DESC:TECHNICAL FIELD

[001] The present invention mainly relates to the field of assembly and disassembly process and in particular, to bogie assembly and disassembly line process and control thereof.

BACKGROUND
[002] The process for disassembly and assembly of bogie typically uses overhead cranes for handling of each component to the respective station and the dismantling and re-arranging is done manually by hand operated tools. The components are sent to respective repair shops and are difficult to track on account of material flow. The data is recorded on boards through manual recording system.

[003] A particular concern with this type of operating process is the high manual handling for operating, repair, transfer and tracking of the bogie. The out turn of bogie per shift is low, the data recording, storing and retrieval is done manually, component tracking is difficult. The standard existing products do not address these concerns. The handling of each component of the bogie for repair is done using over head cranes, the dismantling and rearranging is done using hand operated tools, the data recording is done on daily production board with manual component tracking.

[004] Therefore, there exists a need for a process which reduces human effort for operating, repair, transfer and tracking of bogie for the assembly and disassembly which obliviates the aforementioned drawbacks.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION:
[005] The principal object of the present invention is to create a process for assembly and disassembly line of bogie which reduces manual handling and increase output by 100%.

[006] Another object of the present invention is to create a process for assembly and disassembly of bogie which improve ergonomics.

[007] Yet another object of the present invention is to create a process for assembly and disassembly of bogie with smart IoT enabled tools and sensors for easy recording, storing and tracking of components.

[008] Still another object of the present invention is to improve material flow for the assembly line.

[009] These and other objects of the present invention herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:
[010] Some implementations of the invention, in accordance with the present subject matter, are described by way of examples, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

[011] Figure 1: illustrates the layout for bogie disassembly line, in accordance with the present invention disclosed herein.

[012] Figure 2: illustrates the layout for bogie assembly line, in accordance with the present invention disclosed herein.

[013] Figure 3: illustrates the IoT system/industry 4.0 with 4 key components, in accordance with the present invention disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:
[014] The present invention herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the present invention herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the process of the present invention herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.

[015] The present invention pertains to overhauling of Linke Hofmann Busch bogies at various stages of assembly and disassembly. Further the present invention herein relates to a process of assembly and disassembly line for bogie which reduces manual handling of components. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a process for bogie assembly and disassembly line with IoT enabled system for tracking, storing and recording data for each component. Referring now to drawings Fig. 1 to Fig. 3 wherein similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures shown herein.

[016] Fig. 1 depicts the layout for the disassembly line, the process begins with placement of the assembled bogie frame on the disassembly line and transferred to first station. It is then moved to the 50-ton press where the bolster is pressed, the operator goes in a pit below the bogie frame to remove nut of the fork arm with a rod link. The centre pivot bolts are removed using power tools. The removal and handling of the safety cables is done by the operator and the bogie is transferred to the next station.

[017] In the second station the bolster is removed and the subcomponents are further dismantled. The lateral, primary and secondary dampeners are removed. The longitudinal bump stop is dismantled. The cross section assembly is removed and placed on the component handling pallet. The upper and lower centering disc is removed and kept on the pallet. The inner and outer secondary springs are removed and the bogie is transferred to the next station for further dismantling.

[019] In the third station the bogie is placed on the 3 Axis manipulator and is inversed while lifted. The side covers of the bogie are removed and the inverted bogie is placed on the motorised trolley. The lower arm of the bogie is removed. The wheel axel assembly is dismantled. The upper control arm pressing fixture is aligned and pressed. The bolts and pins of the control arm are removed using control pressing fixture. Subsequently the inner and outer primary springs, brake caliper, anti roll bar, traction assembly, pneumatic piping are also dismantled.

[020] Fig. 2 illustrates the layout for the assembly line. The repaired components are transferred to the assembly line. The assembly of the bogie begins at the preliminary station where the inverted bogie frame is placed on motorized trolley and the pneumatic piping is fixed.

[021] At station 1 the traction centre sub-assembly is picked by jib crane and tightened using power tools. The anti roll bar assembly is tightened. Followed by four brake calliper units which are handled by jib cranes and are located and tightened on the bogie frame using IoT enabled power tools. The torque data is stored on a server through the IoT system. The bogie frame is transferred to the next station using motorized trolley.

