Visual inspection equipment for welding seam of collector plate of fuel cell

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of visual inspection equipment manufacturing, in particular to fuel cell collector plate welding seam visual inspection equipment. The bearing jig is used for bearing stacked fuel cell collector plates in batches, and the stacked fuel cell collector plates are carried by the transfer unit. And under the action of the carrying force from the transfer unit, the full-load-state bearing jig is carried to the feeding station. And the upstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator is used for transferring the fuel cell collector plates from the bearing jig to the loading tool piece by piece. The loading tool can circulate among different stations under the action of carrying force from the carrying unit, and the optical detection unit picks up weld images of the fuel cell collector plate when passing through the visual detection station. And under the action of carrying force from the transfer unit, the no-load-state bearing jig performs transverse movement until the no-load-state bearing jig stops at a discharging station. And the downstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator is used for transferring the fuel cell collector plate good products from the loading tool to the bearing jig or the defective product temporary storage box one by one.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of visual inspection equipment manufacturing, in particular to a visual inspection equipment for welding seams of a fuel cell collector plate. Background Art

[0002] Fuel cells, as a highly efficient power generation device that converts the chemical energy of fuel into electrical energy directly through electrochemical reactions without burning fuel, have been widely recognized and applied. Fuel cell collector plates are an important component of fuel cell systems, playing a key role in concentrating, distributing and transmitting the electrical energy generated by fuel cells. Fuel cell collector plates are plate-like components made of conductive materials that are used to connect multiple cells in a fuel cell stack and provide power supply and current distribution functions.

[0003] like Figure 1 As shown in , there are a large number of welds distributed on the fuel cell collector plate, and all of them have extremely strict molding quality requirements. According to the regional functional classification of the fuel cell collector plate, it is divided into flow channel area welding and sealing area welding. The corresponding welding materials are mostly metals, and the thickness of the single sheet material is controlled between 0.05 and 0.3 mm. Specifically: the weld surface should be smooth and flat, without obvious weld bumps, depressions, pores, cracks and other defects; the weld should have a smooth transition with the parent material, without obvious undercuts, lack of fusion, incomplete penetration and other defects; the shape and size of the weld should meet the design requirements and shall not exceed the allowable deviation; the weld surface should not have defects such as leaking welds, wrong welds, slag inclusions, etc. that affect use and appearance. In the prior art, the weld visual inspection equipment is mainly composed of a machine, a ring conveyor, a loading tool, a flipping manipulator, an upstream visual inspection camera, and a downstream visual inspection camera. The loading tool is used to support a single fuel cell collector plate. Multiple loading fixtures are arranged on the circular conveyor in sequence, and the fuel cell collector plates are subjected to the upstream inspection position piece by piece under the conveying force from the circular conveyor, during which the upstream visual inspection camera picks up the complete front weld image of the fuel cell collector plate, and then, the fuel cell collector plate is turned over 180° by means of a flipping manipulator, and continues to flow under the conveying force, and passes through the downstream inspection position, during which the downstream visual inspection camera picks up the complete back weld image of the fuel cell collector plate. According to feedback from upstream new energy vehicle manufacturers, in actual applications, the inspection effect is poor and the inspection efficiency is extremely low. The unreasonable design structure seriously restricts the circulation speed of the fuel cell collector plate, and the implementation cost remains high. In addition, the existing weld visual inspection equipment needs to rely on a circular conveyor to achieve the design goal of the circular transport loading fixture, so that the loading fixture can return to the loading station to continue to receive the fuel cell collector plate to be visually inspected, and the site area required is large, which is not conducive to the optimization of the workshop layout. Therefore, it is urgent for technical personnel to solve the above problems. Summary of the invention

[0004] Therefore, in view of the above-mentioned existing problems and defects, the designers of the present invention collected relevant information, conducted multiple evaluations and considerations, and continued to experiment and modify after many years of R&D experience in this industry, which ultimately led to the emergence of the fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection equipment.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention relates to a visual inspection device for the weld of a fuel cell collector plate, comprising a machine platform, a carrying fixture, a transfer unit, a carrying tool, a transport unit, an upstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator, a downstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator, an optical inspection unit, and a temporary storage box for defective products. The transfer unit and the transport unit are adjacent to each other and are both supported by the machine platform. The carrying fixture is used to carry the stacked fuel cell collector plates in batches, and they are carried by the transfer unit. Under the carrying force from the transfer unit, the fully loaded carrying fixture is carried to the loading station. The upstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator is used to transfer the fuel cell collector plates piece by piece from the carrying fixture to the carrying tool until the carrying fixture is emptied, and it is arranged directly above the loading station. The carrying tool is used to support the fuel cell collector plate, and it can be circulated between different stations under the carrying force from the transport unit, and during the period of passing through the visual inspection station, the optical inspection unit picks up the front and back weld images of the fuel cell collector plate. Under the carrying force from the transfer unit, the empty-state carrier performs lateral movement until it stops at the unloading station. The downstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator is arranged directly above the unloading station, and is used to transfer good fuel cell collector plates piece by piece from the carrier to the empty-state carrier until it is fully loaded, or to transfer defective fuel cell collector plates piece by piece from the carrier to the defective product temporary storage box.

