Flexible gripper for electro-hydraulic valve grasping in mining equipment

Abstract

The present invention belongs to the technical field of clamping electro-hydraulic valves for mines, and specifically relates to a flexible gripper for grasping electro-hydraulic valves for mining equipment. The present invention includes a mounting plate, a robot connecting flange mounted on the mounting plate, and a main valve clamping mechanism and an auxiliary valve clamping mechanism mounted on the mounting plate; the main valve clamping mechanism includes a fixed clamping jaw mounted on the mounting plate and a movable clamping jaw assembly corresponding to the fixed clamping jaw; the movable clamping jaw assembly includes a servo motor mounted on the mounting plate, a transmission assembly coaxially arranged with the output shaft of the servo motor, a screw nut pair mounted at the output end of the transmission assembly, a slide rail arranged on the mounting plate, a slider slidably connected to the slide rail, and a movable clamping jaw arranged on the slider. The present invention can be used for the transportation or installation of electro-hydraulic valves of different models and sizes, and solves the problem that the solenoid absorbs the magnetization of the valve body, resulting in low assembly accuracy and poor product sealing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of clamping an electro-hydraulic valve for mines, and in particular relates to a flexible gripper for grasping an electro-hydraulic valve for mine equipment. Background Art

[0002] Electro-hydraulic valves, with their advantages of small size, light weight, easy installation and easy disassembly, have completely solved the problems of ordinary gate valves, such as heavy weight, difficult installation and large floor space. Therefore, they have been widely used in the mining industry in recent years. The loading and unloading of valve bodies in the mining electro-hydraulic valve industry mainly rely on manual operation, which has high labor intensity, single operation action, heavy weight of single main valve body, and the maximum valve body weight is about 100KG. Manual handling poses safety hazards. In addition, electro-hydraulic valve assembly is a high-precision product. Magnet absorption can easily cause residual magnetism in the valve body, which is easy to absorb impurities, greatly reducing the assembly accuracy.

[0003] Currently, robot grippers are installed on the tool end of industrial robots in the market to realize automatic grasping, moving and handling of products. The robot grippers have a simple structure and generally use cylinder components or electromagnetic suction cups. They cannot realize automatic detection and automatic adaptation and adjustment according to the detection results to grasp electro-hydraulic valves of different shapes and models. The use of electromagnets for suction can easily magnetize the valve body, resulting in low assembly accuracy and poor product sealing. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the defects in the prior art that it is not applicable to the grasping of various electro-hydraulic valves and is easily magnetized, and to provide a flexible gripper for grasping electro-hydraulic valves for mining equipment that can self-detect and adjust to adapt to the uncertainty of the target position and achieve high-precision positioning of the valve body.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve its technical problem is:

[0006] A flexible gripper for grabbing an electro-hydraulic valve for mining equipment, comprising a mounting plate, a robot connecting flange mounted on the mounting plate, and a main valve clamping mechanism and an auxiliary valve clamping mechanism mounted on the mounting plate;

[0007] The main valve clamping mechanism includes a fixed clamp installed on the mounting plate and a movable clamp assembly corresponding to the fixed clamp; the movable clamp assembly includes a servo motor installed on the mounting plate, a transmission assembly coaxially arranged with the output shaft of the servo motor, a screw nut pair installed at the output end of the transmission assembly, a slide rail arranged on the mounting plate, a slider slidably connected to the slide rail, and a movable clamp arranged on the slider; the slider is fixedly connected to the nut of the screw nut pair, and a visual system component for detecting the main valve model of the electro-hydraulic valve to be clamped is arranged on the mounting plate between the movable clamp and the fixed clamp.

[0008] Furthermore, the auxiliary valve clamping mechanism is arranged between the fixed clamping jaw and the movable clamping jaw; the auxiliary valve clamping mechanism includes a pneumatic device installed on the mounting plate, a pneumatic clamping jaw relatively installed on the pneumatic device, and a spring adjustment device installed between the two pneumatic clamping jaws; the clamping direction of the two pneumatic clamping jaws is perpendicular to the clamping direction of the movable clamping jaw.

[0009] Furthermore, the transmission assembly includes a driving pulley coaxially arranged with the output shaft of the servo motor and a driven pulley connected to the driving pulley through a belt drive; the driven pulley is coaxially connected with the screw of the screw nut pair.

