Air spring automatic assembly module and automatic assembly method thereof

Abstract

The invention provides an air spring automatic assembly module and an automatic assembly method thereof. The automatic air spring assembling module comprises a feeding unit, a transferring unit, a discharging unit and assembling equipment, the feeding unit comprises a correcting device, a retaining ring feeding device, an air bag feeding device and an auxiliary spring feeding device, the transferring unit comprises a robot, and the discharging unit comprises a positioning device, an air spring discharging device and a waste discharging device. The correcting device, the one or more retaining ring feeding devices, the one or more air bag feeding devices and the waste discharging device are arranged side by side according to any sequence and marked as material frame areas, and the material frame areas are arranged around the robot in a surrounding mode. The auxiliary spring feeding device, the material frame area, the assembling equipment, the positioning device and the air spring discharging device are sequentially arranged. The automatic assembling method of the air spring automatic assembling module comprises the steps of air bag and retaining ring assembling, flattening, air bag and auxiliary spring assembling, detecting, discharging and the like.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of air springs, and in particular to an automatic assembly module for an air spring and an automatic assembly method thereof. Background Art

[0002] With the development of railway passenger car technology, passengers have higher and higher requirements for the stability and comfort of passenger cars. Air spring vibration reduction technology has made great progress in China, and most of the main engine manufacturers also use air spring devices when designing vehicles. Air springs are basically composed of auxiliary springs, air bags, buckles and cover plates. In the production process, the air bags and buckles are usually assembled first, then the air bags and auxiliary springs are assembled, and finally the cover plates are installed. With the advancement of production technology, traditional manual production processes have been basically eliminated, and semi-automatic or fully automatic assembly equipment is currently widely used to assemble air springs. After searching, the existing application number is "202311596853.1", the name is "Air spring assembly system and air spring assembly control method", and the applicant is "CRRC Qingdao Sifang Rolling Stock Research Institute Co., Ltd.", which is a Chinese invention patent; the application number is "202111386012.9", the name is "Air spring automatic assembly device and method", and the applicant is "Zhuzhou Times New Materials Technology Co., Ltd.", which is a Chinese invention patent; the application number is "202111386003.X", the name is "Integrated air spring pressing device", and the applicant is "Zhuzhou Times New Materials Technology Co., Ltd.", which is a Chinese invention patent, etc., which disclose technical solutions of the same category as this application.

[0003] Specifically, the above patent discloses a scheme of using robots to carry air spring components and transfer them between different assembly stations, a scheme of arranging two stations for assembling an airbag and a buckle, and an airbag and an auxiliary spring adjacent to each other, a scheme of using a claw-type device to compress the airbag, a scheme of using a pressing device to assemble the buckle and the airbag, and the airbag and an auxiliary spring, etc.

[0004] However, the above scheme has the defects of lack of effective buffer device, complex structure of claw device, poor assembly effect of press-fit device, etc., which leads to limited assembly efficiency. Therefore, the present invention provides an air spring automatic assembly module and automatic assembly method thereof to solve the above defects. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to solve the problem of limited assembly efficiency of the existing air spring production line, the present invention provides an air spring automatic assembly module and an automatic assembly method thereof for solving the above problem.

[0006] An air spring automatic assembly module comprises a loading unit, a transfer unit, a unloading unit and assembly equipment, wherein the loading unit comprises a correction device, a buckle loading device, an air bag loading device and an auxiliary spring loading device, the transfer unit comprises a robot, the unloading unit comprises a positioning device, an air spring unloading device and a scrap unloading device, the correction device, one or more buckle loading devices, one or more air bag loading devices and the scrap unloading device are arranged side by side in any order, recorded as a material rack area, and are arranged in a surrounding layout around the robot, and the auxiliary spring loading device, the material rack area, the assembly equipment, the positioning device and the air spring unloading device are arranged in sequence.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment of the air spring automatic assembly module provided by the present invention, the buckle feeding device, the airbag feeding device and the waste unloading device are all storage racks; the transfer unit also includes a translation device, and the robot is installed at the movable end of the translation device; a tool magazine is provided between the rack area and the auxiliary loading device; The correction device includes a correction base, a correction rotating platform, a correction sensor and a correction visual recognition mechanism. The correction rotating platform and the correction sensor are provided on the top of the correction base. The correction visual recognition mechanism is installed at the side of the correction base and at a certain distance therefrom, with its lens facing the correction rotating platform; the positioning device includes a positioning visual recognition mechanism, with its lens facing vertically upwards.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment of the air spring automatic assembly module provided by the present invention, the auxiliary spring loading device and the air spring unloading device are both multi-station turntables, including a base and a rotating platform arranged on the top of the base, and a plurality of loading tools are arranged in a circular array on the rotating platform of the auxiliary spring loading device, and a plurality of unloading tools are arranged in a circular array on the rotating platform of the air spring unloading device, and a sensor is provided on the side of each loading tool or the unloading tool.

