Rod and tube assembly device and assembly method

Abstract

The present invention relates to a rod-tube assembly device and assembly method. The device comprises: a raw material rod support assembly, which includes a tool fixture and a support bracket; a vertical movement mechanism, which includes an upper movable plate and a lower movable plate; the tool fixture is disposed below the upper movable plate; the support bracket is disposed above the lower movable plate; a tube support assembly, which is used to fix the tube material so that the tube material is in a vertical position; a horizontal movement platform, which includes X-axis and Y-axis movement units; the tube support assembly is disposed on the horizontal movement platform; the X-axis and Y-axis movement units are capable of moving the tube support assembly to a precise position; an autofocus lens, which is disposed above the tube support assembly; and the autofocus lens is electrically connected to the horizontal movement platform. The technical problem to be solved is to transform the rod-tube assembly operation from manual operation to mechanical automatic assembly, thereby avoiding and reducing collisions and friction during the rod-tube assembly process, reducing scratches on the inner wall of the tube material and the outer wall of the raw material rod, and improving the overall performance of the optical fiber imaging element.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of optical fiber manufacturing, and in particular relates to a rod-tube assembly device and an assembly method. Background Art

[0002] In the process of drawing optical fiber image transmission elements, such as the optical fiber yarn used in optical fiber inverters, the first step is to assemble the raw material rod and tube together using the sleeve method. In the prior art, the rod-tube combination is assembled purely manually by operators, which inevitably causes collisions and friction between the rods and tubes, which may cause scratches on the inner wall of the tube and the outer wall of the raw material rod, generate fine dust, and even cause the rod and tube to break. If the inner wall of the tube and the outer wall of the raw material rod are scratched, firstly, a small amount of gas will be retained inside the drawn optical fiber yarn, which will have an adverse effect on the light transmission performance of the optical fiber yarn; secondly, it may also cause the optical fiber yarn to crack during the drawing process, thereby destroying the integrity of the optical fiber yarn, and even causing a series of defects such as knots, pits, and hidden scratches in subsequent processes.

[0003] The above series of defects caused by the manual rod-tube combination will directly affect the performance indicators of the optical fiber imaging element, such as dark spots, shearing, distortion, image displacement, broken wires, etc. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a rod-tube assembly device and assembly method. The technical problem to be solved is to change the rod-tube assembly operation in the manufacture of optical fiber imaging elements from manual operation to mechanical automatic assembly, thereby avoiding and reducing collisions and friction during the rod-tube assembly process, reducing scratches on the inner wall of the tube material and the outer wall of the raw material rod, and improving the comprehensive performance of the optical fiber imaging element, thereby making it more suitable for practical use.

[0005] The purpose of the present invention and the technical problem solved are achieved by adopting the following technical solutions. According to the present invention, a rod-tube assembly device is proposed, which includes:

[0006] A raw material bar support assembly is used to fix the raw material bar; the raw material bar support assembly includes a fixture and a support bracket;

[0007] A vertical movable mechanism comprising an upper movable plate and a lower movable plate; the tooling fixture is provided below the upper movable plate for fixing the upper end of the raw material bar; the support bracket is provided above the lower movable plate for supporting the lower end of the raw material bar; the upper movable plate, tooling fixture, support bracket and lower movable plate are capable of moving together in the vertical direction;

[0008] A pipe support assembly, used to fix the pipe so that the pipe is in a vertical state;

[0009] A horizontal movable platform comprising an X-axis movable unit and a Y-axis movable unit; the pipe support assembly is disposed on the horizontal movable platform; the X-axis movable unit and the Y-axis movable unit are capable of moving the pipe support assembly to a precise position;

[0010] An autofocus lens is arranged above the tube support assembly and is used to monitor the positions of the tube and the raw material rod; the autofocus lens is electrically connected to the horizontal moving platform; the autofocus lens transmits the position information of the tube and the raw material rod to the horizontal moving platform; the horizontal moving platform adjusts the position of the tube according to the received spacing information to adapt the positions of the tube and the raw material rod.