[0010] Furthermore, the vision system component includes a vision bracket, a second light source mounted on the vision bracket, a 2D camera mounted on the vision bracket, and a first light source mounted on the auxiliary valve clamping mechanism.

[0011] Furthermore, a limiting device is installed on the fixed clamping jaw.

[0012] Furthermore, a photoelectric sensor for detecting the clamped object is installed on the mounting plate.

[0013] Furthermore, the fixed clamping jaw and the movable clamping jaw are both made of high-strength material.

[0014] Furthermore, reinforcing ribs are installed on both the fixed clamping jaw and the movable clamping jaw.

[0015] The beneficial effects of the flexible gripper for grabbing an electro-hydraulic valve for mining equipment of the present invention are:

[0016] 1. The present invention adopts a main valve clamping mechanism and an auxiliary valve clamping mechanism, which can be suitable for the transportation or installation of electro-hydraulic valves of different models and sizes, has strong compatibility, and effectively avoids the high labor intensity and safety hazards caused by manual transportation. It also adopts a belt drive and a screw nut auxiliary drive to clamp the valve body, which solves the problem of magnetization of the valve body by the electromagnet, resulting in low assembly accuracy and poor product sealing.

[0017] 2. The present invention adds a visual system component, which can identify the model and size of the valve body to be clamped. The servo motor adjusts the appropriate clamping force between the two jaws according to the model of the product. At the same time, the limit device is used to enhance the safety of the gripping of the claw.

[0018] 3. The movable jaw and the fixed jaw of the present invention are made of high-strength materials, which increase the material strength and wear resistance of the contact valve body, and effectively increase the service life of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0020] Figure 1 is a stereogram of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a main valve clamping mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 is a structural schematic diagram of an auxiliary valve clamping mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the structure of the visual system components of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] In the figure: 1. mounting plate, 2. robot connecting flange, 31. fixed clamping jaw, 32. servo motor, 33. reducer, 34. transmission assembly, 341. driving pulley, 342. driven pulley, 35. screw nut pair, 36. slide rail, 37. slider, 38. reinforcing rib, 39. movable clamping jaw, 4. auxiliary valve clamping mechanism, 41. pneumatic device, 42. pneumatic clamping jaw, 43. spring adjustment device, 5. photoelectric sensor, 6. limit device, 7. vision system assembly, 71. vision bracket, 72. 2D camera, 73. first light source, 74. second light source. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. These drawings are simplified schematic diagrams, which only illustrate the basic structure of the present invention in a schematic manner, and therefore only show the components related to the present invention.

[0026] like Figure 1-Figure 4 The specific embodiment of the flexible gripper for grabbing electro-hydraulic valves for mining equipment of the present invention shown in the figure comprises a mounting plate 1, a robot connecting flange 2 mounted on the mounting plate 1, and a main valve clamping mechanism and an auxiliary valve clamping mechanism 4 mounted on the mounting plate 1; the main valve clamping mechanism comprises a fixed jaw 31 mounted on the mounting plate 1 and a movable jaw assembly arranged corresponding to the fixed jaw 31; the movable jaw assembly comprises a servo motor 32 mounted on the mounting plate 1, a transmission assembly 34 arranged coaxially with the output shaft of the servo motor 32, a screw nut pair 35 installed at the output end of the transmission assembly 34, a slide rail 36 arranged on the mounting plate 1, a slider 37 slidably connected to the slide rail 36, and a movable jaw 39 arranged on the slider 37; the slider 37 is fixedly connected to the nut of the screw nut pair 35, and a visual system assembly 7 for detecting the main valve model of the electro-hydraulic valve to be clamped is arranged on the mounting plate 1 between the movable jaw 39 and the fixed jaw 31; the auxiliary valve clamping mechanism 4 is arranged between the fixed jaw 31 and the movable jaw 39.

[0027] The auxiliary valve clamping mechanism 4 includes a pneumatic device 41 installed on the mounting plate 1, a pneumatic clamping jaw 42 installed relatively to the pneumatic device 41, and a spring adjustment device 43 installed between the two pneumatic clamping jaws 42; the clamping direction of the two pneumatic clamping jaws 42 is perpendicular to the clamping direction of the movable clamping jaw 39.