[0009] The air spring feeding device is also provided with a suction device, including a gantry, a suction lifting mechanism and a suction actuator. The gantry spans a feeding tool in the air spring feeding device, and the suction lifting mechanism is provided at a position directly above the feeding tool. The movable end of the suction lifting mechanism faces downward, and is provided with the suction actuator.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment of the air spring automatic assembly module provided by the present invention, the assembly equipment includes a workbench, an airbag closing unit, a buckle lifting unit, an airbag flattening unit, a rotary pressing unit, a transfer unit, an assembly visual recognition mechanism and an assembly tool; the airbag closing unit and the assembly tool are arranged side by side at the bottom of the workbench, and the buckle lifting unit is arranged along the periphery of the airbag closing unit; at the top of the workbench, the airbag flattening unit and the rotary pressing unit are respectively arranged at a position directly above the airbag closing unit and the assembly tool, and the assembly visual recognition mechanism is arranged between the airbag flattening unit and the rotary pressing unit, and the lens of the assembly visual recognition mechanism is vertically facing downward; the transfer unit is arranged at the back of the workbench.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment of the air spring automatic assembly module provided by the present invention, the airbag closing unit includes a closing stand, a closing lifting device and a clamping claw; the closing lifting device is arranged in the closing stand, with the movable end facing upward and passing through the table surface of the closing stand, and a plurality of the clamping claws are arranged in a circular array on the top of the closing stand, and are movably connected with the movable end and the closing stand at the same time, and open and close with the lifting and lowering of the movable end; The buckle lifting unit includes a lifting platform, a lifting and lifting device and a supporting arm; the lifting and lifting device is arranged in the lifting platform, including a lifting ring that performs lifting actions, the lifting ring is arranged around the closing platform, and a plurality of supporting arms are vertically arranged in a circular array on the lifting ring, the table top of the lifting platform is provided with openings for all the clamps and all the supporting arms to move, and the supporting arms and the clamps are arranged alternately.

[0012] The airbag flattening unit includes a flattening lifting device, a flattening bracket, a pressing device and a pulling device; the movable end of the flattening lifting device faces downward and is provided with the flattening bracket, and the pressing device and the pulling device are installed on the flattening bracket; the pulling device includes a plurality of pulling claws arranged in a circular array, which move centripetally to achieve a pulling action on the lower edge of the combination position of the airbag and the buckle; the pressing device includes a plurality of pressing plates arranged in a circular array, which move downward to achieve a flattening action on the upper edge of the combination position of the airbag and the buckle.

[0013] The rotary press-fitting unit comprises a press-fitting lifting device, a press-fitting rotating device and a press-fitting claw; the movable end of the press-fitting lifting device faces downward and is provided with the press-fitting rotating device, and a plurality of the press-fitting claws are arranged in a circular array on the lower surface of the press-fitting rotating device, and all of the press-fitting claws have the ability to move synchronously centripetally or centrifugally.

[0014] An automatic assembly method for an air spring automatic assembly module, comprising: Step 1: The robot grabs the buckle from the buckle feeding device and places it on the buckle lifting unit, and the buckle lifting unit descends to a specified height; Step 2: The robot grabs the airbag from the airbag feeding device and moves it to the correction device, which rotates the airbag to the correct angle; Step 3: The robot clamps the airbag from the calibration device and moves it to the airbag closing unit, and the gripper of the airbag closing unit retracts to a specified position; Step 4: The buckle lifting unit rises and lifts the buckle to a specified height; Step 5: The airbag flattening mechanism descends to a specified height, and holds the buckle and the airbag on the upper and lower sides respectively, while applying pressure to flatten the edge of the airbag; Step 6: While carrying out steps 4 and 5, the robot clamps the auxiliary spring from the auxiliary spring feeding device and moves it above the positioning device to identify the pin hole and pin shaft position at the bottom of the auxiliary spring, and accurately places the auxiliary spring on the assembly tooling according to the identification result; Step 7: The transfer unit moves to both sides below the buckle, clamps the airbag buckle assembly, and at the same time, the jaws of the airbag closing unit open. The transfer unit moves the airbag buckle assembly toward the assembly tooling, and pauses when passing the assembly visual recognition mechanism on the way; Step 8: Assemble the visual recognition mechanism to determine whether the buckle hole position is offset; If there is no deviation, continue to move the airbag buckle assembly onto the auxiliary spring; If deviation occurs, the robot adjusts the relative position of the airbag buckle assembly, puts it back into the transfer unit, and continues to move the airbag buckle assembly onto the auxiliary spring; Step 9: Rotate the press-fit unit downward to press the lower opening of the airbag into the auxiliary spring; move upward, rotate it to a certain angle, and then descend again, repeat the pressing action, and repeat it several times; Step 10: The robot grabs the assembled air spring and moves it above the positioning device to identify the pin hole and pin shaft position at the bottom of the auxiliary spring, and accurately places the air spring on the air spring blanking device according to the identification results.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment of the automatic assembly method of the air spring automatic assembly module provided by the present invention, in step 8, the good and bad products are judged according to the pressure curve of the rotary press-fitting unit during the press-fitting process; in step 9, the robot judges the good and bad products according to the judgment result: Clamp the good quality air spring and place it on the air spring unloading device; Grab the scrap air spring and place it on the scrap unloading device.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the air spring automatic assembly module and automatic assembly method provided by the present invention have the following beneficial effects: 1. The present invention is equipped with multiple buckle feeding devices and multiple airbag feeding devices, and adopts a multi-station auxiliary spring feeding device to ensure that there is sufficient buffer in the feeding area, ensure stable feeding supply, and ensure that the assembly equipment can perform assembly operations stably and efficiently.