[0011] The purpose of the present invention and the solution to its technical problems can be further achieved by adopting the following technical measures.

[0012] Preferably, in the aforementioned rod-tube assembly device, the tube support assembly includes a support rod and a movable gripper; the support rod is fixedly connected to the horizontal movable platform; and the upper and lower positions of the movable gripper on the support rod can be adjusted.

[0013] Preferably, in the aforementioned rod-tube assembly device, the support bracket includes a long rod; the bottom end of the long rod is fixed to the lower movable plate through a connecting piece; the top end face of the long rod matches the end face of the raw material rod, so that the long rod can support the raw material rod and prevent the raw material rod from tilting in the vertical direction.

[0014] Preferably, in the aforementioned rod-tube assembly device, the length of the long rod is greater than or equal to the length of the tube material.

[0015] Preferably, in the aforementioned rod-tube assembly device, the autofocus lens is arranged above the support rod, and is used to monitor the distance between the tube material and the raw material rod in real time; the autofocus lens transmits the distance information between the tube material and the raw material rod to the horizontal moving platform; the horizontal moving platform fine-tunes the position of the tube material according to the received distance information to avoid contact and friction between the inner wall of the tube material and the outer wall of the raw material rod.

[0016] Preferably, in the aforementioned rod-tube assembly device, the autofocus lens can rotate 360°; and 1 to 6 autofocus lenses are provided.

[0017] Preferably, in the aforementioned rod-tube assembly device, a gasket made of polyurethane is provided on the side of the movable gripper that contacts the tube material.

[0018] The purpose of the present invention and the solution to the technical problem are also achieved by adopting the following technical solutions. According to the present invention, a rod-tube assembly method is proposed, which includes the following steps:

[0019] 1) Fixing the tube and the raw material bar separately so that the tube and the raw material bar are parallel to each other;

[0020] 2) adjusting the position of the tube material so that it is staggered with the raw material rod in the axial direction and the raw material rod is located at the center of the tube material in the radial direction;

[0021] 3) feeding the raw material rod into the tube material.

[0022] The purpose of the present invention and the solution to its technical problems can be further achieved by adopting the following technical measures.

[0023] Preferably, in the aforementioned rod-tube assembling method, the steps are automatically implemented by the aforementioned rod-tube assembling device.

[0024] Preferably, the aforementioned rod-tube assembly method comprises the following steps:

[0025] a. Fixing the pipe by the pipe support assembly so that the pipe is in a vertical state;

[0026] b. Adjusting the position of the pipe material by a horizontal moving platform;

[0027] c. Extend the support bracket from the lower end opening of the pipe into the pipe through the vertical moving mechanism; adjust the height of the support bracket so that the top of the support bracket reaches the upper end opening of the pipe;

[0028] d. Fixing the upper end of the raw material rod on the fixture; fine-tuning the position of the tube material through the autofocus lens so that the lower end of the raw material rod abuts against the support bracket;

[0029] e. Feeding the raw material rod into the tube through the vertical moving mechanism; while feeding the raw material rod into the tube, the autofocus lens monitors the spacing information between the tube and the raw material rod in real time and transmits the spacing information to the horizontal moving platform; the horizontal moving platform fine-tunes the position of the tube in real time according to the spacing information to avoid contact and friction between the inner wall of the tube and the outer wall of the raw material rod.

