Hydrogen storage cylinder multi-station winding forming device and method

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of hydrogen storage cylinder production, and particularly discloses a multi-station winding forming device and method for a hydrogen storage cylinder, which comprises a cylinder winding module and a fiber supply module. The cylinder winding module comprises a plurality of winding stations and a glue collecting groove, each winding station comprises a clamping mechanism, a rotating mechanism, a pressurized inflation mechanism and a winding mechanism. The clamping mechanism comprises a pair of positioning clamps. The rotating mechanism drives the positioning clamps to rotate, and the pressurized inflation mechanism inflates and pressurizes the inner liner of the cylinder. The winding mechanism comprises a winding head and a winding drive module, the winding drive module drives the winding head to reciprocatingly move and guide the fiber to the surface of the inner liner of the cylinder. The rotating axes of all the winding stations are arranged in parallel along the up-down direction in sequence and are distributed in a staggered manner in a second direction; the distance between any two rotating axes in the second direction is greater than the diameter of the cylinder. The glue collecting groove is located below all the clamping mechanisms. The application realizes multi-station efficient winding, avoids resin cross contamination and guarantees winding quality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of hydrogen storage cylinder production technology, specifically to a multi-station winding molding device and method for hydrogen storage cylinders. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, hydrogen storage cylinders (especially high-pressure composite hydrogen storage cylinders) are commonly produced using single-station, dual-station, or triple-station winding molding equipment in the fiber winding process. Dual-station and triple-station equipment often employs a coaxial layout, where each station is arranged vertically along the same axis. However, in practical applications, this coaxial layout is compact and has small station spacing, exhibiting significant technical shortcomings that make it difficult to meet the demands of large-scale, high-quality manufacturing of hydrogen storage cylinders.

[0003] Specifically, in the aforementioned coaxial multi-station winding molding device, the distance between adjacent stations is relatively limited, and the structural layout is dense. This results in a strict limitation on the number of stations within the same equipment footprint, constrained by the radial dimensions of the gas cylinders, preventing the upper limit of single-equipment production capacity from being exceeded. Furthermore, when fiber winding occurs at a certain station, resin-impregnated fiber bundles are prone to resin dripping during high-speed movement. Due to the limited space between stations, the dripping resin inevitably adheres to the surfaces of adjacent gas cylinders that have already been wound or are currently being wound. Resin accumulation on the gas cylinder surface can easily lead to uneven thickness of the winding layer, resulting in a series of quality problems such as interlayer bubbles, decreased interlayer bonding strength, and even serious defects like delamination. These defects directly affect the pressure-bearing capacity of the hydrogen storage cylinders, weakening their structural stability under high-pressure conditions, while increasing the risk of hydrogen permeation and hydrogen embrittlement. In severe cases, this can lead to premature cylinder failure or even scrapping.

[0004] Furthermore, dripping resin is difficult to recycle during operation, and after it hardens, it usually requires manual cleaning. This not only significantly increases production and maintenance costs but also wastes resin materials and reduces material utilization, which contradicts the current trend of green manufacturing and cost reduction. Summary of the Invention The present invention aims to at least solve one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, the present invention provides a multi-station winding molding apparatus and method for hydrogen storage cylinders, which can achieve efficient production at multiple winding stations, avoid resin accumulation, and ensure winding quality.

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a multi-station winding forming apparatus for hydrogen storage cylinders includes: a cylinder winding module and a fiber supply module; The gas cylinder winding module includes multiple winding stations and a glue collection groove. Each winding station includes a clamping mechanism, a rotating mechanism, a pressurizing and inflating mechanism, and a winding mechanism. The clamping mechanism includes a pair of positioning clamps coaxially opposite each other along a first direction, which are used to clamp and fix the two ends of the gas cylinder liner. The rotating mechanism is used to drive the two positioning clamps to rotate around their own axis. The pressurizing and inflating mechanism is used to inflate and pressurize the gas cylinder liner. The winding mechanism includes a winding head and a winding drive module. The winding head is located on the outer periphery of the gas cylinder liner between the two positioning clamps. The winding drive module is used to drive the winding head to reciprocate along the first direction to guide the fiber to the surface of the rotating gas cylinder liner for winding; the rotation axes of the clamping mechanisms of all the winding stations are arranged sequentially and parallel in the vertical direction, and the rotation axes are staggered in the second direction; the second direction is horizontal and perpendicular to the first direction; the distance between the rotation axes of any two clamping mechanisms in the second direction is greater than the diameter of the target winding gas cylinder; the glue collection groove is located below all the clamping mechanisms and is used to collect the resin dripping from each of the winding stations; The fiber supply module is used to supply resin-impregnated fibers to the multiple winding heads.

