Diaphragm gas meter assembly process
By setting up assembly quality detection sensors and NG (non-quality) product placement positions on the diaphragm gas meter assembly line, the problem of production rhythm interruption caused by NG status was solved, and the stable operation of the production line and efficient handling of NG products were achieved.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- QIANWEI KROMSCHRODER METERS CHONGQING
- Filing Date
- 2023-10-13
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-02
AI Technical Summary
The existing diaphragm gas meter assembly line is interrupted when an NG (Not Okay) condition is detected, resulting in a decrease in production efficiency.
Assembly quality inspection sensors are set up at the assembly station, and NG (Not Good) product placement positions are set up near the off-line position. When NG status is detected, the assembly parts on the loading seat are marked as NG products. The normal conveying rhythm is maintained by the guide rail conveying mechanism, and the NG products are transferred to the NG product placement positions by the off-line robot.
Even if an NG (Not Qualified) status is detected, the assembly line will not stop and will maintain a normal conveying rhythm to facilitate subsequent processing of NG products, avoid affecting the production rhythm, and facilitate the verification and re-entry of NG products to ensure production efficiency.
Smart Images

Figure CN117283291B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention belongs to the field of diaphragm gas meter assembly, and specifically relates to an assembly process for diaphragm gas meters. Background Technology
[0002] A diaphragm gas meter is a volumetric metering instrument used to measure the amount of gas used. The working principle of a diaphragm gas meter is as follows:
[0003] The gas volume flow rate is measured by using two flexible diaphragm metering chambers. Under the action of pressure difference, the gas enters the two metering chambers of the mechanism alternately through the distribution valve. After being filled, it is discharged to the outlet. At the same time, it drives the flexible diaphragm in each metering chamber to reciprocate. The conversion mechanism converts this gas filling and exhaust cycle into the corresponding gas volume flow rate, and then transmits it to the counter through the transmission mechanism to complete the gas accumulation metering function.
[0004] Diaphragm gas meters are mainly composed of a casing (including an upper cover, a lower cover, and a sealing ring that presses the upper and lower covers together), a movement, and a counter. Among them, the movement itself has a relatively compact and complex structure, so it is usually assembled on a separate production line (for example, the "Automated Production Line for Diaphragm Gas Meter Movement" disclosed in application number 202111381250.0).
[0005] The assembly of a diaphragm gas meter refers to the process of installing the assembled movement (also known as the "movement body assembly") into the upper and lower covers and sealing it with a sealing ring between the upper and lower covers.
[0006] Currently, existing technologies have disclosed assembly lines for diaphragm gas meters. For example, in the existing literature, there is "Design and Implementation of Gas Meter Assembly Production Line" (Xu Peng et al. "Design and Implementation of Gas Meter Assembly Production Line". Mechanical Engineering and Automation 6 (2017): 3. Mechanical Engineering and Automation, December 2017: 185-186).
[0007] However, in existing diaphragm gas meter assembly lines, when the assembly quality at any station reaches an NG (Not Good) state, for example, the top cover is not loaded, or the external magnet inside the top cover is not installed or not installed properly (Note: the external magnet is installed inside the top cover and is part of the "gas meter magnetic coupling device" used for transmission between the movement and the counter; the "gas meter magnetic coupling device" is a component known to those skilled in the art, and its specific structure can be found in the "gas meter magnetic coupling device" disclosed in Chinese Patent Publication No. CN201285298Y), the detection sensor on the assembly line detects the NG state detection signal and transmits the detection signal to the main control PLC, which then pauses the assembly line. This disrupts the production rhythm of the entire assembly line and reduces its production efficiency.
[0008] Based on this, the applicant is considering designing a diaphragm gas meter assembly process that can effectively prevent the production rhythm from being interrupted by the NG state and better ensure that the production line maintains stable production (cycle) efficiency. Summary of the Invention
[0009] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is: how to provide a diaphragm gas meter assembly process that can effectively avoid the production rhythm being interrupted by the NG state and better ensure the production line maintains stable production (cycle) efficiency.
[0010] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:
[0011] The assembly process of a diaphragm gas meter includes the following steps:
[0012] First, an assembly quality detection sensor is installed at at least one assembly station on the diaphragm gas meter assembly line. The assembly quality detection sensor is used to detect whether the assembly station has an NG (Not Good) status. The feature is that an NG product placement position is set near the off-line position of the diaphragm gas meter assembly line.
[0013] Secondly, when the assembly quality inspection sensor detects an NG state, the parts on the loading seat at that assembly station are marked as NG products, and from that assembly station to the off-line position: the guide rail conveying mechanism of the diaphragm gas meter assembly production line maintains a normal conveying rhythm to convey the loading seat carrying NG products, and the loading seat carrying NG products will no longer be used by subsequent stations to assemble incomplete parts.
[0014] Finally, when the loading platform carrying the NG products is transported to the off-line station: the off-line robot of the diaphragm gas meter assembly line transfers the NG products to the NG product placement position.
[0015] Compared with existing technologies, the advantages of the diaphragm gas meter assembly process in this solution are:
[0016] 1. Even if any assembly quality inspection sensor detects an NG state, the guide rail conveying mechanism of the entire diaphragm gas meter assembly line will not stop and will still maintain a normal conveying rhythm. This will prevent the entire diaphragm gas meter assembly line from stopping, thus effectively ensuring production efficiency.
[0017] 2. From the assembly station where the NG (Not Qualified) status is detected until the product is removed from the assembly line, no further incomplete parts will be assembled on the NG products at subsequent stations. This keeps the NG products in their initial NG state, making it convenient for subsequent workers to manually check the status of the NG products in their placement positions and re-assemble the usable parts for gas meter assembly. In this way, the production cycle of the diaphragm gas meter assembly line is not affected, and the NG products can be easily processed. Attached Figure Description
[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram (top view) of the diaphragm gas meter assembly line in this technical solution.
[0019] Figure 2 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the diaphragm gas meter assembly line in this technical solution.
[0020] Figure 3 A three-dimensional structural diagram of a diaphragm gas meter assembly line (with a bracket for placing defective products).
[0021] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the upper cover mounting station and the bushing lubrication station in the diaphragm gas meter assembly line.
[0022] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the outer magnet assembly station in the diaphragm gas meter assembly line of this technical solution.
[0023] Figure 6 A magnified view of a portion of the external magnet assembly station.
[0024] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure at the glue application station on the top cover of the diaphragm gas meter assembly line in this technical solution.
[0025] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the mechanism assembly station in the diaphragm gas meter assembly line of this technical solution.
[0026] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure at the lower cover sealing ring assembly station in the diaphragm gas meter assembly line of this technical solution.
[0027] Figure 10 This is a partial structural diagram of the lower cover sealing ring assembly mechanism.
[0028] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the lower cover sealing ring assembly station in the diaphragm gas meter assembly line of this technical solution.
[0029] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the sealing ring feeding mechanism in the diaphragm gas meter assembly line of this technical solution.
[0030] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the sealing ring removal structure in the diaphragm gas meter assembly line of this technical solution.
[0031] Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of the sealing ring removal structure in the diaphragm gas meter assembly line of this technical solution. The diagram is marked as follows:
[0032] Diaphragm gas meter assembly: G1 upper cover (G11 valve assembly), G2 lower cover (G21 housing sealing surface, G22 long protrusion, G23 short protrusion), G3 outer magnet (G31 lever), G4 movement assembly, G5 sealing ring.
