A multi-degree-of-freedom oblique insertion automatic screw locking machine

Abstract

The present invention discloses a multi-degree-of-freedom oblique insertion automatic screw locking machine, comprising: a machine platform, an assembly line unit, a mounting unit, a second upper CCD unit, a screw feeding unit, a screw locking unit, a bad screw recovery box, a first upper CCD unit, a loading and unloading unit, and a lower visual CCD unit. Through the above method, the multi-degree-of-freedom oblique insertion automatic screw locking machine of the present invention greatly improves the production capacity, relieves the workload of the operators, and ensures the reliability of continuous work.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of non-standard automation equipment, in particular to a multi-degree-of-freedom oblique insertion type automatic screw locking machine. Background Art

[0002] like Figure 1 As shown, currently, when assembling the first product 1 (hereinafter referred to as product 1) and the second product 2 (hereinafter referred to as product 2), product 1 is manually inserted into the gap of product 2 at an angle, and then with the help of tooling, the products are positioned, the pressure head is pressed, and the electric screwdriver is used to absorb the screws to tightly lock products 1 and 2 together.

[0003] However, this manual assembly still has many defects and shortcomings:

[0004] 1. When inserting product 1 into product 2 manually, it must be inserted at a certain tilt angle. Due to human factors, there may be problems such as product jamming, scratching, and failure to insert in place once and requiring rework twice;

[0005] 2. The movements are complicated, the time is long, and the production capacity is low. Summary of the invention

[0006] The main technical problem solved by the present invention is to provide a multi-degree-of-freedom oblique insertion automatic screw locking machine, which realizes the locking and loosening of the tool holder by pneumatic means, and realizes accurate tool changing of the tool holder by a servo motor and a synchronous pulley. It has the advantages of high reliability, precise positioning, compact structure, fast indexing speed, low noise, low price, etc. At the same time, it has broad market prospects in the application and popularization of small CNC machine tools.

[0007] In order to solve the above technical problems, a technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0008] Provided is a multi-degree-of-freedom oblique insertion automatic screw locking machine, which includes: an assembly line unit for conveying products, a mounting unit, a second upper CCD unit for guiding the positioning mounting unit to pick up materials for assembly, a screw locking unit, a first upper CCD unit, a loading and unloading unit, and a lower visual CCD unit for detecting the state of the screw locking unit;

[0009] The mounting unit includes a mounting X-axis moving module, a mounting Y-axis moving module, a mounting Z-axis moving module, a material picking unit, a mounting fixed frame, a first rotating drive mechanism, and a second rotating drive mechanism. The mounting X-axis moving module, the mounting Y-axis moving module, and the mounting Z-axis moving module are sequentially connected to realize the linear motion of the material picking unit in three directions of the XYZ axes. The mounting fixed frame is connected to the mounting Z-axis moving module. The second rotating drive mechanism is arranged on the mounting fixed frame and drives the first rotating drive mechanism to rotate on the mounting fixed frame to adjust the material picking angle of the material picking unit. The first rotating drive mechanism drives the material picking unit to rotate to obliquely insert the product into the product to be assembled.

[0010] The material picking unit includes a suction nozzle, a suction cup, a first suction passage, and a second suction passage. The first suction passage and the second suction passage are arranged in the suction nozzle. The suction cup is arranged on the bottom surface of the suction nozzle and is connected with the first suction passage. The end suction port of the second suction passage is arranged on the bottom surface of the suction nozzle.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a screw feeding unit for screw feeding and storage is also included.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the screw locking unit includes a screw locking X-axis moving module, a screw locking Y-axis moving module, a screw locking Z-axis moving module, and an electric screwdriver. The screw locking Z-axis moving module is connected to the electric screwdriver and drives it to move up and down. The screw locking Y-axis moving module drives the screw locking Z-axis moving module to move back and forth along the Y-axis direction. The screw locking X-axis moving module is set on the machine platform through a bracket, and drives the screw locking Y-axis moving module to move back and forth along the X-axis direction to realize the spatial movement of the electric screwdriver between the screw feeding unit and the mounting station.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the loading and unloading unit includes a loading and unloading rack, a feeding bin, a discharging bin, a positioning column, a support plate, a lifting mechanism, and an upper transport mechanism. The feeding bin and the discharging bin are slidably arranged on the loading and unloading rack below the upper transport mechanism. The positioning columns are arranged on the feeding bin and the discharging bin to enclose a positioning area for placing the material tray. The lifting mechanism drives the support plate to move up and down, so that the support plate drives the material tray in the bin to move up and down.

