Rotary wheelhouse roller hemming assembly

Abstract

A rotary wheelhouse roller hemming apparatus in accordance with the present invention includes a support and a rotary mechanism including a plurality of connected anvils driveably rotatable about an axis. The rotary mechanism is mounted on the support. Rotation of the rotary mechanism about the axis moves the anvils between use and standby, non-use positions.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A rotary wheelhouse roller hemming apparatus comprising:
 a support; and   a rotary mechanism including a plurality of connected anvils driveably rotatable about an axis;   said rotary mechanism being mounted on said support;   wherein rotation of said rotary mechanism about said axis moves said anvils between use and standby, non-use positions.   
     
     
         2 . The rotary wheelhouse roller hemming apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein each of the anvils is configured for hemming a different model of workpiece. 
     
     
         3 . The rotary wheelhouse roller hemming apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said rotary mechanism includes six anvils. 
     
     
         4 . The rotary wheelhouse roller hemming apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said rotary mechanism is rotatable 360 degrees in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. 
     
     
         5 . The rotary wheelhouse roller hemming apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said rotary mechanism is driven by one of a robotic arm, a servo motor, and a VFD motor. 
     
     
         6 . The rotary wheelhouse roller hemming apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said support is a slideable frame. 
     
     
         7 . A rotary wheelhouse roller hemming apparatus comprising:
 a support; and   a rotary anvil assembly mounted on said support;   said rotary anvil assembly including:
 a backing plate mounted on said support; 
 a mounting plate rotateably connected to said backing plate; and 
 a plurality of different anvils radially disposed on and around the perimeter of said mounting plate; 
   wherein rotation of said mounting plate moves said anvils between use and standby, non-use positions.   
     
     
         8 . The rotary wheelhouse roller hemming apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein said mounting plate is rotatable 360 degrees in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. 
     
     
         9 . The rotary wheelhouse roller hemming apparatus of  claim 7 , including a plurality of indexing features spaced at regular intervals on a rear face of said backing plate. 
     
     
         10 . The rotary wheelhouse roller hemming apparatus of  claim 9 , including a locking device mounted on said support, said locking device being cooperable with each said indexing feature to lock said mounting plate. 
     
     
         11 . The rotary wheelhouse roller hemming apparatus of  claim 7 , including a pivot bearing assembly that couples said backing plate to said mounting plate. 
     
     
         12 . The rotary wheelhouse roller hemming apparatus of  claim 7 , including a connector mounted on a rear face of said mounting plate, said connector being engageable by a robot end effector. 
     
     
         13 . The rotary wheelhouse roller hemming apparatus of  claim 12 , including a generally central opening in said backing plate, said connector extending through said opening. 
     
     
         14 . The rotary wheelhouse roller hemming apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein said rotary anvil assembly is driven by one of a robotic arm, a servo motor, and a VFD motor. 
     
     
         15 . The rotary wheelhouse roller hemming apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein said support is a slideable frame slideable on a base in both a fore and aft direction and a left and right direction. 
     
     
         16 . The rotary wheelhouse roller hemming apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein sliding movement of said support is driven by a robotic arm. 
     
     
         17 . A rotary wheelhouse roller hemming system comprising:
 a multi-axis robotic arm;   a roller hemming head mounted on an end of said robotic arm for roller hemming;   a slide mechanism for multi-directional movement mounted on a base;   a support mounted on said slide mechanism;   a rotary anvil assembly pivotally mounted on said support, said rotary anvil assembly including:
 a backing plate mounted on said support; 
 a mounting plate pivotally connected to said backing plate; and 
 a plurality of different anvils radially disposed on and around the perimeter of said mounting plate; 
   wherein rotation of said mounting plate moves said anvils between use and standby, non-use positions.   
     
     
         18 . The rotary wheelhouse roller hemming system of  claim 17 , including a connector mounted on a rear face of said mounting plate, said connector being engageable by said roller hemming head;
 wherein said robotic arm is operable to manipulate said roller hemming head into engagement with said connector, and subsequent movement of said robotic arm moves said support on said slide mechanism, thereby adjusting the position of said anvil relative to a workpiece to be hemmed, and subsequent rotation of said roller hemming head rotates said mounting plate to interchange said anvils.   
     
     
         19 . A method of interchanging roller hemming anvils, the method comprising the steps of:
 mounting a rotary mechanism on a support, said rotary mechanism including a plurality of connected anvils driveably rotatable about an axis; and   rotating said rotary mechanism about said axis to move said anvils between use and standby, non-use positions.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , including the step of:
 driving said rotary mechanism via one of a robotic arm, a servo motor, and a VFD motor.