A locking nut automatic feeding and tightening device and control method thereof

Abstract

The present invention belongs to the technical field of wheel hub installation, and specifically relates to an automatic feeding and tightening device for locking nuts and a control method thereof. The present invention comprises a linear conveying module, a horizontal screwing mechanism symmetrically installed on both sides of the linear conveying module, and a feeding truss manipulator installed on the peripheral side of the linear conveying module; the two horizontal screwing mechanisms screw the locking nuts on both sides of the workpiece to be tightened at the same time. The present invention screws the locking nuts on both sides of the workpiece to be tightened on a horizontal plane at the same time by setting the horizontal screwing mechanism on both sides of the linear conveying module, thereby abandoning the traditional manual screwing method of the workpiece in the up and down directions. The present invention does not need to flip the workpiece, reduces the investment cost of the installation process and auxiliary equipment, and the screwing installation of the entire locking nut and the workpiece is fully automated, ensuring the continuity of the production rhythm and the stability of the production quality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of wheel hub installation, and particularly relates to an automatic feeding and tightening device for a locking nut and a control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] After the wheel hub and the drive axle housing are assembled, a tightening device is needed to fix the two wheel hubs respectively with two locking round nuts. After tightening, the bearing clearance needs to be released and the rotational torque needs to be measured. The traditional method is to manually place the nut on the workpiece, tighten the round nut with a handheld electric wrench, and then loosen it with a pneumatic wrench to release the bearing clearance, observe while loosening, and finally measure the rotational torque manually. Excessive bearing clearance makes the machine unstable and noisy. In order to meet the demand, the bearing clearance needs to be released. The torque generated by the shaft must be measured when the gear is running. During the entire process of loading and tightening the locking round nut, releasing the bearing clearance, and measuring the rotational torque, the workpiece needs to be rotated horizontally 180 degrees with the help of a mechanical auxiliary tool, and then the round nut on the other side is tightened. The workpiece then flows into the next station, and the rotational torque of the wheel hubs on both sides is measured manually. The traditional process has the following problems:

[0003] (1) Many process steps are completed manually, which occupies and wastes a lot of manpower, and the production rhythm is inconsistent, the production capacity is unstable, and the operation efficiency is low.

[0004] (2) The detection of bearing clearance and rotational torque depends entirely on manual experience and technology, which is prone to errors and affects the pass rate. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the defects in the prior art that nuts need to be manually screwed, production capacity is unstable, and operation efficiency is low, and to provide a locking nut automatic feeding and tightening device and a control method thereof that can be fully automated and ensure stable and efficient production capacity.

[0006] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve its technical problem is:

[0007] As a first aspect, an automatic feeding and tightening device for locking nuts comprises a wire conveying module, a horizontal screwing mechanism symmetrically installed on both sides of the wire conveying module, and a feeding truss manipulator installed on the periphery of the wire conveying module; the two horizontal screwing mechanisms screw the locking nuts on both sides of the workpiece to be tightened simultaneously; wherein,

[0008] The horizontal screwing mechanism comprises a frame, a rear slide and a front slide slidably mounted on the frame via a sliding assembly, a screwing assembly mounted on the rear slide, a mounting plate slidably mounted on the front slide via a profile changing mechanism, and at least one sleeve assembly mounted on the sliding plate;

[0009] The distance between the front slide and the rear slide in the Y-axis direction is adjusted by a positioning cylinder. When the positioning cylinder is in an original state, the screwing assembly is circumferentially fixedly connected to the sleeve assembly; when the positioning cylinder is in an extended state, the screwing assembly is in a separated state from the sleeve assembly.

[0010] Further, there are multiple sleeve assemblies, and the multiple sleeve assemblies are sequentially mounted on the mounting plate along the X-axis direction. The sleeve assembly includes:

[0011] Rotate the docking shaft mounted on the mounting plate;

[0012] A nut sleeve, coaxially arranged with the docking shaft and used for placing a nut;

[0013] An adjustment module, coaxially arranged with the docking shaft, for adjusting the position of the nut sleeve;

[0014] A clearance releasing module is arranged on the docking shaft between the nut sleeve and the adjusting module, and is used for releasing the bearing clearance between the wheel hub and the driving axle.

[0015] Further, the clearance release module comprises a clearance release gear disc coaxially arranged with the docking shaft, and an anti-loose sensor mounted on the front slide via a support frame and mounted in cooperation with the clearance release gear disc;

[0016] When no bearing clearance is set, the lowest tooth tip in the clearance release gear disc is the first tooth tip, and the screwing assembly drives the docking shaft to rotate in the opposite direction. When the first tooth tip senses the anti-loose sensor, the bearing clearance is completely released;

[0017] The adjustment module includes an adjustment toothed disc coaxially arranged with the docking shaft, and a correction sensor mounted on the front slide via a support frame and mounted in coordination with the adjustment toothed disc;

[0018] When the tooth tip of the adjusting toothed disc senses the correction sensor, the nut sleeve is in the original position.

[0019] Further, the loading truss manipulator includes a frame installed on the placement platform, an X-axis moving mechanism installed on the frame, a Y-axis moving mechanism installed on the moving end of the X-axis moving mechanism, a Z-axis moving mechanism installed on the moving end of the Y-axis moving mechanism, and a bidirectional clamping claw mechanism installed on the moving end of the Z-axis moving mechanism;

[0020] The X-axis moving mechanism, the Y-axis moving mechanism, and the Z-axis moving mechanism sequentially drive the bidirectional clamping mechanism to move along corresponding directions.