[0017] 2. The assembly equipment of the present invention adopts a clamping claw structure to clamp the airbag, and a single driving component drives all the clamps to open and close synchronously, which is more stable in structure, reduces the failure rate, and ensures that the assembly equipment can perform assembly operations stably and efficiently.

[0018] 3. The assembly equipment of the present invention adopts the method of lifting down and pressing up to flatten the joint position of the buckle and the airbag, which has a better flattening effect; the airbag flattening unit adopts the method of lifting, turning and opening and closing to realize the lifting of the buckle, which is more stable in structure.

[0019] 4. The assembly equipment of the present invention adopts a rotary press-fitting method to press the lower opening of the airbag into the auxiliary spring, and the press-fitting quality is ensured by repeated press-fitting at multiple angles.

[0020] 5. In the solution provided by the present invention, the robot is installed on the translation device, which expands the robot's pick-and-place travel range, cooperates with multiple types of loading devices and multiple tool magazines, fully uses the robot's carrying capacity, and has higher detection efficiency; 6. The solution provided by the present invention is provided with a positioning device. Before the air spring is placed on the assembly equipment and the air spring unloading device, the position of the bottom pin and the pin hole of the auxiliary spring is confirmed to ensure that the air spring is placed on the correct tooling. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 It is a top view of the air spring automatic assembly module; Figure 2 is a stereoscopic view of the correction device; Figure 3 It is a three-dimensional view of the auxiliary spring feeding device; Figure 4 It is a three-dimensional view of the air spring blanking device; Figure 5 It is a front view of the assembled equipment; Figure 6 yes Figure 5 A partial enlarged view of the airbag closing unit and buckle lifting unit; Figure 7 is a three-dimensional view of the airbag closing unit in an open state; Figure 8 is a three-dimensional view of the airbag closing unit in a tightened state; Fig. 9is a stereoscopic view of the buckle lifting unit; Fig.10 is a stereoscopic view of the airbag flattening unit; Fig.11 is a stereoscopic view of the airbag flattening unit from another viewing angle; Fig.12 It is the front view of the rotary press unit; Fig.13 is a three-dimensional view of the rotary press unit; Fig.14 is a top view of the transfer unit; Fig.15 It is a three-dimensional view of the transfer unit.

[0022] Wherein the figures are: assembly equipment 4, tool library 5; Buckle feeding device 11, airbag feeding device 12, auxiliary spring feeding device 13, correction device 14; translation device 21, robot 22; positioning device 31, air spring unloading device 32 and scrap unloading device 33, magnetic suction device 34; workbench 41, airbag closing unit 42, buckle lifting unit 43, airbag flattening unit 44, rotary pressing unit 45, transfer unit 46, assembly visual recognition mechanism 47, assembly tooling 48; Calibration base 141, calibration rotating platform 142, calibration sensor 143, calibration visual recognition mechanism 144; base 321, rotating platform 322, sensor 323, unloading tool 324, loading tool 134; gantry 341, suction lifting mechanism 342, electromagnet 343; Closing stand 421, closing lifting device 422, clamping claw 423, lifting platform 424; lifting stand 431, lifting lifting device 432, supporting arm 433, lifting ring 434; Flattening lifting device 441, flattening bracket 442, pressing device 443, pulling device 444; press-fitting lifting device 451, press-fitting rotating device 452, press-fitting claw 453; translation mechanism 461, up-and-down mechanism 462, opening-and-closing mechanism 463. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments.

[0024] Please also see Figures 1 to 4 , are respectively a top view of the air spring automatic assembly module provided by the present invention, and a stereoscopic view of the correction device, the auxiliary spring feeding device and the air spring unloading device therein.

[0025] The air spring automatic assembly module includes a loading unit, a transfer unit, an unloading unit, an assembly device 4 and a tool library 5.

