Patent Abstract:
An automatic rear combination lamp removal system includes a base, a plurality of sliding blocks slidably mounted on the base for moving in four ways on the base, a plurality of fastener removers mounted on the sliding blocks for removing nuts fixing rear combination lamps to a vehicle, and a plurality of lamp holders pivotally mounted to the fastener removers for holding the rear combination lamps.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (a) Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a rear combination lamp removal system for automatically removing rear combination lamps mounted to each side of a rear part of a vehicle. 
     (b) Description of the Related Art 
     Typically, a rear combination lamp of a vehicle incorporates a reflector, a lens, and a plurality of lamp bulbs for a tail lamp, a stop lamp, a signal lamp, a back-up lamp and the like, in a united fashion. 
     Conventionally, laborers strip this kind of rear combination lamp from vehicles, particularly from scrap vehicles. With large disassembly operations, many laborers and a great deal of time is required, and the rear combination tail lamps, which are reusable, can be broken. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above problems of the prior art. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic rear combination lamp removal system capable of reducing labor, operation time and parts breakage, resulting in a reduction of combination lamp removal costs. 
     To achieve the above object, an automatic rear combination lamp removal system comprises a base, a plurality of sliding blocks slidably mounted so they can move four ways on the base, a plurality of fastener removers mounted on the sliding blocks for removing nuts fixing the rear combination lamps to a vehicle, and a plurality of lamp holders pivotally mounted to the fastener removers for holding the rear combination lamps. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention, and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention: 
     FIG. 1 is a top plane view showing an automatic rear combination lamp removal system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a top plane view showing the automatic rear combination lamp removal system of FIG. 1 while the system accesses an objective vehicle; 
     FIG. 3 is a top plane view showing the automatic rear combination lamp removal system of FIG. 1 while the system deploys into a trunk of the vehicle; 
     FIG. 4 a  is a partially enlarged top plane view showing operation of a fastener remover of the automatic rear combination lamp removal system of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 b  is a top plane view showing operation of sockets of the fastener removers of FIG. 4 a;  and 
     FIG. 5 is a top plane view showing the automatic rear combination lamp removal system of FIG. 1 while the system retracts after nuts are unscrewed by the fastener removers. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     FIG. 1 is a top plane view showing an automatic rear combination lamp removal system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic rear combination lamp removal system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a base  10 , a plurality of sliding blocks  20  mounted on the base  10 , nut remover units  50  mounted on the sliding blocks  20  for removing nuts which fix the combination lamps to the vehicle bodies, and a plurality of combination lamp holders  60  mounted to the nut remover units  50  for holding the rear combination lamps so as not to drop them. The base  10  is provided with guide rails  71  that are formed in longitudinal and parallel directions with relation to the vehicle body such that the sliding blocks  20  move in front, rear, left, and right directions along the guide rails  71 . The sliding blocks  20  are operated by actuators (not shown) provided in the base  10 . 
     The nut remover units  50  comprise remover bodies  51  formed in a drum shape, a pair of robot arms  52  mounted to each remover body  51 , each robot arm including a first arm segment  52   a  pivotally connected to the remover body  51  on a drum axis of the remover body  51 , the first arm segment  52   a  being able to expand in its longitudinal direction, a second arm segment  52   b  pivotally connected to the free end of the first arm segment  52   a,  and a loosener  53  rotatably mounted on the free end of the second arm segment  52   b.  The loosener  53  is provided with two wrenches  55  for fitting to and unscrewing the rear combination lamp retaining nuts. The wrench  55  is an air pressure socket wrench operated by air pressure. Commonly, a rear combination lamp  30  is mounted to each side of a rear part of a vehicle body, and each rear combination lamp  30  is fixed at two points by nuts such that it is preferred to provide at least two air pressure socket wrenches on each loosener  53 . 
     Each lamp holder  60  comprises a pair of arms  61  pivotally connected to opposite sides of the remover body  51 , and a suction device  62  pivotally connected to a free end of each arm  61 , the suction device  62  being provided with a pair of suction cups  63  that are affixed to or released from the rear combination lamp by a supply or release of suction. 
     The first and second arm segments  51   a  and  51   b,  the looseners  53  of the nut removers  50 , and the arms  61  and suction devices  62  of the lamp holder  60  are actuated by corresponding actuators (not shown) on the basis of signals from a controller (not shown) provided on the sliding block  20 . 
     The operation of the automatic rear combination lamp removal system having the above structure will be described hereinafter with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG.  5 . 
     As described above, the rear combination lamp removal system can be provided with a plurality of rear combination lamp removal units on the base  10  for large disassembly operations, but the operation of just one unit will now be explained because every unit has the same configuration. 
     Once an objective vehicle is in place and the trunk lid is opened, the sliding block  20  moves along the guide rail  71  in a direction parallel to the rear of the vehicle, at the speed of 500 mm/min, until it takes its correct position at the center of the width of the vehicle. The sliding block  20  then moves toward the vehicle at the speed of 300 mm/min such that the looseners  53  progress into the trunk of the vehicle. 
     During the movement of the sliding block toward the vehicle, the lamp holders  60  contact the rear combination lamps  30  and the suction members  63  of the rear combination lamps  30  affix to the rear combination lamps  30  by way of a supplied vacuum. Subsequently, the robot arms  52  extend and are deployed in such a way that both the first and second arm segments  52   a  and  52   b  are rotated outward to a predetermined angle, and the looseners  53  rotate on the end of the second arm segments  52   b  such that the wrenches  55  face a rear inner wall of the trunk. Then, the first arm segments  52   a  shorten a predetermined distance such that the 4 wrenches  55  hold the nuts that fix the rear combination lamps  30  to the vehicle body and unscrews them at the same time (see FIGS. 4 a  and  4   b ). It is preferred that the wrenches  55  rotate at the speed of 250 rpm in a counter-clockwise direction such that the nuts  31  are unscrewed in 15 seconds. 
     After the nuts are unscrewed, the robot arms  52  rotate toward each other, are withdrawn, and the sliding block  20  retreats at the speed of 300 mm/min to the pre-deployment position, while the lamp holders  60  hold the rear combination lamps  30  with the suction devices  62 . 
     During the retraction of the sliding block  20 , bulb connectors and wires connecting the rear combination lamps  30  to the vehicle body are removed from the rear combination lamps  30  by the retraction force of the sliding block  20 . The removed rear combination lamps  30  are stored in a collecting box. 
     As described above, the automatic rear combination lamp  30  removal system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention automatically removes rear combination lamps  30  from vehicles and allows large disassembly operations to occur in such a way that removal costs and manual labor time is reduced, resulting in an increased operational efficiency. 
     Furthermore, the automatic removal system minimizes the breakage of rear combination lamps  30  so as to contribute to the resource recycle policy. 
     While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8