A welding system and a control method thereof

By using a single generator connected to multiple welding modules in a welding system and implementing time-sharing activation through a control module, the problems of low generator time utilization and large space occupation in traditional welding systems are solved, thereby improving the generator time utilization and reducing energy consumption and equipment costs.

CN120480490BActive Publication Date: 2025-11-04WUXI HAISONG TECH CO LTD
View PDF 1 Cites 0 Cited by

Patent Information

Application Number
CN202510990965.8
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2025-07-18
Publication Date
2025-11-04
Estimated Expiration
2045-07-18

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Traditional ultrasonic welding systems suffer from low generator utilization and large space requirements, leading to wasted energy and equipment investment.

Method used

A generator is used to connect multiple welding modules. The time-sharing activation of each welding module is achieved through a control module and a switching module. The control module connects the generator and the welding modules in a time-sharing manner through the switching module, while other welding modules perform non-welding operations to improve the time utilization of the generator.

Benefits of technology

Minimize generator idle time, improve the time utilization of a single generator, reduce energy consumption and equipment cost per unit product, and save space.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

Smart Images

  • Figure CN120480490B_ABST
    Figure CN120480490B_ABST
Patent Text Reader

Abstract

The application discloses a welding system and a control method thereof. The system comprises a control module, a generator, a switching module and at least two welding modules. The power output end of the generator is connected with the switching module, the switching module is connected with each welding module, the control module is connected with the switching module, and the control module is used for controlling the switching module to time-divisionally communicate the generator with each welding module existing with a workpiece at a work station. The welding module in communication with the generator performs a welding operation on the workpiece at the work station of the welding module. The control module turns on the connection between the generator and the welding module in turn, and other welding modules can perform non-welding operations such as feeding or other preparation work, so that the idle waiting time of the generator is minimized. The time utilization rate of a single generator is improved, the energy consumption and equipment cost of a unit product are reduced, and space is saved.
Need to check novelty before this filing date? Find Prior Art

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of welding, in particular to a welding system and a control method thereof. BACKGROUND

[0002] The traditional ultrasonic welding "one machine one generator" mode causes a large amount of waiting time of the generator in the production rhythm (such as feeding and discharging, equipment moving), and the actual working time accounts for a low proportion, resulting in waste of energy and equipment investment, and a large space occupied by multiple generators. SUMMARY

[0003] The present application provides a welding system and a control method thereof to solve the problems of low time utilization rate of the generator and large space occupation.

[0004] According to an aspect of the present application, a welding system is provided, comprising a control module, a generator, a switching module, and at least two welding modules;

[0005] An electric energy output end of the generator is connected with the switching module, and the switching module is connected with each welding module;

[0006] The control module is connected with the switching module, and the control module is used to control the switching module to time-divisionally communicate the generator with each welding module existing a workpiece at the work station; wherein the welding module in communication with the generator performs a welding operation on the workpiece at the work station of the welding module.

[0007] Optionally, the generator comprises a power module and a voltage conversion module, and the input ends of the power module and the voltage conversion module are connected;

[0008] The switching module comprises a preset relay corresponding to each welding module, a first end of each preset relay is connected with an output end of the voltage conversion module, a second end of each preset relay is connected with a corresponding welding module, a control end of each preset relay is connected with the control module, and the control module is used to control the time-divisionally conduction of the preset relay corresponding to each welding module existing a workpiece at the work station.

[0009] Optionally, the switching module comprises a preset relay corresponding to each welding module;

[0010] The generator comprises a power module and a voltage conversion module corresponding to each preset relay, an output end of the power module is connected with a first end of each preset relay, and a second end of each preset relay is connected with a first end of a corresponding voltage conversion module;

[0011] A second end of each of the voltage conversion modules is connected to a welding module corresponding to a respective preset relay;

[0012] A control end of each of the preset relays is connected to the control module, and the control module is configured to control the preset relay corresponding to each of the welding modules at the work station to be turned on at different times.

[0013] The switching module is arranged in the generator.

[0014] Optionally, the welding system further comprises a current protection module corresponding to each of the welding modules, and the switching module further comprises a voltage-dependent resistor corresponding to each of the preset relays.

[0015] The voltage-dependent resistor is connected between the first end and the second end of the preset relay corresponding to the voltage-dependent resistor.

[0016] The current protection module is connected in series with the welding module corresponding to the current protection module.

[0017] Optionally, the welding system further comprises a temperature monitoring module corresponding to each of the preset relays, the temperature monitoring module is located within a preset distance of the preset relay corresponding to the temperature monitoring module, and the temperature monitoring module is configured to obtain the temperature of the preset relay. The control module is connected to each of the temperature monitoring modules, and the control module is configured to control the voltage conversion module connected to the preset relay to reduce the output voltage to a preset voltage value when the temperature of any of the preset relays is greater than a temperature threshold.

[0018] According to another aspect of the present application, a control method of a welding system is provided for controlling the welding system of the previous aspect, and the control method of the welding system is executed by the control module.

[0019] The control method of the welding system comprises:

[0020] The switching module is controlled to connect the generator to each of the welding modules at the work station at different times, and the welding module connected to the generator performs a welding operation on the workpiece at the work station of the welding module.

