A roller assembly for assembling railway vehicle buffers and a conveyor line

Abstract

This invention discloses an idler roller assembly and conveyor line for assembling railway vehicle buffers, relating to the field of press-fitting production line technology. It includes a frame and several idler roller units mounted on the frame. The idler roller units are of a split structure, including a left idler roller group and a right idler roller group symmetrically arranged on both sides of the frame. The inner ends of the left and right idler roller groups are disconnected, forming a clearance gap area for external mechanisms to pass through. Both the left and right idler roller groups contain cylindrical idler roller bodies. This invention, through its split design combined with the clearance gap area and side-mounted drive motor, breaks the spatial limitations of traditional through-shaft drive idler rollers. It not only provides a non-interference path for the comb arm of the subsequent flipping device, achieving seamless integration of conveying and flipping, but also serves as a drainage channel, allowing iron filings and cutting fluid at the bottom of the buffer to fall freely into the slag collection trough below, preventing slippage caused by oil accumulation on the idler roller surface.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of press-fitting production line technology, specifically to an idler roller assembly and conveyor line for assembling railway vehicle buffers. Background Technology

[0002] Railway vehicle buffers (such as MT-2, MT-3, and HM-1 types) are core safety components in railway freight car connection systems. They are mainly composed of heavy-duty cast steel shells, friction wedges, springs, and other components. During the automated assembly and maintenance of the buffers, the shell serves as the base, with a single component typically weighing between 200kg and 300kg, and has a flat bottom rectangular or cubic structure.

[0003] Due to the requirements of the assembly process, the housing needs to be transported frequently and with high precision between multiple stations such as cleaning, inspection, assembly, and pressing. During the transport process, it is necessary to ensure that the reference surface at the bottom of the housing is not scratched. At the same time, the housing is required to have high centering accuracy when entering automated stations (such as flipping and pressing). Existing conveying units usually use integral through-shaft idlers. These idlers span the width of the entire conveyor frame, are fixed at both ends by bearing seats, and are driven to rotate by chains or gears. They are transported by the friction between the roller surface and the bottom of the buffer.

[0004] However, this traditional conveyor roller structure reveals the following limitations in actual high-precision automated assembly processes: The integral idler rollers form a continuous physical barrier on the horizontal plane of the frame, occupying the space below the conveyor surface. This prevents the conveyor line from integrating vertically integrated process mechanisms. For example, when a process requires flipping, lifting, or bottom marking of the buffer, the idler rollers prevent the robotic arm of the flipping mechanism or the lifting platform of the press machine from passing between them. This forces existing production lines to use complex gantry gripping or lateral transfer mechanisms to remove heavy workpieces from the conveyor line, significantly increasing equipment costs and floor space, and reducing production cycle time. Secondly, after machining and cleaning, the bottom of the buffer housing often has residual cutting fluid, rust-preventive oil, or fine iron filings. The integral long idler roller and the buffer with a flat bottom surface form a long line of contact. Due to the lack of drainage channels, oil and impurities are easily trapped between the contact surfaces and cannot be discharged, thus forming a layer of oil film with lubricating effect. When the heavy-load conveyor starts and stops, this oil film will cause the friction between the idler roller and the workpiece to drop sharply, causing serious slippage, resulting in inaccurate workpiece conveying position, or even getting stuck on the conveyor line and unable to move forward. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide an idler roller assembly and conveyor line for assembling railway vehicle buffers, which solves the problems of the integral idler roller hindering process access and being prone to slippage, and overcomes the problems of low efficiency, large hidden dangers, and inability to achieve online inverted marking and precision pressing of heavy-duty buffer discrete assembly.

[0006] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: A roller assembly for assembling railway vehicle buffers includes a frame and several roller units mounted on the frame. The roller units are of a split structure, including a left roller group and a right roller group symmetrically arranged on both sides of the frame. The inner ends of the left roller group and the right roller group are disconnected to form a clearance gap area for external mechanisms to pass through. Both the left and right roller groups include cylindrical roller bodies. The axis of the roller body is inclined relative to the horizontal plane with the inner side lower than the outer side. The inclination angle ranges from 2° to 5°, thereby utilizing the component of gravity to form an automatic centering tendency and maintain a consistent roller surface linear velocity. The outer ends of the left and right roller groups are respectively provided with independent drive motors. The drive motors drive the roller bodies to rotate step by step through chains, so that the clearance gap area remains clear.

[0007] By adopting the above technical solution and using a cylindrical idler body, the linear velocity of all parts of the roller surface is ensured to be completely consistent, so that there is only pure rolling friction between the idler and the bottom surface of the buffer, which completely eliminates the wear caused by differential sliding. This not only protects the bottom reference surface of the buffer from scratches, but also significantly extends the service life of the rubber coating layer of the idler. By setting the cylindrical idler to be inclined with the inner lower and the outer higher, without using a tapered roller, the gravity of the workpiece itself is used to decompose a component force pointing towards the center of the conveyor line. This component force forces the square buffer to automatically move towards the center during the conveying process, always maintaining the center position of the conveyor line. This effectively prevents the workpiece from rigidly colliding with the side wall of the frame due to deviation, and also provides high-precision centering and positioning for subsequent flipping stations.

[0008] A further improvement of the technical solution of the present invention is that: the surface of the idler roller body is covered with a polyurethane elastic layer, and a number of herringbone-shaped guide drain grooves are opened on the surface, with the opening direction of the drain grooves facing the conveying direction of the frame.

[0009] To further reduce the skewing of the shell during the conveying process, the outer end of the idler roller body is integrally formed with a flexible limiting baffle. The flexible limiting baffle is in the shape of an inverted frustum or a disc with a diameter larger than that of the idler roller body, and the material of the flexible limiting baffle is polyurethane. A further improvement of the technical solution of the present invention is as follows: a first conveyor frame, a second conveyor frame, a third conveyor frame, a fourth conveyor frame, and a control system are sequentially connected along the process flow direction; idler roller assemblies are installed on the first, second, third, and fourth conveyor frames; a first flipping device is provided between the first and second conveyor frames to flip the buffer from its upright position to its inverted position; a marking machine is installed above the second conveyor frame to mark the bottom of the buffer in its inverted position; a second flipping device is provided between the second and third conveyor frames to flip the buffer back from its inverted position to its upright position; a first pressing machine and a second pressing machine are respectively provided on the conveying paths of the third and fourth conveyor frames to perform graded assembly and pressing of the buffer in its upright position; a lifting support assembly is provided at the working position of both the first and second pressing machines, and the lifting support assembly can pass through the clearance area of ​​the idler roller assembly to lift the buffer to isolate the pressing force.

