Plate chain follow-up device
The plate chain follower device, which combines an elastic mechanism and a lead screw, solves the problems of hard contact between the roller and the plate chain and roller offset, thereby improving stability and accuracy, reducing costs, and enabling real-time monitoring and adjustment through encoders and counters.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202511103028.2
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-08-07
- Publication Date
- 2025-11-14
AI Technical Summary
In existing mechanical servo devices, the hard contact between the roller and the plate chain leads to high requirements for operational stability and precision, increasing construction costs. Alternatively, the roller offset results in the elastic structure not being effective enough to buffer the fluctuations of the plate chain.
The system employs a combination of an elastic mechanism and a lead screw. The elasticity of the elastic mechanism is adjusted via a handwheel. The direction of force on the roller is parallel to the extension and retraction direction of the elastic mechanism, increasing the amount of extension and retraction. The roller and the plate chain are buffered in the same plane. Combined with an encoder and a counter to monitor the roller's condition, precise adjustment is achieved.
It improves the stability and accuracy of the plate chain operation, reduces construction costs, extends the service life of the device, and enables real-time monitoring and adjustment of the roller condition through encoders and counters.
Smart Images
Figure CN120942820A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of automobile production equipment technology, and in particular to a plate chain follower device. Background Technology
[0002] DTS (Design Quality Testing) refers to the design requirements for gaps and surface differences between various components of a vehicle's interior and exterior. It is an important indicator of the manufacturing quality of the vehicle's interior and exterior, reflecting the overall dimensional quality of the vehicle and serving as a subjective evaluation of product quality by customers. Ensuring the accuracy of the relative position between the conveyor belt and the robot plays a crucial role in the DTS automated inspection system.
[0003] There are two main types of existing mechanical follow-up devices: 1. The rollers are in hard contact with the chain, which places excessively high demands on the chain's precision. When the chain fluctuates up and down, it can only rely on the elasticity of the rollers themselves to compensate. However, when the chain fluctuates significantly, the elasticity of the rollers is insufficient to compensate for the amount of fluctuation. 2. A spring compression mechanism is added to the first type, but due to the roller offset, the structure is subjected to radial force, and the spring compression mechanism does not play a significant role.
[0004] The above-mentioned follower device has the following disadvantages:
[0005] The first type involves hard contact between the rollers and the plate chain, which requires high stability and precision in the operation of the plate chain, and greatly increases the construction cost.
[0006] The second type, although it improves flexibility and can effectively avoid the risks caused by small-range fluctuations in the plate chain, does not play a significant role in the elastic structure due to the roller offset.
[0007] Therefore, how to provide a plate chain follower device is a problem that urgently needs to be solved by those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention
[0008] One objective of this invention is to provide a plate chain follower device. This invention solves the problems in the prior art where the rollers are in hard contact with the plate chain and the rollers, although they are used to avoid small-range movement of the plate chain, the rollers are biased, resulting in the insignificant effect of the elastic structure.
[0009] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a plate chain follower device includes a roller body and a mounting frame. A lead screw is provided at the top of the mounting frame, one end of which extends into the interior of the mounting frame, and the other end of which extends upward to the exterior of the mounting frame. A cover plate is provided at the top of the mounting frame, and a mounting seat is provided at the top of the cover plate. A handwheel is provided at the top of the lead screw. Two sets of guide rods parallel to the lead screw are vertically arranged inside the mounting frame. An elastic mechanism is movably sleeved on the surface of the two sets of guide rods. The elastic mechanism is movably sleeved on the surface of the lead screw located inside the mounting frame. A roller frame is provided at the bottom of the elastic mechanism, and a rotating shaft is provided on the roller frame. The roller body is rotatably sleeved on the surface of the rotating shaft through a bearing.
[0010] The mounting base is equipped with a hand-tightening bolt for locking the handwheel at the corresponding position of the handwheel.
[0011] A fixed seat is provided on the side of the roller frame at the position corresponding to the rotating shaft. An encoder is provided on the fixed seat, and a coupling is provided on the encoder. The coupling is located on the end face of the rotating shaft.