[022] At the second station the inner and outer primary springs of the primary suspension handling are placed on all four positions. After that all four upper control arms are placed and the pressing of the upper control arm is done by using movable control arm pressing press of 20- ton capacity. The upper control arm is fitted with desired torque for tightening and the torque data is stored on the server through an IOT system. The partly assembled bogie frame then gets transferred to the next station

[023] At station 3, the wheel and axle assemblies are placed on the Inverted bogie frame. The lower control arm assemblies and phonic wheels are fitted. The control arm side covers are attached. The earthing device are instilled. Next the assembled bogie frame is clamped by using hydraulically operated jaws and lifted. The motorised trolley is then taken back to station 1 where the bogie frame is inverted and placed on the wheels and the primary dampers are placed on it. The tightening torque data stored on the server through the IOT system.

[024] The part assembled bogie is brought to station 4 where the cross-section assembly is handled, placed and tightened on the bogie frame. The lateral bump stop, lower centring disc, inner and outer springs of the secondary suspension upper centring disc are placed on the bogie frame. The bolster manipulator is rotated to the bolster assembly position and the bogie bolster is picked up from the manipulator and placed on the bogie frame. The fork arm and longitudinal unit of bolster is fitted. The bolster piping is also performed. The secondary suspension and lateral dampener are placed and the assembled bogie is pushed to the next station for bolster pressing

[025] Lastly at station 5, the bolster pressing is done by a 50-ton hydraulic press. Engagement of secondary safety slings is also implemented along with the handling and positioning of the tool trolley and the anti-roll bar with fork arm engagement. The fork arm is then tightened with the rod link and a centring disc and the fitment of the secondary and lateral dampers are done on this station. The final bolster piping is also done, and the ready assembled bogie is transferred to the next station for load testing activity

[026] Fig. 3 depicts the IoT enabled system for recording, storing and tracking data of the components at every stage of assembly and disassembly. The high precision transducerized power tools used for the assembly and disassembly process help to precisely measure the real calibrated torque applied at each joint and every tightening. The torque data is saved in the server for maximum possible traceability and report is generated with maximum automation.

[027] The components are transferred from different stations during assembly and disassembly process. The repaired components are transferred to the assembly line, these components are difficult to track on account of material flow. To track the components as per bogie number a QR coded system is devised wherein QR code is stuck on each component and the same is scanned during the assembly process. The data is recorded and saved in the server automatically as per the bogie serial number. The manual loggings are saved into the server for future analysis.

[028] The system generated SIP report for each bogie is available on cloud with torque data. The traceability report is system generated providing maximum automation with better monitoring.

[029] The advantages provided in the present invention herein includes increase automation for assembly and disassembly process and IoT enabled system with QR coded components for easy and efficient tracking and data storage.

[025] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.

Dated this 24th day of August 2021.

For Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co Ltd
,CLAIMS:STATEMENT OF CLAIMS:

We Claim:

1. A bogie assembly and disassembly line, comprising of hydraulic press, control arm press, jib cranes, component handling pallets, bolster assembly table, 3 axis manipulator, motorized trolley, high precision transducerized IOT enabled power tools and sensors, and QR coded component tracker.
The bogie assembly and disassembly line process include:
Hydraulic press for pressing the bolster
Bolster inversion manipulator
Customized pallets and tables for placement of components during assembly and disassembly
3 Axis manipulator for rotating the bogie frame
Motorized trolley for transferring the inverted bogie frame to different stations
Movable Control arm press
IoT enabled high precision transducerized power tools and sensors
QR coded components for bogie mapping
Torque data recording server and SIP report.

2. The bogie assembly and disassembly process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the bogie frame is pressed using customized hydraulic press for both dismantling and fixing process.

3. The bogie assembly and disassembly process as claimed in claim 1 wherein bogie frame is placed on bolster manipulator inverted for dismantling sub-components and rotated to bolster assembly position to place the picked bolster on bogie frame and customized pallets and tables for placing components.

4. The bogie assembly and disassembly line as claimed in claim 1 wherein 3 axis manipulators for inverting bogie frame.

5. The bogie assembly and disassembly line as claimed in claim 1 wherein control arm pressing equipment used for side cover, upper and lower control arm dismantling and fixing.

6. The bogie assembly and disassembly line as claimed in claim 1 wherein motorized trolley used for transferring the inverted bogie frame to different stations.

7. The bogie assembly and disassembly line as claimed in claim 1 wherein IoT enabled power tools and sensors for measuring and recording real time torque applied for assembly and disassembly process, component tracking and SIP report

8. The IoT enabled system as claimed in claim 6 wherein torque data saved on cloud and server with live production dashboards

9. The IoT enabled system as claimed in claim 6 wherein QR coded system is used for component bogie mapping

10. The IoT enabled system as claimed in claim 8 with component tracking and automatic report generation, data storage in cloud

Dated this 24th day of August 2021

Ajai Kumar Jain
For Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co. Ltd