An automatic screw - feeding device and method for an inner cylinder

Abstract

The present application discloses an automatic screw - mounting device for an inner cylinder, which includes a conveying mechanism, a photographing mechanism, a grasping robot, a mounting mechanism, a tightening robot, a feeding mechanism, and a control module; the grasping robot includes a first rotating member, a second rotating member, a third rotating member, and a fixing frame that are sequentially rotatably connected. The first rotating member can rotate up and down by 3 - 10° relative to the second rotating member, and the second rotating member can horizontally rotate by 0 - 360° relative to the third rotating member; the inner wall of the clamping jaw fits with the outer wall of the inner cylinder, and the end of the clamping jaw away from the first plate is in a V - shape with an angle of 120°; the third rotating member includes a cylindrical rotating shaft, and a rotating plate is provided on the upper surface of the fixing frame; at least two convex rings are provided on the rotating shaft, and two concave rings are provided on the rotating plate, and two convex rings are arranged in the concave rings. The present application can achieve rapid automatic screw - mounting. Through the flexible operation of the robot, the production process is simplified and the work efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the field of automatic installation of inner cylinders, and relates to an automatic inner cylinder screw - mounting device and method. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid growth of intelligent automation in our country, the demand for washing machines is also increasing day by day. It is particularly important to complete the screw installation of the front and rear inner cylinders of washing machines with high quality and quantity. Currently, most of the screw installations for the front and rear inner cylinders of washing machines at home and abroad are manual. Many factories adopt flexible production on the assembly line. Such production methods rely on manual operation, resulting in high labor intensity and low production efficiency, and are unable to guarantee the processing accuracy and service life of products.

[0003] At present, some inner cylinder tightening can achieve semi - automation, which can improve the production process to a certain extent and enhance the production effect. However, usually, the automated partial assembly work is often completed by fixed machines. For example, a special screw - driving machine is used to be responsible for screwing in the screws. Such a production method improves the production efficiency to a certain extent, but the function of the special machine is extremely single and it has no adaptability to the adjustment of production line steps and production products.

[0004] The manipulator is the earliest industrial robot and also the earliest modern robot. It can replace heavy human labor to achieve production mechanization and automation. It can imitate some action functions of human hands and arms, and is an automatic operation device used to grasp, carry objects or operate tools according to a fixed program. Its characteristic is that it can complete various expected operations through programming, and has the advantages of both humans and mechanical robots in terms of structure and performance. However, when carrying out production and processing, the gripper structure adopted by the manipulator often has a small force - applying area, resulting in too high pressure, which is extremely easy to cause device wear and deformation; and the existing manipulators are either complex in structure and require precise instrument control, or have limited rotation angles, etc., and are unable to complete instructions with high accuracy and precision requirements for rotation. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Aiming at the deficiencies of the prior art, this application provides an automatic inner cylinder screw - mounting device, which can realize actions such as flipping and clamping of the inner cylinder while not easily wearing the inner cylinder.

[0006] This application also provides an automatic inner cylinder screw - mounting method, with a streamlined process and convenient operation.

[0007] To solve the above - mentioned technical problems, this application proposes the following technical solutions:

[0008] An automatic screw - mounting device for an inner cylinder, comprising a conveying mechanism, a photographing mechanism, a grasping robot, a mounting mechanism, a tightening robot, a feeding mechanism, and a control module; the control module is respectively connected to the grasping robot, the mounting mechanism, the tightening robot, and the feeding mechanism and controls their movements, and the photographing mechanism is used to obtain the spatial position information of the screw holes on the inner cylinder;

[0009] The mounting mechanism includes a base bracket, a rotating table provided on the base bracket, a first motor provided below the base bracket and connected to the rotating table, and a clamping device connected to the rotating table;

[0010] The grasping robot includes a first rotating member, a second rotating member, a third rotating member, and a fixing frame that are sequentially rotationally connected. The first rotating member can rotate up and down by 3 - 10° relative to the second rotating member, and the second rotating member can rotate horizontally by 0 - 360° relative to the third rotating member;

[0011] The first rotating member includes a clamping jaw, a first plate, and a second plate. The clamping jaw is fixedly connected to the first plate, and the first plate can slide left and right along the second plate; the inner wall of the clamping jaw fits with the outer wall of the inner cylinder, and the end of the clamping jaw away from the first plate is in a V - shape with an angle of 120°;

[0012] The third rotating member includes a cylindrical rotating shaft, and a rotating plate is provided on the upper surface of the fixing frame; at least two convex rings are provided on the rotating shaft, and two concave rings are provided on the rotating plate, and two convex rings are arranged in the concave rings; the rotating plate can slide on the fixing frame and is fixed by a clamping structure.

