Electric plugging and unplugging device for torpedo tank car robot

Abstract

A torpedo tank car robot plugging and unplugging device comprises a robot, an image processing system, a visual positioning system, a mechanical system, an electrical system and a safety protection system, and is characterized in that the robot is an industrial six-axis robot, and the industrial six-axis robot comprises a six-axis manipulator body and a robot control cabinet; the visual positioning system is provided with a 3D camera and an industrial personal computer, the image processing system is arranged on the industrial personal computer, the mechanical system is provided with a robot clamp and a socket and plug storage rack, the electrical system is provided with a PLC, the man-machine interface is connected with an engineer station through a field touch screen, and the safety protection system is provided with a safety fence, robot protection clothing and a purging device. The torpedo tank car robot plugging and unplugging device has the advantages that automatic plugging and unplugging of a torpedo tank car power connection system are achieved through the robot automatic plugging and unplugging device, potential safety hazards are eliminated, labor force is liberated, related interfaces are reserved in the device, and a foundation is laid for unmanned driving and operation of a torpedo tank car.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of metallurgical steelmaking automation control, and in particular is a torpedo tank car robot plug-in and pull-out electrical device. Background Art

[0002] The existing operation method of plugging and unplugging the power of the torpedo tank truck is generally manual plugging and unplugging. The manual operation position has the problems of single work content, high labor intensity, small space and high safety risks.

[0003] Chinese patent CN114256718 B disclosed on March 26, 2024 an automatic plugging and unplugging system and method for a torpedo tank, wherein a female plug installed on the torpedo tank cooperates with a male plug (3) installed on a plugging and unplugging mechanism (4) to realize automatic plugging and unplugging of the torpedo tank.

[0004] On April 9, 2024, Chinese patent CN114552331B disclosed a method for automatically plugging and unplugging a torpedo tank power connection device, which includes: (1) determining the stop position of the torpedo tank truck; (2) calibrating the position of the power socket: calibrating the actual physical distance between two adjacent pixel points of the high-definition camera unit, selecting a specific position on the power plug module as its feature point, and setting the reference zero position of the end position of the mechanical arm's plug-in action; (3) identifying the power socket; (4) executing the automatic plug-in action of the mechanical arm; (5) executing the unplugging action of the mechanical arm. The mechanical pneumatic device simply executes the plug-in and unplugging device, but the plug-in and unplugging method is relatively simple and the level of intelligence is low.

[0005] Therefore the plug-in and unplugging electricity mode of known torpedo tank car has above-mentioned various inconveniences and problems. Summary of the invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a safe and reliable electrical plugging and unplugging device for a torpedo tanker robot.

[0007] To achieve the above purpose, the technical solution of the present invention is: A torpedo tanker robot plug-in and pull-out device, comprising a robot, an image processing system, a visual positioning system, a mechanical system, an electrical system, and a safety protection system, characterized in that: The robot is an industrial six-axis robot, which includes a six-axis manipulator body and a robot control cabinet. The six-axis manipulator body is provided with a manipulator base, shaft components, and a servo motor. The robot control cabinet is provided with a control system, a control host, an axis computer, a power distribution module, and a communication interface module. The visual positioning system is provided with a 3D camera and an industrial computer; The image processing system is arranged on an industrial computer with certain computing power and image processing capabilities; The mechanical system is provided with a power plug holder modification, a robot fixture and a power plug storage rack; The electrical system is equipped with PLC, and the human-machine interface consists of a field touch screen and an engineer station; The safety protection system is provided with a safety fence, a robot protective suit and a purge device.

[0008] The torpedo tanker robot power plugging and unplugging device of the present invention can also be further implemented by adopting the following technical measures.

[0009] The aforementioned torpedo tanker robot plug-in and unplug electrical device, wherein the mechanical equipment includes: Power plug storage rack (storage rack for robots to pick up and place power plugs); power plug bracket modification (set cam mechanism and push rod mechanism, etc.); robot fixture (with cylinder and special cylinder fork, cylinder limit, power plug bracket, power socket cover lever and other non-standard assembly integration). The workflow is as follows: When the hybrid car arrives (receives the arrival limit signal), the robot first activates the 3D camera system installed on the tool end to perform preliminary coordinate positioning of the position marker on the locomotive and find the core coordinate point space. After completing the preliminary positioning, the coordinates of the nameplate surface of the coordinate point are analyzed in 3D space, that is, the actual spatial posture of the surface. Since the surface is arranged close to the locomotive power socket and is strictly fixed in relative position, the actual spatial posture of the power socket can be deduced based on the spatial posture of the identification surface.

