Gas meter casing adapter assembly

Abstract

This invention discloses a gas meter casing transfer assembly, including a circulating rack system and a transfer robot. The circulating rack system comprises a first circulating rack system located between the processing workshop and the transfer workshop, and a second rack system located between the transfer workshop and the painting workshop. The first and second circulating rack systems partially overlap, and the transfer robot is positioned at the overlap. The transfer robot transfers the workpiece from the first circulating rack system to the second rack system. This solution uses two sets of circulating rack systems, allowing them to circulate within their respective zones. The first set transports the gas meter casing to the transfer robot, which then removes the casing and transfers it to the second set. The second set then transports the casing to the painting workshop for painting. Once the operating speed and other parameters are set, no manual intervention is required throughout the process, resulting in higher efficiency and lower costs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a transposition device, and more particularly to a gas meter housing transposition assembly. Background Technology

[0002] After the gas meter casing is stamped, it needs to be transported to the painting workshop for painting. Current technology often uses manual transportation or a combination of racks and manual transfer to transport the gas meter casing, which is inefficient, costly, and requires a lot of manual labor. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to solve the problems mentioned in the background art, and to propose a gas meter casing mounting assembly.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0005] The gas meter casing transfer assembly includes a circulating rack system and a transfer robot. The circulating rack system comprises a first circulating rack system located between the processing workshop and the transfer workshop, and a second rack system located between the transfer workshop and the painting workshop. The first and second circulating rack systems partially overlap, and the transfer robot is positioned at the overlap. The transfer robot transfers the workpiece from the first circulating rack system to the second rack system. This solution uses two sets of circulating rack systems, allowing them to circulate within their respective zones. The first set transports the gas meter casing to the transfer robot, which then removes the casing and transfers it to the second set. The second set then transports the casing to the painting workshop for painting. Once the operating speed and other parameters are set, no manual intervention is required throughout the entire process, resulting in higher efficiency and lower costs.

[0006] Preferably, both the first and second hanging rack systems include hanging rack tracks, hanging racks, and drive mechanisms. The hanging rack tracks consist of two opposing tracks, with the first circulating hanging rack system being a closed-loop track. The drive mechanism is located within the hanging rack tracks. The top and bottom of the hanging rack extend into the two opposing tracks and are driven along the hanging rack tracks by the drive mechanism, maintaining a vertical position during movement. This solution essentially replaces the existing top-hung drive hanging system used in the garment industry with a system where the top and bottom ends use the same structure for synchronous drive to avoid swaying. It also allows for clamping and centering without precise positioning during transport. The second hanging rack system is a linear track, but can also be configured as a closed-loop circulating track.

[0007] Preferably, the rack has multiple horizontally extending rods with limiting grooves. A shelf is installed within each limiting groove, and the shelf has an inverted V-shaped bend that engages with the limiting groove. One end of the shelf is used to hang the workpiece—a gas meter housing—while the other end is used to be gripped by a transfer robot. During transfer, the shelf and the gas meter housing it hangs on are transferred simultaneously.

[0008] Preferably, the transfer robot includes an X-axis drive mechanism. The overlapping portions of the first and second hanging rack systems travel in parallel directions, both along the X-axis. The X-axis drive mechanism is equipped with a rotating mechanism, and the output end of the rotating mechanism includes a positioning mechanism and a gripping mechanism. The gripping mechanism is driven to move along the Y-axis by a Y-axis drive mechanism, and also driven to move along the Z-axis by a Z-axis drive mechanism. The X-axis drive mechanism allows the entire transfer robot to follow the hanging racks, thus enabling transfer during movement. The rotating mechanism is responsible for steering—turning the transfer robot from the negative Y-axis direction to the positive Y-axis direction.

[0009] Preferably, the X-axis drive mechanism includes a slide rail, a slider, a support plate, and a toothed belt driven by a drive motor, with a toothed plate at the bottom of the support plate that meshes with the toothed belt.

[0010] Preferably, the rotating mechanism is a rotary cylinder, and the Y-axis drive mechanism includes a slide rail, a slider, a support plate, and a push rod motor or cylinder that drives the support plate to move.

[0011] Preferably, the positioning mechanism is located in the middle, with a slide rail, slider, and support plate at its bottom, and a push cylinder to drive the positioning mechanism to move along the Y-axis. The positioning mechanism includes a stand and positioning grippers. When the positioning grippers grip, they grasp the hanger and drive it to slide within the hanger track for centering. A set of gripping mechanisms is provided on each side of the positioning mechanism. Each gripping mechanism includes multiple grippers, each gripper being located at the output end of a lifting cylinder. The upper lifting cylinders are slidably connected to the slide rail via sliders, and the upper lifting cylinders are located at the output end of the lower lifting cylinder. The Z-axis drive mechanism provides overall lifting for the entire gripping mechanism, and the spacing between the grippers can be adjusted through the linkage of the lifting cylinders, thus providing two levels of adjustment for the grippers.