[0006] The multi-station winding forming apparatus for hydrogen storage cylinders according to embodiments of the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects: In this invention, the rotation axes of the clamping mechanisms at all winding stations are arranged sequentially and parallel in the vertical direction, and staggered in the secondary direction. This layout maximizes the number of winding stations within a limited equipment space, significantly increasing the number of gas cylinders that can be wound in a single batch and the equipment's production capacity density. It breaks through the spatial limitations of traditional coaxial layouts, raising the upper limit of single-batch production capacity from the source of equipment structure. Simultaneously, the distance between the rotation axes of any two clamping mechanisms in the secondary direction is greater than the diameter of the gas cylinder to be wound, ensuring that the gas cylinders at each winding station are staggered in the secondary direction. This design effectively prevents resin dripping from the upper winding station from directly falling onto the surface of the gas cylinder at the lower winding station, preventing quality problems such as resin accumulation, interlayer bubbles, decreased bonding strength, and delamination, thus ensuring the quality of the winding process. Finally, all dripped resin can be recycled and reused online through the glue collection tank located below each winding station, reducing material loss and cleaning costs.

[0007] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the winding mechanism further includes a scraper that moves synchronously with the winding head; the scraper is disposed on the outer periphery of the gas cylinder liner between the two positioning clamps with a preset fitting gap, for scraping off excess resin on the fiber layer of the gas cylinder surface in real time; the glue collection groove is also used to collect the resin scraped off by the scraper.

[0008] According to some embodiments of the present invention, in the clamping mechanism of each of the winding stations, the distance between the two positioning clamps in the first direction is adjustable; Furthermore, the position of each clamping mechanism as a whole is adjustable in the vertical direction and the second direction.

[0009] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the gas cylinder winding module further includes two columns spaced apart from each other along the first direction, the distance between the two columns in the first direction is adjustable, the rotating mechanism includes two rotating seats respectively disposed on the two columns, two positioning clamps respectively disposed on the two rotating seats, the rotating seats are used to drive the positioning clamps to rotate, and the rotating seats are mounted on the columns through a two-way adjustment structure to adjust their position relative to the columns along the vertical direction and the second direction.

[0010] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the clamping mechanism further includes two connecting rods coaxially disposed on the two positioning clamps respectively, one end of the connecting rod being used to connect to the boss connector of the gas cylinder liner, and the other end being clamped and fixed to the positioning clamp.

[0011] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the pressurizing and inflation mechanism includes an inflation nozzle, which is installed at the rotation center of the rotating seat. One end of the connecting rod, which is clamped and fixed by the positioning clamp, is provided with an inflation valve structure that is matched and connected to the inflation nozzle. The inflation nozzle communicates with the interior of the gas cylinder liner through the connecting rod.

[0012] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the fiber supply module includes an unwinding mechanism, a tension control mechanism, a resin impregnation mechanism, and a guide roller mechanism; the unwinding mechanism is provided with multiple unwinding stations for mounting fiber yarn rolls and unwinding fibers; the guide roller mechanism includes multiple fiber transport yarn paths respectively disposed between the multiple unwinding stations and the multiple winding heads, each fiber transport yarn path being provided with a series of guide rollers for guiding the smooth and orderly transport of fibers; the tension control mechanism is located between the resin impregnation mechanism and the unwinding mechanism for controlling the tension during the fiber transport and winding process; the resin impregnation mechanism is used to impregnate the fibers during transport with resin.

[0013] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the impregnation mechanism includes a yarn collector, an impregnation tank, and a yarn separator arranged sequentially along the fiber transport direction. The yarn collector is used to concentrate and feed multiple fiber bundles into the impregnation tank. The impregnation tank is used to hold resin to impregnate the fibers. The yarn separator is used to distribute the resin-impregnated fiber bundles to multiple winding heads.

[0014] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the impregnation tank is provided with a temperature control module, which is used to adjust the viscosity of the resin and its compound; a circulation control module is provided between the receiving tank and the impregnation tank, which is used to circulate the resin collected in the receiving tank to the impregnation tank.

[0015] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a method for winding and forming a hydrogen storage cylinder is applied to the aforementioned multi-station winding and forming apparatus for hydrogen storage cylinders. The method for winding and forming a hydrogen storage cylinder includes the following steps: Multiple gas cylinder liners to be wound are respectively clamped onto multiple clamping mechanisms to ensure that all target gas cylinders to be wound are arranged in parallel and staggered relative to each other in the second direction. Each gas cylinder liner is inflated and pressurized according to a preset pressure. The control fibers are impregnated with resin and then introduced into each of the winding heads; Each clamping mechanism is controlled to rotate the corresponding gas cylinder liner at a preset rotation speed; Control each of the winding heads to move back and forth at a preset moving speed, and wind the resin-impregnated fibers onto the surface of the corresponding gas cylinder liner according to a preset winding angle, preset layer thickness and preset number of winding layers to obtain the target wound gas cylinder; The resin collection tank is controlled to collect the resin dripping from each of the winding stations.

[0016] Other features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and will be apparent in part from the description, or may be learned by practicing the invention. Attached Figure Description

[0017] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments, wherein: Figure 1 A side view of an embodiment of the multi-station winding forming apparatus for hydrogen storage cylinders provided by the present invention. Figure 2 A front view schematic diagram of an embodiment of the winding station provided by the present invention; Figure 3 A flowchart of one embodiment of the hydrogen storage cylinder winding molding method provided by the present invention; Icon labels: Gas cylinder winding module 100; winding station 110; positioning fixture 111; connecting rod 112; glue collection groove 120; winding head 130; scraper 140; column 150; rotating seat 160; inflation nozzle 170; Fiber supply module 200; unwinding mechanism 210; unwinding station 211; tension control mechanism 220; impregnation mechanism 230; yarn collector 231; impregnation tank 232; yarn separator 233; Gas cylinder inner liner 300; Boss connector 310; Longitudinal axis 400. Detailed Implementation

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

[0019] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the orientation descriptions, such as up, down, etc., are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings and are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this invention.

