A robot follow-up pendant system and pendant method based on intelligent visual recognition

Abstract

The present invention is a robot follower hanging system and hanging method with intelligent visual recognition. The robot follower hanging system is arranged in a mixed production line for cylinder castings; the mixed production line for cylinder castings also includes an incoming part area, characterized in that it includes an incoming part roller system, a robot system and a follower suspension chain conveying system; the follower suspension chain conveying system includes a suspension chain conveying device, a hook detection device and a follower signal detection device; the robot system includes a robot device, a visual recognition device and a flexible robot clamp device; the robot follower hanging method applies a combination of visual recognition and robot system to the suspension chain conveying system for hanging; the present invention replaces manual labor with robots to achieve production automation, greatly reducing manual operation links, not only saving labor costs and reducing labor intensity, but also more effectively improving the consistency of processing quality, processing efficiency and process accuracy in various processing and production links.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of automobiles, and in particular relates to a robot follow-up hanging system and hanging method for intelligent visual recognition. Background Art

[0002] The rapid growth of the automotive industry over the years has driven the development of the foundry industry and the continued growth of casting production. As a key component of automotive engines, cylinder block castings have a massive market and significant production demand. After the cylinder block casting is formed, it undergoes multiple subsequent processing steps. To meet the requirements of automated processing, a conveying system is required to transport the cylinder block castings between these various processing steps. To improve production efficiency, subsequent production lines for cylinder block castings are typically mixed-flow lines. A mixed-flow line refers to a system where the cylinder block castings transported between various processing steps are not a single model, but a variety of models with significant variations in shape and weight, and are frequently switched between various processing steps. Furthermore, subsequent processing of cylinder block castings often takes place in harsh environments such as high temperature, dust, and humidity. These factors place high demands on the conveying system used to transport cylinder block castings. In the automated production line of ordinary workpieces, traditional belt conveyor lines are generally used to transport workpieces. However, belt conveyor lines have weak load-bearing capacity and are not very adaptable to harsh working environments. Therefore, they are not suitable as a conveying system for transporting cylinder castings.

[0003] The commonly used conveying system for transporting various types of cylinder castings after casting is the hanging chain conveying system. The hanging chain conveying system is a system that uses the movement of the hanging chain, combined with other additional devices (such as hangers, hooks, flat plates, etc.), to automatically transport materials from one location to another. The material conveying route can be either the usual horizontal conveying or an inclined one. The main transmission component of the hanging chain conveying system is the hanging chain, which has a hook on it, and the hook is used to hang material workpieces of various specifications. Similar to the characteristics of chain transmission, the hanging chain conveying system can operate in harsh environments and has a large load-bearing capacity. Therefore, the hanging chain conveying system can transport small materials such as mechanical parts, as well as materials with larger mass such as engines, gearboxes or clutches. It can be used to transport various types of cylinder castings after casting in mixed production lines.

[0004] For ease of management, the processing steps before and after casting of cylinder castings are divided into two production lines. The last process of the former production line is drying. After the cylinder castings are dried in the drying furnace, they are transported to the latter production line, namely the mixed-flow production line for cylinder castings, by means of an incoming parts roller conveyor. The mixed-flow production line for cylinder castings includes an incoming parts area, a hanging parts work area, and multiple processing work areas. The cylinder castings are to be transferred and transported between the incoming parts area, the hanging parts work area, and multiple processing work areas: wherein, the conveying route of the cylinder castings passing through the hanging parts work area and multiple processing work areas is called the cylinder casting conveying route, and the hanging chain conveying system is provided along the cylinder casting conveying route; after the cylinder castings are transported to the incoming parts area by the incoming parts roller conveyor, the cylinder castings are transferred from the incoming parts area to the hanging parts work area through a transfer process to complete the hanging operation, and the hanging operation is to hang the cylinder castings on the hook of the hanging chain conveying system. The traditional transfer process adopts a manual transfer method. However, there are some problems with manual transport:

[0005] First, the cylinder casting itself is heavy, which makes the transportation work very intensive and easily fatigues the workers.

[0006] Secondly, the hanging chain conveyor system uses hooks to hang the cylinder castings. Workers have difficulty controlling the strength when performing the hanging operation, which can easily cause the cylinder castings to bump against each other, resulting in a high scrap rate.

[0007] Thirdly, although the suspension chain conveyor system is in continuous motion, workers need to rest and cannot keep up with the speed of the machine, resulting in low production efficiency. Alternatively, a multi-person rotation system can be adopted to improve efficiency, but labor costs will increase.

[0008] Finally, the operation of hanging heavy cylinder castings on the hook itself is dangerous. If the hanging is wrong and the cylinder casting falls, it is easy to hit others, posing a serious safety hazard. Therefore, it can be seen that manual transportation no longer meets the needs of manufacturing and market demands.

[0009] At the same time, with the continuous development of intelligent visual recognition technology and industrial robotics, intelligent production has become an unstoppable trend. Combined visual recognition and robotics systems are increasingly being used in manufacturing, enabling workflows such as automated gluing, handling and palletizing, intelligent sorting, and assembly. For example, existing combined visual recognition and robotics systems have been successfully applied to handling workpieces while conveyor lines are stationary, or to moving workpieces on and off conveyor belts. However, applying this combined visual recognition and robotics system to the transfer process in mixed-flow cylinder casting production lines—that is, transferring cylinder castings from the incoming work area to the hanging work area and completing the hanging operation—has yet to be achieved.

[0010] In the process of using a combined system of visual recognition and robots to replace manual labor in the cylinder casting transfer (hanging) process, many technical difficulties were discovered:

[0011] First, the hook used to hang parts on the suspension chain conveyor system is flexibly connected to the suspension chain in order to adapt to the processing angles of each process. When the suspension chain conveyor system is in operation, the hook will move irregularly, such as rotating irregularly along its vertical axis. The combined visual recognition and robotic system cannot accurately hang the cylinder casting on the hook.

[0012] Secondly, the suspension chain in the suspension chain conveyor system is in continuous motion. Unlike the traditional method of pausing the conveyor line before moving, the combined visual recognition and robotic system needs to track the speed and direction of the suspension chain for follow-up transportation. Moreover, the production line of the suspension chain conveyor system is long, and the suspension chain drive device is generally located at the back of the mixed production line, too far away from the hanging work area. Therefore, the combined visual recognition and robotic system has difficulty in collecting the follow-up signal of the suspension chain drive device.

[0013] Finally, there are many types of cylinder castings used in mixed-flow production and processing, with large differences in weight and shape. Different from the traditional working method of grasping or carrying fixed-specification workpieces, the combined system of visual recognition and robots needs to be able to grasp multiple specifications of cylinder castings with different shapes and weights.

[0014] At present, there is an urgent need for a system that combines visual recognition and robots and can be applied to the suspension chain conveyor system to replace manual work in hanging cylinder castings while the suspension chain is running, so as to solve the problems of high labor intensity, high labor cost, low production efficiency, high safety hazards and high scrap rate of existing manual hanging. Summary of the Invention

[0015] The present invention provides a robot follow-up hanging system and hanging method with intelligent visual recognition, which solves the problem in the prior art that the existing combination system of visual recognition and robot cannot be used in the hanging chain conveyor system, and thus can only be hung manually, resulting in high labor intensity, high labor cost, low production efficiency, high safety hazards and high scrap rate.

[0016] The technical solution of the present invention is described as follows in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

[0017] In a first aspect, the present invention provides an intelligent visual recognition robot follower hanging system, which is provided in a mixed-flow production line for cylinder castings; the mixed-flow production line for cylinder castings also includes an incoming part area, and is characterized in that it includes an incoming part roller system, a robot system, and a follower suspension chain conveying system; the follower suspension chain conveying system includes a suspension chain conveying device, a hook detection device, and a follower signal detection device; the robot system includes a robot device, a visual recognition device, and a flexible robot clamping device;

[0018] The hanging chain conveyor device is used to convey the cylinder castings to be processed in the cylinder casting mixed production line;

[0019] The hook detection device is used to collect the hook status signal of the follower suspension chain conveying system and send it to the control system;

[0020] The follow-up signal detection device is used to collect the suspension chain operation signal of the follow-up suspension chain conveying system and send it to the control system; the follow-up signal includes the suspension chain speed signal and the suspension chain movement direction signal;

[0021] The robot device is used to drive the visual recognition device and the flexible robot clamp device to move to a specified position according to the coordinate movement instruction;

[0022] The visual recognition device is used to obtain visual recognition data of the cylinder casting to be processed according to the photographing instruction, and send the visual recognition data to the control system;

[0023] The flexible robotic gripper device has two gripping arms, which are used to change the gripping parameters between the two gripping arms according to the gripping parameter change instruction; the gripping parameters include gripping distance, gripping force and gripping speed;

[0024] The incoming part roller system is used to transport the cylinder casting to be processed to the incoming part area according to the incoming part instruction and send an in-position signal to the control system;

[0025] The control system is used to determine whether the last hanging was successful based on the hook status signal; if the last hanging was successful, the control system will send an incoming instruction to the incoming roller system;

[0026] The control system is further configured to send a visual recognition instruction to the robot system based on the in-position signal;

[0027] The control system is further used to determine whether to perform a follow-up hanger operation based on the hook status signal; if a follow-up hanger operation is performed, the control system is further used to send a follow-up hanger instruction and the suspension chain operation signal to the robot system; the robot system is used to perform a visual recognition action based on the visual recognition instruction, obtain the visual recognition data and send it to the control system; the robot system is also used to perform a follow-up hanger action based on the follow-up hanger instruction, the visual recognition data and the suspension chain operation signal.