[0021] Furthermore, the bidirectional clamping mechanism comprises:

[0022] Two clamping jaw assemblies, used to clamp nuts or washers to be screwed;

[0023] A feeding rotating mechanism, mounted on the moving end of the Z-axis moving mechanism, for driving the clamping jaw assembly to rotate along the Z-axis;

[0024] A feeding turning mechanism, installed between the feeding rotating mechanism and the clamping jaw assembly, for driving the clamping jaw assembly to rotate between a horizontal posture and a vertical posture;

[0025] When taking materials, the clamping jaw assembly is in a vertical posture; when putting materials down, the clamping jaw assembly is in a horizontal posture.

[0026] Furthermore, it also includes a silo for storing and pushing out materials, and the silo includes:

[0027] Silo base;

[0028] A rotating table rotatably mounted with the base via a rotating power assembly;

[0029] A material pushing assembly is fixedly mounted on the silo base and extends out of the upper end surface of the rotating table to be rotatably connected to the rotating table;

[0030] A plurality of material storage modules are distributed and installed on the upper end surface of the rotating table;

[0031] A plurality of horizontal insert plates are slidably arranged on the rotating platform and correspond one to one with the material storage modules;

[0032] When the material pushing action is not performed, the horizontal insert plate extends below the material in the material storage module; when the material pushing action is performed, the material pushing assembly pushes the horizontal insert plate located on the material pushing position to pass through the material storage module.

[0033] Furthermore, there are eight material storage modules, and two of the material storage modules located on the same diameter of the rotating table are provided with materials of the same type.

[0034] Furthermore, it also includes a rotational torque measuring mechanism, which includes a rotational torque measuring docking rod connected to the screwing assembly, a connector installed on the rotational torque measuring docking rod for connecting a workpiece, and a rotational torque detection sensor for measuring the rotational torque of the workpiece.

[0035] As a second aspect, a control method for a locking nut automatic feeding and tightening device comprises the following steps:

[0036] S1. Basic parameter setting, the basic parameters include workpiece model, nut model, whether a gasket is required, gasket model and screwing speed;

[0037] S2. Sleeve assembly selection, that is, selecting a sleeve assembly of a corresponding model according to the above-set basic parameters;

[0038] S3. Correction of the sleeve assembly position, that is, correcting the position of the nut sleeve through the adjustment module in the sleeve assembly;

[0039] S4. Nut conveying, that is, conveying two nuts at the same time through the loading truss manipulator, and placing the two nuts on the corresponding nut sleeves respectively;

[0040] S5. Screwing and fixing the nuts, starting the screwing assembly to screw and fix the nuts on both sides of the workpiece at the same time;

[0041] S6. Release of bearing clearance: release of the bearing clearance between the wheel hub and the drive axle through the clearance release module in the sleeve assembly;

[0042] S7. Testing of the rotational torque, that is, testing of the rotational torque of the workpiece after the nut is installed;

[0043] S8. The rear slide and the front slide return to their original positions, waiting for the nut of the next workpiece to be installed.

[0044] Furthermore, the detection of the rotational torque specifically includes the following steps:

[0045] S71. The front slide and the rear slide are moved to a safe position by the sliding assembly;

[0046] S72. Start the positioning cylinder to extend and separate the screw assembly from the sleeve assembly;

[0047] S73. The rotary torque detection device is moved to a docking position with the screwing assembly by means of a changeover mechanism;

[0048] S74. Start the positioning cylinder to retract, dock and install the rotational torque detection device with the screwing assembly, start the screwing assembly, and perform rotational torque detection.

[0049] The beneficial effects of the automatic feeding and tightening device for locking nuts of the present invention are:

[0050] The present invention arranges horizontal screwing mechanisms on both sides of the linear conveying module, and screws the locking nuts on both sides of the workpiece to be tightened on the horizontal plane at the same time, abandoning the traditional manual screwing of the workpiece in the up and down directions. The present invention does not need to turn the workpiece over, reducing the investment cost of the installation process and auxiliary equipment. The screwing installation of the entire locking nut and the workpiece is fully automated, ensuring the continuity of the production rhythm and the stability of the production quality. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0051] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0052] Figure 1 It is a stereoscopic diagram of the automatic feeding and tightening device for locking nuts according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0053] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of the horizontal screwing mechanism from a first viewing angle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0054] Figure 3 It is a schematic structural diagram of the horizontal screwing mechanism from a second viewing angle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0055] Figure 4 Detailed view of the rotary torque measuring mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0056] Figure 5 Detailed view of a sleeve assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0057] Figure 6 It is a structural schematic diagram of a loading truss robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0058] Figure 7 It is a schematic structural diagram of a bidirectional clamping jaw mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0059] Figure 8 It is a schematic structural diagram of a silo according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0060] Fig. 9 It is a partial structural schematic diagram of a silo according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0061] Fig.10 It is a flow chart of the steps of the control method of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0062] Fig.11 It is a work flow chart of the control method of the embodiment of the present invention.