[0026] The feeding unit comprises a buckle feeding device 11 , an airbag feeding device 12 , an auxiliary spring feeding device 13 and a correction device 14 .

[0027] The transfer unit includes a translation device 21 and a robot 22 .

[0028] The unloading unit comprises a positioning device 31 , an air spring unloading device 32 and a waste unloading device 33 .

[0029] The assembly equipment 4 includes a workbench 41 , an airbag closing unit 42 , a buckle lifting unit 43 , an airbag flattening unit 44 , a rotary press-fitting unit 45 , a transfer unit 46 , an assembly visual recognition mechanism 47 and an assembly tool 48 .

[0030] by Figure 1 From the perspective shown, the bottom row has three racks, and the right column has two racks and a correction device 14. The upper rack in the right column is used as a waste unloading device 33, and the lower rack is used as a buckle loading device 11. The rack on the left side of the bottom row is used as a buckle loading device 11, and the remaining two racks are used as airbag loading devices 12. The above five racks are all loaded or unloaded by AGV transportation.

[0031] The calibration device 14 includes a calibration base 141 , a calibration rotating platform 142 , a calibration sensor 143 and a calibration visual recognition mechanism 144 .

[0032] The calibration base 141 is a square bracket, and a calibration rotating platform 142 rotating in a horizontal plane is installed in the middle of its top. A vertical pole is respectively provided at two diagonal positions on the top, and a pair of calibration sensors 143 are oppositely installed on the vertical poles to detect whether an airbag is placed on the calibration rotating platform 142. The calibration visual recognition mechanism 144 is installed near the calibration base 141 through a separate column, and its lens faces the calibration rotating platform 142.

[0033] In the middle is a translation device 21 extending left and right, the translation device 21 is a ground rail, and a robot 22 is installed on the slider at the top.

[0034] The left part is the assembly device 4. The top part is the positioning device 31, the air spring unloading device 32, the auxiliary spring loading device 13 and the tool magazine 5 from left to right.

[0035] The positioning device 31 includes a positioning visual recognition mechanism, and its lens faces vertically upward.

[0036] The air spring unloading device 32 and the auxiliary spring loading device 13 have similar structures, both of which include a base 321, a rotating platform 322 and a sensor 323, and are respectively provided with an unloading tool 324 and a loading tool 134.

[0037] The base 321 is a square bracket, and a rotating platform 322 is installed at the middle position of the top thereof, which has a diameter larger than the edge of the base 321 and rotates in a horizontal plane. Four unloading fixtures 324 or four loading fixtures 134 are arranged in a circular array on the rotating platform 322.

[0038] On both sides of each unloading tool 324 or each loading tool 134 , a pair of sensors 323 are respectively arranged through vertical poles for detecting whether an air spring or an auxiliary spring is placed on the unloading tool 324 or the loading tool 134 .

[0039] In particular, a magnetic suction device 34 is also provided at the air spring unloading device 32. The magnetic suction device 34 includes a door frame 341, a suction lifting mechanism 342 and an electromagnet 343.

[0040] The gantry 341 crosses the air spring unloading device 32 above a unloading fixture 324, and a suction lifting mechanism 342 is provided above the unloading fixture 324. The suction lifting mechanism 342 is a slide structure, and a laterally extended bracket is provided on the slide block thereof, and two electromagnets 343 are provided at the bottom of the bracket. The electromagnet 343 is used to suck the buckle in the air spring, thereby lifting the air bag, so as to facilitate clamping the air spring at the position of the auxiliary spring.

[0041] exist Figure 1 In the picture shown, a fixture for the auxiliary spring airbag assembly is placed on the tool magazine 5. The attached figure is only for display purposes and does not limit the type of fixture actually used. A person skilled in the art should choose to place a suitable fixture at the tool magazine 5 according to the on-site conditions and design the rules or paths for the robot 22 to replace the fixture. The specific control details will not be described in detail here.

[0042] The basic process of the automatic assembly method implemented by the air spring automatic assembly module provided by the present invention is as follows: Step 1: The robot 22 grabs a buckle from the buckle feeding device 11 and places it in the assembly device 4; grabs an airbag from the airbag feeding device 12 and places it in the assembly device 4; Step 2: assembling the airbag buckle assembly in the assembly device 4; Step 3: The robot 22 grabs the auxiliary spring from the auxiliary spring feeding device 13 and moves it above the positioning device to identify the pin hole and the pin shaft position at the bottom of the auxiliary spring, and accurately places the auxiliary spring in the assembly device 4 according to the identification result; Step 4: assembling and testing the air spring in the assembly device 4; Step 5: The robot grabs the assembled air spring and follows the test results: Place the good quality air spring in the air spring unloading device 32; The scrap air spring is placed in the scrap unloading device 33.