[0030] By means of the above technical solution, the rod-tube assembly device and assembly method proposed by the present invention have at least the following advantages:

[0031] The rod and tube assembling device and the assembling method proposed by the present invention are provided with a horizontal movable platform and a tube material support assembly arranged on the horizontal movable platform, and the position of the tube material can be accurately controlled by the horizontal movable platform; it is also provided with a vertical movable mechanism and a raw material support device; the vertical movable mechanism is provided with a movable plate, which includes an upper movable plate and a lower movable plate; the raw material support device includes a tool fixture and a support bracket; the tool fixture is arranged below the upper movable plate; the support bracket is arranged above the lower movable plate; when the raw material rod is ready to be assembled, the support bracket is first driven by the lower movable plate to extend into the tube material from the lower end opening of the tube material, and the insertion depth of the support bracket is controlled so that the top of the support bracket reaches the upper end of the tube material or exceeds the tube material; then the upper end of the raw material rod is fixed on the tool fixture, The raw material rod is allowed to droop naturally and abut against the upper end of the support bracket; the tooling fixture and the support bracket clamp the raw material rod to prevent the raw material rod from tilting in the vertical direction; the upper movable plate and the lower movable plate move downward to feed the raw material rod into the tube; while feeding the raw material rod into the tube, the distance between the tube and the raw material rod is monitored in real time through the autofocus lens; the autofocus lens transmits the distance information between the two to the horizontal moving platform, and the horizontal moving platform fine-tunes the position of the tube according to the received distance information, so that the distance between the tube and the raw material rod is always in the best match, thereby greatly avoiding the friction and collision between the inner wall of the tube and the outer wall of the raw material rod, reducing the risk of scratches on the inner wall of the tube and the outer wall of the raw material rod, and thus improving the comprehensive performance of the optical fiber imaging element.

[0032] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the present invention. In order to more clearly understand the technical means of the present invention and implement it according to the contents of the specification, the following is a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the rod and tube assembly device - the state before the raw rod and tube are assembled;

[0034] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of the rod and tube assembly device - the state in which the raw material rods and tubes are assembled. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] To further illustrate the technical means and effectiveness of the present invention in achieving its intended objectives, the following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments, provides a detailed description of the specific implementation, structure, features, and effectiveness of a rod-tube assembly device and assembly method according to the present invention. In the following description, different references to "one embodiment" or "embodiment" do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, specific features, structures, or characteristics of one or more embodiments may be combined in any suitable manner.

[0036] The present invention proposes a rod-tube assembly device, as shown in the attached Figure 1 and attached Figure 2 As shown, it should be noted that the various components in the accompanying drawings are only represented by different color blocks, which are only used to illustrate their working principles, rather than the specific composition structure of each component; it includes a raw material bar support assembly 2; the raw material bar support assembly is used to clamp and fix the raw material bar 11 and can carry the raw material bar to move; the raw material bar support assembly includes a tooling fixture 21 and a support bracket 22; the bar tube assembly device also includes a vertical moving mechanism 3; the vertical moving mechanism is provided with a vertical servo motor; the servo motor can drive the raw material bar support assembly to move up and down in the vertical direction to realize automatic feeding of the raw material bar; the vertical moving mechanism includes The upper movable plate 31 and the lower movable plate 32; the tool fixture is arranged below the upper movable plate to fix the upper end of the raw material rod; the tool fixture adopts any form of tool fixture in the prior art and is not specifically introduced in this patent; the support bracket is arranged above the lower movable plate to support the lower end of the raw material rod; the support bracket is fixedly connected to the lower movable plate through a connecting piece 23 to ensure that the support bracket is stably fastened; the upper movable plate, tool fixture, support bracket and lower movable plate can move in the vertical direction together with the raw material rod clamped and fixed by the raw material rod support assembly under the drive of the vertical servo motor; the rod and tube assembly The assembly device further includes a pipe support assembly 4; the pipe support assembly is used to fix the pipe 12 so that the pipe is in a vertical state; the rod-tube assembly device further includes a horizontal movable platform 5; the horizontal movable platform includes an X-axis movable unit and a Y-axis movable unit; the X-axis movable unit and the Y-axis movable unit both adopt a transmission structure with a precision transmission function in the prior art; the horizontal movable platform is provided with independent servo motors in the X-axis and Y-axis directions to respectively control the precision movement and accurate positioning of the horizontal movable platform in the X-axis and Y-axis directions; the pipe support assembly is provided on the horizontal movable platform; the X-axis movable unit ... The Y-axis moving unit and the Y-axis moving unit can move the tube support assembly to an accurate position; the rod-tube assembly device also includes an autofocus lens 6; the autofocus lens is arranged above the tube support assembly, and is used to monitor the position of the tube and the raw material rod; the autofocus lens is electrically connected to the horizontal moving platform; the autofocus lens transmits the position information of the tube and the raw material rod to the horizontal moving platform; the horizontal moving platform adjusts the position of the tube according to the received spacing information to adapt the position of the tube to the raw material rod, thereby assembling the raw material rod and the tube into a rod tube 1.