[0020] In the description of this invention, "multiple" refers to two or more. The use of "first" and "second" is for distinguishing technical features only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features or their sequential relationship.

[0021] In the description of this invention, unless otherwise explicitly defined, terms such as "set up," "install," and "connect" should be interpreted broadly, and those skilled in the art can reasonably determine the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention in conjunction with the specific content of the technical solution.

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

[0023] To address the technical problems of existing hydrogen storage cylinder winding devices, such as low efficiency, poor quality, resin waste, and weak adaptability, this invention provides a multi-station winding and forming device for hydrogen storage cylinders that enables efficient multi-station production while avoiding resin accumulation and ensuring winding quality. The specific embodiments of this device are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0024] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, this invention provides a specific embodiment of a multi-station winding molding device for hydrogen storage cylinders. Taking the mass production of 70MPa high-pressure hydrogen storage cylinders for automotive use as an example, the cylinder inner liner 300 is made of PA12 material. The core boundary condition of this embodiment is: the rated footprint of the device is 3.2m (width) × 4.0m (length), which is completely consistent with the standard footprint of conventional three-station coaxial hydrogen storage cylinder winding machines in the existing hydrogen energy industry. It achieves a more station layout under the same footprint conditions, increasing production capacity without expanding the factory area, and has good industrial compatibility and economy.

[0025] like Figure 1 As shown, the multi-station winding forming device for hydrogen storage cylinders of the present invention includes: a cylinder winding module 100 and a fiber supply module 200.

[0026] Among them, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the gas cylinder winding module 100 includes multiple winding stations 110 and a glue collection groove 120. In this embodiment, four winding stations 110 are provided. Each winding station 110 includes a clamping mechanism, a rotating mechanism, a pressurizing and inflation mechanism, and a winding mechanism.

[0027] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the clamping mechanism includes a pair of positioning clamps 111 coaxially opposite each other along a first direction. Figure 2 As shown, in this embodiment, the first direction is the left-right direction. In other embodiments, the first direction may also be other horizontal directions. The two positioning clamps 111 in each clamping mechanism are arranged opposite each other in the left-right direction to clamp and fix the left and right ends of the gas cylinder liner 300, that is, when the gas cylinder liner 300 is clamped and fixed, its axis extends in the left-right direction.

[0028] The specific form of the positioning fixture 111 is not limited, as long as it meets the centering and fixing function, including but not limited to a three-jaw chuck structure. This embodiment adopts a three-jaw chuck structure, which is compatible with BOSS connectors 310 with a diameter of φ100mm-φ600mm, and the positioning accuracy is ±0.03mm.

[0029] Furthermore, such as Figure 2As shown, the clamping mechanism in this embodiment also includes two connecting rods 112 coaxially mounted on two positioning clamps 111. One end of the connecting rod 112 is used to connect to the boss connector 310 of the gas cylinder inner liner 300, and the other end is clamped and fixed to the positioning clamp 111. During clamping, the boss connectors 310 at the ends of multiple gas cylinder inner liners 300 to be wound are connected to the corresponding connecting rods 112, and then fixed in the positioning clamps 111 at each station. The connecting rod 112 is disposed between the boss connector 310 and the positioning clamp 111 to connect the gas cylinder inner liner 300 to the positioning clamp 111 to transmit rotational motion. In this embodiment, the connecting rod 112 is made of 40Cr alloy steel, and its length is adjustable from 50mm to 200mm.

[0030] The connecting rod 112 serves as an intermediate force transmission component, preventing the positioning clamp 111 from directly contacting the boss connector 310 and causing damage. At the same time, the adjustable length design can adapt to the axial dimensions of gas cylinders of different specifications, improving the versatility of the device.

[0031] Boss connectors 310 are located at both ends of the gas cylinder inner liner 300, and their external threads are designed to match the threads at one end of the connecting rod 112. The other end of the boss connector 310 is either injection-molded into the gas cylinder inner liner 300 or bonded to the inner liner. It is essential to ensure the coaxiality of the two boss connectors 310 and the gas cylinder inner liner 300 as a whole; otherwise, instability during the winding process will occur. In this embodiment, the boss connectors 310 are made of 6061 aluminum alloy and are fixed to both ends of the PA12 inner liner through a hot-melt bonding process. The coaxiality error with the inner liner is ≤±0.05mm. The connection structure is fully compatible with the connecting rod 112, ensuring stable transmission of rotational torque without gas leakage.

[0032] The rotating mechanism drives two positioning clamps 111 to rotate around their own axes. It can be understood that the rotating mechanism drives the gas cylinder inner liner 300 to rotate around its own axis via the two positioning clamps 111. During the winding process, the rotation speed of the gas cylinder inner liner 300 can be adjusted according to different process requirements. Variable speed rotation control can adapt to the speed requirements of different winding processes (such as spiral winding and circumferential winding), improving process adaptability. The rotating mechanism is driven by a low-inertia servo motor. In this embodiment, the speed adjustment range is 5-25 r / min, and the speed control accuracy is ±0.2 r / min, which can adapt to the low-impact, stable-speed winding requirements of PA12 inner liners.