[0013] As a further improvement of the present application, a balance weight is provided at the end of the second rotating member away from the first rotating member.

[0014] As a further improvement of the present application, the clamping device includes a circular mounting plate, a rotating shaft provided at the center of the circular mounting plate, a moving fixture block provided above the circular mounting plate, and a circular groove plate. The circular mounting plate is fixedly connected to the rotating table, and the circular groove plate is provided with slot holes that cooperate with the moving fixture block. When the rotating shaft rotates, the slot holes push the moving fixture block to move in a direction away from the center of the rotating shaft.

[0015] As a further improvement of the present application, three slot holes are provided on the circular groove plate and are evenly distributed around the rotating shaft; the distance from one end of the slot hole to the center of the rotating shaft to the distance from the other end of the slot hole to the center of the rotating shaft gradually increases; the end of the moving fixture block is located in the slot hole and can slide along the slot hole.

[0016] As a further improvement of the present application, the clamping device further includes a gear provided below the circular mounting plate, a rack that cooperates with the gear, and a second motor connected to the rack.

[0017] As a further improvement of the present application, the feeding mechanism includes a vibrating disk.

[0018] As a further improvement to this application, the tightening robot includes a fourth rotating member, a second rotating member, a third rotating member, and a fixing bracket that are sequentially rotatably connected. The fourth rotating member includes a magnetic adsorption hand, a third motor, a first cylinder, a connecting plate, a second cylinder, a rotating disk, a fourth motor, and a connecting beam that are sequentially connected.

[0019] As a further improvement to this application, the first cylinder can roll on the vertical plane of the connecting plate, and the second cylinder can roll on the horizontal plane of the rotating disk.

[0020] An automatic screw - feeding method for the inner cylinder is realized by using the above - mentioned automatic screw - feeding device for the inner cylinder. The inner cylinder includes a first inner cylinder and a second inner cylinder, and the method includes the following steps:

[0021] (1) The conveying mechanism conveys the first inner cylinder to a specified position. At the same time, the photographing mechanism sends the spatial position information of the screw holes to the control module through photographing. The control module sends the information to the grasping robot and controls the grasping robot to adjust the position of the screw holes of the first inner cylinder;

[0022] (2) The grasping robot grasps the first inner cylinder and fixes it to the installation mechanism;

[0023] (3) Repeat step (1) to enable the grasping robot to adjust and grasp the second inner cylinder;

[0024] (4) The grasping robot flips the second inner cylinder by 180°, and then grasps it above the first inner cylinder on the installation mechanism;

[0025] (5) The tightening robot sucks the screws from the feeding mechanism, transfers them to the installation mechanism, puts the screws into the screw holes of the first inner cylinder and the second inner cylinder, and tightens them;

[0026] (6) Rotate the rotating table, repeat steps (1) - (5) to sequentially perform the tightening operation on the remaining screw holes.

[0027] Beneficial effects: This application can achieve fast automatic screw - feeding, and the structural design of each part is reasonable, without causing wear to the inner cylinder or the screws. Through the flexible operation of the robot, the production process is simplified and the work efficiency is improved.

[0028] It should be understood that all combinations of the foregoing concepts and additional concepts described in more detail below can be regarded as part of the subject matter of this application as long as such concepts do not conflict with each other. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] The drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale unless otherwise specified. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component shown in each figure may be denoted by the same reference numeral. For the sake of clarity, not every component is labeled in each figure.

[0030] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the production process of this application.

[0031] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of the grasping robot.

[0032] Figure 3 It is a schematic structural diagram of the first rotating member.

[0033] Figure 4 It is a schematic structural diagram of the second rotating member.

[0034] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the cooperation between the third rotating member and the fixing bracket.

[0035] Figure 6 It is a schematic structural diagram of the installation mechanism.

[0036] Figure 7 It is a disassembled schematic diagram of the installation mechanism.

[0037] Figure 8 It is a schematic structural diagram of the clamping device.

[0038] Figure 9 It is a schematic diagram of the tightening robot and the feeding mechanism.

[0039] Figure 10 It is a partial schematic structural diagram of the tightening robot.

[0040] Figure 11 It is a schematic structural diagram of the slot hole of the clamping device.

