A ball pin welding workstation and its method

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of ball pin welding, and discloses a ball pin welding workstation, which includes a conveying device, a pitch-changing mechanism, a handling mechanism, a pitch-restoring mechanism, a transfer mechanism and a feeding device. Inside the conveying device, a loading robot, a preliminary welding device, a heat preservation device, a tempering device, a cleaning device and an unloading robot are sequentially arranged. The sphere is provided to the preliminary welding device by the feeding device, and the pin rod is provided to the preliminary welding device by the loading robot, the pitch-changing mechanism and the handling mechanism. After being preliminarily welded by the preliminary welding device, the ball pin is synchronously transported to the next station by the remaining handling mechanisms, and after passing through preliminary welding, heat preservation, tempering and grinding in sequence, the pitch of the ball pin is restored by the transfer mechanism and the pitch-restoring mechanism, and then the final ball pin finished product is carried back to the conveying device by the unloading robot; the present invention also discloses a ball pin welding method, which not only enables the devices and mechanisms in the workstation to cooperate in an orderly and coordinated manner, but also greatly improves the reliability of the ball pin quality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of ball pin welding, and particularly relates to a ball pin welding workstation and a method thereof. Background Art

[0002] In an automotive suspension system, a lateral parallel bar usually needs to be connected by a ball pin. The lateral parallel bar, also known as a lateral stabilizer bar, an anti-roll bar or a balance bar, is an auxiliary elastic element in an automotive suspension; the middle of its rod body is usually hinged to the vehicle body or frame, and both ends are mostly connected to the suspension guide arm through ball pins. The ball pin can not only achieve flexible rotation at multiple angles, adapt to different degrees of compression or stretching of the left and right suspensions during vehicle driving, ensure that the lateral stabilizer bar effectively suppresses vehicle body roll, but also effectively transmit force and torque, balance the vehicle body posture, and ensure the working efficiency of the lateral stabilizer bar.

[0003] In the manufacturing process of an automotive suspension system, the connection quality between the sphere and the pin rod of the ball pin is crucial, and welding, as the main connection means, directly affects the overall performance and safety of the vehicle; at present, there are many problems that cannot be ignored in the traditional ball pin welding method.

[0004] In some welding methods with a relatively high degree of automation, as the pin rod is a shaft structure, its feeding is relatively easy to achieve, but the feeding of the sphere is not easy to control, which will affect the overall welding efficiency. In addition, the existing ball pin welding methods have deficiencies in terms of quality stability and welding reliability, etc.; therefore, there is an urgent need for an innovative welding workstation to solve these problems and improve the manufacturing quality and production efficiency of ball pins in automotive suspension systems. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies in the prior art and provide a ball pin welding workstation and a method thereof. The loading robot transports the pin rod from the conveying device to the variable pitch mechanism, the loading device transports the sphere to the pre-welding device, and through multiple handling mechanisms, the workpiece is sequentially transported to the next station. After pre-welding, heat preservation, tempering and grinding, it is then transported to the re-pitch mechanism by the transfer mechanism, and the final ball pin is transported back to the conveying device by the unloading robot, improving the quality and reliability of ball pin welding and enhancing the welding efficiency.

[0006] To achieve the above purpose, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0007] In a first aspect, a ball pin welding workstation is provided, which includes a conveying device for conveying pin rods or / and ball pins. An uploading robot, a primary welding device, a heat preservation device, a tempering device, a cleaning device and a discharging robot are sequentially arranged inside the conveying device. A variable pitch mechanism is arranged on one side of the primary welding device close to the uploading robot, and a plurality of handling mechanisms are sequentially arranged outside the variable pitch mechanism. A restoring pitch mechanism and a transfer mechanism are arranged on one side of the cleaning device close to the discharging robot, and a feeding device for supplying spheres is arranged on the front side of the primary welding device. Among them, the uploading robot conveys the pin rod from the conveying device to the variable pitch mechanism. After the feeding device provides spheres to the primary welding device, the plurality of handling mechanisms synchronously convey the workpieces to the next working station in sequence. The transfer mechanism conveys the ball pin from the cleaning device to the restoring pitch mechanism, and the discharging robot conveys the ball pin from the restoring pitch mechanism back to the conveying device.

[0008] Optionally, the feeding device includes a hopper, a pipeline and a material rubbing mechanism. The hopper is fixed on the primary welding device. One end of the pipeline extends upward into the hopper and can float up and down, and the other end is connected to the material rubbing mechanism through an anti-misalignment component. The material rubbing mechanism includes a material guiding block communicated with the pipeline. A material rubbing block capable of moving horizontally is arranged below the material guiding block. A material rubbing hole for accommodating spheres is formed in the material rubbing block, and a jacking component for ejecting the spheres is arranged below the material rubbing hole.

[0009] Optionally, the primary welding device includes a first positioning tooling for fixing the pin rod. An air suction head for grasping and ejecting the spheres in the material rubbing hole is arranged above the first positioning tooling, and the air suction head can lift vertically to place the spheres at the top end of the pin rod.

[0010] Optionally, the anti-misalignment component includes a material inspection block. The two ends of the material inspection block are respectively communicated with the pipeline and the material guiding block. A limit pin penetrates through the top of the material inspection block. A discharge hole is formed in the bottom of the material inspection block, and a material box for receiving misaligned materials is arranged below the discharge hole.

[0011] Optionally, a replenishing device for replenishing spheres into the hopper is further arranged outside the primary welding device. The replenishing device includes a material frame, a transmission component and a push plate capable of reciprocating up and down. One end of the transmission component is located above the hopper, and the other end is connected to the material frame through a conduit. The material frame is fixedly installed at the rear side of the primary welding device. The push plate is slidably installed inside the material frame, and a material guiding groove capable of being communicated with the conduit is formed in the top of the push plate.

[0012] Optionally, the heat preservation device includes a first turntable capable of horizontal rotation. The first turntable is located between the initial welding device and the tempering device, and a plurality of first jigs for clamping ball pins are fixedly installed near the edge of the first turntable. A fixed disk is arranged above the first turntable, and a blowing component for maintaining the temperature of the ball pins is arranged on the fixed disk.

