Visual inspection system 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 a fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection system. And the loading tool is used for loading the fuel cell collector plate and circulates among different stations under the action of the carrying force from the carrying unit. And when the loading tool is stopped at the visual detection station, the optical detection unit picks up welding seam images on the front surface and the back surface of the fuel cell collector plate. According to different specific working conditions, under the action of carrying force from the left linear driving device and the right linear driving device, the left movable conveyor and the right movable conveyor can be selectively aligned with the front fixed conveyor or the rear fixed conveyor, that is, the conveying line of the fuel cell collector plate is flexible, and the conveying efficiency of the fuel cell collector plate is improved. The method has multiple combination possibilities, and in practical application, ordered and efficient circulation of the fuel cell collector plates can be realized only by means of a relatively small number of carrying tools.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of visual inspection equipment manufacturing, in particular to a visual inspection system 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. During the unloading station, the fuel cell collector plate is removed from the loading fixture by means of a multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator, and the empty loading fixture continues to flow back to the loading station to meet the fuel cell collector plate to be inspected. According to feedback from upstream new energy vehicle manufacturers, in actual applications, the inspection effect is poor, the inspection efficiency is extremely low, and weld defects are often misdetected or missed. To this end, our company has recently developed a visual inspection device for fuel cell collector plate welds.

[0004] It is known that for the old weld visual inspection equipment, a circular conveyor is required to achieve the design goal of a circular transport tooling, so that the tooling can return to the loading station to continue to receive the fuel cell collector plates to be visually inspected. The site area required is relatively large, which is not conducive to the optimization of the workshop layout. And during the transportation of the tooling, the circular conveyor needs to be kept in operation, and the required energy consumption is relatively large, which is not conducive to the realization of the design goal of energy conservation and emission reduction. Furthermore, in the prior art, no fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection system compatible with the design concept of the new fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection equipment has been retrieved. Therefore, it is urgent for technical personnel to solve the above problems. Summary of the invention

[0005] 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 system.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention relates to a visual inspection system for the weld of a fuel cell collector plate, which belongs to the visual inspection equipment for the weld of a fuel cell collector plate, and includes a machine, a loading tool, a carrying unit and an optical inspection unit. The carrying unit and the optical inspection unit are both carried by the machine. The loading tool is used to carry the fuel cell collector plate, and it circulates between different stations under the carrying force from the carrying unit. While the loading tool is parked at the visual inspection station, the optical inspection unit picks up the front and back weld images of the fuel cell collector plate. 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 carrying force from the left-mounted linear drive device, the left-mounted mobile conveyor performs displacement movement along the front and rear directions, 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 linear drive device, the right mobile conveyor performs displacement movement along the front and rear directions, and can selectively dock with the front fixed conveyor or the rear fixed conveyor. The left mobile conveyor, the front fixed conveyor, and the right mobile conveyor are combined to form a linear conveyor line. Under the action of the carrying force, the fully loaded tooling can flow from the loading station to the unloading station, and pass through the visual inspection station during the process.

[0007] As a further improvement of the technical solution disclosed in the present invention, the left-mounted mobile conveyor, the front-mounted fixed conveyor, the right-mounted mobile conveyor and the rear-mounted fixed conveyor are all belt conveyors, and the working surfaces are maintained at the same position height.

[0008] As a further improvement of the technical solution disclosed in the present invention, the left-mounted linear drive device and the right-mounted linear drive device are selected as any one of a screw-driven linear module, a synchronous belt-driven linear module, and a gear rack-driven linear module.

[0009] 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 demarcated with 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.

[0010] 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.

[0011] As a further improvement of the technical solution disclosed in the present invention, an upper process notch is provided in each bearing partition to facilitate the optical detection unit to pick up the image of the weld on the back side of the fuel cell collector plate.

[0012] As a further improvement of the technical solution disclosed in the present invention, the visual inspection system for the weld of the current collector plate of the fuel cell also includes a visual inspection position reference template and a lifting unit. The visual inspection 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 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.

[0013] As a further improvement of the technical solution disclosed in the present invention, a limit assembly is provided on the object carrier. The limit assembly is composed of a plurality of limit pins detachably fixed on the top wall of the object carrier. A plurality of limit pin holes matching the limit pins are formed on the visual detection position reference template.