[0041] 1. Conveyor mechanism; 2. Shooting mechanism; 3. Grasping robot; 4. Installation mechanism; 5. Tightening robot; 6. Feeding mechanism; 7. Inner cylinder; 31. First rotating member; 32. Second rotating member; 33. Third rotating member; 34. Fixing bracket; 35. Balance weight; 311. Claw; 312. First plate; 313. Second plate; 331. Rotating shaft; 341. Rotating plate; 41. Base bracket; 42. Rotating table; 43. First motor; 44. Clamping device; 441. Circular groove plate; 442. Circular mounting plate; 443. Rotating shaft; 444. Moving fixture block; 445. Rack; 446. Gear; 447. Second motor; 51. Fourth rotating member; 511. Magnetic suction hand; 512. Third motor; 513. First cylinder; 514. Connecting plate; 515. Second cylinder; 516. Rotating disk; 517. Fourth motor; 518. Connecting beam. Detailed implementation manners

[0042] To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of this application more clear, the following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of this application, rather than all of them. Based on the described embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts fall within the scope of protection of this application. Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used herein shall have the ordinary meanings understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs.

[0043] The terms "first", "second" and similar terms used in the specification and claims of this application do not denote any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. Similarly, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, singular forms such as "a", "an" or "the" do not denote a quantity limitation, but rather indicate the presence of at least one. Words such as "comprising" or "including" mean that the elements or items appearing before "comprising" or "including" cover the features, wholes, steps, operations, elements and / or components listed after "comprising" or "including", and do not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, components and / or their combinations. "Up", "down", "left", "right", etc. are only used to indicate relative position relationships, and when the absolute position of the object being described changes, the relative position relationship may also change accordingly.

[0044] An automatic screw-on device for an inner cylinder includes a conveying mechanism 1, a photographing mechanism 2, a grasping robot 3, an installation mechanism 4, a tightening robot 5, a feeding mechanism 6, and a control module; the control module is respectively connected to the grasping robot 3, the installation mechanism 4, the tightening robot 5, and the feeding mechanism 6 and controls their movements, and the photographing mechanism 2 is used to obtain the spatial position information of the screw holes on the inner cylinder 7;

[0045] The installation mechanism 4 includes a base bracket 41, a rotating table 42 provided on the base bracket 41, a first motor 43 passing through the base bracket 41 and connected to the rotating table 42, and a clamping device 44 connected to the rotating table 42; after a screw-tightening operation is completed once, the position of the remaining screw holes can be changed by the rotation of the rotating table 42 to rotate it to a position convenient for operation.

[0046] The grasping robot 3 includes a first rotating member 31, a second rotating member 32, a third rotating member 33 and a fixing bracket 34 that are sequentially rotatably connected. The first rotating member 31 can rotate up and down by 3-10° relative to the second rotating member 32, and the second rotating member 32 can rotate horizontally by 0-360° relative to the third rotating member 33. The former rotates at a small angle, ensuring the stability of the clamping action, while the latter can rotate 360°, enabling multi-angle rotation. Combined with other rotations, the flexible and precise movement of the grasping robot is achieved.

[0047] The first rotating member 31 includes a clamping jaw 311, a first plate 312 and a second plate 313. The clamping jaw 311 and the first plate 312 are fixedly connected, and the first plate 312 can slide left and right along the second plate 313. The inner wall of the clamping jaw 311 is in contact with the outer wall of the inner cylinder 7. The end of the clamping jaw 311 away from the first plate 312 is V-shaped, and the angle of the V-shape is 120°.

[0048] The third rotating member 33 includes a rotating shaft 331 in the shape of a cylinder, and a rotating plate 341 is provided on the upper surface of the fixing bracket 34. At least two convex rings are provided on the rotating shaft 331, and two concave rings are provided on the rotating plate 341. Two of the convex rings are arranged in the concave rings. In this way, a large range of rotation can be achieved. The design of the convex rings and concave rings avoids the limitation of a single rotation angle. The rotating plate 341 can slide back and forth, left and right on the fixing bracket 34 and is fixed by a clamping structure. According to the information of the control module, through rotating members with multiple different rotation angles, actions such as multi-angle rotation, flipping, and angle adjustment can be achieved, the inner cylinder 7 can be flipped, precise positioning can be achieved, and screw installation can be realized more simply. Especially the design of the clamping jaw 311 can better cooperate with the inner cylinder 7, and the V-shaped structure provided in front of it further reduces wear and improves the service life.

[0049] In some embodiments, a balance weight 35 is provided at the end of the second rotating member 32 away from the first rotating member 31. This avoids the influence of excessive weight at one end on the use and improves the overall balance.

