Motor bearing automatic feeding and discharging optical detection machine

Abstract

The application discloses a motor bearing automatic feeding and discharging optical detection machine. The motor bearing automatic feeding and discharging optical detection machine has the beneficial effects that: the motor bearing automatic feeding and discharging optical detection machine is provided with independent hoppers and is matched with a two-stage pushing mechanism in a longitudinal and transverse top-pushing mode to realize step-by-step feeding, can continuously feed a large number of motor bearings without interruption, effectively reduces the frequency of manual feeding, and is provided with a carrying manipulator with a built-in PPU module to complete high-precision transfer of workpieces, is matched with two groups of rotating wheel assemblies and three groups of fixed support assemblies to clamp the motor bearings to rotate at a constant speed, is provided with a line scanning camera and a parallel light detection mechanism to form double optical detection units, can eliminate imaging blind areas, can completely collect the overall size and slight appearance defects of the bearings, and can significantly improve detection accuracy and defect detection stability; the motor bearing automatic feeding and discharging optical detection machine is provided with independent NG storage boxes with pushing cylinders, can automatically isolate unqualified workpieces, and avoids mixing of good and bad products; a synchronous feeding mechanism and a belt feeding mechanism are linked to form a complete empty tray automatic conveying link, and can continuously supply empty trays for good product tray arrangement.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of automated visual inspection equipment for motor bearings, and specifically to an automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings. Background Technology

[0002] Motor bearings are key precision components of motors, and 100% appearance and dimensional inspections must be completed before leaving the factory. Currently, the industry's inspection methods are mainly divided into two categories: manual inspection and automated inspection using multiple single machines in series. The closest existing technology, CN202610501955.8, discloses an automated inspection equipment for gear shafts. The equipment frame is arranged with multiple independent workstations for feeding, tooth thickness, outer diameter, go / no-go gauge, inner diameter, cleaning, oil immersion, and sorting. The workpieces are moved between workstations by a transfer gripper. Each workstation is equipped with an independent positioning mechanism and a corresponding inspection module. It is equipped with a 3D camera, a go / no-go gauge inspection head, and a two-part inner diameter inspection instrument to complete dimensional inspection. It is equipped with a sealed air blowing cleaning station and an oil immersion and suction station. At the end, a sorting robot arm is configured to separate qualified and unqualified product trays, realizing integrated operation of shaft workpiece inspection, cleaning, rust prevention, and sorting.

[0003] Traditional manual inspection relies on manual handling, visual judgment, and manual tray transfer, resulting in high labor costs, poor inspection consistency, and easy collision and mixing of workpieces during transit. Multiple single-machine serial inspection devices have a lengthy layout, occupy a large area, and require cumbersome collaborative management. Compared to patent CN202610501955.8, this equipment lacks a large-capacity material storage hopper and a dual-stage pushing and separate feeding structure, relying solely on single-time tray feeding, making continuous feeding impossible over extended periods. It lacks a dual-optical inspection combination of rotating wheels, a line scan camera, and a parallel light mechanism, making it difficult to achieve full coverage of minute defects around the bearing circumference. It lacks a complete tray conveying mechanism for synchronous empty tray transport, belt feeding, and tray lifting and separation, requiring manual intervention for good product tray placement and full-tray stacking. It lacks a dedicated robotic arm for PPU modules to achieve high-precision cross-station workpiece transfer, and the bearing rotation positioning lacks multiple sets of rotating wheels and fixed mechanisms for limiting, making workpiece slippage and offset prone to occur. Overall, its automation level is insufficient to meet the needs of large-scale continuous optical inspection production of motor bearings. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide an automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings in order to solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0005] The present invention achieves the above objectives through the following technical solutions: An automatic optical inspection machine for loading and unloading motor bearings includes a frame. One side of the upper end of the frame is a loading station with a hopper. A two-stage pushing mechanism (vertical and horizontal push type) is installed at the bottom of the hopper near the discharge port. A line scan camera is symmetrically mounted on the frame next to the two-stage pushing mechanism. A handling robot with a built-in PPU module is mounted on the top of the frame next to the line scan camera. A fixed support assembly is mounted at the center of the top of the frame, directly opposite the handling robot. Two sets of rotating wheel assemblies are mounted on the fixed support assembly. Flat... The parallel light detection mechanism is located behind the line scan camera. An NG product storage box with a built-in push cylinder is installed on one side of the parallel light detection mechanism on the frame. A second handling robot is also installed on the frame above the NG product storage box. A belt feeding mechanism is installed on the frame at the unloading station of the second handling robot. An OK product tray is placed on the belt feeding mechanism at the unloading station of the second handling robot. An empty pallet placement area is provided on the feeding side of the belt feeding mechanism. A synchronous feeding mechanism is installed in the empty pallet placement area.

[0006] Furthermore, a protective cover is installed on the outer side of the top of the frame, and a protective door is installed on the side wall of the protective cover via hinges.

[0007] By adopting the above technical solution, and by installing the protective cover on the outer side of the top of the frame, the core precision components such as the first and second handling robots, the line scan camera, and the parallel light detection mechanism at the top of the equipment can be fully enclosed and protected. This effectively isolates dust, debris, floating debris, and airflow interference from the workshop production environment, preventing dust from adhering to the lens surfaces of the line scan camera and the parallel light detection mechanism and affecting imaging accuracy. At the same time, it prevents debris from getting stuck in the rotating wheel assembly and the movement gaps of the first and second handling robots, causing equipment jamming and wear failures, thus greatly improving the stability and service life of the equipment. In addition, the protective door can be quickly opened and operated without disassembling the entire protective cover during daily equipment inspection, component maintenance, fault repair, and lens cleaning and calibration. After maintenance, it can be quickly closed to achieve a protective seal, taking into account the safety of equipment operation, dust protection, and convenience of later maintenance.