[0033] Diaphragm gas meter assembly line: L1 Annular bracket, L2 Annular guide rail, L3 Conveyor drive motor, L4 Annular drive chain, Assembly stations (a. Top cover mounting station, b. Bushing lubrication station (b1 lateral movement drive cylinder, b2 downward pressure cylinder, b3 pressure block, b4 valve assembly alignment downward pressure cylinder), c. Outer magnet assembly station, d. Top cover straightening station, e. Top cover gluing station, f. Outer magnet alignment station, g. Mechanism assembly station, h. Lower cover sealing ring assembly station, i. Sealing ring alignment station, j. Offline station), L5 Loading seat, Loading seat secondary positioning mechanism (L61 Rotating rod, L62 Bearing seat, L63 Intermediate connecting block, L64 Positioning drive cylinder, L65 Positioning pin), L7 NG product placement bracket, L8 Offline robotic arm
[0034] M External Magnet Assembly Mechanism: External magnet transfer arm (M11 gantry bracket, M12 guide rail, M13 slider, M14 strip mounting plate, M15 lifting cylinder, M16 lead screw module assembly), M2 vacuum nozzle, M3 external magnet material guide output groove, M4 positioning block (M41 U-shaped receiving groove), M5 vibrating feeding plate, M6 rotary cylinder
[0035] N Lower cover sealing ring assembly mechanism: sealing ring flat positioning module (N11 sealing ring support positioning plate, N12 sealing ring 180-degree rotary cylinder), lower cover conveying and lifting module (N21 lower cover conveying line, N22 lower cover lifting cylinder, N3 lower cover attitude detection and adjustment unit (lifting rotary cylinder assembly (N321 top rotating block))), lower cover adsorption and transfer module (N41 lower cover vacuum nozzle, lower cover adsorption and transfer arm (N421 lower cover sealing ring assembly gantry bracket, N422 lifting cylinder, N423 lower cover 180-degree rotary cylinder, N424 support plate)).
[0036] X-ring feeding mechanism: X1 cantilever, X2 cantilever support structure (X21 controllable turntable, X22 turntable bracket (X221 rectangular support frame, X222 vertical support rod, X223 transverse reinforcing connecting rod, X224 oblique reinforcing support rod, X225 oblique mounting rod)), X3 through-beam laser sensor, X4 motor lifting cylinder, X5 synchronous belt drive motor;
[0037] Y-shaped sealing ring transfer structure: Y1 Industrial six-axis robot, Y2 clamping plate (Y21 fixed surface, Y22 clamping surface (Y221 long side clamping post, Y222 horizontal movable clamping block, Y223 horizontal clamping cylinder, Y224 short side clamping post, Y225 vertical movable clamping block, Y226 vertical clamping cylinder, Y227 cylindrical section, Y228 conical section)); Detailed Implementation
[0038] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0039] In practical implementation: such as Figures 1 to 3 As shown,
[0040] I. Assembly process of diaphragm gas meter
[0041] The assembly process of a diaphragm gas meter includes the following steps:
[0042] First, an assembly quality detection sensor is installed at at least one assembly station on the diaphragm gas meter assembly line. This assembly quality detection sensor is used to detect whether an NG (Not Good) state occurs at the assembly station. Additionally, an NG product placement position is set up near the off-line position of the diaphragm gas meter assembly line.
[0043] Secondly, when the assembly quality inspection sensor detects an NG state, the parts on the loading seat at that assembly station are marked as NG products, and from that assembly station to the off-line position: the guide rail conveying mechanism of the diaphragm gas meter assembly production line maintains a normal conveying rhythm to convey the loading seat carrying NG products, and the loading seat carrying NG products will no longer be used by subsequent stations to assemble incomplete parts.
[0044] Finally, when the loading platform carrying the NG products is transported to the off-line station: the off-line robot of the diaphragm gas meter assembly line transfers the NG products to the NG product placement position.
[0045] Compared with existing technologies, the advantages of the diaphragm gas meter assembly process in this solution are:
[0046] 1. Even if any assembly quality inspection sensor detects an NG state, the guide rail conveying mechanism of the entire diaphragm gas meter assembly line will not stop and will still maintain a normal conveying rhythm. This will prevent the entire diaphragm gas meter assembly line from stopping, thus effectively ensuring production efficiency.
[0047] 2. From the assembly station where the NG (Not Qualified) status is detected until the product is removed from the assembly line, no further incomplete parts will be assembled on the NG products at subsequent stations. This keeps the NG products in their initial NG state, making it convenient for subsequent workers to manually check the status of the NG products in their placement positions and re-assemble the usable parts for gas meter assembly. In this way, the production cycle of the diaphragm gas meter assembly line is not affected, and the NG products can be easily processed.
[0048] The NG item placement location includes an NG item placement bracket;
[0049] The NG product placement bracket is installed independently of the diaphragm gas meter assembly production line.
[0050] The NG product placement bracket is installed on the ground outside the lower position of the guide rail conveying mechanism of the diaphragm gas meter assembly production line.
[0051] The NG item placement bracket has a placement surface for placing multiple NG items.
[0052] The above-mentioned NG product placement bracket structure is independent of the diaphragm gas meter assembly line layout; therefore, it can more flexibly expand and modify the existing diaphragm gas meter assembly line layout, making it more practical.
[0053] The NG item placement bracket includes a support frame and a drive wheel, a driven wheel, and a conveyor belt fitted between the drive wheel and the driven wheel, all disposed on the top of the support frame; the drive wheel is driven by a drive motor, and the drive motor is electrically connected to a motor controller.
[0054] The advantages of adopting the above structure are: the XYZ axis coordinates of the starting position of the upper surface of the conveyor belt can be used as the placement coordinates for the robot to place NG products on the conveyor belt, which simplifies the control of the placement action of the robot and improves the reliability of the robot to place NG products.
[0055] Meanwhile, because of the NG product placement bracket with the above structure, after the robot arm places the NG product off the line, the conveyor belt moves and the above "unique placement coordinates" are cleared again for the robot arm off the line to place NG products again.
[0056] In practice, the drive control of the transmission belt can preferably be implemented using the following two methods:
[0057] 1. Signal connection between the motor controller and the control system of the diaphragm gas meter assembly line:
[0058] In this way, the movement of the transmission belt can be controlled by timing: that is, by the order of time, the robot arm first places the NG products on the above-mentioned placement coordinates on the transmission belt, and then the motor controller controls the movement of the transmission belt.
[0059] 2. The motor controller is not connected to the control system of the diaphragm gas meter assembly line:
[0060] In this way, a detection sensor can be set on the NG product placement bracket to detect whether the placement coordinates on the conveyor belt are empty. If they are not empty, the action will be performed after a delay of a few seconds after receiving the detection signal (these few seconds are shorter than the time required for a single cycle of the diaphragm gas meter assembly line).
[0061] The assembly stations for setting the assembly quality inspection sensor are one or more of the following stations: top cover loading station, outer magnet assembly station, top cover gluing station, movement assembly station, sealing ring assembly station, and bottom cover assembly station.
[0062] By setting up assembly quality detection sensors at a single or multiple assembly stations, the assembly quality at each station can be detected, thereby better ensuring the assembly quality of the diaphragm gas meter assembly production line.
[0063] The assembly quality inspection sensor is a photoelectric sensor, which is set at the workstation to be inspected, and the detection head of the photoelectric sensor is facing the assembly part to be inspected at the assembly workstation.
[0064] After the photoelectric sensor is set at the corresponding assembly station, the photoelectric sensor can obtain two different detection signals when the corresponding assembly part is installed or not installed. Thus, the two different detection signals can be used to determine whether the assembly part is installed and whether an NG state has occurred.
[0065] In practice, the photoelectric sensor is preferably a laser photoelectric sensor or a fiber optic sensor with stronger anti-interference capabilities. This ensures a more reliable and continuous acquisition of assembly quality detection signals.
[0066] II. Diaphragm Gas Meter Assembly Production Line
[0067] The diaphragm gas meter assembly line includes:
[0068] A ring-shaped support, wherein the top of the ring-shaped support has a ring-shaped rectangular support plane with four identical rounded chamfers at the four apex corners;
[0069] A ring-shaped guide rail, wherein the ring-shaped rectangular support plane is fixedly mounted with the ring-shaped guide rail symmetrical about the transverse centerline and the longitudinal centerline;
[0070] A conveying drive motor is fixedly installed at each inner corner of the annular bracket. The output shaft of each conveying drive motor is vertically upward and its axis coincides with the center of the circle at the inner corner. A drive wheel is fixedly mounted on the output shaft. A tensioned annular drive chain is meshed with the drive wheels of the conveying drive motors.