[0021] Optionally, the control of the switching module to connect the generator to each of the welding modules at the work station at different times comprises:

[0022] When it is determined according to the workpiece position signals of the welding modules that there is a workpiece in the station where at least two of the welding modules are located, for any welding module that has a workpiece in the station, the priority of the welding module is determined according to at least one of the station idle time signal, the workpiece urgency signal and the matching degree signal of the welding module; the station idle time signal is used to represent the time interval between two adjacent workpieces arriving at the station where the welding module is located; the matching degree signal is used to represent the matching degree of the welding parameters of the workpiece in the station where the welding module is located and the preset welding parameters of the welding module; the workpiece urgency signal is used to represent the urgency degree of the workpiece in the station where the welding module is located to be welded; and the workpiece position signal is used to represent whether there is a workpiece in the station where the welding module is located.

[0023] In the order from high to low of the priorities of the welding modules that have workpieces in the stations, the switching module is controlled to sequentially connect the generator with the welding modules that have workpieces in the stations.

[0024] Optionally, the determination of the priority of the welding module according to at least one of the station idle time signal, the workpiece urgency signal and the matching degree signal of the welding module comprises:

[0025] The calculation formula of the priority of the welding module satisfies:

[0026] Score=A·T+B·Q+C·R;

[0027] wherein, Score is the priority, A, B and C are weight coefficients, A, B and C are greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 1, and A+B+C=1, T is the station idle time signal, Q is the workpiece urgency signal, and R is the matching degree signal.

[0028] Optionally, the switching module comprises preset relays corresponding to the welding modules one by one, and the welding system further comprises temperature monitoring modules corresponding to the preset relays one by one.

[0029] After the switching module is controlled to connect the generator with the welding module that has a workpiece in the station, the method further comprises:

[0030] obtaining the current of the welding module connected with the generator and the temperature of the preset relay corresponding to the welding module connected with the generator;

[0031] When the current of the welding module in communication with the generator is greater than or equal to a current threshold for a duration reaching a first preset duration, or the temperature of a preset relay corresponding to the welding module in communication with the generator is greater than a temperature threshold, the preset relay corresponding to the welding module in communication with the generator is disconnected, and a first alarm signal is generated.

[0032] Optionally, before the control module controls the switching module to time-divisionally connect the generator with each welding module in which a workpiece exists, the method further comprises:

[0033] obtaining a production plan of the welding system and a workpiece position signal of each welding module, the workpiece position signal being used to represent whether a workpiece exists in the work station where the welding module is located, the workpiece position signal comprising a first signal representing that a workpiece exists in the work station where the welding module is located and a second signal representing that no workpiece exists in the work station where the welding module is located, and the production plan of the welding system comprising each welding module in which a workpiece exists;

[0034] determining each welding module in which a workpiece exists according to the production plan of the welding system, and generating a second alarm signal when no first signal corresponding to the welding module in which a workpiece exists is received within a second preset duration;

[0035] Optionally, after the control module controls the switching module to connect the generator with a welding module in which a workpiece exists, the method further comprises:

[0036] obtaining a welding parameter of the welding module performing a welding operation on a workpiece, and controlling the switching module to disconnect the connection between the generator and the welding module performing the welding operation on the workpiece when the deviation between the welding parameter of the welding module and a preset welding parameter corresponding to the welding module is greater than a deviation threshold, and generating a third alarm signal.

[0037] The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application adopts one generator to connect multiple welding modules, the control module realizes time-divisional activation of each welding module through the switching module, and the generator only provides energy for one welding module at a certain moment. The control module turns on the connection between the generator and the welding module in turn, and other welding modules can perform non-welding operations such as feeding or other preparation work, so as to minimize the idle waiting time of the generator. The time utilization rate of a single generator is improved, the energy consumption and equipment cost per unit product are reduced, and space is saved.

[0038] It should be understood that the content described in this part is not intended to identify the key or important features of the embodiments of the application, nor is it used to limit the scope of the application. Other features of the application will become apparent from the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0039] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed in the embodiments description. Obviously, the drawings in the following description only show some embodiments of the present application, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can also be obtained without creative labor based on these drawings.

[0040] Figure 1 A structural schematic diagram of a welding system provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. 1.

[0041] Figure 2 A structural schematic diagram of another welding system provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. 2.

[0042] Figure 3 A structural schematic diagram of another welding system provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. 3.

[0043] Figure 4 A flow chart of a control method of a welding system provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. 4.

[0044] Figure 5 A flow chart of a control method of another welding system provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. 5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] In order to make the technical personnel in the art better understand the present application, the following will combine the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, not all. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor should be within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0046] It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", and the like in the specification and claims of the present application and the above-described drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and do not necessarily have to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data thus used can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances, so that the embodiments of the present application described herein can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "include" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, for example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units does not have to be limited to those steps or units clearly listed, but can include other steps or units not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0047] Figure 1 A structural schematic diagram of a welding system provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. 1.Figure 1 The system comprises a control module 10, a generator 11, a switching module 12, and at least two welding modules 13;

[0048] The power output terminal U1 of the generator 11 is connected with the switching module 12, and the switching module 12 is connected with each welding module 13;

[0049] The control module 10 is connected with the switching module 12, and the control module 10 is used to control the switching module 12 to communicate with each welding module 13 existing workpieces in the work station of the welding module 13 in time; wherein the welding module 13 communicated with the generator 11 performs welding operation on the workpieces in the work station of the welding module 13.