[0008] Furthermore, the bottom of the frame is also equipped with adjustable support pads and brakeable casters.

[0009] By adopting the above technical solution, the brakeable omnidirectional wheels give the whole machine flexible mobility. It can quickly transfer the equipment to the designated working position according to the workshop production line layout and workstation adjustment needs, without the need for hoisting equipment, which greatly reduces the manpower and time costs of equipment relocation and site adjustment, and adapts to the flexible production layout of the workshop. At the same time, the adjustable support pads can be finely adjusted in height after the equipment is positioned, which can adapt to uneven workshop floors, accurately level the four corners of the equipment, effectively offset the ground flatness error, ensure the overall level and stability of the frame, and avoid problems such as detection offset, mechanism jamming, and tilting plate misalignment caused by tilting and shaking during long-term operation of the equipment.

[0010] Furthermore, the dual-stage pushing mechanism specifically consists of a transverse pushing cylinder installed at the outlet of the hopper, a support plate connected to the telescopic part of the transverse pushing cylinder, and a longitudinal pushing cylinder installed on one side wall of the hopper.

[0011] By adopting the above technical solution, a split-type two-stage top-pushing structure is formed by using a transverse top-pushing cylinder in conjunction with a support plate and a longitudinal top-pushing cylinder. This achieves step-by-step, orderly, and precise feeding of motor bearings, which is different from the problems of stacking, jamming, and feeding deviation that are prone to occur in traditional integrated feeding structures. The transverse top-pushing cylinder drives the support plate to provide single-layer support and transverse diversion for the bearing workpieces at the hopper outlet, accurately receiving a single bearing workpiece at a time, achieving single-layer isolation of materials, and preventing multiple workpieces from being stacked during feeding. Then, the longitudinal top-pushing cylinder completes the precise top-pushing feeding, smoothly pushing the single bearing to the inspection station. The two-stage step-by-step feeding structure design can accurately control the feeding cycle and feeding position of each feeding, ensuring that the feeding spacing and posture of each batch of workpieces are uniform and consistent, which is suitable for the subsequent high-precision optical inspection operation requirements. At the same time, it can support large-volume storage in the hopper and uninterrupted continuous feeding, significantly reducing the frequency of manual replenishment and effectively improving the overall feeding efficiency and automation level of the equipment.

[0012] Furthermore, the line scanning camera is specifically designed with adjustable brackets symmetrically distributed on the feed side of the rotary wheel assembly, and the line scanning camera is arranged in pairs opposite to the rotary wheel assembly.

[0013] By adopting the above technical solution, the line scanning cameras are symmetrically arranged on adjustable brackets and paired opposite each other on the feeding side of the rotary assembly. The installation height, shooting angle, and shooting distance of the line scanning cameras can be flexibly adjusted according to the different specifications and sizes of motor bearings, adapting to the inspection needs of multiple bearing models and significantly improving the equipment's versatility and adaptability. The paired arrangement allows for simultaneous acquisition of high-definition images from both sides of the bearing. Combined with the subsequent uniform rotation of the bearing, this provides comprehensive coverage of the entire inspection area, including the bearing's outer circle, end face, and chamfer, completely eliminating the imaging blind spots and dead angles inherent in single-sided shooting. Simultaneously, the pre-inspection layout on the feeding side allows for preliminary image acquisition before the bearing enters the precise clamping and rotating position, forming a dual inspection guarantee with the rear parallel light detection mechanism. This effectively improves the completeness and accuracy of bearing size inspection and appearance defect identification, reducing the probability of missed or false detections.

[0014] Furthermore, the handling robot has five mechanical claws, and each mechanical claw has a double-sided synchronous clamping assembly at its bottom for directly clamping the motor bearing.

[0015] By adopting the above technical solution, the five independent mechanical claws on the handling robot can realize the synchronous gripping and transfer of multiple workpieces. Compared with the single-claw robot, it can significantly improve the workpiece transfer cycle, adapt to the production needs of large-scale continuous testing, and effectively improve the overall testing capacity. The double-sided synchronous clamping components at the bottom of each set of mechanical claws can synchronously center, extend, and clamp the claws on both sides during the clamping process. It can accurately adapt to the ring structure of the motor bearing, ensuring that the center position of each clamping is consistent and the clamping force is uniform. It can effectively avoid problems such as bearing displacement, slippage, and workpiece surface damage caused by uneven force on one side of clamping. At the same time, the double-sided synchronous clamping structure has higher precision. With the high-precision displacement control of the built-in PPU module, it can realize the micron-level precise transfer and positioning of bearing workpieces from the feeding station to the testing station. This provides a precise station foundation for the subsequent precise imaging of optical inspection and precise defect judgment, ensuring the stability and reliability of the test data.

[0016] Furthermore, the parallel light detection mechanism specifically includes two sets of brackets symmetrically installed at the end of the motor bearing detection and a through-beam parallel light detector installed on the brackets.