[0028] Furthermore, the cylinder casting mixed production line includes a hanging work area and n processing work areas, wherein n is a positive integer greater than 1, and the route passing through the hanging work area and the n processing work areas is the cylinder casting conveying route.

[0029] Furthermore, the suspension chain conveying device includes a suspension chain guide rail, a suspension chain, a suspension chain driving device, a hook and a guide backplate; the suspension chain guide rail is fixedly arranged along the cylinder casting conveying route; the suspension chain is slidably arranged on the suspension chain guide rail; the suspension chain continuously slides along the suspension chain guide rail under the action of the suspension chain driving device; the hooks are arranged on the suspension chain at fixed intervals; the hooks are used to suspend the cylinder casting to be processed and drive the cylinder casting to be processed to rotate along the vertical axis of the hook; the guide backplate is a plate-shaped object, and the guide backplate is fixedly arranged in the hanger working area, and the length direction of the guide backplate is parallel to the part of the suspension chain guide rail passing through the hanger working area; the guide backplate is used to contact the hook passing through the hanger working area, and under the action of gravity, the hook passing through the hanger working area is rotated along its vertical axis to a fixed direction.

[0030] Furthermore, the incoming part roller system includes a roller and an in-position switch; the roller is used to transport the cylinder casting to be processed to the incoming part area; the in-position switch is used to generate an in-position signal after the cylinder casting to be processed arrives at the incoming part area and send it to the control system.

[0031] Furthermore, the robot device includes a robot body and a robot controller; the robot controller is used to send coordinate movement instructions to the robot body according to the visual recognition instructions, or according to the follow-up pendant instructions and the follow-up signal; the robot controller is also used to send photo taking instructions to the visual recognition device; the robot controller is also used to send clamping parameter change instructions to the flexible robot clamp device; the robot body is used to drive the visual recognition device and the flexible robot clamp device to move to a specified position according to the coordinate movement instructions.

[0032] Furthermore, the visual recognition device includes a camera, a high-brightness light source and an image analysis system; the camera and the high-brightness light source are arranged on the robot body; the camera and the high-brightness light source are used to collect color images of the cylinder casting to be processed and its position according to the photo-taking instruction, and send them to the image analysis system; the image analysis system is used to perform image analysis on the color image, obtain visual recognition data of the cylinder casting to be processed, and send it to the control system; the visual recognition data includes positioning data of the cylinder casting to be processed, product model and information on whether the product is damaged.

[0033] Furthermore, the flexible robot clamp device includes a robot clamp body and a hydraulic system; the robot clamp body includes a clamp arm assembly, a sensor assembly and a hydraulic cylinder assembly; the clamp arm assembly includes a connecting block, two linear guide rails, two slides and the two clamp arms; one of the two clamp arms is arranged on the front of one of the two slides; the other clamp arm of the two clamp arms is arranged on the front of the other of the two slides; the backs of the two slides are slidably connected to the two linear guide rails, and the two linear guide rails are fixedly arranged on the front of the connecting block; The back of the connecting block is connected to the robot body; the two slides are also connected to the hydraulic cylinder assembly; the hydraulic cylinder assembly is connected to the hydraulic system; the hydraulic cylinder assembly and the hydraulic system are used to push the two slides to move back and forth along the two linear guide rails, thereby adjusting the clamping distance, clamping force and clamping speed between the two clamping arms; the sensor assembly includes a displacement sensor, which is arranged at the tail end of the two linear guide rails along the length direction, and is used to collect displacement signals of the two slides, and the displacement signals are used to determine whether the two clamping arms are clamped in place.

[0034] Furthermore, the hook detection device includes 4 photoelectric sensors, which are arranged on the guide backplate at a certain interval, and the 4 photoelectric sensors are used to send the hook status signal to the control system; wherein, the photoelectric sensor No. 1 is located at the front end of the pendant working area; the photoelectric sensor No. 1 is used to detect whether there is a hook arriving in front of the photoelectric sensor No. 1: if a hook arrives in front of the photoelectric sensor No. 1, the photoelectric sensor No. 1 sends a hook in place signal to the control system; the photoelectric sensor No. 2 is arranged immediately after the photoelectric sensor No. 1; the photoelectric sensor No. 2 is used to detect whether the hook passing in front of the photoelectric sensor No. 2 is corrected: if the hook passing in front of the photoelectric sensor No. 2 is corrected, the photoelectric sensor No. 2 sends a hook in place signal to the control system. Hook correction signal; Photoelectric sensor No. 3 is arranged immediately after photoelectric sensor No. 2; Photoelectric sensor No. 3 is used to detect whether there is a correction hook passing in front of photoelectric sensor No. 3: if a correction hook passes in front of photoelectric sensor No. 3, photoelectric sensor No. 3 sends a hook start-hanging signal to the control system; Photoelectric sensor No. 4 is arranged immediately after photoelectric sensor No. 3; Photoelectric sensor No. 4 is used to detect whether the cylinder casting to be processed is hung on the hook passing in front of photoelectric sensor No. 4: if the cylinder casting to be processed is hung on the hook in front of photoelectric sensor No. 4, photoelectric sensor No. 4 sends a hanging success signal to the control system; the hook in place signal, hook correction signal, hook start-hanging signal and hanging success signal are the hook status signal.

[0035] Furthermore, the follow-up signal detection device includes a guide wheel, a coupling and an encoder; the guide wheel is meshed and connected with the suspension chain, and the guide wheel is used to rotate around the rotation axis of the guide wheel under the drive of the suspension chain, and the rotation linear speed of the guide wheel is the same as the running speed of the suspension chain; the rotation direction of the guide wheel is the same as the running direction of the suspension chain; the rotation axis of the guide wheel is connected to one end of the coupling, and the other end of the coupling is connected to the rotation axis of the encoder; the encoder is used to obtain the suspension chain operation signal of the suspension chain according to the rotational movement of the guide wheel, and send it to the control system.

[0036] Furthermore, it also includes a product information tracking system; the product information tracking system includes a tag carrier and a radio frequency identification reader / writer; the tag carrier is installed on the hook, and the tag carrier is used to store product information of the cylinder casting to be processed suspended on the corresponding hook; the radio frequency identification reader / writer is used to receive an information read instruction issued by the control system and read the data of the tag carrier; the radio frequency identification reader / writer is also used to receive an information write instruction issued by the control system and write data to the tag carrier.

[0037] In a second aspect, the present invention further provides a method for a robot follower pendant with intelligent visual recognition, which is implemented by a robot follower pendant with intelligent visual recognition and includes the following steps:

[0038] S1, the control system sends an incoming item instruction to the incoming item roller system according to the successful hanging signal after the last hanging;

[0039] S2, the incoming part roller system transports the cylinder casting to be processed to the incoming part area and sends an in-position signal to the control system;

[0040] S3, the control system sends a visual recognition instruction to the robot system according to the in-position signal;

[0041] The robot system performs visual recognition actions according to the visual recognition instructions, obtains visual recognition data, and sends the data to the control system; the control system waits to receive the hook status signal and the suspension chain operation signal;

[0042] S4, the control system sends a follower pendant instruction and the suspension chain operation signal to the robot system according to the received hook state signal; the robot system executes the follower pendant action according to the follower pendant instruction and the suspension chain operation signal;

[0043] S5. The control system determines whether the hooking is successful based on the received hook status signal:

[0044] If the control system does not receive the hook success signal within a predetermined time, or receives other hook status signals, the hook status is abnormal, and the robot follow-up hook system stops running;

[0045] If the control system receives the attachment success signal within a predetermined time, the attachment is successful, and the robot follow-up attachment system starts the next attachment.