[0071] The assembly station includes an upper cover assembly station, an outer magnet assembly station, an upper cover gluing station, a movement assembly station, a lower cover sealing ring assembly station, and an unassembly station, all arranged sequentially from front to back along the circumferential direction of the annular guide rail and evenly spaced.
[0072] The loading seat has multiple loading seats that are evenly spaced on the annular guide rail, matching the number of assembly stations, for the inverted loading of the top cover. Each loading seat is slidably mounted on the annular guide rail via a slider, and each slider is fixedly connected to the annular drive chain via a connector.
[0073] Compared with existing technologies, the advantages of the diaphragm gas meter assembly line in this solution are:
[0074] 1. The entire diaphragm gas meter assembly line is laid out in a ring. The ring layout occupies less space and can be more flexibly arranged according to the characteristics of the site, making it more practical.
[0075] 2. The ring-shaped layout of the diaphragm gas meter assembly line allows the feeding of the upper cover, outer magnet, movement assembly, lower cover, and sealing ring to also be arranged in a ring shape, making full use of the space outside the ring support and improving space utilization; at the same time, it is also convenient for the production workshop to centrally supply materials through automated conveyor lines, reducing production costs.
[0076] 3. The number of loading seats matches the number of assembly stations, and the loading seats are always installed on the circular guide rail and are effectively utilized throughout the entire assembly process. This ensures a consistent production cycle while reducing the number of loading seats, resulting in a more streamlined and rational production line structure.
[0077] In practice, the optimal configuration is that the number of loading seats is 1-3 more than the number of assembly stations (this can be used to expand some functional structures when producing different types of products). The next best configuration is that the number of loading seats is the same as the number of assembly stations.
[0078] In practice, the external magnet assembly station uses an external magnet assembly mechanism; the movement assembly station uses a movement assembly mechanism.
[0079] Each assembly station is arranged on a straight section of the annular rectangular support plane.
[0080] The straight segment of the annular rectangular support plane can better judge the displacement accuracy of the loading seat that travels to the straight segment, thereby ensuring the reliability of smooth assembly at each assembly station while ensuring the accuracy of the loading seat's movement.
[0081] The diaphragm gas meter assembly line also includes a sliding support structure, which is used to provide sliding support for the annular drive chain. The sliding support structure includes U-shaped grooves fixedly installed on each straight section of the annular rectangular support plane. The lower side, radial outer side, and radial inner end face of the annular drive chain are in sliding contact with the bottom of the U-shaped groove and the two opposite sides.
[0082] The aforementioned sliding support structure can slide to support the annular drive chain, better preventing deformation of the annular drive chain caused by its own gravity and extending its service life.
[0083] During implementation, a lubricating medium (lubricating medium or grease) is applied between the contact surfaces of the U-shaped groove and the annular drive chain.
[0084] The annular rectangular support plane is a rectangular structure with two long sides and two short sides. Among all assembly stations, the offline station is located on one of the two short sides, and the other side of the two short sides is provided with a top cover gluing station; the remaining stations are distributed on the two long sides in sequence.
[0085] With the above layout, the upper cover assembly station, outer magnet assembly station, core assembly station, and lower cover sealing ring assembly station that require material feeding can be distributed approximately at the outer corners of the four apex of the annular rectangular support plane. This provides ample space for the arrangement of various feeding devices, making the production line layout more compact and rational.
[0086] The diaphragm gas meter assembly line also includes a secondary positioning mechanism for the loading seat, which is fixedly installed on each straight section of the annular bracket; each set of the secondary positioning mechanism for the loading seat includes a rotating rod, a bearing, a bearing seat, an intermediate connecting block, a positioning drive cylinder, and a positioning pin;
[0087] Each end of the rotating rod is rotatably mounted on the bearing seat via a bearing, and the bearing seat is fixedly mounted on the radial outer side of the annular bracket; the intermediate connecting block is a strip-shaped structure, with one end fixedly connected to the rotating rod in the longitudinal direction, and the other end hingedly connected to the outer end of the push rod of the positioning drive cylinder, which is fixedly mounted on the annular bracket; a pair of positioning pins are fixedly mounted at intervals on the outer surface of the rotating rod between the two bearing seats.
[0088] Each loading seat's slider has a U-shaped positioning groove with a chamfered outer end on the radial outer side of the annular guide rail.
[0089] When each loading seat is correctly positioned at its respective assembly station, the intermediate connecting block is driven by the positioning drive cylinder, causing the rotating rod to rotate and enabling a pair of positioning pins on the rotating rod to align and engage with the positioning slots of an adjacent pair of loading seats.
[0090] By using the above-mentioned secondary positioning mechanism for the loading seat, at each cycle point, the positioning drive cylinder drives the intermediate connecting block to rotate, and a pair of positioning pins are precisely engaged in the positioning slots of an adjacent pair of loading seats. This achieves accurate positioning of the loading seat during repeated cyclical movement, thus effectively ensuring that each loading seat is in the correct assembly position after each cyclical movement.
[0091] At the same time, when any loading seat is slightly misaligned, the above-mentioned secondary positioning mechanism of the loading seat can drive the rotating rod to rotate by the action of the positioning drive cylinder, so that a pair of positioning pins on the rotating rod act on the positioning slot and can adjust the micro-motion of the ring drive chain (backward or forward) and make the loading seat return to the correct assembly position.
[0092] The top cover adhesive application station includes a support frame fixedly installed inside the area surrounded by the annular bracket and a four-axis robotic arm fixedly installed on the support frame. The lower end of the electric telescopic rod at the outer end of the four-axis robotic arm constitutes the execution hand, and an adhesive gun is fixedly installed on the execution hand.
[0093] By adopting the above four-axis robotic arm in this solution, precise movement on the XYZ axes can be achieved, thus making it more suitable for applying adhesive to various models of diaphragm gas meter housings and improving the versatility of this production line.
[0094] (For example, Siasun ST series or SRH10A series industrial robots or KUKA KR6 R500 Z200 model four-axis industrial robots)
[0095] The diaphragm gas meter assembly line also includes a bushing lubrication station, which is located between the upper cover assembly station and the outer magnet assembly station.
[0096] The bushing lubrication station includes a mounting bracket, as well as an upper cover clamping unit, a transverse movement unit, and a lubricating medium coating unit that are fixedly installed on the gantry bracket;
[0097] The upper cover pressing unit has a vertically telescopic pressing part for pressing the upper cover from top to bottom;
[0098] The transverse unit has a transverse part, which can drive the coating head of the lubricating medium coating unit to approach the inner bushing of the upper cover.
[0099] The aforementioned bushing lubrication station can effectively lubricate the bushing before the outer magnet is assembled, better ensuring the long-lasting and reliable operation of the outer magnet after installation, and better ensuring the assembly quality of the diaphragm gas meter.
[0100] The mounting bracket is a gantry bracket and has a horizontal support frame at the top located above the annular guide rail;
[0101] The lateral movement unit includes a lateral movement driving cylinder fixedly installed on the horizontal support frame. The lateral movement driving cylinder is a linear slider rodless cylinder.
[0102] The upper cover pressing unit is fixedly installed on the slider of the transverse drive cylinder. The upper cover pressing unit includes a vertically fixed pressing cylinder with the push rod pointing downward. A long strip-shaped pressing block is fixedly installed at the bottom of the pressing cylinder. The length direction of the pressing block is consistent with the width direction of the upper cover, and the length of the pressing block is greater than the width of the upper cover and the stroke of the slider of the transverse drive cylinder, so that the pressing block can always press the upper cover when the slider slides.
