An automatic gluing device and an adaptive positioning and gluing method thereof

Abstract

This invention provides an automatic glue-applying device and its adaptive positioning glue-applying method. The device includes a worktable, a glue-applying mechanism, a three-dimensional movement module, a controller, and an image acquisition module. The workpiece to be glued is fixed on the worktable, and at least three marker points are provided on the workpiece. The controller is simultaneously connected to the glue-applying mechanism, the image acquisition module, a longitudinal movement component, a transverse movement component, and a lifting component. The beneficial effects of this invention are: the controller of the automatic glue-applying device can acquire the positions of multiple marker points on the workpiece to be glued, and based on preset glue-applying trajectory data stored within it, the controller controls the three-dimensional movement module to drive the glue-applying mechanism to automatically complete the glue-applying process according to the preset glue-applying trajectory. The adaptive positioning glue-applying method, applied to the above-mentioned automatic glue-applying device, enables the automatic glue-applying device to adaptively position the workpiece, reducing the time spent on workpiece clamping and positioning, and improving the efficiency and progress of workpiece glue application.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of automatic glue application technology, and in particular to an automatic glue application device and an adaptive positioning glue application method. Background Technology

[0002] Glue application, also known as dispensing, gluing, coating, potting, or dripping, is a process in which adhesive is applied to a workpiece in a specific pattern to form an insulating or sealing structure on the workpiece surface. It is widely used in the manufacturing of consumer electronics, automotive parts, home appliances, and new energy batteries.

[0003] The glue application process can be completed manually or by an automatic glue application device. Manual glue application is labor-intensive and costly. Current automatic glue application devices still require manual installation of the workpiece, which requires positioning. For workpieces of different sizes or shapes, different positioning mechanisms or fixtures need to be developed. Manual workpiece positioning has the problems of large errors and low efficiency. At the same time, the errors in manual workpiece positioning will be reflected in the actual glue line trajectory of the workpiece. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, to reduce the difficulty of manual positioning in automatic glue application devices and improve the glue application accuracy of automatic glue application devices, this invention provides an automatic glue application device, including a worktable, a glue application mechanism, a three-dimensional movement module, a controller, and an image acquisition module;

[0005] The three-dimensional movement module includes a longitudinal movement component, a transverse movement component, and a lifting component;

[0006] The transverse component is mounted on the longitudinal component, and the longitudinal component drives the transverse component to move longitudinally. The lifting component is mounted on the transverse component, and the transverse component drives the lifting component to move laterally. The glue applicator is fixedly mounted on the lifting component, and the lifting component drives the glue applicator to move up and down.

[0007] The workpiece to be coated with adhesive is fixed on the worktable, and at least three marker points are provided on the workpiece. The controller is simultaneously connected to the image acquisition module, the longitudinal movement component, the transverse movement component, and the lifting component. The image acquisition module acquires the positions of multiple marker points on the workpiece to be coated with adhesive and transmits the coordinates of the multiple marker point positions to the controller. The controller stores preset adhesive coating trajectory data. The controller controls the longitudinal movement component, the transverse movement component, and the lifting component to drive the adhesive coating mechanism to draw an adhesive coating trajectory on the workpiece to be coated with adhesive according to the adhesive coating trajectory data, and ensures that all marker points are located on the adhesive coating trajectory.

[0008] Furthermore, the longitudinal movement assembly includes two longitudinal movement plates, each of which is provided with a longitudinal movement motor, a longitudinal movement screw, and a longitudinal movement block. The longitudinal movement block is provided with a threaded hole and is slidably disposed on the longitudinal movement plate. The longitudinal movement screw is rotatably disposed on the longitudinal movement plate and passes through the threaded hole on the longitudinal movement block. The end of the longitudinal movement screw is connected to the longitudinal movement motor.

[0009] The horizontal and vertical movement assembly includes a horizontal movement plate, on which a vertical movement motor, a horizontal movement lead screw, and a horizontal movement block are provided. The horizontal movement block has a threaded hole. The horizontal movement lead screw is slidably mounted on the horizontal movement plate and passes through the threaded hole on the horizontal movement block. The horizontal movement block is slidably mounted on the horizontal movement plate. The horizontal movement lead screw is rotatably mounted on the horizontal movement plate and passes through the threaded hole on the horizontal movement block. The end of the horizontal movement lead screw is connected to the horizontal movement motor. The two ends of the horizontal and vertical movement assembly are respectively fixed to the two vertical movement blocks.