[0033] The pressurization and inflation mechanism is used to inflate and pressurize the inner liner 300 of the gas cylinder. By injecting a protective gas at a preset pressure into the inner liner 300, pressure is maintained within the liner, preventing the inner liner 300 from collapsing and deforming due to fiber tension during the winding process. In this embodiment, the pressure adjustment range is 0-1.5 MPa, which is suitable for the pressure maintenance and anti-collapse requirements during the winding process of the PA12 inner liner.

[0034] The winding mechanism includes a winding head 130 and a winding drive module (not shown in the figure). The winding head 130 is disposed on the outer periphery of the gas cylinder liner 300 between two positioning clamps 111. The winding drive module is used to drive the winding head 130 to reciprocate in the left-right direction to guide the fiber to the surface of the rotating gas cylinder liner 300 for winding. The moving speed is adjustable from 10 to 100 mm / s, and the positioning accuracy is ±0.1 mm.

[0035] The distance between the winding head 130 at each station and the rotation center of its corresponding winding station 110 should be consistent to ensure the stability and consistency of the winding process. The winding head 130 should be a smooth, curved corner structure to ensure good yarn spreading effect.

[0036] The winding drive module includes, but is not limited to, linear drive structures such as electric cylinders and pneumatic cylinders. According to the set moving speed, the winding drive module controls the winding head 130 to move back and forth along the axis of the gas cylinder, precisely guiding the fiber to the surface of the gas cylinder, and completing the spiral or circumferential winding in conjunction with the rotational movement of the gas cylinder.

[0037] The rotation axes of the clamping mechanisms in all winding stations 110 are arranged sequentially and parallel in the vertical direction, and the rotation axes are staggered in the front-back direction to achieve staggered arrangement.

[0038] The definition of off-axis arrangement is: as follows Figure 1 As shown, the winding station 110 includes a longitudinal axis 400 and a transverse axis. The transverse axis is the rotation axis of the clamping mechanism. The longitudinal axis 400 intersects the transverse axis perpendicularly and extends in the vertical direction. Each winding station 110 corresponds to one longitudinal axis 400. The staggered axis arrangement includes the offset of the longitudinal axis 400 in the front-to-back direction and the offset of the transverse axis in the vertical direction. The staggered axis arrangement aims to maximize the use of the winding machine's space by setting up as many winding stations 110 as possible, thereby improving the winding machine's production efficiency, significantly increasing the number of gas cylinders that can be wound in a single batch and the equipment's capacity density, breaking through the space limitations of the traditional coaxial layout, and increasing the upper limit of single-batch capacity from the source of equipment structure.

[0039] The distance between the rotation axes of any two clamping mechanisms in the front-to-back direction is greater than the diameter of the gas cylinder to be wound, ensuring that the gas cylinders on each winding station 110 are misaligned in the front-to-back direction. It is understood that the distance between any two longitudinal axes 400 is greater than the diameter of the gas cylinder to be wound, to prevent interference during the winding process. This design effectively prevents resin dripping from the upper winding station 110 during the winding process from directly falling onto the surface of the gas cylinder at the lower winding station 110, preventing quality problems such as resin accumulation, interlayer bubbles, decreased adhesion, and delamination, thereby ensuring the quality of the winding process.

[0040] like Figure 1 As shown, the resin collection tank 120 is located below all the clamping mechanisms and is used to collect the resin dripping from each winding station 110. The resin collection tank 120 is equipped with a filter device, and the filtered resin can be recycled. All dripping resin can be recovered and reused online through the resin collection tank 120 located below each winding station 110, reducing material loss and cleaning costs.

[0041] In this embodiment, the glue collection trough 120 is a long trough integrally formed from stainless steel, which completely covers the area directly below all four winding stations 110.

[0042] Furthermore, the winding mechanism also includes a scraper 140, which moves synchronously with the winding head 130. The scraper 140 is positioned at a preset fit gap on the outer periphery of the gas cylinder inner liner 300 between the two positioning clamps 111, for real-time scraping of excess resin from the fiber layer on the gas cylinder surface. Specifically, the cutting edge of the scraper 140 is in close contact with the outer surface of the gas cylinder, scraping away excess resin adhering to the fiber layer in real time to prevent resin from accumulating locally.

[0043] In this embodiment, the scraper 140 is a flexible component made of non-stick materials such as industrial-grade silicone, polytetrafluoroethylene, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, or modified fluororubber. The scraper 140 must retain at least two degrees of freedom: adjusting the distance from the gas cylinder and adjusting the angle relative to the gas cylinder. The adjustable range of the gap between the scraper 140 and the surface of the gas cylinder is 0-0.2 mm, and in this embodiment it is set to 0.1 mm.

[0044] To minimize resin contamination, the scraper 140 should be installed at a height no lower than the horizontal axis of the corresponding gas cylinder. Simultaneously, the installation direction of the scraper 140 must ensure that resin is directly scraped off below it, preventing resin accumulation in the area between the scraper 140 and the gas cylinder. Specifically, if the gas cylinder rotates clockwise, the scraper 140 should be positioned at the front; conversely, it should be positioned at the rear.