[0010] By adopting the above technical solution, the heterogeneous equipment such as flipping, marking, and pressing are connected in series through four conveyor frames, realizing the full automation of feeding, flipping and dumping, online marking, resetting and pressing. The process that originally required multiple offline transfers is compressed into a straight path, which greatly shortens the logistics path and eliminates the risk of transfer and handling of heavy-duty workpieces.

[0011] A further improvement of the technical solution of the present invention is that: the first flipping device and the second flipping device have the same structure, both including a side frame, and a flipping frame is rotatably connected between the sides of the side frames that are close to each other; a driving component for driving the flipping frame to rotate is provided on the outer side of the side frame; the flipping frame includes four modular plates with the same structure, the four modular plates are arranged in rotational symmetry, and the end of any one modular plate is vertically abutted and fixed to the middle side wall of the adjacent modular plate, thereby forming a rectangular through hole in the center and extending outward to form four cantilever sections; the cantilever sections serve as fixed side walls, and together with the adjustable limiting plates installed on the modular plates serve as movable side walls, forming a U-shaped bracket station for accommodating the buffer; the bottom of the U-shaped bracket station is provided with a bearing comb that can pass through the clearance area of ​​the idler roller assembly.

[0012] Using the above technical solution, the flipping frame is connected by four modular plates in a rotationally symmetrical manner with their ends perpendicularly abutting each other (i.e., a grid-shaped / windmill-shaped structure). This closed-loop geometric structure transforms the torque stress when the shell flips into the tensile and compressive stress of the plates, thus forming a rigid frame with extremely high strength, effectively preventing structural deformation under long-term load.

[0013] A further improvement of the technical solution of the present invention is as follows: Each module plate is provided with an adjustment groove, and a first screw is rotatably connected inside each adjustment groove. A slider is threadedly connected to the outside of the first screw, and the slider is slidably connected to the adjustment groove. A limiting plate is fixedly connected to the slider. Each module plate is provided with a transmission groove. One end of the central shaft of the first screw extends into the interior of the adjustment groove and is fixedly connected to a first bevel gear. A transmission rod is rotatably connected inside each transmission groove. One end of the transmission rod is fixedly connected to the central shaft of the first bevel gear, and the other end passes through the transmission groove of an adjacent module plate and is fixedly connected to a second bevel gear. The first bevel gear and the second bevel gear located inside the same transmission groove mesh with each other. One end of the first screw, away from the first bevel gear, extends to the outside of the module plate and is fixedly connected to a throttle handle.

[0014] By adopting the above technical solution, the second screws of the four workstations are connected in series through a bevel gear transmission chain. All limit plates can be driven to open and close synchronously using a single throttle. This not only achieves rapid production changeover with single-point drive and full-line response, significantly reducing the labor intensity of workers, but also ensures from a mechanical structure perspective that the opening and closing width of the four U-shaped brackets always remains strictly consistent, avoiding clamping eccentricity problems caused by manual adjustment errors.

[0015] A further improvement of the technical solution of the present invention is that: the inner side of the side frame is provided with a mounting bracket, on which a first sensor and a second sensor are fixedly mounted respectively. The detection end of the first sensor faces the feeding station of the flipping device, and the detection end of the second sensor faces the discharging station of the flipping device; both the first sensor and the second sensor are laser rangefinders; the control system is electrically connected to the first sensor, the second sensor and the drive assembly respectively; the control system is configured to: receive the distance signals of the first sensor and the second sensor in real time, and only when the distance value fed back by the first sensor indicates that the buffer has been fed into place and the distance value fed back by the second sensor indicates that the discharging station is empty, control the drive assembly to start so as to drive the flipping frame to rotate.

[0016] By adopting the above technical solution, by setting up a first sensor and a second sensor and constructing a dual interlock logic for feeding and emptying, and by using precise comparison of distance measurement values, malfunctions caused by position deviation or material blockage are fundamentally eliminated. This not only provides safety protection against errors and collisions, but also realizes automatic flow control of production cycle.

[0017] A further improvement of the technical solution of the present invention is that: the drive component includes a tilting motor and a reducer, and the output shaft of the tilting motor is connected to the central shaft of the tilting frame through the reducer; the control system is also configured to: after the control drive component is started, drive the tilting frame to perform intermittent movement in a step manner of rotating 90° each time.

[0018] By adopting the above technical solution and setting the motion logic of 90° step, the symmetrical structural characteristics of the cross-shaped tilting frame are utilized. When the tilting frame is in a loaded operation state (for example, simultaneously carrying two or more workpieces), the gravitational potential energy released by the workpiece falling in the 90° to 180° range will be converted into rotational torque through the central axis, which will help lift the workpiece rising in the 0° to 90° range. This complementary torque effect of rising and falling (similar to the counterweight principle of an elevator) greatly offsets the lifting torque required by the motor, so that the tilting motor only needs to provide energy to overcome friction and imbalance difference, which significantly reduces the system energy consumption.

[0019] A further improvement of the technical solution of the present invention is as follows: an adjusting seat is fixedly connected to the lower part of the side frame near the material receiving side, a second screw is threadedly connected to the adjusting seat, one end of the second screw has a handle, and the other end passes through the adjusting seat and is rotatably connected to a slide, a first guide rod is fixedly connected to the slide, the first guide rod passes through the adjusting seat and is slidably connected to the adjusting seat; a third sensor is fixedly connected to the top of the slide; a cylinder is fixedly connected to the slide, and a baffle is fixedly connected to the piston rod of the cylinder; a second guide rod is fixedly connected to the bottom of the baffle, the second guide rod passes through the slide and is slidably connected to the slide.

[0020] By adopting the above technical solution, the physical expulsion effect of the corners of the square shell extending backward in the initial stage of flipping is utilized. At the moment of starting the flipping, the rotating corners of the shell will automatically push the shell waiting for material behind it backward a certain distance. This passive pushing action creates valuable physical space for the baffle to rise, solving the problem of not being able to insert the baffle on a high-density conveyor line.

