Core material appearance detection workstation

Abstract

The invention discloses a core material appearance detection workstation, and relates to the technical field of core material appearance detection, and the core material appearance detection workstation comprises an unstacking mechanism, a material turning detection mechanism and a stacking mechanism; the unstacking mechanism, the material turning detection mechanism and the stacking mechanism are sequentially arranged in the material flowing direction. The unstacking mechanism is used for separating the stacked material trays bearing undetected core materials one by one and feeding the material trays to the material turning detection mechanism; the material turning detection mechanism is used for receiving the material tray from the unstacking mechanism and carrying out double-sided appearance image acquisition and defect detection on the core material in the material tray; according to the core material appearance detection device, the unstacking function module, the turn-over detection function module and the stacking function module are integrally designed and sequentially connected, full-process automation of core material appearance detection is achieved, and the problems that in the prior art, the manual dependency degree is high, the takt is slow, the consistency is poor, and the order disorder risk is caused by multiple times of transferring are effectively solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of core material appearance inspection technology, and in particular to a core material appearance inspection workstation. Background Technology

[0002] In precision manufacturing fields such as nuclear fuel, the appearance quality of core materials (such as ceramic fuel pellets) is a crucial guarantee for their performance and safety. Traditional appearance inspection methods often employ distributed or segmented schemes, where processes such as loading, flipping, inspection, and unloading are completed by multiple independent devices or workstations. In these schemes, the automation level of the loading and unloading processes is low, and critical operations such as the stacking and separation of material trays and the flipping of core materials often rely on manual intervention. This manual involvement not only leads to high labor intensity and low efficiency but also results in several key technical bottlenecks: First, the slow pace of manual operation makes it difficult to meet the efficiency requirements of modern production lines; second, it is difficult to ensure consistency in manual flipping and alignment for each operation, easily introducing subjective errors and affecting the reliability of inspection results; third, the positioning reference of the core material changes during the multi-process flow, easily generating cumulative errors and affecting inspection accuracy; fourth, manual stacking carries the risk of falling, which may damage the delicate core material.

[0003] To improve inspection efficiency, automated inspection using industrial vision technology has become an industry trend. Existing technical solutions (such as the "Chip Appearance Inspection System" disclosed in Chinese Patent Application Publication No. CN116087214A) achieve comprehensive inspection of the chip end faces and cylindrical surfaces, but their technical approach is essentially still distributed inspection. This solution uses multiple independent mechanisms such as lifting, tossing, and transferring, along with a conveyor line, to move the chip between different stations to complete the inspection of different surfaces. This multiple transfers and distributed layout make the collaborative control between stations complex, making it difficult to ensure the consistency of the chip material's sequence throughout the inspection process. The chip still faces the risk of collisions and sequence errors during multiple conveying and positioning actions, and the smoothness and efficiency of the entire line operation still need improvement.

[0004] In summary, how to provide a highly integrated, automated appearance inspection device that can strictly maintain the consistency of the core material flow sequence and realize a closed-loop operation of the entire process from automatic feeding and accurate flipping inspection to automatic stacking is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved in this field. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This invention provides a core material appearance inspection workstation, which solves the technical problems in the background art.

[0006] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides a core material appearance inspection workstation, including a destacking mechanism, a turning and inspection mechanism, and a stacking mechanism; the destacking mechanism, the turning and inspection mechanism, and the stacking mechanism are arranged sequentially along the material flow direction; the destacking mechanism is used to separate the stacked trays carrying uninspected core materials one by one and feed them to the turning and inspection mechanism; the turning and inspection mechanism is used to receive the trays from the destacking mechanism and perform double-sided appearance image acquisition and defect detection on the core materials in the trays; the turning and inspection mechanism includes a cage frame and a bottom support component. The system includes a friction roller conveyor line, a testing component, and a linkage clamping component; the cage frame is rotatably mounted on the bottom support; the friction roller conveyor line is located inside the cage frame for conveying material trays and rotates synchronously with the cage frame; the linkage clamping component is located on the cage frame for clamping and centering the material trays during testing and flipping; the testing component is fixedly mounted on the bottom support, with its sampling direction facing the testing station on the friction roller conveyor line; and the stacking mechanism is used to receive and stack the material trays that have been tested by the flipping and testing mechanism.

[0007] Preferably, the destacking mechanism includes a destacking frame, a rotary lifting assembly, and a feeding assembly; the rotary lifting assembly includes a lifting base, a first lifting driver, a rotary driver, a rotary mounting base, a drive gear, a driven gear, a rotating plate, and a rotating material baffle; the lifting base is disposed on the destacking frame, the first lifting driver is disposed on the lifting base, the rotary mounting base is disposed on the movable end of the first lifting driver, the rotary driver is disposed at the bottom of the rotary mounting base, the drive gear is disposed at the output end of the rotary driver, the driven gear is rotatably connected to the top of the rotary mounting base, the rotating plate is disposed on the top of the driven gear, and the rotating material baffle is disposed on the top of the rotating plate; the feeding assembly includes two symmetrically arranged feeding units for clamping and transferring materials.