[0017] By adopting the above technical solution, the parallel light detection mechanism is composed of two sets of brackets paired with a through-beam parallel light detector, symmetrically arranged at the end of the bearing inspection station. This forms a stable and uniform parallel light detection curtain, complementing the front-mounted line scan camera to form a dual-optical detection system. The through-beam parallel light detection method has high light transmittance and high precision detection characteristics, and can accurately capture minute defects that are difficult for line scan cameras to identify, such as bearing end face flatness, hole diameter deviation, edge burrs, and small bumps and dents. At the same time, it can accurately verify key parameters such as the overall dimensional tolerance and coaxiality of the bearing. The independently adjustable mounting structure of the brackets can adjust the illumination range and through-beam spacing of the parallel light according to the bearing specifications, ensuring that the light completely covers the workpiece inspection area, without light obstruction or blind spots, further improving the full-area detection capability and significantly enhancing the detection rate and accuracy of the equipment for minute defects.

[0018] Furthermore, the second handling robot is installed between the belt feeding mechanism and the NG product storage box.

[0019] By adopting the above technical solution, the second handling robot is integrated between the belt feeding mechanism and the NG product storage box, which optimizes the overall workstation layout of the equipment, shortens the transfer journey between defective and good products, and greatly improves the sorting efficiency. This layout can realize the rapid diversion and transfer of bearing workpieces after inspection: accurately transfer the qualified good bearings to the OK product tray of the belt feeding mechanism for orderly tray placement, and at the same time quickly transfer the defective bearings to the NG product storage box, realizing the immediate and automatic isolation and sorting of good and bad workpieces.

[0020] Furthermore, the belt feeding mechanism specifically consists of a motor, a belt installed at the power output end of the motor, a tensioning pulley installed inside the belt on the side away from the motor, a slide installed on one side of the belt, and guide rails installed on both sides of the bottom end of the slide.

[0021] By adopting the above technical solution, the belt feeding mechanism uses a motor-driven belt transmission, combined with a tensioning wheel, slide block, and guide rail combination structure to form a stable, precise, and smoothly start-stop pallet conveying system. The tensioning wheel can tension the belt in real time to avoid problems such as slackness, slippage, and deviation of the belt during long-term operation, ensuring uniform belt conveying speed and precise displacement. The slide block, together with the double-sided guide rail, achieves precise sliding guidance, effectively limiting the running trajectory of the belt and the pallet, and preventing malfunctions such as deviation, jamming, and tilting of empty pallets and good product pallets during the conveying process. This structure has smooth transmission, high positioning accuracy, and rapid start-stop response. It can accurately cooperate with the synchronous feeding mechanism to complete the automatic conveying and alignment replenishment of empty pallets, while accurately carrying and smoothly conveying pallets fully loaded with good products. It is suitable for the needs of automated continuous palletizing and transfer operations, ensuring the smooth operation of the entire pallet conveying chain.

[0022] Furthermore, the synchronous feeding mechanism mainly consists of a drive motor, a transmission belt installed at the power output end of the drive motor, a pulley gear transmission assembly installed at one end of the transmission belt, and synchronous feeding assemblies installed on both sides of the pulley gear transmission assembly.

[0023] By adopting the above technical solution, the synchronous feeding mechanism achieves synchronous start-stop and synchronous feeding of the synchronous feeding components on both sides through the linkage of the drive motor, transmission belt, and pulley gear transmission assembly. It has high transmission accuracy and good synchronization, which can ensure that the force on both sides is uniform and the feeding speed is consistent during the empty pallet conveying process, and completely avoid the problems of pallet offset, tilting, and jamming on one side. The transmission structure of gear and belt combination has the advantages of stable transmission, low noise, low loss, and high fault tolerance. It can operate continuously and stably for a long time and is suitable for uninterrupted automated operation scenarios. Through the coordinated operation of the synchronous feeding components on both sides, the orderly and automatic replenishment of empty pallets can be achieved. It is seamlessly linked with the belt feeding mechanism at the back end to form a closed-loop automatic empty pallet conveying link. There is no need for manual placement of empty pallets. The pallet replenishment, good product placement, and full pallet conveying operations are completed automatically throughout the entire process, which greatly improves the automation level and operation efficiency of the production line.

