An automatic mooring chain crosspiece welding device

Abstract

This invention discloses an automatic welding device for mooring chain crossbars, including a fixed support frame, a mooring chain guide device at the upper end of the fixed support frame, a mooring chain dust removal and grinding device on one side of the upper end of the mooring chain guide device, a mooring chain welding device on one side of the mooring chain dust removal and grinding device, a mooring chain weld point grinding device on one side of the mooring chain welding device, and a mooring chain dust removal device on one side of the mooring chain weld point grinding device for final cleaning of the chain links after welding and grinding. A side moving device is provided on the side of the mooring chain guide device, and a CCD capture and positioning device is provided at the upper end of the side moving device. Product advantages: By integrating and connecting five functional modules—guiding, dust removal and grinding, welding, weld point grinding, and final cleaning—through the fixed support frame, a complete automated production line is formed. With the help of a stepper device driven by a servo motor, the mooring chain can automatically and accurately step to each workstation, realizing uninterrupted continuous operation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of mooring chain technology, and particularly relates to an automatic welding device for mooring chain crossbars. Background Technology

[0002] Mooring chains are key load-bearing components in marine engineering and shipbuilding, and are widely used in ship berthing, offshore platform anchoring, and various underwater engineering projects. Mooring chains must withstand enormous tensile, bending, and fatigue loads in extreme marine environments. Therefore, the manufacturing quality of mooring chains, especially the welding quality between the links and crossbars, directly affects the reliability, safety, and service life of the entire system. High-quality welding requires not only sufficient strength and toughness in the weld, but also a neat appearance, no obvious defects, and good fatigue and corrosion resistance. Before welding, the mooring chain needs to be laid flat to avoid vertical welding. During high-temperature welding, the molten high-temperature solution can flow towards the center along the joint, thus preventing the welding solution from flowing onto the sidewalls and forming weld beads, which would affect the connection strength after welding. At the same time, the areas of the crossbars to be welded often have oil, rust, dust, and other impurities. Traditional manual or simple mechanical grinding is difficult to completely and evenly remove these contaminants, especially in the complex curved surfaces where the crossbars connect to the links. Incomplete pretreatment directly leads to defects such as porosity, slag inclusions, and lack of fusion during welding, which seriously affects the strength and toughness of the weld. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to solve the problem that in traditional processes, mooring chains, as heavy and irregularly sized workpieces, rely mainly on manual labor or simple mechanical assistance for handling, transferring, and repositioning between various processing steps (such as guiding, pretreatment, welding, post-weld treatment, and cleaning). This results in intermittent production line operations, low efficiency, and high time and labor costs, greatly limiting the overall automation level of production. Furthermore, the connection between the mooring chain crossbars and chain links is usually an arc-shaped structure, requiring extremely high welding skills. Manual welding struggles to guarantee the continuity, uniformity, and penetration depth of the weld, easily leading to problems such as incomplete welds, undercut, and burn-through. In addition, traditional welding equipment often lacks precise pressure control and contour welding capabilities, making it difficult to ensure a tight fit between the parts to be welded and effective welding of arc-shaped structures, resulting in large fluctuations in weld quality and difficulty in guaranteeing reliability.

[0004] This invention achieves the above-mentioned objectives through the following technical solution: an automatic welding device for mooring chain crossbars, comprising a fixed support frame, a mooring chain guiding device at the upper end of the fixed support frame, a mooring chain dust removal and grinding device on one side of the upper end of the mooring chain guiding device for surface pretreatment of the area of ​​the mooring chain to be welded, a mooring chain welding device on one side of the mooring chain dust removal and grinding device for pressure welding the pretreated crossbars, and a mooring chain weld point grinding device on one side of the mooring chain welding device for removing weld beads and surface roughening of the weld points after welding. For surface treatment, a mooring chain dust removal device is installed on one side of the mooring chain weld point grinding device to perform final cleaning of the chain links after welding and grinding. A side moving device is installed on the side of the mooring chain guiding device, and a CCD capture and positioning device is installed on the upper end of the side moving device to cooperate with the welding device of the mooring chain and to perform appearance inspection after welding. The multiple complex processes of mooring chain guiding, pretreatment (dust removal and grinding), welding, post-weld treatment (weld point grinding) and final cleaning are integrated in series through a fixed support frame to form a continuous automated production line. This significantly reduces manual handling, transfer, and repetitive positioning in traditional processes, thereby improving production efficiency and automation. The sequential arrangement of functional modules enables a "chain-like" operation, ensuring smooth transitions and precise positioning of the mooring chain during processing. This process design avoids the time waste and potential errors caused by intermittent production. Pre-treatment of the area to be welded before welding ensures suitable cleanliness and roughness of the welding surface, laying the foundation for high-quality welding. Post-weld treatment removes weld beads and performs surface treatment, eliminating welding defects and improving weld formation quality and fatigue resistance. Final cleaning ensures the cleanliness of the product upon leaving the factory. The introduction of a CCD capture and positioning device enables intelligent welding process and post-weld quality inspection. The non-contact inspection capability not only assists the welding device in precise alignment but also automatically inspects the appearance of the welded product, promptly identifying and correcting problems. This greatly improves the precision and reliability of welding, reduces the subjectivity and missed detection rate of manual inspection, and the entire device is designed to achieve automated operation. This reduces the need for skilled welders and grinders, thereby reducing labor costs. At the same time, it frees workers from high-intensity, high-risk (dust, sparks, noise) working environments, improving the working environment and enhancing production safety. Mooring chains, as heavy and irregularly shaped workpieces, are difficult to process using traditional automated methods. This device, through its dedicated guiding and processing module design, can effectively handle such heavy and irregularly shaped workpieces, filling the automation gap in this field.