[0050] For each welding module 13, in the stage that the welding module 13 does not perform welding operation, the welding module 13 is operated except welding.

[0051] In an optional embodiment, the switching module 12 comprises a common terminal and a gating terminal corresponding to each welding module 13, the common terminal of the switching module 12 is connected with the power output terminal U1 of the generator 11, and each gating terminal is connected with the corresponding welding module 13. The control module 10 is also connected with each welding module 13, and is used to acquire the workpiece position signal of each welding module 13. The control module controls the common terminal to communicate with each corresponding gating terminal of each welding module 13 existing workpieces in the work station of the welding module 13 in time according to the workpiece position signal and the work station idle time signal, the workpiece emergency degree signal and the matching degree signal described below, and the specific description can be seen in the control method of the welding system below, which will not be described here.

[0052] The generator 11 can be an ultrasonic generator, which converts electrical energy into high-frequency high-voltage electrical energy through internal rectification, voltage conversion and amplification circuit to drive the welding module 13 to perform welding operation on the workpiece in the welding module 13. The welding module 13 includes a transducer and a welding head, the transducer is used to convert high-frequency electrical energy into mechanical motion of the same frequency, and then the mechanical motion is transmitted to the welding head, the welding head receives the vibration energy and transmits it to the workpiece, so that the workpiece is welded together due to the thermal effect. In an alternative embodiment, the switching module 12 can include a plurality of parallelly connected transistors, each transistor corresponds to a selected terminal, that is, each selected terminal and the common terminal are connected by a transistor, and the control module 10 is connected to the gate of each transistor, and the transistor is turned on or off by outputting high or low voltage to the gate of the transistor. When the transistor is turned on, the common terminal and the selected terminal corresponding to the transistor are connected, and when the transistor is turned off, the connection between the common terminal and the selected terminal corresponding to the transistor is disconnected. The control module 10 can be an MCU. In the present embodiment, the selected terminal corresponds to the welding module 13 one by one, and in other embodiments, the number of selected terminals can be greater than the number of welding modules 13, each welding module 13 is connected to a selected terminal, and each selected terminal is connected to only one welding module 13.

[0053] Alternatively, the workpiece position signal is used to represent whether there is a workpiece in the welding module 13. A sensor is arranged on each welding module 13 to identify whether there is a workpiece in the welding module 13 and generate a workpiece position signal to the control module 10. After the control module 10 obtains the workpiece position signal of each welding module 13, it determines the welding module 13 in the welding module 13. When only one welding module 13 exists in the welding module 13, the control module 10 controls the selected terminal corresponding to the welding module 13 in the welding module 13 to be connected to the common terminal, so that the generator 11 provides energy for the welding module 13 in the welding module 13, and the welding module 13 performs welding operation on the workpiece. When the control module 10 determines that at least two welding modules 13 exist in the welding module 13, only the selected terminal corresponding to one of the welding modules 13 is connected to the common terminal, that is, only one welding module 13 is used to perform welding operation on the workpiece at a certain time, and after the welding of the workpiece is completed, the welding module 13 in the welding module 13 is connected to the generator 11. At the same time, only one welding module 13 is used to perform welding operation on the workpiece in the welding module 13, at this time, other welding modules 13 can perform operations other than welding operation, such as feeding, positioning, etc., and the overall running time ratio of a single generator 11 is improved by staggered arrangement in time.

[0054] The technical scheme of the embodiment of the present application adopts one generator to connect multiple welding modules, the control module realizes time-sharing activation of each welding module through the switching module, and the generator only provides energy for one welding module at a certain moment. The control module turns on the connection between the generator and the welding module in turn, and other welding modules can perform non-welding operations such as feeding or other preparation work, thereby minimizing the idle waiting time of the generator. The time utilization rate of a single generator is improved, the energy consumption and equipment cost per unit product are reduced, and space is saved.

[0055] For the welding system shown in Figure 1 , the embodiment provides two specific structures, as shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3 .

[0056] Figure 2 Another welding system structure diagram provided by the embodiment of the present application is shown in Figure 2 , the generator 11 includes a power supply module 111 and a voltage conversion module 112, and the input ends of the power supply module 111 and the voltage conversion module 112 are connected.

[0057] The switching module 12 includes a preset relay 121 corresponding to each welding module 13, the first end of each preset relay 121 is connected with the output end of the voltage conversion module 112, the second end of each preset relay 121 is connected with the corresponding welding module 13, and the control end of each preset relay 121 is connected with the control module 10. The control module 10 is used for controlling the time-sharing conduction of the preset relay 121 corresponding to each welding module 13 existing the workpiece at the work station.

[0058] The power supply module 111 is used for outputting a fixed voltage signal, the voltage conversion module 112 is used for boosting and / or reducing the voltage output by the power supply module 111, so as to increase or reduce the voltage value output by the power supply module 111 and provide it to the welding module 13, so as to drive the welding module 13 to perform welding operation. The output end of the voltage conversion module 112 serves as the electric energy output end U1 of the generator 11. The generator 11 includes other functional modules in addition to the power supply module 111 and the voltage conversion module 112, which can refer to the structure of the generator 11 in the prior art, and is not limited here. Optionally, the voltage conversion module 112 includes a boost module for lifting the voltage value output by the power supply module 111.