[0010] The lifting assembly includes a lifting plate, on which a lifting motor, a lifting screw, and a lifting block are provided. The lifting block has a threaded hole. The lifting screw is slidably mounted on the lifting plate and passes through the threaded hole on the lifting block. The lifting block is slidably mounted on the lifting plate. The lifting screw is rotatably mounted on the lifting plate and passes through the threaded hole on the lifting block. The end of the lifting screw is connected to the lifting motor. The lifting plate is vertically mounted on the horizontal and vertical blocks. The glue application mechanism is fixed on the lifting block.

[0011] Furthermore, the workbench is also provided with an electromagnetic adsorption plate and an electromagnetic switch. The electromagnetic adsorption plate is embedded in the workbench and adsorbs and fixes the workpiece to be coated with glue.

[0012] Furthermore, the lifting plate is provided with two locking half-rings, which close together and surround the glue application mechanism. The ends of the two locking half-rings are locked by locking screws, thereby locking and fixing the glue application mechanism.

[0013] Furthermore, the image acquisition module is an industrial camera, and a first column is provided on the worktable. The industrial camera is rotatably mounted on the first column via a screw.

[0014] Furthermore, a second column is provided on the workbench, and an ultraviolet lamp is provided on the column. The ultraviolet lamp is rotatably mounted on the second column via a screw.

[0015] The present invention also provides an adaptive positioning adhesive application method based on the above-mentioned automatic adhesive application device, the method comprising the following steps:

[0016] S1: Input preset glue application trajectory data into the controller;

[0017] S2: Set at least three marking points on the workpiece to be coated with adhesive, and fix the workpiece to be coated with adhesive on the worktable;

[0018] S3: The controller acquires an image of the workpiece to be coated with glue through the image acquisition module, and identifies the coordinates of the pre-set marker points on the workpiece. The controller maps the preset glue coating trajectory onto the image of the workpiece to be coated with glue according to the preset glue coating track data, and acquires the glue coating trajectory so that all marker points are on the glue coating trajectory; the controller uses one of the marker points as the initial point.

[0019] S4: The controller controls the glue application mechanism to move to the initial point coordinates, and completes the glue application along the glue application trajectory with the initial point as the starting point, thus obtaining the actual glue application trajectory.

[0020] Furthermore, step S4 also includes the following steps:

[0021] S41: The controller controls the glue application mechanism to move a verification distance to obtain a verification point. The controller obtains the actual coordinates of the glue application mechanism through the image acquisition module and obtains the end coordinates of the actual glue application trajectory.

[0022] S42: The controller determines whether the end coordinate of the actual glue application trajectory obtained in step S41 is on the completed glue application trajectory. If it is, the controller controls the glue application mechanism to continue the glue application process; otherwise, the controller controls the glue application mechanism to return to the coordinate of the previous verification point and continue the glue application process.

[0023] Furthermore, the method for determining whether the end coordinates of the actual adhesive application trajectory obtained in step S42 are on the adhesive application trajectory is as follows:

[0024] The controller acquires an image of the workpiece to be coated with glue, calculates the distance between the glue dispensing point of the glue applicator and the coordinates of all marked points on the image, and calculates the corresponding position coordinates of the verification point on the plane where the glue trajectory is located based on the distance. If the position coordinates are on the glue trajectory, it is determined that the end coordinates of the actual glue trajectory are on the glue trajectory; otherwise, it is determined that the end coordinates of the actual glue trajectory are not on the glue trajectory.

[0025] The beneficial effects of the automatic glue application device and its adaptive positioning glue application method of the present invention are as follows:

[0026] (1) The automatic glue application device can acquire the workpiece to be glued and the position of the marked point on it through the image acquisition module, and adaptively generate the glue application trajectory according to the preset glue application trajectory data. Then, taking one of the marked points as the glue application start point, the three-dimensional movement module is controlled to drive the glue application mechanism to complete the automatic glue application function according to the glue application trajectory, thereby saving the manpower required for the workpiece glue application process and reducing the cost. The device can reduce the requirements for workpiece positioning during the workpiece glue application process, reduce the time spent on workpiece clamping and positioning, and further improve the workpiece glue application efficiency.