[0005] Furthermore, the mooring chain guiding device includes a fixed platform fixed to the fixed support frame. A concave chain guide groove is formed on the fixed platform, the width of which is adapted to the diameter of the chain links of the mooring chain. A limiting and fixing groove is provided above the inlet end of the concave chain guide groove for preliminary straightening and positioning of the input mooring chain. Several dust extraction devices are arranged on the upper part of both side walls along the length of the concave chain guide groove to collect dust generated during grinding and welding. The mooring chain moves along the concave chain guide groove under the traction of a stepping device that drives its stepping movement. The design of the concave chain guide groove matching the diameter of the chain links of the mooring chain ensures the stability and accuracy of the mooring chain throughout the entire transport process, which is beneficial for subsequent... The subsequent high-precision processing (grinding, welding) is crucial, preventing chain swaying or deviation, and is the foundation for automated continuous processing. The limiting and fixing groove performs preliminary straightening and positioning of the input mooring chain at the inlet end, solving the problem of possible twisting or positional deviation of the mooring chain during feeding. It provides a standardized starting position for subsequent precise guidance and processing, reducing the system's requirements for initial feeding accuracy. Several dust extraction devices are installed on the upper part of both sides of the guide groove, enabling dust collection before or at the beginning of dust-generating processes such as grinding and welding. This not only improves the air quality of the production environment and protects the health of operators, but also reduces dust pollution and interference to subsequent high-precision equipment (such as CCD cameras), ensuring the long-term stable operation of the equipment.

[0006] Furthermore, the mooring chain dust removal and polishing device includes two opposing left-side polishing devices and a right-side polishing device. Both devices operate on the same principle, serving as initial polishing devices for the mooring chain crossbars to remove oil, rust, and dust from the surface of the mooring chain. The left-side polishing device includes a fixed base with a front-to-back telescopic platform on its upper end. A first transverse lead screw moving device is mounted on one side of the front-to-back telescopic platform, and a first longitudinal lead screw moving device is mounted on the first transverse lead screw moving device. A CCD camera is mounted on one side of a longitudinal lead screw moving device to identify the position of the area to be polished on the crossbar. A first rotating robotic arm is mounted on the side of the CCD camera, and an initial polishing device is mounted on the first rotating robotic arm. The first longitudinal lead screw moving device and the first transverse lead screw moving device, together with the first rotating robotic arm, can complete the curvature polishing of the mooring chain surface. The right-side polishing device can simultaneously polish the other side of the crossbar. The two opposing left-side and right-side polishing devices can simultaneously polish the crossbar of the mooring chain. Grinding both sides of the crossbar significantly improves the efficiency and speed of pre-processing. This synchronous operation ensures the uniform cleanliness of the entire crossbar surface, providing the best foundation for high-quality welding. Combined with the coordinated operation of the front and rear telescopic platforms, the first transverse screw moving device, the first longitudinal screw moving device, and the first rotating robotic arm, the arc grinding of the mooring chain surface is achieved. This solves the problem that traditional straight-line grinding is difficult to fully cover and process the complex curved surfaces of mooring chain crossbars, ensuring that oil, rust, and dust in all areas to be welded are thoroughly removed, significantly improving welding quality. The introduction of a CCD camera to identify the location of the crossbar to be ground enables intelligent and high-precision grinding. The CCD camera can accurately identify the location of the crossbar and the geometric features of the area to be ground, guiding the robotic arm in path planning, avoiding ineffective grinding and omissions, and improving the targeting and efficiency of grinding. Thorough and uniform surface pre-processing is also crucial for ensuring weld quality. By removing oil, rust, and dust, welding defects such as porosity and slag inclusions can be effectively avoided, thereby improving the strength, toughness, and corrosion resistance of the weld and extending the service life of the mooring chain.

[0007] Furthermore, the mooring chain welding device includes two opposing left and right crossbar pressure welding devices with identical structures. The left crossbar pressure welding device includes an L-shaped fixing frame. A hydraulic cylinder is mounted on one side of the upper end of the L-shaped fixing frame, and a mooring chain conforming pressure head is mounted on the output end of the hydraulic cylinder. A second transverse screw moving device is mounted on one side of the lower end of the L-shaped fixing frame. A second longitudinal screw moving device is mounted on one side of the second transverse screw moving device, and a second rotating robotic arm is mounted on one side of the second longitudinal screw moving device. A welding head is mounted on the output end of the second rotating robotic arm. The welding head, in conjunction with the second rotating robotic arm, the second transverse screw moving device, and the second longitudinal screw moving device, can perform arc welding on the crossbar. The two opposing left and right crossbar pressure welding devices simultaneously perform pressure welding on the crossbar, which not only significantly improves welding efficiency but, more importantly, enables simultaneous welding on both sides. The combination of hydraulic cylinder and mooring chain conformal pressure head helps balance thermal stress, reduce welding deformation, and improve welding stability. It can apply precise and stable pressure force to the crossbar, ensuring a tight fit between the parts to be welded and creating conditions for high-quality pressure welding. In particular, the "conformal pressure head" can adapt to the curved shape of the mooring chain, ensuring a uniform distribution of pressure force, which is difficult to achieve with traditional flat pressure heads. Combined with the second transverse screw moving device, the second longitudinal screw moving device, and the second rotating robotic arm, the welding head can accurately complete the arc welding of the crossbar. This solves the problem that the connection between the mooring chain crossbar and the chain link is usually an arc surface, and manual welding is difficult to guarantee the consistency and quality of the weld. Automated multi-axis linkage ensures the continuity, uniformity, and penetration depth of the weld, greatly improving the welding quality and reliability. Precise pressure and automated arc welding can effectively reduce common welding defects such as porosity, incomplete penetration, and undercut, and improve the structural integrity and safety of the key load-bearing parts of the mooring chain.