[0021] A further improvement of the technical solution of the present invention is that: the lifting support assembly includes a fixed base, a lifting hydraulic cylinder fixedly connected to the fixed base, and a bearing platform fixedly connected to the piston rod of the lifting hydraulic cylinder; the bearing platform is provided with a plurality of clearance grooves; wherein, the first pressing machine and the second pressing machine are both fixedly connected to the fixed base.

[0022] By adopting the above technical solution, the hydraulic cylinder drives the bearing platform to lift the workpiece, and the huge pressing reaction force is directly transmitted to the pressing machine body (or foundation) through the bearing platform-fixed base, which completely cuts off the pressure transmission path to the precision idler roller and prevents the idler roller bearing from being crushed or the shaft from bending. Among them, the design of the clearance groove solves the spatial conflict between the rigid platform and the dense conveying components, ensuring that the platform can accurately avoid the idler roller shaft, chain and bearing seat during the lifting process, and realizes the interlocking lifting in a narrow space.

[0023] By adopting the above technical solution, the technical effects achieved by this invention compared to the prior art are as follows: 1. This invention, by employing a cylindrical idler roller body, ensures that the linear velocity at all points on the roller surface is completely consistent, resulting in only pure rolling friction between the idler roller and the bottom surface of the buffer. This completely eliminates wear caused by differential sliding, protecting the precision-machined bottom reference surface of the buffer from scratches and significantly extending the service life of the roller's rubber coating. By setting the cylindrical idler roller to an inclined arrangement with a lower inner side and a higher outer side, without using a tapered roller, the workpiece's own gravity is used to decompose a component force pointing towards the center of the conveyor line. This component force forces the square buffer to automatically move towards the center during conveying, always maintaining its position in the center of the conveyor line. This effectively prevents the workpiece from rigidly colliding with the side wall of the frame due to deviation, and also provides high-precision centering and positioning for subsequent flipping stations.

[0024] 2. The present invention adopts a split design with an avoidance gap area and a side-mounted drive motor, which breaks the spatial limitation of traditional through-shaft drive of idler rollers. It not only provides an interference-free insertion path for the comb arm of the subsequent flipping device, realizing seamless integration of conveying and flipping; at the same time, the gap area also serves as a sewage discharge channel, allowing iron filings and cutting fluid at the bottom of the buffer to fall freely into the slag collection trough below, preventing slippage caused by the accumulation of oil on the surface of the idler roller.

[0025] 3. This invention connects heterogeneous equipment such as flipping, marking, and pressing in series through four conveyor frames, realizing full automation of feeding, flipping and dumping, online marking, resetting, and pressing. It compresses the original process that required multiple offline transfers into a straight path, greatly shortening the logistics path and eliminating the risk of transferring and handling heavy-duty workpieces.

[0026] 4. By setting adjustable limit plates to accommodate the flipping of different models of buffers, and using bevel gears for transmission adjustment, the second screws of the four workstations are connected in series. All limit plates can be driven to open and close synchronously using a single throttle. This not only achieves rapid production changeover with single-point drive and full-line response, greatly reducing the labor intensity of workers, but also ensures from a mechanical structure perspective that the opening and closing width of the four U-shaped brackets always remains strictly consistent, avoiding clamping eccentricity problems caused by manual adjustment errors.

[0027] 5. By setting up a first sensor and a second sensor and constructing a dual interlock logic for feeding and emptying, and by using precise comparison of distance measurement values, malfunctions caused by positional deviations or material blockages are fundamentally eliminated. This not only provides safety protection against errors and collisions but also enables automatic flow control of production cycle. Attached Figure Description

[0028] The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0029] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the overall conveyor line of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the installation structure of the idler roller assembly of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a side view of the idler roller assembly of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the idler roller body of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a top view of the flipping device of the present invention. Figure 6 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the flipping device of the present invention; Figure 7 This is one of the main view structural schematic diagrams of the flipping device of the present invention; Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the front cross-sectional structure of the flipping device of the present invention; Figure 9 This is a second schematic diagram of the main structure of the flipping device of the present invention; Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the lifting support component of the present invention.

[0030] In the diagram: 1. Frame; 101. First conveyor frame; 102. Second conveyor frame; 103. Third conveyor frame; 104. Fourth conveyor frame; 201. Idler roller body; 202. Polyurethane elastic layer; 203. Drainage trough; 301. Side frame; 302. Tilting motor; 31. Tilting frame; 311. Module plate; 312. Limiting plate; 313. Bearing comb teeth; 321. Adjustment groove; 322. Transmission groove; 323. First screw; 324. First bevel gear; 325. Second bevel gear; 326. 327. Slider; 401. Transmission rod; 402. Mounting bracket; 403. First sensor; 404. Second sensor; 505. Adjusting seat; 506. Second screw; 507. First guide rod; 508. Cylinder; 509. Baffle; 5000. Second guide rod; 501. Slide seat; 502. Third sensor; 603. First pressing machine; 604. Second pressing machine; 61. Lifting support assembly; 615. Fixed base; 616. Lifting hydraulic cylinder; 617. Bearing platform; 618. Clearance groove; 7. Marking machine. Detailed Implementation

[0031] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the embodiments.

[0032] Example 1 like Figures 1-4As shown, the present invention provides a roller assembly for assembling railway vehicle buffers, including a frame 1 and several roller units disposed on the frame 1; the roller unit is a split structure, including a left roller group and a right roller group symmetrically disposed on both sides of the frame 1, the inner ends of the left roller group and the right roller group are disconnected to form a clearance gap area for external mechanisms to pass through; both the left roller group and the right roller group include a cylindrical roller body 201, the axis of the roller body 201 is inclined with the inner lower and the outer higher relative to the horizontal plane, the inclination angle ranges from 2° to 5°, thereby using the gravity component to form an automatic centering tendency and maintain the consistent linear velocity of the roller surface; the outer ends of the left roller group and the right roller group are respectively provided with independent drive motors, the drive motors drive the roller body 201 to rotate step by step through chains, so that the clearance gap area is kept clear.