[0013] Optionally, the cleaning device includes a second turntable capable of horizontal rotation. The second turntable is located between the tempering device and the pitch-changing mechanism, and a plurality of second jigs for clamping ball pins are rotatably installed near the edge of the second turntable; a grinding component for grinding the ball pins is arranged above the second turntable, and a driving component for driving the second jigs to rotate is arranged below the second turntable.

[0014] Optionally, the driving component includes a support plate capable of reciprocating movement along the radial direction of the second turntable. A driven wheel is fixedly installed at the lower end of the second jig, and a driving wheel capable of driving the driven wheel to rotate is rotatably installed on the support plate.

[0015] In a second aspect, a ball pin welding method is provided. The ball pin welding workstation described in the first aspect is adopted, and the method includes the following steps:

[0016] S1. The conveying device transports the pin rod to one side of the loading robot through the tray. The loading robot transports the pin rod to the pitch-changing mechanism for pitch-changing. At the same time, the feeding device transports the sphere to the lower part of the suction head. After the suction head adsorbs the sphere, the feeding mechanism of the feeding device retracts to its original position.

[0017] S2. A plurality of handling mechanisms act synchronously, transporting the ball pins on the tempering station to the cleaning station for grinding, transporting the ball pins on the heat preservation station to the tempering station for tempering treatment, transporting the ball pins completed on the initial welding station to the heat preservation station for heat preservation, and transporting the pin rods on the pitch-changing station to the initial welding station for welding with the spheres.

[0018] S3. The transfer mechanism transports the ball pins ground on the cleaning station to the pitch-changing mechanism for pitch-changing, so as to facilitate the picking of the unloading robot.

[0019] S4. The unloading robot transports the ball pins from the pitch-changing mechanism to the tray of the conveying device again, and the conveying device drives the tray to flow back.

[0020] S5. During the process of transporting the ball pins back to the tray, every specified quantity, a group of ball pins are transported to the sampling station by the unloading robot.

[0021] Optionally, during the process of the feeding device transporting the spheres, the upper end of the pipeline floats up and down in the hopper. The spheres in the hopper enter the pipeline and are transported along the pipeline to the anti-misalignment component. The qualified spheres then enter the material rubbing mechanism, and are ejected by the lifting component below the material rubbing holes for the suction head to pick up.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0023] (1) In the present invention, spheres are provided to the initial welding device by the feeding device, and pin rods are provided to the initial welding device by the feeding robot, the variable pitch mechanism and the handling mechanism. After preliminary welding by the initial welding device, the ball pins are synchronously transported to the next station by the remaining handling mechanisms. After passing through initial welding, heat preservation, tempering and grinding in sequence, after the ball pins are re-pitched by the transfer mechanism and the re-pitch mechanism, the final ball pin products are then moved back to the conveying device by the unloading robot, thereby improving the reliability of welding and the stability of the quality of the ball pins, and enhancing the efficiency of ball pin welding;

[0024] (2) For the aforementioned feeding device, the upper end of its pipeline can float up and down in the hopper, which can not only improve the transportation efficiency of the spheres, but also prevent the spheres in the hopper from being blocked in the pipeline, ensuring that the feeding device can supply materials smoothly;

[0025] (3) For the aforementioned feeding device, the material rubbing block of its material rubbing mechanism can slide relative to the material guiding block. Through the material rubbing holes, single feeding of the spheres can be ensured, and through the lifting component, the spheres can be ensured to be ejected from the material rubbing holes, facilitating the grasping of the suction head of the initial welding device;

[0026] (4) For the aforementioned feeding device, the inspection block of its anti-misalignment component is provided with a limit pin and a discharge hole. Through the limit pin, the maximum size of the spheres can be restricted, and through the discharge hole, the minimum size of the spheres can be restricted, avoiding the situation where the specifications of the spheres and the pin rods do not match. This can not only expand the applicable range of the feeding device, but also ensure the accuracy of material feeding;

[0027] (5) In the present invention, a supplementary feeding device is also provided for the feeding device. Since the position of the hopper is relatively high, manual supplementary feeding has potential safety hazards. Therefore, the supplementary feeding device can supplement the spheres from a lower position into the hopper, reducing the working intensity of the staff, improving the supplementary feeding efficiency, and ensuring the personal safety of the staff;

[0028] (6) In the present invention, the second fixture of the cleaning device is driven to rotate by the driving component through friction. This design can simplify the overall structure of the cleaning device and ensure that the second fixture can achieve rotational drive when rotating to different positions;

[0029] (7) In the present invention, through the ball pin welding method, the devices and mechanisms of the ball pin welding workstation can be coordinated and matched in an orderly manner, improving the welding efficiency and stability. After initial welding, heat preservation, tempering, and grinding in sequence, the reliability of the ball pin quality is greatly improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the ball pin welding workstation in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 2 is an axonometric structural diagram of the ball pin welding workstation in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 3 is a top - view structural diagram of the ball pin welding workstation in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 4 is a positional structural diagram of the first positioning tooling and the welding assembly in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of the feeding device in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 6 is an internal structural diagram of the error - proofing component and the material - rubbing mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 7 is a schematic structural diagram of the replenishing device in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 8 is an internal structural diagram of the transmission component in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 9 is a schematic structural diagram of the heat - preservation device in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 10 is a schematic structural diagram of the cleaning device in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 11 is a schematic structural diagram of the driving component in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 12 is a schematic structural diagram of the variable - pitch mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 13 is a schematic structural diagram of the transfer mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 14 is a schematic structural diagram of the handling mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Among them, 1. Frame; 2. Pitch-changing mechanism; 201. Bracket; 202. Fixture base;

[0045] 3. Initial welding device; 301. Suction head; 302. First positioning tooling; 303. Welding assembly;

[0046] 4. Heat preservation device; 401. First turntable; 402. First fixture; 403. Fixed disk; 404. Blowing assembly; 405. Support rod; 5. Tempering device;