[0027] (2) The adaptive positioning adhesive application method is applied to the above-mentioned automatic adhesive application device. This method can locate the actual adhesive application point in real time during the automatic adhesive application process, ensuring that the corresponding position of the actual adhesive application point is on the adhesive application trajectory, ensuring the accuracy of the actual adhesive application trajectory, preventing deviation of the actual adhesive application trajectory, and improving the workpiece adhesive application qualification rate. Attached Figure Description

[0028] Figure 1 This is a front view of an automatic glue application device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 2 This is a top view of an automatic glue-applying device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of an adaptive positioning adhesive application method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] In the diagram: 1-Workbench, 2-Electromagnetic adsorption plate, 21-Electromagnetic switch, 3-Workpiece to be coated with adhesive, 4-Image acquisition module, 41-First column, 5-Ultraviolet lamp, 6-Adhesive coating mechanism, 61-Locking half ring, 7-Longitudinal transfer plate, 71-Longitudinal transfer plate, 72-Transfer motor, 73-Longitudinal transfer screw, 7-Longitudinal transfer plate, 71-Longitudinal transfer plate, 72-Transfer motor, 73-Longitudinal transfer screw, 7-Longitudinal transfer plate, 71-Longitudinal transfer plate, 72-Transfer motor, 73-Longitudinal transfer screw. Detailed Implementation

[0032] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer, the embodiments of the present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0033] Please refer to Figures 1-3 An automatic glue application device includes a worktable 1, a glue application mechanism 3, a three-dimensional movement module, an image acquisition module 4, and a controller (the controller is not shown in the figure).

[0034] The workbench 1 is supported on the ground by support legs. The three-dimensional moving module is mounted on the workbench 1. The glue application mechanism 6 is a glue gun, which is clamped onto the three-dimensional moving module. The glue application mechanism 6 is connected to the glue supply device through a glue tube. The glue application mechanism 6 is used to extrude the glue from the glue supply device and apply it to the workpiece 3 to be glued.

[0035] The workbench 1 is also equipped with an electromagnetic adsorption plate 2 and an electromagnetic switch 21. The electromagnetic adsorption plate 2 is embedded in the workbench 1 and is used to adsorb and fix the workpiece 3 to be coated with glue. In this embodiment, the workpiece 3 to be coated with glue is a metal plate. The electromagnetic switch 21 is used to control the on and off of the electromagnetic adsorption plate 2, thereby controlling the fixing and loosening of the electromagnetic adsorption plate 2 on the workpiece 3 to be coated with glue.

[0036] At least three marking points are provided on the workpiece 3 to be coated with adhesive. The marking points are made manually and all marking points are located on the required adhesive application trajectory.

[0037] In this embodiment, the image acquisition module 4 is an industrial camera. The workbench 1 is provided with a first column 41. The industrial camera is rotatably mounted on the first column 41 via a screw. The controller is connected to the image acquisition module 4, the three-dimensional movement module, and the glue application mechanism 6. The image acquisition module 4 is used to capture images of the workpiece 3 to be glued and to acquire the coordinates of all marker points and the coordinates of the glue application mechanism. The controller stores preset glue application trajectory data with the same shape as the required glue application trajectory. The controller is used to control the three-dimensional movement module to move the glue application mechanism 3 according to the preset glue application trajectory data and the marker point coordinate data of the image acquisition module, and to make the glue application mechanism 6 draw the required glue line trajectory on the workpiece 6 to be glued, thereby completing the automatic glue application process.

