Welding camera refitting suite and welding camera

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of welding image acquisition equipment, and discloses a welding camera refitting suite and a welding camera, the welding camera refitting suite comprises a camera interface piece, a mounting assembly, a lighting unit and a filter unit, the camera interface piece is provided with a camera connecting structure capable of being connected with a lens interface of an industrial camera, and the camera connecting structure is provided with a lens. The lens connecting structure can be connected with an imaging lens of the industrial camera, one end of the unit installation assembly is fixedly connected with the camera interface piece, the lighting unit is installed in the unit installation assembly and located at the position corresponding to the peripheral area of the lens connecting structure, and the filter unit is arranged at the other end of the unit installation assembly and located at the position corresponding to the peripheral area of the lens connecting structure. The illumination unit can emit narrow-band illumination light rays, the filter unit comprises a band-pass optical filter through which the illumination light rays can penetrate, an industrial camera can be used for collecting images of a welding area, and the image collection quality of the welding area is guaranteed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of welding image acquisition equipment, and more particularly to a welding camera modification kit. Furthermore, the present application also relates to a welding camera. Background Art

[0002] Welding, also known as fusion, is a manufacturing process and technology that uses heat, high temperature, or high pressure to join metals or other thermoplastic materials, such as plastics. During metal welding, a gas flame, electric arc, or laser is typically used to melt the workpiece or solder in the weld zone, forming a molten zone. The material in the molten zone cools and solidifies, forming a joint between the workpieces. The gas flame, electric arc, and laser used in welding have extremely high laser densities, and the resulting molten pool and sparks often reach temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees Celsius.

[0003] To better control the welding process and ensure the quality of the resulting weld, it's often necessary to capture real-time images of the weld area during the welding process. Due to the extremely uneven light intensity distribution in the weld area, the dynamic range exceeds 120dB, far exceeding the 60–80dB upper limit of a typical camera's dynamic range. Consequently, images of the weld area captured with a standard industrial camera completely obscure the weld spot, leaving only a bright spot visible without revealing the weld's image characteristics. Therefore, images of the weld area typically require specialized welding cameras. Professional welding cameras are not only limited in style, making them difficult to meet the needs of specialized applications, but also prohibitively expensive, often in the hundreds of thousands of yuan, for many small and medium-sized enterprises.

[0004] To adapt to the unique welding environment of existing welding equipment and reduce the cost of capturing images of the welding area, a recent technology has emerged. This involves installing a bandpass filter in front of the imaging lens of an ordinary industrial camera. This filter filters out the extremely high-energy-density welding light, and then installing a monochromatic light source with a wavelength consistent with the bandpass filter near the welding area to illuminate the welding area. This technology can capture images of the welding area using an ordinary industrial camera, reducing the impact of changes in welding light intensity on image clarity and preventing damage to the industrial camera's photosensitive elements caused by the energy contained in the welding light. However, in this technical solution, the monochromatic light source not only needs to coordinate with the industrial camera in terms of position and timing of light emission, but also needs to avoid interference with the illumination light caused by the welding action, resulting in very high technical requirements. Moreover, any change in the position of the light source or the camera will significantly affect the image acquisition effect. The image acquisition quality is relatively unstable, making it difficult to meet the needs of real-time monitoring of the welding area during the welding process. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In order to use an industrial camera to capture images of the welding area and ensure the image capture quality of the welding area, the present application provides a welding camera modification kit and a welding camera.

[0006] The welding camera modification kit provided in this application adopts the following technical solutions: A welding camera modification kit includes a camera interface component, a mounting assembly, a lighting unit, and a filter unit. The camera interface component is provided with a camera connection structure capable of being connected to the lens interface of an industrial camera, and a lens connection structure capable of being connected to the imaging lens of the industrial camera. One end of the unit mounting assembly is connected to the camera interface component. The lighting unit is installed in the unit mounting assembly and is located at a position corresponding to the peripheral area of ​​the lens connection structure. The filter unit is arranged in the imaging light path of the imaging lens of the industrial camera and can filter the light directed to the imaging lens of the industrial camera. The lighting unit can emit narrow-band illumination light. The filter unit includes a bandpass filter capable of transmitting the illumination light.

[0007] By adopting the above technical solution, the camera interface can be fixed to the lens interface of the industrial camera using the camera connection structure provided on the camera interface, and the imaging lens of the industrial camera can be fixed to the camera interface using the lens connection structure provided on the camera interface. While ensuring that the industrial camera uses the imaging lens to collect images of the welding area, the welding camera modification kit of the present application is fixed to the industrial camera to provide filtering and lighting functions for the industrial camera, ensuring that the industrial camera can collect images of the cleaning of the welding area. By using a unit mounting assembly connected to the camera interface at one end, an illumination unit can be set at a corresponding position inside the unit mounting assembly and around the lens connection structure, and a bandpass filter can be set in the imaging optical path of the imaging lens, so that the bandpass filter can be used to filter out high-intensity welding light entering the imaging lens of the industrial camera, and the illumination unit can be used to illuminate the welding area from the periphery of the imaging lens, so that the illumination light can pass through the bandpass filter into the imaging lens of the industrial camera, forming a clear image of the welding area, and ensuring the clarity of the collected image of the welding area and the stability of the image quality.

[0008] In a specific possible implementation scheme, the camera interface component includes a camera connecting part and an installation positioning part, the camera connecting part and the installation positioning part are located at both ends of the camera interface component in the axial direction, the camera connecting structure is a camera interface thread arranged on the outer side of the camera connecting part, and the mounting assembly is fixed on the installation positioning part; a lens mounting hole is provided in the middle part of the camera interface component, which passes through the camera connecting part and the installation positioning part, and the lens connecting structure is a lens interface thread arranged on the side wall of the lens mounting hole.