[0047] 6. Cleaning device; 601. Second turntable; 602. Second fixture; 603. Grinding assembly; 604. Driving assembly; 641. Support; 642. Support plate; 643. Guide rod; 644. Mounting plate; 645. Support plate; 646. Auxiliary wheel; 605. Driven wheel;

[0048] 7. Loading device; 701. Hopper; 702. Pipeline; 703. Anti-misalignment component; 731. Material inspection block; 732. Discharge hole; 733. Material box; 704. Material rubbing mechanism; 741. Guide block; 742. Material rubbing block; 743. Material rubbing hole; 744. Lifting assembly;

[0049] 8. Feeding device; 801. Material frame; 802. Pusher; 803. Guide groove; 804. Conduit; 805. Transmission assembly; 851. Housing; 852. Conveyor belt; 853. Baffle;

[0050] 9. Handling mechanism; 901. Base; 902. Lifting assembly; 903. Translational telescopic assembly; 904. Cross plate;

[0051] 10. Transfer mechanism; 101. Support frame; 102. Transverse linear module; 103. Lifting linear module; 104. Clamping plate;

[0052] 11. Re-pitch mechanism; 12. Loading robot; 13. Unloading robot; 14. Conveying device. Detailed implementation mode

[0053] Now, the present invention will be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. These drawings are all simplified schematic diagrams, only illustrating the basic structure of the present invention in a schematic manner, so they only show the components related to the present invention. Embodiment 1

[0054] Such as Figure 1 , Figure 2 And Figure 3As shown in the figure, a ball pin welding workstation includes a frame 1, on which a conveying device 14 is arranged. Inside the conveying device 14, a loading robot 12, a pre-welding device 3, a heat preservation device 4, a tempering device 5, a cleaning device 6 and an unloading robot 13 are successively arranged along the length direction of the frame 1; a variable distance mechanism 2 is arranged on one side of the pre-welding device 3 close to the loading robot 12, and a plurality of handling mechanisms 9 are successively arranged outside the variable distance mechanism 2. A re-distance mechanism 11 and a transfer mechanism 10 are arranged on one side of the cleaning device 6 close to the unloading robot 13, and a feeding device 7 for sphere feeding is arranged on the front side of the pre-welding device 3.

[0055] Among them, the loading robot 12 transports the pin rod from the conveying device 14 to the variable distance mechanism 2. After the feeding device 7 supplies the sphere to the pre-welding device 3, a plurality of handling mechanisms 9 synchronously transport the workpiece to the next station in sequence. The transfer mechanism 10 transports the ball pin from the cleaning device 6 to the re-distance mechanism 11, and finally the unloading robot 13 transports the ball pin from the re-distance mechanism 11 back to the conveying device 14.

[0056] Specifically, the feeding device 7 supplies the sphere to the pre-welding device 3, and the loading robot 12, the variable distance mechanism 2 and the handling mechanisms 9 supply the pin rod to the pre-welding device 3. After preliminary welding by the pre-welding device 3, the remaining handling mechanisms 9 synchronously transport the ball pin to the next station. After passing through pre-welding, heat preservation, tempering and grinding in sequence, after the ball pin is re-distanced by the transfer mechanism 10 and the re-distance mechanism 11, the final ball pin finished product is transported back to the conveying device 14 by the unloading robot 13, thereby improving the reliability of welding and the stability of the quality of the ball pin, and enhancing the efficiency of ball pin welding.

[0057] In the above, pre-welding is to preliminarily weld and fix the sphere and the pin rod together to form a ball pin. Heat preservation is to keep the temperature of the ball pin within a certain range for a period of time after pre-welding, to avoid reducing the connection strength after the joint cools, and at the same time to prepare for the subsequent tempering; tempering is to perform a tempering process after welding, by heating the welded ball pin, keeping it at a certain temperature and then cooling it, to improve the structure and performance of the welded joint; grinding is to perform surface cleaning treatment on the ball pin after tempering treatment to improve the product quality.

[0058] As Figure 1 、 Figure 4 and Figure 5 shown in the figure, the pre-welding device 3 includes a welding main body. Above the front side of the welding main body, a liftable suction head 301 is arranged. Below the suction head 301, a first positioning tooling 302 is arranged, and welding components 303 for fixing the sphere and the pin rod together are arranged on both sides of the first positioning tooling 302.

[0059] The first positioning tooling 302 is used to fix the pin rod, and the suction head 301 is used to grasp the sphere. When the pin rod is fixed on the first positioning tooling 302 and the suction head 301 grasps the sphere, the suction head 301 moves downward, places the sphere on the top of the pin rod, and then the welding components 303 on both sides are abutted against the connection between the pin rod and the sphere, and weld the two together to form a ball pin.

[0060] Among them, the suction head 301 is hollow inside, with a groove that fits the outer contour of the sphere at one end and is connected to a vacuum generator at the other end. Here, negative pressure is generated by the vacuum to adsorb the sphere and lift it off the feeding device 7; and the suction head 301 is driven to lift and lower by an existing linear module, such as an electric cylinder, a cylinder, etc.

[0061] In addition, the welding component 303 includes two solder tabs that can open and close relative to each other. When the pin rod and the sphere are in place, the two solder tabs approach the connection between the pin rod and the sphere synchronously and are welded after being energized.

[0062] Such as Figure 1 、 Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown in

[0063] 、

[0064] the tempering device 5 includes a tempering body. A second positioning tooling is also provided on the front side of the tempering body, and heating components are provided on both sides of the second positioning tooling. When the ball pin after initial welding and heat preservation is placed on the second positioning tooling of the tempering device 5, the heating components are abutted against the weld seam to perform tempering treatment on it. Reduce or eliminate welding residual stress, prevent the welded component from deforming and cracking; eliminate the hardened structure in the heat-affected zone of welding, improve the toughness and plasticity of the welded joint, and improve its comprehensive mechanical properties; promote the escape of residual hydrogen, which is beneficial to preventing delayed cracks.