[0033] In this embodiment, a cylindrical idler roller body 201 is used to ensure that the linear velocity of each part of the roller surface is completely consistent, so that there is only pure rolling friction between the idler roller and the bottom surface of the buffer, which completely eliminates the wear caused by differential sliding. This not only protects the bottom reference surface of the buffer from being scratched, but also significantly extends the service life of the rubber coating layer of the idler roller. Furthermore, by setting the cylindrical idler rollers to an incline of 2° to 5° with the inner side lower and the outer side higher, without using tapered rollers, the workpiece's own weight is used to decompose a component force pointing towards the center of the conveyor line. This component force forces the square buffer to automatically move towards the center during the conveying process, always maintaining its position in the center of the conveyor line. This effectively prevents the workpiece from rigidly colliding with the side wall of the frame 1 due to deviation, and also provides high-precision centering and positioning for subsequent flipping stations.

[0034] Furthermore, the split design, combined with the clearance gap area and the side-mounted drive motor, breaks the spatial limitations of traditional through-shaft drive for idlers. This not only provides an interference-free insertion path for the comb arm of the subsequent flipping device, achieving seamless integration of conveying and flipping, but also serves as a sewage discharge channel, allowing iron filings and cutting fluid at the bottom of the buffer to fall freely into the slag collection trough below, preventing slippage caused by the accumulation of oil on the idler surface.

[0035] During operation: The drive motor and reducer start, driving the sprockets at the ends of each idler roller unit to rotate via a chain mounted on the outside of frame 1. Due to the step-by-step transmission method, the cylindrical idler roller bodies 201 of the left and right idler roller groups rotate synchronously at the same speed. When the railway vehicle buffer is placed on the idler roller, its bottom left and right sides are supported on the left and right cylindrical idler roller bodies 201, respectively. The frictional force generated by the rotation of the idler roller drives the buffer forward along the conveying direction. At the same time, due to the inward inclination angle of 2° to 5° on the idler roller axis, the gravity on the buffer is decomposed into a normal force perpendicular to the roller surface and a tangential component pointing towards the center along the roller surface. When the buffer deviates from the center, this tangential component continues to act, pushing the buffer to slide laterally until it returns to the central equilibrium position, thus completing automatic centering while conveying.

[0036] like Figure 2 and Figure 4 As shown, in this embodiment, preferably, the surface of the idler roller body 201 is covered with a polyurethane elastic layer 202, and a plurality of herringbone-shaped guide drain grooves 203 are opened on the surface, with the opening direction of the drain grooves 203 facing the conveying direction of the frame 1.

[0037] However, since the sides of the buffer housing are mostly cast blanks with sharp edges, if lateral deviation occurs during the conveying process, the end of the hard steel roller will have a rigid collision with the housing, which can easily damage the housing surface or generate high noise. In addition, the bottom of the machined housing usually has residual cutting fluid or rust-preventive oil. If it cannot be drained in time, it will form a continuous oil film on the cylindrical roller surface, causing slippage during heavy-load conveying. During the idler roller conveying process, when the railway vehicle buffer shifts laterally due to vibration, its sidewall will first contact the flexible limiting stop at the end of the idler roller body 201. Because this stop is made of polyurethane and is shaped like an inverted frustum, it undergoes elastic deformation to gently absorb the lateral impact force and push the buffer back to the center, effectively avoiding surface damage and high-decibel noise caused by rigid-on-rigid collisions. Simultaneously, as the idler roller body 201 continues to rotate, its herringbone-shaped guide drain groove 203 continuously scrapes the bottom reference surface of the buffer. The herringbone opening faces the conveying direction, generating a tangential force pointing to both sides of the roller body during rotation. This forces the residual cutting fluid or rust-preventive oil at the bottom of the shell to flow out and breaks the oil film tension, allowing the roller rubber layer to directly contact the metal surface, thus significantly increasing the coefficient of friction and completely solving the slippage problem during the conveying of oily, heavy-load workpieces.

[0038] To further reduce the shell tilting during the conveying process, a flexible limiting baffle is integrally formed on the outer end of the roller body 201. The flexible limiting baffle is in the shape of an inverted frustum or a disc with a diameter larger than that of the roller body 201, and the material of the flexible limiting baffle is polyurethane. like Figures 1-10As shown, the present invention also provides a conveyor line for assembling railway vehicle buffers, comprising: a first conveyor frame 101, a second conveyor frame 102, a third conveyor frame 103, and a fourth conveyor frame 104 arranged sequentially along the process flow direction, and a control system; each of the first conveyor frame 101, the second conveyor frame 102, the third conveyor frame 103, and the fourth conveyor frame 104 is equipped with a roller assembly; a first flipping device is provided between the first conveyor frame 101 and the second conveyor frame 102 for flipping the buffer from a forward position to an inverted position; a marking machine 7 is mounted above the second conveyor frame 102 for... Marking is performed on the bottom of the buffer in the inverted position; a second flipping device is provided between the second conveyor frame 102 and the third conveyor frame 103 to flip the buffer from the inverted position back to the upright position; a first pressing machine 601 and a second pressing machine 602 are respectively provided on the conveying paths of the third conveyor frame 103 and the fourth conveyor frame 104 to perform graded assembly and pressing of the buffer in the upright position; a lifting support assembly is provided at the working position of the first pressing machine 601 and the second pressing machine 602, which can pass through the clearance area of ​​the idler assembly to lift the buffer to isolate the pressing force.

[0039] In existing technologies, the assembly process of heavy-duty buffers is usually a discrete "island-like" operation: cleaning and deslag removal is one station, marking is another station, and pressing is yet another station. Since a single buffer weighs up to 300 kg, the transfer between these discrete devices often requires overhead cranes or manual assistance, which is not only extremely inefficient, but also prone to accidents such as workpieces falling and injuring people or damaging precision reference surfaces during hoisting. In particular, the bottom marking process requires the heavy shell to be flipped over so that the bottom surface is facing up. Existing production lines usually lack the ability to flip the shell online, which means that the shell needs to be taken off the line, manually flipped, marked, and then put back on the line. This repeated up-and-down process seriously hinders the continuity of the production cycle.

[0040] In this embodiment, heterogeneous equipment such as flipping, marking, and pressing are connected in series through four conveyor frames, realizing full automation of feeding, flipping and dumping, online marking, resetting, and pressing. The process that originally required multiple offline transfers is compressed into a straight path, which greatly shortens the logistics path and eliminates the risk of transshipment and handling of heavy-duty workpieces.