[0063] In the figure: 1. Line conveying module, 2. Horizontal screwing mechanism, 21. Frame, 22. Rear slide, 23. Front slide, 24. Screwing assembly, 241. Screwing motor, 242. Tightening shaft, 25. Changing mechanism, 251. Changing motor, 26. Mounting plate, 27. Sleeve assembly, 271. Docking shaft, 272. Nut sleeve, 273. Adjustment module, 2731. Adjustment gear disc, 2732. Correction sensor, 274. Clearance release module, 2741. Clearance release gear disc, 2742. Support frame, 2743. Anti-loosening sensor, 28. Positioning cylinder, 29. Sliding assembly, 3. Loading truss manipulator, 31. Frame, 3 2. X-axis moving mechanism, 33. Y-axis moving mechanism, 34. Z-axis moving mechanism, 35. Bidirectional clamping mechanism, 351. Clamping jaw assembly, 352. Feeding rotating mechanism, 353. Feeding flipping mechanism, 4. Bin, 41. Rotating power assembly, 42. Rotating table, 43. Pushing assembly, 431. Pushing cylinder, 432. Pushing plate, 433. Pushing slot, 434. Cylindrical boss, 44. Storage module, 441. Mounting block, 442. Storage rack, 45. Horizontal plug plate, 46. Rack, 47. AI image recognition module, 5. Rotational torque measurement mechanism, 51. Rotational torque measurement docking rod, 52. Connector, 6. Workpiece. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0064] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. These drawings are simplified schematic diagrams, which only illustrate the basic structure of the present invention in a schematic manner, and therefore only show the components related to the present invention.

[0065] like Figure 1-Figure 9 The specific embodiment of the automatic feeding and tightening device for locking nuts of the present invention shown in the figure comprises a linear conveying module 1, a horizontal screwing mechanism 2 symmetrically installed on both sides of the linear conveying module 1, and a loading truss manipulator 3 installed on the peripheral side of the linear conveying module 1; the two horizontal screwing mechanisms 2 simultaneously screw the locking nuts on both sides of the workpiece 6 to be tightened; wherein the horizontal screwing mechanism 2 comprises a frame 21, a rear slide 22 and a front slide 23 slidably installed on the frame 21 through a sliding assembly 29, a screwing assembly 24 installed on the rear slide 22, a mounting plate 26 slidably installed on the front slide 23 through a changing mechanism 25, and at least one sleeve assembly 27 installed on the sliding plate; the distance between the front slide 23 and the rear slide 22 in the Y-axis direction is adjusted by a positioning cylinder 28, and when the positioning cylinder 28 is in the original state, the screwing assembly 24 is circumferentially fixedly connected to the sleeve assembly 27; when the positioning cylinder 28 is in the extended state, the screwing assembly 24 and the sleeve assembly 27 are in a separated state.

[0066] The sliding assembly 29 includes a sliding cylinder installed on the frame 21, a sliding guide rail arranged on the frame 21 along the Y-axis direction, and a sliding block matched with the sliding guide rail. The output end of the sliding cylinder is fixedly connected to the sliding block, and the sliding block is fixedly connected to the rear slide 22. The mold-changing mechanism 25 includes a mold-changing cylinder installed on the front slide 23, a mold-changing block connected to the output end of the mold-changing cylinder, and a mold-changing guide rail arranged on the front slide 23 along the X-axis direction. The mold-changing block is fixedly connected to the mounting frame. The mold-changing cylinder is started to drive the mounting frame to move along the X-axis direction on the front slide 23 to realize the replacement of different sleeve assemblies 27.

[0067] Specifically, the common movement of the rear slide 22 and the front slide 23 on the Y-axis is achieved by a sliding cylinder, and the distance between the front slide 23 and the rear slide 22 is adjusted by a positioning cylinder 28. When changing the model, the positioning cylinder 28 is extended, and the screwing assembly 24 is separated from the sleeve assembly 27.

[0068] It is further explained that a rotational torque measuring mechanism 5 is also installed on the mounting plate 26, and the rotational torque measuring mechanism 5 includes a rotational torque measuring docking rod 51 connected to the screwing assembly 24, a connector 52 installed on the rotational torque measuring docking rod 51 for connecting the workpiece 6, and a rotational torque detection sensor for measuring the rotational torque of the workpiece 6.

[0069] As an implementation method, there are multiple sleeve assemblies 27, and multiple sleeve assemblies 27 are sequentially installed on the mounting plate 26 along the X-axis direction. Three types of nut sleeve 272 assemblies 27 and rotation torque detection devices are designed on the mounting plate 26. According to the machine model and the action sequence, different working positions are switched to realize the screwing installation and rotation torque detection of nuts of different types. In this embodiment, when the mounting plate 26 switches the sleeve assembly 27 or the rotation torque detection mechanism along the X-axis, the rear slide 22 and the front slide 23 are driven by the sliding assembly 29 to move away from the line conveying module 1, that is, to ensure that the sleeve assembly 27 does not interfere with the workpiece 6 on the pallet, and at the same time, the positioning cylinder 28 is in an extended state to ensure that the screwing assembly 24 does not interfere with the sleeve assembly 27.

[0070] It is further explained that the sleeve assembly 27 in this embodiment includes:

[0071] Rotate the docking shaft 271 mounted on the mounting plate 26;

[0072] A nut sleeve 272 is coaxially arranged with the docking shaft 271 and is used to place a nut;

[0073] An adjustment module 273 is coaxially arranged with the docking shaft 271 and is used for adjusting the position of the nut sleeve 272;

[0074] The clearance release module 274 is disposed on the docking shaft 271 between the nut sleeve 272 and the adjustment module 273, and is used to release the bearing clearance between the wheel hub and the drive axle. Figure 2 As shown, in this embodiment, three different types of sleeve assemblies 27 are included.

[0075] It needs to be elaborated that, in this embodiment, the clearance release module 274 includes a clearance release toothed disc 2741 coaxially arranged with the docking shaft 271, and an anti-loosening sensor 2743 installed on the front slide 23 through a support frame 2742 and installed in cooperation with the clearance release toothed disc 2741. When no bearing clearance is set, the lowest tooth tip in the clearance release toothed disc 2741 is the first tooth tip, and the screwing assembly 24 drives the docking shaft 271 to rotate in the opposite direction. When the first tooth tip senses the anti-loosening sensor 2743, the bearing clearance is completely released. As an embodiment, the clearance release toothed disc 2741 is a 24-tooth toothed disc with an inter-tooth angle of 15 degrees. The bearing clearance release process is as follows: after the nut is tightened, the bearing clearance needs to be released, and the tightening assembly is anti-loosened at a speed of 1rpm. When the first tooth tip senses the anti-loosening sensor 2743, the tightening shaft 242 stops moving, and the bearing clearance is released.