[0038] Specifically, the three-dimensional movement module includes a longitudinal movement component, a transverse movement component, and a lifting component; the longitudinal movement component includes two longitudinal movement plates 7, each longitudinal movement plate 7 is provided with a longitudinal movement motor 72, a longitudinal movement lead screw 73, and a longitudinal movement block 71, the longitudinal movement block 71 is provided with a threaded hole, the longitudinal movement block 71 is slidably disposed on the longitudinal movement plate 7, the longitudinal movement lead screw 73 is rotatably disposed on the longitudinal movement plate 7 and passes through the threaded hole on the longitudinal movement block 71, and the end of the longitudinal movement lead screw 73 is connected to the longitudinal movement motor 72; the transverse movement component is fixed on the two longitudinal movement blocks 71, and the two longitudinal movement motors 72 rotate synchronously, which can drive the transverse movement component to slide along the two longitudinal movement plates 7.

[0039] The horizontal and vertical movement assembly includes a horizontal movement plate 8, on which a horizontal movement motor 82, a horizontal movement lead screw 83, and a horizontal movement block 81 are provided. The horizontal movement block 81 has a threaded hole and is slidably mounted on the horizontal movement plate 8. The horizontal movement lead screw 83 is rotatably mounted on the horizontal movement plate 8 and passes through the threaded hole on the horizontal movement block 81. The end of the horizontal movement lead screw 83 is connected to the horizontal movement motor 82. The two ends of the horizontal and vertical movement plates are respectively fixed to the two vertical movement blocks 71. When the horizontal movement motor 83 rotates, the driving lifting assembly slides along the horizontal movement plate 8.

[0040] The lifting assembly includes a lifting plate 9, on which a lifting motor 92, a lifting screw 93, and a lifting block 91 are mounted. The lifting block 91 has a threaded hole and is slidably mounted on the lifting plate 9. The lifting screw 93 is rotatably mounted on the lifting plate 9 and passes through the threaded hole on the lifting block 91. The end of the lifting screw 93 is connected to the lifting motor 92. The lifting plate 9 is vertically fixed to the horizontal and vertical blocks 81. The glue application mechanism 6 is fixed to the lifting block 91. Rotation of the lifting motor 92 drives the glue application mechanism 6 to move up and down along the lifting plate 9, thereby adjusting the height of the glue application mechanism 6. The controller is connected to the lifting motor 92, the horizontal motor 82, and the two vertical motors 72. The controller can drive the glue application mechanism 6 to move along a predetermined trajectory via the lifting motor 92, the horizontal motor 82, and the two vertical motors 72, thereby applying glue along a specific trajectory on the workpiece 3 to be glued.

[0041] Furthermore, the lifting plate 91 is provided with two locking half rings 61, which close together and surround the glue application mechanism 6. The ends of the two locking half rings 61 are locked by locking screws, thereby locking and fixing the glue application mechanism 6 onto the lifting plate 91.

[0042] Furthermore, the workbench 1 is also provided with a second column 51, and an ultraviolet lamp 5 is provided on the second column 51. The ultraviolet lamp 5 is rotatably mounted on the second column 51 by a screw. The ultraviolet lamp 5 is used to irradiate the glue applied to the workpiece 3 by the glue applicator 6 to promote its solidification and reduce the solidification time of the glue.

[0043] The present invention also provides an adaptive positioning adhesive application method, which is based on the adaptive positioning adhesive application method of the above-mentioned automatic adhesive application device, and includes the following steps:

[0044] S1: Input preset glue application trajectory data into the controller; the glue application trajectory data can be data in CAD file format; the preset glue application trajectory data is the same as the required glue application trajectory shape;

[0045] S2: Set at least three marking points on the workpiece to be coated with glue, place the workpiece 3 to be coated with glue on the electromagnetic adsorption plate 2 on the workbench 1, and the electromagnetic adsorption plate 2 adsorbs and fixes the workpiece 3 to be coated with glue.

[0046] S3: The controller acquires an image of the workpiece 3 to be coated with glue through the image acquisition module 4, and identifies the coordinates of the pre-set marker points on the workpiece 3 to be coated with glue; the controller maps the preset glue coating trajectory onto the image of the workpiece 3 to be coated with glue according to the preset glue coating track data, and acquires the glue coating trajectory (the glue coating trajectory is stored in the controller), so that the coordinates of all marker points are on the glue coating trajectory, and the marker point coordinates are used to locate the glue coating trajectory; the controller selects one of the marker points as the initial point;

[0047] S4: The controller controls the glue application mechanism 6 to move to the initial point coordinates, and completes the glue application along the glue application trajectory with the initial point as the starting point, thus obtaining the actual glue application trajectory. This actual glue application trajectory coincides with the required glue application track, thus completing the automatic glue application process.