[0006] As a further improvement of the technical solution disclosed in the present invention, the transfer unit includes a left conveyor, a left top-support transfer conveyor, a transfer conveyor, a right conveyor, and a right top-support transfer conveyor. The left conveyor, the transfer conveyor, and the right conveyor together form a "U"-shaped carrier jig conveying line. The left top-support transfer conveyor occupies the loading station, which is hidden directly below the left conveyor and is directly aligned with the transfer conveyor. The right top-support transfer conveyor occupies the unloading station, which is hidden directly below the right conveyor and is also directly aligned with the transfer conveyor. The empty-state carrier jig located at the loading station is separated from the left conveyor under the lifting force from the left top-support transfer conveyor, and is laterally transferred to the transfer conveyor under the carrying force from the left top-support transfer conveyor; the empty-state carrier jig laterally transferred by the transfer conveyor is received by the right top-support transfer conveyor and continues to flow to the unloading station to batch-receive the fuel cell current collectors that have passed the weld visual inspection; after the carrier jig is full, the right top-support transfer conveyor performs an attitude transformation action, and the full-state carrier jig随之 performs a descending movement until it is placed on the right conveyor.

[0007] As a further improvement of the technical solution disclosed in the present invention, the left top-support transfer conveyor and the right top-support transfer conveyor have the same design structure. The left top-support transfer conveyor includes a left base plate, a left belt conveyor, and a left linear motion actuator. The left base plate serves as the installation base of the left linear motion actuator, which is flat on the machine table and is fixed integrally in a detachable manner. The left belt conveyor performs a lifting movement under the driving force from the left linear motion actuator.

[0008] As a further improvement of the technical solution disclosed in the present invention, the transfer conveyor includes a temporary stop mechanism. In the case where the transfer conveyor does not stop, the carrier jig is temporarily stopped under the blocking force from the temporary stop mechanism.

[0009] As a further improvement of the technical solution disclosed in the present invention, the temporary stop mechanism includes a load-bearing frame and a blocking cylinder. The load-bearing frame is a sheet metal part and is integrally "U"-shaped. The front and rear conveying beams of the transfer conveyor are both used as the detachable fixing bases of the load-bearing frame. The blocking cylinder is used to directly apply a blocking force to the carrier jig and is based on the load-bearing frame as its installation base.

[0010] As a further improvement of the technical solution disclosed in the present invention, the carrying unit includes a left-mounted mobile conveyor, a left-mounted linear drive device, a front fixed conveyor, a right-mounted mobile conveyor, a right-mounted linear drive device and a rear fixed conveyor. Under the action of the carrying force from the left-mounted linear drive device, the left-mounted mobile conveyor performs displacement movement along the front-to-back direction, and it can selectively dock with the front fixed conveyor or the rear fixed conveyor. Under the action of the carrying force from the right-mounted linear drive device, the right-mounted mobile conveyor performs displacement movement along the front-to-back direction, and it can selectively dock with the front fixed conveyor or the rear fixed conveyor. The left-mounted mobile conveyor, the front fixed conveyor and the right-mounted mobile conveyor are combined to form a linear conveyor line, and the fully loaded loading tooling can flow from the loading station to the unloading station under the action of the carrying force, and pass through the visual inspection station during the process.

[0011] As a further improvement of the technical solution disclosed in the present invention, the carrier tool carries N fuel cell collector plates at the same time. The carrier tool is divided into N carrying partitions. The optical detection unit includes a first optical detection device, a second optical detection device, ..., and an Nth optical detection device. While the carrier tool is parked at the visual detection station, the first optical detection device, the second optical detection device, ..., and the Nth optical detection device correspondingly pick up weld images of the front and back sides of the fuel cell collector plates opposite thereto.

[0012] As a further improvement of the technical solution disclosed in the present invention, the first optical detection device, the second optical detection device, ..., the Nth optical detection device have the same design structure. The first optical detection device includes a first upper AOI visual detection module and a first lower AOI visual detection module. The first upper AOI visual detection module is used to pick up the front weld image of the fuel cell collector plate, which is located directly above the front fixed conveyor. The first lower AOI visual detection module is used to pick up the back weld image of the fuel cell collector plate, which is hidden directly below the front fixed conveyor.

[0013] As a further improvement of the technical solution disclosed in the present invention, the carrier unit also includes a visual inspection position reference template and a lifting unit. The visual inspection position reference template spans the front fixed conveyor, and its front and rear conveying beams of the front fixed conveyor are used as the installation basis. When the loading tooling is transferred to the visual inspection station, it approaches and interacts with the visual inspection position reference template due to the lifting force from the lifting unit, and in this process, the loading tooling is subjected to the correction guide force from the visual inspection position reference template to achieve precise alignment with the optical inspection unit.

[0014] As a further improvement of the technical solution disclosed in the present invention, the lifting unit is composed of a front lifting subunit and a rear lifting subunit. The front lifting subunit and the rear lifting subunit respectively use the front and rear conveying beams of the front fixed conveyor as the installation basis, and the two cooperate to apply a pushing force to the loading tooling.