[0008] Furthermore, the mooring chain weld grinding device includes two opposing first crossbar grinding devices and a second crossbar grinding device, located on both sides of the mooring chain to grind its surface. Its structure is the same as the left-side station grinding device. Driven by corresponding moving devices and rotating robotic arms, its grinding heads can grind and clean weld beads and spatter at the horizontal and vertical crossbar welds. Grinding the surface on both sides of the mooring chain ensures the cleanliness of both sides of the weld. This demonstrates that the device can flexibly adapt to the complex three-dimensional geometry of the mooring chain crossbar weld (including planar and curved surfaces, and welds in different directions), ensuring the thorough removal of all defects around the weld. Eliminating weld beads and spatter not only improves the appearance of the weld but, more importantly, removes stress concentration points, helping to improve the fatigue strength, corrosion resistance, and overall mechanical properties of the weld, and extending the service life of the mooring chain.

[0009] Furthermore, the mooring chain dust removal device includes a cover disposed outside the mooring chain; a first air blowing pipe and a second air blowing pipe are respectively disposed on opposite side walls inside the cover, for spraying high-speed airflow onto the passing mooring chain links to remove residual dust and welding slag; a dust suction port is opened at the top of the cover, and the dust suction port is connected to an external negative pressure dust suction device for collecting and sucking out the raised dust and particulate matter. The high-speed airflow sprayed onto the passing mooring chain links to remove residual dust and welding slag can thoroughly blow away the fine dust and welding slag adhering to the surface of the chain links, especially in the gaps, ensuring the highest cleanliness of the product after all processing is completed. This is crucial for avoiding secondary pollution during subsequent painting, packaging, or transportation.

[0010] Furthermore, the side-moving device includes a lead screw motor with guide rods at both its upper and lower ends. A movable backplate is located at the output end of the lead screw motor, and movable wheels are located at each of the four corners of the movable backplate. These movable wheels are connected to the guide rods. A fixed upright is located on one side of the movable backplate. The lead screw motor, as the drive source, provides precise linear motion control, ensuring high-precision positioning of the side-moving device in the horizontal or vertical direction. The design, combining guide rods at both ends and movable wheels connected to the guide rods, forms a stable guiding structure, effectively preventing swaying and offset during movement, and ensuring the stability and measurement accuracy of the CCD capture and positioning device.

[0011] Furthermore, the CCD capture and positioning device includes a third lateral lead screw moving device, with a rotating base at its lower end. A Z-axis lead screw moving device is located at the output end of the rotating base. An electrically focused lens is connected to one side of the Z-axis lead screw moving device. The electrically focused lens is connected to the Z-axis lead screw moving device via a rotatable bracket, and the lens can be adjusted for tilt on the bracket. The CCD capture and positioning device also includes an image transmission module. This image transmission module transmits the images acquired by the electrically focused lens to the central control unit in real time. The central control unit, based on preset welding standards and image recognition algorithms, determines the welding position, The weld quality is analyzed and judged, and control commands are fed back to the mooring chain welding device and the mooring chain weld grinding device. Combined with the third transverse screw moving device, the rotating base, the Z-axis screw moving device, and the electric focusing lens connected by a rotatable bracket, the lens can be adjusted in pitch on the bracket, forming a multi-axis degree of freedom vision system. This allows the CCD camera to observe and capture images of the mooring chain crossbars from any angle and any distance, overcoming the visual blind spots caused by the complex geometry of the mooring chain, and achieving all-round accurate inspection. Its automated welding data parameter photos can be corrected and optimized, and its production data can provide valuable technical support for fully automated welding.

[0012] Furthermore, the stepping device is a sprocket mechanism driven by a servo motor. The sprocket meshes with the chain links of the mooring chain, and the intermittent stepping conveying of the mooring chain is realized through precise rotation angle control of the servo motor.