[0009] By adopting the above technical solution, the camera interface thread provided on the outer surface of the camera connection part is used as the camera connection structure, which can form a stable connection with the industrial camera interface with a larger diameter; the lens interface thread provided on the side wall of the lens mounting hole is used as the lens connection structure, which can fix the industrial camera imaging lens with a smaller diameter, and use the imaging lens with a smaller diameter to capture images of the welding area, thereby forming a larger installation space between the imaging lens and the mounting assembly, and installing the lighting unit to ensure the lighting range and lighting effect of the lighting unit.

[0010] In a specific possible implementation scheme, the mounting assembly includes a mounting seat, a mounting seat end plate is provided at one end of the mounting seat, an end plate positioning hole is provided in the middle of the mounting seat end plate, and the mounting portion end plate is defined on the end face of the mounting positioning portion by the end plate positioning hole; or the mounting assembly (2) further includes a fixing ring (22), the fixing ring is fixed on the mounting positioning portion, a mounting seat positioning groove (14) is formed between the fixing ring and the mounting positioning portion, and the mounting seat end plate is defined on the end face of the mounting positioning portion by the end plate positioning hole, so that the mounting seat end plate is located in the mounting seat positioning groove, and the mounting seat end plate is defined in the mounting seat positioning groove.

[0011] By adopting the above technical solution, the mounting base is mounted on the mounting and positioning portion by utilizing the fit between the end plate positioning hole in the middle portion of the mounting base end plate and the mounting base positioning groove. This helps increase the diameter of the mounting base and creates a larger installation space within the mounting base. The arrangement of a retaining ring fixed to the mounting and positioning portion to restrain the mounting base end plate in the mounting base positioning groove improves the stability of the mounting base's fixed connection structure to the end surface of the mounting and positioning portion.

[0012] In a specific feasible implementation scheme, a clamping groove is provided on the outer side of one end face of the fixing ring, a plurality of fixing screw grooves are dispersedly provided on the inner side wall of the fixing ring, the end face of the mounting positioning portion is provided with the mounting seat positioning groove, and a mounting boss is formed on the inner side of the mounting seat positioning groove, and a plurality of fixing screw holes corresponding to the fixing screw grooves are provided on the mounting boss, and the fixing ring is fixed on the mounting boss by passing the fixing screw groove and screwing the screw into the fixing screw hole, so that the mounting seat end plate around the end plate positioning hole can rotate in the annular groove composed of the clamping groove and the mounting seat positioning groove.

[0013] By adopting the above technical solution, the fixing ring is fixed to the mounting boss by screwing a screw through a fixing screw groove on the inner side wall of the fixing ring and screwing it into a fixing screw hole on the mounting boss. This ensures the fixing ring is stably mounted on the mounting boss while increasing the inner diameter of the fixing ring, thereby preventing interference between the fixing ring and the imaging lens of the industrial camera. The mounting base end plate is rotatably mounted in the annular groove formed by the clamping groove and the mounting base positioning groove, allowing the mounting base to rotate relative to the camera interface component, facilitating the connection of the wires that provide power to the lighting unit.

[0014] In a specific possible implementation scheme, the filter unit also includes a protective lens, which is arranged at an end of the mounting base away from the camera interface component to form an isolation between the internal and external spaces of the mounting base; the bandpass filter is arranged on the inner side of the protective lens, or is arranged between the imaging lens and the photosensitive element of the external industrial camera.

[0015] By adopting the above technical solution, a protective lens disposed at the end of the mounting base can be used to isolate the internal and external spaces of the mounting base, isolating adverse factors such as dust and high-temperature sputtering sparks in the welding environment within the mounting base, protecting high-value bandpass filters or imaging lens lenses. By replacing low-value protective lenses, the clarity of images captured by industrial cameras can be maintained. By placing the bandpass filter inside the protective lens or between the imaging lens and the photosensitive element, the flexibility of the bandpass filter configuration can be improved.

[0016] In a specific possible implementation scheme, the mounting assembly also includes a filter mounting cap, one end of the filter mounting cap is provided with a light-through hole, the periphery of the light-through hole forms a circumferential rim, the other end of the filter mounting cap is threadedly connected to the other end of the mounting seat, the protective lens is fixed between the circumferential rim and the mounting seat, and a lens gasket is provided between the protective lens and the circumferential rim.

[0017] By adopting this technical solution, the protective lens is secured between the aperture rib and the mounting base using a threaded connection between the filter mounting cap and the mounting base. This facilitates installation and replacement of the protective lens, ensuring clarity in images of the welding area captured by the industrial camera. A lens gasket positioned between the protective lens and the aperture rib improves the seal between the protective lens and the filter mounting cap, enhancing the waterproof and dustproof properties of the imaging lens.

[0018] In a specific possible implementation scheme, the lighting unit includes an annular circuit board and a light-emitting chip. The annular circuit board is fixed inside the mounting assembly and corresponds to the peripheral area of ​​the lens connection structure. A plurality of light-emitting chips are provided, and the plurality of light-emitting chips are dispersedly arranged on the annular circuit board. The lighting power supply is connected to the annular lighting board 31.

[0019] By adopting the above technical solution, using a number of light-emitting chips dispersedly arranged on a ring-shaped circuit board, it is possible to emit illumination light around the imaging lens of an industrial camera, and it is possible to simultaneously emit illumination light from multiple positions around the imaging lens to the welding area, thereby ensuring the uniformity of the illumination light distribution in the welding area and the imaging effect of the welding area image captured by the imaging lens.

[0020] In a specific embodiment, the light-emitting chip is a VCSEL laser chip, and the lighting power supply is a low duty cycle pulse power supply.