[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] As a further improvement of the technical solution disclosed in the present invention, the front lifting subunit and the rear lifting subunit have the same design structure. The front lifting subunit includes a front slide cylinder and a front lifting plate. In the process of the front lifting plate following the slide of the front slide cylinder to perform synchronous movement, the loading tooling performs lifting movement due to the pushing force from the front lifting plate.

[0016] The working principle of the visual inspection system for the weld of the fuel cell collector plate disclosed in the present invention is roughly as follows: Under the initial working condition, the left-mounted mobile conveyor and the right-mounted mobile conveyor are aligned with the front fixed conveyor to form a linear conveyor line. The fuel cell collector plate is supported by a loading fixture and flows to the front fixed conveyor via the left-mounted mobile conveyor, 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, and then the loading fixture continues to flow to the right-mounted mobile conveyor and stops at the unloading station, and then, the fuel cell collector plate that has undergone visual inspection is picked up from the loading fixture with the help of a multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator and transferred to the next process; then, the right-mounted mobile conveyor performs a backward movement due to the driving force from the right-mounted linear drive device until it maintains a positive alignment with the rear fixed conveyor, and during this period, the empty-loaded loading fixture performs a follow-up backward movement; then, the empty-loaded loading fixture performs a follow-up backward movement; The tooling is transferred from the right mobile conveyor to the rear fixed conveyor under the carrying force from the right mobile conveyor; at the same time, the left mobile conveyor moves backward due to the driving force from the left linear drive device until it is aligned with the rear fixed conveyor; then, the empty loading tooling is transferred from the rear fixed conveyor to the left mobile conveyor under the carrying force from the rear fixed conveyor; then, the left mobile conveyor moves forward due to the reverse driving force from the left linear drive device until it is aligned with the front fixed conveyor again, at which point the empty loading tooling can be returned to the loading station to meet the subsequent visual inspection of the fuel cell collector plate. The above-mentioned action process is continuously repeated, and the batch of fuel cell collector plates can go through the visual inspection station piece by piece.

[0017] By adopting the above-mentioned technical solution, according to different specific working conditions, the left-mounted mobile conveyor and the right-mounted mobile conveyor can be selectively aligned with the front fixed conveyor or the rear fixed conveyor, that is, the conveying line of the fuel cell collector plate is flexible and has a variety of combination possibilities. In practical applications, only a relatively small number of carriers are needed to achieve orderly and efficient circulation of the fuel cell collector plate; furthermore, under the premise that the design purpose of the circular circulation of the carriers is achieved, the carrying unit has an extremely simple design structure and the implementation cost is extremely low. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] 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.

[0019] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the fuel cell collector plate disclosed in the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the visual inspection equipment for the weld of the fuel cell collector plate disclosed in the present invention.

[0021] Figure 3 It is also a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the visual inspection device for the weld of the current collector plate of the fuel cell disclosed in the present invention (the left-mounted multi-degree-of-freedom picking manipulator, the right-mounted multi-degree-of-freedom picking manipulator and the load-bearing frame are hidden).

[0022] Figure 4 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the visual inspection system for the weld of the fuel cell collector plate disclosed in the present invention.

[0023] Figure 5 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the visual inspection system for the weld of the fuel cell collector plate disclosed in the present invention (with the optical inspection unit hidden).

[0024] Figure 6 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a loading tool in the visual inspection system for the weld seam of a fuel cell collector plate disclosed in the present invention.

[0025] Figure 7 yes Figure 6 A top view of the device (the first load-bearing partition, the second load-bearing partition and the third load-bearing partition are defined by double-dotted lines).

[0026] Figure 8 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a carrier unit in the visual inspection system for the weld seam of a fuel cell collector plate disclosed in the present invention.

[0027] Fig. 9 yes Figure 8 Top view of the .

[0028] Fig.10 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of an optical detection unit in the visual detection system for the weld of a fuel cell collector plate disclosed in the present invention.

[0029] Fig.11 yes Fig.10 Front view of .

[0030] Fig.12 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 system disclosed in the present invention relative to a visual inspection position reference template at a certain moment under a viewing angle.

[0031] Fig.13 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 system disclosed in the present invention relative to a visual inspection position reference template at a certain moment under another viewing angle.

[0032] Fig.14 yes Fig.12 Front view of .

[0033] Fig.15 yes Fig.14 AA section view.

