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DE-102025110036-B3 - SYSTEM FOR POSITIONING A PRODUCT ALONG AN ASSEMBLY LINE

DE102025110036B3DE 102025110036 B3DE102025110036 B3DE 102025110036B3DE-102025110036-B3

Abstract

A system for positioning a product along an assembly line, comprising: a motor having a brake and a drive shaft that interacts with a platform via a coupling, wherein a rotation of the drive shaft in a first direction rotates the coupling to an upper position to raise the platform, and a rotation of the drive shaft in a second direction rotates the coupling to a lower position to lower the platform, and the brake is configured to stop any movement of the drive shaft; a sensor configured to identify any movement of the coupling between the lower position and the upper position; and a controller configured to receive inputs from the sensor, to measure a cycle time of each of several movement cycles of the coupling between the lower position and the upper position based on the inputs, and to identify cycle times that progressively decrease or increase.

Inventors

  • Alex Subramanian
  • Adriano Bardelin
  • Suchit S. Walekar

Assignees

  • GM Global Technology Operations LLC

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20250317
Priority Date
20250121

Claims (9)

  1. System (10) for positioning a product (20) along an assembly line (30), wherein the system (10) comprises: a platform (50) configured to support the product (20) and to be raised and lowered; a motor (60) comprising a brake (110) and a drive shaft (62) which interacts with the platform (50) by means of a coupling (70), wherein a rotation of the drive shaft (62) in a first direction rotates the coupling (70) to an upper position (B) to raise the platform (50), and a rotation of the drive shaft (62) in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, rotates the coupling (70) to a lower position (A) to lower the platform (50), and the brake (110) is configured to stop any movement of the drive shaft (62) to stop the coupling (70) at the upper position (B) and the lower position (A), the lower position (A) of the coupling (70) and the upper position (B) of the coupling (70) being separated by 180°; a sensor configured to identify any movement of the coupling (70) between the lower position (A) and the upper position (B); and a controller (170) configured to receive inputs from the sensor, to measure a cycle time of each of several motion cycles of the coupling (70) between the lower position (A) and the upper position (B) based on the inputs, and to identify a series of recent cycle times that progressively decrease or increase with respect to previously observed cycle times, wherein the controller (170) is configured, in response to the identification of the series of recent cycle times that progressively decrease or increase with respect to previously observed cycle times, to generate a maintenance warning for the brake (110) of the motor (60).
  2. System (10) according Claim 1 , wherein the platform (50) is configured to support a motor vehicle frame.
  3. System (10) according Claim 1 , wherein the product (20) is configured for use in a cross-transfer system (40) of the assembly line (30).
  4. System (10) according Claim 1 , wherein the platform (50) contains rolling elements (52) configured to transfer the product (20) onto and off the platform (50).
  5. System (10) according Claim 1 , wherein the brake (110) includes a brake disc (120) and the maintenance warning includes a message to check the brake disc (120) for wear.
  6. System (10) according Claim 1 , wherein the sensor includes a first detection device (80) configured to identify when the coupling (70) is in the upper position (B) and a second detection device (82) configured to identify when the coupling (70) is in the lower position (A) and the sensor is configured to measure the cycle time of the coupling (70) as a movement between the first detection device (80) and the second detection device (82).
  7. System (10) according Claim 1 , wherein the controller (170) is configured to isolate the cycle times of the motor (60) from other equipment of the assembly line (30).
  8. System (10) according Claim 1 , wherein the controller (170) is configured to receive the cycle times of each of the multiple motion cycles for each day of the previous 180 days.
  9. System (10) according Claim 1 , wherein the controller (170) is configured to identify a long-term average of the multiple motion cycles and a short-term average of the multiple motion cycles, and the progressively decreasing cycle times of the series are included in the short-term average and are smaller than the long-term average of the multiple motion cycles.

Description

INTRODUCTION The information provided in this section serves the purpose of providing a general overview of the context of the disclosure. Neither the work of the inventors currently named, to the extent described in this section, nor those aspects of the description that could not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are expressly or implicitly recognized as prior art against the present disclosure. The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for analyzing the brake wear of a transport equipment lifting table motor in order to predict the occurrence of a failure event. A transport lift table is used during manufacturing to facilitate the transport of a specific product along an assembly line. The product can be any suitable product being manufactured, such as a vehicle frame, another vehicle component, or a non-vehicle product. The lift table is configured to be raised and lowered by a motor that incorporates a mechanical brake to maintain the precise position for proper task transfer. Should the motor brake require maintenance or replacement, the lift table must be out of service during maintenance, which can disrupt the assembly line and slow down or halt production. DE 10 2008 036 288 B4 The system reveals a lifting and lowering conveyor in which the rotational position of a driving groove roller is precisely detected by a rotary encoder. A control unit evaluates this position data together with the signals from upper and lower initiators to precisely switch off the drive motor at the respective end position, compensating for brake wear. DE 10 2019 119 728 B3 This describes a transport device for a vehicle along an assembly line, which has a transport base for translational movement in the X and Y directions. Additionally, the transport device has a receiving device that can perform a lifting movement in the Z direction as well as a rotational movement about a horizontal axis to tilt the vehicle for assembly work. DE 10 2011 000 211 B4 This shows a changeover system for an assembly line, in which picking trolleys coupled with movable push plates are used to transport load carriers. The picking trolleys have a tilting platform to deliver filled load carriers to a pre-assembly station and to pick up empty load carriers from a discharge conveyor. DE 20 2013 007 358 U1 Disclosure reveals an electronic inspection system for a motor vehicle that, in addition to age and mileage, records further parameters describing the stress on a component. From this data, a wear measure for the respective vehicle component is determined and displayed to enable condition-based rather than purely interval-based maintenance. SUMMARY A system for positioning a product along an assembly line comprises the following: a platform configured to support the product and to be raised and lowered; a motor incorporating a brake and a drive shaft interacting with the platform by means of a coupling, wherein a rotation of the drive shaft in a first direction rotates the coupling to an upper position to raise the platform, and a rotation of the drive shaft in a second direction opposite to the first direction rotates the coupling to a lower position to lower the platform; and the brake is configured to stop a movement of the drive shaft to stop the coupling at the upper position and the lower position, wherein the lower position of the coupling and the upper position of the coupling are separated by 180°; A sensor configured to identify movement of the coupling between the lower and upper positions, and a controller configured to receive input from the sensor, measure the cycle time of each of several cycles of movement of the coupling between the lower and upper positions based on the input, and identify a series of recent cycle times that progressively decrease or increase relative to previously observed cycle times. The controller is configured to generate a maintenance warning for the motor brake in response to the identification of this series of recent cycle times that progressively decrease or increase relative to previously observed cycle times. According to further features, the platform is configured to support a motor vehicle frame. According to further features, the product is configured for use in a cross-transfer system of the assembly line. According to further features, the platform contains rolling elements configured for transferring the product onto and off the platform. According to further features, the brake includes a brake disc and the maintenance warning contains a message to check the brake disc for wear. According to further features, the sensor includes a first detection device configured to identify when the coupling is in the upper position, and a second detection device configured to identify when the coupling is in the lower position, with the sensor being configured to measure the cycle time of the coupling as a movement between the first detection device and the second detection d