[0043] The air spring unloading device 32 and the auxiliary spring loading device 13 both adopt a four-station turntable structure. A magnetic suction device 34 is arranged at a position of the air spring unloading device 32 away from the assembly equipment 4, which can suck the buckle in the air spring, thereby lifting the airbag, so that the clamp of the next process can clamp the air spring at the position of the auxiliary spring.

[0044] Please also see Figures 5 to 15 , respectively, are the front view and partial enlarged view of the detection device 4 in the air spring automatic assembly module provided by the present invention, the stereoscopic view of the airbag closing unit in the open and tightened states, the stereoscopic view of the buckle lifting unit and the airbag flattening unit, the main view and stereoscopic view of the rotary pressing unit, and the top view and stereoscopic view of the transfer unit.

[0045] The assembly equipment 4 includes a workbench 41 , an airbag closing unit 42 , a buckle lifting unit 43 , an airbag flattening unit 44 , a rotary press-fitting unit 45 , a transfer unit 46 , an assembly visual recognition mechanism 47 and an assembly tool 48 .

[0046] The left half of the bottom of the workbench 41 is a combination of an airbag closing unit 42 and a buckle lifting unit 43. The airbag closing unit 42 includes a closing stand 421, a closing lifting device 422 and a clamp 423. The closing lifting device 422 is an electric telescopic rod, and its main body including a motor and other mechanisms is installed in the closing stand 421, and the telescopic rod faces upward.

[0047] A column is provided at the top center of the closing stand 421, and a lifting platform 424 is provided around the column. Nine clamps 423 are radially hinged at the top of the column. Guide rods are provided at the four corners of the lifting platform 424, the bottom of which is connected to the movable end of the closing lifting device 422, and a flange is provided around the column at the top.

[0048] The clamping claw 423 is generally in an L-shaped structure, with the sharp corner hinged to the top of the column, the lower end hinged to the flange through a connecting rod, and the upper end bent toward the center, for clamping the airbag.

[0049] Under the above structure, the closing lifting device 422 drives the lifting platform to slide up and down along the guide rod. When rising, the flange drives the connecting rod to expand outward, thereby driving the upper end of the clamping claw 423 to tighten; conversely, when descending, the connecting rod is closed, thereby driving the upper end of the clamping claw 423 to open.

[0050] The buckle lifting unit 43 includes a lifting platform 431, a lifting and lifting device 432 and a supporting arm 433. The lifting and lifting device 432 includes two vertically arranged screw rods. To reduce the overall height, the bottom of the screw rods is connected to the same motor through a right-angle transmission mechanism. It also includes a lifting ring 434 connected to the nuts of the two screw rods at the same time, and the lifting ring 434 surrounds the closing platform 421.

[0051] Three groups of supporting arms 433 are arranged on the lifting ring, and each group of supporting arms 433 includes two vertically arranged upright poles. After the upright poles pass through the table of the lifting platform 431, supporting heads for connecting with buckles are arranged at the top. In addition to three groups of openings for the supporting arms 433 to pass through, the table of the lifting platform 431 is also provided with 9 conical openings for the clamping claws 423 to move. The supporting arms 433 and the clamping claws 423 are arranged alternately, that is, there are three clamping claws 423 between adjacent supporting arms 433.

[0052] Under the above structure, the three groups of supporting arms 433 rise and fall synchronously with the lifting ring, and do not interfere with the opening and closing of the clamping claw 423. The supporting head is a stepped structure with an arc, and the three supporting heads cooperate to form a circle of grooves, which can lift the buckle ring from bottom to top.

[0053] The right half of the bottom of the workbench 41 is erected at the same height as the table surface of the lifting platform 431 and is provided with an assembly tool 48 .

[0054] An airbag flattening unit 44 is disposed in the left half of the top of the workbench 41 , which is located directly above the airbag closing unit 42 and the buckle lifting unit 43 .

[0055] The airbag flattening unit 44 includes a flattening lifting device 441, a flattening bracket 442, a pressing device 443 and a lifting device 444. The flattening lifting device 441 is an electric telescopic rod, and its main body including a motor and other mechanisms is installed on the workbench 41. The telescopic rod faces downward and is installed with a flattening bracket 442. Guide rods are provided at the four corners of the flattening bracket 442 to maintain stability.

[0056] The flattening bracket 442 is a double-layer bracket, and the top of the upper platform is connected to the flattening lifting device 441. A small lifting mechanism is arranged through the upper platform, driving the lifting ring 445 arranged around it to move up and down. Three connecting rods are radially hinged around the lifting ring 445. The connecting rods pass through the lower platform of the flattening bracket 442 and are hinged to three pulling claws arranged at the bottom of the lower platform. The three pulling claws are connected to the bottom of the lower platform through radially arranged slide rails. The above-mentioned small lifting mechanism, lifting ring, connecting rod, pulling claw and slide rail constitute the lifting device 444.

