Patent Publication Number: US-2007113392-A1

Title: Decking Cone Device

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to decking cone devices operable to assist in mutual alignment and subsequently handling of assembled automotive components during fabrication of road vehicles. Moreover, the present invention also concerns methods of mutually aligning and subsequently handling assembled automotive components during fabrication of road vehicles.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      During mass production of products, it is desirable that production processes should be as efficient and effective as possible. Complex contemporary products often require a high input of human labor during manufacture which can represent a significant portion of a cost of finished such manufactured product provided to consumers.  
      When manufacturing road vehicles, numerous component parts are assembled together with high reproducibility so as to provide a reliable and dependable road vehicle. Automotive component parts which are sub-optimally designed for manufacture can potentially slow down manufacturing rendering vehicle manufacture less efficient and adding to manufacturing cost. Moreover, during vehicle manufacture, it is often desirable to handle groups of automotive components assembled together to render manufacturing more efficient, for example sub-assemblies of components such as suspension systems for mounting to vehicle chassis components.  
      In a context of the present invention, it is convenient to attach vehicle suspension sub-assemblies to vehicle chasses during part of a vehicle assembly process. Moreover, it has been found in practice that a technical problem arises in quickly and easily aligning and securing such suspension sub-assemblies to chasses during vehicle assembly; for example, various holes need to be aligned during manufacture to receive securing bolts or similar fasteners. Precision alignment of holes not only needs care and attention, but can also result in assembly operator fatigue on account of a degree of continuous concentration required.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      An object of the present invention is to provide a decking cone device which is capable of being used in manufacturing, for example in automotive manufacture, for more rapidly aligning and subsequently holding components together prior to mutually securing the components together.  
      According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a decking cone device adapted for automatically mutually angularly aligning and laterally aligning at least a first component part to a second component part, said decking device including one or more features for laterally and angularly engaging onto or into said first component part, said decking device having external surfaces so shaped so as to cooperate with edges of a hole formed in the second component part, the decking device being operable so as to generate when the decking device engaged onto or into the first component part is offered to the hole in the second component part lateral and angular alignment forces so as to mutually laterally and angularly align said first component part to said second component part.  
      The invention is of advantage in that the decking device is capable of automatically generating alignment forces when the first and second component parts are offered together so as to laterally and angularly mutually align the first and second component parts together.  
      In an embodiment, the decking device further comprises retaining features for maintaining the first and second component parts mutually held together when mutually offered together. Such a feature is of benefit in that it enables the first and second component parts to be subsequently handled as an aligned configuration for undergoing subsequent manufacturing operations, for example affixing the first and second component parts together in alignment so that the decking device can be subsequently removed and reused.  
      In an embodiment, the device comprises a tapered portion so shaped so as to generate minimal angular alignment forces when the tapered portion is angularly aligned to the hole, said tapered portion being so shaped so as to be capable of generating progressively increasing alignment forces as the device is progressively offered into the hole. Interaction of the surface of the tapered portion with the hole is an important feature of the invention for providing lateral and angular alignment forces automatically directed to ensure mutual alignment of the first and second component parts.  
      In an embodiment of the decking device, the tapered portion is formed so as to be of substantially rhombic cross-section to cooperate with the hole being implemented to be also of substantially rhombic shape.  
      In an embodiment of the decking device, the tapered portion at its greatest transverse cross-sectional area is adapted to be substantially similar in shape to said hole and a margin smaller than said hole. More preferably, in the decking device, the margin is substantially 0.2 mm to accommodate manufacturing tolerance when forming the hole.  
      In an embodiment of the decking device, the retaining features include at least one pivotally-mounted member resiliently biased outwardly from said device, said at least one pivotally-mounted member being operable to clip onto one or more edges of said hole for retaining said decking device engaged with said hole and thus held to said second component part. Conveniently, the retaining features are implemented as spring-loaded flipper arms which automatically engage onto edges of the hole when the first and second component parts are mutually offered together in mutual lateral and angular alignment.  
      In another embodiment, the decking device includes an attachment for attaching said device to said first component part for maintaining them mutually affixed when the decking device in operation is offered to said hole in said second component part.  
      In an embodiment, the decking device is adapted to be reused in manufacture for repetitively mutually aligning examples of said first and second components parts. More preferably, the decking device is adapted for mutually laterally and angularly aligning automotive suspension subassemblies to corresponding portions of vehicle chasses during road vehicle manufacture.  