[0024] The specific working principle is as follows: Before operation, a large batch of motor bearings to be tested are first stored in the hopper on one side of the machine frame, and empty pallets are pre-placed in the empty pallet placement area of ​​the equipment, which can realize unattended continuous automated operation; after the operation starts, the longitudinal and transverse push-type double-stage pushing mechanism at the bottom of the hopper is activated first. The transverse push cylinder drives the support plate to complete the single-layer isolation support and transverse limit of the bottom bearing, eliminating the phenomenon of stacking and jamming. Then, the longitudinal push cylinder precisely pushes the quantity, realizing the orderly and rhythmic discharge of single motor bearings, and completing uninterrupted continuous automatic feeding; the bearings to be tested after discharge are received by the handling robot equipped with PPU high-precision positioning module. The handling robot relies on the double-sided synchronous clamping of the bottom of the five sets of mechanical claws. The assembly symmetrically clamps the outer ring of the bearing, ensuring coaxial clamping centers, uniform force, and no clamping damage. High-precision displacement is achieved through the PPU module, accurately transferring the bearing to the central inspection station on the frame. The bearing is then precisely positioned between three sets of fixed supports and two sets of rotating wheel assemblies. The rotating wheel assemblies then rotate at a low, constant speed, driving the bearing to rotate smoothly and uniformly. This ensures that the entire outer circumference, end face, chamfer, and inner hole of the bearing are captured by the optical mechanism, eliminating any static or missed areas. During bearing rotation inspection, the equipment activates a dual-optical composite detection mechanism. Pairs of adjustable line-scan cameras positioned on the feed side simultaneously and continuously acquire high-definition linear images from both sides of the bearing, quickly identifying surface scratches, dents, and missing material. Macroscopic appearance defects such as deformation are detected, while a parallel beam detection mechanism installed at the end of the inspection station forms a uniform and stable parallel beam detection curtain. This allows for high-precision detection of minute and precise defects such as bearing end face flatness, hole diameter accuracy, coaxiality, edge burrs, and micro-dimples. The two detection units work together vertically and horizontally, complementing each other to completely eliminate optical imaging blind spots and inspection dead angles. This comprehensively collects the bearing's dimensional parameters and appearance quality information, and uploads the collected images and inspection data to the control system in real time for algorithm analysis, comparison, and quality judgment. After the inspection and judgment are completed, a second handling robot positioned between the belt feeding mechanism and the NG product storage box performs a precise sorting action. For the unqualified workpieces judged by the system, the robot... The system quickly grabs and transfers defective products to an independent NG product storage box with a built-in push cylinder for automatic isolation and storage. The push cylinder can periodically push up the stacked defective products to prevent congestion and overflow, effectively preventing the mixing of good and bad products. For qualified good products, the second handling robot precisely places them into the OK product tray at the belt feeding mechanism station, achieving orderly tray placement. While the equipment is inspecting and tray placement, the synchronous feeding mechanism on the feeding side of the equipment drives the transmission belt and pulley gear transmission components through the drive motor to drive the synchronous feeding components on both sides to synchronously and smoothly transport empty trays, continuously replenishing empty trays for the belt feeding mechanism, forming an uninterrupted closed-loop empty tray supply chain, ensuring continuous and uninterrupted good product tray placement.When the OK product tray is full of workpieces reaching the set capacity, the dedicated lifting mechanism at the bottom of the tray immediately activates, vertically lifting the entire tray and completely separating it from the belt conveyor structure of the belt feeding mechanism. This eliminates subsequent interference, tray jamming, and workpiece misalignment caused by the conveyor movement. After the OK product tray is lifted and positioned, an external robotic arm transfers the full tray of good products to the finished product stacking area for stacking and storage. This completes a single automated inspection cycle. The entire machine operates in a sequential and coordinated manner through feeding, transfer, rotation detection, optical imaging judgment, good and bad product sorting, automatic empty tray replenishment, lifting and isolation of good product trays, and stacking and transfer. No manual intervention is required throughout the entire process, achieving fully automated closed-loop production for batch inspection of motor bearings. This effectively improves inspection accuracy, defect detection stability, and overall production capacity, while reducing manual maintenance costs and equipment space requirements.

[0025] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: This invention achieves step-by-step feeding by setting up an independent hopper and using a two-stage pushing mechanism with longitudinal and transverse pushers. It can handle large quantities of motor bearings for continuous, uninterrupted feeding, effectively reducing the frequency of manual replenishment. The equipment is equipped with a handling robot with a built-in PPU module to complete high-precision workpiece transfer. Simultaneously, two sets of rotating wheel assemblies and three sets of fixed brackets clamp the motor bearings to rotate at a uniform speed. A line scan camera and a parallel light detection mechanism form a dual optical detection unit, eliminating imaging blind spots and completely capturing the bearing's overall dimensions and minute appearance defects, significantly improving detection accuracy and defect detection stability. The equipment also includes an independent NG (non-conforming) collection box with a pushing cylinder, which automatically isolates defective workpieces, preventing the mixing of good and bad products. Mixing; the synchronous feeding mechanism and the belt feeding mechanism work together to form a complete automatic empty pallet conveying link, which can continuously supply empty pallets for good product stacking; the bottom of the OK product stacking tray is equipped with a lifting mechanism, which can lift the OK product stacking tray with full workpieces, so that it is completely separated from the belt feeding mechanism, and then transferred to the stacking area by an external robot, effectively avoiding mechanism interference, jamming and other failures; the whole machine integrates feeding, workpiece transfer, optical inspection, defective product sorting, automatic empty pallet feeding and good product stacking into one integrated structure, which not only greatly reduces the equipment footprint, but also reduces equipment procurement and manual maintenance costs, forming a complete automated closed-loop production line, and improving the overall batch testing capacity of motor bearings. Attached Figure Description

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings according to the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings described in this invention after removing the protective cover and protective door; Figure 3This is a rear view of the automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings described in this invention after removing the protective cover and protective door; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship of the hopper, rotary wheel assembly, fixed support group, line scan camera, handling robot, and parallel light detection mechanism in the automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings described in this invention. Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the hollow tray placement area, lifting mechanism, belt feeding mechanism, and OK product placement tray of an automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings described in this invention. Figure 6 This is a top view of the automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings described in this invention after removing the protective cover and protective door; Figure 7 This invention relates to an automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings. Figure 2 An enlarged view of point A on the upper side of the NG product storage box; Figure 8 This invention relates to an automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings. Figure 2 Enlarged view of point B in the middle; Figure 9 This invention relates to an automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings. Figure 3 Enlarged view of point C in the middle; Figure 10 This invention relates to an automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings. Figure 6 Enlarged view at point D; Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the rotating wheel assembly in an automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings according to the present invention; Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the OK product tray structure in an automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings described in this invention.