[0037] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, a slot is provided at the upper end of the raw material rod, and the tooling fixture and the raw material rod are connected by two iron wires with a diameter of 0.25 mm; the iron wires are inserted into the slot.

[0038] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the pipe support assembly 4 includes a support rod 41 and a movable gripper 42; the support rod is fixedly connected to the horizontal movable platform for positioning the position of the pipe in the horizontal plane; the movable gripper is used to clamp the pipe to determine the position of the pipe in the vertical direction; the position of the movable gripper on the support rod can be adjusted, and in actual production, the height of the movable gripper can be adjusted according to the length of the pipe to achieve stable gripping of the pipe by the movable gripper.

[0039] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, a gasket made of polyurethane is provided on the side of the movable gripper that contacts the pipe. The technical purpose of such a setting is to prevent the movable gripper from wearing the outer wall of the pipe, while also increasing the friction between the pipe and the movable gripper to prevent the pipe from sliding.

[0040] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the support bracket includes a long rod; the bottom end of the long rod is fixed to the lower movable plate through a connecting member 23; the top end face of the long rod can be set to a slightly concave surface to match the end face shape of the raw material rod, so that the long rod can stably support the raw material rod and prevent the raw material rod from tilting in the vertical direction.

[0041] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the length of the long rod is greater than or equal to the length of the pipe. Before the long rod contacts and lifts the raw material bar, the long rod extends into the pipe from the lower end opening and extends from the upper end opening of the pipe to clamp and lift the raw material bar.

[0042] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the vertical moving mechanism is a precision screw structure; the precision screw structure itself includes a movable block that converts rotational motion into linear motion; the upper movable plate and the lower movable plate are fixed on the movable block; the technical purpose of using a precision screw structure as a vertical moving mechanism and using a servo motor to drive it is to precisely control the feeding amount and reduce vibration, so as to achieve a smooth process of feeding the raw material rod into the pipe material and avoid friction and collision between the inner wall of the pipe material and the outer wall of the raw material rod.

[0043] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the upper movable plate and the lower movable plate are both L-shaped right-angle adapter plates; one side plate of the L-shaped right-angle adapter plate is fixedly connected to the precision screw structure, and the other side plate is used to fixedly connect the tooling fixture and the support bracket.

[0044] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the rod-tube assembly device is further provided with a plurality of hand-cranked wheels; the hand-cranked wheels can respectively control the movement of the vertical moving mechanism and the horizontal moving platform in the X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis directions when the power is off.

[0045] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the autofocus lens is arranged above the support rod to monitor the distance between the tube material and the raw material rod in real time; the autofocus lens transmits the distance information between the tube material and the raw material rod to the horizontal moving platform; the horizontal moving platform fine-tunes the position of the tube material according to the received distance information to avoid contact and friction between the inner wall of the tube material and the outer wall of the raw material rod.

[0046] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the autofocus lens can rotate 360° to facilitate all-round monitoring of the position information of the raw material rods and the tube material; the autofocus lenses are provided in 1 to 6 numbers; providing multiple autofocus lenses can make the monitoring information more comprehensive, and can also more accurately determine the spacing information between the raw material rods and the tube material through the information complementarity between different autofocus lenses, so that the position of the tube material can be fine-tuned in a timely and accurate manner through the horizontal moving platform.