[0076] like Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the adjustment module 273 includes an adjustment gear plate 2731 coaxially arranged with the docking shaft 271, and a correction sensor 2732 installed on the front slide 23 through a support frame 2742 and coordinated with the adjustment gear plate 2731. When the tooth tip of the adjustment gear plate 2731 senses the correction sensor 2732, the nut sleeve 272 is in its original position.

[0077] The edge of the nut used in this embodiment is provided with four grooves, of which two symmetrically arranged grooves are used for being grasped and positioned by the clamping claws of the feeding truss manipulator 3, and the other two symmetrically arranged grooves are used for positioning during material discharge. When tightening, the nut notch needs to be aligned with the keyway of the axle housing of the drive axle, otherwise the nut is not in the correct position and cannot be tightened. Therefore, convex grooves spaced 180 degrees are provided on each nut sleeve 272. Before the nut is placed, the convex groove of the sleeve needs to be kept in a vertical state to ensure that the nut can be accurately placed in the sleeve. In order to realize the automatic adjustment of the sleeve assembly 27, the adjustment toothed disc 2731 designed by the present invention is a 2-tooth toothed disc with an angle of 180 degrees between the teeth, and the position of the tooth tip corresponds to the position of the sleeve convex groove. The screwing assembly 24 drives the adjustment toothed disc 2731 to rotate slowly at a speed of 5rpm. When the tooth tip of the adjustment toothed disc 2731 senses the upper piece correction sensor 2732, it proves that the tightened sleeve tooling has returned to its original position, and the screwing assembly 24 stops rotating.

[0078] The sleeve assembly 27 of this embodiment is provided with a double toothed disc structure, and the adjustment toothed disc 2731 realizes automatic alignment of the tightening sleeve assembly 27, ensuring that the nut notch and the bridge housing keyway are automatically aligned; the clearance release toothed disc 2741 can release the bearing clearance. The sleeve assembly 27 of the invention is provided with an adjustment module 273, and each time the clamping jaw assembly 351 places the clamped material on the sleeve assembly 27, the sleeve assembly 27 is first adjusted by the adjustment module 273, so as to ensure that the material can be accurately placed in the nut sleeve 272 of the sleeve assembly 27, and also ensure the accurate positioning and docking of the nut and the workpiece 6.

[0079] The screwing assembly 24 includes a screwing motor 241 for providing power, an elastic sleeve connected to the output shaft of the screwing motor 241, and a tightening shaft 242 installed on the elastic sleeve, wherein the docking shaft 271 and the rotary torque measuring docking rod 51 are both matched with the tightening shaft 242. When the docking shaft 271 or the rotary torque measuring docking rod 51 and the tightening shaft 242 are in an installed state, the two are circumferentially fixed.

[0080] Reference Figure 6 and Figure 7 The loading truss robot 3 includes a frame 31 installed on the placement platform, an X-axis moving mechanism 32 installed on the frame 31, a Y-axis moving mechanism 33 installed on the moving end of the X-axis moving mechanism 32, a Z-axis moving mechanism 34 installed on the moving end of the Y-axis moving mechanism 33, and a bidirectional clamping mechanism 35 installed on the moving end of the Z-axis moving mechanism 34; the X-axis moving mechanism 32, the Y-axis moving mechanism 33, and the Z-axis moving mechanism 34 sequentially drive the bidirectional clamping mechanism 35 to move along the corresponding directions.

[0081] The bidirectional clamp mechanism 35 includes: two clamp assemblies 351 for clamping the material to be screwed; a feeding rotating mechanism 352, installed on the moving end of the Z-axis moving mechanism 34, for driving the clamp assembly 351 to rotate along the Z-axis; a feeding flipping mechanism 353, installed between the feeding rotating mechanism 352 and the clamp assembly 351, for driving the clamp assembly 351 to rotate horizontally and vertically. When picking up materials, the clamp assembly 351 is in a vertical position; when releasing materials, the clamp assembly 351 is in a horizontal position.

[0082] The Z-axis moving mechanism 34 and the Y-axis moving mechanism 33 are both controlled by Siemens servo motors, and the X-axis moving mechanism 32 is controlled by a slide moving cylinder. The feeding rotating mechanism 352 can horizontally rotate the clamping jaw assembly 351 by 180 degrees to change the position of the clamping jaws. The feeding flipping mechanism 353 can adjust the horizontal / vertical posture conversion of the two clamping jaw assemblies 351. When taking materials, the clamping jaws are in a vertical posture and the materials are in a horizontal state. When discharging materials, the clamping jaws are in a horizontal posture and the materials are in a vertical state. The flipping power of the feeding flipping mechanism 353 is provided by a flipping cylinder or a flipping motor. No absolute limitation is made here. It should be understood that the X-axis moving mechanism 32, the Y-axis moving mechanism 33 and the Z-axis moving mechanism 34 that can be thought of by those skilled in the art can all be applied to this embodiment. The specific structures of the X-axis moving mechanism 32, the Y-axis moving mechanism 33 and the Z-axis moving mechanism 34 are not described in detail here.