[0050] In some embodiments, the clamping device 44 includes a circular mounting plate 442, a rotating shaft 443 provided at the center of the circular mounting plate 442, a moving fixture block 444 provided above the circular mounting plate 442, and a circular groove plate 441. The circular mounting plate 442 is fixedly connected to the rotating table 42. The circular groove plate 441 is provided with slot holes that cooperate with the moving fixture block 444. When the rotating shaft 443 rotates, the groove pushes the moving fixture block 444 to move in a direction away from the center of the rotating shaft 443.

[0051] In some embodiments, there are three slots in the circular slot plate 441, which are evenly distributed around the rotation axis 443; the distance from one end of the slot to the center of the rotation axis 443 gradually increases to the distance from the other end of the slot to the center of the rotation axis 443; the end of the moving fixture block 444 is located in the slot and can slide along the slot. Through the design of the slots that are asymmetric with the center, when the rotation axis rotates, it drives the movement of the slots, thereby pushing the moving fixture block 444 to move outward, and then pressing against the inner wall of the inner cylinder to fix the inner cylinder on the rotating table.

[0052] Specifically, the shape of the slot is as shown in the figure and is arc-shaped.

[0053] In some embodiments, the clamping device 44 further includes a gear 446 provided below the circular mounting plate 442, a rack 445 engaged with the gear 446, and a second motor 447 connected to the rack 445. The rotation axis is driven to rotate by the second motor 447, and finally the effect of fixing the inner cylinder is achieved.

[0054] In some embodiments, the feeding mechanism 6 includes a vibrating disk. It can arrange the screws in an orderly manner, which is more conducive to the picking of the tightening robot 5, so as to move the screws to the mounting mechanism 4.

[0055] In some embodiments, the tightening robot 5 includes a fourth rotating member 51, a second rotating member 32, a third rotating member 33 and a fixing frame 34 that are sequentially rotatably connected. The connection of the second rotating member 32, the third rotating member 33 and the fixing frame 34 is the same as that of the picking robot; the fourth rotating member 51 includes a magnetic suction hand 511, a third motor 512, a first cylinder 513, a connecting plate 514, a second cylinder 515, a rotating disk 516, a fourth motor 517 and a connecting beam 518 that are sequentially connected. The bottom of the magnetic suction hand 511 is made of a magnetic material, which can directly suck the screw by using magnetism, avoiding the loss of the screw caused by the clamping action.

[0056] In some embodiments, the first cylinder 513 can roll on the vertical plane of the connecting plate 514, and the second cylinder 515 can roll on the horizontal plane of the rotating disk 516. The up, down, left and right movements are realized through a variety of rotatably connected rotating members. On this basis, the rolling mode of the cylinder on the plane can reduce the friction between the rotating members. This rolling form on the plane can make the operation more stable and accurate; the vertical plane and the horizontal plane that cooperate with each other have a higher degree of freedom.

[0057] An automatic screw fastening method for the inner cylinder is realized by using the above-mentioned automatic screw fastening device for the inner cylinder, and includes the following steps: The inner cylinder 7 includes a first inner cylinder and a second inner cylinder. When installing the screw, one of them is flipped 180° so that the screw holes of the two correspond.

[0058] (1) The conveying mechanism 1 conveys the first inner cylinder to the designated position. Meanwhile, the photographing mechanism 2 sends the spatial position information of the screw holes to the control module through photographing. The control module sends the information to the grasping robot 3 and controls the grasping robot 3 to adjust the screw hole position of the first inner cylinder. The conveying mechanism 1 conveys the inner cylinder 7 to the designated position through a conveyor belt, adopting linear conveyance to make the whole conveying process smoother. After the photographing mechanism 2 sends the screw hole information, through analysis, the grasping robot 3 adjusts its direction and angle, enabling it to grasp the inner cylinder 7 more precisely, so that the screw holes of the first inner cylinder and the second inner cylinder can be accurately matched together, facilitating the screwing of screws.

[0059] (2) The grasping robot 3 grasps the first inner cylinder and fixes it to the installation mechanism 4.

[0060] (3) Repeat step (1) to enable the grasping robot 3 to adjust and grasp the second inner cylinder.

[0061] (4) The grasping robot 3 flips the second inner cylinder by 180° and then grasps it above the first inner cylinder on the installation mechanism 4. The structural design of the grasping robot 3 can achieve operations of rotation and alignment of screw holes, simplifying the production process.

[0062] (5) The screwing robot 5 sucks the screws from the feeding mechanism 6, transfers them to the installation mechanism 4, puts the screws into the screw holes of the first inner cylinder and the second inner cylinder, and tightens them. Through the scanning of the photographing mechanism 2 and then sending the information to the grasping robot 3 for operation, the whole system structure is streamlined, reducing the cumbersome production line, greatly improving the work efficiency, and reducing the cost.