[0021] By adopting the above technical solution and using a VCSEL laser chip as the light-emitting chip, it is possible to generate high-intensity surface-source laser light, and the laser wavelength can be concentrated within ±5nm, improving the illumination effect of the welding area and the light transmission effect of the bandpass filter, ensuring the clarity of the welding area image captured by the industrial camera. Using a low-duty-cycle pulse power supply as the illumination light source can effectively increase the light-emitting power of the light-emitting chip in a short period of time, thereby emitting higher-intensity illumination light during the industrial camera image acquisition, ensuring the imaging effect of the industrial camera, and reducing the accumulation of heat generated by the light-emitting chip, thereby extending the service life of the light-emitting chip.

[0022] In a specific possible implementation scheme, the side wall of the mounting assembly is provided with a wiring hole and a lens adjustment hole, and the annular circuit board is provided with a power socket, which is arranged opposite to the wiring hole; the imaging lens of the industrial camera can be focused and locked through the lens adjustment hole.

[0023] By adopting the above technical solution, the power cord supplying power to the light-emitting element can be conveniently plugged into the power interface using the wiring hole provided on the side wall of the mounting assembly, thereby conveniently providing power to the light-emitting element; by utilizing the lens adjustment hole provided on the side wall of the mounting assembly, the lens adjustment wrench can be inserted from the outside of the mounting assembly to focus and lock the imaging lens of the industrial camera, thereby improving the convenience of operating the industrial camera.

[0024] The welding camera provided in this application adopts the following technical solutions: A welding camera includes an industrial camera and a welding camera modification kit provided in this application. The industrial camera includes a lens interface and an imaging lens. The camera interface is connected to the lens interface. The imaging lens is connected to the lens connection structure and is located inside the mounting assembly.

[0025] By adopting the above-mentioned technical solution, the welding camera modification kit of the present application can be fixed on the lens interface of the industrial camera, and the imaging lens can be installed on the lens connection structure of the welding camera modification kit of the present application. By utilizing the lighting unit arranged around the imaging lens and the filter unit arranged on the imaging optical path of the imaging lens, a welding camera capable of capturing clear images of the welding area is formed. While utilizing the diversity of industrial cameras to adapt to the image capture requirements of the welding area during the welding process of different welding machines, the procurement cost of professional welding cameras is greatly reduced.

[0026] In summary, this application includes at least one of the following beneficial technical effects: 1. By arranging a camera connection structure and a lens connection structure on the camera interface part, a reliable connection can be formed between the industrial camera and the imaging lens of the industrial camera, so that an illumination unit and a filter unit are arranged in the mounting assembly connected to the camera interface part, and the narrow-band illumination light emitted by the illumination unit is used to illuminate the welding area, and a bandpass filter is used to filter out all light outside the wavelength of the illumination light, thereby protecting the high-intensity welding light, reducing the interference of the high-intensity welding light on the imaging effect of the welding area, and improving the imaging effect of the welding area.

[0027] 2. By placing multiple light-emitting chips in the peripheral area of ​​the imaging lens, the welding area is illuminated from all sides of the imaging lens, which can make the illumination area consistent with the imaging area, reduce the impact of external structures on the lighting effect, and ensure the imaging effect of the welding area. While utilizing the diversity of industrial cameras to meet the image acquisition requirements of welding areas for different welding machines and different application scenarios, it uses inexpensive industrial cameras to achieve imaging effects close to those of professional welding cameras, greatly saving the cost of welding area image acquisition.

[0028] 3. Using VCSEL laser chip as the light-emitting chip and using low-duty cycle pulse power supply to provide light-emitting power for VCSEL laser chip can drive VCSEL laser chip to emit higher-power illumination light in a short time, and provide high-intensity illumination to the welding area in the short time when industrial camera is performing image acquisition. While improving the image acquisition effect of industrial camera, it reduces the accumulation of heat generated by VCSEL laser chip when emitting light, reduces the operating temperature of VCSEL laser chip, and extends the service life of VCSEL laser chip.

[0029] 4. The welding camera formed by combining the welding camera modification kit of this application with an ordinary industrial camera can achieve an image acquisition effect similar to that of the welding area image acquired by a professional welding camera, and has a flexibility of use beyond the scope of professional camera usage scenarios, and greatly reduces the cost of welding area image acquisition, which is conducive to the promotion and application of real-time control of the welding process in welding enterprises, and is conducive to the effective improvement of welding quality in the entire industry. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an embodiment of a welding camera modification kit of the present application.

[0031] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the connection status of an embodiment of the welding camera modification kit of the present application and an industrial camera.

[0032] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an embodiment of a welding camera modification kit of the present application.

[0033] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the camera interface components in one embodiment of the welding camera modification kit of the present application.

[0034] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a mounting base in one embodiment of a welding camera modification kit of the present application.

[0035] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a fixing ring in one embodiment of the welding camera modification kit of the present application.

[0036] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a filter mounting cap in one embodiment of the welding camera modification kit of the present application.

[0037] Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a filter unit in one embodiment of the welding camera modification kit of the present application.

[0038] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of a lighting unit in one embodiment of a welding camera modification kit of the present application.

[0039] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the usage status of the lens adjustment wrench in one embodiment of the welding camera modification kit of the present application.

[0040] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a welding camera of the present application.