[0041] The design incorporates an inverted working area between the first and second conveyor frames. This layout not only utilizes the flipping process to physically remove slag (cleaning fluid and metal filings), but also leverages the upward-facing orientation to directly coordinate with the marking machine 7 above during the conveying process to complete the marking. In other words, a single flipping action serves both cleaning and marking purposes, significantly improving the compactness of the process integration.

[0042] The working process of this conveyor line is as follows: The motor-driven chain on the first conveyor frame 101 drives the inward-tilting cylindrical idler roller to rotate. The buffer (positive posture, opening facing upward) is placed on the idler roller. Utilizing the gravitational component effect of the idler roller, it automatically adjusts its posture to the center line during the conveying process and smoothly feeds the material into the feed inlet of the first turning device. After receiving the positioning signal, the drive component starts and the housing is rotated 180° by the first rotating device. During this process, the buffer changes from opening upward to opening downward. The iron filings and cutting fluid remaining inside the housing fall off naturally under the action of gravity and fall into the slag collection tank below, completing the slag cleaning process. After the rotation is completed, the buffer is placed stably on the second conveyor frame 102 in an "inverted posture" by the carrying comb 313. The second conveyor frame 102 continues to convey the inverted buffer. When the buffer passes directly under the marking machine 7 (or pauses briefly), the marking machine 7 emits a high-energy laser beam that directly acts on the exposed and upward-facing bottom plane of the buffer, quickly engraving relevant information (such as QR codes and product serial numbers). This process does not require contact with the workpiece, and because the workpiece is inverted, dust is difficult to accumulate on the laser lens, ensuring the marking quality. After marking is completed, the buffer enters the second flipping device, which performs the same action as the first device (continues to rotate 180°) to flip the buffer from the inverted position back to the upright position (opening upwards) and smoothly hand it over to the third conveyor frame 103. The third conveyor frame 103 precisely delivers the forward-facing buffer into the working area of ​​the first press machine 601. The conveying stops, and the lifting support assembly lifts the housing to detach it from the roller assembly. At this time, the lifting support assembly provides support, thereby avoiding direct pressure on the roller assembly during press-fitting, which could damage it or reduce its service life. Then, the hydraulic cylinder of the first press machine 601 is controlled to descend, pre-pressing internal components (such as springs, wedges, etc.) into the housing. After the press-fitting is completed, the lifting support assembly is controlled to reset. Subsequently, the workpiece is sent to the fourth conveyor frame 104 and below the second press machine 602 for final fixed-value pressure assembly or testing.

[0043] Example 2 like Figure 6 , Figure 7 and Figure 8As shown, based on Embodiment 1, the present invention provides a technical solution: Preferably, the first flipping device and the second flipping device have the same structure, both including a side frame 301, and a flipping frame 31 is rotatably connected between the sides of the side frames 301 that are close to each other; a driving component for driving the flipping frame 31 to rotate is provided on the outer side of the side frame 301; the flipping frame 31 includes four modular plates 311 with the same structure, the four modular plates 311 are arranged in rotational symmetry, and the end of any modular plate 311 is vertically abutted and fixed to the middle side wall of the adjacent modular plate 311, thereby forming a rectangular through hole in the center and extending outward to form four cantilever sections; the cantilever sections serve as fixed side walls, and together with the adjustable limiting plate 312 installed on the modular plate 311 as movable side walls, they form a U-shaped bracket station for accommodating the buffer; the bottom of the U-shaped bracket station is provided with a bearing comb 313 that can pass through the clearance area of ​​the roller assembly.

[0044] The solution requires flipping and inverting the relatively heavy shell. If the method is to use suspension or manual operation, it will be complicated and require a lot of work. If a robotic arm is used for the heavy object, a large robotic arm will be required, which is extremely expensive. Therefore, it is necessary to design a structure that can achieve smooth flipping. In this embodiment, the flipping frame 31 is connected by four modular plates 311 in a rotationally symmetrical manner with their ends perpendicularly abutting each other (i.e., a grid-shaped / windmill-shaped structure). This closed-loop geometric structure transforms the torque stress during the 300kg heavy load flipping into the tensile and compressive stress of the plates, thereby forming a rigid frame with extremely high strength, effectively preventing structural deformation under long-term load. During operation, the drive assembly drives the tilting frame 31 between the side frames 301 to rotate. When the tilting frame 31 rotates to the feeding position, the bearing comb 313 at the bottom of the U-shaped bracket station rises vertically from the clearance gap area between the left and right roller groups. The bearing comb 313 passes through the gap without interference. Moreover, the top height of the module plate 311 in the horizontal direction on this side is lower than the support point of the roller assembly. In other words, the housing does not contact the module plate 311 during the process of being fed into the U-shaped bracket by the roller assembly, so no friction is generated. When the housing contacts the vertical module plate 311, it means that the housing has completely entered the U-shaped bracket. By controlling the flipping frame 31 to flip, the housing inside the U-shaped bracket can be flipped until it is flipped 180°. At this time, the housing is transferred from the first conveyor frame 101 to the second conveyor frame 102. On the one hand, the housing is inverted, which makes it easier to pour out the debris and mark it. On the other hand, it allows the housing to be arranged and transported at certain intervals.

[0045] The solution smoothly lifts the buffer on the idler roller and inserts it into the U-shaped space formed by the cantilever section and the limiting plate 312. This interlacing action achieves a zero-impact flexible handover between the conveyor line and the turnover machine, avoiding the complex positioning required by traditional robotic arms and the risk of workpiece falling.

[0046] like Figure 7 , Figure 8 and Figure 9 As shown, preferably, each module plate 311 has an adjustment groove 321, and a first screw 323 is rotatably connected inside each adjustment groove 321. A slider 326 is threadedly connected to the outside of the first screw 323, and the slider 326 is slidably connected to the adjustment groove 321. A limiting plate 312 is fixedly connected to the slider 326. Each module plate 311 has a transmission groove 322. One end of the central shaft of the first screw 323 extends into the interior of the adjustment groove 321 and is fixedly connected to a first bevel gear 324. A transmission rod 327 is rotatably connected inside each transmission groove 322. One end of the transmission rod 327 is fixedly connected to the central shaft of the first bevel gear 324, and the other end passes through the transmission groove 322 of the adjacent module plate 311 and is fixedly connected to a second bevel gear 325. The first bevel gear 324 and the second bevel gear 325 located inside the same transmission groove 322 mesh with each other. One end of the first screw 323 away from the first bevel gear 324 extends to the outside of the module plate 311 and is fixedly connected to a throttle handle.