[0046] Furthermore, the specific method of S4 is as follows:

[0047] S4.1. Steps for grabbing the cylinder casting to be processed:

[0048] If the control system does not receive the hook in place signal within a predetermined time, or receives other hook status signals, the hook status is abnormal, and the robot follow-up pendant system stops running;

[0049] If the control system receives the hook in-position signal within a predetermined time, the control system sends a gripping instruction in the follower pendant instruction to the robot system; the robot system adjusts the gripping posture of the flexible robot gripper device according to the gripping instruction and the previously acquired visual recognition data, and grips the cylinder casting to be processed in the incoming work area; the control system waits to receive the hook status signal;

[0050] S4.2. The cylinder casting to be processed enters the hanging work area and waits for the hanging steps:

[0051] If the control system does not receive the hook correction signal within a predetermined time, or receives other hook status signals, the hook status is abnormal, and the robot follow-up pendant system stops operating;

[0052] If the control system receives the hook guidance signal within a predetermined time, the control system sends a hanger waiting instruction in the follow-up hanger instruction to the robot system; the robot system, according to the hanger waiting instruction, drives the clamped cylinder casting to be processed to move to the hanger working area to wait; the control system waits to receive the hook status signal and the suspension chain operation signal;

[0053] S4.3, the step of hanging the cylinder casting to be processed on the hook of the follower suspension chain conveying system:

[0054] If the control system does not receive the hook start signal within a predetermined time, or receives other hook status signals, the hook status is abnormal, and the robot follow-up pendant system stops running;

[0055] If the control system receives the hook start signal within the predetermined time, the control system sends the hanger start instruction in the follow-up hanger instruction and the suspension chain operation signal to the robot system; the robot system drives the clamped cylinder casting to be processed to be hung on the hook of the follow-up suspension chain conveying system according to the hanger start instruction and the suspension chain operation signal; the control system continues to wait for receiving the hook status signal.

[0056] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0057] 1) The present invention overcomes technical bias: Existing systems combining visual recognition and robotics are often used to move workpieces while the conveyor line is stationary, or to move workpieces on belt conveyors. This has become a technical bias that has hindered people from considering or exploring other possibilities. Due to inertia, technicians in this field have not considered applying this combined system of visual recognition and robotics to suspension chain conveyor systems.

[0058] 2) The present invention uses a guide back plate to cooperate with the hook to rotate the hook along its axis to a fixed direction, i.e., a direction that facilitates the robot to perform the hanging operation, so that the robot can accurately hang the cylinder casting on the hook, solving the problem of irregular movement of the hook in the prior art, which makes it impossible for the robot to hang the part;

[0059] 3) The present invention installs an encoder at the guide wheel position, which uses the encoder to collect the movement speed of the suspension chain. This overcomes the drawbacks of the suspension chain conveyor system, which has a long production line and is difficult to obtain a follow-up signal. This ensures that the robot and the suspension chain speed are consistent, and completes the automatic loading of heavy-loaded cylinder castings while the suspension chain is in motion.

[0060] 4) The present invention adopts a flexible robot fixture, which is compatible with various cylinder casting models and realizes mixed production of the production line;

[0061] 5) The robot follower pendant system and method based on intelligent visual recognition described in the present invention achieves production automation by replacing manual labor with robots, greatly reducing manual operation links, saving labor costs and reducing labor intensity, and more effectively improving the consistency of processing quality, processing efficiency, and process accuracy in various processing and production links;

[0062] 6) The robot follower hanging system and method based on intelligent visual recognition described in this invention enables rapid and accurate robot operation, effectively replacing manual loading and unloading of parts: Manual cantilever hanging takes 45 seconds per hook, or 80 hooks per hour; robot hanging takes 41 seconds per hook, or 88 hooks per hour, increasing production efficiency by 10%. There are no successful domestic applications of robot follower hanging in the field of chain conveying heavy-loaded cylinder castings. This invention is of great significance in improving the efficiency of automated production in enterprises and has good application prospects.

[0063] 7) The robot follow-up pendant system and method based on intelligent visual recognition described in the present invention have better consistency of robot pendants, reduce casting bumps, and ensure casting quality: when the cantilever pendant is used manually, the scrap rate due to casting bumps is 0.5%; after using the robot pendant, the scrap rate due to casting bumps is reduced to below 0.4%.

[0064] 8) The suspension chain conveying device, robot follow-up hanging system and method described in the present invention are suitable for automatic identification, grasping and hanging operations of cylinder castings when the suspension chain is in motion. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0065] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments. It should be understood that the following drawings only illustrate certain embodiments of the present invention and therefore should not be regarded as limiting the scope. For ordinary technicians in this field, other relevant drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0066] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of the robot follower pendant system in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0067] Figure 2 This is a system block diagram of the robot follow-up pendant system in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0068] Figure 3 This is a front view of the robot fixture body in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0069] Figure 4 This is an oblique view of the robot fixture body in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0070] Figure 5 A side view of the robot fixture body in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0071] Figure 6 This is a structural diagram of the hook in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0072] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the installation of the hook detection device in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0073] Figure 8 This is a flow chart of the robot follow-up pendant method in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0074] In the picture:

[0075] 1. Connecting block; 2. Vision bracket; 3. Long light bar; 6. Guide rail baffle; 7. Linear guide; 12. Hydraulic cylinder assembly; 13. Slide plate; 14. Displacement sensor; 16. Wear-resistant clamp; 17. Anti-hook; 21. Control system; 22. Robot controller; 23. Guide wheel; 24. Suspension chain; 25. Robot body; 26. Hydraulic system; 27. Guide back plate; 28. Safety door; 30. Incoming roller system; 31. Safety fence; 41. Rotating lifting ring; 42. Guide block; 43. Hanging plate; 44. U-shaped joint; 45. Counterweight mechanism; 46. Connecting fork. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0076] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. It will be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are intended only to illustrate the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. It should also be noted that, for ease of description, the accompanying drawings only illustrate portions relevant to the present invention, not all structures.

[0077] In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may include the first and second features being in direct contact, or may include the first and second features being in contact not directly but through another feature between them. Furthermore, a first feature being "above," "above," and "above" a second feature may include the first feature being directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or may simply mean that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below," "below," and "below" a second feature may include the first feature being directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or may simply mean that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0078] In the description of this embodiment, terms such as "upper," "lower," "left," and "right" are used to refer to positions or locations based on those shown in the accompanying drawings. These terms are intended solely to facilitate description and simplify operation, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the devices or components referred to must have, be constructed, or operate in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used solely for descriptive purposes and have no special meaning.

[0079] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as first and second, etc., are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that includes a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

[0080] Example 1

[0081] See Figures 1-6 This embodiment provides an intelligent visual recognition robot follow-up pendant system, which is arranged in a mixed-flow production line for cylinder castings; the mixed-flow production line for cylinder castings also includes an incoming parts area.

[0082] An intelligent visual recognition robot follower hanging system includes a control system 21, an incoming roller system 30, a robot system and a follower hanging chain conveying system.

[0083] The robot system includes a robot device, a visual recognition device and a flexible robot clamp device.

[0084] The follow-up suspension chain conveying system includes a suspension chain conveying device, a hook detection device and a follow-up signal detection device.

[0085] The hanging chain conveyor device is used to convey the cylinder castings to be processed in the cylinder casting mixed production line; the cylinder casting mixed production line includes a hanging work area and n processing work areas, wherein n is a positive integer greater than 1, and the route passing through the hanging work area and the n processing work areas is the cylinder casting conveying route;

[0086] The suspension chain conveying device includes a suspension chain guide rail, a suspension chain 24, a suspension chain driving device, a hook and a guide back plate 27;

[0087] The suspension chain guide rail is fixedly arranged along the cylinder casting conveying route; the suspension chain 24 is slidably arranged on the suspension chain guide rail;

[0088] The suspension chain 24 continuously slides along the suspension chain guide rail under the action of the suspension chain driving device; the suspension chain 24 is provided with the suspension hooks at fixed intervals; the suspension hooks are used to suspend the cylinder casting to be processed and drive the cylinder casting to be processed to rotate along the vertical axis of the suspension hook;

[0089] The guide backplate 27 is a plate-shaped object, and the guide backplate 27 is fixedly arranged in the pendant working area. The length direction of the guide backplate 27 is parallel to the part of the suspension chain guide rail passing through the pendant working area; the guide backplate 27 is used to contact the hook passing through the pendant working area, and under the action of gravity, make the hook passing through the pendant working area rotate along its vertical axis to a fixed direction.

[0090] In this embodiment, the hooks are provided on the chain of the suspension chain 24 at fixed intervals;

[0091] The hook includes a rotating lifting ring 41, a guide block 42, a connecting fork 46, a hanging plate 43, and a counterweight mechanism 45;

[0092] The rotating lifting ring 41 has a connecting hole;

[0093] The connecting fork 46 includes a fork rod and a U-shaped joint 44. The fork rod is cylindrical and rotatably connected to the connecting hole. A guide block 42 is fixedly provided on the fork rod. The guide block 42 is a plate-like object surrounded by an arc surface and a plane. The arc surface and the plane are parallel to the vertical center line of the connecting fork 46. The distance between the arc surface and the vertical center line is greater than the distance between the plane and the vertical center line.