[0103] The lubricating medium coating unit is fixedly installed on the outer side of the cylinder for pressing down.
[0104] The advantages of the above-described bushing lubrication station structure are:
[0105] 1. After the production line is started, the transverse cylinder can select the left or right working position in advance according to the company's MES production order information. After moving into position, the upper cover clamping unit will act according to the assembly position information to make the upper cover securely positioned. The lubricating medium coating unit can apply lubricating medium to the bushing when the upper cover clamping unit is in action, thereby completing the lubrication of the bushing.
[0106] 2. The above-mentioned mounting bracket, transverse unit, upper cover clamping unit, and lubricating medium coating unit have a reasonable structure and precise and reliable operation, which can ensure the lubrication quality of the bushing.
[0107] The diaphragm gas meter assembly line also includes a valve assembly pressing module, which includes a valve assembly pressing cylinder for valve group alignment. The push rod of the valve assembly pressing cylinder is vertically downward and is fixedly installed on the horizontal support frame.
[0108] A valve assembly pressure block for pressing down the valve assembly is fixedly installed on the push rod of the cylinder used for valve assembly alignment.
[0109] By using the valve assembly pressing module, the space of the bushing lubrication station can be made more fully, and the valve assembly inside the cover of the station can be aligned and pressed to ensure the assembly quality of the valve assembly.
[0110] The diaphragm gas meter assembly line also includes a top cover straightening station, which is located between the outer magnet assembly station and the top cover gluing station.
[0111] The upper cover straightening station includes a mounting bracket with a top located above the annular guide rail and a lowering cylinder for upper cover straightening. The push rod of the upper cover straightening lowering cylinder is vertically downward and is fixedly installed on the top of the mounting bracket.
[0112] A straightening block is fixedly installed on the push rod of the upper cover straightening cylinder. The length direction of the straightening block is consistent with the width direction of the upper cover and the length is greater than the width of the upper cover. The straightening block is used to press down the top opening end face of the upper cover when the loading seat is inverted.
[0113] Because the outer magnet comes into contact with the bushing during the assembly of the outer magnet into the inner bushing of the upper cover, this contact may cause a slight tilt of the upper cover of the loading seat. This tilt may make it difficult to guarantee the quality of the adhesive application (application position and thickness) at the upper cover assembly adhesive application station. Therefore, after the outer magnet is assembled, the aforementioned upper cover straightening station is set up to straighten the upper cover, ensuring that the upper cover has a consistent and correct posture during adhesive application, thereby ensuring the adhesive application quality for a long time.
[0114] In practice, the diaphragm gas meter assembly line also includes an external magnet straightening station, which is located between the top cover gluing station and the core assembly station.
[0115] The external magnet straightening station includes a gantry support, a linear slider rodless cylinder, a lifting cylinder, and an external magnet straightening rod.
[0116] The top of the gantry bracket has a horizontal support frame located above the annular guide rail;
[0117] The slider of the linear slider rodless cylinder moves in a direction parallel to the length of the annular guide rail directly below; a lifting cylinder with a downward-pointing push rod is fixedly mounted on the slider of the linear slider rodless cylinder.
[0118] The external magnet straightening rod is fixedly installed on the push rod of the lifting cylinder;
[0119] The lifting cylinder is used to drive the outer magnet straightening rod to extend into and out of the upper cover. When the outer magnet straightening rod extends into the upper cover, the linear slider rodless cylinder can drive the outer magnet straightening rod to move laterally away from or near and press against the end face of the outer magnet that is away from the bushing to achieve straightening.
[0120] This technical solution uses a ring guide rail with four identical rounded chamfers at the four apex corners. As a result, when the loading seat passes the apex corner of the ring guide rail, the outer magnet mounted on the upper cover of the diaphragm gas meter, which is located radially inside the ring guide rail, is easily moved slightly radially along the ring guide rail under the action of centrifugal force.
[0121] Therefore, after adopting the above-mentioned external magnet alignment station in this technical solution, the external magnet can be pushed back to the accurate assembly position by the external magnet straightening rod, effectively ensuring the assembly quality.
[0122] Specific implementation methods for the movement assembly station
[0123] During implementation, the movement assembly station includes a movement assembly conveyor belt, a movement assembly transfer robot, a movement assembly air outlet lubrication module, and a movement assembly robot.
[0124] The mechanism assembly conveyor belt is used to transport the mechanism assembly; the mechanism assembly transfer robot is used to transport the mechanism assembly from the conveyor belt to the conveyor belt of the mechanism assembly air outlet lubrication module. This conveyor belt consists of two parallel conveyor belts spaced apart. At least two pairs of clamping blocks are spaced apart on the left and right outer sides of the two conveyor belts along their length to clamp the mechanism assembly on the conveyor belts. At least two lifting mechanisms are spaced apart in the gap between the two conveyor belts along the length of this gap to lift the mechanism assembly upwards. The lubrication module for the air outlet of the core assembly is fixedly installed at the lifting mechanism located at the front in the forward and backward direction of the conveyor belt. The lubrication module for the air outlet of the core assembly includes a vertical lifting cylinder, a lubrication disc, a drive motor for rotating the lubrication disc, and an oil supply mechanism. The push rod of the vertical lifting cylinder drives the lubrication disc with lubricating medium to align from top to bottom and contact the air outlet of the core assembly. At this time, the drive motor drives the lubrication disc to rotate so that the lubricating medium is evenly applied to the air outlet of the core assembly, thereby achieving lubrication of the air outlet of the core assembly.
[0125] The movement assembly robot uses specially designed grippers to hold the movement assembly and transport it to the top cover of the loading seat at this workstation.
[0126] Specific implementation methods for the sealing and tidying workstation
[0127] In practice, the diaphragm gas meter assembly line also includes a sealing ring straightening station, which is located between the lower cover sealing ring assembly station and the off-line station.
[0128] The sealing ring straightening station includes a straightening cylinder, a straightening bracket, a straightening ring, and a straightening ring mounting plate;
[0129] The push rod of the straightening cylinder faces downward and the cylinder is fixedly installed by the straightening bracket;
[0130] The straightening ring mounting plate is fixedly installed on the push rod of the straightening cylinder. The straightening ring mounting plates are fixedly connected around the perimeter by connecting columns, and the distance between the straightening ring and the straightening ring mounting plate is greater than the height of the lower cover.
[0131] The overall straightening ring has a racetrack-shaped structure, and when the overall straightening ring is fitted onto the connection between the lower cover and the upper cover: the innermost side of the straightening ring is spaced apart from the outer side of the lower cover;
[0132] The lower inner end face of the straightening ring has an annular straightening groove into which the radial outer edge of the sealing ring falls.
[0133] By adopting the above sealing ring straightening station, after the lower cover is packaged and assembled, the sealing ring can be pressed down further through the sealing ring straightening station, which can effectively prevent the sealing ring from being skewed and better ensure the assembly quality between the sealing ring and the lower cover.
[0134] III. External Magnet Assembly Mechanism
[0135] The external magnet assembly mechanism includes an external magnet transfer arm and a vacuum nozzle;
[0136] The external magnet transfer arm is fixedly installed above the annular guide rail of the diaphragm gas meter assembly line by a bracket. The vacuum nozzle is installed on the actuator of the external magnet transfer arm. The vacuum nozzle is used to adsorb a single external magnet and, driven by the external magnet transfer arm, is fitted onto the bushing of the upper cover.
[0137] It also includes a rotating module, which is fixedly mounted on the actuator hand of the external magnet transfer arm. The rotating module has a rotating part that can rotate in a vertical plane and achieve angular positioning at 0 degrees, -90 degrees and -180 degrees. The vacuum nozzle is fixedly mounted on the rotating part. The actuator hand of the external magnet transfer arm, the rotating module and its rotating part and the vacuum nozzle can all extend into the internal space of the upper cover of the diaphragm gas meter.