[0057] The pressing device 443 includes a cylinder and a pressing plate. The cylinder is fixed to the top of the lower platform of the flattening bracket 442. The piston rod of the cylinder passes through the lower platform downward and is connected to the pressing plate. The pressing plate is also provided with a guide rod connected to the lower layer of the flattening bracket 442 to maintain stability. Three groups of pressing devices 443 are arranged in a circular array in the flattening bracket 442.

[0058] Under the above structure, the flattening bracket 442, the pressing device 443 and the lifting device 444 are synchronously lifted and lowered under the drive of the flattening lifting device 441. The pressing device 443 controls the extension and retraction of the pressing plate through the cylinder to realize the functions of tightening and loosening; the lifting device 444 drives the three pulling claws to move closer or farther away through the up and down movement of the lifting ring to realize the functions of lifting and loosening. The structure of the pulling claw is similar to that of the supporting head, and is also used to lift the buckle from bottom to top.

[0059] The right half of the top of the workbench 41, located directly above the assembly tool 48, is provided with a rotary press-fitting unit 45. The rotary press-fitting unit 45 includes a press-fitting lifting device 451, a press-fitting rotating device 452 and a press-fitting claw 453.

[0060] The press-fit lifting device 451 is an electric telescopic rod, and its main body including a motor and other mechanisms is installed on the workbench 41, and the telescopic rod is downwardly mounted with a press-fit rotating device 452. Guide rods are provided at the four corners of the press-fit rotating device 452 to maintain stability.

[0061] The press-fitting rotating device 452 includes a mounting plate for connecting to the press-fitting lifting device 451, a rotating plate rotatably connected to the bottom of the mounting plate, a gear ring is provided on the edge of the rotating plate, and a driving motor engaged with the gear ring is provided on the edge of the mounting plate.

[0062] Three sets of slides are radially arranged at the bottom of the rotary plate, and three pressing claws 453 are arranged in a ring array on the sliders of the slides.

[0063] Under the above structure, the press-fitting rotary device 452 and the press-fitting claw 453 are synchronously lifted and lowered under the drive of the press-fitting lifting device 451. The press-fitting claw 453 is driven by the press-fitting rotary device 452 to perform press-fitting actions at different angles; the press-fitting claw 453 is driven by the three sets of slides to perform press-fitting actions at annular positions with different diameters.

[0064] The lower end of the press-fit claw 453 is used to press the lower opening of the airbag into the auxiliary spring. Considering that the diameter of the lower opening of some airbags is larger than the diameter of the upper opening, an inner concave structure is provided on the outer side of the press-fit claw 453. In the above case, the press-fit claw 453 can be gathered first, and after being inserted into the upper opening, the press-fit claw 453 is expanded and pressed down to perform the press-fit action.

[0065] The transfer unit 46 includes a translation mechanism 461, an up-down mechanism 462, and an opening and closing mechanism 463, which are arranged in sequence. The translation mechanism 461 is used to achieve left-right movement between the airbag closing unit 42 and the assembly tool 48; the up-down mechanism 462 is used to lift the assembled airbag buckle assembly at the airbag closing unit 42 and put it down at the assembly tool 48; the opening and closing mechanism 463 is used to clamp or release the assembled airbag buckle assembly. A clamping head with a structure similar to that of a pull claw and a supporting head is provided on the inner side of the opening and closing mechanism, which is also used to hold the buckle from bottom to top.

[0066] The automatic assembly method implemented by the air spring automatic assembly module provided by the present invention has the following detailed process: Step 1: In the initial state, the clamping jaws 423 are closed, the supporting arm 433 is extended, the flattening lifting device 441 and the pressing lifting device 451 are retracted, the translation mechanism 461 is located at the left position, the up and down mechanism 462 is located at the high position, and the opening and closing mechanism 463 is located at the open position.

[0067] The robot 22 picks up the buckle from the buckle feeding device 11 and places it on the support arm 433, and the buckle is engaged with the three support heads; then the support arm 433 and the buckle are lowered to a low position, at which time the buckle no longer interferes with the clamping jaws 423, and the clamping jaws 423 are opened to receive the airbag; Step 2: The robot 22 grabs the airbag from the airbag feeding device 12, which currently has a surplus, and moves it to the correction device 14. When the correction sensor 143 senses that an airbag is placed on the correction rotating platform 142, the correction rotating platform 142 is controlled to start and drive the airbag to rotate. The correction visual recognition mechanism 144 observes the angle of the airbag in real time, and controls the correction rotating platform 142 to stop when it rotates to the correct angle.

[0068] Step 3: The robot 22 grabs the adjusted airbag from the calibration rotating platform 142 and moves it to the clamping jaws 423. The clamping jaws 423 shrink to a specified position, and the airbag body is clamped and shrunk without contacting the connecting edge at the top of the airbag.