[0047] In the above solution, although the U-shaped bracket formed by the module plate 311 can limit the position, the width of the buffers of different models (such as MT-2 and MT-3) is different. If the traditional bolt fixing method is used, when changing products, the workers need to adjust the limiting plates 312 on the four rotating arms one by one (a total of 8 adjustment points), which takes a long time and makes it difficult to ensure the center consistency of the four workstations, resulting in low production changeover efficiency. In this embodiment, the second screws 502 of the four workstations are connected in series by a bevel gear transmission chain. All limit plates 312 can be driven to open and close synchronously using a single throttle. This not only achieves rapid production changeover with single-point drive and full-line response, greatly reducing the labor intensity of workers, but also ensures from a mechanical structure perspective that the opening and closing width of the four U-shaped brackets always remains strictly consistent, avoiding clamping eccentricity problems caused by manual adjustment errors.

[0048] Manually rotating the handle on the outside of one of the module plates 311 causes the first screw 323 inside the module plate 311 to rotate, and the slider 326 moves accordingly to adjust the position of the limiting plate 312 at that station. At the same time, the first screw 323 drives the first bevel gear 324 at its end to rotate, and through the meshing second bevel gear 325, it drives the transmission rod 327 to rotate. The transmission rod 327 transmits power to the transmission groove 322 of the adjacent module plate 311, thereby driving the next first screw 323 to rotate. This cycle repeats, and the screws at the four stations rotate synchronously, realizing that all the limiting plates 312 can be tightened inward or expanded outward at the same time.

[0049] like Figure 5 and Figure 7 As shown, in this embodiment, preferably, the inner side of the side frame 301 is provided with a mounting bracket 401, and a first sensor 402 and a second sensor 403 are respectively fixedly mounted on the mounting bracket 401. The detection end of the first sensor 402 faces the feeding station of the flipping device, and the detection end of the second sensor 403 faces the discharging station of the flipping device. Both the first sensor 402 and the second sensor 403 are laser rangefinders; The control system is electrically connected to the first sensor 402, the second sensor 403 and the drive assembly respectively. The control system is configured to receive the distance signals from the first sensor 402 and the second sensor 403 in real time, and only when the distance value fed back by the first sensor 402 indicates that the buffer is in place and the distance value fed back by the second sensor 403 indicates that the discharge station is empty, the control drive assembly is started to drive the tilting frame 31 to rotate.

[0050] Considering that the solution requires lifting and flipping the shell from the idler roller during the feeding process and placing it on the idler roller on the other side, and then resetting the U-shaped bracket after the shell is sent away, the timing needs to be strictly controlled in actual operation. If the shell is only halfway in before the flipping is started, the shell will fly out and injure people or damage the equipment. Similarly, if the discharge side is not cleared in time, the flipping frame 31 will be forcibly lowered, which will lead to a serious mechanical collision accident.

[0051] Reference Figure 6 In this embodiment, by setting the first sensor 402 and the second sensor 403 and constructing a dual interlock logic for feeding and emptying, the accurate comparison of the distance measurement values ​​fundamentally eliminates malfunctions caused by position deviation or material blockage. This not only provides safety protection against errors and collisions but also realizes automatic flow control of the production cycle.

[0052] The first sensor 402 emits a laser to the feeding station in real time and receives the reflected wave. The control system calculates the distance value a. When the distance value a is less than the preset threshold (indicating that the shell has touched the bottom), it is determined that the feeding is in place. At the same time, the second sensor 403 detects the distance b of the discharging station. When the distance value b is greater than the preset threshold (indicating that there is no obstruction), it is determined that the discharging is cleared. The control system sends a start signal to the drive component only when the above two conditions are met at the same moment, and the drive component is powered on and works.

[0053] Example 3 like Figure 5 and 6 As shown, based on Embodiment 2, the present invention provides a technical solution: preferably, the driving component includes a flip motor 302 and a reducer, and the output shaft of the flip motor 302 is connected to the central shaft of the flip frame 31 through the reducer; the control system is further configured to: after the control driving component is started, drive the flip frame 31 to perform intermittent movement in a step manner of rotating 90° each time.

[0054] Each buffer weighs up to 300 kg, and the rotational inertia of the tilting frame 31 is extremely large when fully loaded. If it is started and stopped arbitrarily without planning, the tilting motor 302 needs to overcome the huge starting torque, and it is prone to mechanical overshoot and oscillation when stopping, resulting in energy waste and equipment damage.

[0055] In this embodiment, by setting a motion logic of 90° steps, the symmetrical structural characteristics of the cross-shaped tilting frame 31 are utilized. When the tilting frame 31 is in a loaded operating state (for example, simultaneously carrying two or more workpieces), the gravitational potential energy released by the workpiece falling in the 90° to 180° range will be converted into rotational torque through the central axis, which will assist in lifting the workpiece rising in the 0° to 90° range. This complementary torque effect of rising and falling (similar to the counterweight principle of an elevator) greatly offsets the lifting torque required by the motor, so that the tilting motor 302 only needs to provide energy to overcome friction and imbalance difference, which significantly reduces the system energy consumption; wherein, the tilting motor 302 is a servo motor.

[0056] The 302 flip motor, in conjunction with the reducer, provides high torque rigidity and closed-loop position control, ensuring that the U-shaped comb teeth can accurately stop directly above the gap between the idlers at the end of each rotation, eliminating mechanical impact and achieving perfect alignment with the conveyor line.

[0057] Command sending and starting: The control system sends a command with a preset number of pulses to the tilting motor 302 (corresponding to a 90° rotation of the output shaft). The tilting motor 302 starts, and after increasing the torque and reducing the speed through the precision reducer, it drives the tilting frame 31 to start rotating. Step 1 (0°~90°, lifting and side-standing): The motor drives the U-shaped bracket to lift the buffer upward. During this process, the motor outputs maximum torque to overcome gravity and lift the workpiece from a horizontal position to a side-standing position.