[0027] The annotations in the attached figures are explained as follows: 1. Protective cover; 2. Protective door; 3. Frame; 4. Belt feeding mechanism; 5. NG product storage box; 6. Loading station; 7. Material bin; 8. Rotary wheel assembly; 9. Fixed support assembly; 10. Line scan camera; 11. Handling robot arm one; 12. Parallel light detection mechanism; 13. Handling robot arm two; 14. OK product tray; 15. Lifting mechanism; 16. Empty pallet placement area; 17. Synchronous loading mechanism; 18. Two-stage pushing mechanism. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings: like Figures 1-12As shown, an automatic optical inspection machine for motor bearings includes a frame 3. A dedicated loading station 6 is designed on one side of the upper end of the frame 3 for centralized storage and automatic feeding of motor bearings to be inspected. A large-capacity independent hopper 7 is fixedly installed at the loading station 6, capable of storing large quantities of motor bearings at once, providing material reserves for long-term unmanned continuous feeding. A longitudinal and transverse push-type double-stage pushing mechanism 18 is precisely installed at the bottom of the hopper 7, directly opposite the discharge port. This mechanism utilizes a split structure with dual cylinders in the transverse and longitudinal directions to achieve layered isolation and precise step-by-step feeding of workpieces, solving the problems of stacking, jamming, and disordered feeding inherent in traditional feeding mechanisms. The upper part of the frame 3... Two adjustable line scan cameras 10 are symmetrically installed on the discharge conveying side of the dual-stage pushing mechanism 18, adopting a double-sided opposing layout. This allows for front-end image acquisition of the material to be discharged and the bearings at the workstation, providing basic image data for full-area appearance inspection. A high-precision handling robot 11 is fixedly mounted on the top platform of the frame 3 behind the line scan cameras 10. This robot has a built-in PPU precision displacement module, enabling micron-level precise gripping and cross-workstation transfer of workpieces, significantly improving workpiece transfer and positioning accuracy. Three fixed support groups 9 are fixedly assembled at the top center of the frame 3, directly opposite the transfer landing point of the handling robot 11. These three fixed support groups 9 are arranged in a regular pattern to ensure uniform and stable support force on the workpiece. The fixed support group 9 is equipped with two symmetrically arranged rotating wheel assemblies 8, which can realize flexible support and uniform rotation drive of the motor bearing, ensuring smooth rotation of the workpiece without jamming or deviation during the inspection process. Parallel light detection mechanisms 12 are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the rotating wheel assembly 8 on the table surface of the frame 3, and the parallel light detection mechanism 12 is arranged as a whole at the rear position of the line scan camera 10, forming a complementary front and rear, full-area coverage dual optical detection layout with the front line scan camera 10, completely eliminating the blind spot of bearing detection imaging. An independent NG product storage box 5 is fixedly installed on the side of the parallel light detection mechanism 12 for material discharge detection on the frame 3. The storage box has a built-in push cylinder, which can realize Defective products are automatically collected and periodically pushed and sorted to avoid accumulation, overflow, and mixing of good and bad products. A second handling robot 13 is mounted on the frame 3 in the overhead area between the NG product storage box 5 and the subsequent tray placement station. It is dedicated to the precise sorting, classification, and transfer of workpieces after inspection. The station layout is compact and reasonable, effectively shortening the transfer journey and improving sorting efficiency. At the end of the frame 3, corresponding to the unloading area of ​​the second handling robot 13, a belt feeding mechanism 4 is installed. As the core conveying structure for empty pallet conveying and good product tray placement, the robot unloading station of the belt feeding mechanism 4 can stably place the OK product tray 14 for neatly collecting and storing qualified motor bearing workpieces.Meanwhile, the belt feeding mechanism 4 has a specially reserved empty pallet storage area 16 on its infeed starting side for centralized storage of empty pallets. The empty pallet storage area 16 is equipped with a synchronous feeding mechanism 17, enabling automated, continuous, and synchronous replenishment of empty pallets. This, in conjunction with the belt feeding mechanism 4, forms a closed-loop automatic empty pallet conveying chain, providing a continuous and stable pallet supply for the automated good-product traying operation of the entire machine. The layout of each structural section is clear, and the functions are closely integrated, achieving integrated deployment of the entire process from feeding, inspection, sorting, traying, and pallet supply.

[0029] In this embodiment, a protective cover 1 is also installed on the outer side of the top of the frame 3. A protective door 2 is also installed on the side wall of the protective cover 1 via a hinge. By installing the protective cover 1 on the outer side of the top of the frame 3, the core precision components such as the handling robot 1, the handling robot 2 13, the line scan camera 10, and the parallel light detection mechanism 12 at the top of the equipment can be fully enclosed and protected, effectively isolating dust, debris, floating debris, and airflow interference in the workshop production environment, and preventing dust from adhering to the line scan camera 10 and the parallel light detection mechanism 12. The lens surface of the 2nd protective door affects the imaging accuracy and prevents foreign objects from getting stuck in the movement gaps of the rotary wheel assembly 8, the first handling robot 11, and the second handling robot 13, causing equipment jamming and wear failures, thus greatly improving the stability and service life of the equipment. At the same time, the protective door 2 can be quickly opened and operated without disassembling the entire protective cover 1 during daily equipment inspection, component maintenance, fault repair, and lens cleaning and calibration. After maintenance, it can be quickly closed to achieve protective sealing, taking into account the safety of equipment operation, dust protection, and convenience of later operation and maintenance.