[0094] The hanging plate 43 is a U-shaped plate, and the surface of the U-shaped opening of the U-shaped plate faces opposite to the surface of the plane of the guide block 42;

[0095] The U-shaped plate includes two plate arms, one of which is movably connected to the U-shaped joint 44 and has the counterweight mechanism 45 at its end, and the other plate arm is used as a hook for hanging the cylinder casting to be processed;

[0096] The guide back plate 27 is a plate-shaped object. The guide back plate 27 is arranged along the running direction of the suspension chain 24 at the part of the suspension chain 24 that is in the pendant working area. The guide back plate 27 has a friction surface, and the friction surface is perpendicular to the horizontal plane. When the vertical center line of the connecting fork 46 is perpendicular to the horizontal plane, the distance from the friction surface to the vertical center line of the connecting fork 46 is equal to the distance from the plane of the guide block 42 to the vertical center line.

[0097] In this embodiment, firstly, the rotatable lifting ring 41 is used to enable the hook to rotate around its vertical axis when hanging a heavy-loaded cylinder casting; secondly, the counterweight mechanism 45 is used to ensure that the hanging plate 43, which is the part for hanging the cylinder casting, remains horizontal, thereby facilitating the hanging operation; finally, the guide back plate 27 and the guide block 42 are used to prevent the hook from shaking in the rotational, horizontal and vertical directions, as follows: the suspension chain 24 is constantly moving and the hook can rotate and swing freely. When the hook is at the position of the guide back plate 27, if the plane of the guide block 42 faces the guide back plate 27, the vertical axis of the hook is perpendicular to For horizontal lines, the plane of the guide block 42 is in close contact with the friction surface of the guide back plate 27, so that the hook will not shake in the rotation, horizontal and vertical directions; if the arc surface of the guide block 42 faces the guide back plate 27, since the distance from the arc surface to the vertical center line is greater than the distance from the plane to the vertical axis of the hook, under the action of gravity, the arc surface of the guide block 42 and the friction surface of the guide back plate 27 produce friction, and the guide block 42 rotates until the plane of the guide block 42 faces the guide back plate 27. At this time, the U-shaped opening of the hanging plate 43 faces the direction of the robot performing the hanging action, which facilitates the robot to complete the hanging action.

[0098] In this embodiment, the hook with a guide block and the guide backplate work together to align the hook with the robot's movement direction, preventing rotational, horizontal, and vertical movement, allowing the robot to accurately hang the cylinder casting on the hook. The guide backplate can also be installed in other cylinder casting processing workspaces, as subsequent cylinder casting processing workspaces also require the removal and hanging of cylinder castings.

[0099] The hook detection device is used to collect the hook status signal of the follower suspension chain conveying system and send it to the control system 21;

[0100] The hook detection device includes four photoelectric sensors, which are arranged on the guide backboard 27 at a certain interval. The four photoelectric sensors are used to send the hook status signal to the control system 21;

[0101] Among them, the photoelectric sensor No. 1 is located at the front of the pendant working area; the photoelectric sensor No. 1 is used to detect whether a hook arrives in front of the photoelectric sensor No. 1: if a hook arrives in front of the photoelectric sensor No. 1, the photoelectric sensor No. 1 sends a hook arrival signal to the control system 21;

[0102] Photoelectric sensor No. 2 is provided immediately after photoelectric sensor No. 1. Photoelectric sensor No. 2 is used to detect whether a hook passing in front of photoelectric sensor No. 2 is aligned. If the hook passing in front of photoelectric sensor No. 2 is aligned, photoelectric sensor No. 2 sends a hook alignment signal to control system 21.

[0103] Photoelectric sensor No. 3 is provided immediately after photoelectric sensor No. 2. Photoelectric sensor No. 3 is used to detect whether a guide hook passes in front of photoelectric sensor No. 3. If a guide hook passes in front of photoelectric sensor No. 3, photoelectric sensor No. 3 sends a hook start signal to control system 21.

[0104] Photoelectric sensor No. 4 is provided immediately after photoelectric sensor No. 3; photoelectric sensor No. 4 is used to detect whether the cylinder casting to be processed is hung on the hook passing in front of photoelectric sensor No. 4; if the cylinder casting to be processed is hung on the hook in front of photoelectric sensor No. 4, photoelectric sensor No. 4 sends a hanging success signal to the control system 21;

[0105] The hook in place signal, hook correction signal, hook start signal and hook success signal are the hook status signals.

[0106] In this embodiment, the No. 1 photoelectric sensor is responsible for detecting whether a hook has arrived at the front end of the robot's working area, the No. 2 photoelectric sensor is responsible for detecting whether the hook is corrected, the No. 3 photoelectric sensor is responsible for detecting whether a guiding hook has arrived here, and the No. 4 photoelectric sensor is responsible for detecting whether there is a cylinder casting to be processed hanging on the hook after the hanging action is completed.

[0107] The hook detection device also includes a hook abnormality alarm device, which is configured to generate a hook abnormality alarm prompt sound upon receiving a control signal from the control system 21. In this embodiment, after the control system 21 determines that the hook is abnormal based on the received hook status signal, the control system 21 will record the abnormality and send a control signal to the hook abnormality alarm device. The hook abnormality alarm device will generate a hook abnormality alarm prompt sound to prompt the staff to deal with the abnormality. At this time, the robot system enters a waiting state and waits until the hook abnormality is eliminated before working again.

[0108] In this embodiment, the hook status signal is collected by the hook detection device, and the hook status signal is used to determine whether there is a hook on the hanging chain and whether the hook is aligned. If an abnormal hook status is detected, the hanging is stopped.

[0109] The follow-up signal detection device is used to collect the suspension chain operation signal of the follow-up suspension chain conveying system and send it to the control system 21; the suspension chain operation signal includes a suspension chain speed signal and a suspension chain movement direction signal.

[0110] The follow-up signal detection device includes a guide wheel 23, a coupling and an encoder;

[0111] The guide wheel 23 is meshed with the suspension chain 24. The guide wheel 23 is driven by the suspension chain 24 to rotate around the rotation axis of the guide wheel 23. The rotational speed of the guide wheel 23 is the same as the running speed of the suspension chain 24. The rotation direction of the guide wheel 23 is the same as the running direction of the suspension chain 24.

[0112] The rotating shaft of the guide wheel is connected to one end of the coupling, and the other end of the coupling is connected to the rotating shaft of the encoder; the encoder is used to obtain the suspension chain operation signal of the suspension chain 24 according to the rotational movement of the guide wheel 23, and send it to the control system 21.

[0113] In this embodiment, the follow-up signal detection device includes a guide device mounting bracket, a suspension connecting shaft, a guide wheel end cover and an encoder mounting bracket; the guide device mounting bracket is fixedly arranged on the suspension chain guide rail, and the guide device mounting bracket is fixedly connected to one end of the suspension connecting shaft; the guide wheel 23 is disc-shaped, and the upper rotation axis position of the guide wheel 23 is movably connected to the other end of the suspension connecting shaft, the guide wheel 23 is meshed and connected with the suspension chain 24, and the guide wheel 23 is used to rotate around the rotation axis of the guide wheel 23 under the drive of the suspension chain 24, and the guide wheel end cover is fixedly provided at the lower center position of the guide wheel 23, and the guide wheel end cover coincides with the rotation axis of the guide wheel 23; the rotation axis position of the other side of the guide wheel end cover is connected to one end of the coupling, and the other end of the coupling is connected to the rotation axis of the encoder; the encoder is fixedly arranged at one end of the encoder mounting bracket, and the other end of the encoder mounting bracket is fixedly mounted on the suspension chain guide rail.

[0114] In this embodiment, the encoder is a photoelectric code disk with a rotating shaft at the center, and one end of the rotating shaft of the encoder is rotationally connected to the photoelectric code disk; the rotating shaft of the encoder is used to rotate around its own axis under the drive of the guide wheel 23.

[0115] In this embodiment, an encoder is used to collect speed and direction signals from the suspension chain 24 and transmit them to the control system 21; the control system 21 then transmits these speed and direction signals to the robotic system. The robot controller 22 in the robotic system receives the speed and direction signals from the suspension chain 24 and, based on the received signals, controls the movement direction and speed of the robot body 25 to align with those of the suspension chain 24, automatically hanging the cylinder casting to be processed while the suspension chain 24 is in motion. The robot body 25 closely cooperates with the suspension chain 24 to ensure that the cylinder casting to be processed can be smoothly, accurately, and reliably suspended on the hook.

[0116] In addition, in this embodiment, when the guide wheel 23 rotates one circle, the rotating shaft of the encoder also rotates one circle.

[0117] In addition, in this embodiment, the encoder is connected to the guide wheel 23 via a coupling to avoid jitter caused by unstable operation of the suspension chain 24 or the guide wheel 23, which may cause instability in the encoder data collection.

[0118] The follow-up signal detection device further includes an encoder support, one end of which is connected to an end of the encoder mounting bracket on which the encoder is provided, and the other end of the encoder support is fixedly provided on the ground.

[0119] The encoder is connected to the external axis interface of the robot system to calibrate the movement direction of the suspension chain 24.