[0083] like Figure 8 , the present embodiment also includes a silo 4 for storing and pushing out materials, and the silo 4 includes: a silo 4 base; a rotating table 42 rotatably mounted with the base through a rotating power component 41; a pushing component 43, fixedly mounted on the silo 4 base, and extending out of the upper end surface of the rotating table 42 and rotatably connected to the rotating table 42; a plurality of storage modules 44, distributedly mounted on the upper end surface of the rotating table 42; a plurality of horizontal insert plates 45, slidably arranged on the rotating table 42, corresponding one to one with the storage modules 44; when no pushing action is performed, the horizontal insert plates 45 extend below the materials in the storage module 44; when a pushing action is performed, the pushing component 43 pushes the horizontal insert plates 45 located on the pushing position to pass through the storage module 44.

[0084] The pushing assembly 43 in this embodiment includes a pushing cylinder 431 fixedly mounted on a base, a pushing plate 432 arranged at the output end of the pushing cylinder 431, a pushing slot 433 arranged on the lower end surface of the pushing plate 432, and a cylindrical boss 434 installed on the horizontal insert plate 45. When the horizontal insert plate 45 moves to the pushing position, the cylindrical boss 434 on the discharge plate is clamped in the pushing slot 433. When the rotating power component 41 drives the corresponding storage module 44 and horizontal insert plate 45 to the pushing position, the cylindrical boss 434 fixedly mounted on the horizontal insert plate 45 is just stuck in the pushing slot 433, playing the role of latch positioning. When the pushing cylinder 431 extends, it pushes the horizontal insert plate 45 outward along the radial direction of the rotating table 42, thereby realizing the pushing of the material in the current storage module 44 for subsequent clamping by the robot. One pushing cylinder can realize the pushing work of all storage modules 44, which saves energy and cost.

[0085] As an implementation mode, the storage module 44 includes a mounting block 441 mounted on the edge of the rotating table 42, and a storage rack 442 fixedly mounted on the mounting block 441 in the vertical direction; openings for the horizontal plug board 45 to extend in and out are provided on both sides of the mounting block 441, a discharge bin 4 is formed between the mounting block 441 and the corresponding horizontal plug board 45, and a storage bin 4 is formed between the storage rack 442 and the mounting block 441, and the materials in the storage bin 4 and the discharge bin 4 are connected in the vertical direction. It should be noted that the part of the horizontal plug board 45 inserted into the interior of the mounting rack is provided with a groove for placing materials, and the shape and depth of the groove are adjusted and designed according to the size of the material, and the specific structure of the groove is not elaborated in detail here.

[0086] The discharge bin 4 is arranged below the storage bin 4, that is, the horizontal plug plate 45 is arranged at the bottom of the entire storage bin 4, and the horizontal plug plate 45 pushes out a material from the bottom of the storage bin 4 in turn. When the robot arm clamps the pushed out material, the horizontal plug plate 45 returns to the discharge bin 4, and utilizes the principle of free sinking of gravity. The material in the storage bin 4 falls onto the horizontal plug plate 45, and the next material pushing action is performed. Of course, in order to ensure that one material is pushed out each time, the opening size on the mounting block 441 can be adjusted according to the size of the material.

[0087] As an implementation method, refer to Figure 8 , a plurality of material storage modules 44 are arranged in a circular array on the upper end surface of the rotating table 42. The rotating power assembly 41 includes a rotating motor mounted on a base, and a cam divider connected to the output shaft of the rotating motor; the output shaft of the cam divider is fixedly connected to the rotating table 42. In this embodiment, a cam divider is provided to ensure the accuracy of the rotation of the rotating table 42, and to ensure that the ejection mechanism can accurately and precisely eject the required materials. In this embodiment, there are eight material storage modules 44, and the cam divider is an eight-division cam divider.

[0088] As an implementation method, two storage modules 44 located on the same diameter of the rotating table 42 are provided with the same type of materials. Eight storage modules 44 correspond to three types of nuts and one type of gaskets, and the storage modules 44 at diagonally opposite positions are configured with the same type of materials. This arrangement can ensure that a certain type of material will not be out of stock. While one storage module 44 is discharging material, the diagonally opposite storage module 44 can be replenished with material, so that the same material can be discharged and replenished at the same time, without affecting the normal operation of the equipment, and reducing the probability and duration of downtime.

[0089] An AI image recognition module 47 is also installed on the base of the silo 4; the AI ​​image recognition module 47 is set on the base corresponding to the material pushing position, and is used to detect the material information located at the material pushing position. Among them, the AI ​​image recognition module 47 includes a support frame 2742 fixedly installed on the base and an AI image recognition sensor installed on the support frame 2742. The material information includes the material model and the front and back of the material. It is used to determine the accuracy of the material and prevent the occurrence of material pushing errors.

[0090] In order to detect the position of each storage module 44 in real time, this embodiment also includes a position detection module for detecting the position of each storage module 44. The position detection module includes a proximity sensor installed on the storage module 44 and a position detection sensor installed on a base corresponding to the material pushing position. When in use, the PLC is used to obtain the material information required by the production model, calculate the position of the nearest storage module 44 with material, and control the rotation direction and number of the cam divider to move the corresponding storage module 44 to the material pushing position, saving energy while saving rotation time, and accurately and quickly positioning and moving the storage module 44.

[0091] Take the nut gasket as an example. Figure 8 and Fig. 9 As shown, the discharging process of using the intelligent rotary silo 4 is as follows: first, wait for the model of the gasket loading station to be transmitted, determine the position of the required storage module 44 and the rotation direction of the rotary motor, wait for the rotary motor to rotate in place, then extend the push cylinder 431, push the nut gasket out, start the AI ​​image recognition sensor to take pictures, determine whether the nut gasket model is correct, whether it is placed upside down, and the nut gasket is verified to be qualified, wait for the manipulator to pick up the material, the manipulator finishes picking up the material, and returns to a safe position, and the push cylinder 431 retreats, so far, the discharging process of the rotary silo 4 ends, and waits for the next cycle. The entire pushing process is simple and reliable, and can ensure the accurate pushing of materials.