[0012] Preferably, a horizontal drive mechanism is provided between the Z-axis drive mechanism and the gripping mechanism. The horizontal drive mechanism drives the gripping mechanism to move in the horizontal direction. The horizontal drive mechanism consists of a horizontally arranged rail, a slider, a tray, and a cylinder that drives the tray to move horizontally. The Z-axis drive mechanism includes a lifting slide rail, a slider, a tray, and a toothed belt driven by a drive motor. The bottom of the tray has a toothed plate that meshes with the toothed belt. The aforementioned horizontal direction is actually the X-axis direction. The horizontal distance between the grippers on both sides of the positioning mechanism can be adjusted through the horizontal drive mechanism.

[0013] Preferably, a proximity switch is installed on the rack track. This proximity switch is used to position the rack in front of the transfer robot. After the proximity switch detects the rack, the transfer robot moves along the X-axis according to the rack's running speed. Once the rack enters the gripping range, a positioning mechanism performs gripping and positioning. This positioning mechanism is a pneumatic gripper. During gripping, the pneumatic gripper causes the rack to slide against the track, ensuring that the rack is centered on the transfer robot after clamping, thus guaranteeing accurate gripping of the rack. The proximity switch can be a magnetic type. Magnets and Hall effect sensors are installed on the rack and the rack track, respectively. This method only needs to provide approximate positioning and does not require excessive precision, as the positioning mechanism allows the rack to slide during gripping to achieve centering, and its gripping range is relatively large.

[0014] Preferably, the transfer robots can operate individually or in pairs in coordination. When two transfer robots are in a pair, their rotating mechanisms rotate in opposite directions, and an adjusting cylinder is installed between them to adjust the distance between them. In actual production processes, using two transfer robots achieves the optimal balance between efficiency and cost.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: The present invention uses two cyclic rack systems to transfer the gas meter housing, and sets an overlapping part between the two cyclic rack systems. A transfer robot set at the overlapping part transfers the gas meter housing. During transfer, the transfer robot can follow the rack system to ensure that the transfer is carried out simultaneously without stopping. In addition, it uses fuzzy positioning and clamping centering to ensure that the rack is symmetrical with respect to the center of the rack robot. Then, by adjusting the X-axis position, X-axis spacing, Y-axis position, Z-axis position, and Z-axis spacing of the two sets of clamping mechanisms, precise clamping is achieved. Then, rotation is performed, and finally, the position and spacing are adjusted again to place the shelf and the gas meter housing on the shelf into another rack system. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 This is a perspective view of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 3 This is the front view of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 4 This is a track distribution diagram for the present invention.

[0020] In the diagram: 1—Transfer robot, 101—X-axis drive mechanism, 102—Rotation mechanism, 103—Positioning mechanism, 104—Gripping mechanism, 105—Lifting cylinder, 106—Pushing cylinder, 107—Z-axis drive mechanism, 108—Y-axis drive mechanism, 2—Hanging, 21—Shelf, 22, 3—Hanging track, 4—Adjusting cylinder. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments.

[0022] Example

[0023] Reference Figures 1-4 The gas meter casing transfer assembly includes a circulating rack system and a transfer robot 1. The circulating rack system comprises a first circulating rack system located between the processing workshop and the transfer workshop, and a second rack system located between the transfer workshop and the painting workshop. The first and second circulating rack systems partially overlap, and the transfer robot 1 is positioned at the overlap. The transfer robot 1 transfers the workpiece from the first circulating rack system to the second rack system. This solution uses two sets of circulating rack systems, allowing them to circulate within their respective zones. The first set transports the gas meter casing to the transfer robot 1, which then removes the casing and transfers it to the second set. The second set then transports the casing to the painting workshop for painting. Once the operating speed and other parameters are set, no manual intervention is required throughout the process, resulting in higher efficiency and lower costs.

[0024] Preferably, both the first and second hanging rack systems include hanging rack tracks 22,3, a hanging rack 2, and a drive mechanism. The hanging rack tracks 22,3 are two opposing tracks, with the first circulating hanging rack system being a closed-loop track. The drive mechanism is located within the hanging rack tracks 22,3. The top and bottom of the hanging rack extend into the two opposing tracks and are driven along the hanging rack tracks 22,3 by the drive mechanism, maintaining a vertical position during movement. The second hanging rack system is a linear track, but can also be configured as a closed-loop circulating track. This solution essentially changes the existing top-hung drive hanging system used in the garment industry to a system where the top and bottom ends use the same structure for synchronous drive to avoid swaying, and allows for clamping and centering positioning without precise positioning during transport.