[0120] The robot system and the suspension chain 24 are interlocked, and the robot system and the suspension chain 24 are detected and protected to ensure that the hook hanging the cylinder casting to be processed does not exceed the hanging range, and the operation of the suspension chain 24 is stopped in time when an accident occurs. For example, an abnormal signal can be sent after a hanging failure to stop the operation of the suspension chain 24 in time.

[0121] The robot controller 22 controls the tracking of the robot body 25 and the suspension chain 24 using the following method: First, a robot tracking coordinate system with an accuracy of less than 0.2 mm is calibrated, and the encoder's origin is determined. The X-axis direction corresponds to the direction of motion of the suspension chain 24. Each rotation of the guide wheel 23 corresponds to one rotation of the encoder's rotation axis. Next, a maximum tracking distance S of the robot body 25 in the robot tracking coordinate system is set. The maximum tracking distance S of the robot body 25 must be less than the reach of the robot body 25. Assuming a loading cycle T = 41 s / hook and a suspension chain 24 speed V = 40 mm / s, the maximum tracking distance is set to: S = VT + 100 mm, or approximately 1700 mm. If the robot body 25 exceeds the maximum tracking distance during the loading process, an alarm is triggered and the line is stopped. In this embodiment, the accuracy of the tracking pendant depends primarily on the calibration accuracy of the robot tracking coordinate system. Using a highly stable robot controller 22 and encoder, the calibration accuracy can be maintained within 0.2 mm.

[0122] In this embodiment, the suspension chain movement speed and suspension chain movement direction signals are collected through the follow-up signal detection device, which overcomes the defects of the suspension chain conveying system with a long production line and difficulty in obtaining follow-up signals, and achieves consistency in the speed of the robot and the suspension chain, completing the automatic loading of heavy-loaded cylinder castings while the suspension chain is in motion.

[0123] The robot follow-up pendant system also includes a product information tracking system;

[0124] The product information tracking system includes a tag carrier and a radio frequency identification reader / writer;

[0125] The tag carrier is installed on the hook, and the tag carrier is used to store product information of the cylinder casting to be processed hung on the corresponding hook;

[0126] The RFID reader / writer is used to receive information read instructions from the control system 21 and read data from the tag carrier; the RFID reader / writer is also used to receive information write instructions from the control system 21 and write data to the tag carrier.

[0127] In this embodiment, the so-called radio frequency identification reader / writer is also called an RFID reader / writer, where RFID is the abbreviation for radio frequency identification. The main advantage of an RFID reader / writer is that it can read data from a tag carrier and write data to the tag carrier; the tag carrier, that is, a radio frequency identification tag carrier, or RFID tag carrier, can repeatedly write or read data.

[0128] Throughout the entire production process of the cylinder casting to be processed, product information of the cylinder casting to be processed, such as product model, hanging time, and whether the product is damaged, can be stored in the RFID tag. The data in the RFID tag is read and written between each process and stored in the host computer for easy access and viewing at any time.

[0129] If a PLC controller is used as the control system 21, the RFID device can communicate with the PLC controller via the PROFINET bus. After the robot completes the hanging, the PLC controller controls the RFID read / write head to store the product information of the cylinder casting to be processed, such as the product model and hanging time, into the tag carrier on the corresponding hook for subsequent reading.

[0130] In addition, in this embodiment, a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader can be installed at any appropriate position of the robot follower pendant system as needed.

[0131] In addition, in this embodiment, the radio frequency identification (RFID) reader / writer and the code carrier can be Pepperl+Fuchs brand products.

[0132] The control system 21 is used to determine whether the last hanging was successful based on the hook status signal; if the last hanging was successful, the control system 21 will send an incoming instruction to the incoming roller system 30;

[0133] The control system 21 is further configured to send a visual recognition instruction to the robot system according to the in-position signal;

[0134] The control system 21 is also used to determine whether to perform a follow-up hanger operation based on the hook status signal; if the follow-up hanger operation is performed, the control system 21 is also used to send a follow-up hanger instruction and the suspension chain operation signal to the robot system; the robot system is used to perform visual recognition actions according to the visual recognition instructions, obtain the visual recognition data and send it to the control system 21; the robot system is also used to perform follow-up hanger actions according to the follow-up hanger instructions, the visual recognition data and the suspension chain operation signal.

[0135] The control system 21 is composed of Siemens S7-1200 series safety programmable controller.

[0136] In this implementation, the Siemens S7-1200 series safety-oriented programmable controller features modularity, compact structure, and comprehensive functionality, making it suitable for a variety of applications. Due to its scalable and flexible design, communication interfaces that meet the highest industrial communication standards, and comprehensive integrated process capabilities, the controller can be integrated as a component in a complete, integrated automation solution.

[0137] The Siemens S7-1200 series safety programmable controller uses PROFINET communication to exchange signals with the robot system, the incoming roller system 30 and the follow-up suspension chain conveyor system, and establishes an independently defined IP address for each communicating device in the robot system, the incoming roller system 30 and the follow-up suspension chain conveyor system.

[0138] In this embodiment, the Siemens S7-1200 series safety programmable controller has an expandable and flexible design. In addition to being able to exchange signals with the robot system, the incoming roller system 30, and the follower suspension chain conveyor system, it can also be connected to more devices and equipment for signals, and the robot follower pendant system can be easily expanded. For example, in the robot follower pendant system, an alarm system or a product information tracking system is added, and the Siemens S7-1200 series safety programmable controller can be connected to the alarm system or the product information tracking system by means of an expansion interface. In the robot follower pendant system, each device that communicates with the control system 21 is respectively established with an independently defined IP address, which facilitates the separate management of these devices. The PROFINET, launched by PROFIBUS International (PI), is a new generation of automation bus standard based on industrial Ethernet technology. PROFINET provides a complete network solution for automation communications, encompassing current hot topics in the automation field such as real-time Ethernet, motion control, distributed automation, fault safety, and network security. Moreover, as a cross-vendor technology, it is fully compatible with Industrial Ethernet and existing fieldbus technologies (such as PROFIBUS), protecting existing investments and reducing the cost of modifying existing industrial automation communication facilities.

[0139] The robot system includes a robot device, a visual recognition device and a flexible robot gripper device;

[0140] The robot device includes a robot body 25 and a robot controller 22;

[0141] The robot controller 22 is used to send coordinate movement instructions to the robot body 25 according to the visual recognition instructions, or according to the follower pendant instructions and the suspension chain operation signal; the robot controller 22 is also used to send a photo taking instruction to the visual recognition device; the robot controller 22 is also used to send a gripping parameter change instruction to the flexible robot gripper device;

[0142] The robot body 25 is provided with the visual recognition device and the flexible robot clamp device; the robot body 25 is used to drive the visual recognition device and the flexible robot clamp device to move to the designated position according to the coordinate movement instruction;

[0143] The flexible robotic fixture device includes a robotic fixture body and a hydraulic system 26;

[0144] The robot clamp body includes a clamp arm assembly, a sensor assembly and a hydraulic cylinder assembly 12;

[0145] The clamping arm assembly includes a connecting block 1, two linear guide rails 7, two slides 13 and the two clamping arms;

[0146] One of the two clamping arms is provided on the front of one of the two slides 13; the other of the two clamping arms is provided on the front of the other of the two slides 13;

[0147] The back surfaces of the two slides 13 are slidably connected to the two linear guide rails 7, which are fixed to the front surface of the connecting block 1; the back surface of the connecting block 1 is connected to the robot body 25;

[0148] The two slides 13 are further connected to the hydraulic cylinder assembly 12; the hydraulic cylinder assembly 12 is connected to the hydraulic system 26; the hydraulic cylinder assembly 12 and the hydraulic system 26 are used to push the two slides 13 to move back and forth along the two linear guide rails 7, thereby adjusting the clamping distance, clamping force and clamping speed between the two clamping arms;

[0149] The sensor assembly includes a displacement sensor 14, which is arranged at the tail end of the two linear guide rails 7 along the length direction and is used to collect displacement signals of the two slides 13. The displacement signals are used to determine whether the two clamping arms are clamped in place.

[0150] The sensor assembly also includes a pressure sensor, which is arranged on the contact surface between the two clamping arms and the inner wall of the hole of the cylinder casting to be processed, and is used to collect the pressure signal generated by the two clamping arms clamping the cylinder casting to be processed. The pressure signal is used to cooperate with the displacement signal detected by the displacement sensor 14 to determine whether the clamping arms are clamped in place.

[0151] The clamping arm assembly also includes a guide rail baffle 6, which is arranged at both ends of the linear guide rail 7 along the length direction, and is used to limit the displacement of the slide plate 13 and prevent the sliding connection of the slide plate 13 from detaching from the linear guide rail 7.