[0045] Furthermore, to accommodate the winding requirements of gas cylinders of different sizes, the distance between the two positioning clamps 111 in the left-right direction (i.e., the first direction) of the clamping mechanism in each winding station 110 is adjustable; at the same time, the installation position of each clamping mechanism as a whole in the up-down direction and the front-back direction (i.e., the second direction) is adjustable.

[0046] Specifically, the gas cylinder winding module 100 also includes two columns 150 spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction. The distance between the two columns 150 in the left-right direction is adjustable. The rotating mechanism includes two rotating seats 160 respectively disposed on the two columns 150, and two positioning clamps 111 respectively mounted on the two rotating seats 160. The rotating seats 160 are used to drive the positioning clamps 111 to rotate. The rotating seats 160 are mounted on the columns 150 through a two-way adjustment structure (not shown in the figure) to adjust their position relative to the columns 150 in the vertical and horizontal directions and the front-back direction.

[0047] The two uprights 150 are mainly used to provide a stable mounting base and structural support for the various components. The bottom of each upright 150 is equipped with a shock-absorbing structure to eliminate vibration interference generated during the winding process.

[0048] Regarding the specific form of the two-way adjustment structure, in some embodiments, a first guide rail extending in the vertical direction can be provided on the column 150, and a first slide can be installed on the first guide rail; a second guide rail extending in the front-back direction can be provided on the first slide, and a second slide can be installed on the second guide rail; the rotating seat 160 is rotatably installed on the second slide.

[0049] Each swivel seat 160 is driven by a motor, providing rotational motion for the winding process.

[0050] like Figure 1 As shown, the pressurization and inflation mechanism of this embodiment includes an inflation nozzle 170. The inflation nozzle 170 is mounted at the rotation center of the rotating base 160. One end of the connecting rod 112, which is clamped and fixed by the positioning clamp 111, is provided with an inflation valve structure that is matched and connected to the inflation nozzle 170. The inflation nozzle 170 communicates with the interior of the gas cylinder liner 300 through the connecting rod 112.

[0051] The inflation nozzle 170 maintains the shape of the gas cylinder liner 300 by introducing compressed air, and the inflation pressure can be controlled independently to adapt to the winding requirements of different specifications and models of gas cylinder liners 300. The inflation pressure of the inflation nozzle 170 should be increased in a timely manner according to the progress of the winding process to prevent fiber tension and resin pressure from crushing the gas cylinder liner 300.

[0052] The fiber supply module 200 of this embodiment is used to supply resin-impregnated fibers to a plurality of winding heads 130.

[0053] Specifically, such as Figure 1 As shown, the fiber supply module 200 includes an unwinding mechanism 210, a tension control mechanism 220, an impregnation mechanism 230, and a guide roller mechanism (not shown in the figure).

[0054] The unwinding mechanism 210 has multiple unwinding stations 211 for mounting and unwinding fiber rolls. The fiber rolls are made of carbon fiber or glass fiber and are one of the necessary raw materials for winding gas cylinders. This embodiment uses T700SC-24K high-performance carbon fiber rolls.

[0055] The guide roller mechanism includes multiple fiber transport paths disposed between multiple unwinding stations 211 and multiple winding heads 130. Each fiber transport path is equipped with a series of guide rollers to guide the smooth and orderly transport of fibers.

[0056] The tension control mechanism 220 is located between the impregnation mechanism 230 and the unwinding mechanism 210, and is used to control the tension of the fiber during the transmission and winding process. This mechanism uses a precision sensor and actuator to control the fiber tension in a closed loop, ensuring that the fiber maintains a uniform and stable tension during winding, thereby guaranteeing the density and strength of the wound layer. In this embodiment, the tension control mechanism 220 employs a high-precision servo closed-loop control system, with a fiber tension adjustment range of 5N–80N and a control accuracy of ±1N. This embodiment is adapted to a PA12 inner liner with a rated winding tension of 32N, which can prevent excessive tension from causing deformation of the inner liner.

[0057] The resin impregnation mechanism 230 is used to impregnate the fibers during transport with resin. Specifically, the resin impregnation mechanism 230 includes a yarn collector 231, a resin impregnation tank 232, and a yarn separator 233 arranged sequentially along the fiber transport direction.

[0058] The yarn collector 231 is used to concentrate and feed multiple fiber bundles into the impregnation tank 232; Impregnation tank 232 is used to hold resin for impregnating fibers with resin; The yarn divider 233 is used to distribute resin-impregnated fiber bundles to multiple winding heads 130.

[0059] The yarn collector 231 and the yarn separator 233 are used to ensure the smooth winding of the fiber yarn path and to ensure that the number and arrangement of fibers entering each winding head 130 are uniform.

[0060] The combined use of yarn collector 231 and yarn separator 233 ensures that multiple fibers are neatly bundled before impregnation and evenly distributed after impregnation, avoiding fiber crossing, entanglement or missing strands, and improving the consistency and stability of material supply at each winding station 110.