[0015] The working principle of the visual inspection equipment for the weld seams of the fuel cell collector plates is as follows: the carrier jig fully loaded with the fuel cell collector plates is circulated under the carrying force from the transfer unit, and stops at the loading station, and the fuel cell collector plates are picked up piece by piece to the carrier tooling with the help of the upstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator; the carrier tooling circulates between different stations under the carrying force from the carrier unit, and while passing through the visual inspection station, the optical inspection unit picks up the front and back weld seam images of the fuel cell collector plates; and when When the empty loading fixture is transferred to the loading station again, the upstream multi-degree-of-freedom robot can continue to supply fuel cell collector plates to it piece by piece; after the carrying fixture is emptied, it performs lateral movement under the action of the carrying force from the transfer unit until it stops at the unloading station; with the help of the downstream multi-degree-of-freedom robot, the good fuel cell collector plates are transferred piece by piece from the loading fixture to the empty loading fixture until it is full, or, it is used to transfer the defective fuel cell collector plates piece by piece from the loading fixture to the defective product temporary storage box.

[0016] In practical applications, the fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection device disclosed in the present invention can achieve at least the following beneficial technical effects, specifically:

[0017] 1) The circulation process of the fuel cell collector plate is effectively optimized, and the circulation efficiency is significantly improved, which lays a good foundation for the substantial improvement of the inspection efficiency of the visual inspection equipment for the fuel cell collector plate weld;

[0018] 2) At the loading station, the carrying jig is used to carry the fuel cell collector plates to be visually inspected in batches, while at the unloading station, the carrying jig is used to carry the fuel cell collector plates that have passed the visual inspection in batches, thereby effectively optimizing the supply and unloading mode of the fuel cell collector plates, and the number of supporting jigs required is greatly reduced;

[0019] 3) With the help of the carrier unit, the orderly and efficient circulation of the fuel cell collector plate can be achieved with the help of a relatively small number of carriers; furthermore, under the premise that the design purpose of the circular circulation of the carriers is achieved, the carrier unit has an extremely simple design structure and the implementation cost is relatively low. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0021] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the fuel cell collector plate disclosed in the present invention.

[0022] Figure 2 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the visual inspection device for the weld of the fuel cell collector plate disclosed in the present invention (with the outer shell hidden).

[0023] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 Front view of .

[0024] Figure 4 It is also a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the visual inspection device for the weld of the current collecting plate of a fuel cell disclosed in the present invention (with the load-bearing frame, the upstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator, the downstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator and the optical inspection unit hidden).

[0025] Figure 5 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a supporting fixture in the visual inspection device for the weld of a fuel cell collector plate disclosed in the present invention.

[0026] Figure 6 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a transfer unit in the visual inspection device for the weld of a fuel cell collector plate disclosed in the present invention.

[0027] Figure 7 It is also a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the transfer unit in the fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection device disclosed in the present invention (with the carrying fixture hidden).

[0028] Figure 8 It is a stereoscopic schematic diagram from one perspective of a left-mounted top-supporting and loading conveyor in the fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection equipment disclosed in the present invention.

[0029] Fig. 9 It is a stereoscopic schematic diagram from another perspective of the left-mounted top-supporting and transferring conveyor in the fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection equipment disclosed in the present invention.

[0030] Fig.10 yes Figure 8 Front view of .

[0031] Fig.11 yes Fig.10 AA section view.

[0032] Fig.12It is a stereoscopic schematic diagram of a transfer conveyor in the fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection device disclosed in the present invention from one viewing angle.

[0033] Fig.13 It is a stereoscopic schematic diagram from another perspective of the transfer conveyor in the fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection device disclosed in the present invention.

[0034] Fig.14 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a loading tool in the visual inspection device for the weld seam of a fuel cell collector plate disclosed in the present invention.

[0035] Fig.15 yes Fig.14 Top view of the .

[0036] Fig.16 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a carrier unit in the fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection device disclosed in the present invention.

[0037] Fig.17 yes Fig.16 Top view of the .

[0038] Fig.18 It is a schematic diagram of the positional relationship of a loading tool carried by a front fixed conveyor in the fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection device disclosed in the present invention relative to a visual inspection position reference template at a certain moment under a viewing angle.

[0039] Fig.19 It is a schematic diagram of the position relationship of a loading tool carried by a front fixed conveyor in the fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection device disclosed in the present invention relative to a visual inspection position reference template at a certain moment under another viewing angle.

[0040] Fig. 20 yes Fig.18 Front view of .

[0041] Fig.21 yes Fig. 20 BB cross-sectional view.

[0042] Fig. 22 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a visual inspection position reference template in the fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection device disclosed in the present invention.

[0043] Fig.23 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of an optical detection unit in the fuel cell collector plate weld visual detection device disclosed in the present invention.

[0044] Fig.24 yes Fig.23 Front view of .