[0034] 1-machine; 2-carrying tooling; 21-first load-bearing partition; 211-first upper process gap; 22-second load-bearing partition; 221-second upper process gap; 23-third load-bearing partition; 231-third upper process gap; 24-limiting assembly; 241-limiting pin; 3-carrying unit; 31-left mobile conveyor; 32-left linear drive device; 33-front fixed conveyor; 34-right mobile conveyor; 35-right linear drive device; 36-rear fixed conveyor; 4-optical detection unit; 41-first optical detection device; 411-first upper AOI visual detection module; 412-first lower AO I visual inspection module; 42-second optical inspection device; 43-third optical inspection device; 5-visual inspection position reference template; 51-limiting pin hole; 6-lifting unit; 61-front lifting subunit; 611-front slide cylinder; 612-front lifting plate; 62-rear lifting subunit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] 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.

[0036] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments. Figure 2 , Figure 3 The three-dimensional schematic diagrams of the fuel cell collector plate visual inspection device disclosed in the present invention in two different states are respectively shown. It can be seen that its main structure is a fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection system, which is used to pick up images of formed welds on fuel cell collector plates.

[0037] Figure 4 , Figure 5 The three-dimensional schematic diagrams of the visual inspection system for the weld seam of the fuel cell collector plate disclosed in the present invention in two different states are respectively shown. It can be seen that it is mainly composed of a machine 1, a carrier 2, a carrier unit 3 and an optical inspection unit 4. The carrier unit 3 and the optical inspection unit 4 are both carried by the machine 1. The carrier 2 is used to carry the fuel cell collector plate, and it circulates between different stations under the carrying force from the carrier unit 3. While the carrier 2 is parked at the visual inspection station, the front and back weld seam images of the fuel cell collector plate are picked up with the help of the optical inspection unit 4.

[0038] Depend on Figure 8 , 9 As shown in the figure, it can be clearly seen that the carrier unit 3 is mainly composed of a left-mounted mobile conveyor 31, a left-mounted linear drive device 32, a front fixed conveyor 33, a right-mounted mobile conveyor 34, a right-mounted linear drive device 35, and a rear fixed conveyor 36. In actual application, under the carrying force from the left-mounted linear drive device 32, the left-mounted mobile conveyor 31 performs displacement movement along the front-to-back direction, and it can selectively dock with the front fixed conveyor 33 or the rear fixed conveyor 36. Under the carrying force from the right-mounted linear drive device 35, the right-mounted mobile conveyor 34 performs displacement movement along the front-to-back direction, and it can selectively dock with the front fixed conveyor 33 or the rear fixed conveyor 36. The left-mounted mobile conveyor 31, the front fixed conveyor 33, and the right-mounted mobile conveyor 34 are combined to form a linear conveyor line. Under the action of the carrying force, the fully loaded tooling can flow from the loading station to the unloading station and pass through the visual inspection station during the process.

[0039] In actual application, under the initial working condition, the left-placed mobile conveyor 31 and the right-placed mobile conveyor 34 are aligned with the front fixed conveyor 33 to form a linear conveying line. The fuel cell collector plate is supported by the carrier 2 and transferred to the front fixed conveyor 33 via the left mobile conveyor 31. While it is parked 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 4. Then, the carrier 2 continues to flow to the right mobile conveyor 34 and stops at the unloading station. Subsequently, the fuel cell collector plate that has undergone visual inspection is picked up from the carrier 2 by a multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator and transferred to the next process. Then, the right mobile conveyor 34 performs a backward movement due to the driving force from the right linear drive device 35 until it is aligned with the rear fixed conveyor 36. During this period, the empty carrier performs a follow-up backward movement. Subsequently, the empty carrier 2 is moved backward by the driving force from the right linear drive device 35. Under the carrying force of the right-mounted mobile conveyor 34, the right-mounted mobile conveyor 34 is transferred to the rear fixed conveyor 36; at the same time, the left-mounted mobile conveyor 31 is moved backward due to the driving force from the left-mounted linear drive device 32 until it is aligned with the rear fixed conveyor 36; then, the empty-loaded loading fixture 2 is transferred from the rear fixed conveyor 36 to the left-mounted mobile conveyor 31 under the carrying force from the rear fixed conveyor 36; then, the left-mounted mobile conveyor 31 is moved forward due to the reverse driving force from the left-mounted linear drive device 32 until it is aligned with the front fixed conveyor 33 again, at which point the empty-loaded loading fixture 2 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.