[0061] After the fiber bundle is drawn out from the unwinding station 211, it passes sequentially along the fiber transport path through the tension control mechanism 220, the yarn collector 231, the resin impregnation tank 232, and the yarn separator 233, and is finally introduced into the winding head 130 of the corresponding winding station 110. The clearly defined transport path ensures that the fiber has completed tension adjustment and resin impregnation before entering the winding head 130, reducing the time the fiber is exposed to air and helping to maintain the fiber's impregnation state and process stability.

[0062] The impregnation tank 232 is equipped with a temperature control module (not shown in the figure). The temperature control module is used to adjust the viscosity of the resin and its compound to obtain a good impregnation effect. Specifically, the impregnation tank 232 is equipped with an electric heating and temperature control module with a temperature control range of 25-60℃ and a temperature control accuracy of ±1℃. It can stably regulate the viscosity of epoxy resin and ensure the interfacial bonding force between the PA12 inner liner and the fiber layer.

[0063] By optimizing resin viscosity through temperature control, fiber wettability and wetting speed can be improved without changing the resin formulation, reducing air bubble entrainment and improving wetting quality. At the same time, process parameters can be adjusted according to different resin systems (such as epoxy resin, phenolic resin, etc.) to enhance process adaptability.

[0064] A circulation control module (not shown in the figure) is provided between the resin collection tank 120 and the resin impregnation tank 232. The circulation control module is used to circulate and transport the resin collected in the resin collection tank 120 to the resin impregnation tank 232. The online recycling and reuse of resin significantly reduces the consumption cost of resin materials, reduces the burden of waste resin disposal, and realizes automatic resin replenishment in continuous production processes, thereby improving the level of production automation and green manufacturing capabilities.

[0065] This embodiment also includes a control component (not shown in the figure). The control component adopts an industrial numerical control system, which controls the rotating seat 160, winding head 130 and tension control mechanism 220 of all winding stations 110 to achieve synchronous linkage control of process parameters such as rotation speed of all winding stations 110, moving speed of winding head 130 and fiber tension, so as to ensure that the winding process of each winding station 110 remains stable, accurate and consistent under non-coaxial layout.

[0066] The control component controls the rotating seat 160, which in turn drives the positioning clamp 111, connecting rod 112, boss connector 310 and gas cylinder liner 300 to rotate, and synchronously controls the reciprocating motion of the winding head 130 and the tension adjustment of the tension control mechanism 220, thereby performing a complete winding process.

[0067] Based on the device described in this embodiment, under the same floor space conditions, the following are the verification results compared with the mass production of PA12 inner liner type IV gas cylinders using a conventional three-station coaxial winding machine in the industry: Significantly improved production capacity and space utilization: Within the same floor area, the number of winding stations 110 is increased from three to four through a non-coaxial staggered layout, resulting in a precise 33.3% increase in theoretical production capacity per unit time. This breaks through the space limitations and production capacity bottlenecks of traditional coaxial layouts and is adapted to the large-scale production needs of Type IV hydrogen storage cylinders.

[0068] Product quality is stable and controllable: By scraping away excess resin in real time with a 140mm scraper and coordinating with a non-coaxial layout, the amount of resin accumulation on the surface of the finished gas cylinder is small, and there are no harmful defects such as bubbles and delamination. The scrap rate of finished products is reduced compared with traditional processes.

[0069] Production costs are significantly reduced: The resin is recycled online through the 120 glue collection tank, which reduces the cost of resin raw materials per unit. The overall production cost per unit is lower than that of traditional processes, and the cost reduction effect of large scale is outstanding.

[0070] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method for winding and forming hydrogen storage cylinders is also proposed, which is applied to the above-mentioned multi-station winding and forming apparatus for hydrogen storage cylinders, such as... Figure 3 As shown, the hydrogen storage cylinder winding forming method includes the following steps: Step S100: Clamp multiple inner liners 300 of the gas cylinders to be wound onto multiple clamping mechanisms to ensure that all target gas cylinders to be wound are arranged in a parallel and staggered manner in the second direction. In step S100, based on the specifications of different types of hydrogen cylinders, the core parameters such as the diameter, length, and number of winding layers of the cylinder to be wound need to be calculated in advance. According to the rated floor area of ​​the equipment and the radial dimensions of the cylinder, the axial spacing of the rotating seats 160 in each winding station 110 and the opening and fitting range of the positioning fixtures 111 are adjusted, and the parallel misalignment spacing of the rotation axes of adjacent winding stations 110 in the front-back direction is set.

[0071] During the specific clamping process, the connectors 310 at the ends of the inner liners 300 of the multiple gas cylinders to be wound are connected to the corresponding connecting rods 112, and then fixed in the positioning fixtures 111 of each winding station 110. Through coaxiality testing, it is ensured that the rotation axis of a single gas cylinder is completely coaxial with the rotation axis of the corresponding winding station 110, while ensuring that the rotation axes of adjacent gas cylinders are kept parallel and staggered, forming a stable non-coaxial layout, ensuring that all winding stations 110 operate synchronously without interference within a limited space.

[0072] Step S200: Inflate and pressurize the inner liner 300 of each gas cylinder according to the preset pressure; Specifically, a protective gas at a preset pressure is injected into the inner liner through the inflation nozzle 170 located at the end of the gas cylinder to maintain the pressure of the inner liner and prevent the inner liner from collapsing and deforming due to fiber tension during the winding process.