[0030] In this embodiment, the bottom of the frame 3 is also equipped with adjustable support pads and brakeable casters. The brakeable casters give the whole machine flexible mobility, which can quickly transfer the equipment to the designated working position according to the layout of the workshop production line and the needs of workstation adjustment, without the need for hoisting equipment, which greatly reduces the manpower and time costs of equipment relocation and site adjustment, and adapts to the flexible production layout of the workshop. At the same time, the adjustable support pads can be finely adjusted in height after the equipment is positioned, which can adapt to uneven workshop floors, accurately level the four corners of the equipment, effectively offset the ground flatness error, ensure the overall level and stability of the frame 3, and avoid problems such as detection offset, mechanism jamming, and tray misalignment caused by tilting and shaking during long-term operation of the equipment.

[0031] In this embodiment, the dual-stage pushing mechanism 18 specifically consists of a transverse pushing cylinder installed at the discharge port of the hopper 7, a support plate connected to the telescopic part of the transverse pushing cylinder, and a longitudinal pushing cylinder installed on one side wall of the hopper 7. The transverse pushing cylinder, in conjunction with the support plate and the longitudinal pushing cylinder, forms a split-type dual-stage pushing structure, achieving step-by-step, orderly, and precise discharge of the motor bearings. This differs from the problems of stacking, jamming, and feeding deviation that easily occur in traditional integrated pushing structures. The transverse pushing cylinder, driving the support plate, can individually push the bearing workpieces at the discharge port of the hopper 7. Layered support and lateral diversion ensure precise single-bearing workpiece acceptance, achieving single-layer material isolation and preventing multiple workpieces from being stacked during discharge. A longitudinal push cylinder then precisely ejects the workpiece, smoothly pushing it to the inspection station. The dual-stage, step-by-step feeding structure precisely controls the feeding cycle and position, ensuring uniform feeding spacing and posture for each batch of workpieces. This meets the requirements of subsequent high-precision optical inspection and supports large-batch storage in the hopper with continuous feeding, significantly reducing manual replenishment frequency and effectively improving overall equipment feeding efficiency and automation.

[0032] In this embodiment, the line scanning camera 10 is specifically arranged symmetrically on the feeding side of the rotary assembly 8 using adjustable brackets. The line scanning cameras 10 are arranged in pairs opposite to the rotary assembly 8. The symmetrical arrangement of the line scanning cameras 10 on the feeding side of the rotary assembly 8, relying on the adjustable brackets, allows for flexible adjustment of the installation height, shooting angle, and shooting distance of the line scanning cameras 10 according to different specifications and sizes of motor bearings, adapting to the detection needs of multiple bearing models and greatly improving the versatility and adaptability of the equipment. The paired arrangement allows for simultaneous acquisition of high-definition images from both sides of the bearing. Combined with the subsequent uniform rotation of the bearing, it can comprehensively cover all detection areas such as the outer circle, end face, and chamfer of the bearing, completely eliminating the imaging blind spots and dead angles caused by single-sided shooting. At the same time, the pre-detection layout on the feeding side can complete the preliminary imaging acquisition before the bearing enters the precise clamping and rotating position, forming a dual detection guarantee with the parallel light detection mechanism 12 on the rear side. This effectively improves the completeness and accuracy of bearing size detection and appearance defect identification, and reduces the probability of missed detection and false detection.

[0033] In this embodiment, the handling robot 11 has five mechanical claws, and each claw has a double-sided synchronous clamping component at its bottom for directly gripping the motor bearing. The five independent mechanical claws on the handling robot 11 can realize the synchronous gripping and transfer of multiple workpieces. Compared with a single-claw robot, it can significantly improve the workpiece transfer cycle, adapt to the production needs of large-scale continuous testing, and effectively improve the overall testing capacity. The double-sided synchronous clamping component at the bottom of each claw can synchronously center, extend, and clamp the claws on both sides during the gripping process. It can accurately adapt to the ring structure of the motor bearing, ensuring that the center position of each gripping is consistent and the clamping force is uniform. It effectively avoids problems such as bearing displacement, slippage, and damage to the workpiece surface caused by uneven force on one side. At the same time, the double-sided synchronous clamping structure has higher precision. With the high-precision displacement control of the built-in PPU module, it can realize the micron-level precise transfer and positioning of the bearing workpiece from the feeding station to the testing station. This provides a precise station foundation for the subsequent precise imaging of optical inspection and precise defect judgment, ensuring the stability and reliability of the test data.

[0034] In this embodiment, the parallel light detection mechanism 12 specifically includes two sets of brackets symmetrically installed at the end of the motor bearing inspection station and a through-beam parallel light detector mounted on the brackets. The parallel light detection mechanism 12 is composed of two sets of brackets and a through-beam parallel light detector, symmetrically arranged at the end of the bearing inspection station, which can form a stable and uniform parallel light detection light curtain, forming a complementary dual-optical detection system with the front-mounted line scan camera 10. The through-beam parallel light detection method has high light transmittance and high precision detection characteristics, and can accurately capture minute defects that are difficult for the line scan camera 10 to identify, such as bearing end face flatness, aperture deviation, edge burrs, and small bumps and dents. At the same time, it can accurately verify key parameters such as the overall dimensional tolerance and coaxiality of the bearing. The independently adjustable mounting structure of the brackets can adjust the illumination range and through-beam spacing of the parallel light according to the bearing specifications, ensuring that the light completely covers the workpiece inspection area, without light obstruction or blind spots, further improving the full-area detection capability and significantly improving the detection rate and accuracy of the equipment for minute defects.