[0040] By adopting the above technical solution, both the left-mounted mobile conveyor 31 and the right-mounted mobile conveyor 34 can perform position change movement along the front-back direction. And according to different specific working conditions, the left-mounted mobile conveyor 31 and the right-mounted mobile conveyor 34 can selectively maintain alignment with the front fixed conveyor 33 or the rear fixed conveyor 36, that is, the conveying line of the fuel cell collector plate is flexible and has a variety of combination possibilities. In practical applications, only a relatively small number of carriers 2 are needed to realize the orderly and efficient circulation of the fuel cell collector plate; furthermore, under the premise that the design purpose of the circular circulation of the carrier 2 is achieved, the carrier unit 3 has an extremely simple design structure and the implementation cost is extremely low.

[0041] As a further optimization of the above technical solution, the left mobile conveyor 31, the front fixed conveyor 33, the right mobile conveyor 34 and the rear fixed conveyor 36 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 rearranged according to the specific specifications and dimensions of the loading tool 2; 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 tool 2 always maintains a good posture stability during the carrying process.

[0042] It is known that according to common knowledge, a variety of methods can be adopted to achieve the overall position change of the left-mounted mobile conveyor 31 and the right-mounted mobile conveyor 34. However, an implementation scheme with a simple design structure, easy implementation, rapid action response, and relatively high action accuracy is recommended here, specifically: Figure 8 , 9 As shown in , the left linear drive device 32 and the right linear drive device 35 are preferably selected from any one of a screw-driven linear module, a synchronous belt-driven linear module, and a gear rack-driven linear module.

[0043] 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 4, as a further optimization of the above technical solution, as follows Figure 4 , 5 As shown in , 6, the loading tool 2 carries three fuel cell collector plates at the same time, and is artificially divided into a first loading partition 21, a second loading partition 22 and a third loading partition 23 that are adapted to the external dimensions of the fuel cell collector plates. Fig.10 , 11 As shown in the figure, the optical inspection unit 4 includes a first optical inspection device 41, a second optical inspection device 42, and a third optical inspection device 43. When the carrier 2 is carried by the front fixed conveyor 33 and stops at the visual inspection station, the first optical inspection device 41, the second optical inspection device 42, and the third optical inspection device 43 correspondingly pick up weld images of the front and back sides of the fuel cell collector plate opposite thereto.

[0044] Furthermore, by Fig.10 , 11It can also be clearly seen that the first optical detection device 41, the second optical detection device 42 and the third optical detection device 43 have the same design structure. In order to save space, only the first optical detection device 41 is taken as an example for explanation, which is composed of a first upper AOI visual detection module 411 and a first lower AOI visual detection module 412. The first upper AOI visual detection module 411 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 33. The first lower AO I visual detection module 412 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 33. By Figure 6 , 7 It can also be clearly seen from the figure that a first upper process notch 211 is provided in the first bearing partition 21 area to facilitate the first lower AOI visual inspection module 412 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 42 and the third optical inspection device 43, similar to the first bearing partition 21, a second upper process notch 221 and a third upper process notch 231 are provided in the second bearing partition 22 and the third bearing partition 23 areas respectively.

[0045] Furthermore, by Figure 4 , 5 It can also be clearly seen from the figure that the visual inspection system for the fuel cell collector plate weld is also provided with a visual inspection position reference template 5 and a lifting unit 6. The visual inspection position reference template 5 spans the front fixed conveyor 33, and it uses the front and rear conveying beams of the front fixed conveyor 33 as the installation foundation. When the loading tool 2 is transferred to the visual inspection station, it approaches and interacts with the visual inspection position reference template 5 due to the lifting force from the lifting unit 6, and in this process, the loading tool 2 is subjected to the correction guide force from the visual inspection position reference template 5 to achieve precise alignment with the optical inspection unit 4.