[0041] Explanation of reference numerals: 1. Camera interface; 11. Camera connection structure; 12. Lens connection structure; 13. Lens mounting hole; 14. Mounting seat positioning groove; 15. Mounting boss; 151. Fixing screw hole; 101. Camera connection portion; 102. Mounting positioning portion; 2. Mounting assembly; 21. Mounting seat; 211. Mounting seat end plate; 212. End plate positioning hole; 213. Lighting unit mounting platform; 22. Fixing ring; 221. Pressing groove; 222. Fixing screw groove; 23. Filter Mirror mounting cap; 231. Light hole; 232. Hole rim; 24. Wiring hole; 25. Lens adjustment hole; 26. Lens adjustment wrench; 261. Handle; 262. Arc support; 263. Lens claw; 3. Illumination unit; 31. Ring circuit board; 32. Light-emitting chip; 33. Power interface; 4. Filter unit; 41. Bandpass filter; 42. Protective lens; 43. Spacer; 44. Lens gasket; 5. Industrial camera; 51. Lens interface; 52. Imaging lens. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The specific embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to illustrate and explain the present application and are not intended to limit the present application.

[0043] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "disposed" and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they can refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; they can refer to direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; they can refer to internal communication between two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in this application based on the specific circumstances.

[0044] One embodiment of the welding camera modification kit of the present application, such as Figures 1 to 3As shown, the camera interface 1 comprises a camera interface 1, a mounting assembly 2, an illumination unit 3, and a filter unit 4. The camera interface 1 is provided with a camera connection structure 11 for connecting to an external industrial camera 5, and a lens connection structure 12 for connecting to the imaging lens 52 of the industrial camera 5. The camera connection structure 11 can be various structures capable of interconnecting with the lens interface 51, such as a snap-on structure, a plug-in structure, or a screw-on structure. The camera connection structure 11 can be connected to the lens interface 51 of the industrial camera, thereby mounting the camera interface 1 on the industrial camera 5. Similarly, the lens connection structure 12 can be various structures capable of interconnecting with the imaging lens 52. The lens connection structure 12 can be used to mount an imaging lens 52 compatible with the industrial camera 5 on the camera interface 1, ensuring a precise fit between the imaging lens 52 and the industrial camera 5. Light from the welding area, after being focused by the imaging lens 52, forms a clear image on the photosensitive element of the industrial camera 5, which is then captured by the photosensitive element.

[0045] Industrial cameras 5 typically use products with larger-diameter lens mounts 51, preferably those with C or CS lens mounts. However, industrial cameras with M42 or M58 lens mounts are also acceptable. Imaging lens 52 typically uses a standard lens with a mount diameter that is smaller than lens mount 51. For example, an M12 lens can be used for an industrial camera 5 with a C or CS lens mount, while an M42, CS, C, or M12 lens can be used for an industrial camera 5 with an M58 mount. However, when using imaging lens 52, the target surface area of ​​imaging lens 52 generally needs to be slightly larger than the imaging unit area of ​​industrial camera 5 to ensure the clarity of the images captured by industrial camera 5.

[0046] By using an imaging lens 52 whose diameter is smaller than that of the lens mount 51, a larger installation space can be formed on the periphery of the imaging lens 52 while ensuring a stable connection between the welding camera modification kit of the present application and the industrial camera 5, so that supporting components such as the lighting unit 3 can be installed in the installation space to ensure the image acquisition effect of the welding area.

[0047] One end of the unit mounting assembly 2 is mounted on the camera interface 1 and is located on the side of the camera interface 1 away from the industrial camera 5. When the imaging lens 52 is mounted on the lens connection structure 12, the imaging lens 52 is located within the unit mounting assembly 2, forming a mounting space between the imaging lens 52 and the inner sidewall of the unit mounting assembly 2. The lighting unit 3 is mounted on the inner sidewall of the unit mounting assembly 2 and surrounds the peripheral area within the unit mounting assembly 2. In the axial direction, it corresponds to a peripheral position outside the lens connection structure 12 and is capable of emitting narrowband illumination light with a concentrated wavelength distribution range in a direction away from the camera interface 1. When the imaging lens 52 is mounted on the lens connection structure 12, the illumination light emitted by the lighting unit 3 is aligned with the image acquisition direction of the imaging lens 52. The illumination light is simultaneously emitted from multiple directions around the imaging lens 52 and can change direction simultaneously with the imaging lens 52, ensuring that the illumination light always illuminates the imaging range of the imaging lens 52, effectively ensuring the imaging effect of the welding area. This avoids the need to precisely adjust the irradiation direction of the lighting source when setting up the periphery of the welding area. Once the welding area changes, the tedious operation of re-adjusting the directions of the industrial camera 5 and multiple lighting sources separately is avoided, thereby ensuring a high degree of uniformity between the lighting area and the imaging area.

[0048] The filter unit 4 can be, but is not limited to, disposed within the unit mounting assembly 2. When the imaging lens 52 is mounted on the lens connection structure 12, the filter unit 4 only needs to be disposed in the imaging optical path of the imaging lens 52. This suffices. In this manner, all light must be filtered by the filter unit 4 before it can be imaged on the photosensitive element of the industrial camera 5, ensuring that the images captured by the industrial camera 5 are images of light filtered by the filter unit 4. A bandpass filter 41 having a light transmission band whose central wavelength coincides with the central wavelength of the illumination light emitted by the illumination unit 3 is disposed within the filter unit 4. The bandpass filter 41 only allows light with a wavelength close to that of the illumination light to pass through, while light of other wavelengths cannot pass through the bandpass filter 41. In this manner, the bandpass filter 41 can filter out the high-intensity flickering light generated by most welding operations, while allowing only the illumination light generated by the illumination unit 3 to pass through. The welding area is illuminated by illumination light to form a uniform lighting effect, so that the high-temperature molten pool and weld in the welding area during welding can be clearly displayed under the illumination of the illumination light, thereby forming a clear image of the welding area through the imaging lens 52, so that the welding control system can automatically adjust the welding parameters according to the welding area image obtained by the industrial camera 5, thereby forming a better welding effect.