[0008] Preferably, the rotary lifting assembly further includes a first guide module and a rotary limiting module; the first guide module includes a guide movable plate, a guide fixed plate, a guide sleeve, and a guide rod, for guiding the lifting movement of the rotary mounting seat; the rotary limiting module includes a limiting upper seat, a limiting lower seat matching the limiting upper seat, a sensing plate, and a photoelectric sensor, for limiting the rotation angle of the rotating plate.

[0009] Preferably, each feeding unit of the feeding assembly includes a feeding base, a feeding slide, a clamping base, a clamping driver, a feeding clamping plate, a guide base, and a guide roller assembly; the feeding slide is mounted on the destacking frame via the feeding base, the clamping driver is located at the movable end of the feeding slide, the feeding clamping plate is located at the output end of the clamping driver, and the guide roller assembly is connected to the destacking frame via the guide base.

[0010] Preferably, the stacking mechanism includes a stacking frame, a stacking assembly, and a feeding conveyor line; the feeding conveyor line is disposed above the stacking assembly, and the stacking assembly includes a stacking base, a stacking slide, a movable base, a second lifting driver, a second guide module, a stacking top plate, a limiting frame, and a stacking rack; the stacking base is disposed on the stacking frame, the stacking slide is disposed on the stacking base, the movable base is disposed at the movable end of the stacking slide, the second lifting driver is disposed on the movable base, the stacking top plate is disposed at the output end of the second lifting driver, and the limiting frame and the stacking rack are disposed on the stacking frame.

[0011] Preferably, the stacking rack includes a stacking side plate, a bolt seat, a return spring, a rotating shaft, a stacking rotating plate, and a limiting rod; the stacking side plate is disposed on the stacking frame, the stacking rotating plate is rotatably connected to the stacking side plate through the rotating shaft, the first end of the return spring is connected to the bolt seat, the bolt seat is connected to the stacking side plate, the end of the return spring is connected to the stacking rotating plate, and the limiting rod is disposed on the side of the stacking side plate to limit the rotation angle of the stacking rotating plate.

[0012] Preferably, the linkage clamping component is used to clamp and position the material tray and the core material, and includes a lead screw centering module for driving centering, an upper clamping module for upper clamping, a lower clamping module for lower lifting support, and a synchronous belt centering module for horizontal clamping; the squirrel cage frame is rotatably mounted on the bottom support member, and the friction roller conveyor line is mounted inside the squirrel cage frame and rotates synchronously therewith; the detection member is fixedly mounted on the bottom support member and faces the detection station of the friction roller conveyor line.

[0013] Preferably, the bottom support includes a drive servo motor and a rotating sprocket driven by it; the outside of the cage frame is provided with a bent plate single-hole chain that meshes with the rotating sprocket; the drive servo motor drives the rotating sprocket and the bent plate single-hole chain to drive the cage frame and its internal friction roller conveyor line and linkage clamping components to rotate as a whole.

[0014] Preferably, the friction roller conveyor line includes several friction wheel units driven by a conveyor line servo motor; a first guide rail is vertically arranged on the inner frame of the squirrel cage, and the friction roller conveyor line is slidably connected to the first guide rail via a second slider; the screw alignment module of the linkage clamping member includes a screw servo motor, a left-hand ball screw, and a right-hand ball screw, with a first ball screw nut and a second ball screw nut respectively fitted on the left-hand ball screw and the right-hand ball screw; the first ball screw nut is connected to the concave plate of the squirrel cage, and the second ball screw nut is connected to the friction roller conveyor line to drive the two to move in opposite directions or in opposite directions to achieve precise alignment.

[0015] The present invention provides a method for inspecting the appearance of core materials, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0016] S1: Destacking and loading step: The stacked trays carrying untested core materials are separated by the destacking mechanism and loaded one by one to the turning and detection mechanism.

[0017] S2: Initial inspection step: At the inspection station of the material turning inspection mechanism, image acquisition and appearance inspection are performed on the first side of the core material located in the lower material tray;

[0018] S3: Clamping and centering step: The lower tray is horizontally clamped and positioned by the linkage clamping component, and an empty tray is moved to the top of the lower tray and centered.

[0019] S4: Upper and lower pressing step: The empty material tray is pressed downward onto the lower material tray by the linkage clamping member to form a sealed assembly;

[0020] S5: Overall flipping and core material transfer steps: The bottom support component drives the mouse cage frame and its internal mechanism to flip 180 degrees as a whole, so that the core material is transferred from the lower material tray to the empty material tray under the action of gravity.

[0021] S6: Secondary inspection step: After flipping, the second side of the core material transferred to the empty material tray is image acquired and appearance inspected by the inspection component;

[0022] S7: Reset and Separation Step: Flip the entire mouse cage frame back to its original position, and separate the empty tray from the lower tray using the linkage clamping component;

[0023] S8: Material feeding and stacking step: The core material that has completed double-sided testing is sent out to the stacking mechanism along with the empty material tray and stacked.