[0035] In this embodiment, the second handling robot 13 is installed between the belt feeding mechanism 4 and the NG product storage box 5. Integrating the second handling robot 13 between the belt feeding mechanism 4 and the NG product storage box 5 optimizes the overall workstation layout of the equipment, shortens the transfer journey between defective and good products, and significantly improves the sorting efficiency. This layout can realize the rapid diversion and transfer of bearing workpieces after inspection: accurately transfer the qualified good bearings to the OK product tray 14 of the belt feeding mechanism 4 for orderly tray placement, and at the same time quickly transfer the detected defective bearings to the NG product storage box 5, realizing the immediate and automatic isolation and sorting of good and bad workpieces.

[0036] In this embodiment, the belt feeding mechanism 4 specifically consists of a motor, a belt installed at the motor's power output end, a tensioning pulley installed inside the belt on the side away from the motor, a slide mounted on one side of the belt, and guide rails installed on both sides of the bottom of the slide. The belt feeding mechanism 4 uses a motor-driven belt transmission, combined with the tensioning pulley, slide, and guide rails to form a stable, precise, and smoothly start-stop pallet conveying system. The tensioning pulley can tension the belt in real time to prevent the belt from becoming loose, slipping, or deviating during long-term operation, ensuring uniform belt conveying speed and precise displacement. The slide, in conjunction with the double-sided guide rails, achieves precise sliding guidance, effectively limiting the running trajectory of the belt and the pallet, and preventing malfunctions such as deviation, jamming, or tilting of empty pallets and good product pallets during conveying. This structure features smooth transmission, high positioning accuracy, and rapid start-stop response. It can precisely cooperate with the synchronous feeding mechanism 17 to complete the automatic conveying and positioning replenishment of empty pallets, while accurately carrying and smoothly conveying pallets fully loaded with good products. It is suitable for automated continuous palletizing and transfer operations, ensuring the smooth operation of the entire pallet conveying chain.

[0037] In this embodiment, the synchronous feeding mechanism 17 mainly consists of a drive motor, a transmission belt installed at the power output end of the drive motor, a pulley gear transmission assembly installed at one end of the transmission belt, and synchronous feeding assemblies installed on both sides of the pulley gear transmission assembly. The synchronous feeding mechanism 17 achieves synchronous start-stop and synchronous feeding of the two sides of the synchronous feeding assemblies through the linkage of the drive motor, transmission belt, and pulley gear transmission assembly. It has high transmission accuracy and good synchronization, ensuring uniform force on both sides and consistent feeding speed during empty pallet transport, completely avoiding pallet unilateral offset. The transmission structure, which combines gears and belts, offers advantages such as stable transmission, low noise, low loss, and high fault tolerance. It can operate continuously and stably for extended periods, making it suitable for uninterrupted automated operation scenarios. Through the coordinated operation of the dual-sided synchronous feeding components, the orderly and automatic replenishment of empty pallets can be achieved. It seamlessly links with the belt feeding mechanism 4 at the rear end, forming a closed-loop automatic empty pallet conveying link. There is no need for manual placement of empty pallets. The entire process of pallet replenishment, good product placement, and full pallet conveying is completed automatically, significantly improving the automation level and operational efficiency of the production line.