[0014] The upper transport mechanism includes a transport frame, a clamping cylinder, and a clamping bracket. The transport frame is slidably connected to the guide rail on the top of the upper and lower material racks. The transport drive mechanism drives the transport frame to move back and forth on the upper and lower material racks. The transport frame is provided with an opening allowing the material tray to pass through. The clamping cylinder is arranged on the transport frame and drives the clamping bracket to move back and forth to clamp or release the material tray.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the support plate is slidably connected to the loading and unloading racks via movable guide pillars.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the bottom surfaces of the feed bin and the discharge bin are provided with through grooves allowing the support plate to pass through.

[0017] The beneficial effects of the present invention are: greatly improving the production capacity, alleviating the workload of operators, and ensuring the reliability of continuous work. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for describing the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work, among which:

[0019] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a first product and a second product in a multi-degree-of-freedom oblique insertion automatic screw locking machine of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a preferred embodiment of a multi-degree-of-freedom oblique insertion automatic screw locking machine of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 3 It is a schematic structural diagram of a mounting unit of a preferred embodiment of a multi-degree-of-freedom oblique insertion automatic screw locking machine of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of a material taking unit of a preferred embodiment of a multi-degree-of-freedom oblique insertion automatic screw locking machine of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the nozzle structure of a preferred embodiment of a multi-degree-of-freedom oblique insertion automatic screw locking machine of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 6 The present invention is a schematic structural diagram of a loading and unloading unit of a preferred embodiment of a multi-degree-of-freedom oblique insertion automatic screw locking machine. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are described clearly and completely below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0026] See also Figure 2-6 , the embodiment of the present invention includes:

[0027] A multi-degree-of-freedom oblique insertion automatic screw locking machine, whose structure includes: a machine platform, an assembly line unit 18, a mounting unit 20, a second upper CCD unit 21, a screw feeding unit 22, a screw locking unit 23, a defective screw recovery box 19, a first upper CCD unit 24, a loading and unloading unit 28 and a lower visual CCD unit 27.

[0028] The assembly line unit, the mounting unit 20, the screw feeding unit, the screw locking unit, the defective screw recovery box, and the loading and unloading units for conveying the product 1 are arranged on the machine platform, the second upper CCD unit is arranged on the mounting unit, and the first upper CCD unit is arranged on the screw locking unit.

[0029] The assembly line unit is used to convey the product 2 and realize product positioning so as to facilitate oblique insertion assembly and screw locking. The product positioning can be detected and positioned by a CCD unit or a sensor or other device.

[0030] The mounting unit 20 is used to absorb the product 1 , guide the positioning through the second upper CCD unit 21 , grab the product 1 and insert it obliquely into the gap of the product 2 .

[0031] The mounting unit includes a mounting X-axis moving module 30, a mounting Y-axis moving module 31, a mounting Z-axis moving module 32, a picking unit, a mounting fixed frame 33, a first rotary drive mechanism (a rotary slide, etc. may be used) 10, and a second rotary drive mechanism (a pneumatic rotary slide, etc. may be used) 11. The mounting X-axis moving module, the mounting Y-axis moving module, and the mounting Z-axis moving module are connected in sequence to realize linear motion in three directions of XYZ axes. The mounting fixed frame is connected to the mounting Z-axis moving module. The second rotary drive mechanism is arranged on the mounting fixed frame and is connected to the first rotary drive mechanism to drive the first rotary drive mechanism to realize a certain angle of rotation in the Z-axis direction on the mounting fixed frame, thereby adjusting the picking angle of the picking unit to facilitate picking. The first rotary drive mechanism is connected to the picking unit to drive the picking unit to realize rotation in the X-axis direction, thereby obliquely inserting the product into the product 2.

[0032] Among them, since the equipment of this application has a small space and many movements, and the blister tray has requirements for the positioning of the product, that is, the placement angle must be within plus or minus 7 degrees, the second rotary drive mechanism can choose a rotary electric slide that can only adjust plus or minus 7 degrees.