[0010] After completing the spatial position recognition of the power socket, the system has completed all the operation trajectory calculation settings before the robot is powered on. The robot follows the set trajectory from the power plug storage rack, extends to the position (the bracket on the tool end bracket reaches under the two pins of the power plug), rises to the position (the tool end bracket supports the pins, and during the rise, the hook bracket has already swung the hook to the preset angle before installing the plug), moves the power plug to the locomotive power socket, and extends to the installation position according to the set trajectory (at this time, the lower pin hole of the power plug has been inserted into the pin at the bottom of the socket to complete positioning and support, and the hook has reached under the fixed pins on both sides of the socket), and then the tool end is lowered. After the hook leaves the bracket for a short distance, the hook spring resets the hook and hooks the fixed pin (at this time, the power plug no longer needs the support of the robot bracket and is fixed in front of the socket). The tool end of the robot continues to descend for a short distance until the tool end bracket is completely separated from the plug pin (at this time, the push rod roller of the cam mechanism is still in the slide groove of the cylinder fork head) and then stops descending. The cylinder at the tool end begins to extend and drives the cam to rotate. As the cam rotates into place, it gradually pushes the push rod on the socket bracket forward until it presses the plug housing. At this time, the compressed disc spring has ensured the clamping force. At this time, the cylinder extension limit has also been reached, and the tool end continues to descend, causing the cam guide wheel to completely detach from the cylinder fork head slide groove. Then the robot returns to the standby position.

[0011] At this point, the automatic power connection is completed. When it is necessary to unplug the power, the robot will operate in the reverse process of the power connection trajectory process, and after placing the power plug in the storage position, return to the standby position. The description of the unplugging process is omitted.

[0012] After adopting the above technical solution, the torpedo tanker robot plug-in and plug-out device of the present invention has the following advantages: 1. The robot automatic plug-in and pull-out device realizes the automatic plug-in and pull-out of the torpedo tanker's power connection system, eliminating safety hazards and liberating labor; 2. The device has reserved relevant interfaces to lay the foundation for unmanned driving and operation of torpedo tankers. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an operation flow of an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the electrical plugging and unplugging device of the torpedo tank robot according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a robot fixture for plugging and unplugging electrical devices according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the use status of the plug-in power device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] In the figure: 1 PLC control cabinet, 2 host computer, 3 3D camera, 4 AC power, 5 robot control cabinet, 6 plug, 7 plug temporary storage rack, 8 robot, 9 air source, 10 laser ranging, 11 three-color indicator light, 12 integrated bracket, 13 cylinder, 14 cylinder fork, 15 bracket, 16 power plug, 17 protective cover lever, 18 cam mechanism, 19 push rod mechanism. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] The present invention is further described below in conjunction with embodiments and accompanying drawings.

[0016] Example 1 Please refer to Figure 1-3 The torpedo tanker robot plug-in and unplug device of the present invention is an intelligent power connection system, which is composed of an industrial six-axis robot, an image processing and visual positioning system, a mechanical system, a PLC, a human-machine interface and a safety protection system. The entire system is composed of an industrial robot, a visual system, an electrical control system, a mechanical system, etc.

[0017] The industrial robot is a six-axis robot, and its structure is mainly composed of "six-axis manipulator body + robot control cabinet". The manipulator body is composed of a manipulator base, axis components, and a servo motor. The robot control cabinet is mainly composed of a control system, a control host, an axis computer, a power distribution module, a communication interface module, an IO module, etc.

[0018] The visual system is mainly composed of a 3D camera and an industrial computer, and the image processing system is deployed on an industrial computer with certain computing power and image processing capabilities.

[0019] The electrical system consists of an L1 PLC, and the human-machine interface consists of an on-site touch screen and an engineer station. The mechanical system mainly consists of a partially modified power plug, a robot fixture, and a power plug storage rack.