[0065] Such as Figure 1 、 Figure 2 、 Figure 3 、 Figure 5 、 Figure 6 、 Figure 7 and Figure 8As shown, the feeding device 7 includes a hopper 701, a pipe 702 and a material rubbing mechanism 704, one end of the pipe 702 extends from bottom to top into the hopper 701 and can float up and down, and the other end is connected to the material rubbing mechanism 704 through an anti-error component 703; the material rubbing mechanism 704 includes a material guide block 741 connected to the pipe 702, a material rubbing block 742 capable of moving laterally is arranged below the material guide block 741, a material rubbing hole 743 for accommodating a sphere is opened on the material rubbing block 742, and a lifting component 744 for ejecting the sphere is arranged below the material rubbing hole 743.

[0066] As mentioned above, the lower part of the hopper 701 is in a funnel-shaped structure, and the pipe 702 penetrates into the hopper 701 along the axis from bottom to top, and a cylinder is provided on the outer side of the lower part of the hopper 701, and the output end of the cylinder is fixedly connected to the pipe 702. When the cylinder is extended or retracted, the upper end of the pipe 702 can be driven to float up and down in the hopper 701, and the spheres in the hopper 701 can be made to enter the pipe 702 by shaking up and down, thereby avoiding blockage caused by gravity alone and improving the efficiency of transporting the spheres along the pipe 702.

[0067] The specifications of the material rubbing hole 743 can only accommodate one sphere at a time, ensuring that the spheres are fed one by one; when the material rubbing block 742 retracts and the material rubbing hole 743 is aligned with the inner hole of the guide block 741, the sphere in the inner hole falls into the material rubbing hole 743 due to gravity, and then the material rubbing block 742 extends, and the lifting component 744 pushes the sphere out of the material rubbing hole 743, and the suction head 301 of the initial welding device 3 moves down to fit the sphere, and after it is adsorbed by negative pressure, the suction head 301 moves up to complete the grabbing of the sphere; then the material rubbing block 742 retracts again, and the suction head 301 moves down to place the sphere on the top of the pin rod, until it moves up to its original position again after welding is completed.

[0068] Among them, the outer fixed sleeve of the welding body is provided with a fixed frame, the hopper 701 is fixedly installed on the fixed frame and is in a higher position, and the pipeline 702 adopts a hose to facilitate the transportation of the sphere; the rubbing block 742 is driven by the existing linear module to reciprocate along the length direction of the frame 1, the linear module is installed on the frame 1, and the jacking assembly 744 can adopt a cylinder, and its body and the rubbing block 742 are connected to the output end of the linear module.

[0069] Furthermore, the error-proofing component 703 includes a picking block 731, both ends of which are connected to the pipe 702 and the guide block 741 respectively, and a limit pin is passed through the top of the picking block 731, and a discharge hole 732 is opened at the bottom of the picking block 731, and a material box 733 for receiving wrong materials is arranged below the discharge hole 732.

[0070] By rotating the limit pin, the protruding length of its end in the inner cavity of the material inspection block 731 can be controlled. The material inspection block 731 includes a fixed part and a disassembly and assembly part. The limit pin is screwed through the fixed part, and the discharge hole 732 is opened in the disassembly and assembly part. By replacing the disassembly and assembly part with a discharge hole 732 of different sizes, the limitation of different minimum diameters can be achieved.

[0071] The material inspection block 731 is inclined, and its two ends are respectively connected to the pipeline 702 and the material guiding block 741. The maximum size of the sphere allowed to pass through can be restricted by the limit pin, and the minimum size of the sphere allowed to pass through can be restricted by the discharge hole 732, avoiding the situation where the specifications of the sphere and the pin rod do not correspond. This structure can not only improve the applicable range of the feeding device 7, but also ensure the accuracy of feeding.

[0072] In addition, position sensors are arranged on both sides of the material inspection block 731 corresponding to the limit pin. When the position sensors detect that there is a sphere for a long time and the position does not change, it can be judged that the limit pin has intercepted a sphere of a larger size. When the position sensors detect that no sphere passes through for a long time, it can be judged that the hopper 701 is out of material.

[0073] When a sphere of a smaller size enters the inner cavity of the material inspection block 731, it will pass through the discharge hole 732 and fall into the material box 733, preventing it from entering the material rubbing mechanism 704, greatly improving the feeding accuracy of the feeding device 7.

[0074] As Figure 1 、 Figure 3 and Figure 9 shown, the heat preservation device 4 includes a first turntable 401 and a fixed disk 403. The first turntable 401 is located between the initial welding device 3 and the tempering device 5 and is horizontally rotatably installed on the top surface of the frame 1; the fixed disk 403 is located at the center above the first turntable 401, and the fixed disk 403 is fixedly connected to the frame 1 through a support rod 405.

[0075] Among them, a plurality of first jigs 402 for clamping ball pins are fixedly installed near the edge of the first turntable 401. The plurality of first jigs 402 are arranged in a circumferential array around the axis of the first turntable 401, and a blowing component 404 for maintaining the temperature of the ball pins is arranged on the fixed disk 403.

[0076] The blowing component 404 includes a plurality of bent pipes. The plurality of bent pipes are arranged in a circumferential array around the axis of the fixed disk 403, and one end of the bent pipe is aligned with the ball pin on the first jig 402, and the other end is connected to a hot air blower; the hot air blower blows hot air to the surface of the ball pin through the bent pipe, ensuring that its own temperature can be maintained within a certain range; as the first turntable 401 rotates, the circumferential side of the ball pin can be blown by the hot air.

[0077] The temperature of the ball pin is maintained within a certain range by the heat preservation device 4, which can not only prevent the weld seam from cooling after the initial welding and reducing the connection strength, but also prepare for the subsequent tempering treatment, making its temperature rise gently, ensuring its connection strength, and improving the welding quality of the ball pin.