[0069] Step 4: The supporting arm 433 extends to lift the buckle, passes through the clamped airbag, and contacts and clamps the lower side of the connecting edge of the top of the airbag.

[0070] Step 5: The pressing device 443 and the lifting device 444 are lowered, wherein the claws of the lifting device 444 are expanded, and then retracted after being lowered to the right position, so as to lift the buckle. Subsequently, the pressing plate in the pressing device 443 moves downward to flatten the airbag and fit it with the buckle.

[0071] Step 6: While performing steps 4 and 5, the robot 22 clamps the auxiliary spring from the auxiliary spring feeding device 13 and moves it above the positioning device 31. The pin hole and the pin shaft position at the bottom of the auxiliary spring are identified, and the identification structure is fed back to the robot 22. The robot 22 accurately places the auxiliary spring on the assembly tool 48 according to the identification result.

[0072] Step 7: The upper and lower mechanisms 462 descend, the opening and closing mechanisms 463 close together, and hold the buckle. The clamping jaws 423 open, the upper and lower mechanisms 462 move upward, and the translation mechanism 461 moves rightward, and the airbag buckle assembly is moved to the position below the assembly visual recognition mechanism 47 and pauses.

[0073] Step 8: Assemble the visual recognition mechanism 47 to determine whether the buckle hole position is offset; If there is no deviation, continue to move the airbag buckle assembly onto the auxiliary spring; If a deviation occurs, the robot 22 adjusts the relative position of the airbag buckle assembly, and then puts it back into the transfer unit 46 to continue moving the airbag buckle assembly onto the auxiliary spring.

[0074] Step 9: Move the three pressing claws 453 to the appropriate annular position, move downward to press the lower opening of the airbag into the auxiliary spring; move upward, rotate the pressing rotating device 452 60°, move downward again, repeat the pressing action; move upward again, repeat the rotation and pressing action multiple times.

[0075] Step 10: A pressure sensing system is provided at the press-fitting lifting device 451 to judge whether the air spring is good or bad according to the pressure curve during the press-fitting process.

[0076] Robot 22 determines the result: Grab the good air spring and move it above the positioning device 31. Identify the pin hole and pin shaft position at the bottom of the auxiliary spring, and feed back the identification structure to the robot 22. The robot 22 accurately places the auxiliary spring on the air spring blanking device 32 according to the identification result; The scrapped air spring is clamped and placed on the scrapped unloading device 33 .

[0077] The above descriptions are merely embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the present invention specification, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automatic air spring assembly module, characterized in that: It includes a loading unit, a transfer unit, a unloading unit and an assembly device, the loading unit includes a correction device, a buckle loading device, an airbag loading device and an auxiliary spring loading device, the transfer unit includes a robot, the unloading unit includes a positioning device, an air spring unloading device and a scrap unloading device, the correction device, one or more buckle loading devices, one or more airbag loading devices and the scrap unloading device are arranged side by side in any order, recorded as a rack area, and are arranged in a surrounding layout around the robot, and the auxiliary spring loading device, the rack area, the assembly equipment, the positioning device and the air spring unloading device are arranged in sequence.

2. The air spring automatic assembly module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The buckle feeding device, the airbag feeding device and the waste unloading device are all storage racks; the transfer unit also includes a translation device, and the robot is installed at the movable end of the translation device; a tool magazine is arranged between the rack area and the auxiliary loading device; The correction device includes a correction base, a correction rotating platform, a correction sensor and a correction visual recognition mechanism. The correction rotating platform and the correction sensor are provided on the top of the correction base. The correction visual recognition mechanism is installed at the side of the correction base and at a certain distance therefrom, with its lens facing the correction rotating platform; the positioning device includes a positioning visual recognition mechanism, with its lens facing vertically upwards.

3. The air spring automatic assembly module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The auxiliary spring loading device and the air spring unloading device are both multi-station turntables, including a base and a rotating platform arranged on the top of the base. On the rotating platform of the auxiliary spring loading device, a plurality of loading tools are arranged in a circular array, and on the rotating platform of the air spring unloading device, a plurality of unloading tools are arranged in a circular array. Sensors are provided on the side of each loading tool or the unloading tool.

4. The air spring automatic assembly module according to claim 3, characterized in that: The air spring feeding device is also provided with a suction device, including a gantry, a suction lifting mechanism and a suction actuator. The gantry spans a feeding tool in the air spring feeding device, and the suction lifting mechanism is provided at a position directly above the feeding tool. The movable end of the suction lifting mechanism faces downward, and is provided with the suction actuator.