[0047] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the rod-tube assembly device further includes a base 8 for a horizontally movable platform. The base does not participate in the actual operation of the rod-tube assembly device, and its technical purpose is only to support the horizontally movable platform to a certain height to meet the operating requirements of the horizontally movable platform. On the other hand, the base can also adjust the center of gravity of the horizontally movable platform through weight, density, etc. to enable stable operation.

[0048] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the rod-tube assembly device further includes a base 7; the vertical movement mechanism and the base are disposed on the base; the technical purpose of providing the base is to integrate the various components of the rod-tube assembly device into a skid-mounted structure, thereby reducing the time for position design and adjustment during workshop layout.

[0049] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the base may be provided with a vertical moving mechanism positioning component and a base positioning component; the technical purpose is to improve installation efficiency by eliminating the need for operators to design and adjust the positions of the components themselves during on-site installation.

[0050] The above-mentioned base is not an essential component; in actual operation, the vertical moving mechanism and the base can also be directly installed on the ground.

[0051] The present invention also provides a rod-tube assembly method comprising the following steps: 1) securing a tube and a raw material rod so that the tube and the raw material rod are parallel to each other; 2) adjusting the position of the tube so that it is axially offset from the raw material rod and radially positioned at the center of the tube; and 3) inserting the raw material rod into the tube. These steps can be automatically performed using the aforementioned rod-tube assembly device.

[0052] Preferably, the rod-tube assembly method includes the following steps: adjusting the height of the movable gripper according to the length of the tube; fixing the tube by the tube support assembly so that the tube is in a vertical state; adjusting the position of the tube by the horizontal movable platform so that the position of the tube is basically located at the projection position of the raw material rod; extending the support bracket from the lower end opening of the tube into the tube by the vertical movable mechanism, and moving the lower movable plate upward, adjusting the height of the support bracket so that the top of the support bracket reaches the upper end opening of the tube or exceeds the upper end opening of the tube; fixing the upper end of the raw material rod on the fixture with two iron wires with a diameter of 0.25 mm, so that the fixture and the raw material rod become a whole; The tooling fixture is fixed together with the raw material rod on the upper movable plate of the precision moving screw. At this time, the raw material rod naturally droops, and the position of the tube is fine-tuned by the autofocus lens so that the lower end of the raw material rod abuts the end of the support bracket to ensure that the raw material rod does not shake in the vertical direction; at this time, the servo motor in the vertical direction is turned on, and the raw material rod is sent into the tube material through the vertical moving mechanism; while the raw material rod is sent into the tube material, the autofocus lens monitors the spacing information between the tube material and the raw material rod in real time and transmits the spacing information to the horizontal moving platform; the horizontal moving platform fine-tunes the position of the tube material in real time according to the spacing information to avoid contact and friction between the inner wall of the tube material and the outer wall of the raw material rod.

[0053] After assembling the raw rod and tube material using the rod-tube assembly device and rod-tube assembly method described above, scratches on the inner and outer walls of the tube material are significantly reduced, thereby improving the overall performance of optical fiber imaging components. Specifically, when the rod-tube assembled using the technical solution of the present invention is used to produce multifilament yarn, the number of dark spots within the multifilament structure is reduced by 15%, compared to multifilament produced by manually assembled rod-tubes in the prior art. When the rod-tube assembled using the technical solution of the present invention is used to produce optical fiber imaging components, the grid qualification rate is improved by 1%, the distortion qualification rate is improved by 0.7%, the dark spot qualification rate is improved by 2.5%, the transmittance qualification rate is improved by 0.8%, and the overall qualification rate is improved by 5%.