[0013] Furthermore, the grinding heads of the initial grinding device and the mooring chain weld point grinding device are high-speed electric or pneumatic grinding heads, which can be equipped with one of the following: wire wheel, grinding wheel, or louvered disc. The most suitable grinding head can be selected for different grinding needs (such as rust and dirt removal in pretreatment, weld bead removal after welding, and surface finishing) to achieve the best grinding effect.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: 1. Traditional mooring chain welding relies on manual handling, positioning, grinding, welding, and inspection. The process is fragmented, inefficient, and the quality is unstable. This invention integrates five functional modules—guiding, dust removal and grinding, welding, weld point grinding, and final cleaning—into a complete automated production line through a fixed support frame. With the help of a servo motor-driven stepping device, the mooring chain can automatically and accurately step to each workstation, achieving uninterrupted continuous operation. This not only liberates workers from high-intensity and high-risk labor but also completely eliminates quality fluctuations caused by human factors through the consistent operation of the equipment. It ensures that the welding process of each mooring chain crossbar meets high standards, resulting in a qualitative leap in production efficiency and product qualification rate. 2. The connection between the mooring chain crossbar and the chain link is an irregular spatial arc surface, which is difficult to handle with traditional tools. This invention creatively adopts a composite motion scheme of "multi-axis lead screw platform + rotating robotic arm" in the dust removal and grinding device and welding device. This design gives the grinding head and welding head multiple degrees of freedom of movement and rotation in multiple directions, enabling precise simulation of flexible human movements. It closely follows the curvature of the workpiece surface for contour grinding and contour welding, ensuring thorough removal of oil and rust from the area to be welded, as well as uniform, full, and fully penetrated welds. This fundamentally solves the core technical bottleneck of automated processing of irregularly shaped workpieces, and the weld strength, toughness, and fatigue resistance are significantly superior to traditional processes. 3. This invention goes beyond simple mechanical automation by introducing intelligent elements. The CCD capture and positioning device, through its multi-degree-of-freedom adjustment mechanism, can acquire weld point images from the optimal angle. Its core value lies in the image processing unit's ability to perform real-time image analysis based on preset algorithms, accurately position the welding head before welding, guide the welding head to operate accurately, and perform appearance quality inspection after welding, automatically identifying defects such as weld beads and undercut. More importantly, the system can feed back the analysis results to the central control unit, thereby dynamically adjusting the welding or grinding parameters to form an intelligent closed-loop quality control loop, which greatly improves the accuracy and reliability of the processing. 4. For welding and grinding on both sides of the mooring chain, this invention does not adopt sequential operation, but designs a symmetrical dual-station structure. This design allows for simultaneous grinding and welding on both sides of the crossbar. The benefits are twofold: first, efficiency is directly increased by nearly 100%, significantly shortening the processing time of a single chain link; second, during welding, the heat sources on both sides are input synchronously, and the resulting thermal stress cancels each other out, which can greatly reduce the twisting and deformation of the workpiece caused by uneven welding heat input, ensuring the final geometric accuracy and structural integrity of the mooring chain. 5. This invention integrates environmental protection and equipment maintenance concepts into its design, constructing a dust removal system from source to end. A dust extraction device is integrated into the guiding device to collect dust at the dust source, and a dust removal device is installed at the final workstation. A combination of high-pressure blowing and negative-pressure suction is used to thoroughly clean the finished product. This system effectively controls the spread of dust and welding slag, offering three benefits: first, it creates a clean and healthy working environment, protecting worker health; second, it prevents dust from adhering to high-temperature welding points, affecting appearance and quality; and third, it avoids dust contamination and wear on high-precision CCD lenses and moving parts, ensuring long-term operational stability and detection accuracy. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the mooring chain guiding device of the present invention; Figure 3This is a schematic diagram of the mooring chain dust removal and polishing device of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the left-side grinding device of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the mooring chain welding machine device of the present invention; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the left horizontal bar pressing and welding device of the present invention; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the mooring chain weld point grinding device of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the mooring chain dust removal device of the present invention; Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the side-moving device of the present invention; Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the CCD capture and positioning device of the present invention; In the diagram: 1-Fixed support frame, 2-Mooring chain guiding device, 3-Mooring chain dust removal and polishing device, 4-Mooring chain welding device, 5-Mooring chain weld point polishing device, 6-Mooring chain dust removal device, 7-Side moving device, 8-CCD capture and positioning device, 21-Fixed platform, 22-Concave chain guide groove, 23-Limit fixing groove, 24-Dust extraction device, 25-Mooring chain, 31-Left side station polishing device, 32-Right side station polishing device, 311-Fixed base, 312-Front and rear telescopic platform, 313-First transverse lead screw moving device, 314-First longitudinal lead screw moving device, 315-CCD camera, 316-First rotating robotic arm, 317-Initial polishing device, 41-Left side 42-Right side crossbar pressing and welding device, 411-L-shaped fixing frame, 412-Hydraulic cylinder, 413-Mooring chain contouring pressure head, 414-Second transverse screw moving device, 415-Second longitudinal screw moving device, 416-Second rotating robotic arm, 417-Welding head, 51-First crossbar grinding device, 52-Second crossbar grinding device, 61-Cover, 62-First air blowing pipe, 63-Second air blowing pipe, 64-Dust suction port, 71-Screw motor, 72-Guide rod, 73-Moving back plate, 74-Moving wheel, 75-Fixed upright, 81-Third transverse screw moving device, 82-Rotating base, 83-Z-direction screw moving device, 84-Electric focusing lens. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0018] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this invention.

[0019] Combination Figure 1-10As shown, an automatic welding device for mooring chain crossbars includes a fixed support frame 1, a mooring chain guide device 2 at the upper end of the fixed support frame 1, a mooring chain dust removal and grinding device 3 on one side of the upper end of the mooring chain guide device 2 for surface pretreatment of the area of ​​the mooring chain to be welded, a mooring chain welding device 4 on one side of the mooring chain dust removal and grinding device 3 for pressure welding the pretreated crossbars, and a mooring chain weld point grinding device 5 on one side of the mooring chain welding device 4 for removing weld beads and surface treatment of the weld points after welding. A mooring chain dust removal device 6 is installed on one side of the chain weld point grinding device 5, which is used to perform final cleaning of the chain links after welding and grinding. A side moving device 7 is installed on the side of the mooring chain guiding device 2, and a CCD capture positioning device 8 is installed on the upper end of the side moving device 7, which is used to cooperate with the welding of the mooring chain welding device 4 and to perform appearance inspection after welding. The multiple complex processes of mooring chain guiding, pretreatment (dust removal and grinding), welding, post-weld treatment (weld point grinding) and final cleaning are integrated in series through a fixed support frame to form a continuous automated production line. This significantly reduces manual handling, transfer, and repetitive positioning in traditional processes, thereby substantially improving production efficiency and automation. The sequential arrangement of functional modules enables a "chain-like" operation, ensuring smooth transitions and precise positioning of the mooring chain during processing. This process design avoids the time waste and potential errors caused by intermittent production. Pre-treatment of the area to be welded before welding ensures suitable cleanliness and roughness of the welding surface, laying the foundation for high-quality welding. Post-weld treatment removes weld beads and performs surface treatment, eliminating welding defects and improving weld formation quality and fatigue resistance. Final cleaning ensures the cleanliness of the product upon leaving the factory. The introduction of a CCD capture and positioning device enables intelligent welding process and post-weld quality inspection. The non-contact inspection capability not only assists the welding device in precise alignment but also automatically inspects the appearance of the welded product, promptly identifying and correcting problems. This greatly improves the precision and reliability of welding, reduces the subjectivity and missed detection rate of manual inspection, and the entire device is designed to achieve automated operation. This significantly reduces the need for skilled welders and grinders, thereby reducing labor costs. At the same time, it frees workers from high-intensity, high-risk (dust, sparks, noise) working environments, improving the working environment and enhancing production safety. Mooring chains, as heavy and irregularly shaped workpieces, are difficult to process using traditional automated methods. This device, through its dedicated guiding and processing module design, can effectively handle such heavy and irregularly shaped workpieces, filling the automation gap in this field.