[0024] Compared with related technologies, the core material appearance inspection workstation provided by the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0025] This invention provides a core material appearance inspection workstation. By integrating and sequentially connecting three major functional modules—unstacking, flipping inspection, and stacking—it achieves full automation of the core material appearance inspection process, effectively solving problems such as high reliance on manual labor, slow cycle time, poor consistency, and the risk of sequence disorder caused by multiple transfers in existing technologies.

[0026] This invention achieves unmanned continuous operation from material tray separation and core material double-sided detection to finished product stacking through the sequential arrangement and coordinated work of the destacking mechanism, the material turning and detection mechanism, and the stacking mechanism, which greatly improves the detection cycle time and production efficiency.

[0027] The material turning and inspection mechanism of this invention adopts an innovative method of "enclosed assembly overall turning," using gravity to transfer the core material between the upper and lower trays, completely avoiding the risks of positional disturbance, secondary contamination, or damage caused by manual or robotic hand handling and turning. Combined with the high-precision centering and clamping function of the linkage clamping component, it ensures the repeatability of the core material's position during each inspection, thereby guaranteeing the consistency of the inspection images and the accuracy of defect identification.

[0028] Throughout the entire testing process, the core material is always contained within the tray and flows along a closed, continuous path. From entering the material handling and testing mechanism to completing the stacking, its physical order is strictly maintained, effectively avoiding the sequence disorder that may be caused by distributed transfer, and providing a reliable foundation for product quality traceability.

[0029] Automated destacking and stacking mechanisms replace manual operation, eliminating the risk of uneven pallet stacking and falling. The material handling process is completed automatically in a confined space, reducing direct contact with the precision core material and lowering the possibility of contamination and damage. It is particularly suitable for fields with extremely high requirements for cleanliness and safety, such as nuclear fuel.

[0030] This invention integrates the core function of flip detection into a single, rotatable cage, resulting in a compact structure. The flipping is uniformly driven by a bottom support, ensuring highly synchronized internal conveying, clamping, and alignment actions. This simplifies the control system and ensures stable and reliable operation of the entire production line. Attached Figure Description

[0031] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the overall side structure of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the destacking mechanism of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 4 This is a side view of the destacking mechanism of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the rotary lifting assembly of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the stacking assembly of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the stacking rack of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the material turning detection mechanism of the present invention. Figure 1 ;

[0039] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the material turning detection mechanism of the present invention. Figure 2 ;

[0040] Figure 10 This is a side view of the material turning and detection mechanism of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 11 For the present invention Figure 10 Schematic diagram of the structure at point A in the middle;

[0042] Figure 12 For the present invention Figure 10 Schematic diagram of the structure at point B;

[0043] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the meshing structure of the bent plate single-hole chain and the rotating sprocket of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of the bottom support structure of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of the detection element structure of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram of the friction roller conveyor line structure of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 17 This is a schematic diagram of the frame cage structure of the present invention;

[0048] Figure 18 This is a schematic diagram of the synchronous belt alignment module structure of the present invention.

[0049] The diagram is labeled as follows: 1. Destacking mechanism; 11. Destacking frame; 12. Rotary lifting assembly; 13. Feeding assembly; 121. Lifting base; 122. First lifting driver; 123. Rotary driver; 124. Rotary mounting base; 125. Drive gear; 126. Driven gear; 127. First guide module; 128. Rotating plate; 129. Rotating material baffle; 1210. Lower limit seat; 1211. Upper limit seat; 1213. Sensing plate; 1214. Photoelectric sensor; 1271. Guide movable plate; 1272. Guide fixed plate; 1273. Guide sleeve; 1274. Guide rod; 131. Feeding base; 132. Feeding slide; 133. Clamping base; 134. Clamping driver; 135. 1. Feeding clamp; 136. Guide base; 137. Guide roller assembly; 2. Turning detection mechanism; 21. Squirrel cage frame; 211. Front circular support; 212. Rear circular support; 213. Connecting crossbeam; 214. Inner frame; 215. First guide rail; 2151. First slider; 2152. Second slider; 216. Concave plate; 217. Bent plate single-hole chain; 219. Collision block; 220. Buffer; 22. Bottom support; 221. Roller support; 222. Rotating wheel; 223. Drive servo motor; 224. Reducer; 225. Rotating sprocket; 226. First transmission shaft; 23. Friction roller conveyor line; 231. Conveyor line frame; 2321. Friction roller body; 2322. Driven sprocket; 2323 2324. Drive chain; 233. Axle; 234. Conveyor servo motor; 235. Drive sprocket; 236. Horizontal mounting plate; 237. Motor mounting base; 238. Vertical mounting plate; 239. Drive chain; 240. Second drive shaft; 241. Detection component; 242. Camera body; 243. Camera lens; 244. Camera mount; 245. Light source mounting base; 256. Ring light source; 257. Linkage clamping component; 251. Screw centering module; 2511. Left-hand ball screw; 2512. Right-hand ball screw; 2513. First ball screw nut; 2514. Second ball screw nut; 2515. Screw servo motor; 252. Upper clamping module; 2521. Upper clamping plate; 2522. Upper clamping... 2523, First guide unit; 2524, First floating joint; 25231, Upper guide shaft; 25232, Upper guide seat; 25233, Upper linear bearing; 25234, Upper parallel limiting plate; 253, Lower clamping module; 2531, Lower clamping plate; 2532, Lower clamping electric actuator; 2533, Second guide unit; 2534, Second floating joint; 2535, Fixed base plate; 25331, Lower guide shaft; 25332, Lower guide seat; 25333, Lower linear bearing; 25334, Lower parallel limiting plate; 254, Synchronous belt centering module; 2541, Synchronous belt drive assembly; 25411, Synchronous belt; 25412, Synchronous pulley; 25413, Synchronous belt servo motor;2542, Clamping actuator; 25421, Centering clamp; 25422, Synchronous belt clamp; 25423, Clamp mounting plate; 2543, Guide assembly; 25431, Second slide rail; 25432, Third slider; 27, Empty pallet; 3, Stacking mechanism; 31, Stacking frame; 32, Stacking assembly; 321, Stacking base; 322, Stacking slide; 323, Moving base; 324, Second top 325. Lifting actuator; 326. Second guide module; 327. Stacking top plate; 328. Limiting frame; 329. Stacking frame; 3201. Stacking side plate; 3282. Bolt seat; 3283. Return spring; 3284. Rotating shaft; 3285. Stacking rotating plate; 3286. Limiting rod; 100. First tray group; 200. Second tray; 300. Third tray; 400. Fourth tray; 500. Fifth tray group. Detailed Implementation