[0045] 1-machine; 2-carrying fixture; 3-transfer unit; 31-left conveyor; 32-left top support transfer conveyor; 321-left substrate; 322-left belt conveyor; 323-left linear motion actuator; 324-left guide unit; 3241-left guide column; 3242-left guide sleeve; 33-transfer conveyor; 331-temporary stop mechanism; 3311-load-bearing frame; 3312-blocking cylinder; 34-right conveyor; 35-right top support transfer conveyor; 4-carrying tooling; 41-first load-bearing partition; 411-first lower process gap; 42-second load-bearing partition; 421-second lower process gap; 43-third load-bearing partition; 431-third lower process gap; 44-limiting assembly; 441-limiting pin; 5-carrying Transport unit; 51-left mobile conveyor; 52-left linear drive device; 53-front fixed conveyor; 54-right mobile conveyor; 55-right linear drive device; 56-rear fixed conveyor; 57-visual inspection position reference template; 571-limiting pin hole; 572-first upper process gap; 573-second upper process gap; 574-third upper process gap; 58-lifting unit; 581-front lifting subunit; 5811-front slide cylinder; 5812-front lifting plate; 582-rear lifting subunit; 6-upstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator; 7-downstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator; 8-optical inspection unit; 81-first optical inspection device; 811-first upper AOI visual inspection module; 812-first lower AO I-visual inspection module; 82-second optical inspection device; 83-third optical inspection device; 9-load-bearing frame; 10-temporary storage box for defective products. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] In the description of the present invention, it is necessary to understand that the directions or positional relationships indicated by the terms "front", "rear", "left", "right", "up", "down", etc. are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific direction, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0047] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with specific embodiments. Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4The three-dimensional schematic diagram of the visual inspection device for the fuel cell collector plate disclosed in the present invention is shown together. It can be seen that it is mainly composed of a machine 1, a carrying fixture 2, a transfer unit 3, a loading tool 4, a transport unit 5, an upstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator 6, a downstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator 7, an optical inspection unit 8, a load-bearing frame 9 and a defective product temporary storage box 10. Among them, the transfer unit 3 and the transport unit 5 are adjacent to each other, and both use the machine 1 as the installation basis. The carrying fixture 2 (such as Figure 5 ) is used to carry the stacked fuel cell collector plates in batches, and is carried by the transfer unit 3. Under the carrying force from the transfer unit 3, the fully loaded carrying jig 2 is carried to the loading station. The upstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator 6 is used to transfer the fuel cell collector plates from the carrying jig 2 to the loading tooling piece by piece until the carrying jig 2 is emptied, and is arranged directly above the loading station. The loading tooling 4 (as shown in Fig.14 ) is used to support the fuel cell collector plate, and it can circulate between different stations under the carrying force from the carrier unit 5, and during the visual inspection station, the optical inspection unit 8 picks up the front and back weld images of the fuel cell collector plate. Under the carrying force from the transfer unit 3, the empty-load carrying fixture 2 performs a lateral movement until it stops at the unloading station. The downstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator 7 is arranged directly above the unloading station, and is used to transfer good fuel cell collector plates piece by piece from the carrier fixture 4 to the empty-load carrying fixture 2 until it is fully loaded, or, to transfer defective fuel cell collector plates piece by piece from the carrier fixture 4 to the defective product temporary storage box 10.

[0048] Depend on Figure 2 , 3 It can be clearly seen from the figure that the load-bearing frame 9 is a welded steel structure, which is installed on the machine platform 1. The upstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator 6, the downstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator 7 and the optical detection unit 8 are all assembled with the load-bearing frame 9 in an inverted manner, and the upstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator 6 and the downstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator 7 are respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the optical detection unit 8.

[0049] The working principle of the visual inspection equipment for the weld seams of the fuel cell collector plate is as follows: the carrier jig 2 fully loaded with the fuel cell collector plate is circulated under the carrying force from the transfer unit 3, and stops at the loading station, and the fuel cell collector plate is picked up piece by piece to the carrier 4 by means of the upstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator 6; the carrier 4 is circulated among different stations under the carrying force from the carrier unit 5, and during the visual inspection station, the optical inspection unit 8 picks up the front and back weld seam images of the fuel cell collector plate; and when it is empty When the loading fixture 4 is transferred to the loading station again, the upstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator 6 can continue to supply fuel cell collector plates to it piece by piece; after the carrying fixture 2 is emptied, it performs a lateral movement under the action of the carrying force from the transfer unit 3 until it stops at the unloading station; with the help of the downstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator 7, the good fuel cell collector plates are transferred piece by piece from the loading fixture 4 to the empty loading fixture 2 until it is fully loaded, or, it is used to transfer the defective fuel cell collector plates piece by piece from the loading fixture 4 to the defective product temporary storage box 10.

[0050] By adopting the above technical solution, on the one hand, the circulation process of the fuel cell collector plate can be effectively optimized, and the circulation efficiency can be significantly improved, which lays a good foundation for substantially improving the inspection efficiency of the visual inspection equipment for the weld of the fuel cell collector plate; on the other hand, at the loading station, the carrying fixture 2 is used to carry the fuel cell collector plates to be visually inspected in batches, and at the unloading station, the carrying fixture 2 is used to carry the fuel cell collector plates that have passed the visual inspection in batches, thereby effectively optimizing the supply and unloading mode of the fuel cell collector plates, and the required number of supporting fixtures 2 can be greatly reduced;

[0051] It is particularly important to emphasize that, with the assistance of the carrier unit 5, the orderly and efficient circulation of the fuel cell collector plate can be achieved with the help of a relatively small number of carrier fixtures 4; furthermore, under the premise that the design purpose of the circular circulation of the carrier fixture 4 is achieved, the carrier unit 5 has an extremely simple design structure and the implementation cost is relatively low.