[0033] The source of product 1 is the blister tray, that is, product 1 is distributed in each hole in the blister tray. Since the blister tray has the characteristics of large tolerance, taking product 1 requires a degree of freedom of rotation in the Z direction; then product 1 needs to be inserted obliquely into the gap of product 2, so the oblique insertion requires a degree of freedom of rotation in the X direction; finally, from taking product 1 to completing the oblique insertion of product 1, the freedom of XYZ movement is required; so there are a total of 5 degrees of freedom. For actions with more than 4 degrees of freedom, a 6-axis robot is generally used to complete them, but this time only 3 mobile modules are used in conjunction with 2 rotating electric slides. This has the following 3 advantages:

[0034] First: The price of a 6-axis robot that meets the positioning accuracy requirements of industrial automation is very high, but the 5-axis construction method greatly saves costs and improves the market competitiveness of the product.

[0035] Second: Generally, a motor is used in conjunction with a reducer to achieve high-precision oblique rotation, and a particularly sophisticated rotary slide 10 (with a turbine screw as the internal mechanism) is selected. The mechanism is exquisite and compact, saving space. For complex mechanisms, it can avoid the beat waste caused by avoiding the mechanical structure, thereby improving the production capacity of the equipment.

[0036] Third: The six-axis manipulator is in a small space, with many axis joint postures, electronic control reset, and program determination of the current position of the manipulator. This can easily cause the motion mechanism of other modules to be installed with the manipulator. When using modules, the motion state program is easy to write, just retreat the X-axis to a safe position, and the operation is simple.

[0037] The material picking unit includes a suction nozzle 15, a suction cup 16, a first suction passage 3, and a second suction passage 4. The first suction passage and the second suction passage are arranged in the suction nozzle. The suction cup is arranged on the bottom surface of the suction nozzle and is connected with the first suction passage. The end suction port of the second suction passage is arranged on the bottom surface of the suction nozzle.

[0038] Two air paths are used to adsorb the obliquely inserted product at different time periods; if there is only one air path to adsorb the product, the product 1 is subjected to three forces during the oblique insertion action, one is the attraction F of the suction cup 16 installed on the suction nozzle 15, and the other is the gravity G of the product itself. Obviously, the two forces are not in a straight line, because the suction cup is soft, so the product will tilt. Therefore, this application adopts two paths for adsorption, and the principle is as follows: the suction nozzle 15 absorbs the product 1 from the blister tray. At this time, the suction nozzle 15 vertically absorbs the product 1. The first adsorption path adsorbs the product through the suction cup 16. Since the suction cup 16 is made of soft material, under the action of the suction force F, the product 1 is attached to the suction nozzle, and then the second adsorption path starts to vacuum adsorb the product 1, and the adsorption surface becomes the adsorption port of the suction cup 16 + the bottom surface of the suction nozzle 15. In this way, during the oblique insertion of the product 1, an oblique upward friction force f will be generated on the adsorption surface, so that the force on the product 1 is dynamically balanced, and the product 1 and the suction surface of the suction cup always maintain relative stillness in the position space, thereby ensuring the reliability and stability of the oblique insertion action.

[0039] The screw feeding unit 22 is used to store screws and separate single bolts. It can adopt existing screw feeders, vibrating plates and other equipment.

[0040] The screw locking unit 23 includes a screw locking X-axis moving module, a screw locking Y-axis moving module, a screw locking Z-axis moving module, and a high-precision screwdriver. The screw locking Z-axis moving module is connected to the high-precision screwdriver and drives it to move up and down. The screw locking Y-axis moving module drives the screw locking Z-axis moving module to move back and forth along the Y-axis direction. The screw locking X-axis moving module is set on the machine table through a bracket, and the screw X-axis moving module drives the screw locking Y-axis moving module to move back and forth along the X-axis direction. The electric screwdriver is moved in space between the screw feeding unit and the mounting station through three-axis drive.

[0041] During the production process, the electric screwdriver first approaches the screw feeding unit 22 under the action of the three-axis drive and absorbs a single screw, and then moves to the mounting station to insert the bolt into the hole and tighten it. Therefore, the worker only needs to ensure the continuous supply of screws. In the subsequent process, the screw locking unit will automatically run according to the preset program to automatically pick up the screws, automatically complete the positioning between the screw and the workpiece (hole), and automatically complete the tightening, thereby simplifying the worker's operation.

[0042] In addition, in order to improve processing efficiency and accuracy, the lower visual CCD unit 27 is used to detect whether the screws sucked by the electric screwdriver in the screw locking unit 23 are tilted. If the tilt exceeds a certain angle, the screw locking unit 23 will throw the tilted screw into the defective screw recovery box 19 under the three-axis driving action of the screw locking unit. The staff only needs to take out the screws in the defective screw recovery box 19 regularly, and then put the empty box back to the initial position.