[0059] The preset relay 121 can be a radio frequency (RF) relay, and when the radio frequency relay is turned on, the welding module 13 corresponding to the radio frequency relay is connected with the voltage conversion module 112 in the generator 11.

[0060] In this embodiment, the components such as the pre-connected relays 121 are external to the generator 11, making their configuration easy to modify. They can be matched and changed according to the number of welding molds 13, resulting in strong operability. Furthermore, the generator 11 only includes one voltage conversion module 112, which has a simple structure and is easy to implement.

[0061] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of another welding system provided in an embodiment of the present invention, with reference to... Figure 3 The switching module 12 includes a preset relay 121 that corresponds one-to-one with the welding module 13;

[0062] The generator 11 includes a power supply module 111 and a voltage conversion module 112 corresponding to each preset relay 121. The output terminal of the power supply module 111 serves as the power output terminal U1 of the generator and is connected to the first terminal of each preset relay 121. The second terminal of each preset relay 121 is connected to the first terminal of its corresponding voltage conversion module 112.

[0063] The second end of each voltage conversion module 112 is connected to the welding module 13 corresponding to its respective preset relay 121;

[0064] The control terminal of each preset relay 121 is connected to the control module 10. The control module 10 is used to control the preset relays 121 corresponding to each welding module 13 where there is a workpiece at the workstation to be turned on in a time-sharing manner.

[0065] The switching module 12 is located inside the generator 11.

[0066] The functions of power module 111 and voltage conversion module 112 are the same as Figure 2 The same applies here, and will not be repeated. In this embodiment, the preset relay 121 can be an electromagnetic relay, and each electromagnetic relay and each voltage conversion module 112 are located inside the generator 11. Electromagnetic relay technology is mature and low in cost, improving the reliability of the welding system and reducing the cost of the welding system.

[0067] refer to Figure 2 or Figure 3 The welding system also includes a current protection module 14 corresponding to the welding module 13, and the switching module 12 also includes a varistor 122 corresponding to the preset relay 121.

[0068] The varistor 122 is connected between the first and second terminals of the preset relay 121 corresponding to the varistor 122;

[0069] The current protection module 14 is connected in series with the welding module 13 corresponding to the current protection module 14.

[0070] The voltage-sensitive resistor 122 is connected in parallel with the preset relay 121 corresponding to the voltage-sensitive resistor 122, and the voltage-sensitive resistor 122 has a voltage equal to 1.2 times the peak voltage of the generator 11, so as to suppress the voltage peak at the switching moment of the switching module 12. Figure 2 As shown in the welding system, the current protection module 14 can be connected in series between the welding module 13 corresponding to the current protection module 14 and the preset relay 121 corresponding to the welding module 13. Figure 3 As shown in the welding system, the current protection module 14 can be connected in series between the welding module 13 corresponding to the current protection module 14 and the voltage conversion module 112 corresponding to the preset relay 121 corresponding to the welding module 13. The current protection module 14 can be a fuse or a fuse, and the action current is equal to 1.2 times the rated current of the welding module 13, so as to prevent the preset relay 121 from being damaged by short circuit.

[0071] With reference to Figure 2 or Figure 3 , the welding system further comprises an impedance matching module 15 corresponding to the welding module 13, and the impedance matching module 15 is connected in series with the welding module 13 corresponding to the impedance matching module 15, and further, the impedance matching module 15 is connected in series between the welding module 13 corresponding to the impedance matching module 15 and the current protection module 14 corresponding to the welding module 13.

[0072] Each impedance matching module 15 is used for impedance adjustment, so that the impedance of the welding system remains within the tolerance range of the generator 11 after the switching module 12 switches the welding module 13.

[0073] Optionally, as shown in Figure 2 or Figure 3 , an LC filter circuit can be connected in parallel at the first end of each preset relay 121 to suppress the high-frequency harmonics of the generator 11. In the LC filter circuit, the inductance value of the inductor is equal to 10μH, and the capacitance value of the capacitor is equal to 100nF.

[0074] With reference to Figure 2 or Figure 3 , the welding system further comprises a temperature monitoring module corresponding to the preset relay 121, and the temperature monitoring module is located within a preset distance of the preset relay 121 corresponding to the temperature monitoring module, and is used to obtain the temperature of the preset relay 121. The control module 10 is connected with each temperature monitoring module, and the control module 10 is used to control the voltage output by the voltage conversion module 112 connected with the preset relay 121 to decrease to a preset voltage value when the temperature of any preset relay 121 is greater than a temperature threshold value.

[0075] Integrate a temperature monitoring module such as NTC thermistor on the fin of the preset relay 121, when the temperature of the preset relay 121 is greater than a temperature threshold such as 80℃, reduce the voltage output by the voltage conversion module 112 connected to the preset relay 121 to reduce the output power. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the entire welding system can also be directly controlled to stop.

[0076] The embodiment of the present application also provides a control method of a welding system, for controlling the welding system in any of the above embodiments, the control method of the welding system is executed by the control module. Figure 4 A flow chart of a control method of a welding system provided by the embodiment of the present application is shown in Figure 1 and Figure 4 The control method of the welding system comprises:

[0077] S110: control the switching module 12 to connect the generator 11 with each welding module 13 at the work station where the workpiece exists in time; wherein the welding module 13 connected with the generator 11 performs welding operation on the workpiece at the work station of the welding module 13.

[0078] The switching module 12 comprises a common end and a gating end corresponding to each welding module 13, after determining each welding module 13 at the work station where the workpiece exists, control the common end of the switching module 12 to conduct in time with the gating end corresponding to each welding module 13 at the work station where the workpiece exists, so as to connect the generator 11 with each welding module 13 at the work station where the workpiece exists in time. When the workpieces exist at the work stations of at least two welding modules 13, at a certain moment, one welding module 13 can be arbitrarily selected to be connected with the generator 11, so as to realize the time-sharing connection of each welding module 13 with the generator 11.

[0079] In the technical scheme of the embodiment of the present application, the time-sharing activation of each welding module is realized by the switching module, and the generator only provides energy for one welding module at a certain moment. The connection between the generator and the welding module is turned on in turn, and other welding modules can perform non-welding operations such as feeding or other preparation work, so as to minimize the idle waiting time of the generator. The time utilization rate of a single generator is improved, the energy consumption and equipment cost per unit product are reduced, and space is saved.

[0080] Figure 5 A flow chart of another control method of a welding system provided by the embodiment of the present application is shown in Figure 1 and Figure 5 The control method comprises:

[0081] S111: When it is determined according to the workpiece position signal of each welding module 13 that there is a workpiece in the station where the at least two welding modules 13 are located, for any welding module 13 in the station where there is a workpiece, the priority of the welding module 13 is determined according to at least one of the station idle time signal, the workpiece urgency signal and the matching degree signal of the welding module 13; wherein the station idle time signal is used to represent the time interval between the arrival of two adjacent workpieces in the station where the welding module 13 is located; the matching degree signal is used to represent the matching degree of the welding parameters of the workpiece in the station where the welding module 13 is located and the preset welding parameters of the welding module 13; the workpiece urgency signal is used to represent the urgency of the workpiece in the station where the welding module 13 is located to be welded; and the workpiece position signal is used to represent whether there is a workpiece in the station where the welding module 13 is located.

[0082] The control module 10 determines the welding module 13 in the station where there is a workpiece through the workpiece position signal generated by the sensor arranged on each welding module 13. An identifier is arranged on each workpiece, and the identifier corresponds to the workpiece one by one. The control module 10 identifies the identifier of each workpiece through the sensor arranged on the welding module 13. The control module 10 is in communication connection with a manufacturing execution system (MES system), and sends the identifier of each workpiece to the manufacturing execution system. The manufacturing execution system sends the urgency of the workpiece to be welded and the welding parameters corresponding to each workpiece to the control module 10. In addition, the control module 10 also obtains the time interval between the arrival of two adjacent workpieces in the station where each welding module 13 is located through the manufacturing execution system. The control module 10 generates the workpiece urgency signal according to the urgency of the workpiece to be welded in the station where the welding module is located, generates the matching degree signal according to the welding parameters of the workpiece in the station where the welding module is located and the preset welding parameters of the welding module 13, and generates the station idle time signal according to the time interval between the arrival of two adjacent workpieces in the station where each welding module 13 is located. The welding parameters can be the welding time, pressure and amplitude when the welding module 13 is welded. Wherein, before the welding system is started, the time interval between the arrival of two adjacent workpieces in the station where each welding module 13 is located has been preset in the manufacturing execution system or the control module. For example, the interval between the first workpiece arrived and the second workpiece arrived on the first welding module is 2 minutes, and the control module generates the station idle time signal according to the time interval of 2 minutes.

[0083] In an optional embodiment, for any welding module 13 in the station where there is a workpiece, the priority of the welding module 13 is determined according to the workpiece urgency signal of the welding module 13, that is, the greater the urgency of the workpiece, the higher the priority of the corresponding welding module 13.

[0084] In another optional embodiment, the calculation formula of the priority of the welding module 13 satisfies:

[0085] Score = A · T + B · Q + C · R;

[0086] Wherein, Score is priority, A, B, C are weight coefficients, A, B, C are greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 1, and A + B + C = 1, T is a work station idle time signal, Q is a workpiece urgency signal, and R is a matching degree signal.

[0087] The longer the time interval between the adjacent two workpieces arriving at the work station where the welding module 13 is located, the smaller the value of the corresponding work station idle time signal, the higher the corresponding urgency of the workpiece to be welded on the work station where the welding module 13 is located, the larger the value of the corresponding workpiece urgency signal, and the lower the matching degree of the welding parameters of the workpiece on the work station where the welding module 13 is located and the preset welding parameters of the welding module, and the smaller the value of the generated matching degree signal. The larger the value of the priority, the higher the priority of the welding module 13. A can be 0.4, B can be 0.3, and C can be 0.3, and then the priority of the welding module 13 with workpieces on each work station is calculated according to the above signals and weight coefficients.

[0088] S121: In the order of the priority of each welding module 13 with workpieces on the work station from high to low, the switching module 12 is controlled to sequentially connect the generator 11 with each welding module 13 with workpieces on the work station.

[0089] For example, if the welding system includes two welding modules 13, and at the same time, there are workpieces on both welding modules 13, and after calculating the priority of each welding module 13 according to the priority calculation formula, the priority of the first welding module is lower than that of the second welding module, then the switching module 12 is controlled to first connect the generator 11 with the first welding module to weld the workpiece on the work station where the first welding module is located, and after the welding is completed, the switching module 12 is controlled to connect the generator 11 with the second welding module to weld the workpiece on the work station where the second welding module is located.

[0090] Optionally, in this embodiment, the generator 11 is connected with the welding module 13 with workpieces on the work station at different times through the switching module 12. In other embodiments, the generator 11 can be connected with the welding module 13 with workpieces on the work station at different times through the switching module 12 in the first stage. In the second stage, the common end of the switching module 12 is connected with the corresponding gating end of the welding module 13 with workpieces on the work station to simultaneously drive the two welding modules 13 to perform welding operation.

[0091] Reference Figure 2 Or Figure 3Optionally, after the control switching module 12 communicates the generator 11 with the welding module 13 where the workpiece exists, it further comprises:

[0092] (1) Obtain the current of the welding module 13 connected with the generator 11 and the temperature of the preset relay 121 corresponding to the welding module 13 connected with the generator 11.

[0093] The current sensor can be arranged on the branch where the welding module 13 is located to obtain the current of the welding module 13, and the temperature of the preset relay 121 is obtained through the temperature monitoring module corresponding to the preset relay 121.

[0094] (2) When the current of the welding module 13 connected with the generator 11 is greater than or equal to the current threshold for a duration greater than or equal to the first preset duration, or the temperature of the preset relay 121 corresponding to the welding module 13 connected with the generator 11 is greater than the temperature threshold, the preset relay 121 corresponding to the welding module 13 connected with the generator 11 is disconnected, and a first alarm signal is generated.

[0095] When the welding module 13 is short-circuited, the current on the welding module 13 will be greater than the current threshold such as 20A and the duration will be greater than or equal to the first preset duration such as 100ms, at which time the connection between the generator 11 and the welding module 13 is immediately cut off, and a first alarm signal is generated, which can be an audible and visual alarm.

[0096] Or, when it is monitored that the temperature of the preset relay 121 is greater than the temperature threshold such as 100℃, it indicates that the preset relay 121 is operating at an excessively high temperature, and continued operation will cause damage to the device, at which time the connection between the generator 11 and the welding module 13 is also immediately cut off.

[0097] Reference Figure 2 Or Figure 3 Optionally, before the control switching module 12 communicates the generator 11 with each welding module 13 where the workpiece exists, it further comprises:

[0098] (1) Obtain the production plan of the welding system and the workpiece position signal of each welding module 13, the workpiece position signal being used to represent whether there is a workpiece on the welding module 13, the workpiece position signal including a first signal representing that there is a workpiece on the welding module 13 and a second signal representing that there is no workpiece on the welding module 13; the production plan of the welding system including each welding module where the workpiece exists.

[0099] The control module interacts with the MES system to obtain the production plan of the welding system. Before the welding system starts, the MES system has generated a production plan, such as which welding modules 13 will have corresponding workpieces on them to be welded by the welding modules 13 on the workstations where the workpieces exist. The control module 10 interacts with the sensors provided on the welding modules 13 to obtain the workpiece position signals of each welding module 13 to determine whether a workpiece exists on the workstation where each welding module 13 is located.

[0100] (2) According to the production plan of the welding system, determine the welding modules 13 where the workpieces will exist on the workstations. For any welding module 13 where a workpiece will exist on the workstation, if the first signal corresponding to the welding module 13 is not received within the second predetermined time period, a second alarm signal is generated.

[0101] The second predetermined time period can be set to be greater than the time interval between the arrival of two adjacent workpieces on the workstation where the welding module 13 is located. The second predetermined time period can be set to be relatively large. When the welding module 13 is located on the workstation where the workpiece will exist according to the production plan, but the obtained signal is the first signal, it is determined that the sensor provided on the welding module 13 for sensing the presence of the workpiece has failed, and a second alarm signal is generated. The second alarm signal can be a sound alarm, such as playing "second-level failure".

[0102] Reference Figure 2 or Figure 3 Optionally, after the control switching module 12 communicates the generator 11 with the welding module 13 on the workstation where the workpiece exists, it further includes:

[0103] Obtain the welding parameters of the welding module 13 that performs welding operations on the workpiece. When the deviation between the welding parameters of the welding module 13 and the predetermined welding parameters corresponding to the welding module 13 is greater than a deviation threshold, the control switching module 12 disconnects the connection between the generator 11 and the welding module 13 that performs welding operations on the workpiece, and generates a third alarm signal.

[0104] During the welding of the workpiece by the welding module 13, the welding parameters of the welding module 13 are obtained in real time. When the deviation between the welding parameters of the welding module 13 and the predetermined welding parameters is greater than a deviation threshold, such as the deviation between the real-time welding amplitude and the predetermined welding amplitude being greater than 10%, the control switching module 12 disconnects the connection between the generator 11 and the welding module 13 that performs welding operations on the workpiece, and generates a third alarm signal. The third alarm signal can be a sound alarm, such as playing "third-level failure".

[0105] When the second alarm signal and the third alarm signal occur, the control module controls the welding module 13 that has failed to stop welding, and controls the next welding module 13 to be connected to the generator 11 for welding.

[0106] When the second alarm signal and the third alarm signal appear in the welding system, the connection between the generator 11 and the welding module 13 is turned on at different times, and the welding module 13 where the alarm appears is skipped, and the connection between the other welding module 13 and the generator 11 is preferentially turned on.

[0107] Reference Figure 1 Optionally, the welding system further comprises a mobile device corresponding to each welding module 13, for transporting the workpiece;

[0108] The control method of the welding system further comprises:

[0109] According to the starting time of the connection between the generator 11 and the welding module 13 and the welding time required for the workpiece on the station where the welding module 13 connected with the generator 11, a welding end signal is generated and sent to the mobile device corresponding to the welding module 13 corresponding to the workpiece, so that the mobile device takes away the workpiece.

[0110] Reference Figure 1 In an optional embodiment, the welding system includes two identical welding modules that perform the same welding task, and the production cycle includes loading, welding, and unloading. Optionally, T_load+T_unload>T_weld, where T_load is the loading time, T_weld is the welding time, and T_unload is the unloading time. In the welding system, one generator 11, two welding modules 13, a switching module 12, and a control module 10 are provided. The preset relay 121 in the switching module 12 is a radio frequency relay and is externally provided in the generator 11. The control module 10 is a PLC controller. When the first welding module is in the welding station, the second welding module is in the loading and unloading station. After the first welding module completes the welding operation, the second welding module is controlled to perform welding, and the first welding module performs unloading. The cycle of the single welding module station is T_load+T_unload+T_weld. When the generator 11 and the welding module 13 are turned on at different times, the utilization rate of the generator 11 is (T_weld·2) / (T_load+T_weld+T_unload+T_weld) or a more optimized value, which is significantly higher than T_weld / (T_load+T_weld+T_unload). In this embodiment, the cost of the welding system equipment is about 65% of the traditional scheme (one generator is saved), the space occupation is smaller, the utilization rate of the generator 11 is high, that is, the generator 11 and the welding module 13 are connected at different times, and by effectively utilizing the waiting time of the generator 11, the equipment investment and operation cost are significantly reduced, and the space utilization rate is improved.

[0111] It should be understood that the various forms of flow shown above can be used to reorder, add, or remove steps. For example, the steps recited in the present application can be performed in parallel, in series, or in a different order, as long as the desired results of the technical solutions of the present application can be achieved, which are not limited herein.

[0112] The above detailed description does not constitute a limitation on the protection scope of the present application. Those skilled in the art should understand that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations, and substitutions can be made according to design requirements and other factors. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A welding system characterized by, The application relates to a welding device, which comprises a control module, a generator, a switching module and at least two welding modules. The power output end of the generator is connected with the switching module, and the switching module is connected with each welding module. The control module is connected with the switching module, and the control module is used for controlling the switching module to communicate with each welding module in which a workpiece exists in a work station in time; wherein the welding module in communication with the generator performs a welding operation on the workpiece in the work station of the welding module; a sensor is arranged on each work station of each welding module, and the sensor is used for identifying whether a workpiece exists in the work station and generating a workpiece position signal and transmitting the workpiece position signal to the control module; after the control module obtains the workpiece position signals of each welding module, the control module determines the welding module in which a workpiece exists in the work station; The generator comprises a power module and a voltage conversion module, the input ends of the power module and the voltage conversion module are connected, the switching module comprises preset relays corresponding to the welding modules one by one, the first ends of each preset relay are connected with the output end of the voltage conversion module, the second end of each preset relay is connected with the corresponding welding module, the control ends of each preset relay are connected with the control module, and the control module is used for controlling the preset relays corresponding to each welding module in which a workpiece exists in the work station to be turned on in time; Alternatively, the switching module comprises preset relays corresponding to the welding modules one by one, the generator comprises a power module and voltage conversion modules corresponding to the preset relays one by one, the output end of the power module is connected with the first ends of each preset relay, the second end of each preset relay is connected with the first end of the corresponding voltage conversion module, the second end of each voltage conversion module is connected with the welding module corresponding to the preset relay, the control ends of each preset relay are connected with the control module, and the control module is used for controlling the preset relays corresponding to each welding module in which a workpiece exists in the work station to be turned on in time, wherein the switching module is arranged in the generator; The control module is used for determining the priority of any welding module in which a workpiece exists in the work station according to at least one of a work station idle time signal, a workpiece emergency signal and a matching degree signal of the welding module when it is determined that at least two welding modules in which workpieces exist in the work stations according to the workpiece position signals of the welding modules; wherein the work station idle time signal is used for representing the time interval of two adjacent workpieces arriving at the work station of the welding module; the matching degree signal is used for representing the matching degree of the welding parameters of the workpiece in the work station of the welding module and the preset welding parameters of the welding module; the workpiece emergency signal is used for representing the emergency degree of the workpiece to be welded in the work station of the welding module; and the workpiece position signal is used for representing whether a workpiece exists in the work station of the welding module. ​ The control module is further configured to control the switching module to sequentially connect the generator to each welding module in which a workpiece exists in the workstations in order of priority from high to low of each welding module in which a workpiece exists in the workstations; For each welding module, during a stage in which the welding module does not perform a welding operation, the welding module performs an operation other than welding; the operation other than welding includes a loading and unloading operation.

2. The welding system of claim 1, wherein, The welding system further comprises a current protection module corresponding to each welding module, and the switching module further comprises a voltage-dependent resistor corresponding to each preset relay; The voltage-dependent resistor is connected between the first end and the second end of the preset relay corresponding to the voltage-dependent resistor; The current protection module is connected in series with the welding module corresponding to the current protection module.

3. The welding system of claim 1, wherein, The welding system further comprises a temperature monitoring module corresponding to each preset relay, the temperature monitoring module is located within a preset distance of the preset relay corresponding to the temperature monitoring module, and the temperature monitoring module is configured to acquire a temperature of the preset relay; the control module is connected to each temperature monitoring module, and the control module is configured to control the voltage conversion module connected to the preset relay to reduce the output voltage to a preset voltage value when the temperature of any preset relay is greater than a temperature threshold.

4. A control method of a welding system, characterized by, A control method of the welding system of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the control method is executed by the control module; The control method of the welding system comprises: controlling the switching module to connect the generator to each welding module in which a workpiece exists in the workstations in time; wherein the welding module connected to the generator performs a welding operation on a workpiece in the workstation of the welding module; each workstation of each welding module is provided with a sensor for identifying whether a workpiece exists in the workstation and generating a workpiece position signal to the control module; the control module determines the welding module in which a workpiece exists in the workstation after acquiring the workpiece position signal of each welding module; The control method of the welding system comprises: when it is determined according to the workpiece position signal of each welding module that there is a workpiece in at least two workstations of the welding modules, for any welding module in which a workpiece exists in the workstation, the priority of the welding module is determined according to at least one of the workstation idle time signal, the workpiece urgency signal and the matching degree signal of the welding module; wherein the workstation idle time signal is used to represent the time interval between two adjacent workpieces arriving in the workstation of the welding module; the matching degree signal is used to represent the matching degree of the welding parameters of the workpiece in the workstation of the welding module and the preset welding parameters of the welding module; the workpiece urgency signal is used to represent the urgency of the workpiece in the workstation of the welding module to be welded; the workpiece position signal is used to represent whether a workpiece exists in the workstation of the welding module; controlling the switching module to sequentially connect the generator to each welding module in which a workpiece exists in the workstations in order of priority from high to low of each welding module in which a workpiece exists in the workstations. For each welding module, during a stage when the welding module does not perform a welding operation, the welding module performs an operation other than welding; the operation other than welding includes loading and unloading operations.

5. The control method of a welding system according to claim 4, characterized by, The priority of the welding module is determined according to at least one of the following: the station idle time signal of the welding module, the workpiece urgency signal, and the matching degree signal. The calculation formula of the priority of the welding module satisfies: Score=A·T+B·Q+C·R; wherein, Score is the priority, A, B, and C are weight coefficients, A, B, and C are greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 1, and A+B+C=1, T is the station idle time signal, Q is the workpiece urgency signal, and R is the matching degree signal.

6. The control method of a welding system according to claim 4, characterized by, The switching module includes a preset relay corresponding to each welding module, and the welding system further includes a temperature monitoring module corresponding to each preset relay. After controlling the switching module to connect the generator to the welding module in which a workpiece exists in the corresponding station, the method further includes: obtaining the current of the welding module connected to the generator and the temperature of the preset relay corresponding to the welding module connected to the generator; when the current of the welding module connected to the generator is greater than or equal to a current threshold for a duration of a first preset time, or when the temperature of the preset relay corresponding to the welding module connected to the generator is greater than a temperature threshold, disconnecting the preset relay corresponding to the welding module connected to the generator and generating a first alarm signal.

7. The control method of a welding system according to claim 4, characterized by, Before controlling the switching module to connect the generator to each welding module in which a workpiece exists in the corresponding station in time, the method further includes: obtaining a production plan of the welding system and a workpiece position signal of each welding module, the workpiece position signal being used to represent whether a workpiece exists in the station where the welding module is located, the workpiece position signal including a first signal representing that a workpiece exists in the station where the welding module is located and a second signal representing that no workpiece exists in the station where the welding module is located, and the production plan of the welding system including each welding module in which a workpiece will exist in the corresponding station; determining each welding module in which a workpiece will exist in the corresponding station according to the production plan of the welding system, and generating a second alarm signal when the first signal corresponding to any welding module in which a workpiece will exist in the corresponding station is not received within a second preset time; or, after controlling the switching module to connect the generator to a welding module in which a workpiece exists in the corresponding station, the method further includes: obtaining a welding parameter of the welding module performing a welding operation on a workpiece, and controlling the switching module to disconnect the connection between the generator and the welding module performing the welding operation on the workpiece when the deviation between the welding parameter of the welding module and the preset welding parameter corresponding to the welding module is greater than a deviation threshold, and generating a third alarm signal.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • Ultrasonic welding transducer switching control box cascade system and method

    CN119187819A