[0020] The mooring chain guiding device 2 includes a fixed platform 21 fixed to a fixed support frame 1. A concave chain guide groove 22 is formed on the fixed platform 21, the width of which is adapted to the diameter of the chain links of the mooring chain 25. A limiting and fixing groove 23 is provided above the inlet end of the concave chain guide groove 22 for preliminary straightening and positioning of the input mooring chain 25. Several dust extraction devices 24 are arranged on the upper part of both side walls along the length of the concave chain guide groove 22 to collect dust generated during grinding and welding. The mooring chain 25 moves along the concave chain guide groove 22 under the traction of a stepping device that drives its stepping movement. The design of the concave chain guide groove matching the diameter of the chain links of the mooring chain ensures the stability and accuracy of the mooring chain throughout the entire conveying process. This is crucial for subsequent high-precision processing (grinding, welding), preventing chain swaying or deviation, and forming the basis for automated continuous processing. The limiting and fixing groove performs initial straightening and positioning of the input mooring chain at the inlet end, solving the problem of possible twisting or positional deviation of the mooring chain during feeding, providing a standardized starting position for subsequent precise guidance and processing, and reducing the system's requirements for initial feeding accuracy. Several dust extraction devices are installed on the upper part of both sides of the guide groove, enabling dust collection before or at the beginning of dust-generating processes such as grinding and welding. This not only improves the air quality of the production environment and protects the health of operators, but also reduces the pollution and interference of dust to subsequent high-precision equipment (such as CCD cameras), ensuring the long-term stable operation of the equipment. The mooring chain dust removal and polishing device 3 includes two opposing left-side polishing devices 31 and right-side polishing devices 32. Both devices operate on the same principle, serving as initial polishing devices for the crossbars of the mooring chain 25, removing oil, rust, and dust from the surface of the mooring chain 25. The left-side polishing device 31 includes a fixed base 311, with a front-to-back telescopic platform 312 mounted on its upper end. A first transverse lead screw moving device 313 is mounted on one side of the front-to-back telescopic platform 312, and a first longitudinal lead screw moving device 31 is mounted on the first transverse lead screw moving device 313. 4. A CCD camera 315 is installed on one side of the first longitudinal lead screw moving device 314 to identify the position of the area to be polished on the crossbar. A first rotating robotic arm 316 is installed on one side of the CCD camera 315. An initial polishing device 317 is installed on the first rotating robotic arm 316. The first longitudinal lead screw moving device 314 and the first transverse lead screw moving device 313, together with the first rotating robotic arm 316, can complete the arc polishing of the surface of the mooring chain 25. The right-side polishing device 32 can simultaneously polish the other side of the crossbar. The two opposing left-side polishing devices and the right-side polishing device 317... The simultaneous grinding device can grind both sides of the mooring chain crossbars, greatly improving the efficiency and speed of pre-processing. This synchronous operation ensures uniform cleanliness across the entire crossbar surface, providing an optimal foundation for high-quality welding. Combined with the coordinated operation of the front and rear telescopic platforms, the first transverse screw moving device, the first longitudinal screw moving device, and the first rotating robotic arm, it achieves arc-shaped grinding of the mooring chain surface. This solves the problem that traditional straight-line grinding is insufficient to fully cover and process the complex curved surfaces of mooring chain crossbars, ensuring that oil, rust, and dust are thoroughly removed from all areas to be welded. The welding quality has been significantly improved by introducing a CCD camera to identify the position of the crossbar to be ground, realizing intelligent and high-precision grinding process. The CCD camera can accurately identify the position of the crossbar and the geometric features of the area to be ground, guiding the robotic arm to plan the path, avoiding ineffective grinding and omissions, and improving the targeting and efficiency of grinding. Thorough and uniform surface pretreatment is also the key to ensuring weld quality. By removing oil, rust and dust, welding defects such as porosity and slag inclusions can be effectively avoided, thereby improving the strength, toughness and corrosion resistance of the weld and extending the service life of the mooring chain. The mooring chain welding device 4 includes two opposing left crossbar pressing welding devices 41 and right crossbar pressing welding devices 42, which have the same structure. The left crossbar pressing welding device 41 includes an L-shaped fixing frame 411. A hydraulic cylinder 412 is provided on one side of the upper end of the L-shaped fixing frame 411. A mooring chain conforming pressure head 413 is provided at the output end of the hydraulic cylinder 412. A second transverse screw moving device 414 is provided on one side of the lower end of the L-shaped fixing frame 411. A second longitudinal screw moving device 414 is provided on one side of the upper end of the second transverse screw moving device 414. The lever moving device 415 has a second rotating robotic arm 416 on one side. A welding head 417 is located at the output end of the second rotating robotic arm 416. The welding head 417, in conjunction with the second rotating robotic arm 416, the second transverse screw moving device 414, and the second longitudinal screw moving device 415, can perform arc welding on the crossbar. Two opposing left and right crossbar pressure welding devices simultaneously perform pressure welding on the crossbar, which significantly improves welding efficiency. More importantly, simultaneous welding on both sides helps balance thermal stress, reduce welding deformation, and improve welding stability. The combination of hydraulic cylinder and mooring chain conformal pressure head can apply precise and stable pressure to the crossbar, ensuring a tight fit between the parts to be welded. This creates conditions for high-quality pressure welding. In particular, the "conformal pressure head" can adapt to the curved shape of the mooring chain, ensuring a uniform distribution of pressure force, which is difficult to achieve with traditional flat pressure heads. Combined with the second transverse screw moving device, the second longitudinal screw moving device, and the second rotating robotic arm, the welding head can accurately complete the arc welding of the crossbar. This solves the problem that the connection between the mooring chain crossbar and the chain link is usually an arc surface, and manual welding is difficult to guarantee the consistency and quality of the weld. Automated multi-axis linkage ensures the continuity, uniformity, and penetration depth of the weld, greatly improving welding quality and reliability. Precise pressure and automated arc welding can effectively reduce common welding defects such as porosity, incomplete penetration, and undercut, improving the structural integrity and safety of the key load-bearing parts of the mooring chain. The mooring chain weld grinding device 5 includes two opposing first crossbar grinding devices 51 and second crossbar grinding devices 52, located on both sides of the mooring chain 25 to grind its surface. Its structure is the same as that of the left-side station grinding device 31. Driven by corresponding moving devices and rotating robotic arms, its grinding heads can grind and clean the weld beads and spatter at the horizontal and vertical crossbar welds. Grinding its surface on both sides of the mooring chain ensures the cleanliness of both sides of the weld. The fact that the grinding heads can grind and clean the weld beads and spatter at the horizontal and vertical crossbar welds under the drive of corresponding moving devices and rotating robotic arms shows that the device can flexibly adapt to the complex three-dimensional geometry of the mooring chain crossbar weld (including planes and curved surfaces, as well as welds in different directions), ensuring the thorough removal of all defects around the weld. Eliminating weld beads and spatter not only improves the appearance of the weld, but more importantly, removes stress concentration points, which helps to improve the fatigue strength, corrosion resistance and overall mechanical properties of the weld, and extends the service life of the mooring chain. The mooring chain dust removal device 6 includes a cover 61 disposed outside the mooring chain 25; a first air blowing pipe 62 and a second air blowing pipe 63 are respectively disposed on opposite side walls inside the cover 61, for spraying high-speed airflow onto the passing links of the mooring chain 25 to remove residual dust and welding slag; a dust suction port 64 is opened at the top of the cover 61, which is connected to an external negative pressure dust suction device for collecting and sucking out the raised dust and particulate matter; spraying high-speed airflow onto the passing links of the mooring chain to remove residual dust and welding slag; it can thoroughly blow away the fine dust and welding slag adhering to the surface of the links, especially in the gaps, to ensure the highest cleanliness of the product after all processing is completed, which is crucial for avoiding secondary pollution during subsequent painting, packaging or transportation. The side-moving device 7 includes a lead screw motor 71, with guide rods 72 at both the upper and lower ends of the lead screw motor 71. A moving back plate 73 is provided at the output end of the lead screw motor 71, and moving wheels 74 are provided at the four corners of the moving back plate 73. The moving wheels 74 are connected to the guide rods 72. A fixed upright 75 is provided on one side of the moving back plate 73. The lead screw motor, as the drive source, provides precise linear motion control, ensuring high-precision positioning of the side-moving device in the horizontal or vertical direction. The design of having guide rods at both the upper and lower ends and moving wheels connected to the guide rods forms a stable guiding structure, effectively preventing shaking and offset during movement, and ensuring the stability and measurement accuracy of the CCD capture positioning device. The CCD capture and positioning device 8 includes a third lateral lead screw moving device 81, with a rotating base 82 at its lower end and a Z-axis lead screw moving device 83 at its output end. An electric focusing lens 84 is connected to one side of the Z-axis lead screw moving device 83. The electric focusing lens 84 is connected to the Z-axis lead screw moving device 83 via a rotatable bracket, and the lens can be tilted on the bracket. The CCD capture and positioning device 8 also includes an image transmission module, which transmits the images acquired by the electric focusing lens 84 to the central control unit in real time. The central control unit, based on preset welding standards and image recognition algorithms, determines the welding position and weld seam. The quality is analyzed and judged, and the control commands are fed back to the mooring chain welding device 4 and the mooring chain weld grinding device 5. Combined with the third transverse lead screw moving device, the rotating base, the Z-axis lead screw moving device, and the electric focusing lens connected by a rotatable bracket, the lens can be tilted and adjusted on the bracket, forming a multi-axis degree of freedom vision system. This allows the CCD camera to observe and capture the crossbar of the mooring chain from any angle and any distance, overcoming the visual blind spots caused by the complex geometry of the mooring chain, and achieving all-round accurate detection. Its automated welding data parameter photos can be corrected and optimized, and its production data can form valuable technical support for fully automated welding. The stepping device is a sprocket mechanism driven by a servo motor. The sprocket meshes with the chain links of the mooring chain 25. Through the precise rotation angle control of the servo motor, the intermittent stepping conveying of the mooring chain 25 is realized. The grinding heads of the initial grinding device 317 and the mooring chain weld point grinding device 5 are high-speed electric or pneumatic grinding heads, which can be equipped with one of the following: wire wheel, grinding wheel or louvered disc. The most suitable grinding head can be selected for different grinding needs (such as rust and dirt removal in pretreatment, weld bead removal after welding and surface finishing) to achieve the best grinding effect.