[0063] (6) Rotate the rotating table 42 and repeat steps (1)-(5) to sequentially perform the screwing operation on the remaining screw holes.

[0064] Although the present application has been disclosed above with preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present application. Those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present application pertains can make various modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to what is defined by the claims.

Claims

1. An automatic screw - feeding device for the inner cylinder, characterized in that, It includes a conveying mechanism, a photographing mechanism, a grasping robot, a mounting mechanism, a tightening robot, a feeding mechanism, and a control module; the control module is respectively connected to the grasping robot, the mounting mechanism, the tightening robot, and the feeding mechanism and controls their movements. The photographing mechanism is used to obtain the spatial position information of the screw holes on the inner cylinder; The mounting mechanism includes a base bracket, a rotating table provided on the base bracket, a first motor provided below the base bracket and connected to the rotating table, and a clamping device connected to the rotating table; The grasping robot includes a first rotating member, a second rotating member, a third rotating member, and a fixing bracket that are sequentially rotationally connected. The first rotating member can rotate up and down by 3 - 10° on the second rotating member, and the second rotating member can rotate horizontally by 0 - 360° on the third rotating member; The first rotating member includes a jaw, a first plate, and a second plate. The jaw is fixedly connected to the first plate, and the first plate can slide left and right along the second plate; the inner wall of the jaw fits against the outer wall of the inner cylinder, and the end of the jaw away from the first plate is in a V shape, and the angle of the V shape is 120°; The third rotating member includes a cylindrical rotating shaft, and a rotating plate is provided on the upper surface of the fixing bracket; at least two convex rings are provided on the rotating shaft, and two concave rings are provided on the rotating plate, and two convex rings are provided in the concave rings; the rotating plate can slide on the fixing bracket and is fixed by a clamping structure.

2. The automatic inner cylinder screw device according to claim 1, characterized in that, A balance weight is provided at the end of the second rotating member away from the first rotating member.

3. The automatic screw-on device for the inner cylinder according to claim 1, characterized in that, The clamping device includes a circular mounting plate, a rotating shaft provided at the center of the circular mounting plate, a moving fixture block provided above the circular mounting plate, and a circular groove plate. The circular mounting plate is fixedly connected to the rotating table, and the circular groove plate is provided with slot holes that cooperate with the moving fixture block. When the rotating shaft rotates, the slot holes push the moving fixture block to move in a direction away from the center of the rotating shaft.

4. The automatic screw-on device for the inner cylinder according to claim 3, wherein, There are three slot holes on the circular groove plate, which are evenly distributed around the rotating shaft; the distance from one end of the slot hole to the center of the rotating shaft to the distance from the other end of the slot hole to the center of the rotating shaft gradually increases; the end of the moving fixture block is located in the slot hole and can slide along the slot hole.

5. The automatic inner cylinder screw device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The feeding mechanism includes a vibrating disk.

6. The automatic screw - feeding device for the inner cylinder according to claim 1, characterized in that, The tightening robot includes a fourth rotating member, a second rotating member, a third rotating member, and a fixing bracket that are sequentially rotationally connected. The fourth rotating member includes a magnetic suction hand, a third motor, a first cylinder, a connecting plate, a second cylinder, a rotating disk, a fourth motor, and a connecting beam that are sequentially connected.

7. The automatic screw device for the inner cylinder according to claim 6, wherein The first cylinder can roll on the vertical plane of the connecting plate, and the second cylinder can roll on the horizontal plane of the rotating disk.

8. An automatic screw - driving method for an inner cylinder, which is realized by using the automatic screw - driving device for the inner cylinder according to any one of claims 1 - 7. The inner cylinder includes a first inner cylinder and a second inner cylinder, and is characterized in that, It includes the following steps: (1) The conveying mechanism conveys the first inner cylinder to the designated position. At the same time, the photographing mechanism sends the spatial position information of the screw holes to the control module through photographing. The control module sends the information to the grasping robot and controls the grasping robot to adjust the screw hole position of the first inner cylinder; (2) The grasping robot grasps the first inner cylinder and fixes it on the mounting mechanism; (3) Repeat (1) to enable the grasping robot to adjust and grasp the second inner cylinder; (4) The grasping robot flips the second inner cylinder by 180°, and then grasps it above the first inner cylinder on the mounting mechanism; (5) The tightening robot sucks the screws from the feeding mechanism, transfers them to the mounting mechanism, puts the screws into the screw holes of the first inner cylinder and the second inner cylinder, and tightens them; (6) Rotate the rotating table and repeat steps (1)-(5) to sequentially tighten the remaining screw holes.

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