[0054] The technical features in the claims and / or the specification of the present invention may be combined, and the manner of combination is not limited to the combination obtained by reference in the claims. The technical solutions obtained by combining the technical features in the claims and / or the specification are also within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0055] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and does not constitute any form of limitation to the present invention. Any simple modifications, equivalent changes and modifications made to the above embodiment based on the technical essence of the present invention still fall within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. A rod-tube assembly device, characterized in that: It includes: A raw material bar support assembly, used to fix the raw material bar; The raw material bar support assembly includes a fixture and a support bracket; the support bracket includes a long rod; the length of the long rod is greater than or equal to the length of the pipe; the top end surface of the long rod matches the end surface of the raw material bar, so that the long rod can support the raw material bar and prevent the raw material bar from tilting in the vertical direction; A vertical movable mechanism comprising an upper movable plate and a lower movable plate; the tooling fixture is provided below the upper movable plate for fixing the upper end of the raw material bar; the support bracket is provided above the lower movable plate for supporting the lower end of the raw material bar; the upper movable plate, tooling fixture, support bracket and lower movable plate are capable of moving together in the vertical direction; A pipe support assembly, used to fix the pipe so that the pipe is in a vertical state; A horizontal movable platform comprising an X-axis movable unit and a Y-axis movable unit; the pipe support assembly is disposed on the horizontal movable platform; the X-axis movable unit and the Y-axis movable unit are capable of moving the pipe support assembly to a precise position; An autofocus lens is arranged above the tube support assembly and is used to monitor the positions of the tube and the raw material rod; the autofocus lens is electrically connected to the horizontal moving platform; the autofocus lens transmits the position information of the tube and the raw material rod to the horizontal moving platform; the horizontal moving platform adjusts the position of the tube according to the received spacing information to adapt the positions of the tube and the raw material rod.

2. The rod-tube assembly device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pipe support assembly includes a support rod and a movable gripper; the support rod is fixedly connected to the horizontal movable platform; the upper and lower positions of the movable gripper on the support rod can be adjusted.

3. The rod-tube assembly device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bottom end of the long rod is fixed to the lower movable plate through a connecting piece.

4. The rod-tube assembly device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The autofocus lens is arranged above the support rod and is used to monitor the distance between the tube material and the raw material rod in real time; the autofocus lens transmits the distance information between the tube material and the raw material rod to the horizontal moving platform; the horizontal moving platform fine-tunes the position of the tube material according to the received distance information to avoid contact and friction between the inner wall of the tube material and the outer wall of the raw material rod.

5. The rod-tube assembly device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The auto-focus lens can rotate 360 ​​degrees; there are 1 to 6 auto-focus lenses.

6. The rod-tube assembly device according to claim 2, characterized in that: A gasket made of polyurethane is provided on one side of the movable gripper contacting the pipe material.

7. A rod-tube assembly method, using the rod-tube assembly device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: It includes the following steps: 1) Fix the tube and the raw material bar separately so that the tube and the raw material bar are parallel to each other; 2) adjusting the position of the tube material so that it is staggered with the raw material rod in the axial direction and the raw material rod is located at the center of the tube material in the radial direction; 3) Feeding the raw material rod into the tube material.

8. The rod-tube assembly method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The steps are automatically implemented by the rod-tube assembly device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

9. The rod-tube assembly method according to claim 8, characterized in that: It includes the following steps: a. Fixing the pipe by the pipe support assembly so that the pipe is in a vertical state; b. Adjusting the position of the pipe material by a horizontal moving platform; c. Extend the support bracket from the lower end opening of the pipe into the pipe through the vertical moving mechanism; adjust the height of the support bracket so that the top of the support bracket reaches the upper end opening of the pipe; d. Fixing the upper end of the raw material rod on the fixture; fine-tuning the position of the tube material through the autofocus lens so that the lower end of the raw material rod abuts against the support bracket; e. Feeding the raw material rod into the tube through the vertical moving mechanism; while feeding the raw material rod into the tube, the autofocus lens monitors the spacing information between the tube and the raw material rod in real time and transmits the spacing information to the horizontal moving platform; the horizontal moving platform fine-tunes the position of the tube in real time according to the spacing information to avoid contact and friction between the inner wall of the tube and the outer wall of the raw material rod.

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