[0048] Furthermore, step S4 includes the following steps:

[0049] S41: The controller controls the glue applicator 6 to move a certain length of verification distance to obtain a verification point. The controller obtains the coordinates of the glue applicator 6 at this time through the image acquisition module 4, and obtains the end coordinates of the actual glue applicator trajectory at this time.

[0050] The verification distance ranges from 5 to 20 mm, and in this embodiment, the verification distance is 10 mm.

[0051] S42: The controller determines whether the end coordinate of the actual glue application trajectory obtained in step S41 is on the completed glue application trajectory. If it is, the controller controls the glue application mechanism 6 to continue the glue application process; otherwise, the controller controls the glue application mechanism 6 to return to the coordinate of the previous verification point and continue the glue application process.

[0052] Furthermore, the controller determines whether the end coordinates of the actual adhesive application trajectory obtained in step S42 are on the adhesive application trajectory as follows:

[0053] The controller acquires an image of the workpiece 3 to be coated with glue through the image acquisition module 4, calculates the distance between the glue dispensing point of the glue coating mechanism 6 and the coordinates of all the marked points on the image, and calculates the corresponding position coordinates of the verification point on the plane where the glue coating trajectory is located based on the distance. If the position coordinates are on the glue coating trajectory, it is determined that the end coordinates of the actual glue coating trajectory are on the glue coating trajectory; otherwise, it is determined that the end coordinates of the actual glue coating trajectory are not on the glue coating trajectory.

[0054] In this document, the directional terms such as front, back, top, and bottom are defined according to the positions of the components in the accompanying drawings and the positions between the components, and are only used for clarity and convenience in expressing the technical solution. It should be understood that the use of these directional terms should not limit the scope of protection claimed in this application.

[0055] Where there is no conflict, the above embodiments and features described herein can be combined with each other.

[0056] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automatic gluing apparatus characterized by comprising: Includes a worktable, a glue application mechanism, a 3D movement module, a controller, and an image acquisition module; The three-dimensional movement module includes a longitudinal movement component, a transverse movement component, and a lifting component; The lateral moving component is disposed on the longitudinal moving component, and the longitudinal moving component drives the lateral moving component to move longitudinally. The lifting component is mounted on the lateral component, and the lateral component drives the lifting component to move laterally. The glue application mechanism is fixedly mounted on the lifting component, and the lifting component drives the glue application mechanism to move up and down. The workpiece to be coated with glue is fixed on the worktable. At least three marking points are provided on the workpiece. The controller is connected to the glue coating mechanism, the image acquisition module, the longitudinal movement component, the transverse movement component, and the lifting component. The image acquisition module acquires the positions of multiple marking points on the workpiece to be coated with glue and transmits the coordinates of the multiple marking points to the controller. The controller stores preset glue coating trajectory data. The controller controls the longitudinal movement component, the transverse movement component, and the lifting component to drive the glue coating mechanism to draw a glue coating trajectory on the workpiece to be coated with glue according to the glue coating trajectory data, and ensures that all marking points are located on the glue coating trajectory. During the glue application process, the controller obtains the actual position coordinates of the glue application mechanism every preset verification distance. If the actual position deviates from the preset glue application trajectory, the controller controls the glue application mechanism to retreat to the previous verification position and continue applying glue.