[0025] Preferably, the hanger has multiple horizontally extending rods with limiting grooves. A shelf 21 is installed within each limiting groove, and the shelf 21 has an inverted V-shaped bend that engages with the limiting groove. One end of the shelf 21 is used to hang the workpiece—a gas meter housing—while the other end is used to be gripped by the transfer robot 1. During transfer, the shelf 21 and the gas meter housing it hangs on are transferred simultaneously.

[0026] Preferably, the transfer robot 1 includes an X-axis drive mechanism 101. The overlapping portions of the first and second hanging rack systems travel in parallel directions, both along the X-axis. The X-axis drive mechanism 101 is equipped with a rotation mechanism 102. The output end of the rotation mechanism 102 is equipped with a positioning mechanism 103 and a gripping mechanism 104. The gripping mechanism 104 is driven to move in the Y-axis direction by a Y-axis drive mechanism 108 and in the Z-axis direction by a Z-axis drive mechanism 107. The X-axis drive mechanism 101 is used to make the entire transfer robot 1 follow the hanging rack, thereby realizing transfer during movement. The rotation mechanism 102 is responsible for steering—turning the transfer robot 1 from the negative Y-axis direction to the positive Y-axis direction.

[0027] Preferably, the X-axis drive mechanism 101 includes a slide rail, a slider, a support plate, and a toothed belt driven by a drive motor, with a toothed plate at the bottom of the support plate that meshes with the toothed belt.

[0028] Preferably, the rotating mechanism 102 is a rotary cylinder, and the Y-axis drive mechanism 108 includes a slide rail, a slider, a support plate, and a push rod motor or cylinder for driving the support plate.

[0029] Preferably, the positioning mechanism 103 is located in the middle, with a slide rail, slider, and support plate at its bottom, and a push cylinder 106 for driving the positioning mechanism 103 to move along the Y-axis. The positioning mechanism 103 includes a stand and positioning grippers. When the positioning grippers grip, they grip the hanger and drive the hanger to slide within the hanger rails 22,3 for centering. A set of gripping mechanisms 104 is provided on each side of the positioning mechanism 103. Each gripping mechanism 104 includes multiple grippers, each gripper being located at the output end of a lifting cylinder 105. The upper lifting cylinders 105 are slidably connected to the slide rail via sliders, and the upper lifting cylinders 105 are located at the output end of the lower lifting cylinder 105. The Z-axis drive mechanism 107 provides overall lifting for the entire gripping mechanism 104, and the spacing between the grippers can be adjusted through the linkage adjustment of the lifting cylinders 105, thus providing two-stage adjustment for the grippers.

[0030] Preferably, a horizontal drive mechanism is provided between the z-axis drive mechanism 107 and the clamping mechanism 104. The horizontal drive mechanism drives the clamping mechanism 104 to move in the horizontal direction. The horizontal drive mechanism consists of a horizontally arranged rail, a slider, a tray, and a cylinder that drives the tray to move horizontally. The z-axis drive mechanism 107 includes a lifting slide rail, a slider, a tray, and a toothed belt driven by a drive motor. The bottom of the tray has a toothed plate that meshes with the toothed belt. The aforementioned horizontal direction is actually the X-axis direction. The horizontal distance between the grippers on both sides of the positioning mechanism 103 can be adjusted through the horizontal drive mechanism.

[0031] Preferably, proximity switches are provided on the rack tracks 22,3. These switches are used to position the rack and are located in front of the transfer robot 1. After the proximity switches detect the rack, the transfer robot 1 moves along the X-axis according to the rack's running speed. Once the rack reaches the gripping range, it is gripped and positioned by the positioning mechanism 103. The positioning mechanism 103 is a pneumatic gripper. During gripping, the pneumatic gripper causes the rack to slide against the track, ensuring that the rack is centered on the transfer robot 1 after clamping, thus ensuring that the gripping mechanism 104 can accurately grip the shelf 21. The proximity switches can be magnetic. Magnets and Hall effect sensors are respectively installed on the rack and the rack tracks. This method only needs to provide approximate positioning and does not require excessive precision, because the positioning mechanism 103 causes the rack to slide during gripping to achieve centering, and its gripping range is also relatively large.

[0032] Preferably, the transfer robot 1 can operate independently or in pairs in coordination. When two transfer robots 1 are in a pair, the rotating mechanism 102 rotates in opposite directions, and an adjusting cylinder 4 for adjusting the distance between them is provided. In actual production, using two transfer robots 1 achieves the optimal balance between efficiency and cost. In addition, the operation of the entire transfer line can be controlled by a computer and can be integrated with the production processing line and the painting line to improve the level of intelligence and automation.