[0043] The loading and unloading unit includes an loading and unloading rack 40, a feed bin 41, a discharge bin 42, a positioning column 43, a support plate 44, a lifting mechanism, and an upper transport mechanism. The upper transport mechanism is slidably connected to the guide rail on the top of the loading and unloading rack. The transport drive mechanism drives the upper transport mechanism to move back and forth along the guide rail. The feeding bin and the discharge bin are slidably arranged on the loading and unloading rack below the upper transport mechanism through the guide rail and the slider. The positioning columns are arranged on the feeding bin and the discharge bin to enclose a positioning area for positioning the material tray (blister tray) of product 1. The lifting mechanism drives the support plate to move up and down, so that the support plate drives the material tray in the bin to move up and down.

[0044] In order to further improve the stability and accuracy of the pallet movement, the pallet is slidably connected to the upper and lower material racks through movable guide pillars. The lifting mechanism (cylinder, stepper motor, etc.) can drive the pallet to move by pushing the movable guide pillars, or it can be directly connected to the pallet.

[0045] The bottom surfaces of the feed bin and the discharge bin are provided with through grooves allowing the pallet to pass through. The transport drive mechanism may include a motor and a conveyor belt. The two sides of the upper transport mechanism may be fixed on the conveyor belt. The motor drives the upper transport mechanism to move back and forth on the upper and lower material racks through the conveyor belt to realize the transfer and transportation of the material trays at the loading and unloading stations.

[0046] The upper transport mechanism includes a transport frame 46, a clamping cylinder 47, and a clamping bracket 48. The transport frame is slidably connected to the guide rails on the top of the upper and lower material racks. The transport frame is provided with an opening allowing the material tray to pass through. The clamping cylinder is arranged on the transport frame and drives the clamping bracket to move back and forth to clamp or release the material tray.

[0047] When the loading and unloading unit is working, the specific steps include:

[0048] (1) The operator pulls out the feed bin, places 20 full blister trays in the positioning area of ​​the feed bin, and then pushes the feed bin back to the position to be lifted.

[0049] (2) The stepper motor starts, and under the guidance of the movable guide column, the support plate lifts a stack of blister trays to a certain height.

[0050] (3) When the top tray enters the opening of the handling frame, one air stream is divided into four streams, so that the four clamping cylinders extend synchronously, and the clamping bracket is inserted between the top two trays to separate the top layer of blister trays and clamp them in place.

[0051] (4) The upper transport module moves a blister tray to the adsorption position of product 1.

[0052] (5) When the product 1 in the tray is used up, the support plate located below the discharge bin drives the empty tray down to the discharge bin for removal.

[0053] This unit uses a space of 1000mm*500mm for non-stop loading and unloading. The loading module can stack 20 blister trays at a time for loading. When the unloading module is full of 20 trays, a signal alarm will be issued and the finished materials will be taken out manually to achieve continuous operation.

[0054] A multi-degree-of-freedom oblique insertion automatic screw locking machine, the working steps of which include:

[0055] 1. The operator pulls the handle of the feed bin and places 20 blister trays into the feed bin;

[0056] 2. 20 plastic trays are moved to the upper handling module under the action of the lifting mechanism;

[0057] 3. The upper transport module clamps and positions the topmost blister tray and moves it to the predetermined position of the placement unit on the right;

[0058] 4. The second upper CCD unit takes a picture of the product 1 in the blister tray, and the rotating electric slide 11 adjusts the angle according to the visual feedback, and the visual guides the suction nozzle to take the product 1;

[0059] 5. The second upper CCD unit 21 guides the nozzle of the mounting unit 20 to pick up the product 1;

[0060] 6. The lower visual CCD unit 27 takes a photo of the threaded hole of the product 1 for positioning;

[0061] 7. The second upper CCD unit 21 takes a picture of the assembly position of the product 1;

[0062] 8. The material taking unit drives product 1 to tilt at a certain angle to insert it into the narrow gap of product 2, so that product 1 and product 2 are positioned;

[0063] 9. The first upper CCD unit 24 takes a photo of the screw feeder to determine whether there are screws;

[0064] 10. The screwdriver head absorbs the screw;

[0065] 11. The lower visual CCD unit 27 takes a picture of the thread to determine whether the screw is tilted;

[0066] 12. Use the electric screwdriver to take the screws to the mounting station and use the screws to lock product 1 and product 2.