[0152] In this embodiment, the connecting block 1 is a rectangular plate; the back of the connecting block 1 is connected to the robot body 25 via a connecting mechanism; the front of the connecting block 1 is provided with one linear guide rail 7 on each of the two sides along the length direction;

[0153] The two slides 13 are two plate-like objects of the same size and shape; each of the slides 13 is provided with at least one sliding connection member on each side along its length direction; the sliding connection member is sleeved on the linear guide rail 7 on the same side and is slidably connected to the linear guide rail 7 on the same side;

[0154] A clamping arm is provided on the front of each of the slide plates 13, and the clamping arm is a cylinder;

[0155] Each of the slides 13 is further connected to the hydraulic cylinder assembly 12, which is used to push the two slides 13 to move back and forth along the two linear guide rails 7, thereby adjusting the clamping distance, clamping force and clamping speed between the two clamping arms;

[0156] The hydraulic cylinder assembly 12 is connected to the hydraulic system 26, and the hydraulic system 26 supplies hydraulic oil to the hydraulic cylinder assembly 12. The hydraulic system 26 includes a pressure regulating valve and a throttle valve; the hydraulic system 26 is used to adjust the pressure and flow of the hydraulic oil supplied to the hydraulic cylinder assembly 12, and then push the two slides 13 to move back and forth along the two linear guide rails 7 through the hydraulic cylinder assembly 12, and further adjust the clamping distance, clamping force and clamping speed between the two clamping arms.

[0157] In this embodiment, multiple clamping points are used to clamp all applicable cylinder castings. Through feedback from the displacement sensor 14, the cylinder assembly pushes the clamping arm to ensure that the center distance of the clamping arm is consistent with the hole size of the matching model cylinder casting. The robot drives the clamping arm to insert the hole, and the cylinder assembly drives the clamping arm to clamp the hole wall of the cylinder casting to complete the clamping of the cylinder casting. The clamp has good clamping and positioning capabilities, and the targeted design brings higher efficiency to the clamping work. The flexible robot clamping device has two sensors, displacement and pressure, which can monitor the pressure and clamping claw displacement information in real time, and double judge whether the clamping arm is clamped in place. The clamping force and clamping speed of the clamp hydraulic cylinder are adjusted by the pressure regulating valve and throttle valve installed in the hydraulic system 26. When the oil supply is suddenly interrupted, it can timely alarm and maintain the pressure clamping state to ensure timely manual processing. There are many types of cylinder castings to be processed, and the weight and appearance vary greatly. Switching and mixing are frequent. The flexible robot clamping device adopts a flexible design and is compatible with multiple cylinder casting models to achieve mixed line production of cylinder casting production lines.

[0158] The visual recognition device is used to obtain visual recognition data of the cylinder casting to be processed according to the photographing instruction, and send the visual recognition data to the control system 21;

[0159] The visual recognition device includes a camera, a high-brightness light source, and an image analysis system;

[0160] The camera and the highlight light source are arranged on the robot body 25.

[0161] The camera and the high-brightness light source are used to collect color images of the cylinder casting to be processed and its location according to the photographing instruction, and send them to the image analysis system;

[0162] The camera adopts a high-performance smart camera, and performs image recognition on the color image obtained by taking pictures with the high-performance smart camera. The positioning accuracy of the obtained positioning data is as high as 0.5mm.

[0163] The image analysis system is used to perform image analysis on the color image to obtain visual recognition data of the cylinder casting to be processed and send the data to the control system 21;

[0164] The image recognition and analysis system uses the following method to perform image analysis (recognition) on the color image to obtain the positioning data of the cylinder casting to be processed, the product model, and information on whether the product is damaged:

[0165] Extracting characteristic images of the cylinder casting to be processed and its position according to the color image, obtaining a position test characteristic image and a morphological test characteristic image, and drawing a boundary line along the edge of the morphological test characteristic image as a morphological test boundary line;

[0166] Performing graphic comparison of the position test characteristic diagram of the cylinder casting to be processed and its position with the positioning characteristic diagrams in multiple standard templates to obtain positioning data of the cylinder casting to be processed;

[0167] Compare the morphological test characteristic diagram of the cylinder casting to be processed and its location with the model characteristic diagrams in multiple standard templates to obtain the product model of the cylinder casting to be processed;

[0168] The morphological test boundary lines of the cylinder casting to be processed and its location are graphically compared with the standard morphological boundary lines of the corresponding product models in multiple standard templates, and a product morphology score is assigned based on the overlap of the graphic comparison. If the product morphology score is greater than the product morphology threshold of the corresponding product model, the corresponding cylinder casting to be processed has defects; otherwise, the quality of the corresponding cylinder casting to be processed is intact, and finally information on whether the product is damaged is obtained.

[0169] The multiple standard templates are obtained by the following method:

[0170] Take photos of all types of flawless cylinder castings in the incoming parts area at all locations and to obtain color graphics of their positions and standard parts;

[0171] Extract characteristic maps of various positions of the incoming parts area and various models of flawless cylinder castings to be processed based on the positions and color graphics of the standard parts, and obtain positioning characteristic maps of various positions of the incoming parts area and model characteristic maps of various models of flawless cylinder castings to be processed;

[0172] Draw a boundary line along the edge of the model characteristic map of the flawless cylinder casting to be processed of each product model as a standard shape boundary line, and specify a product shape threshold value for the standard shape boundary line of each product model;

[0173] The positioning feature map, model feature map, standard form boundary line and product form threshold are saved as multiple standard templates according to different orientations and product models.

[0174] The visual recognition data includes positioning data of the cylinder casting to be processed, product model, and information on whether the product is damaged.

[0175] The visual recognition system further includes a mounting bracket; the camera and the high-brightness light source are arranged on the mounting bracket, and the mounting bracket is used to be connected to the robot body 25.

[0176] In this embodiment, the camera is used to take pictures of the cylinder casting to be processed and its location in order to obtain a color image of the cylinder casting to be processed and its location. The high-brightness light source provides a light source for the camera to take pictures. The camera sends the color image to the image recognition and analysis system to perform image analysis (recognition) on the color image in order to obtain the product model, positioning data and whether the product is damaged of the cylinder casting to be processed.

[0177] The flexible robotic clamp device has two clamping arms; the flexible robotic clamp device is used to change the clamping parameters between the two clamping arms according to the clamping parameter change instruction; the clamping parameters include clamping distance, clamping force and clamping speed.

[0178] The flexible robotic gripper device also includes an oil supply interruption emergency system; the oil supply interruption emergency system includes an oil supply detection device, an oil supply alarm device, and a backup oil supply device; the oil supply detection device is used to detect the oil supply from the hydraulic system 26 to the hydraulic cylinder assembly 12, and when the oil supply is interrupted, the oil supply detection device sends an oil supply interruption signal to the control system 21; the oil supply alarm device is used to emit an oil supply interruption alarm prompt sound according to the signal of the control system 21 when the oil supply of the hydraulic system 26 is interrupted; the backup oil supply device is used to supply hydraulic oil to the hydraulic cylinder assembly 12 according to the signal of the control system 21 when the oil supply of the hydraulic system 26 is interrupted. In this embodiment, the oil supply interruption emergency system can promptly alarm and maintain the pressure clamping state of the clamping arm assembly when the oil supply of the hydraulic system 26 is suddenly interrupted, ensuring timely manual processing.

[0179] The clamp arm assembly also includes an anti-drop hook 17, which is a long, plate-like object. The anti-drop hook 17 is located at the distal end of each clamp arm, with one end extending beyond the outer diameter of the clamp arm's cylindrical body. In this embodiment, the anti-drop hook 17 is provided at the distal end of each clamp arm. When the clamp arm is inserted into the hole of the cylinder casting to be processed for clamping, the anti-drop hook 17 extends from the hole in the cylinder casting to be processed, and one end of the anti-drop hook 17 is engaged with the cylinder body of the cylinder casting to be processed, thereby preventing the cylinder body from falling.

[0180] The clamp arm assembly further includes a wear-resistant clamp block 16, which is provided on the contact surface between the two clamp arms and the inner wall of the hole of the cylinder casting to be processed. Preferably, the wear-resistant clamp block 16 is provided on the contact surface between the pressure sensor and the inner wall of the hole of the cylinder casting to be processed.

[0181] The clamping arm assembly also includes a visual support 2, which is disposed on the connecting block 1 and is used to connect to the visual recognition device. In this embodiment, the visual recognition device is disposed on the clamping arm assembly. The visual recognition device scans the features of the cylinder casting to be processed to locate the cylinder position, providing a basis for the clamping arm to accurately insert into the hole of the cylinder casting to be processed. Of course, depending on the actual situation, the visual recognition device can also be disposed on the robot body 25.

[0182] The clamping arm assembly further includes a long light bar 3, which is provided on the connecting block 1. In this embodiment, the long light bar 3 can provide a light source for the visual recognition device to take photos. Of course, the visual recognition device can also have its own light source.

[0183] The hydraulic system 26 also includes a hydraulic station, hydraulic lines, and an actuator cylinder. It supplies hydraulic oil to the hydraulic cylinder assembly 12 to perform actions such as clamping and releasing the robot fixture body. It also provides functions such as pressure monitoring, oil temperature monitoring, oil level monitoring, filter blockage alarm, oil heating, and oil cooling.