[0052] Figure 6 , Figure 7Stereo schematic diagrams of two different states of the transfer unit in the visual inspection device for the weld seam of the fuel cell current collector plate disclosed in the present invention are respectively shown. It can be seen that it mainly consists of a left conveyor 31, a left top-support transfer conveyor 32, a middle transfer conveyor 33, a right conveyor 34, and a right top-support transfer conveyor 35. The left conveyor 31, the middle transfer conveyor 33, and the right conveyor 34 together form a "凵"-shaped carrier jig conveying line. The left top-support transfer conveyor 32 occupies the loading station, is hidden directly below the left conveyor 31, and is directly opposite to the left end of the middle transfer conveyor 33. The right top-support transfer conveyor 35 occupies the unloading station, is hidden directly below the right conveyor 34, and is directly opposite to the right end of the middle transfer conveyor 33. The empty-load carrier jig 2 located at the loading station is separated from the left conveyor 31 under the lifting force from the left top-support transfer conveyor 32, and is transferred from the left conveyor 31 to the middle transfer conveyor 33 under the conveying force from the left top-support transfer conveyor 32; the empty-load carrier jig 2 transferred from the middle transfer conveyor 33 is received by the right top-support transfer conveyor 35 and continues to be transferred to the unloading station to batch-receive the fuel cell current collector plates with qualified visual inspection of weld seams; after the carrier jig 2 is fully loaded, the right top-support transfer conveyor 35 performs an attitude transformation action, and the fully-loaded carrier jig 2随之 performs a downward movement until it is placed on the right conveyor 34.

[0053] During the operation of the visual inspection device for the weld seam of the fuel cell current collector plate, the carrier jig 2 full of fuel cell current collector plates occupies the loading station, and the fuel cell current collector plates are picked up one by one by the upstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator 6, and continuously transferred to the visual inspection station for weld seams under the conveying force from the carrier unit 5. After the fuel cell current collector plates are emptied, the left top-support transfer conveyor 32 performs an attitude transformation action, and the empty-load carrier jig 2 is separated from the left conveyor 31 under the lifting force from the left top-support transfer conveyor 32, and is transferred from the left conveyor 31 to the middle transfer conveyor 33 under the conveying force from the left top-support transfer conveyor 32. Under the conveying force from the middle transfer conveyor 33, the empty-load carrier jig 2 continues to be transferred until it is received by the right top-support transfer conveyor 35. Subsequently, the empty-load carrier jig 2 continues to be transferred under the conveying force from the right top-support transfer conveyor 35 until it reaches the unloading station. The fuel cell current collector plates qualified through weld inspection are stacked on the carrier jig 2 one by one until it is fully loaded. The right top-support transfer conveyor 35 performs an attitude transformation action, and the relative position height of the fully-loaded carrier jig 2 is reduced until it is placed on the right conveyor 34 and is directionally transferred to the next process.

[0054] by Figure 7As shown in the figure, it can be clearly seen that the left-mounted top-supporting transfer conveyor 32 and the right-mounted top-supporting transfer conveyor 35 have the same design structure, and the application effects of the two are analogous. In order to save space, only the design concept of the left-mounted top-supporting transfer conveyor 32 is described in detail. Figure 8-11 As shown in the figure, the left-mounted top-supporting transfer conveyor 32 is mainly composed of a left-mounted base plate 321, a left-mounted belt conveyor 322, and a left-mounted linear motion actuator 323. The left-mounted base plate 321 is used as the installation base of the left-mounted linear motion actuator 323, which is placed flat on the machine platform 1 and fixed as a whole in a detachable manner. The left-mounted belt conveyor 322 performs lifting and lowering motion due to the driving force from the left-mounted linear motion actuator 323.

[0055] In actual application, after the carrier jig 2 occupied at the loading station is emptied, the left linear motion actuator 323 is started to push the left belt conveyor 322 to perform an upward motion, and the empty carrier jig 2 is separated from the left conveyor 31. Then, the left belt conveyor 322 is started, and the empty carrier jig 2 is continuously subjected to the carrying force from the left belt conveyor 322 and is transferred to the transfer conveyor 33.

[0056] In order to ensure that the left belt conveyor 322 has excellent directivity during the lifting movement, and thus ensure that the carrying fixture 2 can be stably carried, as a further optimization of the above technical solution, Figure 8-11 As shown in the figure, the left-mounted top-supporting transfer conveyor 32 is further provided with a left-mounted guide unit 324. The left-mounted guide unit 324 includes a plurality of sets of left-mounted guide posts 3241 and left-mounted guide sleeves 3242 for matching applications. The left-mounted guide sleeve 3242 uses the left-mounted base plate 321 as an insertion basis. The left-mounted guide post 3241 uses the left-mounted belt conveyor 322 as an installation basis. In the process of the left-mounted belt conveyor 322 performing lifting and lowering motion, the left-mounted guide sleeve 3242 is always subjected to the guiding constraint force from the left-mounted guide post 3241, so that the left-mounted belt conveyor 322 can perform lifting and lowering motion in a directional manner.