[0020] The modifications to the power plug include: lengthening the pin that fixes the U-shaped seat to place the storage rack and the machine tool end for picking up; welding the ejector mechanism 19 and the cam mechanism 18 at the original compression screw hole of the U-shaped seat, which is light in weight and can be operated manually. At the same time, in order to facilitate manual operation and save labor, a hole is opened in the middle of the cam counterweight, and a steel pipe can be inserted as a lever, so that the cam can be easily rotated manually to achieve compression or removal.

[0021] The robot fixture is the tool end assembly of the robot, including an integrated bracket 12 for connecting with the robot, placing a 3D camera 3, placing a cylinder 13 push rod mechanism 19, supporting an electrical plug 16, and installing a protective cover lever 17 for installing an auxiliary switch socket protective cover.

[0022] The power plug storage rack is used to store power plugs. The structural design and precision ensure that the robot can easily place and take the plugs.

[0023] The safety protection system consists of safety fences, robot protective clothing, purge devices, etc.

[0024] Example 2 Please refer to Figure 4 , the method for using the torpedo tanker robot plug-in and plug-out device of the present invention: Torpedo tank cars enter and exit the filling station manually with manual driving and visual command. During the implementation phase, necessary intelligent design and transformation of the site is required, and a parking indication signal light is set. A laser ranging device is set at the end of the train's entry direction to detect the distance between the train and the stop position and the allowed stop position in real time. The indication signal gives yellow, green, and red color indications. The three colors of yellow, green, and red represent the three states: the train distance is greater than the allowed stop position range and the train socket has not arrived; it is within the allowed stop position range; it is greater than the allowed stop position range and exceeds the stop position range, so as to instruct the train driver and commander to stop the train. When the train enters the permitted parking position, the green light of the indicator light is always on. After the train sends a stop signal, the operator in the electrical room issues an operation instruction, which is sent to the robot through the profinet communication L2 instruction. The robot starts to connect the power. The coordinates of the robot's initial position operation origin are (X0, Y0, Z0). The industrial robot scans and locates the socket through the 3D camera vision system to measure the socket's relative offset X on the x-axis, Y on the y-axis, and Z on the z-axis relative offset relative to the operation origin. The angle offset perpendicular to the socket plane is nAngle, which is transmitted to the industrial robot through Socket communication. The target position of the socket is (X0+X, Y0+Y, Z0+Z), and the angle is rotated nAngle compared to the origin. The industrial robot grabs the plug with a gripper, hooks the plug hook to the socket at a fixed angle according to the position before the visual positioning data is in place, and then returns to the target position to insert the plug. The robot executes the instruction: MoveL offs(pPick,X,Y,Z)vTeach,fine,tGripper\wobjFrame; MoveL offs(Reltool(pPlace,0,0,0\Rz:=nAngle),x,y,0),vTeach,fine,tGripper\wobjFrame; Then the robot controls and starts the pneumatic motor to push the plug into place. After the plug is plugged in and waits for various signal instructions from the power supply system, the robot runs to the initial operation origin and waits. When the plug needs to be unplugged, the operator sends a command to the robot, and the robot retrieves the probe according to the plug-in position parameters and places it on the storage rack. After completion, the robot runs to the initial operation origin and waits, thus completing the entire workflow.

[0025] The above embodiments are only for the purpose of illustrating the present invention, but not for limiting the present invention. A person skilled in the art may make various changes or modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent technical solutions should also belong to the scope of the present invention and should be defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A torpedo tanker robot plug-in and unplug device, comprising a robot, an image processing system, a visual positioning system, a mechanical system, an electrical system, and a safety protection system, characterized in that: The robot is an industrial six-axis robot, which includes a six-axis manipulator body and a robot control cabinet. The six-axis manipulator body is provided with a manipulator base, shaft components, and a servo motor. The robot control cabinet is provided with a control system, a control host, an axis computer, a power distribution module, and a communication interface module. The visual positioning system is provided with a 3D camera and an industrial computer; The image processing system is arranged on an industrial computer with certain computing power and image processing capabilities; The mechanical system is provided with a robot fixture and a socket plug storage rack; The electrical system is equipped with PLC, and the human-machine interface consists of a field touch screen and an engineer station; The safety protection system is provided with a safety fence, a robot protective suit and a purge device.