[0046] As a further refinement of the above technical solution, Figure 6 , 7As shown in , a limit assembly 24 is provided on the carrier 2. The limit assembly 24 is composed of a plurality of limit pins 241 that are detachably fixed on the top wall of the carrier 2. A plurality of limit pin holes 51 that are compatible with the above-mentioned limit pins 241 are formed on the visual inspection position reference template 5. And in order to take into account both the actual application effect and the difficulty of manufacturing, the limit pins 241 and the limit pin holes 51 should preferably be loosely matched H8 / h7. When the carrier 2 is transferred to the visual inspection station, it is close to the visual inspection position reference template 5 due to the lifting force from the lifting unit 6, and each limit pin 241 is correspondingly inserted into the limit pin hole 51 corresponding thereto, and in this process, the carrier 2 is subjected to the coordinated alignment guide force from the plurality of limit pin holes 51 to achieve precise alignment with the optical inspection unit 4.

[0047] like Figure 12-15 As shown in the figure, the lifting unit 6 is composed of a front lifting subunit 61 and a rear lifting subunit 62. The front lifting subunit 61 and the rear lifting subunit 62 are respectively installed on the front and rear conveying beams of the front fixed conveyor 33, and the two cooperate to apply a pushing force to the loading tooling 2.

[0048] Also by Figure 12-15 It can also be clearly seen from the figure that the front lifting subunit 61 and the rear lifting subunit 62 have the same design structure. Taking the front lifting subunit 61 as an example, it includes a front slide cylinder 611 and a front lifting plate 612. When the front lifting plate 612 follows the slide of the front slide cylinder 611 to perform synchronous movement, the loading tool 2 performs lifting movement due to the pushing force from the front lifting plate 612.

[0049] 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 system for a fuel cell collector plate weld, belonging to a visual inspection device for a fuel cell collector plate weld, comprising a machine, a carrier, a carrier unit and an optical inspection unit; the carrier unit and the optical inspection unit are both carried by the machine; the carrier is used to carry the fuel cell collector plate, and it is transferred between different stations under the carrying force from the carrier unit; when the carrier is parked at the visual inspection station, the optical inspection unit picks up the front and back weld images of the fuel cell collector plate, characterized in that: The carrying unit includes a left-mounted mobile conveyor, a left-mounted linear drive device, a front-mounted fixed conveyor, a right-mounted mobile conveyor, a right-mounted linear drive device and a rear-mounted 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, so that 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, so that it can selectively dock with the front fixed conveyor or the rear fixed conveyor; The left-mounted mobile conveyor, the front-mounted fixed conveyor, and the right-mounted mobile conveyor are combined to form a linear conveyor line. Under the action of the carrying force, the fully loaded tooling can flow from the loading station to the unloading station and pass through the visual inspection station during the process.

2. The fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The left-mounted mobile conveyor, the front-mounted fixed conveyor, the right-mounted mobile conveyor and the rear-mounted fixed conveyor are all belt conveyors, and the working surfaces are maintained at the same position height.

3. The fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The left-mounted linear drive device and the right-mounted linear drive device are selected as any one of a screw-driven linear module, a synchronous belt-driven linear module, and a gear rack-driven linear module.

4. The fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: 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, ..., an Nth optical detection device; While the carrier tool is parked at the visual inspection station, the first optical inspection device, the second optical inspection device, ..., the Nth optical inspection device correspondingly pick up weld images of the front and back sides of the fuel cell collector plate opposite thereto.

5. The fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection system according to claim 4, characterized in that: 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, and is located directly above the front fixed conveyor; The first lower AOI visual inspection module is used to pick up the back weld image of the fuel cell collector plate, and is hidden directly below the front fixed conveyor.

6. The fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection system according to claim 5, characterized in that: An upper process notch is provided in each of the bearing partitions to facilitate the optical detection unit to pick up the image of the weld seam on the back side of the fuel cell collector plate.

7. The fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: It also includes 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.

8. The fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection system according to claim 7, characterized in that: The object-carrying tooling is provided with a limit assembly; the limit assembly is composed of a plurality of limit pins detachably fixed to the top wall of the object-carrying tooling; a plurality of limit pin holes matching the limit pins are formed in the visual detection position reference template.

9. The fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection system according to claim 7, 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.

10. The fuel cell collector plate weld visual inspection system according to claim 9, characterized in that: The front lifting subunit and the rear lifting subunit have the same design structure; the front lifting subunit includes a front slide cylinder and a front lifting plate; in the process of the front lifting plate following the slide of the front slide cylinder to perform synchronous movement, the loading tooling performs lifting movement due to the pushing force from the front lifting plate.

Images