[0021] Working Principle: Under the traction of a sprocket stepping device driven by a servo motor, the mooring chain is intermittently conveyed to the processing area. First, the chain links enter the concave chain guide groove 22 of the mooring chain guide device 2. The limiting and fixing groove 23 at the entrance performs preliminary straightening and positioning of the chain links, ensuring that they enter the subsequent workstations in a standard posture. The dust extraction devices 24 on both sides of the guide groove work continuously throughout the processing to collect the generated dust. When the mooring chain steps to the mooring chain dust removal and polishing device 3, the left-side workstation polishing device 31 and the right-side workstation polishing device 32 on both sides are activated in coordination under the visual guidance of the CCD camera 315. The CCD camera identifies the precise position and contour of the area to be polished on the crossbar, and the control system plans the path accordingly. Subsequently, the initial polishing device 317 moves on the multi-degree-of-freedom motion platform, the front and rear telescopic platform 312, and the first transverse lead screw moving device 313. Driven by the first longitudinal lead screw moving device 314 and the first rotating robotic arm 316, the chain is closely aligned with the complex curved surfaces of the crossbars and chain links for contour grinding, thoroughly removing oil, rust, and oxide layers. This provides a clean and suitable substrate for welding. After pretreatment, the mooring chain enters the mooring chain welding device 4. The crossbar pressing welding device 41 is located on both sides. The right-side crossbar pressing and welding device 42 operates synchronously. First, the hydraulic cylinder 412 drives the mooring chain contouring head 413 to press down, using a uniform pressing force to firmly fix the crossbar onto the chain link, eliminating assembly gaps. Next, the welding head 417, driven by the second transverse screw moving device 414, the second longitudinal screw moving device 415, and the second rotating robotic arm 416, performs multi-angle, all-position contouring welding along the joint between the crossbar and the chain link, ensuring continuous, uniform, and fully penetrated welds. Simultaneous welding on both sides effectively balances heat input and reduces welding deformation. After welding, the mooring chain continues to advance to the mooring chain weld point grinding device 5, which also employs a double-sided symmetrical design. The first crossbar grinding device 51...The second crossbar grinding device 52, driven by a motion mechanism and a robotic arm, performs fine grinding and cleaning of weld beads and spatter at the weld joint, eliminating stress concentration points and improving the weld appearance and fatigue performance. Subsequently, the mooring chain enters the mooring chain dust removal device 6. Inside the sealed enclosure 61, the first air blowing pipe 62 and the second air blowing pipe 63 spray high-speed airflow onto the chain links, blowing up residual dust and weld slag. The dust suction port 64 at the top is connected to an external negative pressure system, instantly sucking out the raised pollutants, achieving the final deep cleaning of the finished product. Intelligent control throughout the entire processing is provided by the CCD capture and positioning device 8. Integrated with the central control unit, this device, through a third transverse lead screw moving device 81, a rotating base 82, a Z-axis lead screw moving device 83, and a multi-angle adjustable electric focusing lens 84, achieves comprehensive coverage of pre-welding positioning, in-welding monitoring, and post-welding inspection. The image transmission module transmits the captured images to the central control unit in real time. The image processing algorithm within the unit, based on preset welding standards, automatically analyzes, judges, and records the weld position and forming quality, and can feed back adjustment commands to the welding or grinding actuators, forming a precise, efficient, and intelligent closed-loop quality control system.