[0050] The specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are for illustration and explanation only and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0051] Please see Figure 1 and Figure 2 An embodiment of the present invention provides a core material appearance inspection workstation, which mainly includes a destacking mechanism 1, a turning inspection mechanism 2, and a stacking mechanism 3 arranged sequentially along the material flow direction.

[0052] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the destacking mechanism 1 includes a destacking frame 11, a rotary lifting assembly 12, and a feeding assembly 13.

[0053] The rotary lifting assembly 12 is used to lift and rotate the stacked first tray group 100 by a specified angle to facilitate material handling by the feeding assembly 13. It includes a lifting base 121, a first lifting driver 122 (such as a pneumatic or electric cylinder), a rotary driver 123 (such as a motor), a rotary mounting base 124, a drive gear 125, a driven gear 126, a first guide module 127, a rotating plate 128, and a rotating material baffle 129. The first lifting driver 122 drives the rotary mounting base 124 to lift and lower as a whole. The rotary driver 123 drives the drive gear 125, which in turn drives the driven gear 126 and the rotating plate 128 and rotating material baffle 129 fixed thereto to rotate, thereby adjusting the orientation of the first tray group 100.

[0054] The first guide module 127 includes a guide movable plate 1271, a guide fixed plate 1272, a guide sleeve 1273, and a guide rod 1274, which are used to ensure the smoothness and accuracy of the lifting movement. The rotation limit module (including a limit upper seat 1211, a limit lower seat 1210, a sensing plate 1213, and a photoelectric sensor 1214) is used to precisely control the rotation angle of the rotating plate 128.

[0055] The feeding assembly 13 includes two symmetrically arranged feeding units for clamping and transferring the second material tray 200 to the flipping detection mechanism 2. Each feeding unit includes a feeding base 131, a feeding slide 132 (such as a linear module), a clamping base 133, a clamping driver 134 (such as a cylinder), a feeding clamping plate 135, a guide base 136, and a guide roller assembly 137, realizing the clamping, horizontal transfer, and guiding positioning of the material tray.

[0056] like Figures 8 to 18 As shown, the material turning and detection mechanism 2 is the core of this device, and its specific structure and working principle are as follows:

[0057] The mechanism mainly includes a rat cage frame 21, a bottom support component 22, a friction roller conveyor line 23, a detection component 24, and a linkage clamping component 25.

[0058] like Figures 8-10 As shown, the cage frame 21 constitutes the main framework of the entire flipping mechanism. It includes a front circular support 211 and a rear circular support 212 arranged coaxially, which are fixedly connected by multiple connecting beams 213 to form a stable cage structure. Inside, there is also an inner frame 214 formed by the cross connection of horizontal and vertical beams. The outer circumference of both circular supports is provided with chain grooves and roller grooves.

[0059] On the vertical beams of the inner frame 214, first guide rails 215 are vertically installed. Each first guide rail 215 is equipped with upper and lower first sliders 2151 and second sliders 2152. The upper concave plate 216 is connected to the first guide rail 215 on both sides through the first sliders 2151, thus allowing it to slide up and down along the guide rail. The lower friction roller conveyor line 23 has vertical mounting plates 237 on both sides connected to the first guide rail 215 through the second sliders 2152, realizing the sliding installation of the friction roller conveyor line 23 within the cage frame 21. This structure ensures the linearity and precision of the structural movement.

[0060] The cage frame 21 is connected to the bottom support 22 via a single-hole chain 217 on its outer curved plate. In addition, bumpers 219 are provided on the circular bracket, concave plate 216 and vertical mounting plate 237 of the cage frame 21, and buffers 220 are installed at corresponding positions on the bottom support 22 and connecting beam 213, forming a limit system to prevent overtravel and protect the equipment.