[0028] The present invention adopts a main valve clamping mechanism and an auxiliary valve clamping mechanism 4, which can be suitable for the transportation or installation of electro-hydraulic valves of different models and sizes, effectively avoiding the high labor intensity and safety hazards caused by manual handling, and has strong compatibility. It adopts belt drive and screw nut pair 35 drive to realize the clamping of the electro-hydraulic valve, and solves the problem that the electromagnet absorbs the magnetization of the electro-hydraulic valve body, resulting in low assembly accuracy and poor product sealing.

[0029] like Figure 1 and Figure 4 The visual system assembly 7 shown includes a visual bracket 71, a 2D camera 72 mounted on the visual bracket 71, a second light source 74 mounted on the visual bracket 71, and a first light source 73 mounted on the auxiliary valve clamping mechanism 4. The first light source 73 and the second light source 74 provide light sources for the 2D camera 72 to avoid the problem that the 2D camera cannot accurately identify the main valve model of the electro-hydraulic valve in the case of insufficient light.

[0030] The flexible gripper of the present invention has two sets of clamping mechanisms, one set of main valve clamping mechanism; and one set of auxiliary valve clamping mechanism 4. The main valve clamping mechanism uses a servo motor 32 to drive the screw nut pair 35 of the screw nut pair 35 to rotate, so as to realize the nut movement of the screw nut pair 35, and then realize the movement of the movable jaw 39 fixed on the slider 37. The movable jaw 39 and the fixed jaw 31 fixedly installed at one end of its main valve clamping mechanism realize the clamping and placement of the main valve of the electro-hydraulic valve. The 2D camera 72 of the visual system component 7 is used to identify the product model and size according to the product characteristics. The servo motor 32 adjusts the clamping force between the movable jaw 39 and the fixed jaw 31 according to the product model. The safety of the gripper grasping is enhanced by the limit device 6 installed on the fixed jaw 31. In the embodiment of the present invention, the limit device 6 is a positioning pin.

[0031] The servo motor 32 is driven by the reducer 33 and the screw nut pair 35 to enhance the torque. The main valve clamping mechanism is compatible with two series of conventional coal seams and thin coal seams according to different sizes, and more than 280 products of different sizes and weights. The auxiliary valve clamping mechanism 4 is compatible with 7 kinds of auxiliary valves according to different sizes. According to the maximum and minimum sizes of the products, the stroke range of the pneumatic clamp 42 is selected within the maximum and minimum range, so that the pneumatic clamp is compatible with a variety of products, and different products are grasped by the pneumatic clamp 42. A spring adjustment device 43 is installed on the pneumatic device 41 between the two pneumatic clamps 42. When clamping the electro-hydraulic valve, the auxiliary valve of the electro-hydraulic valve can compress the spring of the spring adjustment device 43 according to its own size and position to adjust the distance of the auxiliary valve relative to the pneumatic device 41. The pneumatic device 41 is a prior art and will not be elaborated here.

[0032] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the transmission assembly 34 of the embodiment of the present invention includes a driving pulley 341 coaxially arranged with the output shaft of the reducer 33 and a driven pulley 342 driven by the driving pulley 341 through a belt; the driven pulley 342 is coaxially connected to the screw of the screw nut pair 35. The use of belt drive ensures a smooth transmission process, and the structure is simple and easy to maintain.

[0033] In the embodiment of the present invention, both the fixed jaw 31 and the movable jaw 39 are made of high-strength materials. After the hardness treatment of the material, the material in contact with the valve body is increased in strength and wear resistance, which effectively increases the service life of the present invention. Both the fixed jaw 31 and the movable jaw 39 are equipped with reinforcing ribs 38, which are used to increase the strength of the fixed jaw 31.