      According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of applying a decking cone device for automatically mutually angularly aligning and laterally aligning at least a first component part to a second component part. The method comprises the steps: first, engaging said decking device into or onto said first component part, said decking device including one or more features for laterally and angularly engaging onto said first component. Second, offering said first component part via said decking device engaged thereto to a hole included in the second component part, said decking device having external surfaces so shaped so as to cooperate with edges of the hole formed in the second component part so as to generate when the decking device engaged onto the first component part is offered to the hole in the second component part lateral and angular alignment forces so as to mutually laterally and angularly align said first component part to said second component part. And third, deploying retaining features for holding the device into a position for retaining said mutual angular and lateral alignment, so that said at least first and second component parts remain mutually in angular and lateral alignment.  
      In another embodiment, the method includes two further steps. First, applying fasteners to affix the at least first and second component parts mutually together in angular and lateral alignment. And a second step includes after mutual fixing of the at least first and second component parts together, removing the decking device for subsequent reuse in angularly and laterally aligning similar at least first and second component parts.  
      It will be appreciated that features of the invention are susceptible to being combined in any combination without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DIAGRAMS  
      By way of example only, embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:  
       FIG. 1  is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of the invention, namely a decking cone device; the decking cone device is shown in side view from two different perpendicular lateral directions;  
       FIG. 2  is a schematic illustration of the decking device of  FIG. 1  shown in underside view;  
       FIG. 3  is a schematic illustration of the decking cone device of  FIG. 1  shown in side view with internal parts of the device presented in dotted outline;  
       FIG. 4  is an illustration of an application of the decking cone device shown in FIGS.  1  to  3  applied to aligning and holding a suspension sub-assembly of a road vehicle onto a corresponding receiving portion of a chassis of the vehicle;  
       FIG. 5  is a schematic illustration in plan view of a mounting plate of the aforesaid suspension sub-assembly including three mounting holes and a central hole with two notches for engaging underside alignment projections of the decking cone device illustrated in FIGS.  1  to  3 ;  
       FIG. 6  is a schematic illustration of the underside alignment projections of the decking cone device engaged into the notches shown in  FIG. 5 ; and  
       FIG. 7  is a schematic illustration of an rhombic alignment hole included in the receiving portion of the chassis of the vehicle shown in  FIG. 4  in plan view, with a plan view of the decking cone device inset to illustrate a manner in which the decking cone is received into the rhombic alignment hole; and  
       FIG. 8  is a schematic illustration of an alignment rotation force generated by an interaction of the decking cone device with the rhombic hole shown in  FIG. 7  so as to align securing holes of the mounting plate of the suspension sub-assembly with corresponding holes included in the receiving portion of the chassis. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION  
      Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a decking cone device indicated generally by  10 . The cone device  10  includes an outer part  20  comprising a tapered portion  22  of complex profile and a parallel sided portion  24  having parallel side wall external surfaces. The decking device  10  has an underside surface  40  of substantially rhombic profile having a first width D 1  in a first lateral direction and a second width D 2  in a second lateral direction perpendicular to the first direction; the first and second direction are perpendicular to a central longitudinal axis of the decking device  10 . The first width D 1  is approximately in a range of 20% to 80% greater than the second width D 2 . The tapered portion  22  therefore has a continuously varying taper angle relative to a longitudinal central axis of the device  10  as illustrated as defined by the underside surface  40  being of rhombic form.  
      The underside surface  40  has projecting therefrom two underside alignment projections  45  as illustrated at extremities of the first width D 1 . A upperside surface  50  of the outer part  20  opposite to the underside surface  40  is of circular profile with a diameter D 3 . The diameter D 3  is less than the first and second widths D 1 , D 2  respectively so as to provide for the tapered portion  22  which is important to functioning of the decking device  10  when in operation as will be elucidated later.  
      The decking device  10  further includes two spring-loaded flipper arms  100  on mutually opposite sides of the decking device  10 . Each flipper arm  100  is pivotally mounted substantially midway therealong about a transverse axis  110 , for example by way of the flipper arm  100  including a transverse hole midway therealong for receiving a pivot pin included along the axis  110 . Each flipper arm  100  is operable to pivot as shown by arrows  120  and is accommodated in a recess  130  formed or machined into sides of the decking device  10 .  
      The outer part  20  is optionally fabricated from steel by CNC machining operations or by casting operations. Moreover, the flippers  100  are optionally fabricated from aluminium or similar alloy softer than steel. However, one or more of the outer part  20  and the flipper arms  100  can be fabricated by casting or molding processes.  