[0061] like Figure 14 As shown, the bottom support 22 is used to support and drive the cage frame 21 to rotate. Roller supports 221 are symmetrically arranged at its four corners, and each roller support 221 is equipped with a rotating wheel 222. The roller surfaces of these rotating wheels 222 contact the grooves on the outer circumference of the cage frame 21. Preferably, the axis of these wheels forms a 45-degree angle with the horizontal central axis of the circular support to provide stable support and guidance.

[0062] A drive servo motor 223 is fixed on the bottom support 22. The drive servo motor 223 is connected to the first transmission shaft 226 through a reducer 224. Rotating sprockets 225 are installed at both ends of the first transmission shaft 226. The rotating sprockets 225 mesh with the bent plate single-hole chain 217 of the mouse cage frame 21, thereby driving the mouse cage frame 21 to perform a precise 180-degree rotation.

[0063] like Figure 16 As shown, the friction roller conveyor line 23 is disposed inside the squirrel cage frame 21 and rotates together with the squirrel cage frame 21. It includes two parallel conveyor frame frames 231 and a mounting bracket composed of a horizontal mounting plate 235 and a vertical mounting plate 237. Several friction roller units are mounted on the conveyor frame frames 231.

[0064] Each friction wheel unit includes a friction wheel body 2321, two driven sprockets 2322, a drive chain 2323, and axle 2324. The drive unit includes a conveyor servo motor 233 and a second drive shaft 239. The conveyor servo motor 233 is fixed below the horizontal mounting plate 235 via a motor mounting base 236, and a drive sprocket 234 is mounted on its output end. The drive sprocket 234 drives one or two of the friction wheel units at the beginning via a drive chain 238. The second drive shaft 239 connects to the corresponding axles 2324 on both sides of the conveyor frame 231, and then links the driven sprockets 2322 of all friction wheel units through the drive chain 2323, ensuring that all friction wheel bodies 2321 operate synchronously and providing stable conveying power for the material tray.

[0065] like Figure 15 As shown, the detection component 24 is used to acquire high-definition images of the core material. It includes a camera body 241, a camera lens 242, a camera mount 243, a light source mount 244, and a ring light source 245. The camera mount 243 is fixed to the top of the support column of the bottom support component 22, and the ring light source 245 (preferably a white LED diffuse reflection light source) is arranged around the camera lens 242 to provide a uniform, low-shadow lighting environment for the detection area.

[0066] The linkage clamping component 25 includes a lead screw centering module 251, an upper clamping module 252, a lower clamping module 253, and a timing belt centering module 254.

[0067] (1) Screw centering module 251: such as Figure 17 As shown, it includes a left-hand ball screw 2511 and a right-hand ball screw 2512 coaxially arranged, connected by a coupling. A screw servo motor 2515 drives the right-hand ball screw 2512. A first ball screw nut 2513 is connected to a concave plate 216, and a second ball screw nut 2514 is connected to a vertical mounting plate 237 of the friction roller conveyor line 23. When the screw servo motor 2515 rotates, the two nuts respectively drive the concave plate 216 (and the empty tray 27) and the friction roller conveyor line 23 (and the third material tray 300 above) to move synchronously in opposite directions or in opposite directions, achieving precise alignment of the upper and lower material trays.

[0068] (2) Upper clamping module 252: such as Figure 11 As shown, it includes an upper clamping plate 2521, an upper clamping electric actuator 2522, four sets of first guide units 2523, and a first floating joint 2524. The upper clamping electric actuator 2522 drives the upper clamping plate 2521 through the first floating joint 2524. The first guide unit 2523 includes an upper guide shaft 25231, an upper guide seat 25232, an upper linear bearing 25233, and an upper parallel limiting plate 25234, ensuring that the upper clamping plate 2521 can only move vertically and smoothly. An empty tray 27 is fixed to the lower surface of the upper clamping plate 2521.

[0069] (3) Lower clamping module 253: such as Figure 12 As shown, it includes a lower clamping plate 2531, a lower clamping electric actuator 2532, four sets of second guide units 2533, a second floating joint 2534, and a fixed base plate 2535. The second guide unit 2533 includes a lower guide shaft 25331, a lower guide seat 25332, a lower linear bearing 25333, and a lower parallel limiting plate 25334. The lower clamping electric actuator 2532 is connected to the lower clamping plate 2531 via the second floating joint 2534. The lower guide seat 25332 is fixed to the lower clamping plate 2531. One end of the lower guide shaft 25331 is connected to the lower guide seat 25332, and the other end is connected to the lower parallel limiting plate 25334. The lower linear bearing 25333 is sleeved on the surface of the lower guide shaft 25331 and connected to the fixed base plate 2535. The fixed base plate 2535 is fixed to the bottom of the friction roller conveyor line 23, and the lower clamping plate 2531 can pass through the gap of the friction roller conveyor line 23 to lift the third material tray 300.