[0067] The beneficial effects of the multi-degree-of-freedom oblique insertion automatic screw locking machine of the present invention are:

[0068] (1) It realizes the integration of full functions in a small space, without stopping the machine for loading and unloading, reducing downtime, greatly improving production capacity (high UPH), and shortening the material change cycle. It does not need to occupy a lot of time for operators to load and unload materials, thus alleviating the workload of operators.

[0069] (2) It can be adjusted according to the characteristics of the product and the specific requirements of the customer, including but not limited to assembly method, screw locking method, feeding method, bit specifications, position, feeding method, etc.

[0070] (3) It can automatically detect leaking locks, floating locks, slipping teeth, etc. to prevent the above defects that may be caused by manual operation and ensure the reliability of 24-hour continuous operation.

[0071] The above descriptions are merely embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the present invention specification, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multi-degree-of-freedom oblique insertion automatic screw locking machine, characterized in that: include: The assembly line unit for conveying products, the placement unit, the second upper CCD unit for guiding the positioning placement unit to pick up materials for assembly, the screw locking unit, the first upper CCD unit, the loading and unloading unit, and the lower visual CCD unit for detecting the status of the screw locking unit; The mounting unit includes a mounting X-axis moving module, a mounting Y-axis moving module, a mounting Z-axis moving module, a material picking unit, a mounting fixed frame, a first rotating drive mechanism, and a second rotating drive mechanism. The mounting X-axis moving module, the mounting Y-axis moving module, and the mounting Z-axis moving module are sequentially connected to realize the linear motion of the material picking unit in three directions of the XYZ axes. The mounting fixed frame is connected to the mounting Z-axis moving module. The second rotating drive mechanism is arranged on the mounting fixed frame and drives the first rotating drive mechanism to rotate on the mounting fixed frame to adjust the material picking angle of the material picking unit. The first rotating drive mechanism drives the material picking unit to rotate to obliquely insert the product into the product to be assembled. The material taking unit comprises a suction nozzle, a suction cup, a first suction passage, and a second suction passage, wherein the first suction passage and the second suction passage are arranged in the suction nozzle, the suction cup is arranged on the bottom surface of the suction nozzle and is connected with the first suction passage, and the terminal suction port of the second suction passage is arranged on the bottom surface of the suction nozzle; The loading and unloading unit includes a loading and unloading rack, a feeding bin, a discharging bin, a positioning column, a support plate, a lifting mechanism, and an upper transport mechanism. The feeding bin and the discharging bin are slidably arranged on the loading and unloading rack below the upper transport mechanism. The positioning columns are arranged on the feeding bin and the discharging bin to enclose a positioning area for placing the material tray. The lifting mechanism drives the support plate to move up and down, so that the support plate drives the material tray in the bin to move up and down. The upper transport mechanism includes a transport frame, a clamping cylinder, and a clamping bracket. The transport frame is slidably connected to the guide rail on the top of the upper and lower material racks. The transport drive mechanism drives the transport frame to move back and forth on the upper and lower material racks. The transport frame is provided with an opening for allowing the material tray to pass through. The clamping cylinder is provided on the transport frame and drives the clamping bracket to move back and forth to clamp or release the material tray. The screw locking unit includes a screw locking X-axis moving module, a screw locking Y-axis moving module, a screw locking Z-axis moving module, and an electric screwdriver. The screw locking Z-axis moving module is connected to the electric screwdriver and drives it to move up and down. The screw locking Y-axis moving module drives the screw locking Z-axis moving module to move back and forth along the Y-axis direction. The screw locking X-axis moving module is set on the machine platform through a bracket, and drives the screw locking Y-axis moving module to move back and forth along the X-axis direction to realize the spatial movement of the electric screwdriver between the screw feeding unit and the mounting station.

2. A multi-degree-of-freedom oblique insertion automatic screw locking machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: A screw feeding unit for screw feeding and storage is also included.

3. The multi-degree-of-freedom oblique insertion automatic screw locking machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support plate is slidably connected with the loading and unloading racks through movable guide pillars.

4. The multi-degree-of-freedom oblique insertion automatic screw locking machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bottom surfaces of the feed bin and the discharge bin are provided with through grooves allowing the support plates to pass through.

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