[0049] In some embodiments of the welding camera conversion kit of the present application, such as Figures 2 to 4As shown, the camera interface component 1 includes an integrally connected camera connection portion 101 and a mounting and positioning portion 102. The camera connection portion 101 and the mounting and positioning portion 102 are located at opposite ends of the camera interface component 1 in the axial direction. The camera connection portion 101 is used to connect to the industrial camera 5 and its imaging lens 52, and the mounting and positioning portion 102 is used to connect to other components in the welding camera modification kit of the present application. The outer side surface of the camera connection portion 101 is set to be cylindrical. The outer side surface of the cylindrical camera connection portion 101 is provided with a camera interface thread that is compatible with the thread on the inner side surface of the lens interface 51 of the industrial camera 5. The camera interface thread serves as a camera connection structure 11 connected to the lens interface 51, which facilitates the connection between the camera interface component 1 and the industrial camera 5 while also allowing the two to be relatively easily separated from each other.

[0050] The mounting assembly 2 is fixed to the mounting and positioning portion 102 and is used to form a mounting and positioning reference for structural components such as the lighting unit 3 and the filter unit 4 in front of the industrial camera 5. A lens mounting hole 13 is provided in the middle of the camera interface 1, passing through the camera connecting portion 101 and the mounting and positioning portion 102. The lens mounting hole 13 is generally located at the central axis of the camera interface 1. The hole wall of the lens mounting hole 13 is provided with a lens interface thread that is compatible with the connecting thread on the imaging lens 52. The lens interface thread is used as the lens connecting structure 12 to connect to the imaging lens 52, facilitating the installation and removal of the imaging lens 52 from the camera interface 1.

[0051] In a preferred embodiment of the welding camera modification kit of the present application, Figures 3 to 6 As shown, the mounting assembly 2 includes a mounting seat 21. The mounting seat 21 is a seat-shaped structural member with a semi-enclosed bottom at one end and an open end at the other end. A mounting seat end plate 211 is provided on the bottom surface of the mounting seat 21. An end plate positioning hole 212 is provided in the middle of the mounting seat end plate 211. The end plate positioning hole 212 is coaxially arranged with the lens mounting hole 13 and has a diameter greater than the diameter of the lens mounting hole 13. The mounting portion end plate 211 is defined on the end surface of the mounting positioning portion 102 by the end plate positioning hole 212. Specifically, a mounting structure can be provided on the end surface of the mounting positioning portion 102, or an independent mounting structure connected to the mounting positioning portion 102 can be provided. The mounting structure is engaged or fixed with the mounting portion end plate 211 around the end plate positioning hole 212, and the mounting portion end plate 211 is installed on the mounting positioning portion 102, thereby defining the position of the mounting portion end plate 211 on the mounting positioning portion 102.

[0052] The mounting assembly 2 may further include a fixing ring 22 fixed to the mounting and positioning portion 102, forming a mounting seat positioning groove 14 between the fixing ring 22 and the mounting and positioning portion 102. The mounting seat 21 is mounted on the end of the mounting and positioning portion 102, so that the mounting seat end plate 211 around the end plate positioning hole 212 is located in the mounting seat positioning groove 14, thereby ensuring the stability of the mounting position of the mounting seat 21 on the camera interface 1.

[0053] The fixing ring 22 can be fixed on the end face of the mounting positioning portion 102 by various possible fixing methods such as screw fixing and thread fixing, so as to restrict the mounting seat end plate 211 in the mounting seat positioning groove 14. The clamping force of the fixing ring 22 on the mounting seat end plate 211 is used to form a stable connection between the mounting seat 21 and the camera interface component 1. At the same time, the mounting seat 21 can also be easily disassembled and separated from the camera interface component 1.

[0054] As a specific embodiment of the welding camera modification kit of the present application, Figures 3 to 6 As shown, a clamping groove 221 is provided on the outer edge portion of the end face of the fixing ring 22 facing the mounting positioning portion 102. The inner wall diameter of the clamping groove 221 is comparable to the diameter of the end plate positioning hole 212. When the fixing ring 22 is fixed on the mounting boss 15, the mounting seat end plate 211 around the end plate positioning hole 212 is located in the clamping groove 221.

[0055] The inner diameter of the fixing ring 22 is larger than the diameter of the lens mounting hole 13. Multiple fixing screw grooves 222 are provided on the inner sidewall of the fixing ring 22, and the multiple fixing screw grooves 222 are evenly distributed on the inner sidewall of the fixing ring 22. The mounting seat positioning groove 14 is provided at the end edge of the mounting positioning portion 102. A mounting boss 15 is formed at the end of the mounting positioning portion 102 inside the mounting seat positioning groove 14. Multiple fixing screw holes 151 are provided on the end surface of the mounting boss 15 at positions corresponding to the fixing screw grooves 222. The fixing ring 22 is secured to the mounting boss 15 by screws passing through the fixing screw grooves 222 and screwing into the fixing screw holes 151. As a result, the compression groove 221 and the inner portion of the mounting seat positioning groove 14 combine to form an annular groove that accommodates the mounting seat end plate 211. The mounting base end plate 211, which is located around the end plate positioning hole 212, is positioned within the annular groove and can rotate within the annular groove by interfitting between the wall of the end plate positioning hole 212 and the bottom of the annular groove, thereby enabling the mounting base 21 to rotate on the camera interface 1. This not only allows adjustment of the position of the illumination unit 3 emitting illumination light around the imaging lens 52, but also facilitates connecting the power supply for the illumination unit 3 to the mounting base 21 from different circumferential positions.

[0056] In some embodiments of the welding camera conversion kit of the present application, such as Figure 8As shown, the filter unit 4 includes a bandpass filter 41 and a protective lens 42. Both the bandpass filter 41 and the protective lens 42 are disposed inside the filter mounting cap 23. The protective lens 42 is disposed at the end of the mounting base 21 away from the camera interface 1, covering the opening at the end of the mounting base 21, thereby isolating the internal and external spaces of the mounting base 21.