[0184] In this embodiment, a flexible robotic fixture is used. The flexible robotic fixture system has a clamping arm for clamping the cylinder casting to be processed. The clamping distance of the clamping arm is variable and can be compatible with various cylinder casting models to achieve mixed line production.

[0185] In this embodiment, robots replace manual labor, firstly, realizing production automation, greatly reducing manual operation links, saving labor costs, and reducing labor intensity; secondly, the robot pendants have better consistency, effectively reducing the scrap rate caused by collisions of castings, and ensuring the quality of castings; finally, the robots work quickly and accurately, improving the efficiency of production and processing.

[0186] The incoming part roller system 30 includes a roller and an in-position switch, and the roller is used to transport the cylinder casting to be processed to the incoming part area;

[0187] The in-position switch is used to generate an in-position signal after the cylinder casting to be processed arrives at the incoming area and send the signal to the control system 21 .

[0188] In this embodiment, the incoming part roller system 30 is used to transport the cylinder castings to be processed from the previous production line to the next production line, that is, the incoming part area of ​​the mixed-flow production line for cylinder castings; the robotic arm of the robotic system can extend to this so-called incoming part area, and then can drive the flexible robotic clamping device and the visual recognition device to take pictures, clamp, and perform other actions on the cylinder castings to be processed in this incoming part area. By providing the incoming part roller system 30, the working areas of the front and rear production lines for the cylinder castings to be processed are separated, and only the cylinder castings to be processed are transported between the front and rear production lines, and personnel will not move between each other. While ensuring the stable and orderly operation of each production line, it also reduces the safety hazards and management risks caused by the flow of personnel between the front and rear production lines.

[0189] The intelligent visual recognition robot follower pendant system further includes a safety fence 31, which encloses the working area of ​​the robot follower pendant system.

[0190] In this embodiment, a safety fence 31 is used to enclose the working area of ​​the subsequent production line of the cylinder casting to be processed to separate it from other production line areas, thereby reducing safety hazards and management costs caused by personnel flow.

[0191] The safety fence 31 includes a safety door 28 , which is used to allow specific personnel to enter and exit the area enclosed by the safety fence 31 .

[0192] Example 2

[0193] See Figure 8 This embodiment provides a method for a robot follow-up pendant with intelligent visual recognition, which is implemented by a robot follow-up pendant system with intelligent visual recognition provided in Example 1, and specifically includes:

[0194] S1, the control system 21 sends an incoming item instruction to the incoming item roller system 30 according to the successful hanging signal after the last hanging;

[0195] S2, the incoming roller system 30 transports the cylinder casting to be processed to the incoming area and sends a position signal to the control system 21;

[0196] S3, the control system 21 sends a visual recognition instruction to the robot system according to the in-position signal;

[0197] The robot system performs visual recognition actions according to the visual recognition instructions, obtains visual recognition data, and sends the data to the control system 21; the control system 21 waits to receive the hook status signal and the suspension chain operation signal;

[0198] S4, the control system 21 sends a follower pendant instruction and the suspension chain operation signal to the robot system according to the received hook state signal; the robot system executes the follower pendant action according to the follower pendant instruction and the suspension chain operation signal; specifically:

[0199] S4.1. Steps for grabbing the cylinder casting to be processed:

[0200] If the control system 21 does not receive the hook in place signal within a predetermined time, or receives other hook status signals, the hook status is abnormal, and the robot follow-up pendant system stops running;

[0201] If the control system 21 receives the hook in-position signal within a predetermined time, the control system 21 sends a gripping instruction in the follower pendant instruction to the robot system; the robot system adjusts the gripping posture of the flexible robot gripper device according to the gripping instruction and the previously acquired visual recognition data, and grips the cylinder casting to be processed in the incoming work area; the control system 21 waits for receiving the hook status signal;

[0202] S4.2. The cylinder casting to be processed enters the hanging work area and waits for the hanging steps:

[0203] If the control system 21 does not receive the hook correction signal within a predetermined time, or receives other hook status signals, the hook status is abnormal and the robot follower pendant system stops operating;

[0204] If the control system 21 receives the hook guidance signal within a predetermined time, the control system 21 sends a hanger waiting instruction in the follow-up hanger instruction to the robot system; the robot system, according to the hanger waiting instruction, drives the clamped cylinder casting to be processed to move to the hanger working area to wait; the control system 21 waits to receive the hook status signal and the suspension chain operation signal;

[0205] S4.3, the step of hanging the cylinder casting to be processed on the hook of the follower suspension chain conveying system:

[0206] If the control system 21 does not receive the hook start signal within a predetermined time, or receives other hook status signals, the hook status is abnormal, and the robot follow-up pendant system stops running;

[0207] If the control system 21 receives the hook start signal within the predetermined time, the control system 21 sends a hanger start command in the follower hanger command and the suspension chain operation signal to the robot system; the robot system drives the clamped cylinder casting to be processed to be hung on the hook of the follower suspension chain conveying system according to the hanger start command and the suspension chain operation signal; the control system 21 continues to wait for receiving the hook status signal;

[0208] S5. The control system 21 determines whether the hooking operation is successful based on the received hook status signal:

[0209] If the control system 21 does not receive the hook success signal within a predetermined time, or receives other hook status signals, the hook status is abnormal, and the robot follow-up hook system stops running;

[0210] If the control system 21 receives the attachment success signal within a predetermined time, the attachment is successful and the robot follow-up attachment system starts the next attachment.

[0211] While embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations may be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, and that the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0212] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to the specific details of the above embodiments. Within the technical concept of the present invention, any technician familiar with the technical field can make equivalent replacements or changes based on the technical solution and inventive concept of the present invention within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention. These simple variations all fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0213] It should also be noted that the various specific technical features described in the above specific embodiments can be combined in any appropriate manner without contradiction. In order to avoid unnecessary repetition, the present invention will not further describe various possible combinations.

[0214] In addition, the various embodiments of the present invention may be arbitrarily combined, and as long as they do not violate the concept of the present invention, they should also be regarded as the contents disclosed by the present invention.

Claims

1. An intelligent visual recognition robot follow-up pendant system is provided in a mixed-flow production line for cylinder castings; the mixed-flow production line for cylinder castings also includes an incoming part area, characterized in that: It includes a control system, an incoming roller system, a robot system and a follower suspension chain conveying system; the follower suspension chain conveying system includes a suspension chain conveying device, a hook detection device and a follower signal detection device; the robot system includes a robot device, a visual recognition device and a flexible robot clamp device; The hanging chain conveyor device is used to convey the cylinder castings to be processed in the cylinder casting mixed production line; The hook detection device is used to collect the hook status signal of the follower suspension chain conveying system and send it to the control system; The follow-up signal detection device is used to collect the suspension chain operation signal of the follow-up suspension chain conveying system and send it to the control system; the follow-up signal includes the suspension chain speed signal and the suspension chain movement direction signal; The robot device is used to drive the visual recognition device and the flexible robot clamp device to move to a specified position according to the coordinate movement instruction; The visual recognition device is used to obtain visual recognition data of the cylinder casting to be processed according to the photographing instruction, and send the visual recognition data to the control system; The flexible robotic gripper device has two gripping arms, which are used to change the gripping parameters between the two gripping arms according to a gripping parameter change instruction; the gripping parameters include gripping distance, gripping force, and gripping speed; The incoming part roller system is used to transport the cylinder casting to be processed to the incoming part area according to the incoming part instruction and send an in-position signal to the control system; The control system is used to determine whether the last hanging was successful based on the hook status signal; if the last hanging was successful, the control system will send an incoming instruction to the incoming roller system; The control system is further configured to send a visual recognition instruction to the robot system based on the in-position signal; The control system is further used to determine whether to perform a follow-up hanger operation based on the hook status signal; if a follow-up hanger operation is performed, the control system is further used to send a follow-up hanger instruction and the suspension chain operation signal to the robot system; the robot system is used to perform a visual recognition action based on the visual recognition instruction, obtain the visual recognition data and send it to the control system; the robot system is also used to perform a follow-up hanger action based on the follow-up hanger instruction, the visual recognition data and the suspension chain operation signal.

2. The intelligent visual recognition robot follow-up pendant system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cylinder casting mixed production line includes a hanging work area and n processing work areas, wherein n is a positive integer greater than 1, and the route passing through the hanging work area and the n processing work areas is the cylinder casting conveying route.