[0057] It should also be noted here that, in the process of the left-mounted belt conveyor 322 being lifted, most of the accompanying lateral force is shared by the left-mounted guide unit 324, thereby effectively avoiding the premature damage of the left-mounted linear motion actuator 323 due to the excessive lateral force, which is beneficial to extending its service life.

[0058] like Fig.12 , 13As shown in [the figure], a temporary stop mechanism 331 is additionally provided on the transfer conveyor 33. The temporary stop mechanism 331 mainly consists of a load-bearing frame 3311, a blocking cylinder 3312, and other components. The load-bearing frame 3311 is a sheet metal part and is generally in a "U" shape as a whole. The front and rear conveying beams of the transfer conveyor 33 are both used as the detachable fixed bases of the load-bearing frame 3311. The blocking cylinder 3312 is used to directly apply a blocking force to the carrying jig, and it takes the load-bearing frame 3311 as the installation base. In this way, under the condition that the transfer conveyor 33 does not stop running, the carrying jig 2 can be temporarily stopped due to the blocking force from the blocking cylinder 3312 until the working surface of the right-side support and transfer conveyor 35 is lifted to be flush with the working surface of the right-side conveyor 34, and the carrying jig 2 can be smoothly transferred to the right-side support and transfer conveyor 35.

[0059] As Fig.16 , 17 As shown in [the figure], the carrying unit 5 mainly consists of a left-side mobile conveyor 51, a left-side linear driving device 52, a front fixed conveyor 53, a right-side mobile conveyor 54, a right-side linear driving device 55, and a rear fixed conveyor 56, and other components. In practical applications, under the driving force from the left-side linear driving device 52, the left-side mobile conveyor 51 performs a displacement movement in the front-rear direction, and it can selectively dock with the front fixed conveyor 53 or the rear fixed conveyor 56. Under the driving force from the right-side linear driving device 55, the right-side mobile conveyor 54 performs a displacement movement in the front-rear direction, and it can selectively dock with the front fixed conveyor 53 or the rear fixed conveyor 56. Moreover, the left-side mobile conveyor 51, the front fixed conveyor 53, and the right-side mobile conveyor 54 are combined to form a linear conveyor line, and the fully loaded material-carrying tooling 4 can flow from the loading station to the unloading station under the driving force, and passes through the visual inspection station during this period.

[0060] In actual application, under the initial working condition, the left-placed mobile conveyor 51 and the right-placed mobile conveyor 54 are both aligned with the front fixed conveyor 53 to form a linear conveying line. The fuel cell collector plate is supported by the carrier 4 and flows to the front fixed conveyor 53 via the left mobile conveyor 51, and while it stops at the visual inspection station, the front and back weld images of the fuel cell collector plate are picked up by the optical inspection unit 8, and then the carrier 4 continues to flow to the right mobile conveyor 54 and stops at the unloading station, and then, with the help of the downstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator 7, the fuel cell collector plate that has undergone visual inspection is picked up from the carrier 4 and transferred to the empty carrying fixture 2 until it is fully loaded, or, transferred to the defective product temporary storage box 10; then, the right mobile conveyor 54 performs a backward movement due to the driving force from the right linear drive device 55, until it is aligned with the rear fixed conveyor 56, and during this period, the empty carrier 4 performs a follow-up backward movement; Afterwards, the unloaded loading fixture 4 is transferred from the right-mounted mobile conveyor 54 to the rear fixed conveyor 56 under the action of the carrying force from the right-mounted mobile conveyor 54; at the same time, the left-mounted mobile conveyor 51 performs a backward movement due to the driving force from the left-mounted linear drive device 52 until it is aligned with the rear fixed conveyor 56; then, the unloaded loading fixture 4 is transferred from the rear fixed conveyor 56 to the left-mounted mobile conveyor 51 under the action of the carrying force from the rear fixed conveyor 56; then, the left-mounted mobile conveyor 51 performs a forward movement due to the reverse driving force from the left-mounted linear drive device 52 until it is aligned with the front fixed conveyor 53 again, at which point the unloaded loading fixture 4 can be returned to the loading station to meet the subsequent fuel cell collector plates to be visually inspected. The above-mentioned action process is continuously repeated, and batches of fuel cell collector plates can go through the visual inspection station piece by piece.

[0061] As a further optimization of the above technical solution, the left mobile conveyor 51, the front fixed conveyor 53, the right mobile conveyor 54 and the rear fixed conveyor 56 are preferably belt conveyors, and the working surface is kept at the same height. In this way, on the one hand, the belt conveyor has a strong conveying capacity, and can be easily and quickly modified or re-arranged according to the specific specifications and dimensions of the loading tooling 4; the structure of the belt conveyor is relatively simple, the reliability of each component is high, it is easy to carry out daily maintenance, and the purchase cost is relatively low; on the other hand, the loading tooling 2 always maintains a good posture stability during the carrying process.

[0062] In order to take into account both improving the flow efficiency of the fuel cell collector plate and improving the image acquisition efficiency of the optical detection unit 8, as a further optimization of the above technical solution, as follows Fig.14 , 15 As shown in FIG. 1 , the loading tool 4 can carry three fuel cell collector plates at the same time, and is artificially divided into a first loading partition 41, a second loading partition 42, and a third loading partition 43 that are adapted to the external dimensions of the fuel cell collector plates. Fig.23 , 24 As shown in the figure, the optical inspection unit 8 includes a first optical inspection device 81, a second optical inspection device 82, and a third optical inspection device 83. When the carrier 4 is carried by the front fixed conveyor 53 and stops at the visual inspection station, the first optical inspection device 81, the second optical inspection device 82, and the third optical inspection device 83 respectively pick up weld seam images on the front and back sides of the fuel cell collector plate opposite thereto.