[0057] The bandpass filter 41 can be positioned in various configurations within the mounting base 21. In one configuration, the bandpass filter 41 is positioned on the inner side of the protective lens 42 of the mounting base 21, that is, on the side closest to the camera interface 1. A spacer 43 can be positioned between the edge of the protective lens 42 and the bandpass filter 41. The spacer 43 ensures that the light-passing surface of the bandpass filter 41 is isolated from the light-passing surface of the protective lens 42. Alternatively, the spacer 43 can be omitted and the protective lens 42 and the bandpass filter 41 can be positioned directly together.

[0058] In another setting form, the bandpass filter 41 is arranged behind the imaging lens 52 fixed on the lens connecting structure 12, and is usually installed on the part of the lens interface 51 close to the photosensitive element in the gap between the imaging lens 52 and the photosensitive element of the industrial camera 5.

[0059] In a preferred embodiment of the welding camera modification kit of the present application, Figure 3 and Figure 7 As shown, the mounting assembly 2 also includes a filter mounting cap 23. One end of the filter mounting cap 23 is provided with connecting threads that mate with the connecting threads on the outer surface of the mounting base 21. The filter mounting cap 23 is threadedly connected to the end of the mounting base 21 away from the camera interface 1 via the connecting threads. The other end of the filter mounting cap 23 is provided with a light passage 231. A peripheral rib 232 is provided around the periphery of the light passage 231 and is integrally connected to the sidewall of the filter mounting cap 23. When the filter mounting cap 23 is screwed onto the mounting base 21, the protective lens 42 is compressed and fixed between the peripheral rib 232 and the end of the sidewall of the mounting base 21.

[0060] A lens gasket 44 is arranged between the protective lens 42 and the hole circumferential retaining edge 232. The lens gasket 44 is made of elastic waterproof material and is arranged between the protective lens 43 and the hole circumferential retaining edge 232. It can form a seal between the hole circumferential retaining edge 232 and the protective lens 42 to prevent water and dust in the external processing environment from entering the installation space inside the mounting seat 21.

[0061] In some embodiments of the welding camera conversion kit of the present application, such as Figure 9 As shown, the lighting unit 3 includes a ring circuit board 31, a light emitting chip 32 and a lighting power supply (not shown in the figure). Figure 2 and Figure 3As shown, the annular circuit board 31 is fixed inside the mounting assembly 2, specifically fixed inside the mounting seat 21, and is arranged along the inner side wall periphery of the mounting seat 21. Figure 5 As shown, a lighting unit mounting platform 213 is provided on the inner side of the mounting base end plate 211 and the inner side wall of the mounting base 21. The lighting unit mounting platform 213 is usually evenly arranged in three circumferential directions on the inner side wall of the mounting base 21. Mounting screw holes are provided on the lighting unit mounting platform 213. Screws are passed through the mounting holes on the annular circuit board 31 and screwed into the mounting screw holes to fix the annular circuit board 31 on the lighting unit mounting platform 213, thereby ensuring the stability of the mounting position of the annular circuit board 31 on the mounting base 21.

[0062] A light-emitting chip 32 is provided on the side of the annular circuit board 31 away from the camera interface 1, and the light-emitting chip 32 is connected to the conductive circuit on the annular circuit board 31. The annular circuit board 31 may have one or more light-emitting chips 32. When multiple light-emitting chips 32 are provided, the multiple light-emitting chips 32 are dispersed in the radial direction of the annular circuit board 31, and are usually evenly distributed in the radial direction of the annular circuit board 31. The annular circuit board 31 is connected to the lighting power supply via a wire and can emit narrow-band lighting light when driven by the lighting power supply. The lighting power supply can be provided inside the mounting base 21, in the space between the annular circuit board 31 and the mounting base end plate 211; or it can be installed outside the mounting base 21, entering the mounting base 21 via a wire and connecting to the annular circuit board 31. The narrow-band lighting light referred to in this application refers to lighting light whose wavelength is concentrated near a set center wavelength and whose wavelength deviates from the center wavelength by less than 20nm.

[0063] When the imaging lens 52 is mounted on the camera interface 1, its front end passes through the inner hole of the annular circuit board 31. Illuminating light from the multiple light-emitting chips 32 is evenly distributed from all sides of the imaging lens 52 toward the front of the lens 52, passing through the bandpass filter 41 and illuminating the weld area. Illuminating light from the weld area also passes through the bandpass filter 41 and enters the imaging lens 52, where it is focused to form a clear image. Because the high-intensity flickering light generated by welding cannot pass through the bandpass filter 41 and enter the imaging lens 52, interference from the intense welding light on the weld area is eliminated, allowing images of high-temperature areas such as the weld pool and weld seam to be displayed.

[0064] In a preferred embodiment of the welding camera modification kit of the present application, the light-emitting chip 32 uses a VCSEL laser chip. VCSEL is the abbreviation of Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser, and its Chinese name is vertical cavity surface emitting laser. It is a semiconductor laser, and the VCSEL laser chip is the laser emitting unit of the semiconductor laser. VCSEL laser chips are usually based on gallium arsenide semiconductors. The light emitted by them is mainly near-infrared lasers. The laser band is more concentrated, and the wavelength distribution range can reach within ±5nm of the center wavelength, ensuring that more illumination light passes through the bandpass filter 41. The light emitted by a single VCSEL laser chip can usually form a circular light spot that is evenly distributed in a certain area. The multiple VCSEL laser chips arranged on the annular circuit board 31 can form an illumination area in front of the imaging lens 52 with evenly distributed illumination light. The wavelength of light emitted by the VCSEL laser chip is relatively insensitive to temperature changes, and has a smaller temperature drift than the center wavelength of other types of lasers. It can use a narrow-band bandpass filter 41 with a narrower transmission band to filter out more welding light while ensuring smooth transmission of the illumination light.