2. The automatic gluing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The longitudinal movement assembly includes two longitudinal movement plates. Each longitudinal movement plate is provided with a longitudinal movement motor, a longitudinal movement screw, and a longitudinal movement block. The longitudinal movement block is provided with a threaded hole and is slidably disposed on the longitudinal movement plate. The longitudinal movement screw is rotatably disposed on the longitudinal movement plate and passes through the threaded hole on the longitudinal movement block. The end of the longitudinal movement screw is connected to the longitudinal movement motor. The lateral movement assembly includes a lateral movement plate, on which a lateral movement motor, a lateral movement lead screw, and a lateral movement block are provided. The lateral movement block is provided with a threaded hole. The lateral movement lead screw is slidably mounted on the lateral movement plate and passes through the threaded hole on the lateral movement block. The lateral movement block is slidably mounted on the lateral movement plate. The lateral movement lead screw is rotatably mounted on the lateral movement plate and passes through the threaded hole on the lateral movement block. The end of the lateral movement lead screw is connected to the lateral movement motor. Both ends of the lateral movement plate are respectively fixed to the two longitudinal movement blocks. The lifting assembly includes a lifting plate, on which a lifting motor, a lifting screw, and a lifting block are provided. The lifting block has a threaded hole. The lifting screw is slidably mounted on the lifting plate and passes through the threaded hole on the lifting block. The lifting block is slidably mounted on the lifting plate. The lifting screw is rotatably mounted on the lifting plate and passes through the threaded hole on the lifting block. The end of the lifting screw is connected to the lifting motor. The lifting plate is vertically mounted on the transverse block. The glue application mechanism is fixed on the lifting block.

3. The automatic gluing device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The workbench is also equipped with an electromagnetic adsorption plate and an electromagnetic switch. The electromagnetic adsorption plate is embedded in the workbench and is used to adsorb and fix the workpiece to be coated with glue.

4. The automatic glue application device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The lifting plate is provided with two locking half rings. The two locking half rings close together and surround the glue application mechanism. The ends of the two locking half rings are locked by locking screws, thereby locking and fixing the glue application mechanism.

5. An automatic glue-applying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The image acquisition module is an industrial camera, and a first column is provided on the workbench. The industrial camera is rotatably mounted on the first column via a screw.

6. An automatic glue-applying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The workbench is provided with a second column, and an ultraviolet lamp is provided on the column. The ultraviolet lamp is rotatably mounted on the second column via a screw.

7. An adaptive positioning adhesive application method based on the automatic adhesive application device according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that: Includes the following steps: S1: Input preset glue application trajectory data into the controller; S2: Set at least three marking points on the workpiece to be coated with adhesive, and fix the workpiece to be coated with adhesive on the worktable; S3: The controller acquires an image of the workpiece to be coated with glue through the image acquisition module and identifies the coordinates of the pre-set marker points on the workpiece to be coated with glue; the controller maps the preset glue coating trajectory onto the image of the workpiece to be coated with glue according to the preset glue coating track data, and acquires the glue coating trajectory, wherein all marker points are on the glue coating trajectory; the controller selects one of the marker points as the initial point; S4: The controller controls the glue application mechanism to move to the initial point, and controls the glue application mechanism to complete the glue application along the glue application trajectory with the initial point as the starting point, so as to obtain the actual glue application trajectory. In step S4, the controller obtains the actual position coordinates of the glue applicator every preset verification distance. If the actual position deviates from the preset glue applicator trajectory, the controller controls the glue applicator to retract to the previous verification position and continue applying glue.

8. The adaptive positioning adhesive application method according to claim 7, characterized in that: Step S4 includes the following steps: S41: The controller controls the glue application mechanism to move a verification distance to obtain a verification point. The controller obtains the actual coordinates of the glue application mechanism through the image acquisition module and obtains the end coordinates of the actual glue application trajectory. S42: The controller determines whether the end coordinate of the actual glue application trajectory obtained in step S41 is on the completed glue application trajectory. If it is, the controller controls the glue application mechanism to continue the glue application process. Otherwise, the controller will control the glue application mechanism to return to the coordinates of the previous calibration point and continue the glue application process.

9. The adaptive positioning adhesive application method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The controller determines whether the end coordinates of the actual glue application trajectory obtained in step S42 are on the glue application trajectory as follows: The controller acquires an image of the workpiece to be coated with glue, calculates the distance between the glue dispensing point of the glue coating mechanism and the coordinates of all marked points on the image, and calculates the corresponding position coordinates of the verification point on the plane where the glue coating trajectory is located based on the distance. If the position coordinates are on the glue coating trajectory, the controller determines that the end coordinates of the actual glue coating trajectory are on the glue coating trajectory. Otherwise, it is determined that the end coordinates of the actual glue application trajectory are not on the glue application trajectory.

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