[0078] Such as Figure 1 , Figure 3 , Figure 10 and Figure 11 As shown, the cleaning device 6 includes a second turntable 601, which is located between the tempering device 5 and the double-distance mechanism 11, and is also horizontally rotatably installed on the top surface of the frame 1. A plurality of second jigs 602 for clamping the ball pins are rotatably installed near the edge of the second turntable 601, and the plurality of second jigs 602 are distributed in a circumferential array around the axis of the second turntable 601.

[0079] Above the second turntable 601, there is a grinding assembly 603, and below it, there is a driving assembly 604; the grinding assembly 603 is used for grinding and cleaning the welding slag of the ball pin, and the driving assembly 604 is used to drive the second jig 602 at the corresponding position to rotate; after the second jig 602 rotates to the position corresponding to the grinding assembly 603, the driving assembly 604 drives the corresponding second jig 602 to rotate, which plays a role in simplifying the structure and reducing the cost.

[0080] Specifically, the grinding assembly 603 includes two brushes that can be relatively opened and closed. The two brushes are distributed on both sides of the second jig 602. When the second jig 602 drives the ball pin to rotate between the two brushes, the two brushes approach each other relatively and fit with the ball pin. Subsequently, the driving assembly 604 drives the second jig 602 to rotate, indirectly driving the ball pin to rotate, so that relative friction occurs between the ball pin and the brushes, thereby achieving the purpose of removing impurities such as welding slag.

[0081] As described above, the driving assembly 604 includes a support plate 642 that can reciprocate radially along the second turntable 601, that is, approach or move away from the second jig 602. The lower end of the second jig 602 passes through the second turntable 601 and is fixedly installed with a driven wheel 605, and a driving wheel that can drive the driven wheel 605 to rotate is rotatably installed on the support plate 642. When the support plate 642 drives the driving wheel to abut against the outer circumferential surface of the driven wheel 605, the torque of the driving wheel is transmitted to the driven wheel 605 through friction, and then the rotation of the second jig 602 around its own axis is realized.

[0082] Furthermore, the driving assembly 604 further includes a support 641 slidably installed on the frame 1. The support plate 642 is fixedly installed on the top of the support 641, and a motor is installed below the support plate 642. The output end of the motor is connected to the driving wheel; a first telescopic assembly is provided on one side of the support 641, and the output end of the first telescopic assembly is connected to the support 641 for driving the driving wheel to abut against the driven wheel 605.

[0083] A guide rod 643 is movably inserted through the upper part of the support 641. One end of the guide rod 643 is connected to a support plate 645, and the other end is connected to a mounting plate 644. A second telescopic assembly is mounted on the mounting plate 644, and the output end of the second telescopic assembly is connected to the support 641. Two oppositely arranged auxiliary wheels 646 are rotatably mounted on the support plate 645, and the auxiliary wheels 646 are located inside the driven wheel 605.

[0084] Specifically, both the first telescopic assembly and the second telescopic assembly adopt air cylinders. The first telescopic assembly pushes the support 641 and the support plate 642 close to the center of the second turntable 601, so that the driving wheel abuts against the driven wheel 605 from the outside. At the same time, the second telescopic assembly extends, and pulls the auxiliary wheel 646 to abut against the driven wheel 605 from the inside through the guide rod 643, realizing triangular positioning, thereby improving the stability of the rotational drive of the second fixture 602.

[0085] Among them, both the first fixture 402 and the second fixture 602 are prior arts, so no more details will be described here.

[0086] As Figure 1 、 Figure 3 and Figure 12 shown, the variable pitch mechanism 2 includes two fixture seats 202 that can be opened and closed relative to each other along the length direction of the frame 1. The fixture seats 202 are used to fix the pin rods. After the loading robot 12 places the pin rods on the two fixture seats 202, one of them moves away from the other until the distance between the two pin rods is the same as the grasping pitch of the handling mechanism 9.

[0087] As described above, the variable pitch mechanism 2 further includes a bracket 201 fixedly installed on the frame 1. A linear module is provided at the top of the bracket 201. One of the fixture seats 202 is fixedly connected to the bracket 201, and the other fixture seat 202 is connected to the output end of the linear module. By driving one of the fixture seats 202 away from the other fixture seat 202 through the linear module, the purpose of variable pitch is achieved.

[0088] In order to ensure the accuracy of variable pitch, a position sensor for detecting the position of the fixture seat 202 is further provided on the bracket 201, that is, the position sensor is set at a fixed position. When the distance between the two fixture seats 202 reaches the specified interval, the linear module stops operating. The handling mechanism 9 synchronously picks up the two pin rods. When the position sensor detects that the pin rods have been picked up, the output end of the linear module resets to facilitate the next time the loading robot 12 transports the pin rods to the two fixture seats 202.

[0089] In addition, a detection mechanism for detecting the height of the pin rod is provided inside the bracket 201, which includes two longitudinal plates that can slide relative to each other along the length direction of the frame 1. A detection probe that can be lifted and lowered is installed on the longitudinal plates. The longitudinal plates drive the probe to move above the pin rod, and then the probe moves down to contact the top surface of the pin rod to detect its height, avoiding material misfeeding.

[0090] Among them, the workstation adopts a double-station design, that is, the initial welding device 3, the tempering device 5, and the cleaning device 6 all have two stations at the same time. The initial welding device 3 can complete the welding of two ball pins simultaneously, the tempering device 5 can perform tempering treatment on two ball pins simultaneously, and the cleaning device 6 can clean impurities such as welding slag on two ball pins simultaneously.

[0091] Similarly, the feeding device 7, the replenishing device 8, the suction head 301, the grinding assembly 603, etc. are all provided with two; since the pin rods are stored tightly on the tray of the conveying device 14 and the distance between the two stations is relatively large, before welding, the pin rods need to be spaced to the same grasping distance as that of the handling mechanism 9.

[0092] As Figure 1 、 Figure 3 、 Figure 10 and Figure 14 As shown in the figures, the handling mechanism 9 includes a base 901 that can reciprocate along the length direction of the frame 1. The base 901 is slidably connected to the frame 1 through a slide rail and slider, and is driven by a gear and rack structure; a lifting assembly 902 is installed on the base 901, and the output end of the lifting assembly 902 is connected to a translation telescopic assembly 903. The translation telescopic assembly 903 is perpendicular to the movement direction of the output end of the lifting assembly 902, and the output end of the translation telescopic assembly 903 is connected to a cross plate 904 parallel to the slide rail. Two clamping jaws for clamping the pin rod or the ball pin are oppositely arranged on the cross plate 904.