[0065] Of course, the light emitting chip 32 may also use other surface emitting light sources, the wavelength of the illumination light emitted by the surface emitting light source is concentrated in a certain wavelength range, and the surface emitting light source can form a uniformly illuminated illumination area in front of the light emitting surface.

[0066] The lighting power supply uses a low-duty-cycle pulse power supply, supplying power to the light-emitting chip 32 in the form of low-duty-cycle pulses. This ensures that the light-emitting chip 32 is illuminated only at the moment of camera exposure. This allows for a short period of time to emit high-intensity illumination, meeting the lighting needs of the welding area. This also reduces the average energy loss of the light-emitting chip 32, preventing excessive temperature rise due to heat accumulation, improving the reliability of the light-emitting chip 32, and extending its service life.

[0067] The lighting power supply is also connected to the shutter control mechanism of the external industrial camera 5 via a control line. This ensures that when the shutter of the industrial camera 5 is triggered, a trigger pulse signal is simultaneously sent to the lighting power supply, triggering the lighting power supply to generate a power pulse. The time difference between the trigger pulse signal and the power pulse can be adjusted to ensure that the light emitting chip 32 emits illumination light at the appropriate time within the imaging period of the industrial camera 5, ensuring the best imaging effect.

[0068] In some embodiments of the welding camera conversion kit of the present application, such as Figure 2 and Figure 5As shown, the sidewalls of the mounting assembly 2 are provided with wiring holes 24 and lens adjustment holes 25, which are typically located on the sidewalls of the mounting base 21. A power socket 33 for providing power to the lighting unit 3 is also provided on the annular circuit board 31. The power socket 33 is fixed to the annular circuit board 31 and is connected to the light-emitting chip 32 via conductive traces on the annular circuit board 31. When the annular circuit board 31 is fixed to the mounting base 21, the power socket 33 is located opposite the wiring holes 24. The power supply cable that powers the lighting unit 3 can be connected to the power socket 33 through the wiring holes 24, and the current provided by the power supply cable drives the light-emitting chip 32 to emit light.

[0069] The mounting assembly 2 also includes a lens adjustment wrench 26, such as Figure 10 As shown, the lens adjustment wrench 26 includes a handle 261, an arc-shaped support 262, and a lens claw 263. The arc-shaped support 262 is arc-shaped and generally one-quarter the length of the arc. The handle 261 is provided at one end of the arc-shaped support 262 and is located on the outside of the arc, that is, away from the center of the arc. The lens claw 263 is provided at the other end of the arc-shaped support 262 and is located on the inside of the arc, that is, on the side where the center of the arc is located.

[0070] The lens adjustment wrench 26 is designed so that one end of the lens claw 263 can be inserted into the interior of the mounting base 21 through the lens adjustment hole 25, supporting the arc-shaped support 262 on the outer surface of the imaging lens 52, and inserting the lens claw 263 into the adjustment slot on the imaging lens 52. The shape and size of the lens claw 263 match the adjustment slot on the imaging lens 52. By turning the handle 261, the imaging lens 52 can be driven to rotate, thereby adjusting the focus and locking the imaging lens 52 of the industrial camera 5.

[0071] An embodiment of the welding camera of the present application, such as Figure 11 As shown, it includes an industrial camera 5 and a welding camera modification kit according to any embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 As shown, the industrial camera 5 is provided with a lens interface 51 and includes a standard imaging lens 52 having a diameter smaller than that of the lens interface 51. The welding camera modification kit of the present application is connected to the lens interface 51 via the camera interface 1, and the imaging lens 52 is connected to the lens connection structure 12. The front end of the imaging lens 52 passes through the middle area of ​​the lighting unit 3 and reaches the inner side of the filter unit 4, so that the narrow-band illumination light emitted by the lighting unit 3 can be emitted from all sides of the imaging lens 52 to the front of the imaging lens 52, and illuminate the welding area through the bandpass filter 41 with the same central wavelength.

[0072] The high-intensity light generated by welding often contains ultraviolet radiation, resulting in an extremely high energy density. Furthermore, the light intensity distribution across the weld area is extremely uneven, with a dynamic range exceeding 120dB across different areas, far exceeding the 60–80dB upper limit of the dynamic range of typical industrial cameras. Consequently, images of laser welds captured by standard industrial cameras show the molten pool completely obscured by the intense light, leaving only a bright spot. However, the limited availability of specialized welding cameras makes it difficult to meet the needs of a wide range of welding machines and specific welding applications.

[0073] The welding camera modification kit of the present application is small in size, highly integrated, and can be adapted to the vast majority of industrial cameras on the market. It can modify an ordinary industrial camera into a welding camera that can observe the morphology of the molten pool, significantly reducing the cost of capturing images of the welding molten pool and the weld during the welding process. There are many categories of industrial cameras on the market. The welding camera modification kit of the present application can be used to modify welding cameras of various forms to meet the needs of use in various welding equipment specifications and various welding scenarios. It is no longer limited by the limited specifications of welding cameras on the market and can meet the needs of a wide variety of application scenarios. Moreover, existing professional welding cameras usually contain foreign technology and foreign accessories. The use of the welding camera modification kit of the present application can achieve the localization of welding cameras and avoid foreign technical controls.