[0073] Subsequently, the control components perform a full system self-test on the drive units and sensing units of the rotary seat 160, winding head 130, and tension control mechanism 220 to confirm that the operating accuracy and response speed of each component meet the process requirements. After confirming that there are no faults, the system enters the production preparation state.

[0074] Step S300: Control the fibers to be introduced into each winding head 130 after being impregnated with resin; Specifically, the continuous fiber bundle drawn from the fiber yarn roll at the unwinding station 211 is sequentially threaded along a preset fiber transport path. After the fiber bundle passes through the tension control mechanism 220 for tension pre-tensioning, and the yarn collector 231 and yarn separator 233 for uniform fiber bundle arrangement, it is guided into the winding head 130 of the corresponding winding station 110 to complete the threading and positioning of the fiber bundle; at the same time, the resin impregnation preparation of the fiber bundle is completed to ensure that the resin can be uniformly coated on the surface of the fiber bundle during the winding process.

[0075] Before winding, the winding process parameters are set synchronously. The control components synchronously set the unified winding process parameters of all winding stations 110, including: the rotation speed of the rotating seat 160, the moving speed of the winding head 130, the fiber tension control value of the tension control mechanism 220, the winding angle, the layer thickness and the total number of winding layers, to ensure that the process benchmark of all winding stations 110 is completely unified, thus providing a guarantee for multi-station synchronous winding and product consistency.

[0076] Step S400: Control each clamping mechanism to drive the corresponding gas cylinder inner liner 300 to rotate at a preset rotation speed; The control component synchronously drives the rotating seats 160 of each winding station 110 through the connecting rod 112, causing the gas cylinder to rotate at a preset speed. Synchronous rotation control ensures the consistency of the winding starting point and winding trajectory of each winding station 110, avoiding uneven layer thickness or winding angle deviation caused by differences in rotation speed.

[0077] Step S500: Control each winding head 130 to move back and forth at a preset moving speed, and wind the resin-impregnated fiber onto the surface of the corresponding gas cylinder inner liner 300 according to a preset winding angle, preset layer thickness and preset number of winding layers to obtain the target wound gas cylinder; During the rotation of the gas cylinder, the winding heads 130 of each winding station 110 are synchronously controlled to move back and forth along the cylinder axis at a preset speed, and the resin-impregnated fiber bundles are evenly wound on the outer surface of the gas cylinder at a preset winding angle.

[0078] During the winding process, the control component collects the rotation speed, fiber tension, and axial position data of each winding station 110 in real time. It performs dynamic closed-loop adjustment on winding stations 110 that deviate from the preset parameters to ensure that the winding layer thickness, winding angle, and fiber tension of all winding stations 110 are completely consistent, and to ensure the uniformity and consistency of the finished products of each winding station 110 until the preset total number of winding layers is completed.

[0079] Step S600: Control the glue collection tank 120 to collect the resin dripping from each winding station 110.

[0080] During the winding process, the scraper 140 moves synchronously with the winding head 130, scraping away excess resin from the fiber layer on the surface of the gas cylinder in real time at a preset bonding gap, significantly reducing the total amount of resin dripping from the source. Even if a small amount of resin drips, because the gas cylinders at each station are staggered in the front-to-back direction, the dripping resin will not affect the quality of the gas cylinders at adjacent winding stations 110. The scraped and naturally dripping resin flows directly into the glue collection tank 120 directly below the station, completing the online collection of excess resin.

[0081] After winding is completed, the positioning clamp 111 is released and the inflation nozzle 170 is disconnected, ensuring that a certain pressure remains inside the inner liner to prevent deformation after depressurization. The finished gas cylinder is removed by an automated mechanism, and a new inner liner 300 to be wound is simultaneously clamped. The above steps S100 to S600 are repeated to achieve multi-station continuous cyclic production.

[0082] In summary, this invention, through the synergistic effect of multiple technical features such as staggered workstation layout, adjustable clamping mechanism, synchronous scraper 140, closed-loop tension control, and resin recycling, achieves higher production density, better winding quality, lower material loss, and stronger specification adaptability within the same floor space. It effectively solves the technical pain points of "low efficiency, poor quality, resin waste, and weak adaptability" in the prior art, and is suitable for the large-scale, high-quality manufacturing of Type IV high-pressure hydrogen storage cylinders.

[0083] In the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiment," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0084] The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Within the scope of knowledge possessed by those skilled in the art, various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multi-station winding forming device for hydrogen storage cylinders, characterized in that, include: Gas cylinder winding module and fiber supply module; The gas cylinder winding module includes multiple winding stations and a glue collection groove. Each winding station includes a clamping mechanism, a rotating mechanism, a pressurizing and inflating mechanism, and a winding mechanism. The clamping mechanism includes a pair of positioning clamps coaxially opposite each other along a first direction, which are used to clamp and fix the two ends of the gas cylinder liner. The rotating mechanism is used to drive the two positioning clamps to rotate around their own axis. The pressurizing and inflating mechanism is used to inflate and pressurize the gas cylinder liner. The winding mechanism includes a winding head and a winding drive module. The winding head is located on the outer periphery of the gas cylinder liner between the two positioning clamps. The winding drive module is used to drive the winding head to reciprocate along the first direction to guide the fiber to the surface of the rotating gas cylinder liner for winding; the rotation axes of the clamping mechanisms of all the winding stations are arranged sequentially and parallel in the vertical direction, and the rotation axes are staggered in the second direction; the second direction is horizontal and perpendicular to the first direction; the distance between the rotation axes of any two clamping mechanisms in the second direction is greater than the diameter of the target winding gas cylinder; the glue collection groove is located below all the clamping mechanisms and is used to collect the resin dripping from each of the winding stations; The fiber supply module is used to supply resin-impregnated fibers to the multiple winding heads.