      The decking device  10  further includes an inner rotating part  200  comprising a cone portion terminating at a remote end thereof in a nut  210  susceptible to being engaged with an motorized nut-driver, spanner or similar type of rotary drive tool. The inner rotating part  200  includes an elongate shaft  220  projecting into a hole machined into the outer part  20  as will be further elucidated later. The inner part  200  is susceptible to being rotated in operation relative to the outer part  20  as denoted by an arrow  250 , and also being moved longitudinally along the aforesaid central axis of the device  10  in respect of the outer part  20  as denoted by an arrow  260 .  
      The inner part  200  is retained within the outer part  20  by way of a retaining component  330  included at an upper region of the tapered portion  22  just prior to the upperside surface  50 ; the retaining component in shown in  FIG. 3 . Moreover, the retaining component  330  is conveniently implemented as a screw, aluminium rivet or friction-retained pin. The inner and outer parts  200 ,  20  respectively provide a conveniently-sized device for assembly personnel to handle in manufacturing assembly environments.  
      Referring next to  FIG. 2 , the decking device  10  is shown in underside view wherein the underside surface  40  of rhombic form is to be seen. The alignment projections  45  are shown at extremities of the first width D 1 . The underside surface  40  is substantially planar and has formed thereinto a central hole  300  for accommodating a threaded head  310  having an end hole with a thread  320  formed into its inner surface as shown. The threaded head  310  is coupled to the elongate shaft  220  and is beneficially integral therewith as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . Moreover, the flipper arms  100  are shown on aforementioned mutually opposite sides of the outer part  20  of the device  10 . Each flipper arm  100  is provide with an associated biasing coil spring  350  operable to preferentially bias the flipper arm  100  at its lower end near the underside surface  40  in an outward direction away from the central axis of the device  10 .  
      The decking device  10  is designed to be employed in manufacture but not form a permanent functional part or a vestigial part of a final manufactured product, for example a road vehicle. Thus, the decking device  10  is susceptible to being recycled and reused to assist manufacturing by aligning and subsequently holding, for example, a suspension sub-assembly of a road vehicle to a corresponding receiving portion of the vehicle during its manufacture. As will be elucidated later, the decking device  10  is capable of providing automatic angular alignment and also holding items together once angularly aligned.  
      Referring to  FIG. 4 , there is shown the device  10  employed in manufacture to align and subsequently hold an upper surface of an automotive mounting plate indicated by  500  to an underside of a receiving portion  510  of a road vehicle. The mounting plate  500  forms part of a sub-assembly further comprising an interface component  520  of approximately truncated conical outer profile in abutment with an underside surface of the mounting plate  500 , and a coil spring  530  in abutment with an underside of the of the interface component  520 . The interface component  520  is operable to cooperate with the mounting plate  500  to cope with angular misalignment resulting from manufacturing tolerances in manufacture of the coil spring  530  as illustrated. The subassembly further comprises an oil damper shock-absorber indicated generally by  600 . The shock-absorber  600  includes an outer cylinder part  610  remote from the interface component  520  and an inner piston rod  620 . The inner rod  620  includes an upper rod portion  630  of reduced diameter as shown; the upper rod portion  630  has a thread formed onto its outer surface; this thread of the upper rod portion  630  is compatible with the thread  320  formed on the inner surface of the threaded head  310  of the decking device  10 .  
      In manufacturing, the aforesaid sub-assembly is assembled together and then during manufacturing offered, for example by way of a hydraulic pusher actuating on an underside of the sub-assembly in an upward direction, to the receiving portion  510  of the chassis of the road vehicle. The sub-assembly can, for example, be provided by a sub-contractor to a road vehicle manufacturer. It is often encountered that the mounting plate  500  is not reliably angularly orientated, and the coiled spring  530  can suffer manufacturing tolerances which render the interface component  520  non-perpendicular to a central longitudinal axis of the shock-absorber  600 . A technical problem is encountered in manufacture when offering the sub-assembly to the receiving portion  510  in that the mounting plate  500  is not easily accessible to assembly personnel to angularly adjust by eye when the sub-assembly is offered to receiving portion  510 . Such alignment is necessary for aligning three holes  700  of the mounting plate  500  with three corresponding holes  710  formed into the receiving portion  510  so as to receive fixing screws  720 .  
      In manufacturing, it is also convenient to apply the fixing screws  720  at a later step than at an earlier step of offering the sub-assembly to the receiving portion  510 .  