[0074] Throughout the description of this application, reference to terms such as "one embodiment," "specific embodiment," and "preferred embodiment" means that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in conjunction with that embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this application, schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

[0075] The above are all preferred embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, any equivalent changes made based on the structure, shape, and principle of the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A welding camera modification kit, characterized in that: The invention comprises a camera interface component (1), a mounting assembly (2), a lighting unit (3) and a filter unit (4), wherein the camera interface component (1) is provided with a camera connection structure (11) capable of being connected to the lens interface of an industrial camera (5), and a lens connection structure (12) capable of being connected to the imaging lens of the industrial camera (5), one end of the unit mounting assembly (2) is connected to the camera interface component (1), the lighting unit (3) is mounted in the unit mounting assembly (2) and is located at a position corresponding to the peripheral area of ​​the lens connection structure (12), the filter unit (4) is arranged on the imaging optical path of the imaging lens of the industrial camera (5) and is capable of filtering the light directed to the imaging lens of the industrial camera (5), the lighting unit (3) is capable of emitting narrow-band illumination light, and the filter unit (4) comprises a bandpass filter (41) capable of transmitting the illumination light.

2. The welding camera modification kit according to claim 1, characterized in that The camera interface component (1) comprises a camera connecting portion (101) and an installation positioning portion (102), wherein the camera connecting portion (101) and the installation positioning portion (102) are located at two ends of the camera interface component (1) in an axial direction, the camera connecting structure (11) is a camera interface thread provided on an outer surface of the camera connecting portion (101), and the installation assembly (2) is fixed on the installation positioning portion (102); a lens mounting hole (13) penetrating the camera connecting portion (101) and the installation positioning portion (102) is provided in the middle portion of the camera interface component (1), and the lens connecting structure (12) is a lens interface thread provided on a side wall of the lens mounting hole (13).

3. The welding camera modification kit according to claim 2, characterized in that The mounting assembly (2) comprises a mounting seat (21), one end of the mounting seat (21) is provided with a mounting seat end plate (211), a middle portion of the mounting seat end plate (211) is provided with an end plate positioning hole (212), and the mounting portion end plate (211) is defined on the end surface of the mounting positioning portion (102) through the end plate positioning hole (212); Alternatively, the mounting assembly (2) further comprises a fixing ring (22), the fixing ring (22) being fixed on the mounting positioning portion (102), a mounting seat positioning groove (14) being formed between the fixing ring (22) and the mounting positioning portion (102), and the mounting seat end plate (211) being defined on the end surface of the mounting positioning portion (102) through the end plate positioning hole (212), so that the mounting seat end plate (211) is located in the mounting seat positioning groove (14), and the mounting seat end plate (211) is defined in the mounting seat positioning groove (14).

4. The welding camera modification kit according to claim 3, characterized in that A pressing groove (221) is provided on the outer side of one end surface of the fixing ring (22), and a plurality of fixing screw grooves (222) are dispersedly provided on the inner side wall of the fixing ring (22). The mounting seat positioning groove (14) is provided on the end surface of the mounting positioning portion (102), and a mounting boss (15) is formed on the inner side of the mounting seat positioning groove (14). A plurality of fixing screw holes (151) corresponding to the fixing screw grooves (222) are provided on the mounting boss (15). The fixing ring (22) is fixed on the mounting boss (15) by screws passing through the fixing screw grooves (222) and screwing into the fixing screw holes (151), so that the mounting seat end plate (211) around the end plate positioning hole (212) can rotate in the annular groove formed by the combination of the pressing groove (221) and the mounting seat positioning groove (14).

5. The welding camera modification kit according to claim 3, characterized in that: The filter unit (4) further comprises a protective lens (42), wherein the protective lens (42) is arranged at an end of the mounting seat (21) away from the camera interface component (1), forming an isolation between the inner and outer spaces of the mounting seat (21); The bandpass filter (41) is arranged on the inner side of the protective lens (42), or is arranged between the imaging lens and the photosensitive element of the external industrial camera (5).

6. The welding camera modification kit according to claim 5, characterized in that The mounting assembly (2) further comprises a filter mounting cap (23), one end of the filter mounting cap (23) being provided with a light-through hole (231), a periphery of the light-through hole (231) forming a hole-circumferential retaining edge (232), the other end of the filter mounting cap (23) being threadedly connected to the other end of the mounting seat (21), the protective lens (42) being fixed between the hole-circumferential retaining edge (232) and the mounting seat (21), and a lens gasket (44) being provided between the protective lens (42) and the hole-circumferential retaining edge (232).

7. The welding camera conversion kit according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The lighting unit (3) comprises an annular circuit board (31), a light-emitting chip (32) and a lighting power supply. The annular circuit board (31) is fixed inside the mounting assembly (2) and corresponds to the peripheral area of ​​the lens connection structure (12). A plurality of light-emitting chips (32) are provided, and the plurality of light-emitting chips (32) are dispersedly arranged on the annular circuit board (31). The lighting power supply is connected to the annular circuit board (31).

8. The welding camera modification kit according to claim 7, characterized in that: The light-emitting chip (32) is a VCSEL laser chip, and the lighting power supply is a low-duty-cycle pulse power supply.

9. The welding camera modification kit according to claim 7, wherein: The side wall of the mounting assembly (2) is provided with a wiring hole (24) and a lens adjustment hole (25), and the annular circuit board (31) is provided with a power socket (33), and the power socket (33) is arranged opposite to the wiring hole (24); the imaging lens of the industrial camera (5) can be focused and locked through the lens adjustment hole (25).

10. A welding camera, characterized in that: The invention comprises an industrial camera (5) and a welding camera modification kit according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the industrial camera (5) comprises a lens interface (51) and an imaging lens (52), the camera interface component (1) is connected to the lens interface (51), and the imaging lens (52) is connected to the lens connection structure (12) and is located inside the mounting assembly (2).

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