Patent ID: 7770780

Claim:
A system for assembling motor-vehicle body structures or sub-assemblies thereof, of the type comprising: a welding assembly station; a conveying line, for carrying at least part of the structures to be assembled to the assembly station and for carrying the assembled structures out of the assembly station; at least one pair of frames equipped with locating and clamping fixtures, which are positioned in the welding station, at the two sides of the line, for locating in position and clamping the body to be assembled; a welder for connecting the structure located in position and clamped in the assembly or framing station; and one or more manipulating robots, for transferring each of said locating and clamping frames between an operative position in the assembly station and an inoperative position, remote with respect to the assembly station, said system being wherein, in the assembly station, at the two sides of the conveying line, are prearranged two rigid structures, which are movable in a transverse direction with respect to the conveying line between an open position, in which said structures are set at a greater distance from one another, and a closed position, in which said structures are set closer to one another; and each of said rigid structures further having at least two coupling assemblies connected to the rigid support structure for receiving and supporting a respective locating and clamping side frame on top of the rigid support structure in the welding-assembly station, the at least two coupling assemblies positioned a distance apart along a direction of the conveying line, the coupling assemblies each defining a coupling cavity opening upwards for receiving a pin projecting downwards from a bracket connected to the locating and clamping side frame, said coupling assemblies are pre-arranged for locating in position the respective side frame with respect to the rigid support structure and are adapted to support the weight of the respective side frame and maintain the side frame in a substantially vertical orientation when said pin is installed in said respective coupling assembly, each of said rigid support structures further having at least two lateral supports against which two parallel and overlapping end columns of the respective side frame rest, wherein when a respective side frame is subjected to a transverse force in a direction laterally outward from the conveying line, the respective side frame end columns are pressed against the lateral supports thereby transferring the force away from the respective side frame through the lateral supports and to the rigid support structure.