[0012] The two sets of guide rods are arranged symmetrically about the lead screw, and the elastic mechanism and the roller body are in the same plane.
[0013] The mounting bracket has a sealing plate on its side secured with screws.
[0014] A counter is installed on the mounting base at a position offset from the hand-tightening bolt.
[0015] The elastic mechanism includes a first movable plate, a second movable plate, guide posts, and a spring. The first and second movable plates are movably sleeved on the surface of the guide rod. There are two sets of guide posts, which are symmetrically arranged on the top of the second movable plate with the lead screw as the axis of symmetry. The second movable plate is located directly below the first movable plate. The first movable plate is movably sleeved on the surface of the lead screw. The top ends of the two sets of guide posts pass through the first movable plate and extend above it. The ends of the two sets of guide rods above the first movable plate are provided with protrusions for limiting the movement between the first and second movable plates. The spring is movably sleeved on the surface of the two sets of guide posts located between the first and second movable plates. The two ends of the spring are movably connected to the opposite surfaces of the first and second movable plates, respectively. The roller frame is arranged on the second movable plate.
[0016] The guide rod, guide post, spring, lead screw, and roller body are all in the same plane, with the roller body positioned at the center of the rotating shaft.
[0017] The beneficial effects of this invention are:
[0018] By incorporating an elastic mechanism and a lead screw, the elasticity of the mechanism can be adjusted by rotating the lead screw via a handwheel. The pressure of the roller relative to the chain can be changed via the handwheel, and the force direction of the mechanism is parallel to the extension and contraction direction of the spring, greatly increasing the extension and contraction range. This can compensate for large-scale fluctuations in the chain. In the design, the elastic mechanism and the roller body are in the same plane, avoiding eccentricity between the roller body and the elastic mechanism, which would prevent the roller body from failing to perform buffering operations. The upward force on the roller body will compress the elastic mechanism, allowing the elastic mechanism to accurately buffer the roller body and extend the service life of the entire device.
[0019] By setting an encoder and a counter, the encoder converts the rotation distance of the roller body into a pulse signal to understand the rolling condition of the roller body, and the counter records the number of rotations of the lead screw, thus revealing the adjustment status of the elastic mechanism.
[0020] By setting up sealing plates and cover plates, which are installed with screws for easy disassembly, it is convenient to repair and maintain the elastic mechanism, lead screw, and guide rod inside the mounting frame later. Attached Figure Description
[0021] The accompanying drawings are provided to further illustrate the invention and form part of the specification. They are used in conjunction with embodiments of the invention to explain the invention and do not constitute a limitation thereof. In the drawings:
[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall three-dimensional structure of a plate chain follower device proposed in this invention.
[0023] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure at the position of the elastic mechanism in a plate chain follower device proposed in this invention.
[0024] The attached diagram shows: 1. Roller body; 2. Mounting bracket; 3. Lead screw; 4. Cover plate; 5. Mounting seat; 6. Handwheel; 7. Guide rod; 8. Elastic mechanism; 9. Roller frame; 10. Rotary shaft; 11. Hand-tightening bolt; 12. Fixed seat; 13. Encoder; 14. Coupling; 15. Sealing plate; 16. Counter; 17. First movable plate; 18. Second movable plate; 19. Guide post; 20. Spring component. Detailed Implementation
[0025] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. These drawings are simplified schematic diagrams, illustrating only the basic structure of the invention, and therefore only show the components relevant to the invention.