[0034] When in use, the flexible gripper of the present invention is loaded on the tool end of the six-joint industrial robot through the robot connection flange 2, and the main valve of the electro-hydraulic valve to be clamped is placed on a fixed tray. The robot determines the main valve model through the visual system component 7, and moves to the specified position according to the model of the main valve. The servo motor 32 makes a suitable range of motion for the main valve according to the different sizes of the main valve of the electro-hydraulic valve to be clamped, and clamps the main valve through the transmission component 34, the screw nut pair 35 and the slider 37. The positioning pin increases the safety of the movable gripper 39 and the fixed gripper 31 to grasp the main valve of the electro-hydraulic valve. The pneumatic device 41 is started to adjust the pneumatic gripper 42 of the auxiliary valve clamping mechanism 4, so that the pneumatic gripper 42 can clamp the auxiliary valve of the electro-hydraulic valve to be clamped. After the robot clamps the electro-hydraulic valve through the main valve clamping mechanism and the auxiliary valve clamping mechanism 4, the electro-hydraulic valve is placed in the assembly position according to the assembly requirements. A photoelectric sensor 5 for detecting the clamped object is installed on the mounting plate 1. If the photoelectric sensor 5 does not detect the object during the clamping process, it indicates that the object has fallen during the clamping or moving process. The photoelectric sensor 5 will send a signal and alarm to promptly remind the staff that the clamped electro-hydraulic valve has fallen during the moving process, thereby minimizing the loss as much as possible.

[0035] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described above are only used to explain the present invention, and are not used to limit the present invention. Obvious changes or modifications derived from the spirit of the present invention are still within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A flexible gripper for grabbing an electro-hydraulic valve for mining equipment, characterized in that: It comprises a mounting plate (1), a robot connecting flange (2) mounted on the mounting plate (1), and a main valve clamping mechanism and an auxiliary valve clamping mechanism (4) mounted on the mounting plate (1); The main valve clamping mechanism comprises a fixed clamping jaw (31) mounted on the mounting plate (1) and a movable clamping jaw assembly arranged corresponding to the fixed clamping jaw (31); the movable clamping jaw assembly comprises a servo motor (32) mounted on the mounting plate (1), a transmission assembly (34) arranged coaxially with the output shaft of the servo motor (32), a screw nut pair (35) mounted at the output end of the transmission assembly (34), a slide rail (36) arranged on the mounting plate (1), a slider (37) slidably connected to the slide rail (36), and a movable clamping jaw (39) arranged on the slider (37); the slider (37) is fixedly connected to the nut of the screw nut pair (35), and a visual system assembly (7) for detecting the main valve model of the electro-hydraulic valve to be clamped is arranged on the mounting plate (1) between the movable clamping jaw (39) and the fixed clamping jaw (31); The auxiliary valve clamping mechanism (4) is arranged between the fixed clamping jaw (31) and the movable clamping jaw (39); the auxiliary valve clamping mechanism (4) comprises a pneumatic device (41) mounted on the mounting plate (1), a pneumatic clamping jaw (42) mounted relatively to the pneumatic device (41), and a spring adjustment device (43) mounted between the two pneumatic clamping jaws (42); the clamping direction of the two pneumatic clamping jaws (42) is perpendicular to the clamping direction of the movable clamping jaw (39); The transmission assembly (34) comprises a driving pulley (341) coaxially arranged with the output shaft of the servo motor (32) and a driven pulley (342) driven by a belt with the driving pulley (341); the driven pulley (342) is coaxially connected with the screw of the screw nut pair (35).

2. The flexible gripper for grabbing an electro-hydraulic valve for mining equipment according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The vision system component (7) comprises a vision bracket (71), a 2D camera (72) mounted on the vision bracket (71), a second light source (74) mounted on the vision bracket (71), and a first light source (73) mounted on the auxiliary valve clamping mechanism (4).

3. The flexible gripper for grabbing an electro-hydraulic valve for mining equipment according to claim 1 is characterized in that: A limiting device (6) is installed on the fixed clamping jaw (31).

4. The flexible gripper for grabbing an electro-hydraulic valve for mining equipment according to claim 1 is characterized in that: A photoelectric sensor (5) for detecting clamped objects is installed on the installation plate (1).

5. The flexible gripper for grabbing an electro-hydraulic valve for mining equipment according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The fixed clamping jaw (31) and the movable clamping jaw (39) are both made of high-strength material.

6. A flexible gripper for grabbing an electro-hydraulic valve for mining equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: Reinforcing ribs (38) are installed on both the fixed clamping jaw (31) and the movable clamping jaw (39).

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