[0092] The silo 4 is provided with a rotating table 42, and a plurality of storage modules 44 are distributed on the upper end surface of the rotating table 42. The rotating power component 41 is utilized to drive the plurality of storage modules 44 to rotate, thereby realizing the storage of various types of materials. At the same time, a pushing component 43 can realize the pushing work of materials in the plurality of storage modules 44, and can realize the clamping action of materials of different types and models.

[0093] Because the present invention is compatible with 26 types of round nut tightening of forklift drive axle assemblies, some models of these forklift drive axles need to install gaskets at the front stopper, and some models do not need to install gaskets. Each working cycle of the loading truss manipulator 3 is divided into nut loading or gasket + nut loading, which is distinguished by the model information in the pallet code body. Here, it is explained that the pallet is used to load the drive axle workpiece 6, and the pallet moves along the line conveying module 1. The gasket material needs to be placed on the workpiece 6 by the loading truss manipulator 3 at the gasket loading station, and the nut material needs to be placed on the tightening sleeve tooling by the manipulator at the tightening station.

[0094] The loading process of the workpiece 6 in this embodiment is as follows:

[0095] The X-axis moving mechanism 32, the Y-axis moving mechanism 33 and the Z-axis moving mechanism 34 are all in the initial position. According to the received machine model information, it is determined whether the gasket needs to be installed. If so, the gasket taking process is entered. After the discharge of the hopper 4 is completed, the clamping jaw assembly 351 on one side is controlled to clamp the first gasket. The two-way clamping jaw mechanism 35 is driven by the loading truss manipulator 3 to move to the waiting position, and the loading rotating mechanism 352 is started to rotate the two-way clamping jaw mechanism 35 180 degrees. After the discharge of the hopper 4 is completed, the clamping jaw assembly 351 on the other side is controlled to clamp the second gasket, and then the Y-axis moving mechanism 33 and the Z-axis moving mechanism 34 are controlled to make the loading truss manipulator 3 return to the initial position, and the loading flipping mechanism 353 is actuated so that the two clamping jaw assemblies 351 It is in a horizontal posture and enters the gasket placing process. The Y-axis moving mechanism 33 and the Z-axis moving mechanism 34 are started to move the clamping jaw assembly 351 to the first gasket loading position, and the first gasket is placed on the workpiece 6. Then the Z-axis moving mechanism 34 moves the clamping jaw assembly 351 to a safe position. The Y-axis moving mechanism 33 and the Z-axis moving mechanism 34 are started to move the clamping jaw assembly 351 to the second gasket loading position, and the second gasket is placed on the workpiece 6. The clamping jaw assembly 351 returns to the initial position in the Z-axis direction, and then returns to the initial position in the Y-axis direction. The loading flipping mechanism 353 and the loading rotating mechanism 352 return to the initial position, and then enter the nut taking and nut placing processes in sequence. If gaskets do not need to be installed, directly enter the nut taking and nut placing processes.

[0096] The process of taking nuts is as follows: rotate the hopper 4, move the storage module 44 corresponding to the required nut model to the discharging position, wait for the hopper 4 to finish discharging, the Y-axis moving mechanism 33 and the Z-axis moving mechanism 34 to operate, move the clamping jaw assembly 351 to the material taking position to clamp the first nut, move the Y-axis to the non-interference waiting position, start the loading rotating mechanism 352 to switch the positions of the two clamping jaw assemblies 351, wait for the hopper 4 to finish discharging, the Y-axis moving mechanism 33 to operate to the material taking position, use the second clamping jaw assembly 351 to clamp the second nut, after clamping is completed, the Y-axis moving mechanism 33 and the Z-axis moving mechanism 34 return to the initial position, and enter the nut placing process.

[0097] The process of placing nuts is as follows: the X-axis moving mechanism 32 and the Y-axis moving mechanism 33 are started, and the clamping jaw assembly 351 is moved to the nut placement position corresponding to one side of the workpiece 6. At the same time, the feeding flipping assembly is actuated to convert the right vertical posture of the two clamping jaw assemblies 351 into a horizontal posture, waiting for the equipment to allow the placement of nuts. The Z-axis moving mechanism 34 is actuated to move the clamping jaw assembly to the discharge position, and the second nut is placed on the nut sleeve 272 on one side. The Z-axis direction returns to the initial position, the Y-axis and Z-axis moving mechanisms 34 are actuated to place the first nut on the other nut sleeve 272, and finally the X-axis moving mechanism 32, the Y-axis moving mechanism 33 and the Z-axis moving mechanism 34 all return to their initial positions, and the feeding rotating mechanism 352 and the feeding flipping mechanism 353 also return to their initial positions.

