Abstract:
A locator pin aligns a glass panel during installation on a vehicle. The locator pin includes a base for affixing to the glass panel in a predetermined position prior to transporting it from a site where the glass panel is formed. A pin body has an elongated portion with a proximal end and a distal end defining a longitudinal axis. A hinge pivotally attaches the pin body to the base at the proximal end so that the pin body pivots between a shipping position wherein the longitudinal axis is substantially parallel to a surface of the glass panel and an alignment position wherein the longitudinal axis is substantially perpendicular to the surface of the glass panel. The folding pin allows glass panels to be stacked closer together in shipping racks when they are transported from the glass fabrication facility to a place of installation.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not Applicable. 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
       [0002]    Not Applicable. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The present invention relates in general to the handling and installation of glass panels such as automotive windshields, and, more specifically, to an alignment pin on a glass panel that mates with holes in a mounting frame to align the glass panel while it is bonded to the mounting frame. 
         [0004]    Locator pins are commonly used as an assembly aid on automotive glass (such as windshields and backlites) to correctly locate and temporarily hold the glass panel in the proper position until a bonding/sealing agent (e.g., urethane) applied around the periphery of the glass panel has cured. After the urethane cures, the locator pins have no further function. 
         [0005]    The locator pins must be accurately positioned on the surface of the glass panel to correspond with mounting holes in the vehicle frame so that the glass panel is properly centered within the vehicle frame and held at a desired height from the frame to accommodate the desired width of urethane. To simplify the glass panel placement within the vehicle frame and mounting holes, a substantial pin length is desired. However, the height of the locator pins decreases the packing density of the glass panels during transportation from the glass manufacturer to the vehicle assembler. The reduction in packing density increases overall shipping costs as well as the expenditures for fabricating and transporting racks in which the glass panels are shipped. In order to avoid cost increases related to inefficient packaging, glass manufacturers sometimes open local facilities near the shipping destinations (e.g., the customer&#39;s assembly plants) in order to install the locator pins. It would be desirable to increase packing density while preserving the functionality of a locator pin. 
         [0006]    With or without locator pins, spacers are typically employed between adjacent glass panels in shipping racks to reduce damage during shipping. When transporting glass panels with long locator pins, spacer thickness must be greatly increased in order to accommodate the pin length. Thus, it would also be desirable to reduce or eliminate the need for spacers. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention provides a folding pin capable of dual use as a spacer between glass panels during shipment and a locator pin during assembly to a vehicle. A higher packing density is achieved which reduces shipping costs and lowers expenditures associated with the shipping racks themselves. 
         [0008]    In one aspect of the invention, a locator pin is provided for aligning a glass panel during installation on a vehicle. The locator pin includes a base for affixing to the glass panel in a predetermined position prior to transporting it from a site where the glass panel is formed. A pin body has an elongated portion with a proximal end and a distal end defining a longitudinal axis. A hinge pivotally attaches the pin body to the base at the proximal end so that the pin body pivots between a shipping position wherein the longitudinal axis is substantially parallel to a surface of the glass panel and an alignment position wherein the longitudinal axis is substantially perpendicular to the surface of the glass panel. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective diagram showing the use of locator pins in assembling a windshield to a vehicle frame. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of a locator pin installed in a vehicle frame. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is an end view of prior art glass products stacked in a shipping rack. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is an end view of glass panels with the folding hinge of the present invention stacked in a shipping rack. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a side, plan view showing a folding pin mounted to a glass panel. 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a top, exploded view showing a folding pin in greater detail. 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a side, exploded view of the folding pin of  FIG. 5 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  is a side view of the folding pin in the shipping position. 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  is a side view of the folding pin in the alignment position. 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  is a flowchart showing one preferred embodiment of the invention. 