[0022] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above, and that the invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered in all respects as exemplary and non-limiting, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. Thus, all variations falling within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the claims are intended to be included within the present invention. No reference numerals in the claims should be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

[0023] Furthermore, it should be understood that although this specification describes embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative style is merely for clarity. Those skilled in the art should consider the specification as a whole, and the technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. An automatic welding device for mooring chain crossbars, comprising a fixed support frame (1), characterized in that: The fixed support frame (1) is provided with a mooring chain guide device (2) at its upper end. A mooring chain dust removal and polishing device (3) is provided on one side of the upper end of the mooring chain guide device (2) for surface pretreatment of the crossbar area to be welded on the mooring chain. A mooring chain welding device (4) is provided on one side of the mooring chain dust removal and polishing device (3) for pressure welding of the pretreated crossbar. A mooring chain weld point polishing device (5) is provided on one side of the mooring chain welding device (4) for removing weld beads and surface treatment of the weld points after welding. A mooring chain dust removal device (6) is provided on one side of the mooring chain weld point polishing device (5) for final cleaning of the chain links after welding and polishing. A side moving device (7) is provided on the side of the mooring chain guide device (2). A CCD capture positioning device (8) is provided on the upper end of the side moving device (7) for cooperating with the welding of the mooring chain welding device (4) and for the appearance inspection after welding.