[0093] As described above, the cross plate 904 can move along the length direction of the frame 1, can be lifted and lowered longitudinally, and can also approach or move away from the initial welding device 3; the two clamping jaws are symmetrically distributed at intervals on the cross plate 904. After the handling mechanism 9 clamps the pin rod with the clamping jaws, it moves along the slide rail to the front side of the initial welding device 3, and adjusts the position of the cross plate 904 through the lifting assembly 902 and the translation telescopic assembly 903, so that the pin rod can be inserted into the positioning tooling for fixation. Here, both the lifting assembly 902 and the translation telescopic assembly 903 can adopt cylinders, and four handling mechanisms 9 are provided and are distributed in sequence along the length direction of the frame 1.

[0094] Among them, the first handling mechanism 9 is used to transport the pin rod from the pitch-changing mechanism 2 to the positioning tooling of the initial welding device 3, the second handling mechanism 9 is used to transport the initially welded ball pin from the positioning tooling to the first fixture 402 of the heat preservation device 4, the third handling mechanism 9 is used to transport the ball pin from the first fixture 402 to the working position of the tempering device 5, and the fourth handling mechanism 9 is used to transport the ball pin from the working position of the tempering device 5 to the second fixture 602 of the cleaning device 6 for fixation.

[0095] The four handling mechanisms 9 perform synchronous handling and synchronous movement, enabling the transfer of the ball pins at different working positions to be orderly and efficient, greatly improving the overall welding efficiency.

[0096] As Figure 1 、 Figure 3 、 Figure 10 and Figure 13 shown, the transfer mechanism 10 includes a support frame 101 fixed to the top of the machine frame 1. A transverse linear module 102 is installed on one side of the support frame 101. The output end of the transverse linear module 102 is connected to a lifting linear module 103. The output end of the lifting linear module 103 is connected to a fixture plate 104. Two jaws for clamping the ball pins are installed on the fixture plate 104, and the two jaws are distributed at intervals.

[0097] Specifically, the fixture plate 104 can drive the jaws to move along the length direction of the machine frame 1 and can also lift longitudinally. The transverse linear module 102 first drives the jaws to move horizontally above the second fixture 602, and then the lifting linear module 103 drives the jaws to move downward to clamp the ball pin. After clamping, it moves upward to a safe position, then moves horizontally back above the pitch-returning mechanism 11, and finally the lifting linear module 103 drives the jaws to move downward to place the ball pin on the pitch-returning mechanism 11 for pitch returning.

[0098] As described above, the pitch-returning mechanism 11 and the pitch-changing mechanism 2 have the same structure. The latter is used to adjust the distance adapted to be clamped by the feeding robot 12 to the distance adapted to be clamped by the handling mechanism 9. The function of the former is the opposite, enabling the ball pins after pitch change to return to the initial interval, adapting to be clamped by the discharging robot 13, so that the discharging robot 13 can move the final ball pins back to the trays on the conveying device 14.

[0099] Here, both the feeding robot 12 and the discharging robot 13 adopt existing six-axis robots, and jaws are also provided at their ends for clamping pin rods or ball pins, and vision technology is used to achieve positioning.

[0100] As Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown, the conveying device 14 includes a double-layer return conveying line. The conveying line is used to convey trays, and the trays are used to hold pin rods or ball pins.

[0101] The upper layer of the return conveyor line is above the rack 1, and the lower layer is inside the rack 1. After the pin rods on the tray are taken by the loading robot 12, the empty tray moves along the upper conveyor line to the unloading robot 13 to be filled with ball pins. After being filled, it moves down to the lower conveyor line and returns, and then is unloaded manually.

[0102] To facilitate the overall work, the double-layer return conveyor line in the present invention adopts an overall L-shaped structure. Since the double-layer return conveyor line is prior art, it will not be elaborated here too much.

[0103] As Figure 1 、 Figure 2 and Figure 10 shown, above the cleaning device 6, there is a vision inspection device for detecting the quality of ball pins. The vision inspection device includes a vision camera located above the second turntable 601. The vision camera takes pictures of the ball pins to obtain the projection of their side profiles. By analyzing the size of the projection, it can be determined whether the ball pins are qualified.

[0104] Since the vision inspection device is prior art, it will not be elaborated here too much.

[0105] In addition, on the side of the unloading robot 13 opposite to the conveying device 14, there is a carrier that can move along the length direction of the rack 1. The bottom of the carrier is slidably connected to the rack 1 through a guide rail slider. A linear module is also provided on the rack 1. The output end of the linear module is connected to the carrier, and a tray for storing the sampling samples is provided on the carrier. This is the sampling station.

[0106] After the sampling tray is full, the linear module drives it back to the edge of the rack 1, and it is taken down manually and a new sampling tray is replaced. Embodiment 2

[0107] On the basis of Embodiment 1, the present invention also proposes a feeding device 8 for replenishing spheres into the hopper 701.

[0108] As Figure 1 、 Figure 2 、 Figure 3 、 Figure 7 and Figure 8 shown, the feeding device 8 is arranged outside the initial soldering device 3 and is used to replenish spheres into the hopper 701; the feeding device 8 includes a material frame 801, a transmission component 805, and a push plate 802 that can reciprocate up and down; one end of the transmission component 805 is located above the hopper 701, and the other end is connected to the material frame 801 through a conduit 804. The material frame 801 is fixedly installed at the rear of the initial soldering device 3. The push plate 802 is slidably installed inside the material frame 801, and a material guiding groove 803 that can communicate with the conduit 804 is opened at the top of the push plate 802.