[0138] Compared with existing technologies, the advantages of the external magnet assembly station in this solution are:
[0139] 1. The structure is relatively simple, and the cost of modification and implementation is low, as only a rotating module is added to the existing mechanism.
[0140] 2. The rotating part of the rotating module can drive the vacuum nozzle to pick up the external magnet at -90 degrees (vertically downward), and at 0 degrees or -180 degrees, it can be aligned with the shaft sleeve inside the upper cover of the diaphragm gas meter for both forward and reverse air intake. This allows it to meet the assembly requirements of the external magnet on both forward (left in, right out) and reverse (right in, left out) diaphragm gas meters, thus achieving cost reduction and efficiency improvement.
[0141] The rotating unit is a servo motor or a rotary cylinder.
[0142] Both servo motors and rotary cylinders can achieve precise rotational control in the circumferential direction.
[0143] The servo motor can be a Kollmorgen AKM1 series synchronous servo motor.
[0144] The rotary cylinder can be a rotary swing cylinder of model CRB2BS20-180SZ manufactured by SMC Corporation of Japan.
[0145] The external magnet transfer arm can be an industrial robot. Alternatively, it can adopt the following structure:
[0146] The external magnet transfer arm includes a gantry bracket, guide rail, slider, strip mounting plate, lifting cylinder and lead screw module assembly;
[0147] The top of the gantry support has a horizontally arranged rectangular frame, which spans across the ring guide rail of the diaphragm gas meter assembly line.
[0148] The guide rail and lead screw module assembly are fixedly installed on the upper surface of the two parallel sides of the rectangular frame that are perpendicular to the length direction of the annular guide rail directly below; the slider is slidably mounted on the guide rail, and the reciprocating nut on the lead screw module assembly is fixedly connected to the slider through the strip mounting plate;
[0149] The push rod of the lifting cylinder faces downward and is fixedly installed on the lower surface of the strip mounting plate. The push rod of the lifting cylinder constitutes the actuator of the external magnet transfer arm.
[0150] The structure of the external magnet transfer arm described above achieves lateral movement through guide rails and lead screw module components, allowing the vacuum nozzle to be moved laterally from directly above the outlet of the external magnet to directly above the installation location inside the upper cover. The lifting cylinder facilitates smooth vertical lifting and is used for height alignment during the picking up and assembly of the external magnet.
[0151] Compared to industrial robots, the structure of the above-mentioned external magnet transfer arm has the advantages of lower cost and more reliable operation.
[0152] The external magnet assembly mechanism also includes an external magnet assembly detection module. The external magnet assembly detection module includes a photoelectric sensor, which is fixedly installed on the gantry bracket. The probe of the photoelectric sensor is directly opposite the radial outer side of the inner bushing of the upper cover of the loading seat at the external magnet assembly station.
[0153] After adopting the above-mentioned external magnet assembly detection module (not shown in the attached figure), different distance values can be detected by photoelectric sensors before and after the external magnet is assembled, so as to reliably determine whether the external magnet is assembled in place.
[0154] In practice, the photoelectric sensor is preferably a laser photoelectric sensor (such as the LR-X series miniature laser sensor manufactured by Keyence) or a fiber optic sensor with stronger anti-interference capabilities. This ensures a more reliable and continuous acquisition of assembly quality detection signals.
[0155] The external magnet assembly mechanism also includes an external magnet feeding module, which includes a vibrating feeding plate, an external magnet guide output groove, and a positioning block.
[0156] The input end of the external magnet guide output channel is connected to the discharge port of the vibrating feeding plate. The output end of the external magnet guide output channel is provided with a positioning block. The upper surface of the positioning block has a U-shaped receiving groove that can accommodate a single external magnet. The opening end of the U-shaped receiving groove is connected to the output end of the external magnet guide output channel.
[0157] After adopting the above vibrating feeding plate, the outer magnets can be loaded in batches and fed one by one to the outer magnet guide output groove. The outer magnet guide output groove guides the outer magnets one by one to the positioning block, so that the vacuum nozzle can accurately pick up the individual outer magnets.
[0158] The external magnet feeding module also includes an external magnet lifting cylinder;
[0159] The bottom of the U-shaped receiving trough is provided with a perforation, which is concentric with the outer magnet.
[0160] The outer magnet lifting cylinder is fixed to the lower surface of the positioning block, and the push rod shaft of the lifting cylinder can exit or pass through the through hole and be inserted into the shaft hole of the outer magnet; the outer magnet lifting cylinder is used to lift the outer magnet located in the U-shaped receiving groove.
[0161] After the external magnet lifting cylinder (not shown in the attached figure) is set up, the external magnet in the U-shaped receiving groove can be lifted to the designed height by the external magnet lifting cylinder, and the magnet to be picked up is separated from the magnet in the feeding groove to avoid mutual stacking and affect the gripping, thus ensuring the reliability of the picking. At the same time, this design can also simplify the structure of the external magnet assembly mechanism and reduce the manufacturing cost of this assembly mechanism.
[0162] The external magnet assembly mechanism also includes an external magnet attitude adjustment module (not shown in the figure), which is fixedly installed along the symmetrical center line of the U-shaped receiving groove of the positioning block to the outside of the positioning block.
[0163] The external magnet attitude adjustment module includes a U-shaped fork, an adjustment cylinder, and a cylinder bracket;
[0164] The adjusting cylinder is fixedly supported by the cylinder bracket. The U-shaped fork is fixedly installed on the push rod of the adjusting cylinder. The U-shaped opening width of the U-shaped fork matches the outer diameter of the shaft with the paddle on the outer magnet.
[0165] Under the push of the adjustment cylinder, the two end faces of the U-shaped opening of the U-shaped fork are used to push the lever on the outer magnet along the symmetrical center line of the U-shaped receiving groove, so as to adjust the posture of the outer magnet before assembly.
[0166] This technical solution, by adopting the above-mentioned external magnet attitude adjustment module, can push the lever on the external magnet by extending the U-shaped fork, avoiding the lever on the external magnet being in the left or right direction (with the symmetrical center line of the U-shaped receiving groove as a reference for left or right). This avoids the lever on the external magnet being in the left or right direction, which, after being assembled onto the bushing, could easily cause hard contact with the transmission structure on the mechanism that mates with the lever on the external magnet after the mechanism is installed in the subsequent mechanism assembly station, thus preventing damage or breakage.
[0167] As can be seen, by adopting the above external magnet attitude adjustment module, the assembly quality of the external magnet and the subsequent movement can be effectively guaranteed, thereby better ensuring the assembly quality of the finished watch.
[0168] IV. Lower Cover Sealing Ring Assembly Mechanism
[0169] The lower cover sealing ring assembly mechanism includes:
[0170] The sealing ring flat positioning module has a sealing ring support positioning plate. The sealing ring support positioning plate is provided with a sealing ring insertion position for vertical insertion of the sealing ring. The sealing ring insertion position has a ring of positioning step holes for inserting the sealing ring in reverse and the step surface of the sealing ring is in contact with the lower end surface of the sealing ring. The hollow part inside the positioning step holes can allow the inverted lower cover to completely penetrate from bottom to top.
[0171] The lower cover conveying and lifting module has a lower cover conveying line and a lower cover lifting cylinder. An assembly lifting point is provided on the rear side of the lower cover conveying line in the direction of travel. When the lower cover is conveyed to the assembly lifting point, it stops. The lower cover lifting cylinder is used to lift the lower cover at the assembly lifting point and pass through the positioning step hole on the sealing ring support positioning plate, so that the upper inner convex edge of the inverted sealing ring overlaps with the connecting flange of the lower cover.