[0033] 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 gas meter case transfer assembly comprising a circulating hanger system and a transfer robot, characterized in that: The circulating hanger system comprises a first circulating hanger system arranged between a processing workshop and a transfer workshop and a second hanger system arranged between the transfer workshop and a spraying workshop, the first circulating hanger system and the second hanger system partially overlap and a transfer robot is arranged at the overlapping part, the transfer robot transfers workpieces on the first circulating hanger system to the second hanger system, the first circulating hanger system and the second hanger system each comprise a hanger track, a hanger and a driving mechanism, the hanger track comprises two tracks opposite to each other in the up-down direction, the first circulating hanger system is a circulating closed loop track, the driving mechanism is arranged in the hanger track, the top and bottom of the hanger extend into the two tracks opposite to each other in the up-down direction and are driven to travel along the hanger track by the driving mechanism, the hanger remains vertical during the travel, the transfer robot comprises an X-axis driving mechanism, the overlapping part of the first circulating hanger system and the second hanger system is parallel to the travel direction and is an X-axis direction, a rotating mechanism is arranged on the X-axis driving mechanism, an output end of the rotating mechanism is provided with a positioning mechanism and a clamping mechanism, the clamping mechanism is driven to move in a Y-axis direction by a Y-axis driving mechanism, the clamping mechanism is driven to move in a Z-axis direction by a Z-axis driving mechanism, the positioning mechanism is arranged in the middle part, the bottom of the positioning mechanism is provided with a sliding rail, a sliding block and a supporting plate, and a push cylinder driving the positioning mechanism to move in the Y-axis direction is arranged; the positioning mechanism comprises a vertical stand and a positioning clamp jaw, the positioning clamp jaw clamps the hanger and drives the hanger to slide in the hanger track to be centered; a group of clamping mechanisms are arranged on each side of the positioning mechanism, each clamping mechanism comprises a plurality of clamp jaws, each clamp jaw is arranged at an output end of a lifting cylinder, and each lifting cylinder on the upper side is connected to the sliding rail through the sliding block, and the lifting cylinder on the upper side is arranged at the output end of the lifting cylinder on the lower side.

2. The gas meter case conversion assembly of claim 1, wherein: A plurality of horizontally extending rod members are arranged on the hanger, a limiting groove is formed on the rod member, a shelf is arranged in the limiting groove, the shelf is provided with an inverted V-shaped bending section, the bending section cooperates with the limiting groove, one end of the shelf is used for hanging a workpiece, i.e., a gas meter shell, and the other end of the shelf is used for being clamped by the transfer robot.

3. The gas meter case conversion assembly of claim 1, wherein: The X-axis driving mechanism comprises a sliding rail, a sliding block, a supporting plate and a toothed belt driven by a driving motor, and the bottom of the supporting plate is provided with a toothed plate engaged with the toothed belt.

4. The gas meter case conversion assembly of claim 1, wherein: The rotating mechanism is a rotating cylinder, the Y-axis driving mechanism comprises a sliding rail, a sliding block, a supporting plate and a push rod motor or a cylinder driving the supporting plate to move.

5. The gas meter case conversion assembly of claim 1, wherein: A horizontal driving mechanism is arranged between the Z-axis driving mechanism and the clamping mechanism, the horizontal driving mechanism drives the clamping mechanism to move in the horizontal direction, the horizontal driving mechanism is a horizontally arranged track, a sliding block, a supporting plate and a cylinder driving the supporting plate to move horizontally; the Z-axis driving mechanism comprises a lifting sliding rail, a sliding block, a supporting plate and a toothed belt driven by a driving motor, and the bottom of the supporting plate is provided with a toothed plate engaged with the toothed belt.

6. The gas meter case conversion assembly of claim 1, wherein: The proximity switch is arranged on the rail of the hanger and is used for positioning the hanger and is located in front of the transfer robot, after the proximity switch detects the hanger, the transfer robot moves along the X axis according to the running speed of the hanger and is clamped and positioned by the positioning mechanism after the hanger reaches the clamping range, wherein the positioning mechanism is a pneumatic clamping jaw, the pneumatic clamping jaw drives the hanger to slide with the rail during clamping to ensure that the hanger is located in the middle of the transfer robot after clamping so as to ensure that the clamping mechanism can accurately clamp the hanger.

7. The gas meter case conversion assembly of claim 1, wherein: The transfer robot can be operated alone or in a group of two, the rotation directions of the rotation mechanisms of the two transfer robots are opposite, and a spacing adjusting cylinder is arranged between the two transfer robots for adjusting the spacing.

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