2. The automatic welding device for mooring chain crossbars according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mooring chain guiding device (2) includes a fixed platform (21) fixed on the fixed support frame (1), and a concave chain guide groove (22) is provided on the fixed platform (21). The width of the concave chain guide groove (22) is adapted to the diameter of the chain link of the mooring chain (25). A limiting fixing groove (23) is provided above the entrance end of the concave chain guide groove (22) for preliminary straightening and positioning of the input mooring chain (25). Several dust extraction devices (24) are arranged on the upper part of the two side walls of the concave chain guide groove (22) along its length direction for collecting dust generated during grinding and welding. The mooring chain (25) moves along the concave chain guide groove (22) under the traction of the stepping device that drives its stepping movement.

3. The automatic welding device for mooring chain crossbars according to claim 2, characterized in that: The mooring chain dust removal and polishing device (3) includes two opposing left-side polishing devices (31) and right-side polishing devices (32). Both devices operate on the same principle, serving as initial polishing devices for the crossbars of the mooring chain (25), removing oil, rust, and dust from the surface of the mooring chain (25). The left-side polishing device (31) includes a fixed base (311), with a front-rear telescopic platform (312) at the top. A first transverse screw moving device (313) is located on one side of the front-rear telescopic platform (312), and a first transverse screw moving device (313) is located on the first transverse screw moving device (313). The first longitudinal lead screw moving device (314) is equipped with a CCD camera (315) on one side to identify the position of the crossbar to be polished. The first rotating mechanical arm (316) is equipped with an initial polishing device (317) on the first rotating mechanical arm (316). The first longitudinal lead screw moving device (314) and the first transverse lead screw moving device (313) work together with the first rotating mechanical arm (316) to complete the arc polishing of the surface of the mooring chain (25). The right-side station polishing device (32) can simultaneously polish the other side of the crossbar.

4. The automatic welding device for mooring chain crossbars according to claim 3, characterized in that: The mooring chain welding device (4) includes two opposing left crossbar pressing welding devices (41) and right crossbar pressing welding devices (42), which have the same structure. The left crossbar pressing welding device (41) includes an L-shaped fixing frame (411). A hydraulic cylinder (412) is provided on one side of the upper end of the L-shaped fixing frame (411). A mooring chain conforming pressure head (413) is provided at the output end of the hydraulic cylinder (412). A second transverse screw moving device (414) is provided on one side of the lower end of the L-shaped fixing frame (411). A second longitudinal screw moving device (415) is provided on one side of the second transverse screw moving device (414), and a second rotating mechanical arm (416) is provided on one side of the second longitudinal screw moving device (415). A welding head (417) is provided at the output end of the second rotating mechanical arm (416). The welding head (417) together with the second rotating mechanical arm (416), the second transverse screw moving device (414) and the second longitudinal screw moving device (415) can complete the arc welding of the crossbar.

5. The automatic welding device for mooring chain crossbars according to claim 4, characterized in that: The mooring chain weld grinding device (5) includes two opposing first crossbar grinding devices (51) and second crossbar grinding devices (52), located on both sides of the mooring chain (25) to grind its surface. Its structure is the same as that of the left-side station grinding device (31). Its grinding head, driven by the corresponding moving device and rotating mechanical arm, can grind and clean the weld beads and spatter at the horizontal and vertical crossbar welds.

6. The automatic welding device for mooring chain crossbars according to claim 5, characterized in that: The mooring chain dust removal device (6) includes a cover (61) disposed outside the mooring chain (25); a first air blowing pipe (62) and a second air blowing pipe (63) are respectively disposed on opposite side walls inside the cover (61) for spraying high-speed airflow onto the passing links of the mooring chain (25) to remove residual dust and welding slag; a dust suction port (64) is opened at the top of the cover (61), and the dust suction port (64) is connected to an external negative pressure dust suction device for collecting and sucking out the raised dust and particulate matter.

7. The automatic welding device for mooring chain crossbars according to claim 6, characterized in that: The side-moving device (7) includes a lead screw motor (71), with guide rods (72) at both the upper and lower ends of the lead screw motor (71), a movable back plate (73) at the output end of the lead screw motor (71), and movable wheels (74) at the four corners of the movable back plate (73). The movable wheels (74) are connected to the guide rods (72), and a fixed upright (75) is provided on one side of the movable back plate (73).

8. The automatic welding device for mooring chain crossbars according to claim 7, characterized in that: The CCD capture and positioning device (8) includes a third transverse lead screw moving device (81), a rotating base (82) is provided at the lower end of the third transverse lead screw moving device (81), a Z-axis lead screw moving device (83) is provided at the output end of the rotating base, an electric focusing lens (84) is connected to one side of the Z-axis lead screw moving device (83), the electric focusing lens (84) is connected to the Z-axis lead screw moving device (83) through a rotatable bracket, and the lens can be tilted on the bracket. The CCD capture and positioning device (8) also includes an image transmission module, which transmits the image acquired by the electric focusing lens (84) to the central control unit in real time. The central control unit analyzes and judges the welding position and weld quality based on the preset welding standard and image recognition algorithm, and feeds back the control command to the mooring chain welding device (4) and the mooring chain weld grinding device (5).

9. The automatic welding device for mooring chain crossbars according to claim 8, characterized in that: The stepping device is a sprocket mechanism driven by a servo motor. The sprocket meshes with the chain links of the mooring chain (25). Through the precise rotation angle control of the servo motor, the mooring chain (25) is intermittently stepped to transport.

10. The automatic welding device for mooring chain crossbars according to claim 9, characterized in that: The inner wall of the concave chain guide groove (22) is provided with a wear-resistant ceramic coating. The grinding head of the initial grinding device (317) and the mooring chain weld point grinding device (5) is a high-speed electric or pneumatic grinding head, which can be equipped with a wire wheel, a grinding wheel or a louvered disc.

Images