[0172] The lower cover adsorption and transfer module has a lower cover adsorption and transfer arm equipped with a vacuum nozzle for the lower cover. After the vacuum nozzle for the lower cover picks up the inverted top surface of the lower cover, it is transferred to the upper cover on the loading seat at the lower cover packaging and assembly station and then released, completing the online assembly of the lower cover sealing ring.
[0173] The lower cover sealing ring assembly mechanism in this solution enables a more rational assembly process and better assembly quality. The specific assembly process is as follows:
[0174] First, a sealing ring flat positioning module is used to insert the sealing ring and complete precise positioning;
[0175] Secondly, the lower cover conveying and lifting module uses the lower cover lifting cylinder to push the lower cover from bottom to top into the positioning step hole on the sealing ring support positioning plate in the sealing ring flat positioning module; because of the structural feature that "the hollow part inside the positioning step hole is used to allow the lower cover to completely pass through from bottom to top" (that is, there is a gap between the inner side of the positioning step hole and the outer side of the sealing surface of the lower cover), it can effectively avoid the outer side of the lower cover in the circumferential direction from rubbing against the sealing ring support positioning plate, thus playing a better role in protecting the appearance of the lower cover;
[0176] Finally, after the lower cover is lifted into place, the lower cover and sealing ring can be picked up and transferred by the lower cover adsorption and transfer module to complete the online assembly of the two.
[0177] As can be seen from the above, compared with the existing technology, the advantages of the lower cover sealing ring assembly mechanism of this solution are:
[0178] The upper and lower cover sealing ring assembly mechanism has a relatively simple structure and low manufacturing cost. At the same time, it can make the assembly process between the lower cover sealing ring more reasonable. By positioning the sealing ring first and then moving the lower cover into place and lifting it to fit the sealing ring, the combination of the sealing ring and the lower cover is realized. Finally, the lower cover adsorption transfer module can install the above two components at one time, which better ensures the assembly quality of the lower cover sealing ring.
[0179] In practice, the top edge of the positioning step hole has a chamfer. This chamfer reduces the precision required for aligning and inserting the sealing ring onto the sealing ring support positioning plate, thus improving the accuracy of inserting the sealing ring onto the sealing ring support positioning plate.
[0180] A blocking block is provided at the assembly lifting point, located above the lower cover conveyor line.
[0181] The above-mentioned blocking blocks can prevent the lower cover from moving further on the lower cover conveyor line, thereby achieving accurate positioning and reducing the difficulty of controlling the displacement of the lower cover using the lower cover conveyor line.
[0182] The sealing ring support positioning plate has positioning holes on its four sides located on the outer side of the upper end of the positioning step hole.
[0183] The above positioning holes are designed to work in conjunction with the corresponding guide posts on the sealing ring transfer structure (i.e., the conical sections of the short-side clamping posts and long-side clamping posts in the sealing ring transfer structure) to achieve precise positioning and ensure that the sealing ring can be accurately fed.
[0184] The sealing ring support positioning plate is a long strip structure with the sealing ring insertion positions mirror-symmetrically arranged at both ends along its length.
[0185] The sealing ring flat positioning module also includes a sealing ring 180-degree rotary cylinder. The sealing ring support and positioning plate is fixed on the rotary table of the sealing ring 180-degree rotary cylinder, and the midpoint of the length direction of the sealing ring support and positioning plate coincides with the center line of the rotary table of the sealing ring 180-degree rotary cylinder.
[0186] The sealing ring is positioned at 0 degrees on the rotary table of the 180-degree rotary cylinder, with the 180-degree position directly above the assembly lifting point.
[0187] This increases the feeding rate of the sealing ring and the assembly rate between the sealing ring and the lower cover per unit time, thus accelerating the assembly speed between the sealing ring and the lower cover.
[0188] The lower cover adsorption transfer arm includes a gantry bracket for assembling the lower cover sealing ring, and the top frame of the gantry bracket for assembling the lower cover sealing ring is located above the annular guide rail of the diaphragm gas meter assembly production line.
[0189] The lower cover adsorption transfer arm also includes a lifting cylinder, a 180-degree rotary cylinder for the lower cover, and a long support plate; the push rod of the lifting cylinder is vertically fixedly installed on the lower side of the top frame of the gantry bracket for assembling the lower cover sealing ring with the push rod facing downward; the 180-degree rotary cylinder for the lower cover is fixedly installed on the lower surface of the push rod of the lifting cylinder; the support plate is fixedly installed on the rotary table of the 180-degree rotary cylinder for the lower cover, and the midpoint of the support plate coincides with the axis of rotation of the rotary table of the 180-degree rotary cylinder for the lower cover; vacuum nozzles for the lower cover are fixedly installed on the lower sides of both ends of the support plate along its length.
[0190] The 0-degree position of the rotary table of the 180-degree rotary cylinder for the lower cover constitutes the lower cover sealing ring suction position, and the 180-degree position is the upper assembly position of the lower cover sealing ring.
[0191] This increases the assembly cycle time for the initial assembly between the lower cover and the sealing ring, as well as the overall assembly of the initial assembly between the lower cover and the sealing ring, thus improving assembly efficiency.
[0192] The length direction of the lower cover conveyed on the lower cover conveyor line is consistent with the conveying direction of the conveyor belt;
[0193] The lower cover conveying and lifting module also includes a lower cover attitude detection and adjustment unit; the lower cover attitude detection and adjustment unit is located on the front side of the lower cover conveying line in the direction of travel, and forms a lower cover attitude detection and adjustment position;
[0194] The lower cover posture detection and adjustment unit includes a controllable stop block, an image acquisition sensor, a posture detection controller, and a lifting and rotating cylinder assembly.
[0195] The controllable stop block can be raised and lowered vertically and can be used to block or allow the lower cover conveyed on the lower cover conveyor line to pass.
[0196] The image acquisition sensor is fixedly installed on the side or directly above the lower cover conveyor line. The camera of the image acquisition sensor is used to capture video signals of the long protrusions and short protrusions on the sealing surface of the lower cover shell and send them to the attitude detection controller. The attitude detection controller is used to determine the front-to-back order of the long protrusions and short protrusions on the sealing surface of the lower cover shell in the conveying direction of the lower cover conveyor line.
[0197] The lifting rotary cylinder assembly includes a vertical cylinder with the push rod pointing upwards and a 180-degree rotary cylinder fixedly installed at the upper end of the push rod. A long strip-shaped top rotating block is fixedly installed on the rotary table of the 180-degree rotary cylinder. The shape of the top rotating block matches the shape and size of the inner top of the lower cover.
[0198] The working principle of the aforementioned lower cover attitude detection and adjustment unit is as follows:
[0199] First, controllable blocks are used to block the front side of the lower cover on the conveyor belt;
[0200] Next, the image acquisition sensor (an industrial camera; additional lighting can be added if the lighting is low; not shown in the attached diagram) captures the sequence of the long and short protrusions on the sealing surface of the housing on the lower cover in the direction of the conveyor belt; and makes a judgment based on the position of the long and short brackets on the core assembly that will be assembled into the upper cover (the long protrusions need to be matched with the long brackets, and the short protrusions need to be matched with the short brackets).
[0201] Subsequently, when the long protrusion / short protrusion is not aligned with the long support / short support, the attitude detection controller sends a control signal to the lifting rotary cylinder assembly to rotate 180 degrees to adjust the attitude.
[0202] Finally, ensure that the long protrusions / short protrusions are not directly aligned with the long supports / short supports, then retract the controllable stop and allow the lower cover on the conveyor belt to pass through.
[0203] As can be seen from the above, the setting of the lower cover posture detection and adjustment unit in this solution can automatically complete the detection and adjustment of the lower cover posture without the need for manual intervention to judge and adjust whether the "long protrusion / short protrusion is not aligned with the long bracket / short bracket", which significantly improves the intelligence and accuracy of the lower cover assembly.
[0204] The lower cover sealing ring assembly mechanism also includes a sealing ring feeding structure and a sealing ring removal structure.