[0063] Furthermore, by Fig.23 , 24 It can also be clearly seen that the first optical detection device 81, the second optical detection device 82 and the third optical detection device 83 have the same design structure. In order to save space, only the first optical detection device 81 is taken as an example for explanation, which is composed of a first upper AOI visual detection module 811 and a first lower AOI visual detection module 812. The first upper AOI visual detection module 811 is used to pick up the front weld image of the fuel cell collector plate, and it is located directly above the front fixed conveyor 53. The first lower AOI visual detection module 812 is used to pick up the back weld image of the fuel cell collector plate, and it is hidden directly below the front fixed conveyor 53. By Fig.14 , 15 It can also be clearly seen from the figure that a first upper process notch 411 is provided in the first bearing partition 41 area to facilitate the first lower AOI visual inspection module 812 to pick up the image of the weld seam on the back of the fuel cell collector plate. In order to cater to the second optical inspection device 82 and the third optical inspection device 83, similar to the first bearing partition 41, a second upper process notch 421 and a third upper process notch 431 are provided in the second bearing partition 42 and the third bearing partition 43 areas respectively.

[0064] Furthermore, by Figure 16-21 It can also be clearly seen from the figure that the carrier unit 5 is also provided with a visual inspection position reference template 57 and a lifting unit 58. The visual inspection position reference template 57 spans the front fixed conveyor 53, and it is installed on the front and rear conveying beams of the front fixed conveyor 53. When the loading tool 4 is transferred to the visual inspection station, it is close to and interacts with the visual inspection position reference template 57 due to the lifting force from the lifting unit 58, and in this process, the loading tool 4 is precisely aligned with the optical inspection unit 8 due to the correction guide force from the visual inspection position reference template 57.

[0065] As a further refinement of the above technical solution, Fig.14 , 15 As shown in FIG. 4 , a limiting assembly 44 is provided on the object carrier 4. The limiting assembly 44 is composed of a plurality of limiting pins 441 that are detachably fixed on the top wall of the object carrier 4. Fig. 22 As shown in , a plurality of limit pin holes 571 matching the above-mentioned limit pins 441 are formed in the visual inspection position reference template 57. And considering both the actual application effect and the difficulty of manufacturing, the limit pins 441 and the limit pin holes 571 are preferably loosely matched H8 / h7. When the loading fixture 4 is transferred to the visual inspection station, it is close to the visual inspection position reference template 57 due to the lifting force from the lifting unit 58, and each limit pin 441 is correspondingly inserted into the limit pin hole 571 corresponding thereto, and in this process, the loading fixture 4 is subjected to the coordinated alignment guide force from the plurality of limit pin holes 571 to achieve precise alignment with the optical inspection unit 8.

[0066] like Figure 18-21 As shown in FIG. 1 , the lifting unit 58 is composed of a front lifting subunit 581 and a rear lifting subunit 582. The front lifting subunit 581 and the rear lifting subunit 582 are respectively installed on the front and rear conveying beams of the front fixed conveyor 53, and the two cooperate to apply a pushing force to the loading tooling 4.

[0067] Also by Figure 18-21 It can also be clearly seen from the figure that the front lifting subunit 581 and the rear lifting subunit 582 have the same design structure. Taking the front lifting subunit 581 as an example, it includes a front slide cylinder 5811 and a front lifting plate 5812. When the front lifting plate 5812 follows the slide of the front slide cylinder 5811 to perform synchronous movement, the loading tool 4 performs lifting movement due to the pushing force from the front lifting plate 5812.

[0068] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables one skilled in the art to implement or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to one skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but rather to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A visual inspection device for fuel cell collector plate welds, characterized in that: It includes a machine platform, a loading fixture, a transfer unit, a load-carrying tooling, a transportation unit, an upstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator, a downstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator, an optical inspection unit, and a defective product temporary storage box; the transfer unit and the transportation unit are adjacent to each other and are both borne by the machine platform; the loading fixture is used to batch-carry stacked fuel cell current collectors, and it is carried by the transfer unit; under the carrying force from the transfer unit, the fully loaded loading fixture is carried to the loading station; the upstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator is used to transfer fuel cell current collectors piece by piece from the loading fixture to the load-carrying tooling until the loading fixture is emptied, and it is arranged directly above the loading station; the load-carrying tooling is used to support fuel cell current collectors, and it circulates between different stations under the carrying force from the transportation unit, and during passing through the vision inspection station, the optical inspection unit picks up the front and back weld images of the fuel cell current collectors; under the carrying force from the transfer unit, the empty loading fixture performs a lateral movement and stops at the unloading station; the downstream multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator is arranged directly above the unloading station, and it is used to transfer qualified fuel cell current collectors piece by piece from the load-carrying tooling to the empty loading fixture until it is fully loaded, or to transfer defective fuel cell current collectors piece by piece from the load-carrying tooling to the defective product temporary storage box.

