Paint baking method and door offset device for vehicle body coating process

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10363570-B2
Application number	US-201515545064-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 26, 2015
Priority date	Jan 26, 2015
Publication date	Jul 30, 2019
Grant date	Jul 30, 2019

Abstract

A paint baking method includes a process for conveying a vehicle body while exposing the vehicle body to a hot air atmosphere to bake a wet coating film applied to the vehicle body. In the vehicle body, hinges and door offset members are attached between hinge fastening parts of the main shell body and hinge fastening parts of the side doors. The distance between the hinge fastening parts of the main shell body and the hinge fastening parts of the side door in a state in which the hinges and the door offset members are attached is longer than a distance between the hinge fastening parts of the main shell body and the hinge fastening parts of the side door in a finished vehicle state.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A paint baking method for a vehicle body including a main shell body and a side door, wherein a hinge is attached to a hinge fastening part of the side door and a hinge fastening part of the main shell body in a finished vehicle state, the paint baking method comprising:
attaching a door offset member to the hinge and one of either the hinge fastening part of the main shell body or the hinge fastening part of the side door so that a distance between the hinge fastening part of the main shell body and the hinge fastening part of the side door in a state in which the door offset member is attached is longer than a distance between the hinge fastening part of the main shell body and the hinge fastening part of the side door in the finished vehicle state; and
while in the state in which the door offset member is attached, conveying the vehicle body while exposing the vehicle body to a hot air atmosphere to bake a wet coating film applied to the vehicle body.

2. The paint baking method according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle body is exposed to the hot air atmosphere in a state in which the side door is opened by 5° to 30° with respect to a longitudinal direction of the vehicle body.

3. The paint baking method according to claim 1 , wherein exposing the vehicle body to the hot air atmosphere includes blowing hot air toward the hinge and the door offset member from obliquely ahead of the vehicle body in its conveying direction.

4. The paint baking method according to claim 1 , wherein the door offset member is attached in a shell body assembly process line and removed in a vehicle component assembly process line.

5. The paint baking method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
attaching a door stopper to the main shell body at least before a topcoat paint coating process, wherein the door stopper has an abutting part composed of a magnet material that absorbs a door inner panel of a steel sheet, and a magnetic force of the abutting part maintains the side door in a closed state.

6. The paint baking method according to claim 1 , wherein the hinge is connected to the other of either the hinge fastening part of the main shell body or the hinge fastening part of the side door.

7. The paint baking method according to claim 1 , wherein the hinge is connected to the other of either the hinge fastening part of the main shell body or the hinge fastening part of the side door in both the finished vehicle state and the state in which the door offset member is attached.

8. The paint baking method according to claim 1 , wherein the side door is pivotable in relation to the main shell body in the state in which the door offset member is attached.

9. The paint baking method according to claim 1 , wherein the side door is pivotable in relation to the main shell body in both the finished vehicle state and the state in which the door offset member is attached.

10. The paint baking method according to claim 1 , wherein the door offset member and the side door are pivotable in relation to the main shell body in the state in which the door offset member is attached.

11. The paint baking method according to claim 10 , wherein the door offset member and the side door pivot in unison in relation to the main shell body in the state in which the door offset member is attached.

12. The paint baking method according to claim 1 , wherein the door offset member has opposing and substantially parallel first and second planar surfaces, wherein the hinge is adjacent to the first planar surface, and the hinge fastening part of the side door is adjacent to the second planar surface.

13. The paint baking method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
removing the door offset member from the one of either the hinge fastening part of the main shell body or the hinge fastening part of the side door.

14. The paint baking method according to claim 13 , wherein the hinge remains attached to the other of either the hinge fastening part of the main shell body or the hinge fastening part of the side door while the door offset member is removed.

15. The paint baking method according to claim 1 , wherein the hinge is configured such that first and second hinge members are coupled with each other in a rotatable manner via a hinge pin,
wherein in the finished vehicle state of the vehicle body,
the first hinge member is fixed to the hinge fastening part of the main shell body, and
the second hinge member is fixed to the hinge fastening part of the side door,

wherein in the state in which the door offset member is attached,
a first end of the door offset member is fixed to the hinge fastening part of the main shell body, a second end of the door offset member is fixed to the first hinge member, and the second hinge member is fixed to the hinge fastening part of the side door, or
the first end of the door offset member is fixed to the hinge fastening part of the side door, the second end of the door offset member is fixed to the second hinge member, and the first hinge member is fixed to the hinge fastening part of the main shell body.

16. A paint baking method for a vehicle body including a main shell body and a side door, the paint baking method comprising:
attaching a door offset member to a hinge and a hinge fastening part of the side door so that a distance between a hinge fastening part of the main shell body and the hinge fastening part of the side door in a state in which the door offset member is attached is longer than a distance between the hinge fastening part of the main shell body and the hinge fastening part of the side door in a finished vehicle state; and
while in the state in which the door offset member is attached, conveying the vehicle body while exposing the vehicle body to a hot air atmosphere to bake a wet coating film applied to the vehicle body.

17. The paint baking method according to claim 16 , further comprising:
removing the door offset member from the hinge and the hinge fastening part of the side door, wherein the hinge remains fixed to the hinge fastening part of the main shell body after the door offset member is removed.

18. The paint baking method according to claim 16 , wherein the door offset member and the side door are pivotable in relation to the main shell body in the state in which the door offset member is attached.

19. The paint baking method according to claim 16 , wherein the side door is pivotable in relation to the main shell body in both the finished vehicle state and the state in which the door offset member is attached.

Assignees

• Nissan Motor

Inventors

• Natsume Tomoyuki

Classifications

• F26B2210/12

  Vehicle bodies, e.g. after being painted · CPC title

• F26B15/12

  the lines being all horizontal or slightly inclined · CPC title

• B05D7/14

  to metal, e.g. car bodies (involving a chemical reaction between the metal and the coating C23) · CPC title

• B05D3/0413 Primary

  Heating with air · CPC title

• B05B13/0292

  devices for holding several workpieces to be sprayed in a spaced relationship, e.g. vehicle doors spacers · CPC title