      Thus, in manufacture, the decking device  10  is employed in a method of manufacture. Prior to the sub-assembly being offered to the receiving portion  510 , the decking device  10  is applied to the mounting plate  500 . The mounting plate  500 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , comprises a slightly recessed outer portion including the aforesaid holes  700  and an inner raised portion  800  including a central hole  810  provided with two notches  820  as peripheral sides thereof as illustrated. The central hole  810  is of smaller area than the underside surface  40  of the decking device  10  as shown in  FIG. 6  so that the device  10  is not able to fall through the central hole  810  when placed thereupon. Moreover, the two projections  45  of the decking device  10  are operable to engage into the notches  820  of the holes  810  as illustrated in  FIG. 6 . The nut  210  is then rotated, for example using a hydraulically-driven spanner, to engage the threaded head  310  of the device  10  onto the thread formed on the external surface of the upper rod portion  630  as illustrated in  FIG. 4 .  
      Next, in the method, the sub-assembly together with its decking device  10  attached as shown in  FIG. 5  to an upper surface of the mounting plate  500  is offered as denoted by an arrow  950 , by action of the aforesaid hydraulic pusher (not shown), such that the nut  210  of the inner part  200  is guided into a receiving hole  920  of rhombic shape formed into an upwardly formed recess  910  of substantially circular peripheral profile provided in a general recess  900  also of circular peripheral form of the receiving portion  510 . The receiving hole  920  of rhombic shape is arranged to be slightly greater in size, for example by a margin of circa 0.2 mm, than the underside surface  40  of the decking device  10 . During such offering  950  of the decking device  10  mounted on the mounting plate  500  of the sub-assembly, the tapered portion  22  of the decking device  10  contacts onto peripheral sides of the receiving hole  920  of rhombic shape so as to generate a turning force denoted by arrows  1020  in  FIG. 8 . In a situation wherein an extremity axis  1000  of the decking device  10  adjacent one of the projections  45  is not aligned with an extreme corner axis  1010  of the receiving hole  920 , the force of the pusher not only renders the mounting plate  500  horizontal as illustrated in  FIG. 4  when pushed into contact with the underside surface of the receiving portion  510 , but also causes the holes  700  of the mounting plate  500  to be rotated to correctly aligned positions  1030  so that the holes  700  angularly align with the holes  710  of the receiving portion  510 . Moreover, the device  10  is also operable, on account of concentricity of the hole  810  and its notches  820  in respect of the holes  700 , and also concentricity of the receiving hole  920  in respect of the holes  710 , to ensure that the sub-assembly is correctly laterally aligned to the receiving portion  510 , namely centralized thereto. When the pusher has actuated the sub-assembly and its decking device  10  to a sufficient height, the flipper arms  100  spring out by action of their springs  350  so as to engage onto outside peripheral edges of the receiving hole  920 . On account of the flipper arms  100  being fabricated from a soft material and having rounded peripheral edges, for example fabricated from aluminium, they do not damage pre-applied paint coatings in a vicinity of the receiving hole  920 ; chipping or damage of paint coatings during manufacture can potentially subsequently give rise to rust spots so the decking device  10  is carefully designed to take such detail into consideration to ensure a high quality product. The sub-assembly is held in position not only by way of the flipper arms  100 , but the decking device  10  being retained on account of its threaded head  310  being engaged onto the threaded upper rod portion  630 . Thereafter, the vehicle chassis including its receiving portion  510  can be transported, for example along a production line, together with its suspension sub-assembly and the decking device  10  attached thereto, for the screws  720  to be subsequently applied; conveniently, the holes  700  of the mounting plate  500  are threaded holes for engaging onto threads formed on the screws  720 .  
      When the screws  720  have been applied to firmly attach the mounting plate  500  to he receiving portion  510 , and thus firmly attaching the suspension sub-assembly to the chassis of the vehicle, the nut  210  is rotated to release the threaded head  310  from the threaded upper rod portion  630  so as to enable assembly personnel to remove the decking device  10  from the vehicle. The decking device  10  can then be returned for reuse further back along the production line.  
      The decking device  10  is thus potentially of considerable benefit in manufacturing products, for example road vehicles but not limited thereto, when two of more component parts require to be mutually centralized and angularly aligned, and then subsequently held together in preparation for a subsequent fixing operation to join the two or more component parts together. On account of the angular alignment forces  1020  being automatically generated to mutually align the holes  700 ,  710 , operator intervention, for example performing precision angular alignment by eye, is not required, thereby simplifying and expediting manufacture. The decking device  10  is thereby capable of providing a convenient and effective solution to aforementioned technical problems which the present invention seeks to address.  
      Modifications to embodiments of the invention described in the foregoing are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims.  
      Expressions such as “including”, “comprising”, “incorporating”, “consisting of”, “have”, “is” used to describe and claim the present invention are intended to be construed in a non-exclusive manner, namely allowing for items, components or elements not explicitly described also to be present. Reference to the singular is also to be construed to relate to the plural.