[0098] like Fig.10 As shown, the control method based on the same inventive concept of the above-mentioned automatic feeding and screwing device includes the following steps:

[0099] S1. Basic parameter setting, including workpiece 6 model, nut model, whether gasket is needed, gasket model and screwing speed;

[0100] S2. Selection of the sleeve assembly 27, that is, selecting the sleeve assembly 27 of the corresponding model according to the basic parameters set above;

[0101] S3. Correction of the position of the sleeve assembly 27, that is, correction of the position of the nut sleeve 272 by the adjustment module 273 in the sleeve assembly 27;

[0102] S4. The nut is transported by the feeding truss manipulator 3 at the same time to transport the two nuts, and the two nuts are placed on the corresponding nut sleeves 272;

[0103] S5. Screwing and fixing the nut, starting the screwing assembly 24 to screw and fix the nuts on both sides of the workpiece 6 at the same time;

[0104] S6. Release of bearing clearance, release of bearing clearance between the wheel hub and the drive axle by the clearance release module 274 in the sleeve assembly 27;

[0105] S7. Rotation torque detection, that is, the rotation torque detection of the workpiece 6 after the nut is installed;

[0106] S8. The rear slide 22 and the front slide 23 return to their original positions, waiting for the nut of the next workpiece 6 to be installed.

[0107] The detection of the rotation torque specifically includes the following steps:

[0108] S71. The front slide 23 and the rear slide 22 are moved to a safe position by the sliding assembly 29;

[0109] S72. Start the positioning cylinder 28 to extend and separate the screw assembly 24 from the sleeve assembly 27;

[0110] S73. The rotary torque detection device 5 is moved to a docking position where it docks with the screw assembly 24 through the changeover mechanism 25;

[0111] S74. Start the positioning cylinder 28 to retract, the rotational torque detection device 5 is docked and installed with the screwing assembly 24, and the screwing assembly 24 is started to perform rotational torque detection.

[0112] like Fig.11 As shown, the detailed working process of the automatic feeding and tightening device using the above control method is as follows:

[0113] Wait for the gasket feeding station to transfer the machine model, obtain the nut model matching the machine model, extend the tightening change cylinder, and separate the tightening shaft 242 from the docking shaft 271. Move the mounting plate 26 to the corresponding nut sleeve assembly 27 position through the selection mechanism, retract the positioning cylinder 28, and install the tightening shaft 242 and the docking shaft 271 in coordination and fix them circumferentially. Start the screwing motor 241, and the tightening shaft 242 rotates the sleeve assembly 27 at a speed of 5rpm until the tooth tip of the corresponding adjustment toothed disc 2731 of the sleeve assembly 27 senses the upper piece correction sensor 2732, and the screwing motor 241 stops rotating. After the position adjustment of the loading part is completed, the loading truss manipulator 3 is allowed to place the nut, wait for the nut to be placed, wait for the pallet to be in place, the lifting and positioning cylinder 28 in the line conveying module 1 extends to position the pallet, the sliding assembly 29 moves the front slide 23 to the tightening position, the positioning cylinder 28 extends, and the screwing motor 241 is started to screw the nut. After the tightening is completed, the screwing motor 241 is loosened at a speed of 1rpm. When the first tooth tip senses the anti-loosening sensor 2743, the screwing motor 241 stops The bearing clearance is released, and the sliding assembly 29 drives the front slide 23 and the rear slide 22 to move to a safe position. The changing cylinder extends out to move the mounting plate 26 to the corresponding position of the rotary torque detection mechanism, and the positioning cylinder 28 retracts. The tightening shaft 242 is connected to the rotary torque detection docking rod and fixed circumferentially. The screwing motor 241 is started to perform a rotary torque detection. Driven by the sliding assembly 29, the front slide 23 returns to its original position, and the tray is lowered to the initial position. The stopper is released, and the screwing process of the nut is completed.

[0114] The present invention integrates the processes of gasket feeding, nut feeding, tightening, clearance release, and rotation torque detection from the traditional manual discrete operation mode into a set of automated systems, and can meet the tightening work of various types of nuts and drive axles. It greatly saves labor costs, has a high degree of equipment automation, stable and reliable quality, and increases the production cycle to 80S.

[0115] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described above are only used to explain the present invention, and are not used to limit the present invention. Obvious changes or modifications derived from the spirit of the present invention are still within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A locking nut automatic feeding and tightening device, characterized in that: It comprises a wire conveying module (1), a horizontal screwing mechanism (2) symmetrically mounted on both sides of the wire conveying module (1), and a loading truss manipulator (3) mounted on the periphery of the wire conveying module (1); the two horizontal screwing mechanisms (2) simultaneously screw the locking nuts on both sides of a workpiece (6) to be tightened; wherein: The horizontal screwing mechanism (2) comprises a frame (21), a rear slide (22) and a front slide (23) slidably mounted on the frame (21) via a sliding assembly (29), a screwing assembly (24) mounted on the rear slide (22), a mounting plate (26) slidably mounted on the front slide (23) via a change-over mechanism (25), and at least one sleeve assembly (27) mounted on the mounting plate (26); The distance between the front slide (23) and the rear slide (22) in the Y-axis direction is adjusted by a positioning cylinder (28); when the positioning cylinder (28) is in an original state, the screwing assembly (24) and the sleeve assembly (27) are circumferentially fixedly connected; when the positioning cylinder (28) is in an extended state, the screwing assembly (24) and the sleeve assembly (27) are in a separated state; There are a plurality of sleeve assemblies (27), and the plurality of sleeve assemblies (27) are sequentially mounted on the mounting plate (26) along the X-axis direction. The sleeve assembly (27) comprises: Rotating a docking shaft (271) mounted on the mounting plate (26); A nut sleeve (272), coaxially arranged with the docking shaft (271) and used for accommodating a nut; An adjustment module (273) is coaxially arranged with the docking shaft (271) and is used to adjust the position of the nut sleeve (272); A clearance releasing module (274) is arranged on the docking shaft (271) between the nut sleeve (272) and the adjusting module (273) and is used to release the bearing clearance between the wheel hub and the drive axle; The clearance release module (274) comprises a clearance release toothed disc (2741) coaxially arranged with the docking shaft (271), and an anti-loosening sensor (2743) mounted on the front slide (23) via a support frame (2742) and mounted in cooperation with the clearance release toothed disc (2741); When no bearing clearance is set, the lowest tooth tip in the clearance release toothed disc (2741) is the first tooth tip, the screwing assembly (24) drives the docking shaft (271) to rotate in the opposite direction, and when the first tooth tip senses the anti-loose sensor (2743), the bearing clearance is completely released; The adjustment module (273) comprises an adjustment toothed disc (2731) coaxially arranged with the docking shaft (271), and a correction sensor (2732) mounted on the front slide (23) via a support frame (2742) and mounted in coordination with the adjustment toothed disc (2731); When the tooth tip of the adjustment toothed disc (2731) senses the correction sensor (2732), the nut sleeve (272) is in the original position.