[0058] The second step (90°~180°, flipping and potential energy utilization): After receiving the next trigger signal, the motor continues to drive. At this time, the workpiece passes the highest point and enters the falling quadrant. Gravity begins to do positive work on the axis, assisting the drive rotation (if a new workpiece is being lifted on the opposite side, this falling torque directly balances the lifting torque). When reaching 180°, the flipping motor 302 enters the position locking mode, and the workpiece is sent out in an inverted posture for marking and slag removal.

[0059] Third / fourth step (180°~360°, reset and handover): After the operation is completed, the flipping motor 302 continues to drive the flipping frame 31 to rotate downwards in 90° steps until the U-shaped comb teeth pass through the gap of the discharge side roller and return to the material picking station.

[0060] Example 4 like Figure 2 and Figure 7 As shown, based on Embodiment 3, the present invention provides a technical solution: Preferably, an adjusting seat 501 is fixedly connected to the lower part of the side frame 301 near the material receiving side. A second screw 502 is threadedly connected to the adjusting seat 501. One end of the second screw 502 has a handle, and the other end passes through the adjusting seat 501 and is rotatably connected to a slide 507. A first guide rod 503 is fixedly connected to the slide 507. The first guide rod 503 passes through the adjusting seat 501 and is slidably connected to the adjusting seat 501. A third sensor 508 is fixedly connected to the top of the slide 507. A cylinder 504 is fixedly connected to the slide 507. A baffle 505 is fixedly connected to the piston rod of the cylinder 504. A second guide rod 506 is fixedly connected to the bottom of the baffle 505. The second guide rod 506 passes through the slide 507 and is slidably connected to the slide 507.

[0061] Because the buffer housing is a cuboid structure with a flat bottom, when the two housings are closely arranged for conveying, they are often pressed together. When the tilting frame 31 drives the front housing to start rotating, as the angle deflects, the lower rear corner (diagonal endpoint) of the housing will protrude backward and press down. If the rear housing follows closely, the rotating corner will cut into the lower part or side of the rear housing like a crowbar, accidentally lifting the rear housing, causing it to lose its center of gravity and tip over, seriously affecting the normal operation and safety of the subsequent conveyor line. Reference Figure 7The dashed box shown in the figure is a schematic diagram of the shell in several different states. The arrow direction is the opening direction of the shell. In this embodiment, the physical expulsion effect of the corners of the square shell extending backward in the initial stage of flipping is utilized. At the moment of starting the flipping, the rotating shell corners will automatically push the shell waiting for material behind it backward a certain distance. This passive pushing action squeezes out physical space for the baffle 505 to rise, solving the problem that the baffle 505 cannot be inserted on the high-density conveyor line. The third sensor 508 is a laser rangefinder. It monitors the rate of change of distance at the bottom of the housing. During normal transport, the bottom is flat (distance is constant). Once the flipping begins, the bottom of the housing begins to tilt and rise (the distance c from the third sensor 508 to the bottom of the housing increases). The system uses this sudden change in distance signal as a confirmation signal that the flipping has started and the gap has been generated, and controls the baffle 505 to extend precisely. This is more reliable than simple position detection, ensuring that the baffle 505 only rises at the moment when there is a gap, thus avoiding jamming caused by the baffle 505 hitting the bottom of the workpiece.

[0062] In addition, considering the different models of the buffers, the solution also includes an adjustment structure that can adjust the monitoring position and the blocking position according to the size of the buffer. Specifically, according to the size of the buffer housing, the second screw 502 is rotated to make it move axially relative to the adjustment seat 501, thereby moving the slide 507 accordingly to achieve position adjustment. When the third sensor 508 collects a signal that the distance has increased and reaches the threshold, the cylinder 504 is controlled to work, pushing the baffle 505 upward to prevent the subsequent housing from approaching the flipping frame 31.

[0063] Example 5 like Figure 10 As shown, based on Embodiment 1, the present invention provides a technical solution: preferably, the lifting support assembly 61 includes a fixed base 611, a lifting hydraulic cylinder 612 fixedly connected to the fixed base 611, and a bearing platform 613 fixedly connected to the piston rod of the lifting hydraulic cylinder 612; the bearing platform 613 is provided with a plurality of clearance grooves 614; wherein, the first pressing machine 601 and the second pressing machine 602 are both fixedly connected to the fixed base 611.

[0064] In this embodiment, the lifting hydraulic cylinder 612 drives the bearing platform 613 to lift the workpiece, and the huge pressing reaction force is directly transmitted to the pressing machine body (or foundation) through the bearing platform 613-fixed base, which completely cuts off the pressure transmission path to the precision idler roller and prevents the idler roller bearing from being crushed or the shaft from bending. Among them, the design of the clearance groove 614 solves the spatial conflict between the rigid platform and the dense conveying components, ensuring that the bearing platform 613 can accurately avoid the idler roller shaft, chain and bearing seat during the lifting process, and realizes the interlocking lifting in a narrow space.

[0065] When the buffer is transported to the pressing station and stops, the lifting hydraulic cylinder 612 is activated, pushing the supporting platform 613 to rise vertically. During the rising process, the clearance groove 614 on the platform accommodates and avoids the shaft structure of the idler roller, allowing the platform to pass through the gap between the idler rollers without interference. The platform contacts the bottom of the buffer and continues to rise, lifting the buffer and suspending it in the air (detaching it from the idler roller). At this time, the pressing machine presses down to assemble it, and the reaction force is borne by the platform and the base. After the pressing is completed, the hydraulic cylinder retracts, the platform descends to below the idler roller, and the buffer falls back onto the idler roller and is sent away.

[0066] The present invention has been described in detail above. However, modifications or improvements can be made to it, which will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Therefore, any modifications or improvements that do not depart from the spirit of the present invention are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A roller assembly for assembling a railway vehicle buffer, comprising a frame (1) and a plurality of roller units disposed on the frame (1); characterized in that: The idler unit is a split structure, including a left idler group and a right idler group symmetrically arranged on both sides of the frame (1). The inner end of the left idler group is disconnected from the inner end of the right idler group to form a clearance area for external mechanisms to pass through. Both the left and right idler groups include a cylindrical idler body (201). The axis of the idler body (201) is inclined relative to the horizontal plane with the inner side lower and the outer side higher. The inclination angle ranges from 2° to 5°, thereby utilizing the gravity component to form an automatic centering tendency and maintain the consistent linear velocity of the roller surface. The outer ends of the left and right idler roller groups are respectively equipped with independent drive motors. The drive motors drive the idler roller body (201) to rotate step by step through the chain, so that the clearance gap area remains clear.