[0026] refer to Figure 1-2In this embodiment, the system includes a roller body 1 and a mounting frame 2. A lead screw 3 is mounted on the top of the mounting frame 2, rotating stably on it. The lead screw 3 controls the elastic force of the elastic mechanism 8. One end of the lead screw 3 extends into the interior of the mounting frame 2, and the other end extends upwards to the exterior. A sealing plate 15 is screwed onto the side of the mounting frame 2, and a cover plate 4 is mounted on the top of the mounting frame 2. The cover plate 4 covers the top of the mounting frame 2, thus sealing the top of the mounting frame 2. This, in conjunction with the sealing plate 15, achieves a seal on the mounting frame 2. Later, only the cover plate 4 and the sealing plate 15 need to be removed to seal the interior of the mounting frame 2. For component maintenance and repair, a mounting base 5 is provided on the top of the cover plate 4, and a handwheel 6 is provided on the top of the lead screw 3. A locking bolt 11 is provided on the mounting base 5 corresponding to the position of the handwheel 6 to lock the position of the handwheel 6, preventing the handwheel 6 from rotating on its own and improving the stability of the handwheel 6 and the lead screw 3. A counter 16 is provided on the mounting base 5 at a position offset from the locking bolt 11 to count the number of rotations of the lead screw 3, so that the adjustment amount of the elastic mechanism 8 can be known. During operation, the locking bolt 11 needs to be moved away from the handwheel 6, and then the handwheel 6 is rotated to drive the lead screw 3 to rotate. The rotation of the lead screw 3 can adjust the elastic mechanism 8.
[0027] The mounting bracket 2 has two sets of guide rods 7 vertically arranged inside, parallel to the lead screw 3. An elastic mechanism 8 is movably sleeved on the surface of the two sets of guide rods 7, located inside the mounting bracket 2. The elastic mechanism 8 includes a first movable plate 17, a second movable plate 18, guide posts 19, and a spring 20. Both the first and second movable plates 17 and 18 are movably sleeved on the surface of the guide rods 7. There are two sets of guide posts 19, symmetrically arranged about the lead screw 3 at the top of the second movable plate 18. The second movable plate 18 is located above the first movable plate 18. Directly below 7, the first movable plate 17 is movably sleeved on the surface of the lead screw 3. The top ends of the two sets of guide posts 19 pass through the first movable plate 17 and extend above it. The ends of the two sets of guide rods 7 above the first movable plate 17 are provided with protrusions for limiting the movement between the first movable plate 17 and the second movable plate 18. The spring member 20 is movably sleeved on the surface of the two sets of guide posts 19 located between the first movable plate 17 and the second movable plate 18. The two ends of the spring member 20 are movably connected to the opposite surfaces of the first movable plate 17 and the second movable plate 18, respectively. The roller frame 9 is located on the second movable plate 18. On the movable plate 18, the guide rod 7, guide post 19, spring 20, lead screw 3, and roller body 1 are all in the same plane. The roller body 1 is located at the middle of the rotating shaft 10, so that the force direction of the roller body 1 is the same as the movement direction of the first movable plate 17 and the second movable plate 18. In this way, the force on the roller body 1 will act directly on the elastic mechanism 8, avoiding the buffer failure caused by the eccentricity between the roller body 1 and the spring 20. During operation, the rotation of the lead screw 3 will drive the first movable plate 17 to move. The movement of the first movable plate 17 on the guide rod 7 will adjust the distance between it and the second movable plate 18. When the distance between the first movable plate 17 and the second movable plate 18 increases, the spring 20 extends, making the spring 20 more gentle when subjected to impact. When the distance between the first movable plate 17 and the second movable plate 18 decreases, the spring 20 contracts, making the spring 20 more rigid when subjected to impact. This is used to control the pressure between the roller body 1 and the plate chain. When the roller body 1 is under force, the roller body 1 moves upward under force, which pushes the second movable plate 18 to move along the guide rod 7. The movement of the second movable plate 18 along the guide rod 7 will squeeze the spring 20, and the spring 20 will perform a buffering operation.
[0028] The bottom end of the elastic mechanism 8 is provided with a roller frame 9 for mounting the roller body 1. A rotating shaft 10 is provided on the roller frame 9. The roller body 1 is rotatably sleeved on the surface of the rotating shaft 10 through a bearing. The two sets of guide rods 7 are symmetrically arranged about the lead screw 3 as the axis of symmetry. The elastic mechanism 8 and the roller body 1 are in the same plane to avoid the roller body 1 from being offset from the elastic mechanism 8 and thus affecting the buffering performance.