[0205] V. Sealing ring feeding mechanism
[0206] The sealing ring feeding mechanism includes a cantilever, a cantilever support structure, and an upper sealing ring positioning detection module;
[0207] The rear end of the cantilever is fixedly installed on the cantilever support structure; the front section of the cantilever has a suspended sealing ring conveyor belt assembly, on which multiple sealing rings can be placed side by side and can be output one by one towards the front end of the conveyor belt under the drive of a synchronous belt drive motor;
[0208] The sealing ring detection module is used to detect whether there is a sealing ring at the front end of the conveyor belt where the material is to be picked up and outputs a detection signal.
[0209] The working principle of the sealing ring feeding mechanism in this solution is as follows:
[0210] When the sealing ring positioning detection module is in use: when a sealing ring is detected at the material pick-up position of the sealing ring conveyor belt, the synchronous belt drive motor stops driving, and the sealing ring at that position is in a state where it can be picked up and moved by the sealing ring removal structure;
[0211] If the sealing ring detection module fails to detect the sealing ring within a preset time, the synchronous belt drive motor will drive the conveyor belt to continuously convey and replenish the material to the front-end material pick-up position.
[0212] If the sealing ring detection module fails to detect the sealing ring within a preset time, it will output a material shortage signal to remind workers to replenish the material in time.
[0213] Compared with existing technologies, the sealing ring feeding mechanism of this solution has the following advantages:
[0214] The conveyor belt assembly on the cantilever can suspend and store multiple sealing rings along its length, and can deliver the sealing rings one by one to the front-end pick-up position. Therefore, this solution can realize batch feeding and unloading of sealing rings, effectively solving a difficult problem in the industry.
[0215] In practice, it is preferable to fix a stop block at the front end of the conveyor belt where the material is to be picked up. The stop block is used to block and limit the sealing ring, ensuring that the sealing ring can be reliably positioned at the stop block and receive detection by the online sealing ring positioning detection module.
[0216] In practice, when the number of cantilever arms is a single piece, the synchronous belt drive motor can be directly fixedly installed on the side support plate frame of the sealing ring conveyor belt assembly, and the output shaft of the synchronous belt drive motor is driven by the shaft of the drive wheel in the sealing ring conveyor belt assembly (through belt or gear meshing).
[0217] In practice, the upper sealing ring positioning detection module can use a photoelectric sensor or a proximity sensor. By measuring the signal changes generated by the sensor over a specified time (based on the conveyor belt's moving speed and distance), it can be determined whether a sealing ring is present at that position.
[0218] The cantilever support structure includes a controllable turntable and a turntable bracket; the rear side of the controllable turntable is rotatably mounted on the turntable bracket and a turntable drive motor for driving the controllable turntable to rotate is fixedly mounted on the turntable bracket.
[0219] At least two cantilever arms are evenly spaced and vertically fixed on the front end face of the controllable turntable. Among all the cantilever arms, the cantilever arm that rotates to the bottom side along the controllable turntable is the discharge arm.
[0220] The advantages of the above cantilever support structure are:
[0221] 1. By using the controllable turntable and at least two fixedly installed cantilever arms, the number of cantilever arms and the number of sealing rings loaded on the cantilever arms can be increased several times. This ensures that after a single loading, there is no need for refueling for a longer period of time, extending the continuous and reliable supply and assembly time of sealing rings.
[0222] 2. After setting up the above-mentioned discharge arm, the material shortage can be quickly replenished on the cantilever when the discharge arm is discharging material; this way, the machine can be stopped without stopping, effectively ensuring the production rhythm of sealing ring and table assembly.
[0223] The sealing ring feeding mechanism also includes a motor lifting cylinder, which is fixedly mounted on the turntable bracket located below the controllable turntable by a bracket;
[0224] The push rod of the motor lifting cylinder faces upward and the synchronous belt drive motor is fixedly installed on the push rod. The output gear of the synchronous belt drive motor can mesh with the drive teeth provided on the lower side of the conveyor belt of the discharge arm under the push of the motor lifting cylinder.
[0225] With the above structure including the cylinder for motor lifting, a set of synchronous belt drive motors can be used to connect with the conveyor belts of each discharge arm and drive the conveyor belts.
[0226] This not only simplifies the drive structure of the conveyor belt of the discharge arm, but also saves the cost of manufacturing the sealing ring feeding mechanism, resulting in better overall performance and economic benefits.
[0227] The lower part of the turntable bracket has a rectangular support frame;
[0228] One pair of vertical frame edges of the rectangular support frame extend upward to form a pair of vertical support rods. At least two horizontal reinforcing connecting rods are fixedly connected between the upper sections of the pair of vertical support rods at intervals in the vertical direction. The upper sections of the pair of vertical support rods constitute the mounting part for the controllable turntable to rotate and be installed.
[0229] The advantages of the above structure are:
[0230] 1. The fixed connection structure of the above-mentioned pair of vertical support rods and horizontal reinforcing connecting rods can improve the overall connection reliability and achieve reliable support for the controllable turntable.
[0231] 2. The lower part of the aforementioned turntable support has a rectangular support frame. This allows the control unit of the assembly line to be installed within or on top of the rectangular support frame, achieving full utilization of space and a lower center of gravity for greater stability. Simultaneously, the rectangular support frame also provides a larger contact area between the bottom of the turntable support and the ground, resulting in a more stable turntable support effect.
[0232] A pair of diagonal reinforcing support rods are also fixedly installed between the upper section of the pair of vertical support rods and the top of the rectangular support frame.
[0233] A pair of oblique mounting rods are fixedly installed at the middle position along the length of the pair of oblique reinforcing support rods, and the upper sealing ring positioning detection module is fixedly installed at the upper end of the pair of oblique mounting rods.
[0234] By using the aforementioned pair of diagonal reinforcing support rods to support a pair of vertical support rods, a stable triangular connection structure can be formed between the pair of vertical support rods, the diagonal reinforcing support rods, and the top of the rectangular support frame, ensuring that the turntable bracket can be durable, sturdy, and reliable.
[0235] In addition, the aforementioned pair of inclined mounting rods are relatively easy to install, and the upper sealing ring positioning detection module located at the upper end of the pair of inclined mounting rods has a simple and reliable support structure and is in an ideal detection position.
[0236] The sealing ring positioning detection module is a through-beam photoelectric sensor located on the side of the sealing ring at the front end of the conveyor belt, where the material is to be picked up.
[0237] In practice, the through-beam photoelectric sensor can be a through-beam laser sensor or a fiber optic sensor.
[0238] The sealing ring feeding mechanism also includes a sealing ring transfer structure, which is used to clamp and transfer a single sealing ring at the front end of the conveyor belt to the lower cover sealing ring assembly mechanism.
[0239] VI. Sealing ring removal structure
[0240] A closed-loop transfer structure, including a robot with grippers;
[0241] The robot is an industrial six-axis robot, and the gripper is fixedly installed on the actuator of the industrial six-axis robot;
[0242] The gripper includes a rectangular clamping plate, one side of which is a mounting surface for the actuator hand of an industrial six-axis robot, and the other side is a clamping surface.
[0243] On one of the long sides of the clamping surface, a protruding long side clamping post is fixedly installed on one long side, and a transversely movable clamping block that can reciprocate along the width direction of the clamping plate is installed on the other long side. A transverse clamping cylinder is fixedly installed on the fixed surface of the clamping plate, and the transversely movable clamping block is fixedly installed on the push rod of the transverse clamping cylinder.
[0244] On a pair of short sides of the clamping surface: a protruding short side clamping post is fixedly installed on the upper short side; a vertically movable clamping block that can reciprocate along the length of the clamping plate is installed on the lower short side; a vertical clamping cylinder is fixedly installed on the lower side of the fixed surface of the clamping plate; and the vertically movable clamping block is fixedly installed on the push rod of the vertical clamping cylinder.