[0070] (4) Synchronous belt alignment module 254: such as Figure 18As shown, it is mounted on the lower clamping plate 2531 and includes a synchronous belt drive assembly 2541, a clamping execution assembly 2542, and a guide assembly 2543. The synchronous belt drive assembly 2541 includes a synchronous belt 25411, a synchronous pulley 25412, and a synchronous belt servo motor 25413. The clamping execution assembly 2542 includes two centering clamping plates 25421, a synchronous belt clamping plate 25422, and a clamping plate mounting plate 25423. The guide assembly 2543 includes a second slide rail 25431 and a third slider 25432 that cooperates with it. The synchronous belt servo motor 25413 drives the synchronous belt 25411 to move, causing the two centering clamping plates 25421 fixed on both sides of the belt to move synchronously towards or away from each other along the second slide rail 25431, thereby achieving horizontal centering and clamping of the third material tray 300.

[0071] To ensure clamping accuracy and reliability, the parallelism error of all guide shaft axes is controlled within ≤0.02mm / m, and the symmetry error between guide shafts is ≤0.1mm. The use of floating joints can effectively compensate for any minor alignment errors that may exist between the drive components and the actuators.

[0072] like Figure 6 As shown, the stacking mechanism 3 is used to receive and neatly stack the inspected trays. It includes a stacking frame 31 and a stacking assembly 32.

[0073] The stacking assembly 32 includes a stacking base 321, a stacking slide 322 (such as a linear module), a moving base 323, a second lifting actuator 324 (such as a cylinder or electric cylinder), a second guide module 325, a stacking top plate 326, a limiting frame 327, and a stacking frame 328. The stacking slide 322 is used for lateral adjustment of the receiving position. The second lifting actuator 324 drives the stacking top plate 326 to rise and fall, used to lift the fourth material tray 400 into the bottom of the fifth material tray group 500.

[0074] like Figure 7 As shown, the stacking rack 328 includes a stacking side plate 3281, a bolt seat 3282, a return spring 3283, a rotating shaft 3284, a stacking rotating plate 3285, and a limiting rod 3286. In its natural state, the stacking rotating plate 3285 is kept horizontal by the return spring 3283 and is used to support the pallets. When the stacking top plate 326 rises, it can push open the stacking rotating plate 3285 to allow the fourth pallet 400 to pass through; after descending, the stacking rotating plate 3285 returns to its original position to support the fifth pallet group 500, thus achieving automatic stacking. The limiting rod 3286 is used to limit the rotation angle of the stacking rotating plate 3285.

[0075] To further achieve seamless integration with the material turning and inspection mechanism 2 and realize automated reception of the pallet after inspection, in this embodiment, a feeding conveyor line is fixedly installed directly above the stacking assembly 32.

[0076] The specific structure of this feeding conveyor line is exactly the same as that of the aforementioned friction roller conveyor line 23, and it is directly fixed on the top crossbeam of the stacking frame 31. It does not participate in the flipping motion and is a fixed station.

[0077] Once the pallet carrying the tested nuclear fuel cores is delivered from the friction roller conveyor line 23 of the turning and testing mechanism 2, it will directly enter this fixed feeding conveyor line. The feeding conveyor line transports the pallet to directly above the stacking station and positions it. Subsequently, the stacking slide 322 of the stacking assembly 32 and the second lifting drive 324 coordinate to connect and lower the pallet from below, completing the stacking.

[0078] The first tray group 100 is a tray group to be tested stacked on the destacking mechanism; the second tray 200 is a single tray that is destacking and transferred to the entrance of the flipping detection mechanism 2; the third tray 300 is a tray that is tested and flipped inside the flipping detection mechanism 2; the fourth tray 400 is a tray that is sent out from the flipping detection mechanism 2 after testing and enters the stacking mechanism 3; and the fifth tray group 500 is a group of tested trays that have been stacked in the stacking mechanism 3.

[0079] Device workflow:

[0080] This device is designed for the visual inspection of nuclear fuel pellets (such as cylindrical ceramic fuel pellets or fuel rod assemblies). Its workflow is designed according to the principles of automation, high precision, contamination avoidance, and reduced human intervention. The specific process is as follows:

[0081] 1. Destacking and Loading: The stacked first tray group 100 is lifted and rotated to a predetermined angle by the rotary lifting component 12 of the destacking mechanism 1. The loading component 13 picks up the uppermost tray as the second tray 200 and moves it horizontally to the friction roller conveyor line 23 at the entrance of the turning detection mechanism 2.

[0082] II. Initial Inspection and Positioning: The second material tray 200 (referred to as the third material tray 300 after entering the material turning and inspection mechanism 2) is conveyed to the area directly below the inspection station by the friction roller conveyor line 23. The annular light source 245 of the inspection piece 24 provides uniform illumination, and the camera acquires high-definition images of the upper surface of the core material in the third material tray 300, completing the first appearance inspection. At the same time, an empty tray 27 has been pre-placed below the upper clamping module 252.

