This invention relates to a detection system which detects the orientation of articles such as automotive body panels as loaded and positioned onto hanger racks of a conveyer which subsequently moves the articles through a treatment facility to prevent damage to the facility or articles by physical contact therebetween.
Prior to the present invention, panels and other components for automobiles bodies have been produced by equipment such as forming dies operatively mounted in a press. These components are generally mass-produced and put on transfer lines and serially transmitted through cleaning stations or other facilities for addition treatment. For example, body panels may be formed from metal sheet stock in a forming die procedure and then removed from the dies and loaded on a transfer line and moved through a wash station where foreign substances such as lubricants are removed from the panels. After leaving the wash station, the panels can be further handled and worked for eventual use as an automotive body part.
In the present invention, a portable panel position detector is positioned at a selected station along the transfer line and between a panel production facility and a downstream panel treatment station. The detector in one preferred embodiment of this invention has a base formed with a lower guide way that guides line transfer hangers with panels loaded thereon through gating operatively supported by a pair of upright towers. The gating incorporates a pair of opposing and vertically extending panel position sensor or detection strips. The sensor strips define clearance space therebetween that is substantially equal to the minimum clearance needed by the panel to go through the treatment station. The strips are pivotally supported on the towers and movable by contact with a panel improperly positioned on a hanger to an alarm triggering position. A line attendant reacting to the alarm can correctly reposition the panel on the hanger so that it can readily go through the station. A panel successfully negotiating the detection clearance space can successfully negotiate and be treated by the downstream treatment station without damage.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved panel detector for a panel transfer line so that panels improperly oriented on the transfer line will physically contact at least one pair of sensor strips defining a predetermined clearance effecting the deflection thereof which triggers signals advising of the panel misorientation so that it can be repositioned on the line for successful treatment by a downstream panel treatment facility.
Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved article position detector which reduces or eliminates the transfer of improperly hung articles through an article treatment station where damage to the articles and components of the facility could otherwise occur because of physical contact between the panels and components of the treatment facility.
Still another object of the invention to provide a new and improved panel position detector which provides for damage avoidance to panels when transmitted through a panel treatment station. The detector is portable and self-contained with a battery-energized alarm system carried thereon.
These and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and drawings in which: