Welding and shaping device and method suitable for IV-type hydrogen storage cylinder inner container

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of hydrogen storage cylinder production and manufacturing, and discloses a welding and shaping device and method.The welding and shaping device comprises a clamping assembly, a welding assembly and a shaping assembly, and the clamping assembly comprises two clamp modules, a rotating module and a butt joint module; the welding assembly comprises a welding cutting module, a welding visual module and a heating module which are located on the peripheral side between the two clamp modules, and the shaping assembly comprises a shaping visual module and a shaping cutting module which are located on the peripheral side between the two clamp modules. Through one-time clamping, oxide layer removal of the welding end of the inner container, positioning calibration and heating of the rotating overlap ratio and cutting shaping of the welding seam can be completed, and the problems of coaxiality deviation and poor welding seam surface quality are solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of production and manufacturing of hydrogen storage cylinders, and in particular to a welding and shaping device and method suitable for the inner liner of a type IV hydrogen storage cylinder. Background Art

[0002] At present, injection molding combined with welding technology is a preparation solution for the inner liners of small and medium-sized Type IV hydrogen storage cylinders. Different inner liners are injection molded, and laser welding, ultrasonic welding or hot plate welding are used to connect the injection molded parts in different parts to prepare a complete Type IV hydrogen storage cylinder inner liners.

[0003] However, the problems of coaxial deviation and weld surface quality exposed in the current welding process have greatly affected the use of Type IV hydrogen storage cylinders. The main reason for these problems is that during the heating process, the weld surface of the injection molded component is irregularly deformed due to uneven heating. The irregular deformation of the weld surface prevents the two inner shells from being accurately coaxially docked. In addition, the docking ends of the two inner shells are non-circular, making it difficult to accurately adjust the relative angle between the two inner shells for docking. At the same time, the molten material at the weld is squeezed out during the docking process, forming an irregular weld. In addition, the obvious wrinkles, protrusions and other uneven defects on the weld surface can cause fiber hanging during the subsequent carbon fiber winding, resulting in local resin enrichment and the formation of stress concentration areas, which reduces the pressure strength and fatigue life of the cylinder.

[0004] Although there are devices that can automatically weld or shape the inner liner, the current welding and shaping are separated and it is difficult to achieve a continuous automated production process. At the same time, it is also unable to solve the above-mentioned problems of coaxial deviation and poor weld surface quality. Summary of the Invention The purpose of the present invention is to provide a welding and shaping device and method suitable for the inner liner of Type IV hydrogen storage cylinders, so as to solve one or more technical problems existing in the prior art and at least provide a beneficial choice or create conditions.

[0005] The technical solutions adopted to solve the above technical problems are: The present invention provides a welding and shaping device suitable for the inner liner of a type IV hydrogen storage cylinder, comprising: The clamping assembly includes two clamp modules coaxially arranged relative to each other along a first direction, a rotating module for driving the two clamp modules to rotate around their own axes, and a docking module for driving the two clamp modules to move closer to and away from each other, wherein the clamp module is used to clamp the end of the liner away from the welding end; The welding assembly includes a welding cutting module, a welding vision module and a heating module located on the outer peripheral side between the two clamp modules, the welding cutting module includes a welding cutting mechanism and a welding cutting moving mechanism, the welding cutting moving mechanism is used to drive the welding cutting mechanism to move along the second direction between the two inner containers, and the welding cutting mechanism is used to remove the oxide layer on the welding ends of the two inner containers, the welding vision module includes a welding camera mechanism and a welding camera moving mechanism, the welding camera moving mechanism is used to drive the welding camera mechanism to move along the second direction between the two inner containers, and the welding camera mechanism is used to scan the outer contours of the welding ends of the two inner containers, the heating module includes a heating mechanism and a heating moving mechanism, the heating moving mechanism is used to drive the heating mechanism to move along the second direction between the two inner containers, and the heating mechanism is used to heat the welding ends of the two inner containers, wherein the second direction is arranged perpendicular to the first direction; The shaping component includes a shaping vision module and a shaping cutting module located on the outer peripheral side between the two clamp modules. The shaping vision module includes a shaping camera mechanism, which is used to scan the outer contours of the outer peripheral surfaces of the two inner tanks. The shaping cutting module includes a shaping cutting mechanism, which is used to cut and shape the weld between the two inner tanks.

[0006] The welding and shaping device of the present invention has the following beneficial effects: During use, two clamp modules are used to clamp the two inner liners to be welded, the welding cutting mechanism is controlled to move between the two inner liners, and the docking module is controlled to drive the two clamp modules close to the welding cutting mechanism according to the preset cutting amount to remove the oxide layer on the welding end surface. The welding camera mechanism can also be controlled to move between the two inner liners, and the welding camera mechanism scans the outer contours of the welding ends of the two inner liners to analyze the ellipticity of the welding ends of the two inner liners to match the relative welding angle when the welding surfaces on both sides are at the highest overlap. According to the welding angle, the two inner liners are controlled to rotate around their own axes to the posture where the two welding ends overlap, and then the heating mechanism is moved between the two inner liners, and the two welding ends and the heating mechanism are controlled to rotate well. The distance between the two inner containers is uniformly heated to melt the welding surfaces for easy welding. Then, under a specified pressure, the two inner containers are controlled to approach each other for welding. After the welding is completed, the two inner containers and the shaping camera mechanism are controlled to rotate relative to each other and move axially. The shaping camera mechanism scans the outer contours of the outer peripheral surfaces of the two inner containers, and the average diameter of the non-welded straight section of the inner container is used as the standard to obtain the size of the weld cutting and shaping. Subsequently, the weld between the two inner containers is cut and shaped by the shaping cutting mechanism. The present invention can complete the removal of the oxide layer of the inner container welding end, positioning calibration of the rotation overlap, heating, and cutting and shaping of the weld through one clamping, thereby solving the problems of coaxiality deviation and poor weld surface quality.

[0007] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the plastic surgery vision module also includes a plastic surgery camera moving mechanism and a plastic surgery camera feeding mechanism. The plastic surgery camera moving mechanism is used to drive the plastic surgery camera mechanism to move along the periphery of the inner liner and along the first direction, and the plastic surgery camera feeding mechanism is used to drive the plastic surgery camera mechanism to move along the second direction.

[0008] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the shaping cutting module also includes a shaping cutting moving mechanism and a shaping feeding cutting mechanism. The shaping cutting moving mechanism is used to drive the shaping cutting mechanism to move along the first direction around the periphery of the inner tank, and the shaping feeding cutting mechanism is used to drive the shaping cutting mechanism to move along the second direction.

[0009] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the welding cutting mechanism is provided with two cutter structures arranged back to back along the first direction, and the two cutter structures are respectively used to remove the oxide layers on the welding ends of the two inner tanks.

[0010] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the welding cutting module, the welding vision module and the heating module are respectively movable and adjustable along the first direction.

[0011] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the welding and cutting module, the welding vision module, the heating module, the shaping vision module and the shaping and cutting module are staggered along the circumference between the two clamp modules.

[0012] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the clamp module is provided with a connecting slot, and the connecting slot is used to be connected with the metal boss on the inner liner.

[0013] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the clamp module is provided with a force sensor, and the force sensor is used to monitor the welding pressure of the inner liner in real time.

[0014] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the docking module includes two docking drive units, and the rotating module includes two rotating drive units. The two docking drive units are respectively connected to the two clamp modules to drive the clamp module to move along the first direction, and the two rotating drive units are respectively connected to the two clamp modules to drive the clamp module to rotate around its own axis.

[0015] In addition, the present invention also proposes a welding and shaping method applicable to the inner liner of a type IV hydrogen storage cylinder, which is applicable to the welding and shaping device. The welding and shaping method comprises: Controlling the clamping of two inner tanks to be welded on the two fixture modules; Controlling the welding cutting mechanism to move between the two inner containers, and controlling the two inner containers to approach the welding cutting mechanism according to a preset cutting amount to remove the oxide layer at the welding ends of the two inner containers; Controlling the welding camera mechanism to move between the two inner containers and scanning the outer contours of the welding ends of the two inner containers to obtain the welding angle when the welding ends of the two inner containers overlap; According to the welding angle, the two inner containers are controlled to rotate around their own axes until the two welding ends overlap; Controlling the heating mechanism to move between the two inner containers, and controlling the distance between the welding ends of the two inner containers and the heating mechanism to a preset value, heating the welding ends of the two inner containers to a preset temperature; Controlling the two inner containers to approach each other for welding according to a preset welding pressure and a preset pressure holding time; Controlling the shaping camera mechanism to rotate and move relative to the two inner containers to scan the outer contours of the outer circumferences of the two inner containers to obtain the average diameter of the non-welded straight section of the inner container and the welding seam shaping range; Taking the average diameter as a standard, the shaping and cutting mechanism and the two inner shells are controlled to rotate and move relative to each other, and the weld shaping range is flattened and cut to obtain a complete welded inner shell.

[0016] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments; Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the welding and shaping device provided by the present invention, in which two inner containers are clamped in one embodiment; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a welding and shaping device provided by the present invention, in which an oxide layer at the welding end of an inner liner is removed according to one embodiment; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of scanning the welding end of an inner liner in one embodiment of the welding and shaping device provided by the present invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of heating the welding end of the inner liner in one embodiment of the welding and shaping device provided by the present invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of scanning the outer peripheral wall of an inner liner in one embodiment of the welding and shaping device provided by the present invention; Figure 6This is a schematic diagram of the welding and shaping device provided by the present invention, in which one embodiment performs cutting and shaping on the weld of the inner liner; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the welding and shaping device provided by the present invention, in which one embodiment is used to pressurize and weld two inner containers; Figure 8 This is a flow chart of an embodiment of the welding and shaping method provided by the present invention; Figure Number: Clamping assembly 100; clamping module 110; docking drive unit 120; rotation drive unit 130; clamping frame 140; Welding assembly 200; welding cutting module 210; welding cutting mechanism 211; welding cutting moving mechanism 212; welding vision module 220; welding camera mechanism 221; welding camera moving mechanism 222; heating module 230; heating mechanism 231; heating moving mechanism 232; column 240 Liner 300; Plastic vision module 400; Plastic camera mechanism 410; Plastic camera moving mechanism 420; Plastic camera feeding mechanism 430; The shaping and cutting module 500 ; the shaping and cutting mechanism 510 ; the shaping and cutting moving mechanism 520 ; and the shaping and feeding cutting mechanism 530 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The following describes embodiments of the present invention in detail. Examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are intended only to explain the present invention and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0019] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that descriptions involving orientation, such as the orientation or positional relationship indicated by up, down, etc., are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0020] In the description of the present invention, "a plurality" refers to more than two. The use of "first" or "second" is solely for the purpose of distinguishing technical features and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features, or implicitly indicating the order of the indicated technical features.

[0021] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly defined, terms such as setting, installing, and connecting should be understood in a broad sense, and technicians in the relevant technical field can reasonably determine the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention based on the specific content of the technical solution.

[0022] The technical solutions of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the embodiments described below are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments.

[0023] As the hydrogen energy industry moves toward large-scale application, Type IV hydrogen storage cylinders, with their high-pressure bearing capacity exceeding 70 MPa and exceptional lightweight properties (30%-50% lighter than Type III cylinders), have become core components in mobile energy storage systems such as hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen heavy-duty trucks. Type IV hydrogen storage cylinders utilize a composite structure consisting of a thermoplastic liner and a carbon fiber reinforced resin-based composite wrapping. The liner, as the direct hydrogen carrier, must simultaneously meet high barrier properties, hydrogen embrittlement resistance, and interfacial compatibility with the outer wrapping material. The manufacturing process directly impacts the cylinder's safety performance and mass production feasibility.

[0024] Currently, injection molding combined with welding is a popular manufacturing method for small and medium-sized Type IV hydrogen storage cylinder liners. 300 different liner components are injection molded, and laser welding, ultrasonic welding, or hot plate welding are used to connect the different injection-molded parts to create a complete Type IV hydrogen storage cylinder liner. This process is widely used in the industry due to its advantages such as high molding efficiency, fast production cycle, stable thickness dimensional accuracy, and good material density.

[0025] However, problems such as coaxiality deviation and weld surface quality exposed in the current welding process greatly affect the use of Type IV hydrogen storage cylinders produced by this process. The main reason for these problems is that the welding surface of the injection-molded component melts during heating, resulting in irregular deformation. The irregular deformation of the welding surface prevents the inner liner 300 on both sides from being precisely coaxially docked. At the same time, the molten material at the weld is squeezed out during the docking process, forming an irregular weld. Taking the 9L Type IV hydrogen storage cylinder liner with a 5mm wall thickness as an example, the coaxiality deviation on both sides of the cylinder after welding can reach 0.6-0.9mm. GB-T42610-2023 High-pressure hydrogen cylinder plastic liner 300 and hydrogen compatibility test method clearly stipulates that the misalignment of the weld joint should be less than or equal to 10% of the thickness of the inner liner 300.

[0026] At the same time, noticeable unevenness on the weld surface, such as wrinkles and bumps, can lead to fiber entanglement during subsequent carbon fiber winding, resulting in localized resin accumulation and stress concentration areas, reducing the cylinder's pressure-bearing strength and fatigue life. Furthermore, the complex weld profile makes traditional ultrasonic testing technology ineffective in identifying internal defects.

[0027] Therefore, it is urgent to develop a welding and shaping device suitable for the inner liner of Type IV hydrogen storage cylinders, which can achieve coaxiality correction and weld surface smoothing without damaging the material properties of the inner liner 300, and be compatible with automated production processes, thereby breaking through the existing process bottleneck and ensuring the reliability and mass production stability of hydrogen storage equipment.

[0028] like Figures 1 to 7 As shown, the welding and shaping device of the present invention includes a clamping assembly 100, a welding assembly 200 and a shaping assembly.

[0029] like Figure 1 As shown, the clamping assembly 100 includes two clamp modules 110, a rotation module and a docking module.

[0030] The two fixture modules 110 are coaxially arranged relative to each other along the first direction. Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment defines the first direction as the vertical direction. It is understood that the two clamp modules 110 are disposed relative to each other in the vertical direction, and the axes of the two clamp modules 110 extend in the vertical direction. The two clamp modules 110 are used to clamp the ends of the inner liner 300 away from the welding end, so that the welding ends of the two inner liner 300 are disposed relative to each other in the vertical direction. In other embodiments, the first direction may be the left-right direction or the front-back direction, etc.

[0031] The clamp module 110 of this embodiment may be a cylindrical or claw-shaped device having the same size as the inner liner 300 and capable of fixing the inner liner 300 and limiting its lateral movement.

[0032] Since a metal boss is provided at the end of the inner liner 300 away from the welding end, and the metal boss has a flat edge, the clamp module 110 of this embodiment is provided with a connecting slot, which is used to clamp with the metal boss on the inner liner 300 to prevent the inner liner 300 and the clamp module 110 from rotating relative to each other.

[0033] The rotating module of the present invention is used to drive the two clamp modules 110 to rotate around their own axes, and the docking module is used to drive the two clamp modules 110 to move closer to or farther away from each other.

[0034] The rotating module can independently drive one clamp module 110 to rotate and drive two clamp modules 110 to rotate synchronously, while the docking module can independently drive one clamp module 110 to move in the up and down directions and drive two clamp modules 110 to move in the up and down directions synchronously.

[0035] like Figure 1As shown, the docking module of this embodiment includes two docking drive units 120, and the rotating module includes two rotating drive units 130. The two docking drive units 120 are respectively connected to the two clamp modules 110 for driving the clamp modules 110 to move in the up and down directions. The two rotating drive units 130 are respectively connected to the two clamp modules 110 for driving the clamp modules 110 to rotate around their own axes. Specifically, the clamping assembly 100 of this embodiment includes a clamping frame 140, and the two rotating drive units 130 are installed on the clamping frame 140. The rotating drive ends of the two rotating drive units 130 are respectively connected to the docking drive units 120, and the telescopic drive ends of the two docking drive units 120 are respectively connected to the two clamp modules 110.

[0036] The docking drive unit 120 may adopt a linear drive structure such as a cylinder, an electric rod, a hydraulic cylinder, etc., while the rotation drive unit 130 may adopt a rotary motor, etc.

[0037] like Figure 1 As shown, the welding assembly 200 of the present invention includes a welding cutting module 210 , a welding vision module 220 and a heating module 230 located on the outer periphery between two clamp modules 110 .

[0038] Among them, the welding cutting module 210 of the present invention is used to remove the oxide layer on the welding end of the inner liner 300. The welding cutting module 210 includes a welding cutting mechanism 211 and a welding cutting moving mechanism 212. The welding cutting moving mechanism 212 is used to drive the welding cutting mechanism 211 to move along the second direction to between the two inner liners 300. This embodiment defines the second direction as the horizontal direction, that is, the welding cutting moving mechanism 212 drives the welding cutting mechanism 211 to move in the horizontal direction, and the welding cutting mechanism 211 is used to cut and remove the oxide layer on the welding end of the two inner liners 300, such as Figure 2 As shown, when the welding end needs to be cut, the welding cutting mechanism 211 is controlled to move between the two inner shells 300, and then the two inner shells 300 are controlled to be close to the welding cutting mechanism 211. After cutting, the welding cutting mechanism 211 is controlled to move out.

[0039] The welding cutting mechanism 211 of this embodiment is provided with two cutter structures arranged in back-to-back directions along the upper and lower directions. The two cutter structures are respectively used to remove the oxide layer on the welding ends of the two inner containers 300. It can be understood that after the welding cutting mechanism 211 moves between the two inner containers 300, the two cutter structures are respectively arranged opposite to the welding ends of the two inner containers 300. At this time, Figure 2As shown, the two inner liners 300 are driven to move in the up and down directions through the docking module to adjust the relative distance between the inner liners 300 and the cutter structure, so as to control the cutting amount of the welding end, ensure the welding quality of the inner liners 300, and improve the efficiency of cutting the welding end face, and can synchronously remove the oxide layer of the welding end of the two inner liners 300.

[0040] The welding vision module 220 of the present invention is used to scan the welding end of the inner liner 300 to analyze the ellipticity of the welding surface of the inner liner 300 on both sides. Specifically, Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, the welding vision module 220 includes a welding camera mechanism 221 and a welding camera moving mechanism 222. The welding camera moving mechanism 222 is used to drive the welding camera mechanism 221 to move horizontally between the two inner liners 300, and the welding camera mechanism 221 is used to scan the outer contours of the welding ends of the two inner liners 300, analyze the ellipticity of the welding surfaces of the inner liners 300 on both sides, so as to match the relative angle with the highest overlap of the welding surfaces on both sides, and feed back the angle information to the rotating module. The rotating module drives the two clamp modules 110 to rotate to the posture where the welding ends of the two inner liners 300 overlap.

[0041] Among them, the welding camera mechanism 221 can use two cameras, which are respectively facing the upper side and the lower side to scan the welding ends of the two inner liners 300 at the same time, or use one camera, which can be rotatably installed on the welding camera moving mechanism 222. After scanning one inner liners 300, it rotates to scan and shoot the other inner liners 300.

[0042] like Figure 1 and Figure 4 As shown, the heating module 230 of the present invention is used to heat the welding end of the inner liner 300. Specifically, the heating module 230 includes a heating mechanism 231 and a heating moving mechanism 232. The heating moving mechanism 232 is used to drive the heating mechanism 231 to move horizontally between the two inner liners 300. The heating mechanism 231 is used to heat the welding end of the two inner liners 300 to melt them for easy welding.

[0043] And when heating, Figure 4 As shown, the two inner pots 300 can be driven to move in the up and down directions by the docking module to adjust the relative distance between the inner pot 300 and the heating mechanism 231 to control the heating temperature of the welding end so that the inner pot 300 can be better heated and melted and heated evenly.

[0044] The heating mechanism 231 may adopt infrared heating, laser heating or other heating methods.

[0045] Among them, the functions of the welding and cutting moving mechanism 212, the welding camera moving mechanism 222 and the heating moving mechanism 232 are all to control the horizontal position of the corresponding mechanism relative to the welding surface of the inner liner 300, so as to realize the corresponding functions of different mechanisms, and the welding and cutting moving mechanism 212, the welding camera moving mechanism 222 and the heating moving mechanism 232 can adopt linear drive structures such as cylinders, electric poles, and hydraulic cylinders.

[0046] like Figure 1 As shown, the welding cutting module 210, welding vision module 220 and heating module 230 of this embodiment are adjustably mounted on a column 240 in an up and down direction. During operation, the welding cutting module 210 is first moved between the two inner liners 300. After cutting the welding end, the welding cutting module 210 is moved upward, and then the welding vision module 220 is moved between the two inner liners 300. After scanning and photographing the welding end, the welding vision module 220 is moved upward, and then the heating module 230 is moved between the two inner liners 300.

[0047] In some other embodiments, the welding cutting module 210 , the welding vision module 220 , and the heating module 230 are staggered along the circumferential direction between the two fixture modules 110 and do not interfere with each other.

[0048] like Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the shaping assembly of the present invention includes a shaping vision module 400 and a shaping cutting module 500 located on the outer periphery between two clamp modules 110 .

[0049] Among them, such as Figure 5 As shown, the shaping vision module 400 includes a shaping camera mechanism 410, which is used to scan the outer contours of the outer peripheral surfaces of the two inner liners 300 to obtain the positions and cutting amounts that need to be cut and shaped. Specifically, the shaping camera mechanism 410 scans the non-weld straight tube section of the inner liners 300 and extracts the outer contour dimensions, calculates the mean value thereof, and uses this as the standard value for shaping the weld.

[0050] Among them, when scanning the outer circumference of the two inner liners 300, in some other embodiments, the rotating module can drive the two clamp modules 110 to rotate around its own axis to drive the two inner liners 300 to rotate synchronously. At the same time, the docking module can drive the two clamp modules 110 to move synchronously in the up and down directions to perform a comprehensive scan of the outer circumference of the two inner liners 300.

[0051] like Figure 5As shown, the plastic vision module 400 of this embodiment also includes a plastic camera moving mechanism 420 and a plastic camera feeding mechanism 430. The plastic camera moving mechanism 420 is used to drive the plastic camera mechanism 410 to move along the periphery of the inner liner 300 and in the up and down directions, while the plastic camera feeding mechanism 430 is used to drive the plastic camera mechanism 410 to move in the horizontal direction to adjust the distance between the plastic camera mechanism 410 and the inner liner 300, so that the plastic camera mechanism 410 has a better shooting and scanning effect on the outer surface contour of the inner liner 300. At this time, it is necessary to drive the two clamp modules 110 to rotate around their own axis through the rotating module to drive the two inner liners 300 to rotate synchronously.

[0052] The shaping camera feeding mechanism 430 and the shaping camera moving mechanism 420 can adopt linear drive structures such as cylinders and hydraulic cylinders.

[0053] like Figure 6 As shown, the shaping and cutting module 500 includes a shaping and cutting mechanism 510, which is used to cut and shape the weld between the two inner shells 300. According to the standard shaping value obtained by the shaping camera mechanism 410, the weld is cut and shaped by the shaping and cutting mechanism 510.

[0054] Specifically, the shaping cutting module 500 of this embodiment also includes a shaping cutting moving mechanism 520 and a shaping feeding cutting mechanism 530. The shaping cutting moving mechanism 520 is used to drive the shaping cutting mechanism 510 to move up and down along the outer periphery of the inner liner 300 to adjust the axial position of the shaping cutting mechanism 510 relative to the inner liner 300. The shaping feeding cutting mechanism 530 is used to drive the shaping cutting mechanism 510 to move in the horizontal direction to adjust the radial position of the shaping cutting mechanism 510 relative to the inner liner 300 and adjust the cutting feed amount.

[0055] In this embodiment, during shaping and cutting, the two clamp modules 110 need to be driven by the rotating module to rotate around their own axes, so as to drive the two inner containers 300 to rotate synchronously.

[0056] In some other embodiments, the axial position between the shaping and cutting mechanism 510 and the inner container 300 can be adjusted by driving the two clamp modules 110 to move synchronously in the up and down directions through the docking module.

[0057] In this embodiment, the shaping cutting mechanism 510 adopts a cutter, and the shaping imaging mechanism 410 adopts a camera.

[0058] Among them, the shaping and cutting moving mechanism 520 and the shaping and feeding cutting mechanism 530 can adopt linear drive structures such as cylinders and hydraulic cylinders.

[0059] When using, such as Figure 1As shown, two inner containers 300 to be welded are clamped by two clamp modules 110, as shown in FIG. Figure 2 As shown, the welding cutting mechanism 211 is controlled to move between the two inner tanks 300, and the docking module is controlled to drive the two clamp modules 110 close to the welding cutting mechanism 211 according to the preset cutting amount to remove the oxide layer on the welding end surface. Figure 3 As shown, the welding camera mechanism 221 is controlled to move between the two inner containers 300, and the outer contours of the welding ends of the two inner containers 300 are scanned by the welding camera mechanism 221 to analyze the ellipticity of the welding ends of the two inner containers 300, so as to match the relative welding angle when the welding surfaces on both sides are at the highest overlap. According to the welding angle, the two inner containers 300 are controlled to rotate around their own axes until the two welding ends overlap, as shown in FIG. Figure 4 As shown, the heating mechanism 231 is then moved between the two inner containers 300, and the distance between the two welding ends and the heating mechanism 231 is controlled to uniformly heat the welding surfaces of the two inner containers 300 to melt them for easy welding. Figure 7 As shown, then under the specified pressure, the two inner containers 300 are controlled to be close to each other for welding. After welding, as shown in FIG. Figure 5 As shown, the two inner containers 300 and the shaping camera mechanism 410 are controlled to rotate relative to each other and move axially. The shaping camera mechanism 410 scans the outer contours of the outer circumferences of the two inner containers 300. The average diameter of the non-welded straight section of the inner container 300 is used as a standard to obtain the size of the weld cutting shaping, as shown in FIG. Figure 6 As shown, the welding seam between the two inner shells 300 is then cut and shaped by the shaping and cutting mechanism 510 .

[0060] The present invention can complete the removal of the oxide layer of the welding end of the inner liner 300, positioning and calibration of the rotation coincidence, heating, and cutting and shaping of the weld through one clamping, thereby solving the problems of coaxiality deviation and poor weld surface quality.

[0061] In some other embodiments, the welding and cutting module 210, the welding vision module 220, the heating module 230, the shaping vision module 400 and the shaping and cutting module 500 are staggered along the circumference between the two fixture modules 110 to provide space utilization and avoid interference between the modules.

[0062] The fixture module 110 is provided with a force sensor, which is used to monitor the welding pressure of the inner liner 300 in real time to accurately control the welding quality of the inner liner 300 .

[0063] In addition, the present invention also proposes a welding and shaping method suitable for the inner liner of type IV hydrogen storage cylinder, which is suitable for the above-mentioned welding and shaping device, such as Figure 8 As shown, the welding and shaping methods include: Step S100: Controlling the clamping of two inner containers 300 to be welded onto two fixture modules 110; Step S200: Controlling the welding cutting mechanism 211 to move between the two inner containers 300 , and controlling the two inner containers 300 to approach the welding cutting mechanism 211 according to a preset cutting amount to remove the oxide layer at the welding ends of the two inner containers 300 ; Step S300: Control the welding camera mechanism 221 to move between the two inner containers 300 and scan the outer contours of the welding ends of the two inner containers 300 to obtain the welding angle when the welding ends of the two inner containers 300 overlap; Step S400: controlling the two inner containers 300 to rotate around their own axes according to the welding angle until the two welding ends overlap; Step S500: controlling the heating mechanism 231 to move between the two inner containers 300, and controlling the distance between the welding ends of the two inner containers 300 and the heating mechanism 231 to a preset value, heating the welding ends of the two inner containers 300 to a preset temperature; Step S600: Controlling the two inner containers 300 to approach each other for welding according to a preset welding pressure and a preset pressure holding time; Step S700: Control the shaping camera mechanism 410 to rotate and move relative to the two inner containers 300 to scan the outer contours of the outer circumferences of the two inner containers 300 to obtain the average diameter of the non-welded straight sections of the inner containers 300 and the welding seam shaping range; Step S800: Based on the average diameter, the shaping and cutting mechanism 510 is controlled to rotate and move relative to the two inner shells 300 to perform flattening and cutting on the weld shaping range to obtain a complete welded inner shell 300.

[0064] Before welding, clean the surface of the inner tank 300, the metal boss and the welding end face with clean water and alcohol respectively, and dry them for later use.

[0065] In step S100, Figure 1 As shown, the metal boss of the inner liner 300 is engaged with the connecting slot on the clamp module 110 , and the clamping part of the clamp module 110 is tightened to form a tight fixation for the inner liner 300 .

[0066] In step S200, Figure 2As shown, the welding cutting mechanism 211 is adjusted to the middle position between the two inner liner 300. The welding cutting movement mechanism 212 drives the welding cutting mechanism 211 to move horizontally to a position aligned with the central axis of the two inner liner 300. According to the preset cutting amount, the two inner liner 300 is driven by the docking module to move in the vertical direction to adjust the relative distance between the inner liner 300 and the cutting structure to cut the weld end and simultaneously remove the oxide layer at the weld end of the two inner liner 300, wherein the cutting amount is less than 1mm. After cutting, the welding cutting mechanism 211 is closed and controlled to move away from the inner liner 300. At the same time, the upper and lower inner liner 300 are controlled to move away from each other, leaving a working position for the welding camera mechanism 221.

[0067] The welding and cutting module 210 is adjusted and raised until it reaches a position where it does not interfere with other components.

[0068] In step S300 and step S400, as Figure 3 As shown, the welding camera mechanism 221 is adjusted to the middle position of the two inner liners 300, and the welding camera moving mechanism 222 drives the welding camera mechanism 221 to move horizontally to a position aligned with the central axis of the two inner liners 300, and the welding camera mechanism 221 is started to scan the outer contours of the welding surfaces of the upper and lower inner liners 300, calculate and analyze the welding angle when the welding surface overlaps the most, and feed back the angle to the two rotation drive units 130. The two rotation drive units 130 respectively drive the two clamp modules 110 to rotate to a posture where the welding ends of the two inner liners 300 overlap.

[0069] After scanning, control the welding camera mechanism 221 away from the inner liner 300, and at the same time control the upper and lower inner liners 300 away from each other, leaving a working position for the heating mechanism 231, and adjust and raise the welding vision module 220 until the welding vision module 220 does not interfere with other components.

[0070] In step S500, Figure 4 As shown, the heating mechanism 231 is adjusted to the middle position of the two inner pots 300, and the heating mechanism 231 is driven by the heating moving mechanism 232 to move horizontally to a position aligned with the central axis of the two inner pots 300, and the two inner pots 300 are driven to move in the up and down directions through the docking module to adjust the relative distance between the inner pot 300 and the heating mechanism 231.

[0071] Due to the downward force of gravity when clamped from top to bottom, under normal circumstances, the distance between the welding surface of the upper inner liner 300 and the heating mechanism 231 needs to be slightly larger than the distance between the lower inner liner 300 and the heating mechanism 231. The specific distance can be determined according to the power of the heating mechanism 231. After the distances between the upper and lower inner liner 300 and the heating mechanism 231 are adjusted, the heating mechanism 231 is started to heat the welding surface of the inner liner 300. After heating, the heating mechanism 231 is controlled to stay away from the inner liner 300.

[0072] In step S600, Figure 7 As shown, the two inner liners 300 are driven to approach each other by two docking drive units 120 until the molten welding surfaces of the inner liners 300 come into contact and welding is performed. At this time, the force sensor slows down the movement rate of the docking drive unit 120 after receiving the force value until the force sensor value reaches the preset welding pressure, and then stops feeding the docking drive unit 120. The specified pressure is reached for a period of time (5s). At the same time, the two inner liners 300 need to be flipped to a horizontal posture to maintain pressure to prevent the molten material from forming a weld with a consistent flow direction under the action of gravity, resulting in an asymmetric weld and possibly a shortage of material in the weld part until the temperature of the weld cools to below the glass transition temperature of the inner liners 300 material.

[0073] In this embodiment, a turning device is provided to drive the clamping frame 140 to turn over.

[0074] In step S700, Figure 5 As shown, first, the radial distance between the shaping camera mechanism 410 and the inner liner 300 is adjusted by the shaping camera feeding mechanism 430, and then the shaping camera moving mechanism 420 drives the shaping camera mechanism 410 to move to the initial position along the outer periphery of the inner liner 300 and in the up and down directions. The rotating module drives the two clamp modules 110 to rotate around their own axes to drive the two inner liner 300 to rotate synchronously, so that the shaping camera mechanism 410 can completely shoot a circle of the inner liner 300 after welding. After shooting is completed, the shaping camera moving mechanism 420 drives the shaping camera mechanism 410 to move a certain distance. The distance is adjusted and fixed so that the inner liner 300 in the viewing angle after the shaping camera mechanism 410 moves partially overlaps with the inner liner 300 in the viewing angle before the movement, and then the rotating module and the shaping camera mechanism 410 are started so that the shaping camera mechanism 410 can completely shoot a circle of the welded inner liner 300. The above steps are repeated until the shaping camera mechanism 410 completes the scanning of the outer contour of the welded inner liner 300. After extracting the outer contour data of the inner liner 300, the average diameter of the non-welded straight section of the inner liner 300 is used as the standard to obtain the size of the weld cut by the shaping cutting mechanism 510.

[0075] In step S800, Figure 6As shown, with the average diameter as the standard, the shaping and cutting mechanism 510 is driven to move in the horizontal direction by the shaping and feeding cutting mechanism 530 to adjust the radial position of the shaping and cutting mechanism 510 relative to the inner liner 300 and adjust the cutting feed amount. Subsequently, the shaping and cutting moving mechanism 520 is used to drive the shaping and cutting mechanism 510 to move up and down along the outer periphery of the inner liner 300 to adjust the axial position of the shaping and cutting mechanism 510 relative to the inner liner 300. At the same time, the two clamp modules 110 are driven to rotate around their own axes by the rotating module to drive the two inner liners 300 to rotate synchronously until the welding seam on the inner liner 300 is shaped.

[0076] Throughout this specification, references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples" indicate that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, illustrative uses of these terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the described specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

[0077] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Various changes can be made within the knowledge of ordinary technicians in the relevant technical field without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A welding and shaping device suitable for the inner liner of a type IV hydrogen storage cylinder, characterized in that: include: The clamping assembly includes two clamp modules coaxially arranged relative to each other along a first direction, a rotating module for driving the two clamp modules to rotate around their own axes, and a docking module for driving the two clamp modules to move closer to and away from each other, wherein the clamp module is used to clamp the end of the liner away from the welding end; The welding assembly includes a welding cutting module, a welding vision module and a heating module located on the outer peripheral side between the two clamp modules, the welding cutting module includes a welding cutting mechanism and a welding cutting moving mechanism, the welding cutting moving mechanism is used to drive the welding cutting mechanism to move along the second direction between the two inner containers, and the welding cutting mechanism is used to remove the oxide layer on the welding ends of the two inner containers, the welding vision module includes a welding camera mechanism and a welding camera moving mechanism, the welding camera moving mechanism is used to drive the welding camera mechanism to move along the second direction between the two inner containers, and the welding camera mechanism is used to scan the outer contours of the welding ends of the two inner containers, the heating module includes a heating mechanism and a heating moving mechanism, the heating moving mechanism is used to drive the heating mechanism to move along the second direction between the two inner containers, and the heating mechanism is used to heat the welding ends of the two inner containers, wherein the second direction is arranged perpendicular to the first direction; The shaping component includes a shaping vision module and a shaping cutting module located on the outer peripheral side between the two clamp modules. The shaping vision module includes a shaping camera mechanism, which is used to scan the outer contours of the outer peripheral surfaces of the two inner tanks. The shaping cutting module includes a shaping cutting mechanism, which is used to cut and shape the weld between the two inner tanks.

2. The welding and shaping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shaping vision module also includes a shaping camera moving mechanism and a shaping camera feeding mechanism. The shaping camera moving mechanism is used to drive the shaping camera mechanism to move along the first direction around the inner liner, and the shaping camera feeding mechanism is used to drive the shaping camera mechanism to move along the second direction.

3. The welding and shaping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shaping cutting module also includes a shaping cutting moving mechanism and a shaping feeding cutting mechanism. The shaping cutting moving mechanism is used to drive the shaping cutting mechanism to move along the first direction around the periphery of the inner tank, and the shaping feeding cutting mechanism is used to drive the shaping cutting mechanism to move along the second direction.

4. The welding and shaping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The welding cutting mechanism is provided with two cutter structures arranged in back-to-back directions along the first direction, and the two cutter structures are respectively used to remove the oxide layers on the welding ends of the two inner containers.

5. The welding and shaping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The welding cutting module, the welding vision module and the heating module are respectively movable and adjustable along the first direction.

6. The welding and shaping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The welding and cutting module, the welding vision module, the heating module, the shaping vision module and the shaping and cutting module are staggered along the circumferential direction between the two clamp modules.

7. The welding and shaping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The clamp module is provided with a connecting slot, and the connecting slot is used to be connected with the metal boss on the inner liner.

8. The welding and shaping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The clamp module is provided with a force sensor, and the force sensor is used to monitor the welding pressure of the inner liner in real time.

9. The welding and shaping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The docking module includes two docking drive units, and the rotating module includes two rotating drive units. The two docking drive units are respectively connected to the two clamp modules to drive the clamp modules to move along the first direction. The two rotating drive units are respectively connected to the two clamp modules to drive the clamp modules to rotate around their own axes.

10. A welding and shaping method for the inner liner of a type IV hydrogen storage cylinder, characterized in that: Applicable to the welding and shaping device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the welding and shaping method comprising: Controlling the clamping of two inner tanks to be welded on the two fixture modules; Controlling the welding cutting mechanism to move between the two inner containers, and controlling the two inner containers to approach the welding cutting mechanism according to a preset cutting amount to remove the oxide layer at the welding ends of the two inner containers; Controlling the welding camera mechanism to move between the two inner containers and scanning the outer contours of the welding ends of the two inner containers to obtain the welding angle when the welding ends of the two inner containers overlap; According to the welding angle, the two inner containers are controlled to rotate around their own axes until the two welding ends overlap; Controlling the heating mechanism to move between the two inner containers, and controlling the distance between the welding ends of the two inner containers and the heating mechanism to a preset value, heating the welding ends of the two inner containers to a preset temperature; Controlling the two inner containers to approach each other for welding according to a preset welding pressure and a preset pressure holding time; Controlling the shaping camera mechanism to rotate and move relative to the two inner containers to scan the outer contours of the outer circumferences of the two inner containers to obtain the average diameter of the non-welded straight section of the inner container and the welding seam shaping range; Taking the average diameter as a standard, the shaping and cutting mechanism and the two inner shells are controlled to rotate and move relative to each other, and the weld shaping range is flattened and cut to obtain a complete welded inner shell.

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