           [0019]      FIGS. 11-15  are top and side views of another embodiment of the folding pin. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0020]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a glass panel  10  has an inner surface  11  to which are mounted locater pins  12 - 15  at the corners near the peripheral edge of surface  11 . Panel  10  is adapted to be mounted to a vehicle frame  16  having a windshield aperture  17 . A well  18  may be formed around the edge of aperture  17  and includes a plurality of mounting holes  20 - 23  for receiving locator pins  12 - 15 , respectively. Glass panel  10  is maneuvered into position so that pins  12 - 15  are inserted into mounting holes  20 - 23 . The locating pins hold glass panel  10  in place for rigid attachment by a urethane adhesive as shown in  FIG. 2 . Thus, locator pin  12  extends through mounting hole  20  in frame well  17  so that a support surface  25  of locator pin  12  supports glass panel  10  at a predetermined spacing to accommodate a urethane layer  26  applied in a conventional manner. Locator pin  12  may be attached to glass panel  10  by an adhesive tape  24 , for example. 
         [0021]    The effect of the locator pins on packing density during shipment of glass panels is shown in  FIG. 3 . A shipping rack for containing the glass panels and for loading onto and off of a transport vehicle such as a truck includes a pair of side rails  30  and  31 . Rails  30  and  31  may include support spacers  32  at an appropriate spacing for separating glass panels  33  by a distance no less than the height of locator pins  34 . Additional spacers  35  may also be provided between adjacent glass panels  33 . As a consequence of the height of locator pins  34 , glass panels  33  have a low packing density. 
         [0022]      FIG. 4  shows a plurality of glass panels  40  having folding locator pins  41  according to the present invention. Panels  40  are loaded in a shipping rack having side rails  42  and  43  on opposite sides of a bottom panel  44 .  FIG. 4  shows an increased packing density by virtue of the pins being re-oriented in a direction substantially parallel to glass panels  40  into a shipping position from which they can be folded upward after removal from the shipping rack for installation on a vehicle. Moreover, some or all of the separate spacers can be eliminated by integrating a spacer function into folding locator pins  41  when they are in their folded positions. 
         [0023]    A locator pin  41  of the present invention is shown in greater detail in  FIG. 5 . A base portion  45  carries a hinge portion  46  to which a pin body  47  is pivotally mounted. An adhesive layer  48  affixes base  45  to glass panel  40  at a predetermined position  50 . Locator pin  41  may be affixed to glass panel  40  in the proper location using an automatic placement machine, for example. 
         [0024]    Pin body  47  has a distal end  47   a  and a proximal end  47   b  mounted in hinge portion  46 , whereby the pin body has a longitudinal axis extending between ends  47   a  and  47   b.  Pin body  47  pivots between a shipping position wherein the longitudinal axis is parallel to the surface of glass panel  40  and an alignment position (shown in phantom) wherein the longitudinal axis is substantially perpendicular to the surface of glass panel  40 . 
         [0025]    A locking future  51  is integrated with hinge portion  46  for positively retaining pin body at least in the alignment position, and optionally in the shipping position. If locked in the shipping position, the retention force is sufficiently small to be overcome manually when switching the pin body into the alignment position. 
         [0026]    Locator pin  40  preferably provides a support surface  52  that can act as a bearing shoulder of a spacer in order to contact an adjacent glass panel when in the shipping position and affixed to a glass panel in a shipping rack with a stack of glass panels. Support surface  52  may also be used for supporting the glass panel on the vehicle frame when the pin body is in the alignment position and inserted into a corresponding mounting hole on the vehicle frame. Support surface  52  is generally parallel with the surface of glass  40  and thus is generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pin body when the pin body is in the alignment position. 
         [0027]    A frangible tab  53  may be provided for holding pin body  47  in the shipping position until broken by a force for shifting pin body  47  into the alignment position. Frangible tab  53  may connect pin body  47  to base  45 , as shown, or may be incorporated into the hinge  46 . 
         [0028]    Another embodiment for the locator pin is shown in  FIGS. 6-9 . A base  55  supports hinge posts  56  and  57  for receiving hinge pins  61  and  62  of a pin body  60 . A crossbar  63  is formed integrally with hinge pins  61  and  62  and alignment pin  64 . In the shipping position, pin  64  rests on a block  66  extending from base  55 . 