2. The visual inspection device for the weld seam of the fuel cell collector plate according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transfer unit includes a left conveyor, a left top-support transfer conveyor, a transfer conveyor, a right conveyor, and a right top-support transfer conveyor; the left conveyor, the transfer conveyor, and the right conveyor together form a "U"-shaped loading fixture carrying line; the left top-support transfer conveyor occupies the loading station, it is hidden directly below the left conveyor, and is in alignment with the transfer conveyor; the right top-support transfer conveyor occupies the unloading station, it is hidden directly below the right conveyor, and is also in alignment with the transfer conveyor; the empty loading fixture at the loading station is separated from the left conveyor under the lifting force from the left top-support transfer conveyor, and is laterally moved to the transfer conveyor under the carrying force from the left top-support transfer conveyor; the empty loading fixture laterally moved by the transfer conveyor is received by the right top-support transfer conveyor and continues to flow to the unloading station to batch-receive fuel cell current collectors with qualified weld vision inspection; after the loading fixture is fully loaded, the right top-support transfer conveyor performs an attitude transformation action, and the fully loaded loading fixture随之 performs a downward movement until it is placed on the right conveyor.

3. The fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The left-side supporting and lifting transfer conveyor and the right-side supporting and lifting transfer conveyor have the same design structure; the left-side supporting and lifting transfer conveyor includes a left-side base plate, a left-side belt conveyor, and a left-side linear motion actuator; the left-side base plate serves as the installation base of the left-side linear motion actuator, lies flat on the machine table, and is fixed integrally in a detachable manner; the left-side belt conveyor performs a lifting motion under the driving force from the left-side linear motion actuator.

4. The fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The transfer conveyor includes a temporary stop mechanism; in the case where the transfer conveyor does not stop, the carrying jig is temporarily stopped under the blocking force from the temporary stop mechanism.

5. The visual inspection device for welding seams of fuel cell collector plates according to claim 4, characterized in that: The temporary stop mechanism includes a force-bearing frame and a blocking cylinder; the force-bearing frame is a sheet metal part and is integrally in a "U" shape; the front and rear conveying beams of the transfer conveyor are both used as the detachable fixing bases of the force-bearing frame; the blocking cylinder is used to directly apply a blocking force to the carrying jig and uses the force-bearing frame as the installation base.

6. The visual inspection device for welding seams of fuel cell collector plates according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The carrying unit includes a left-side mobile conveyor, a left-side linear driving device, a front fixed conveyor, a right-side mobile conveyor, a right-side linear driving device, and a rear fixed conveyor; Under the carrying force from the left-side linear driving device, the left-side mobile conveyor performs a displacement motion in the front-rear direction and can selectively dock with the front fixed conveyor or the rear fixed conveyor; Under the carrying force from the right-side linear driving device, the right-side mobile conveyor performs a displacement motion in the front-rear direction and can selectively dock with the front fixed conveyor or the rear fixed conveyor; Moreover, the left-side mobile conveyor, the front fixed conveyor, and the right-side mobile conveyor are combined to form a linear conveyor line, and the loaded workpiece carrier can flow from the loading station to the unloading station under the carrying force and experiences a visual inspection station during this period.

7. The visual inspection device for welding seams of fuel cell collector plates according to claim 6, characterized in that: The workpiece carrier simultaneously carries N fuel cell current collectors; the workpiece carrier is demarcated with N carrying partitions; the optical inspection unit includes a first optical inspection device, a second optical inspection device,..., an Nth optical inspection device; During the period when the workpiece carrier stops at the visual inspection station, the first optical inspection device, the second optical inspection device,..., the Nth optical inspection device pick up weld images of the front and back sides of the fuel cell current collectors corresponding to them one by one.

8. The visual inspection device for welding seams of fuel cell collector plates according to claim 7, characterized in that: The first optical inspection device, the second optical inspection device,..., the Nth optical inspection device have the same design structure; the first optical inspection device includes a first upper AOI vision inspection module and a first lower AOI vision inspection module; the first upper AOI vision inspection module is used to pick up the front weld image of the fuel cell current collector and is located directly above the front fixed conveyor; The first lower AOI vision inspection module is used to pick up the back weld image of the fuel cell current collector and is hidden directly below the front fixed conveyor.

9. The visual inspection device for welding seams of fuel cell collector plates according to claim 6, characterized in that: The carrier unit further comprises a visual detection position reference template and a lifting unit; the visual detection position reference template spans the front fixed conveyor, and the front and rear conveying beams of the front fixed conveyor are used as the installation basis; When the carrier tooling is transferred to the visual inspection station, it approaches and interacts with the visual inspection position reference template due to the lifting force from the lifting unit, and in this process, the carrier tooling is precisely aligned with the optical inspection unit due to the alignment guide force from the visual inspection position reference template.

10. The visual inspection device for welding seams of fuel cell collector plates according to claim 9, characterized in that: The lifting unit is composed of a front lifting subunit and a rear lifting subunit; the front lifting subunit and the rear lifting subunit respectively use the front and rear conveying beams of the front fixed conveyor as installation bases, and the two cooperate to apply a pushing force toward the loading tooling.

Images