2. The multi-station winding and forming device for hydrogen storage cylinders according to claim 1, characterized in that, The winding mechanism also includes a scraper, which moves synchronously with the winding head; the scraper is positioned at a preset fit gap on the outer periphery of the gas cylinder liner between the two positioning clamps, for real-time scraping of excess resin on the fiber layer of the gas cylinder surface; the glue collection groove is also used to collect the resin scraped off by the scraper.

3. The multi-station winding and forming device for hydrogen storage cylinders according to claim 1, characterized in that, In each of the winding stations, the distance between the two positioning clamps in the first direction is adjustable; and the position of each clamping mechanism as a whole is adjustable in the vertical direction and the second direction.

4. The multi-station winding and forming device for hydrogen storage cylinders according to claim 3, characterized in that, The gas cylinder winding module further includes two columns spaced apart from each other along the first direction. The distance between the two columns in the first direction is adjustable. The rotating mechanism includes two rotating seats respectively disposed on the two columns. Two positioning clamps are respectively disposed on the two rotating seats. The rotating seats are used to drive the positioning clamps to rotate. The rotating seats are installed on the columns through a two-way adjustment structure to adjust their position relative to the columns along the vertical direction and the second direction.

5. The multi-station winding and forming device for hydrogen storage cylinders according to claim 4, characterized in that, The clamping mechanism also includes two connecting rods coaxially mounted on the two positioning clamps, one end of which is used to connect to the boss connector of the gas cylinder liner, and the other end is clamped and fixed to the positioning clamp.

6. The multi-station winding and forming device for hydrogen storage cylinders according to claim 5, characterized in that, The pressurization and inflation mechanism includes an inflation nozzle, which is installed at the rotation center of the rotating seat. One end of the connecting rod, which is clamped and fixed by the positioning fixture, is provided with an inflation valve structure that is matched and connected to the inflation nozzle. The inflation nozzle communicates with the interior of the gas cylinder liner through the connecting rod.

7. The multi-station winding and forming device for hydrogen storage cylinders according to claim 1, characterized in that, The fiber supply module includes an unwinding mechanism, a tension control mechanism, a resin impregnation mechanism, and a guide roller mechanism. The unwinding mechanism has multiple unwinding stations for mounting fiber yarn rolls and unwinding the fibers. The guide roller mechanism includes multiple fiber transport yarn paths respectively located between the multiple unwinding stations and the multiple winding heads. Each fiber transport yarn path is equipped with a series of guide rollers to guide the smooth and orderly transport of fibers. The tension control mechanism is located between the resin impregnation mechanism and the unwinding mechanism and is used to control the tension during the fiber transport and winding process. The resin impregnation mechanism is used to impregnate the fibers during transport with resin.

8. The multi-station winding and forming device for hydrogen storage cylinders according to claim 7, characterized in that, The impregnation mechanism includes a yarn collector, an impregnation tank, and a yarn separator arranged sequentially along the fiber transport direction. The yarn collector is used to collect and feed multiple fiber bundles into the impregnation tank. The impregnation tank is used to hold resin to impregnate the fibers. The yarn separator is used to distribute the resin-impregnated fiber bundles to multiple winding heads.

9. The multi-station winding and forming device for hydrogen storage cylinders according to claim 8, characterized in that, The impregnation tank is equipped with a temperature control module, which is used to adjust the viscosity of the resin and its compound; a circulation control module is provided between the receiving tank and the impregnation tank, which is used to circulate the resin collected in the receiving tank to the impregnation tank.

10. A method for winding and forming a hydrogen storage cylinder, characterized in that, The hydrogen storage cylinder winding and forming method, applied to the multi-station winding and forming apparatus for hydrogen storage cylinders as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, comprises the following steps: Multiple gas cylinder liners to be wound are respectively clamped onto multiple clamping mechanisms to ensure that all target gas cylinders to be wound are arranged in parallel and staggered relative to each other in the second direction. Each gas cylinder liner is inflated and pressurized according to a preset pressure. The control fibers are introduced into each of the winding heads after being impregnated with resin; Each clamping mechanism is controlled to rotate the corresponding gas cylinder liner at a preset rotation speed; Control each of the winding heads to move back and forth at a preset moving speed, and wind the resin-impregnated fibers onto the surface of the corresponding gas cylinder liner according to a preset winding angle, preset layer thickness and preset number of winding layers to obtain the target wound gas cylinder; The resin collection tank is controlled to collect the resin dripping from each of the winding stations.

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