601 serves as positioning the 
left-hand side end 3a of the glass panel 3 while the other as positioning 
the right-hand side end 3a thereof, and one pair of the second rollers 602 
serves as determining the position of the left-hand side end 3b of the 
glass panel 3 (to be mounted on an upper side thereof) while the other 
pair of the second rollers 602 as determining the position of the 
right-hand side end 3b thereof (to be mounted on a lower side thereof). 
As shown specifically in FIG. 15, on the one hand, the first rollers 601 
permit a relative displacement in the X-direction, i.e., in the lengthwise 
direction of the glass panel 3, by an extended or compressive movement of 
the cylinder 604. The first rollers 601 are held by a right-hand bracket 
605 and a left-hand bracket 606 which are connected to each other with an 
upward guide rod 607 and a downward guide rod 608 mounted in a vertically 
spaced relationship. More specifically, a left-hand side 607a of the 
upward guide rod 607 is connected to the left-hand bracket 606 while the 
right-hand side 607b thereof is loosely engaged with the right-hand 
bracket 605. On the contrary, a left-hand side 608a of the downward guide 
rod 608 is loosely engaged with the left-hand bracket 606 while the 
right-hand side 608b thereof is fixed to the right-hand bracket 605. The 
upward and downward guide rods 607 and 608 are provided at their middle 
portion with racks 607c and 608c, respectively, between which is rotatably 
mounted a pinion 609. This construction allows the right-hand and 
left-hand first rollers 601 to depart from or approach to each other by 
means of an extension or compression of the cylinder 601. 
As shown in FIG. 14, on the other hand, two pairs of the left-hand and 
right-hand second rollers 602 are displaced separately and independently 
in the Y-direction, i.e., in the widthwise direction of the window glass 
panel 3. In other words, a pair of the left-hand second rollers 602 are 
driven by a first cylinder 610 for the left-hand rollers while a pair of 
the right-hand second rollers 602 are driven by a second cylinder 611 for 
the right-hand rollers. 
As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, reference numeral 613 denotes a cylinder for 
raising or lowering the positioning device 6. 
The pallet 20 is in a state of being clamped by the clamp means 240 in the 
stage when the window glass panel is conveyed thereinto. After the 
positioning by the positioning device 6 was completed, the pallet 20 is 
then clamped and fixed by the clamp means 240 and thereafter the glass 
panel 3 is transferred to the adhesive coating station S3. 
As have been described hereinabove, the window glass panel 3 is corrected 
so as to be located at a given position in the stage prior to transferal 
to the adhesive coating station S3 so that the coating robot 7 can start 
coating the adhesive immediately upon conveyance of the window glass panel 
3 into the station S3 without amendment to the position of the glass panel 
3. 
Overall Control 
As shown in FIG. 1, in the conveyor line L1 of the vehicle bodies 1, a 
conveying tact of the bodies 1 is controlled by a host computer (not 
shown). A control unit U-1 for the window glass panel assembly robot 2 
start operating the robot 2 in synchronization with conveyance of the 
vehicle body 1 into the window glass panel assembly station S1. The 
conveyor lines L2 and L3 are controlled by a control unit U-2 in response 
to a signal from a sensor P mounted on the feed table 9 to convey the 
window glass panel 3 in a pitch after the glass panel 3 was received by 
the robot 2. 
Control over Adhesive Coating Robot 7 
Referring to FIG. 1, the conveyor line L1 is provided on the upstream side 
of the window glass panel assembly station S1 with two sets of photo tube 
switches 12 and 13 which are disposed in a given distance, l.sub.o, in a 
direction of conveyance of the conveyor line L1, thus capable of detecting 
a conveyance velocity V of the vehicle body passing through the photo tube 
switches 12 and 13. The conveyance velocity V of the vehicle body 1 is 
input in the control unit U-2. The robot 7 is designed so as to adjust a 
timing at which the adhesive B starts being coated, so as to make always 
constant (T.sub.o) regardless of the conveyance velocity V, a period of 
time required for finishing the assembly of the window glass panel 3 with 
the vehicle body 1 from the start of coating the adhesive B. 
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 16, the conveyance velocity V of the 
body 1 is detected at step P1, and an estimated time at which the body 1 
pass through a region (L) from a position (P1) at the set of the photo 
tube switch 13 are disposed to an inlet position (P2) of the station S1 is 
computed on the basis of the velocity V at step P2. Then at step P3, as 
shown in FIG. 17, there are computed a time, T.sub.s, at which the forward 
window glass panel 3 starts being coated with the adhesive B, and a time, 
T.sub.s ', at which the rearward window glass panel 3 starts being coated 
therewith, the basis of the times T and T.sub.o. In FIG. 17, reference 
symbol "t" denotes a time interval between the assembly with the forward 
window glass panel 3a and the rearward window glass panel 3b. In FIG. 17, 
reference symbol "T1" denotes the timing at which the forward window glass 
panel starts being coated, "T2" denotes the timing at which the rearward 
window glass panel starts being coated, "T3" denotes the timing at which 
the forward window glass panel starts being assembled with the vehicle 
body, and "T4" denotes the timing at which the rearward window glass panel 
starts being assembled therewith. 
As have been described in detail hereinabove, the construction of the 
apparatus according to the present invention allows a period of time 
required from the start of coating the window glass 3 with the adhesive B 
to the assembly thereof with the vehicle body 1 to be always constant 
(T.sub.o) even if the conveyance velocity V of the vehicle body 1 is 
changed. This presents a uniformity in coating performance of the adhesive 
leading eventually to a uniformity in the effect on the mounting of the 
window glass panels on the body. Furthermore, a control system is rendered 
extremely simple because the system can be constructed basically by the 
photo tube switches and an operation means for computing periods of time 
only. 
It is further to be noted that the time period T.sub.o required from the 
start of coating the adhesive to the assembly of the window glass panel 3 
can be corrected in accordance with temperature, moisture, and so on. 
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without 
departing from the spirit and scope thereof. The present embodiments as 
have been described hereinabove are therefore to be considered in all 
respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention 
being indicated by the appended claims, and all the changes which come 
within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore 
intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention.