An engine flywheel housing bolt automatic tightening system with error-proof identification function

Abstract

The application discloses an engine flywheel housing bolt automatic tightening system with mistake-proofing identification function and belongs to the technical field of engine assembly. The system solves the technical problem that traditional production line tooling equipment cannot adapt to flywheel housing bolt tightening. The system comprises an engine conveying line, wherein the engine conveying line is provided with a tray and a flywheel housing bolt tightening station; the flywheel housing bolt tightening station is provided with a robot, a controller and a display; the execution end of the robot is provided with a tightening device; the tightening device comprises an electric control tightening wrench; the electric control tightening wrench is provided with a tightening sleeve; the controller is electrically connected with the robot, the display and the electric control tightening wrench; and the controller is communicatively connected with the equipment control system of the engine conveying line. The controller controls the robot to drive the electric control tightening wrench to tighten the flywheel housing bolt, and the state parameters of the tightening process are monitored in real time. If the state parameters meet the requirements, the display shows that the product is qualified; otherwise, the display shows that the product is unqualified. The system can adapt to flywheel housing bolt tightening and mistake-proofing identification.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of engine assembly technology, and more specifically, to an automatic tightening system for engine flywheel housing bolts with error-proof identification function. Background Technology

[0002] With upgrades to engine emissions standards and changes in user and market diversification, the traditional automotive industry, from supply chain companies and OEMs to users, operates on a linear, one-way relationship to meet diverse market demands, with OEMs primarily focused on their own products. However, in the new automotive ecosystem, the user's role will be significantly elevated, and OEMs will shift from a "product-centric" to a "user-centric" approach. Different usage scenarios for vehicles lead to varying vehicle functions, thus requiring OEMs to design different chassis to accommodate more powerful engines and meet market demands.

[0003] To meet the diverse structural requirements of vehicles, engines need to be equipped with corresponding structures. During engine production and assembly, the existing production line tooling equipment is only suitable for certain older structures. However, with continuous product iteration, structural changes, and a growing variety of engine models, the flywheel housing structures of different series of engines differ in shape, and the cylinder blocks used are also different. This leads to variations in data such as the location, quantity, bolt specifications, and flywheel housing stop size of the flywheel housing bolts.

[0004] Differences in machine structure lead to differences in assembly processes and tooling, which in turn cannot meet production needs. From the perspective of how to meet the goal of production line compatibility in producing multiple machine types, improve production line compatibility and interchangeability, and at the same time ensure efficiency and quality, the design and selection of process equipment have brought great challenges. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to address the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an automatic tightening system for engine flywheel housing bolts with error prevention and identification function.

[0006] The technical solution of the present invention is: an automatic tightening system for engine flywheel housing bolts with error-proof identification function, including an engine conveyor line, the engine conveyor line being provided with a tray for transporting the engine, the engine conveyor line being provided with a flywheel housing bolt tightening station, the flywheel housing bolt tightening station being provided with a robot, a controller, and a display, the robot's execution end being provided with a tightening device, the tightening device including an electrically controlled tightening wrench, the electrically controlled tightening wrench being provided with a tightening sleeve for tightening the flywheel housing bolt, the controller being electrically connected to the robot, the display, and the electrically controlled tightening wrench, and the controller being communicatively connected to the equipment control system of the engine conveyor line;

[0007] When the pallet transports the engine to the flywheel housing bolt tightening station, the controller controls the robot to move along a set trajectory to move the electrically controlled tightening wrench to the engine's flywheel housing. Simultaneously, the controller controls the electrically controlled tightening wrench to tighten the flywheel housing bolt. The controller monitors the status parameters of the electrically controlled tightening wrench during the tightening process in real time. When the status parameters meet the process requirements, the controller displays "Tightened flywheel housing bolt is qualified" on the display; otherwise, the controller displays "Tightened flywheel housing bolt is unqualified" on the display.

[0008] As a further improvement, the flywheel housing bolt tightening station is equipped with a robot base for mounting the robot, and the robot base is mounted on the ground by foot fixing bolts.

[0009] Furthermore, the tightening device also includes a mounting plate. The top of the mounting plate is provided with a connecting plate for connecting the actuator of the robot. Two electrically controlled tightening wrenches are installed at the bottom of the mounting plate. One electrically controlled tightening wrench is fixedly installed on one side of the mounting plate, and the other electrically controlled tightening wrench is movably installed on the other side of the mounting plate through a moving mechanism. The moving mechanism is electrically connected to the controller, and the distance between the two electrically controlled tightening wrenches can be adjusted through the moving mechanism.

[0010] Furthermore, the moving mechanism is any one of the following: IAI servo electric cylinder, electric push rod, servo cylinder, servo hydraulic cylinder, and lead screw module.

[0011] Furthermore, the flywheel housing bolt tightening station is equipped with a quick-change sleeve device, which is located within the working range of the robot, and the quick-change sleeve device is equipped with at least two sizes of tightening sleeves.

[0012] Furthermore, the display shows an image of the flywheel housing structure, and the installation positions of each flywheel housing bolt are shown in the image.

[0013] Furthermore, when the flywheel housing bolt is tightened to the required standard, the installation position of the flywheel housing bolt is displayed in green; when the flywheel housing bolt is not tightened to the required standard, the installation position of the flywheel housing bolt is displayed in red.

[0014] Furthermore, the flywheel housing bolt tightening station is equipped with an alarm electrically connected to the controller. When the flywheel housing bolts are found to be improperly tightened, an alarm will be triggered by the alarm.

[0015] Furthermore, the state parameters include screw-in depth and tightening torque. The product is qualified only when both screw-in depth and tightening torque meet the process requirements; otherwise, it is unqualified.

[0016] Furthermore, the engine conveyor line at the flywheel housing bolt tightening station is equipped with a tray positioning device; the robot is a 6-joint industrial robot.

[0017] Beneficial effects

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of this invention are as follows:

[0019] 1. This invention is compatible with automatic tightening of flywheel housing bolts for ≥2 engine models.

[0020] 2. The tightening device of the present invention can replace the sleeve through a quick-change sleeve device, which can meet the switching of four different specifications of sleeves (M12 / M14 / M16 / M18).

[0021] 3. The controller of this invention interfaces with the equipment control system of the production line via an IT data interface; the tightening result is displayed as an image for on-site operators to view; green indicates a qualified tightening result and red indicates a failed tightening result; thus achieving error prevention and mitigation. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the main structure of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the right-side structure of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 This is a top view of the structure of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the tightening device in this invention.

[0026] Figure 5 This is a picture showing the tightening result in this invention.

[0027] The components are: 1-engine conveyor line, 2-engine, 3-pallet, 4-flywheel housing bolt tightening station, 5-robot, 6-controller, 7-display, 8-electric control tightening wrench, 9-tightening socket, 10-robot base, 11-anchor bolt, 12-mounting plate, 13-connecting plate, 14-moving mechanism, 15-quick-change socket device, 16-installation position, 17-alarm, 18-pallet positioning device. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The present invention will be further described below with reference to specific embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0029] See Figures 1-5An automatic tightening system for engine flywheel housing bolts with error-proof identification function includes an engine conveyor line 1, which is equipped with a tray 3 for transporting an engine 2. The engine conveyor line 1 has a flywheel housing bolt tightening station 4, which is equipped with a robot 5, a controller 6, and a display 7. The robot 5 has a tightening device at its execution end, which includes an electrically controlled tightening wrench 8 and a tightening sleeve 9 for tightening the flywheel housing bolts. The controller 6 is electrically connected to the robot 5, the display 7, and the electrically controlled tightening wrench 8, and is also communicatively connected to the equipment control system of the engine conveyor line 1.

[0030] When pallet 3 transports engine 2 to flywheel housing bolt tightening station 4, controller 6 controls robot 5 to move along a set trajectory to move electric control tightening wrench 8 to the flywheel housing of engine 2. At the same time, controller 6 controls electric control tightening wrench 8 to tighten the flywheel housing bolt. Controller 6 monitors the status parameters of electric control tightening wrench 8 in real time during the tightening process. When the status parameters meet the process requirements, the display 7 shows that the flywheel housing bolt is tightened successfully; otherwise, the display 7 shows that the flywheel housing bolt is not tightened successfully.

[0031] In this embodiment, the status parameters include screw-in depth and tightening torque. The screw-in depth fed back by robot 5 and the tightening torque fed back by electric control tightening wrench 8 are used to determine whether the screw-in depth and tightening torque meet the process requirements. The screw-in depth and tightening torque are considered qualified only when they meet the process requirements. Otherwise, the screw-in depth is considered unqualified.

[0032] The image of the flywheel housing structure is displayed on monitor 7, showing the installation positions 16 of each flywheel housing bolt. When a flywheel housing bolt is properly tightened, its installation position 16 is displayed in green; when a flywheel housing bolt is improperly tightened, its installation position 16 is displayed in red. Figure 5 As shown in the image, the tightening result is displayed to the on-site operator for easy and intuitive viewing; green indicates a satisfactory tightening result, and red indicates a failed tightening result, thus preventing mistakes and errors.

[0033] Specifically, the flywheel housing bolt tightening station 4 is equipped with a robot base 10 for installing the robot 5. The robot base 10 is installed on the ground by foot fixing bolts 11.

[0034] The tightening device also includes a mounting plate 12. The top of the mounting plate 12 has a connecting plate 13 for connecting the actuator end of the robot 5. Two electrically controlled tightening wrenches 8 are mounted on the bottom of the mounting plate 12. One electrically controlled tightening wrench 8 is fixedly mounted on one side of the mounting plate 12, and the other electrically controlled tightening wrench 8 is movably mounted on the other side of the mounting plate 12 via a moving mechanism 14. The moving mechanism 14 is electrically connected to a controller 6, allowing adjustment of the distance between the two electrically controlled tightening wrenches 8. This allows one or both wrenches to be moved to different positions in the workspace to accommodate variations in the tightening position of the flywheel housing bolts, and enables simultaneous tightening of two flywheel housing bolts, improving work efficiency.

[0035] The moving mechanism 14 can be any one of the following: IAI servo electric cylinder, electric push rod, servo cylinder, servo hydraulic cylinder, or lead screw module (i.e., a mechanism in which the motor drives the lead screw to rotate and the lead screw drives the nut to reciprocate, similar to the X / Y axis on a machine tool).

[0036] The flywheel housing bolt tightening station 4 is equipped with a quick-change sleeve device 15, which is located within the working range of the robot 5. The quick-change sleeve device 15 has at least two sizes of tightening sleeves 9, such as M12 / M14 / M16 / M18 tightening sleeves. The quick-change sleeve device 15 adopts a sleeve device of existing technology.

[0037] Furthermore, the flywheel housing bolt tightening station 4 is equipped with an alarm 17 electrically connected to the controller 6. When the flywheel housing bolts are not tightened properly, the alarm 17 will sound an alarm. In this embodiment, the alarm 17 is a three-color alarm light with a buzzer, which can promptly notify the staff to handle the situation.

[0038] The engine conveyor line 1 at the flywheel housing bolt tightening station 4 is equipped with a pallet positioning device 18. When the pallet 3 transports the engine 2 to the flywheel housing bolt tightening station 4, the pallet positioning device 18 positions the engine 2. The pallet positioning device 18 is the original production line's pallet positioning device and belongs to existing technology.

[0039] Robot 5 is a 6-joint industrial robot that is flexible in its work and can adapt to various flywheel housing bolt tightening.

[0040] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several modifications and improvements without departing from the structure of the present invention, and these will not affect the effectiveness of the implementation of the present invention or the practicality of the patent.

Claims

1. An engine flywheel housing bolt automatic tightening system with mistake-proofing recognition function, comprising an engine conveying line (1), the engine conveying line (1) is provided with a tray (3) for transporting an engine (2), characterized in that, The engine conveying line (1) is provided with a flywheel housing bolt tightening station (4), the flywheel housing bolt tightening station (4) is provided with a robot (5), a controller (6), a display (7), the execution end of the robot (5) is provided with a tightening device, the tightening device comprises an electric control tightening wrench (8), the electric control tightening wrench (8) is provided with a tightening sleeve (9) for tightening the flywheel housing bolt, the controller (6) is electrically connected with the robot (5), the display (7) and the electric control tightening wrench (8), and the controller (6) is communicatively connected with the equipment control system of the engine conveying line (1); When the tray (3) transports the engine (2) to the flywheel housing bolt tightening station (4), the controller (6) controls the robot (5) to move according to the set trajectory to move the electric control tightening wrench (8) to the flywheel housing of the engine (2), and simultaneously, the controller (6) controls the electric control tightening wrench (8) to tighten the flywheel housing bolt, and the controller (6) monitors the state parameters of the tightening process of the electric control tightening wrench (8) in real time; when the state parameters meet the process requirements, the flywheel housing bolt tightening is qualified and is displayed on the display (7); otherwise, the flywheel housing bolt tightening is unqualified and is displayed on the display (7); The tightening device further comprises a mounting plate (12), the top of the mounting plate (12) is provided with a connecting plate (13) for connecting the execution end of the robot (5), and the bottom of the mounting plate (12) is provided with two electric control tightening wrenches (8); one of the electric control tightening wrenches (8) is fixedly installed on one side of the mounting plate (12), and the other electric control tightening wrench (8) is movably installed on the other side of the mounting plate (12) through a moving mechanism (14); the moving mechanism (14) is electrically connected with the controller (6), and the distance between the two electric control tightening wrenches (8) is adjusted through the moving mechanism (14); The display (7) displays a picture of the flywheel housing structure, and displays the mounting position (16) of each flywheel housing bolt on the picture; When the flywheel housing bolt tightening is qualified, the mounting position (16) of the flywheel housing bolt is displayed in green; when the flywheel housing bolt tightening is unqualified, the mounting position (16) of the flywheel housing bolt is displayed in red.

2. The engine flywheel cover bolt automatic tightening system with mistake-proofing identification function according to claim 1, characterized in that, The flywheel housing bolt tightening station (4) is provided with a robot base (10) for mounting the robot (5), and the robot base (10) is installed on the ground through a foundation fixing bolt (11).

3. The engine flywheel cover bolt automatic tightening system with mistake-proofing identification function according to claim 1, characterized in that, The moving mechanism (14) is any one of an IAI servo cylinder, an electric push rod, a servo air cylinder, a servo oil cylinder and a lead screw module.

4. The engine flywheel cover bolt automatic tightening system with mistake-proofing identification function according to claim 1, characterized in that, The flywheel housing bolt tightening station (4) is provided with a quick-change sleeve device (15), the quick-change sleeve device (15) is located within the working range of the robot (5), and the quick-change sleeve device (15) is provided with at least two specifications of the tightening sleeve (9).

5. The engine flywheel cover bolt automatic tightening system with mistake recognition function according to claim 1, characterized in that, The flywheel housing bolt tightening station (4) is equipped with an alarm (17) electrically connected to the controller (6). When the flywheel housing bolt is not tightened properly, an alarm is triggered by the alarm (17).

6. The engine flywheel cover bolt automatic tightening system with mistake recognition function according to claim 1, characterized in that, The status parameters include screw-in depth and tightening torque. The product is qualified only when both screw-in depth and tightening torque meet the process requirements; otherwise, it is unqualified.

7. The engine flywheel cover bolt automatic tightening system with mistake recognition function according to claim 1, characterized in that, The engine delivery line (1) at the flywheel housing bolt tightening station (4) is equipped with a tray positioning device (18); the robot (5) is a 6-joint industrial robot.

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