[0109] Among them, the push plate 802 is close to the inner wall of the material frame 801 and is driven by a cylinder to realize reciprocating lifting; the material guiding groove 803, the conduit 804, the transmission assembly 805 and the bottom surface of the material frame 801 are all inclined, and the upper end of the conduit 804 can communicate with the lower end of the material guiding groove 803, and the lower end of the conduit 804 can communicate with the lower end of the transmission assembly 805, while the bottom surface of the material frame 801 is inclined towards the push plate 802 so that the spheres inside the material frame 801 can gather above the push plate 802.

[0110] Specifically, after the push plate 802 moves downward, the material guiding groove 803 is lower than the bottom surface inside the material frame 801, and the spheres roll along the inclined plane to above the push plate 802. After the push plate 802 moves upward, some spheres fall into the material guiding groove 803. As the material guiding groove 803 is connected to the conduit 804, the spheres roll into the conduit 804 under the action of their own gravity, and then enter the lower end of the transmission assembly 805, and are driven by the transmission assembly 805 to a high place and replenished into the hopper 701 to realize the replenishment of the silo.

[0111] Further, the transmission assembly 805 includes a housing 851 connected to the fixing frame. Inside the housing 851, a conveyor belt 852 is installed, and a plurality of baffles 853 are fixedly installed on the surface of the conveyor belt 852; the motor drives the conveyor belt 852 to rotate, and the spheres enter the transmission assembly 805 along the conduit 804, and under the blocking of the baffles 853, move to a high place along with the conveyor belt 852 until they pass through the output end of the transmission assembly 805 and fall into the hopper 701.

[0112] Since the position of the hopper 701 is relatively high, manual replenishment has potential safety hazards. Therefore, the replenishing device 8 can replenish the spheres into the lower material frame 801, and after being lifted and conveyed, they are transported to the high hopper 701, reducing the working intensity of the staff, improving the replenishing efficiency, and ensuring the personal safety of the staff. Embodiment Three

[0113] Based on Embodiment One and Embodiment Two, the present invention also proposes a ball pin welding method, which includes the following steps:

[0114] The conveying device 14 transports the pin rods to one side of the loading robot 12 through the material tray, and the loading robot 12 transports the pin rods to the pitch-changing mechanism 2 for pitch-changing; after the loading robot 12 places the pin rods on the two fixture seats 202, one of them moves away from the other until the distance between the two pin rods is the same as the grasping pitch of the handling mechanism 9.

[0115] Meanwhile, the feeding device 7 conveys the spheres to the lower part of the suction head 301. The upper end of the pipeline 702 floats up and down in the hopper 701. By jittering up and down, the spheres in the hopper 701 enter the pipeline 702 and are conveyed along the pipeline 702 to the anti-misalignment component 703. The qualified spheres pass over the limit pin and the discharge hole 732 and then enter the material rubbing mechanism 704.

[0116] When the material rubbing block 742 retracts and the material rubbing hole 743 aligns with the inner hole of the material guiding block 741, the spheres in the inner hole fall into the material rubbing hole 743 due to gravity. Subsequently, the material rubbing block 742 extends, and the lifting component 744 ejects the spheres from the material rubbing hole 743. The suction head 301 of the initial welding device 3 moves down to fit with the spheres, adsorbs them through negative pressure, and then the suction head 301 moves up to complete the grasping of the spheres.

[0117] After the suction head 301 adsorbs the spheres, the material rubbing mechanism 704 of the feeding device 7 retracts to its original position to facilitate the suction head 301 moving down to place the spheres on the pin rod.

[0118] After the spheres are in place, multiple handling mechanisms 9 act synchronously to carry the ball pins on the tempering station to the cleaning station for grinding, carry the ball pins on the heat preservation station to the tempering station for tempering treatment, carry the ball pins completed on the initial welding station to the heat preservation station for heat preservation, and carry the pin rods on the pitch changing station to the initial welding station to weld with the spheres.

[0119] Meanwhile, the transfer mechanism 10 carries the ball pins polished on the cleaning station to the pitch restoring mechanism 11 for pitch restoring to facilitate the picking by the blanking robot 13; the blanking robot 13 carries the ball pins from the pitch restoring mechanism 11 to the tray on the conveying device 14 again, and the conveying device 14 drives the tray to return.

[0120] Among them, during the process of carrying the ball pins back to the tray, every specified quantity, such as 100 or 200, one group of ball pins is carried to the sampling inspection station by the blanking robot 13 to facilitate the subsequent sampling inspection of the overall welding quality; if a sampled ball pin is unqualified, only the 100 or 200 ball pins before and after need to be checked, improving the efficiency of quality management.

[0121] In summary, the present invention provides a ball pin welding workstation and its welding method. The loading robot 12 transports the pin rod from the conveying device 14 to the pitch-changing mechanism 2. The loading device 7 transports the sphere to the preliminary welding device 3, and through multiple handling mechanisms 9, the workpieces are sequentially transported to the next station. After preliminary welding, heat preservation, tempering, and grinding, they are then transported to the pitch-restoring mechanism 11 by the transfer mechanism 10, and the final ball pin is carried back to the conveying device 14 by the unloading robot 13. A ball pin welding method is also proposed, enabling the devices and mechanisms of the ball pin welding workstation to cooperate orderly and coordinately, improving the welding efficiency and stability. After preliminary welding, heat preservation, tempering, and grinding in sequence, the reliability of the ball pin quality is greatly improved.

[0122] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc. indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. It is 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 orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus cannot be construed as a limitation of the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", etc. are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with "first", "second", etc. may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of such features. In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise stated, the meaning of "a plurality" is two or more.

[0123] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, the terms "installed", "connected", "coupled" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it may be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it may be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it may be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it may be the communication inside two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood through specific situations.