5. The air spring automatic assembly module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The assembly equipment includes a workbench, an airbag closing unit, a buckle lifting unit, an airbag flattening unit, a rotary pressing unit, a transfer unit, an assembly visual recognition mechanism and an assembly tool; the airbag closing unit and the assembly tool are arranged side by side at the bottom of the workbench, and the buckle lifting unit is arranged along the periphery of the airbag closing unit; the airbag flattening unit and the rotary pressing unit are respectively arranged at the top of the workbench, directly above the airbag closing unit and the assembly tool, and the assembly visual recognition mechanism is arranged between the airbag flattening unit and the rotary pressing unit, and the lens of the assembly visual recognition mechanism faces vertically downward; the transfer unit is arranged at the back of the workbench.

6. The air spring automatic assembly module according to claim 5, characterized in that: The airbag closing unit comprises a closing platform, a closing lifting device and a clamping claw; the closing lifting device is arranged in the closing platform, with the movable end facing upward and passing through the table surface of the closing platform, and a plurality of clamping claws are arranged in a circular array on the top of the closing platform, and are movably connected with the movable end and the closing platform at the same time, and open and close with the lifting and lowering of the movable end; The buckle lifting unit includes a lifting platform, a lifting and lifting device and a supporting arm; the lifting and lifting device is arranged in the lifting platform, including a lifting ring that performs lifting actions, the lifting ring is arranged around the closing platform, and a plurality of supporting arms are vertically arranged in a circular array on the lifting ring, the table top of the lifting platform is provided with openings for all the clamps and all the supporting arms to move, and the supporting arms and the clamps are arranged alternately.

7. The air spring automatic assembly module according to claim 5, characterized in that: The airbag flattening unit includes a flattening lifting device, a flattening bracket, a pressing device and a pulling device; the movable end of the flattening lifting device faces downward and is provided with the flattening bracket, and the pressing device and the pulling device are installed on the flattening bracket; the pulling device includes a plurality of pulling claws arranged in a circular array, which move centripetally to achieve a pulling action on the lower edge of the combination position of the airbag and the buckle; the pressing device includes a plurality of pressing plates arranged in a circular array, which move downward to achieve a flattening action on the upper edge of the combination position of the airbag and the buckle.

8. The air spring automatic assembly module according to claim 5, characterized in that: The rotary press-fitting unit comprises a press-fitting lifting device, a press-fitting rotating device and a press-fitting claw; the movable end of the press-fitting lifting device faces downward and is provided with the press-fitting rotating device, and a plurality of the press-fitting claws are arranged in a circular array on the lower surface of the press-fitting rotating device, and all of the press-fitting claws have the ability to move synchronously centripetally or centrifugally.

9. An automatic assembly method using the air spring automatic assembly module according to claims 1-8, characterized in that: include: Step 1: The robot grabs the buckle from the buckle feeding device and places it on the buckle lifting unit, and the buckle lifting unit descends to a specified height; Step 2: The robot grabs the airbag from the airbag feeding device and moves it to the correction device, which rotates the airbag to the correct angle; Step 3: The robot clamps the airbag from the calibration device and moves it to the airbag closing unit, and the clamping claw of the airbag closing unit shrinks to the specified position; Step 4: The buckle lifting unit rises and lifts the buckle to a specified height; Step 5: The airbag flattening mechanism descends to a specified height, and holds the buckle and the airbag on the upper and lower sides respectively, while applying pressure to flatten the edge of the airbag; Step 6: While carrying out steps 4 and 5, the robot clamps the auxiliary spring from the auxiliary spring feeding device and moves it above the positioning device to identify the pin hole and pin shaft position at the bottom of the auxiliary spring, and accurately places the auxiliary spring on the assembly tooling according to the identification result; Step 7: The transfer unit moves to both sides below the buckle, clamps the airbag buckle assembly, and at the same time, the jaws of the airbag closing unit open. The transfer unit moves the airbag buckle assembly toward the assembly tooling, and pauses when passing the assembly visual recognition mechanism on the way; Step 8: Assemble the visual recognition mechanism to determine whether the buckle hole position is offset; If there is no deviation, continue to move the air bag buckle assembly onto the auxiliary spring; If deviation occurs, the robot adjusts the relative position of the airbag buckle assembly, puts it back into the transfer unit, and continues to move the airbag buckle assembly onto the auxiliary spring; Step 9: Rotate the press-fit unit downward and press the lower opening of the airbag into the auxiliary spring; Go up, rotate a certain angle and then go down again, repeat the pressing action, and repeat it many times; Step 10: The robot grabs the assembled air spring and moves it above the positioning device to identify the pin hole and pin shaft position at the bottom of the auxiliary spring, and accurately places the air spring on the air spring blanking device according to the identification results.

10. The automatic assembly method of the air spring automatic assembly module according to claim 9, characterized in that: In step 9, the good and bad products are judged according to the pressure curve of the rotary pressing unit during the pressing process; in step 10, the robot determines the good and bad products according to the judgment result: Clamp the good quality air spring and place it on the air spring unloading device; Grab the scrap air spring and place it on the scrap unloading device.

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