[0029] refer to Figure 1-2In this embodiment, a fixed seat 12 is provided on the side of the roller frame 9 at the position corresponding to the rotating shaft 10. An encoder 13 is provided on the fixed seat 12, and a coupling 14 is provided on the encoder 13. The coupling 14 is located on the end face of the rotating shaft 10. The encoder 13 monitors the distance of the roller body 1 to understand the travel status of the roller body 1.
[0030] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any equivalent substitutions or modifications made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in the present invention, based on the technical solution and inventive concept of the present invention, should be covered within the scope of protection of the present invention.
Claims
1. A plate chain follower device, characterized in that, The device includes a roller body (1) and a mounting bracket (2). A lead screw (3) is provided on the top of the mounting bracket (2). One end of the lead screw (3) extends into the interior of the mounting bracket (2), and the other end of the lead screw (3) extends upward to the exterior of the mounting bracket (2). A cover plate (4) is provided on the top of the mounting bracket (2), and a mounting seat (5) is provided on the top of the cover plate (4). A handwheel (6) is provided at the top of the lead screw (3). The mounting frame (2) has two sets of guide rods (7) arranged vertically inside, parallel to the lead screw (3). The surfaces of the two sets of guide rods (7) are movably sleeved with an elastic mechanism (8). The elastic mechanism (8) is movably sleeved on the surface of the lead screw (3) located inside the mounting frame (2). The bottom end of the elastic mechanism (8) is provided with a roller frame (9). A rotating shaft (10) is provided on the roller frame (9). The roller body (1) is rotatably sleeved on the surface of the rotating shaft (10) through a bearing.
2. The plate chain follower device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mounting base (5) is provided with a hand-tightening bolt (11) for locking the handwheel (6) at the position corresponding to the handwheel (6).
3. The plate chain follower device according to claim 2, characterized in that, A fixed seat (12) is provided on the side of the roller frame (9) at the position corresponding to the rotating shaft (10). An encoder (13) is provided on the fixed seat (12). A coupling (14) is provided on the encoder (13). The coupling (14) is located on the end face of the rotating shaft (10).
4. A plate chain follower device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The two sets of guide rods (7) are arranged symmetrically about the lead screw (3), and the elastic mechanism (8) and the roller body (1) are in the same plane.
5. A plate chain follower device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The mounting bracket (2) has a sealing plate (15) on its side by screws.
6. A plate chain follower device according to claim 5, characterized in that, A counter (16) is provided on the mounting base (5) at a position offset from the hand-tightening bolt (11).
7. A plate chain follower device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The elastic mechanism (8) includes a first movable plate (17), a second movable plate (18), guide posts (19), and a spring (20). The first movable plate (17) and the second movable plate (18) are both movably sleeved on the surface of the guide rod (7). There are two sets of guide posts (19). The two sets of guide posts (19) are axially symmetrically arranged on the top of the second movable plate (18) with the lead screw (3) as the axis of symmetry. The second movable plate (18) is located directly below the first movable plate (17). The first movable plate (17) is movably sleeved on the surface of the lead screw (3). The top ends of the two sets of guide posts (19) pass through... The first movable plate (17) extends to the top of the first movable plate (17), and the two sets of guide rods (7) are provided with a protrusion at one end above the first movable plate (17) for limiting the movement between the first movable plate (17) and the second movable plate (18). The spring (20) is movably sleeved on the surface of the two sets of guide posts (19) located between the first movable plate (17) and the second movable plate (18). The two ends of the spring (20) are movably connected to the opposite surfaces of the first movable plate (17) and the second movable plate (18), respectively. The roller frame (9) is set on the second movable plate (18).
8. A plate chain follower device according to claim 7, characterized in that, The guide rod (7), guide post (19), spring (20), lead screw (3) and roller body (1) are all in the same plane, and the roller body (1) is located in the middle of the rotating shaft (10).