2. The idler roller assembly for assembling a railway vehicle buffer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surface of the idler roller body (201) is covered with a polyurethane elastic layer (202), and a number of herringbone-shaped guide drain grooves (203) are provided on the surface. The opening direction of the drain grooves (203) is towards the conveying direction of the frame (1).

3. A conveyor line for assembling railway vehicle buffers, characterized in that: The idler roller assembly for assembling railway vehicle buffers according to any one of claims 1-2 comprises: The first conveyor frame (101), the second conveyor frame (102), the third conveyor frame (103), the fourth conveyor frame (104), and the control system are sequentially connected along the process flow direction; The idler roller assembly is installed on the first conveyor frame (101), the second conveyor frame (102), the third conveyor frame (103) and the fourth conveyor frame (104); A first flipping device is provided between the first conveyor frame (101) and the second conveyor frame (102) for flipping the buffer from the forward position to the inverted position; a marking machine (7) is mounted above the second conveyor frame (102) for marking the bottom of the buffer in the inverted position. A second flipping device is provided between the second conveyor frame (102) and the third conveyor frame (103) for flipping the buffer from the inverted position back to the upright position; The first press machine (601) and the second press machine (602) are respectively provided on the conveying paths of the third conveyor frame (103) and the fourth conveyor frame (104) for graded assembly and pressing of the buffer in the forward posture; at the working positions of the first press machine (601) and the second press machine (602), a lifting support assembly is provided, which can pass through the clearance area of ​​the idler assembly to lift the buffer to isolate the pressing force.

4. A conveyor line for assembling railway vehicle buffers according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first and second flipping devices have the same structure, both including a side frame (301), and a flipping frame (31) is rotatably connected between the sides of the side frames (301) that are close to each other; the side frame (301) is provided with a drive assembly for driving the flipping frame (31) to rotate; the flipping frame (31) includes four modular plates (311) with the same structure, the four modular plates (311) are arranged in a rotationally symmetrical manner, and the end of any one of the modular plates (311) is vertically abutted and fixed to the middle side wall of the adjacent modular plate (311), thereby forming a rectangular through hole in the center and extending outward to form four cantilever sections; the cantilever sections serve as fixed side walls, and together with the adjustable limiting plate (312) installed on the modular plate (311) as movable side walls, they form a U-shaped bracket station for accommodating the buffer; the bottom of the U-shaped bracket station is provided with a bearing comb (313) that can pass through the clearance area of ​​the roller assembly.

5. A conveyor line for assembling railway vehicle buffers according to claim 4, characterized in that: Each module plate (311) is provided with an adjustment groove (321), and a first screw (323) is rotatably connected inside each adjustment groove (321). A slider (326) is threadedly connected to the outside of the first screw (323), and the slider (326) is slidably connected to the adjustment groove (321). A limiting plate (312) is fixedly connected to the slider (326). Each module plate (311) is provided with a transmission groove (322), and one end of the central shaft of the first screw (323) extends into the interior of the adjustment groove (321) and is fixedly connected to a first bevel gear (324). The transmission groove (322) is rotatably connected to a transmission rod (327). One end of the transmission rod (327) is fixedly connected to the central axis of the first bevel gear (324), and the other end passes through the transmission groove (322) of the adjacent module plate (311) and is fixedly connected to a second bevel gear (325). The first bevel gear (324) and the second bevel gear (325) located in the same transmission groove (322) mesh with each other. One of the first screws (323) extends away from the first bevel gear (324) to the outside of the module plate (311) and is fixedly connected to a throttle.

6. A conveyor line for assembling railway vehicle buffers according to claim 5, characterized in that: The inner side of the side frame (301) is provided with a mounting bracket (401), on which a first sensor (402) and a second sensor (403) are fixedly mounted respectively. The detection end of the first sensor (402) faces the feeding station of the flipping device, and the detection end of the second sensor (403) faces the discharging station of the flipping device. Both the first sensor (402) and the second sensor (403) are laser rangefinders; The control system is electrically connected to the first sensor (402), the second sensor (403) and the drive assembly respectively. The control system is configured to receive the distance signals of the first sensor (402) and the second sensor (403) in real time. When the distance value fed back by the first sensor (402) indicates that the buffer is in place and the distance value fed back by the second sensor (403) indicates that the discharge station is cleared, the control drive assembly is started to drive the tilting frame (31) to rotate.

7. A conveyor line for assembling railway vehicle buffers according to claim 6, characterized in that: The drive assembly includes a tilting motor (302) and a reducer. The output shaft of the tilting motor (302) is connected to the central shaft of the tilting frame (31) via the reducer. The control system is also configured to drive the tilting frame (31) to perform intermittent motion in a stepping manner of rotating 90° each time after the drive assembly is started.

8. A conveyor line for assembling railway vehicle buffers according to claim 7, characterized in that: An adjusting seat (501) is fixedly connected to the lower part of the side frame (301) near the material receiving side. A second screw (502) is threaded onto the adjusting seat (501). One end of the second screw (502) has a throttle handle, and the other end passes through the adjusting seat (501) and is rotatably connected to a slide (507). A first guide rod (503) is fixedly connected to the slide (507). The first guide rod (503) passes through the adjusting seat (501) and is slidably connected to the adjusting seat (501). A third sensor (508) is fixedly connected to the top of the slide (507). A cylinder (504) is fixedly connected to the slide (507). A baffle (505) is fixedly connected to the piston rod of the cylinder (504). A second guide rod (506) is fixedly connected to the bottom of the baffle (505). The second guide rod (506) passes through the slide (507) and is slidably connected to the slide (507).

9. A conveyor line for assembling railway vehicle buffers according to claim 3, characterized in that: The lifting support assembly (61) includes a fixed base (611), a lifting hydraulic cylinder (612) fixedly connected to the fixed base (611), and a bearing platform (613) fixedly connected to the piston rod of the lifting hydraulic cylinder (612); the bearing platform (613) is provided with a plurality of clearance grooves (614).

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