[0245] The rated thrust of the vertical clamping cylinder is greater than the rated thrust of the horizontal clamping cylinder.
[0246] The operation process of the sealing ring removal structure in this scheme is as follows:
[0247] First, the operator moves the clamping plate vertically, aligning it with the sealing ring.
[0248] Secondly, the hanging sealing ring is surrounded by the long side clamping posts, the horizontal movable clamping blocks, the short side clamping posts, and the vertical movable clamping blocks.
[0249] Next, the lateral clamping cylinder drives the lateral movable clamping block and the long side clamping post to achieve lateral clamping of the sealing ring, providing the lateral clamping function to initially clamp the sealing ring;
[0250] Furthermore, because "the rated thrust of the vertical clamping cylinder is greater than the rated thrust of the horizontal clamping cylinder", the vertical clamping cylinder can drive the vertical movable clamping block to continue moving upward, so that the upper short side of the sealing ring can be separated from the cantilever and suspended in the air, until: the vertical clamping cylinder continues to drive until the top short side of the sealing ring contacts the short side clamping post, thus achieving vertical clamping.
[0251] Finally, an industrial six-axis robot can lay the clamped sealing ring flat in the predetermined position to complete the sealing ring feeding.
[0252] As can be seen from the above, the advantages of the sealing ring removal structure in this scheme are:
[0253] 1. The enclosed ring material handling structure and process are ingenious, achieving better handling and protection effects.
[0254] This solution employs a clever structural design to achieve the sealed-loop transfer structure:
[0255] Firstly, the sealing ring suspended by the cantilever can be detached from the cantilever and suspended in the air, thereby avoiding collisions or friction between the sealing ring and the cantilever during the material handling process, preventing changes in the posture of the sealing ring during the handling process, and better protecting the integrity of the sealing ring and the cantilever structure, thus providing a better protection effect.
[0256] 2. The above-mentioned clamping structure can clamp the sealing ring around its perimeter, thereby achieving a reliable clamping effect and ensuring reliable feeding of the sealing ring.
[0257] Two long-side locking posts are spaced apart on the long side of the clamping plate along the same straight line parallel to the long side; two short-side locking posts are spaced apart on the short side of the clamping plate along the same straight line parallel to the short side.
[0258] By using the above-mentioned paired clamping posts for the long side and the short side, a multi-point contact connection can be formed between the long and short sides of the sealing ring, further improving the reliability of the sealing ring clamping.
[0259] Both the long-side clamping post and the short-side clamping post have a two-section structure with a cylindrical section and a conical section along their own axial direction; wherein, the cylindrical section is the clamping section close to the clamping plate and its length is greater than the thickness of the sealing ring; the outer diameter of the conical section gradually decreases in the axial direction away from its own cylindrical section.
[0260] The above-mentioned long-side and short-side clamping posts not only have the advantages of simple structure and easy processing.
[0261] Meanwhile, by adopting the above structure, the cylindrical sections of the long-side and short-side clamping posts can be used to hold the sealing rings; and the conical sections of the long-side and short-side clamping posts can be used to cooperate with the corresponding positioning step holes on the sealing ring feeding fixture (i.e., the sealing ring support positioning plate in the sealing ring flat positioning module), ensuring accurate feeding of the sealing rings. This results in better practical performance.
[0262] In practice, it is preferable to use threads to secure the long-side and short-side clamping pins to the clamping plate.
[0263] The inner surface of the cylindrical section of each of the long-side and short-side retaining posts, which contacts the sealing ring, is provided with a limiting recess for the side of the sealing ring to fall into.
[0264] The above-mentioned limit recess structure can play a limiting role during the removal of the sealing ring, thereby more effectively preventing the sealing ring from shifting or even falling due to squeezing during the grasping process, and improving the reliability of sealing ring grasping and transfer.
[0265] The area on the clamping plate outside the actuator hand, horizontal clamping cylinder, and vertical clamping cylinder of the industrial six-axis robot has a hollow structure.
[0266] The hollow structure on the clamping plate helps reduce the weight of the clamping plate (robot load), saves manufacturing materials, and reduces costs.
[0267] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be noted that any modifications and improvements made by those skilled in the art without departing from the present technical solution should also be considered to fall within the scope of protection claimed in this claim.
Claims
1. The assembly process of a diaphragm gas meter includes the following steps: First, an assembly quality detection sensor is installed at at least one assembly station on the diaphragm gas meter assembly line. The assembly quality detection sensor is used to detect whether the assembly station has an NG (Not Good) status. The feature is that an NG product placement position is set near the off-line position of the diaphragm gas meter assembly line. Secondly, when the assembly quality inspection sensor detects an NG state, the parts on the loading seat at that assembly station are marked as NG products, and from that assembly station to the off-line position: the guide rail conveying mechanism of the diaphragm gas meter assembly production line maintains a normal conveying rhythm to convey the loading seat carrying NG products, and the loading seat carrying NG products will no longer be used by subsequent stations to assemble incomplete parts. Finally, when the loading platform carrying the NG products is transported to the off-line station: the off-line robot of the diaphragm gas meter assembly line transfers the NG products to the NG product placement position; One or more of the following stations: top cover loading station, outer magnet assembly station, top cover gluing station, movement assembly station, sealing ring assembly station, and bottom cover assembly station; The diaphragm gas meter assembly line also includes a bushing lubrication station, which is located between the upper cover assembly station and the outer magnet assembly station. The bushing lubrication station includes a mounting bracket, as well as an upper cover clamping unit, a transverse movement unit, and a lubricating medium coating unit that are fixedly installed on the gantry bracket; The upper cover pressing unit has a vertically telescopic pressing part for pressing the upper cover from top to bottom; The transverse unit has a transverse part, which can drive the coating head of the lubricating medium coating unit to approach the inner bushing of the upper cover; The external magnet assembly station employs an external magnet assembly mechanism, which includes an external magnet transfer arm and a vacuum nozzle. The vacuum nozzle is mounted on the actuator hand of the external magnet transfer arm. The external magnet assembly mechanism also includes a rotating module, which is integrally fixedly mounted on the actuator hand of the external magnet transfer arm. The rotating module has a rotating part capable of rotating in a vertical plane and achieving angular positioning at 0 degrees, -90 degrees, and -180 degrees. The vacuum nozzle is fixedly mounted on the rotating part. The actuator hand of the external magnet transfer arm... The rotating module and its rotating part, along with the vacuum nozzle, can extend into the internal space of the upper cover of the diaphragm gas meter. The outer magnet assembly mechanism also includes an outer magnet attitude adjustment module, which includes a U-shaped fork and an adjustment cylinder. The width of the U-shaped opening of the U-shaped fork matches the outer diameter of the shaft with the paddle on the outer magnet. Under the push of the push rod of the adjustment cylinder, the two end faces of the U-shaped opening of the U-shaped fork are used to push the paddle on the outer magnet along the symmetrical center line of the U-shaped receiving groove, thereby adjusting the attitude of the outer magnet before assembly.
2. The assembly process for a diaphragm gas meter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The NG item placement location includes an NG item placement bracket; The NG product placement bracket is installed independently of the diaphragm gas meter assembly production line. The NG product placement bracket is installed on the ground outside the lower position of the guide rail conveying mechanism of the diaphragm gas meter assembly production line. The NG item placement bracket has a placement surface for placing multiple NG items.
3. The assembly process for a diaphragm gas meter according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The NG item placement bracket includes a support frame and a drive wheel, a driven wheel, and a conveyor belt fitted between the drive wheel and the driven wheel, all disposed on the top of the support frame; the drive wheel is driven by a drive motor, and the drive motor is electrically connected to a motor controller.
4. The assembly process for a diaphragm gas meter according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The assembly quality inspection sensor is a photoelectric sensor, which is set at the workstation to be inspected, and the detection head of the photoelectric sensor is facing the assembly part to be inspected at the assembly workstation.