3. The intelligent visual recognition robot follow-up pendant system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The suspension chain conveying device includes a suspension chain guide rail, a suspension chain, a suspension chain driving device, a hook and a guide backboard; the suspension chain guide rail is fixedly arranged along the cylinder casting conveying route; the suspension chain is slidably arranged on the suspension chain guide rail; the suspension chain continuously slides along the suspension chain guide rail under the action of the suspension chain driving device; the hooks are arranged on the suspension chain at fixed intervals; the hooks are used to hang the cylinder casting to be processed and drive the cylinder casting to be processed to rotate along the vertical axis of the hook; the guide backboard is a plate-shaped object, and the guide backboard is fixedly arranged in the hanger working area, and the length direction of the guide backboard is parallel to the part of the suspension chain guide rail passing through the hanger working area; the guide backboard is used to contact the hook passing through the hanger working area, and under the action of gravity, the hook passing through the hanger working area is rotated along its vertical axis to a fixed direction.

4. The intelligent visual recognition robot follow-up pendant system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The incoming part roller system includes a roller and an in-position switch; the roller is used to transport the cylinder casting to be processed to the incoming part area; the in-position switch is used to generate an in-position signal after the cylinder casting to be processed arrives at the incoming part area and send it to the control system.

5. The intelligent visual recognition robot follow-up pendant system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The robot device includes a robot body and a robot controller; the robot controller is used to send coordinate movement instructions to the robot body according to the visual recognition instructions, or according to the follow-up pendant instructions and the follow-up signal; the robot controller is also used to send photo taking instructions to the visual recognition device; the robot controller is also used to send clamping parameter change instructions to the flexible robot clamp device; the robot body is used to drive the visual recognition device and the flexible robot clamp device to move to the specified position according to the coordinate movement instructions.

6. The intelligent visual recognition robot follow-up pendant system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The visual recognition device includes a camera, a high-brightness light source and an image analysis system; the camera and the high-brightness light source are arranged on the robot body; the camera and the high-brightness light source are used to collect color images of the cylinder casting to be processed and its position according to the photo-taking instruction, and send them to the image analysis system; the image analysis system is used to perform image analysis on the color image, obtain visual recognition data of the cylinder casting to be processed, and send it to the control system; the visual recognition data includes the positioning data of the cylinder casting to be processed, the product model and information on whether the product is damaged.

7. The intelligent visual recognition robot follow-up pendant system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The flexible robot clamp device includes a robot clamp body and a hydraulic system; the robot clamp body includes a clamp arm assembly, a sensor assembly and a hydraulic cylinder assembly; the clamp arm assembly includes a connecting block, two linear guide rails, two slides and the two clamp arms; one of the two clamp arms is arranged on the front of one of the two slides; the other clamp arm of the two clamp arms is arranged on the front of the other of the two slides; the backs of the two slides are slidably connected to the two linear guide rails, and the two linear guide rails are fixedly arranged on the front of the connecting block; the connecting The back of the block is connected to the robot body; the two slides are also connected to the hydraulic cylinder assembly; the hydraulic cylinder assembly is connected to the hydraulic system; the hydraulic cylinder assembly and the hydraulic system are used to push the two slides to move back and forth along the two linear guide rails, thereby adjusting the clamping distance, clamping force and clamping speed between the two clamping arms; the sensor assembly includes a displacement sensor, which is arranged at the tail end of the two linear guide rails along the length direction, and is used to collect displacement signals of the two slides, and the displacement signals are used to determine whether the two clamping arms are clamped in place.

8. The intelligent visual recognition robot follow-up pendant system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The hook detection device includes 4 photoelectric sensors, which are arranged on the guide backboard at a certain interval. The 4 photoelectric sensors are used to send the hook status signal to the control system; among them, the photoelectric sensor No. 1 is located at the front end of the pendant working area; the photoelectric sensor No. 1 is used to detect whether there is a hook arriving in front of the photoelectric sensor No. 1: if a hook arrives in front of the photoelectric sensor No. 1, the photoelectric sensor No. 1 sends a hook in place signal to the control system; the photoelectric sensor No. 2 is arranged immediately after the photoelectric sensor No. 1; the photoelectric sensor No. 2 is used to detect whether the hook passing in front of the photoelectric sensor No. 2 is corrected: if the hook passing in front of the photoelectric sensor No. 2 is corrected, the photoelectric sensor No. 2 sends a hook guide signal to the control system. Positive signal; Photoelectric sensor No. 3 is arranged immediately after photoelectric sensor No. 2; the photoelectric sensor No. 3 is used to detect whether there is a guide hook passing in front of the photoelectric sensor No. 3: if a guide hook passes in front of the photoelectric sensor No. 3, the photoelectric sensor No. 3 sends a hook start-hanging signal to the control system; Photoelectric sensor No. 4 is arranged immediately after photoelectric sensor No. 3; the photoelectric sensor No. 4 is used to detect whether the cylinder casting to be processed is hung on the hook passing in front of the photoelectric sensor No. 4: if the cylinder casting to be processed is hung on the hook in front of the photoelectric sensor No. 4, the photoelectric sensor No. 4 sends a hanging success signal to the control system; the hook in place signal, hook correction signal, hook start-hanging signal and hanging success signal are the hook status signal.

9. The intelligent visual recognition robot follow-up pendant system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The follow-up signal detection device includes a guide wheel, a coupling and an encoder; The guide wheel is meshed and connected with the suspension chain. The guide wheel is used to rotate around the rotation axis of the guide wheel under the drive of the suspension chain. The rotation linear speed of the guide wheel is the same as the running speed of the suspension chain; the rotation direction of the guide wheel is the same as the running direction of the suspension chain; the rotation axis of the guide wheel is connected to one end of the coupling, and the other end of the coupling is connected to the rotation axis of the encoder; the encoder is used to obtain the suspension chain operation signal of the suspension chain according to the rotational movement of the guide wheel, and send it to the control system.

10. The intelligent visual recognition robot follow-up pendant system according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a product information tracking system; the product information tracking system includes a tag carrier and a radio frequency identification reader / writer; the tag carrier is installed on the hook, and is used to store product information of the cylinder casting to be processed suspended on the corresponding hook; the radio frequency identification reader / writer is used to receive information reading instructions issued by the control system and read data from the tag carrier; the radio frequency identification reader / writer is also used to receive information writing instructions issued by the control system and write data to the tag carrier.

11. A method for intelligent visual recognition of a robot follower pendant, used to implement the intelligent visual recognition of a robot follower pendant system according to claim 8, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1, the control system sends an incoming item instruction to the incoming item roller system according to the successful hanging signal after the last hanging; S2, the incoming part roller system transports the cylinder casting to be processed to the incoming part area and sends an in-position signal to the control system; S3, the control system sends a visual recognition instruction to the robot system according to the in-position signal; The robot system performs visual recognition actions according to the visual recognition instructions, obtains visual recognition data, and sends the data to the control system; the control system waits to receive the hook status signal and the suspension chain operation signal; S4, the control system sends a follower pendant instruction and the suspension chain operation signal to the robot system according to the received hook state signal; the robot system executes the follower pendant action according to the follower pendant instruction and the suspension chain operation signal; S5. The control system determines whether the hooking is successful based on the received hook status signal: If the control system does not receive the hook success signal within a predetermined time, or receives other hook status signals, the hook status is abnormal and the robot follow-up hook system stops running; If the control system receives the attachment success signal within a predetermined time, the attachment is successful, and the robot follow-up attachment system starts the next attachment.

12. The method for intelligent visual recognition of a robot follow-up pendant according to claim 11, wherein the specific method of S4 is as follows: S4.

1. Steps for grabbing the cylinder casting to be processed: If the control system does not receive the hook in place signal within a predetermined time, or receives other hook status signals, the hook status is abnormal, and the robot follow-up pendant system stops running; If the control system receives the hook in-position signal within a predetermined time, the control system sends a gripping instruction in the follower pendant instruction to the robot system; the robot system adjusts the gripping posture of the flexible robot gripper device according to the gripping instruction and the previously acquired visual recognition data, and grips the cylinder casting to be processed in the incoming work area; the control system waits to receive the hook status signal; S4.

2. The cylinder casting to be processed enters the hanging work area and waits for the hanging steps: If the control system does not receive the hook correction signal within a predetermined time, or receives other hook status signals, the hook status is abnormal, and the robot follow-up pendant system stops operating; If the control system receives the hook guidance signal within a predetermined time, the control system sends a hanger waiting instruction in the follow-up hanger instruction to the robot system; the robot system, according to the hanger waiting instruction, drives the clamped cylinder casting to be processed to move to the hanger working area to wait; the control system waits to receive the hook status signal and the suspension chain operation signal; S4.3, the step of hanging the cylinder casting to be processed on the hook of the follower suspension chain conveying system: If the control system does not receive the hook start signal within a predetermined time, or receives other hook status signals, the hook status is abnormal, and the robot follow-up pendant system stops running; If the control system receives the hook start signal within the predetermined time, the control system sends the hanger start instruction in the follow-up hanger instruction and the suspension chain operation signal to the robot system; the robot system drives the clamped cylinder casting to be processed to be hung on the hook of the follow-up suspension chain conveying system according to the hanger start instruction and the suspension chain operation signal; the control system continues to wait for receiving the hook status signal.

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