         [0029]    Base  55  and pin body  60  may preferably be formed of injection molded plastic, and are preferably molded together insubstantially one operation. Consequently, base  55  and pin portion  60  are not freely moving upon the removal from the mold. Instead, there are at least portions of flashing between the two elements, such as flash  67  between hinge posts  56  and  57  and hinge pins  61  and  62 , respectively, and flash  68  between block  66  and alignment pin  64 . The flashing may preferably act as the frangible tabs for holding pin body  60  in the shipping position. The strength of the flashing is sufficiently low that a vehicle installer can manually break the flashing by pulling upward on pin  64 . Crossbar  63  has a first tab  70  to form part of a locking feature for the alignment position. A post  71  on base  55  has a second tab  72  for interlocking with tab  70  as shown in  FIG. 9  to retain pin  64  in the alignment position. A pair of blocks  73  and  74  contact cross bar  63  to support it when in the alignment position. Furthermore, a support surface  75  of crossbar  63  around pin  64  and a top surface  76  of post  71  provide a support surface for contacting the vehicle frame and providing the desired standoff height. 
         [0030]    An adhesive applied to the underside of base  55  preferably comprises a double-sided tape  77  with a peelable protective layer  78  that protects the adhesive prior to application to a glass panel. 
         [0031]    A preferred method of the invention for processing and shipping glass panels for assembly onto vehicles is shown in  FIG. 10 . In step  80 , a plurality of folding pins are fabricated according to vehicle specifications so that they fit the associated mounting holes and provide the desired standoff. A plurality of glass panels are fabricated in step  81 . Folding pins are attached to predetermined locations on the glass panels in step  82 . Such placement may be preferably performed using an automatic placing machine. 
         [0032]    When ready for shipping, the fabricated glass panels with attached folding pins are inserted into shipping racks in step  83 . The racks are loaded into a transportation vehicle in step  84 . Due to the increased packing density achieved by use of the folding pins, shipping efficiency is increased. In step  85 , the transportation vehicle delivers the glass panels to a vehicle assembly plant. 
         [0033]    At the receiving end, the glass panels are removed from the racks in step  86  and the folding pins are deployed to their upright position in step  87 . The vehicle assembler then mounts the glass panel to the frame in step  88  so that the pins enter the corresponding mounting holes. Thus, the glass panels (e.g., windshields) are properly held in place during curing of a urethane adhesive that is typically used for vehicle assembly. 
         [0034]    The shipping racks which held the glass panels during shipping are consolidated for return to the glass fabrication plant in step  89 . Since the racks hold the glass panels at a higher packing density, there is less rack volume used for any particular number of glass panels, which means that less floor space is used at the vehicle assembly plant for storing the consolidated racks. The shipping racks are then sent back to the glass plant in step  90 . Thanks to the greater packing density, fewer shipments are required to return the shipping racks, resulting in further savings in transportation. 
         [0035]      FIGS. 11-15  show yet another embodiment wherein the folding pin is formed as a single molded piece. A base  91  is molded to be substantially co-planar with a pin body  92  which is joined via a hinge section  93 . Hinge section  93  is shaped by a contoured slot to allow bending upwards of pin body  92  so that it may be captured by a locking structure  94  extending from the top of base  91 . Locking structure  94  has a pair of jaws  95  and  96  extending alongside a recess  97 . When moving from the shipping position to the alignment position, pin body  92  pivots around hinge section  93 . As it contacts jaws  95  and  96 , they deflect and pin body enters recess  97  where it is securely held. Locking structure  94  provides both a bearing surface for stacking panels during shipping and a standoff surface for suspending the panel the desired distance above the vehicle frame while in the alignment position. An adhesive  98 , such as a double-sided tape, is applied to the underside of base  91 . 
         [0036]    In addition to reduced transportation costs, the shipping racks or other containers utilized are simplified, thereby reducing the costs of manufacturing the racks. The reduced complexity of the racks can also enable greater interchangeability for use with different types of glass panels. The elimination of separate rack spacers eliminates the spacer cost and reduces labor at both the glass plant and the vehicle assembly plant.