2. The torpedo tank robot plug-in and plug-out device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The basic working principle of the robot tool-end equipment: the cylinder is used to drive the cam connecting rod to swing. During the swinging process, as the cam rotates, the cam pushes the push rod with the reset spring and the disc spring group. The push rod firmly presses the power plug against the power socket to ensure the circuit is turned on; the cam and the push rod are arranged on the bracket of the power socket, together with the power socket; the cam is designed as a self-locking mechanism, and after the plug is pressed and separated from the pushing force of the cylinder, it can still maintain its original position; the compression amount of the disc spring group ensures the stability of the pressing force.

3. Since the power plug holder is equipped with a pin hole for positioning with the power socket, and a pair of hooks that are hung with the socket pin to counteract the horizontal clamping force, the power plug can be completely separated from the assistance of the robot tool end to achieve a tight connection with the socket.

4. The control method of plugging and unplugging the electrical device of the torpedo tank robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: include Step 1: When the hybrid train arrives, it receives a limit signal, and the robot activates the 3D camera system installed on the tool end to perform preliminary coordinate positioning of the position marker on the train and find the core coordinate point space; Step 2: After the initial positioning is completed, the coordinates of the nameplate surface of the coordinate point are analyzed in 3D space, that is, the actual spatial posture of the surface; since the surface is arranged close to the locomotive power socket and is strictly fixed in relative position, the actual spatial posture of the power socket can be deduced based on the spatial posture of the identification surface; Step 3: After completing the spatial position recognition of the power socket, the robot completes the predetermined action from the power plug storage rack according to the set trajectory. After completing the predetermined action, the robot returns to the standby position; Step 4: When it is necessary to unplug the power, the robot operates in the reverse process of the power connection process, places the power plug in the storage position, and returns to the standby position.

5. The control method for plugging and unplugging the electrical device of the torpedo tank robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: The robot's movements are automated using instructions in the RAPID programming language.

6. The control method for plugging and unplugging the electrical device of the torpedo tank robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: Specifically include: Step 1: Set a parking position indicator light, set a laser distance measuring device at the end of the train's approach direction, and detect the distance between the train and the parking position in real time. The indicator signal gives yellow, green, and red color indications. The three colors of yellow, green, and red represent that the train distance is greater than the allowed parking position range and the train socket has not arrived; within the allowed parking position range; greater than the allowed parking position distance range and beyond the parking position range, so as to instruct the train driver and commander to stop the train; when the train enters the allowed parking position range, the indicator light is always green, and the train sends a stop signal; Step 2: Send the Profinet communication L2 command to the robot, and the robot starts to connect to the power supply. Set the coordinates of the robot's initial position and the origin of the operation to (X0, Y0, Z0); Step 3: The robot uses the 3D camera vision system to scan and locate the socket, and measures the relative offset X of the socket relative to the work origin, the relative offset Y of the y axis, and the relative offset Z of the z axis. The angular offset perpendicular to the plane of the socket is nAngle, which is transmitted to the industrial robot through Socket communication. The target position of the socket is (X0+X, Y0+Y, Z0+Z), and the angle is rotated nAngle compared to the origin. Step 3: The industrial robot grabs the plug with a gripper, hooks the plug into the socket at a fixed angle according to the position before the visual positioning data is in place, and then returns to the target position to insert the plug. The robot executes the command: MoveL offs (pPick, X, Y, Z) vTeach,fine,tGripper\wobjFrame; MoveL offs (Reltool(pPlace,0,0,0\Rz:=nAngle),x,y,0),vTeach,fine,tGripper\wobjFrame; Step 4: The robot then controls and starts the pneumatic motor to push the plug into place. After the plug is plugged in and waits for various signal instructions from the power supply system, the robot runs to the initial operation origin and waits. When the plug needs to be unplugged, the operator sends a command to the robot, and the robot retrieves the probe according to the plug-in position parameters and places it on the storage rack. After completion, the robot runs to the initial operation origin and waits, thus completing the entire automated workflow.

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