US-12617482-B2 - Vehicle final assembly line and vehicle final assembly method

US12617482B2US 12617482 B2US12617482 B2US 12617482B2US-12617482-B2

Abstract

A vehicle includes an electric chassis provided with a navigation device and a vehicle body to be connected to the electric chassis. The navigation device is configured to control the electric chassis to travel according to a predetermined path. A vehicle final assembly line includes: a vehicle body positioning device, configured to position the vehicle body on the electric chassis to connect the vehicle body to the electric chassis at a marriage station when the navigation device controls the electric chassis to travel to the marriage station according to the predetermined path, and control the vehicle body and the electric chassis that are connected to each other to travel to a plurality of assembly stations in sequence according to the predetermined path so as to complete assembly of the vehicle at the plurality of assembly stations, and the assembled vehicle leaves the line at an end-of-line station.

Inventors

Hao Wang
Yongjie Li
Kai Wu

Assignees

CONTEMPORARY AMPEREX TECHNOLOGY (HONG KONG) LIMITED

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240422

Claims (7)

1 . A vehicle final assembly line, wherein a vehicle comprises an electric chassis and a vehicle body to be assembled, the vehicle body is configured to be connected to the electric chassis, the electric chassis comprises a lower body frame, a suspension system, a steering system, a braking system, and a chassis electronics control system, and an energy storage system, the electric chassis has travel mobility, wherein the energy storage system comprises a battery, the electric chassis is provided with an automatic navigation device for use in the vehicle final assembly line, the automatic navigation device is configured to control the electric chassis to travel according to a predetermined path stored in a memory of the automatic navigation device by using a navigation magnetic guide strip or positioning code for the automatic navigation device, the vehicle final assembly line comprising: a vehicle body positioning device, configured to: position the vehicle body on the electric chassis to connect the vehicle body to the electric chassis at a marriage station when the automatic navigation device controls the electric chassis to travel to the marriage station according to the predetermined path stored in the memory of the automatic navigation device by using the navigation magnetic guide strip or positioning code for the automatic navigation device; wherein the automatic navigation device is further configured to control the vehicle body and the electric chassis that are connected to each other to travel to a plurality of assembly stations in sequence according to the predetermined path stored in the memory of the automatic navigation device by using the navigation magnetic guide strip or positioning code for the automatic navigation device so as to complete assembly of the vehicle at the plurality of assembly stations, and the assembled vehicle leaves the line at an end-of-line station.
2 . The vehicle final assembly line according to claim 1 , wherein the suspension system, the steering system, the braking system, the chassis electronics control system, and the energy storage system are all mounted on the lower body frame.
3 . The vehicle final assembly line according to claim 2 , wherein the electric chassis further comprises: a cooling heat pump system, the cooling heat pump system being mounted on the lower body frame.
4 . The vehicle final assembly line according to claim 1 , wherein at least one assembly station of the plurality of assembly stations comprises a height adjusting apparatus, the height adjusting apparatus being configured for assembly operations at different heights of the vehicle body and the electric chassis that are connected to each other, the height adjusting apparatus being a step stool provided on the at least one assembly station, a ground pit region provided at the at least one assembly station, or a lifting device.
5 . The vehicle final assembly line according to claim 1 , further comprising: the automatic navigation device, the automatic navigation device being configured to be mounted to the electric chassis at a fixing station.
6 . The vehicle final assembly line according to claim 1 , wherein: the automatic navigation device is arranged on an electric chassis of a next vehicle to be assembled after being separated from the assembled vehicle at the end-of-line station; and the automatic navigation device is further configured to control the electric chassis of the next vehicle to be assembled to travel to the marriage station according to the predetermined path stored in the memory of the automatic navigation device by using the navigation magnetic guide strip or positioning code for the automatic navigation device.
7 . The vehicle final assembly line according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of assembly stations comprise: a plurality of interior trim assembly stations for performing interior trim assembly operations on the vehicle; and a plurality of exterior assembly stations for performing exterior assembly operations on the vehicle.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2022/074378, filed on Jan. 27, 2022, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present application relates to the technical field of automobiles, and in particular to a vehicle final assembly line and a vehicle final assembly method. BACKGROUND ART A traditional passenger vehicle final assembly line usually includes an interior trim line, a chassis line, and an exterior assembly line. Most of original equipment manufacturers employ skid or slat-chain conveying for the interior trim line and the exterior assembly line, each of which has a specially-structured civil foundation, leading to inconvenience of reformation or capacity expansion, longer shutdown period, and high investment. The chassis line involves an operating platform for lower vehicle parts, and there is, therefore, a need for a fixture mechanical conveying line to create a lower body operating platform and form an assembly line. However, part of the fixture line has a fixed form and high initial investment, as well as high difficulty in late reformation and maintenance. Accordingly, it is difficult for a traditional final assembly workshop to accommodate to the needs for fast response to existing markets. With the trend of rapid update of vehicle models and the trend of light-asset vehicle production, there is a more urgent need for a flexible, simplified, easily modifiable, and low-cost production line. SUMMARY Embodiments of the present application provide a vehicle final assembly line and a vehicle final assembly method, which can improve the vehicle final assembly efficiency greatly. In a first aspect, provided is a vehicle final assembly line. A vehicle includes an electric chassis and a vehicle body to be assembled, the vehicle body is configured to be connected to the electric chassis, the electric chassis is provided with a navigation device, and the navigation device is configured to control the electric chassis to travel according to a predetermined path. The vehicle final assembly line includes: a vehicle body positioning device, configured to position the vehicle body on the electric chassis to connect the vehicle body to the electric chassis at a marriage station when the navigation device controls the electric chassis to travel to the marriage station according to the predetermined path; wherein the navigation device is further configured to: control the vehicle body and the electric chassis that are connected to each other to travel to a plurality of assembly stations in sequence according to the predetermined path so as to complete assembly of the vehicle at the plurality of assembly stations, and the assembled vehicle leaves the line at an end-of-line station. Accordingly, with regard to the vehicle final assembly line of embodiments of the present application, as the electric chassis has travel mobility, by mounting the navigation device on the electric chassis, the electric chassis may be controlled by the navigation device to travel according to the predetermined path. Firstly, the navigation device may control the electric chassis to travel to a marriage station according to the predetermined path, the electric chassis is connected to the vehicle body at the marriage station, and a bottom operating platform in a traditional final assembly process is omitted, so creating the bottom operating platform by means of a fixture line is avoided. Secondly, the navigation device controls the electric chassis and the vehicle body that are connected to each other to undergo other assembly operations in sequence according to the predetermined path, so that a through mechanical conveying line is formed, and a large plate line for interior trims is omitted, greatly improving assembly efficiency. Moreover, with a plurality of navigation devices controlling a plurality of vehicles to be assembled, a vehicle final assembly line can be formed to assemble the vehicles in batches. There is no need for high investment in civil construction, the mechanical conveying form and adaptation form for final assembly are simplified, and reduced investment and shortened period are offered for mechanical conveying construction. Furthermore, an appropriate number of navigation devices may be equipped depending on a desired capacity. During use of the vehicle final assembly line, arrangement of various assembly stations of the vehicle final assembly line may be adjusted and optimized constantly according to the process requirements. For example, it is possible to split a high-configuration installation process into off-line subassembly and re-online according to the requirements of different vehicle models, providing a high degree of flexibility and a compatibility with various vehicle model platforms. Specifically, when there is a need for reforming, or expanding capacity of, the vehicle final assembly l