2. The automatic feeding and tightening device for locking nuts according to claim 1, characterized in that: The loading truss robot (3) comprises a frame (31) mounted on a placement platform, an X-axis moving mechanism (32) mounted on the frame (31), a Y-axis moving mechanism (33) mounted on a moving end of the X-axis moving mechanism (32), a Z-axis moving mechanism (34) mounted on a moving end of the Y-axis moving mechanism (33), and a bidirectional clamping claw mechanism (35) mounted on a moving end of the Z-axis moving mechanism (34); The X-axis moving mechanism (32), the Y-axis moving mechanism (33), and the Z-axis moving mechanism (34) sequentially drive the bidirectional clamping mechanism (35) to move along corresponding directions.

3. The automatic feeding and tightening device for locking nuts according to claim 2, characterized in that: The bidirectional clamping jaw mechanism (35) comprises: Two clamping jaw assemblies (351) for clamping the material to be screwed; A feeding rotating mechanism (352) is mounted on the moving end of the Z-axis moving mechanism (34) and is used to drive the clamping jaw assembly (351) to rotate along the Z-axis; A feeding turning mechanism (353) is installed between the feeding rotating mechanism (352) and the clamping jaw assembly (351), and is used to drive the clamping jaw assembly (351) to rotate between a horizontal posture and a vertical posture; When taking materials, the clamping jaw assembly (351) is in a vertical posture; when placing materials, the clamping jaw assembly (351) is in a horizontal posture.

4. The automatic feeding and tightening device for locking nuts according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a silo (4) for storing and pushing out materials, and the silo (4) includes: Silo (4) base; A rotating table (42) rotatably mounted on the base via a rotating power assembly (41); A material pushing assembly (43) is fixedly mounted on the base of the silo (4) and extends out of the upper end surface of the rotating table (42) to be rotatably connected to the rotating table (42); A plurality of material storage modules (44) are distributed and installed on the upper end surface of the rotating table (42); A plurality of horizontal insert plates (45) are slidably disposed on the rotating platform (42) and correspond one to one with the material storage modules (44); When the material pushing action is not performed, the horizontal insert plate (45) extends below the material in the material storage module (44); when the material pushing action is performed, the material pushing component (43) pushes the horizontal insert plate (45) located at the material pushing position to pass through the material storage module (44).

5. The automatic feeding and tightening device for locking nuts according to claim 4, characterized in that: There are eight material storage modules (44), and two of the material storage modules (44) located on the same diameter of the rotating table (42) are provided with materials of the same type.

6. The automatic feeding and tightening device for locking nuts according to claim 4, characterized in that: The invention also comprises a rotary torque measuring mechanism (5), the rotary torque measuring mechanism (5) comprising a rotary torque measuring docking rod (51) connected to the screwing assembly (24), a plug-in component (52) mounted on the rotary torque measuring docking rod (51) for connecting to a workpiece (6), and a rotary torque detection sensor for measuring the rotary torque of the workpiece (6).

7. A control method for an automatic feeding and tightening device for locking nuts according to claim 6, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1. Basic parameter setting, the basic parameters include the workpiece (6) model, nut model, whether a gasket is required, gasket model and screwing speed; S2. sleeve assembly (27) selection, that is, selecting a sleeve assembly (27) of a corresponding model according to the above-set basic parameters; S3. Correcting the position of the sleeve assembly (27), that is, correcting the position of the nut sleeve (272) by means of the adjustment module (273) in the sleeve assembly (27); S4. Nut conveying, that is, conveying two nuts at the same time through the loading truss manipulator (3), and placing the two nuts on the corresponding nut sleeves (272); S5. Screwing and fixing the nut, starting the screwing assembly (24) to screw and fix the nuts on both sides of the workpiece (6) at the same time; S6. Release of bearing clearance, releasing the bearing clearance between the wheel hub and the drive axle through the clearance release module (274) in the sleeve assembly (27); S7. Rotation torque detection, that is, the rotation torque detection of the workpiece (6) after the nut is installed; S8. The rear slide (22) and the front slide (23) return to their original positions, waiting for the nut of the next workpiece (6) to be installed.

8. The control method of the automatic feeding and tightening device for locking nuts according to claim 7 is characterized in that: The detection of the rotation torque specifically comprises the following steps: S71. The front slide (23) and the rear slide (22) are moved to a safe position by means of the sliding assembly (29); S72. Start the positioning cylinder (28) to extend and separate the screw assembly (24) from the sleeve assembly (27); S73. The rotary torque measuring mechanism (5) is moved to a docking position with the screwing assembly (24) by means of a changeover mechanism (25); S74. The positioning cylinder (28) is started to retract, the rotary torque measuring mechanism (5) is docked and installed with the screwing assembly (24), and the screwing assembly (24) is started to perform rotary torque detection.

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