[0083] III. Clamping and Alignment: The linkage clamping component 25 is activated. The lower clamping module 253 actuates, and its lower clamping plate 2531 rises through the gap of the friction rollers, lifting the third material tray 300 and detaching it from the roller surface. The synchronous belt alignment module 254 actuates, and its two alignment clamping plates 25421 move synchronously towards each other, performing horizontal alignment and clamping on the lifted third material tray 300. Simultaneously, the lead screw alignment module 251 is activated, driving the upper empty tray 27 (through the concave plate 216 and the upper clamping module 252) to precisely align with the lower third material tray 300. After alignment, the upper clamping module 252 actuates, pressing the empty tray 27 downward onto the third material tray 300 to form a sealed assembly.

[0084] IV. Overall Tilting and Core Material Transfer: The drive servo motor 223 of the bottom support 22 starts, driving the entire cage frame 21 and all internal mechanisms (including the clamping tray assembly) to rotate 180 degrees through the rotating sprocket 225 and the bent plate single-hole chain 217. During the tilting process, the core material, under the action of gravity, smoothly falls from the lower third tray 300 and is transferred to the upper empty tray 27.

[0085] V. Secondary Inspection and Reset: After the cage frame 21 is flipped into place, the inspection component 24 acquires an image of the lower surface (original bottom surface) of the core material that has been transferred to the empty tray 27, completing the second inspection. Subsequently, the mechanism flips 180 degrees again to reset.

[0086] VI. Unclamping and Unloading: After flipping and resetting, the various parts of the linkage clamping component 25 are released sequentially. The upper clamping module 252 lifts the empty pallet 27 (which now carries the core material that has completed double-sided testing), and the lower clamping module 253 descends, placing the third material tray 300 (now empty) back onto the friction roller conveyor line 23. The synchronous belt centering module 254 is released. The empty pallet 27 carrying the core material (now serving as the fourth material tray 400) is conveyed out of the cage frame 21 by the friction roller conveyor line 23.

[0087] VII. Stacking and Receiving: The fourth tray 400, delivered from the turning and detection mechanism 2, enters the feeding conveyor line fixedly installed above the stacking mechanism 3 and is transported to the top of the stacking station. The stacking slide 322 of the stacking assembly 32 is adjusted to the receiving position, and its second lifting driver 324 drives the stacking top plate 326 to rise, passing through the stacking turntable 3285, and lifting the fourth tray 400. Subsequently, the stacking top plate 326 descends, placing the fourth tray 400 on the stacking frame 328, and the stacking turntable 3285 returns to its original position under the action of the return spring 3283. This cycle is repeated to neatly stack the detected trays into the fifth tray group 500.

[0088] Process summary and advantages:

[0089] This workflow, through its core design of "closed-loop combined flipping," achieves dust-free and contactless automatic flipping of nuclear fuel pans during the testing process, completely avoiding the contamination risks and safety hazards associated with manual flipping. Simultaneously, the fully automated workflow ensures testing efficiency and data consistency, making it particularly suitable for the nuclear fuel manufacturing field, where cleanliness, safety, and testing integrity requirements are extremely high.

[0090] This invention achieves fully automated integration of destacking, inspection, and stacking processes. In particular, through a high-precision flip-type inspection mechanism, it enables blind-spot-free, high-efficiency, and highly consistent appearance inspection of the core material cylinder surface, greatly improving production efficiency and product quality.

[0091] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention. Various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A core material appearance inspection workstation, characterized in that, include: Destacking mechanism, material turning and detection mechanism, and stacking mechanism; The destacking mechanism, the material turning and detection mechanism, and the stacking mechanism are arranged sequentially along the material flow direction; The destacking mechanism is used to separate the stacked trays containing untested core material one by one and feed them to the turning and testing mechanism. The material turning and inspection mechanism is used to receive the material tray from the destacking mechanism and to perform double-sided appearance image acquisition and defect detection on the core material in the material tray. The material turning and inspection mechanism includes a cage frame, a bottom support, a friction roller conveyor line, an inspection piece, and a linkage clamping component. The cage frame is rotatably mounted on the bottom support. The friction roller conveyor line is located inside the cage frame and is used to convey the material tray, rotating synchronously with the cage frame. The linkage clamping component is located on the cage frame and is used to clamp and center the material tray during inspection and turning. The inspection piece is fixedly mounted on the bottom support, with its sampling direction facing the inspection station on the friction roller conveyor line. The stacking mechanism is used to receive and stack the material trays that have been inspected by the material turning and inspection mechanism.

2. The core material appearance inspection workstation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The destacking mechanism includes a destacking frame, a rotary lifting assembly, and a feeding assembly. The rotary lifting assembly includes a lifting base, a first lifting driver, a rotary driver, a rotary mounting base, a drive gear, a driven gear, a rotating plate, and a rotating material baffle. The lifting base is mounted on the destacking frame, the first lifting driver is mounted on the lifting base, the rotary mounting base is located at the movable end of the first lifting driver, the rotary driver is located at the bottom of the rotary mounting base, the drive gear is located at the output end of the rotary driver, the driven gear is rotatably connected to the top of the rotary mounting base, the rotating plate is located at the top of the driven gear, and the rotating material baffle is located at the top of the rotating plate. The feeding assembly includes two symmetrically arranged feeding units for clamping and transferring materials.