[0124] Based on the inspiration of the ideal embodiments of the present invention, through the above description, relevant personnel can completely make various changes and modifications without departing from the technical idea of this invention. The technical scope of this invention is not limited to the content in the specification, and the technical scope must be determined according to the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A ball pin welding workstation, characterized in that: The invention comprises a conveying device (14) for conveying a pin rod and / or a ball pin, wherein a loading robot (12), an initial welding device (3), a heat preservation device (4), a tempering device (5), a cleaning device (6) and a discharging robot (13) are sequentially arranged on the inner side of the conveying device (14); a variable pitch mechanism (2) is arranged on the side of the initial welding device (3) close to the loading robot (12); a plurality of transport mechanisms (9) are sequentially arranged on the outer side of the variable pitch mechanism (2); a re-distance mechanism (11) and a transfer mechanism (10) are arranged on the side of the cleaning device (6) close to the discharging robot (13); and a loading device (7) for feeding a ball is arranged on the front side of the initial welding device (3); The loading robot (12) transports the pin from the conveying device (14) to the pitch-changing mechanism (2), and after the loading device (7) provides the ball to the initial welding device (3), the plurality of transport mechanisms (9) synchronously transport the workpieces to the next workstation in sequence, the transfer mechanism (10) transports the ball pin from the cleaning device (6) to the pitch-changing mechanism (11), and the unloading robot (13) transports the ball pin from the pitch-changing mechanism (11) back to the conveying device (14); The feeding device (7) comprises a hopper (701), a pipe (702) and a material kneading mechanism (704); the hopper (701) is fixed on the initial welding device (3); one end of the pipe (702) extends from bottom to top into the hopper (701) and can float up and down, and the other end is connected to the material kneading mechanism (704) via an error-proofing component (703); The material rubbing mechanism (704) comprises a material guide block (741) connected to the pipe (702); a material rubbing block (742) capable of moving in the transverse direction is arranged below the material guide block (741); a material rubbing hole (743) for accommodating a ball is provided on the material rubbing block (742); and a lifting assembly (744) for ejecting the ball is arranged below the material rubbing hole (743); The initial welding device (3) comprises a first positioning fixture (302) for fixing the pin rod, a suction head (301) for grabbing the ball ejected from the material kneading hole (743) is arranged above the first positioning fixture (302), and the suction head (301) can be lifted and lowered in the longitudinal direction to place the ball on the top of the pin rod; The error prevention component (703) comprises a material picking block (731), the two ends of which are respectively connected to the pipe (702) and the material guiding block (741), and a limit pin is passed through the top of the material picking block (731), a material discharge hole (732) is provided at the bottom of the material picking block (731), and a material box (733) for receiving the wrong material is provided below the material discharge hole (732).

2. The ball pin welding workstation according to claim 1, characterized in that: A feeding device (8) for replenishing balls into the hopper (701) is also provided on the outside of the initial welding device (3), wherein the feeding device (8) comprises a material frame (801), a transmission component (805), and a push plate (802) capable of reciprocating upward and downward movement; One end of the transmission component (805) is located above the hopper (701), and the other end is connected to the material frame (801) through a conduit (804). The material frame (801) is fixedly installed on the rear side of the initial welding device (3). The push plate (802) is slidably installed on the inner side of the material frame (801), and a material guide groove (803) that can communicate with the conduit (804) is opened on the top of the push plate (802).

3. The ball pin welding workstation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heat-insulating device (4) comprises a first rotating disk (401) capable of horizontal rotation, the first rotating disk (401) being located between the initial welding device (3) and the tempering device (5), and a plurality of first fixtures (402) for clamping ball pins are fixedly mounted near the edge of the first rotating disk (401), a fixed disk (403) is arranged above the first rotating disk (401), and a blowing assembly (404) for maintaining the temperature of the ball pin is arranged on the fixed disk (403).

4. The ball pin welding workstation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cleaning device (6) comprises a second rotating disk (601) capable of horizontal rotation, the second rotating disk (601) being located between the tempering device (5) and the distance adjustment mechanism (11), and a plurality of second fixtures (602) for clamping ball pins are rotatably mounted near the edge of the second rotating disk (601); A grinding assembly (603) for grinding the ball pin is arranged above the second rotating disk (601), and a driving assembly (604) for driving the second fixture (602) to rotate is arranged below the second rotating disk (601).

5. The ball pin welding workstation according to claim 4, characterized in that: The driving assembly (604) comprises a support plate (642) which can reciprocate along the radial direction of the second rotating disk (601); a driven wheel (605) is fixedly mounted on the lower end of the second fixture (602); and a driving wheel which can drive the driven wheel (605) to rotate is rotatably mounted on the support plate (642).

6. A ball pin welding method, using the ball pin welding workstation according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The steps include: S1, the conveying device (14) transports the pin rod to one side of the feeding robot (12) through the material tray, and the feeding robot (12) moves the pin rod to the pitch changing mechanism (2) for pitch changing. At the same time, the feeding device (7) transports the sphere to the bottom of the suction head (301), and after the suction head (301) absorbs the sphere, the rubbing mechanism (704) of the feeding device (7) retracts to its original position; S2, multiple transport mechanisms (9) act synchronously to transport the ball pins on the tempering station to the cleaning station for grinding, transport the ball pins on the heat preservation station to the tempering station for tempering, transport the ball pins completed on the initial welding station to the heat preservation station for heat preservation, and transport the pins on the pitch changing station to the initial welding station for welding with the ball; S3, the transfer mechanism (10) moves the polished ball pin on the cleaning station to the re-distance mechanism (11) for re-distance, so as to facilitate the unloading robot (13) to grab it; S4, the unloading robot (13) moves the ball pin from the distance-recovering mechanism (11) to the material tray of the conveying device (14) again, and the conveying device (14) drives the material tray to flow back; S5. In the process of moving the ball pins back to the material tray, one group of ball pins is moved to the sampling inspection station by the unloading robot (13) at every specified number.

7. The ball pin welding method according to claim 6, characterized in that: During the process of conveying the spheres by the feeding device (7), the upper end of the pipe (702) floats up and down in the hopper (701), and the spheres in the hopper (701) enter the pipe (702) and are conveyed along the pipe (702) to the error-proofing component (703). Qualified spheres then enter the rubbing mechanism (704) and are pushed out by the lifting component (744) below the rubbing hole (743) to be sucked by the suction head (301).

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