3. The core material appearance inspection workstation according to claim 2, characterized in that: The rotary lifting assembly further includes a first guide module and a rotary limiting module; the first guide module includes a guide movable plate, a guide fixed plate, a guide sleeve, and a guide rod, which are used to guide the lifting and lowering movement of the rotary mounting seat; the rotary limiting module includes a limiting upper seat, a limiting lower seat matching the limiting upper seat, a sensing plate, and a photoelectric sensor, which are used to limit the rotation angle of the rotating plate.

4. The core material appearance inspection workstation according to claim 2, characterized in that: Each feeding unit of the feeding assembly includes a feeding base, a feeding slide, a clamping base, a clamping driver, a feeding clamping plate, a guide base, and a guide roller assembly; the feeding slide is mounted on the destacking frame via the feeding base, the clamping driver is located at the movable end of the feeding slide, the feeding clamping plate is located at the output end of the clamping driver, and the guide roller assembly is connected to the destacking frame via the guide base.

5. The core material appearance inspection workstation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The stacking mechanism includes a stacking frame, a stacking assembly, and a feeding conveyor line. The feeding conveyor line is located above the stacking assembly. The stacking assembly includes a stacking base, a stacking slide, a movable base, a second lifting driver, a second guide module, a stacking top plate, a limiting frame, and a stacking rack. The stacking base is located on the stacking frame, the stacking slide is located on the stacking base, the movable base is located at the movable end of the stacking slide, the second lifting driver is located on the movable base, the stacking top plate is located at the output end of the second lifting driver, and the limiting frame and the stacking rack are located on the stacking frame.

6. The core material appearance inspection workstation according to claim 5, characterized in that: The stacking rack includes a stacking side plate, a bolt seat, a return spring, a rotating shaft, a stacking rotating plate, and a limiting rod. The stacking side plate is disposed on the stacking frame. The stacking rotating plate is rotatably connected to the stacking side plate via the rotating shaft. The first end of the return spring is connected to the bolt seat, the bolt seat is connected to the stacking side plate, and the last end of the return spring is connected to the stacking rotating plate. The limiting rod is disposed on the side of the stacking side plate and is used to limit the rotation angle of the stacking rotating plate.

7. The core material appearance inspection workstation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The linkage clamping component is used to clamp and position the material tray and the core material. It includes a lead screw centering module for driving centering, an upper clamping module for upper clamping, a lower clamping module for lower lifting support, and a synchronous belt centering module for horizontal clamping. The squirrel cage frame is rotatably mounted on the bottom support member, and the friction roller conveyor line is located inside the squirrel cage frame and rotates synchronously with it. The detection member is fixedly mounted on the bottom support member and faces the detection station of the friction roller conveyor line.

8. The core material appearance inspection workstation according to claim 7, characterized in that: The bottom support includes a drive servo motor and a rotating sprocket driven by it; the outside of the cage frame is provided with a bent plate single-hole chain that meshes with the rotating sprocket; the drive servo motor drives the rotating sprocket and the bent plate single-hole chain to drive the cage frame and its internal friction roller conveyor line and linkage clamping components to rotate as a whole.

9. The core material appearance inspection workstation according to claim 7, characterized in that: The friction roller conveyor line includes several friction wheel units driven by a conveyor line servo motor; a first guide rail is vertically arranged on the inner frame of the squirrel cage, and the friction roller conveyor line is slidably connected to the first guide rail via a second slider; the screw alignment module of the linkage clamping component includes a screw servo motor, a left-hand ball screw, and a right-hand ball screw, with a first ball screw nut and a second ball screw nut respectively fitted on the left-hand ball screw and the right-hand ball screw; the first ball screw nut is connected to the concave plate of the squirrel cage, and the second ball screw nut is connected to the friction roller conveyor line to drive them to move in opposite directions or in opposite directions to achieve precise alignment.

10. A method for inspecting the appearance of core material using a core material appearance inspection workstation according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1: Destacking and loading step: The stacked trays carrying untested core materials are separated by the destacking mechanism and loaded one by one to the turning and detection mechanism. S2: Initial inspection step: At the inspection station of the material turning inspection mechanism, image acquisition and appearance inspection are performed on the first side of the core material located in the lower material tray; S3: Clamping and centering step: The lower tray is horizontally clamped and positioned by the linkage clamping component, and an empty tray is moved to the top of the lower tray and centered. S4: Upper and lower pressing step: The empty material tray is pressed downward onto the lower material tray by the linkage clamping member to form a sealed assembly; S5: Overall flipping and core material transfer steps: The bottom support component drives the mouse cage frame and its internal mechanism to flip 180 degrees as a whole, so that the core material is transferred from the lower material tray to the empty material tray under the action of gravity. S6: Secondary inspection step: After flipping, the second side of the core material transferred to the empty material tray is image acquired and appearance inspected by the inspection component; S7: Reset and Separation Step: Flip the entire mouse cage frame back to its original position, and separate the empty tray from the lower tray using the linkage clamping component; S8: Material feeding and stacking step: The core material that has completed double-sided testing is sent out to the stacking mechanism along with the empty material tray and stacked.

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