[0038] The specific working principle is as follows: Before operation, a large batch of motor bearings to be tested are first stored in the hopper 7 on one side of the frame 3, and empty pallets are pre-placed in the empty pallet placement area 16 of the equipment, thus realizing unattended continuous automated operation; after the operation starts, the longitudinal and transverse push-type double-stage pushing mechanism 18 at the bottom of the hopper 7 is activated first. The transverse push cylinder drives the support plate to complete the single-layer isolation support and transverse limit of the bottom bearing, eliminating the phenomenon of stacking and jamming. Then, the longitudinal push cylinder precisely pushes the bearings in a quantitative manner, realizing the orderly and rhythmic discharge of single motor bearings, and completing uninterrupted continuous automatic feeding; the bearings to be tested after discharge are received by the handling robot 11 equipped with a PPU high-precision positioning module. The handling robot 11 relies on the double sides of the bottom of the five sets of mechanical claws. The clamping assembly symmetrically clamps the outer ring of the bearing, ensuring coaxiality of the clamping centers, uniform force, and no clamping damage. High-precision displacement is achieved through the PPU module, accurately transferring the bearing to the central inspection station of frame 3. The bearing is then precisely placed between the clamping stations of three fixed support groups 9 and two sets of rotating wheel assemblies 8. Subsequently, the rotating wheel assemblies 8 rotate at a low, constant speed, driving the motor bearing to rotate smoothly and uniformly. This ensures that the entire outer circumference, end face, chamfer, and inner hole area of ​​the bearing can be captured by the optical mechanism, eliminating any static or missed areas. During the bearing rotation inspection, the equipment activates a dual-optical composite detection mechanism. Pairs of adjustable line scan cameras 10 positioned on the feed side synchronously and continuously acquire high-definition linear images from both sides of the bearing, quickly identifying scratches, bumps, and defects on the bearing surface. Macroscopic appearance defects such as material defects and deformation are detected simultaneously. Meanwhile, a parallel light detection mechanism 12 installed at the end of the inspection station forms a uniform and stable parallel light detection curtain, performing high-precision detection of minute and precise defects such as bearing end-face flatness, bore diameter accuracy, coaxiality, edge burrs, and micro-dimples. The two detection units work together vertically and horizontally, complementing each other to completely eliminate optical imaging blind spots and inspection dead angles, comprehensively collecting the bearing's full-area dimensional parameters and appearance quality information. The collected images and inspection data are uploaded to the control system in real time for algorithm analysis, comparison, and quality judgment. After the inspection and judgment are completed, a handling robot 13 positioned between the belt feeding mechanism 4 and the NG product storage box 5 performs precise sorting. For unqualified workpieces judged by the system, the robot quickly... The system quickly grabs and transfers defective products into an independent NG product storage box 5 with a built-in push cylinder for automatic isolation and storage. The push cylinder can periodically push up the stacked defective products to prevent them from overflowing and effectively prevent the mixing of good and bad products. For qualified good products, the handling robot 13 precisely places them into the OK product tray 14 at the workstation of the belt feeding mechanism 4, achieving orderly tray placement. While the equipment is inspecting and placing the trays, the synchronous feeding mechanism 17 on the feeding side of the equipment drives the transmission belt and pulley gear transmission components to operate in conjunction with the drive motor, driving the synchronous feeding components on both sides to synchronously and smoothly transport empty trays, continuously replenishing the belt feeding mechanism 4 with empty trays, forming an uninterrupted closed-loop empty tray supply chain, ensuring that the good product tray placement operation is continuous and uninterrupted.When the OK product tray 14 is filled with workpieces to the set capacity, the dedicated lifting mechanism 15 at the bottom of the OK product tray 14 is immediately activated, vertically lifting the tray fully loaded with workpieces. This completely separates the bottom of the OK product tray 14 from the belt conveyor structure of the belt feeding mechanism 4, eliminating subsequent conveying interference, tray jamming, workpiece misalignment, and other malfunctions. After the OK product tray 14 is lifted and positioned, an external robotic arm transfers the tray fully loaded with good products to the finished product stacking area for stacking and storage. This completes a single automated inspection cycle. The entire machine operates in a sequential and coordinated manner through feeding, transfer, rotation detection, optical imaging judgment, good and bad product sorting, automatic empty tray replenishment, lifting and isolation of good product trays, and stacking and transfer processes. No manual intervention is required throughout the entire process, achieving fully automated closed-loop production for batch inspection of motor bearings. This effectively improves inspection accuracy, defect detection stability, and overall production capacity, while reducing manual maintenance costs and equipment space requirements.

[0039] The foregoing has shown and described the basic principles, main features, and advantages of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The embodiments and descriptions in the specification are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. Various changes and modifications can be made to the invention without departing from its spirit and scope, and all such changes and modifications fall within the scope of the claimed invention.

Claims

1. An automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings, characterized in that: The system includes a frame (3), with a loading station (6) on one side of the upper end of the frame (3). A hopper (7) is installed at the loading station (6). A longitudinal and transverse push-type double-stage pushing mechanism (18) is installed at the bottom of the hopper (7) at the discharge port. A line scan camera (10) is also symmetrically installed on the frame (3) on one side of the double-stage pushing mechanism (18). A handling robot (11) with a built-in PPU module is installed on the top of the frame (3) on one side of the line scan camera (10). A fixed support group (9) is installed at the middle of the top of the frame (3) directly opposite the handling robot (11). Two sets of rotating wheel assemblies (8) are installed on the fixed support group (9). Parallel light detection mechanisms (12) are also symmetrically installed on both sides of the rotating wheel assemblies (8) on the frame (3). The parallel light detection mechanism (12) is located behind the line scan camera (10). An NG product storage box (5) with a push cylinder is installed on the frame (3) on one side of the parallel light detection mechanism (12). A second handling robot (13) is also provided on the frame (3) above the NG product storage box (5). A belt feeding mechanism (4) is installed on the frame (3) at the unloading station of the second handling robot (13). An OK product tray (14) is placed on the belt feeding mechanism (4) at the unloading station of the second handling robot (13). An empty pallet placement area (16) is provided on the feeding side of the belt feeding mechanism (4). A synchronous feeding mechanism (17) is installed in the empty pallet placement area (16).

2. The automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings according to claim 1, characterized in that: A protective cover (1) is also installed on the outer side of the top of the frame (3), and a protective door (2) is also installed on the side wall of the protective cover (1) by means of a hinge.

3. The automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bottom of the frame (3) is also equipped with adjustable support pads and brakeable casters.

4. The automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings according to claim 1, characterized in that: The dual-stage pushing mechanism (18) is specifically composed of a transverse pushing cylinder installed at the outlet of the silo (7), a support plate connected to the telescopic part of the transverse pushing cylinder, and a longitudinal pushing cylinder installed on one side wall of the silo (7).

5. The automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings according to claim 1, characterized in that: The line scan camera (10) is specifically arranged in pairs with the roller assembly (8) on the feed side using an adjustable bracket.

6. The automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings according to claim 1, characterized in that: The handling robot (11) has five mechanical claws, and each mechanical claw has a double-sided synchronous clamping assembly at the bottom for directly clamping the motor bearing.

7. The automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings according to claim 1, characterized in that: The parallel light detection mechanism (12) specifically includes two sets of brackets symmetrically installed at the end of the motor bearing detection and a through-beam parallel light detector installed on the brackets.

8. The automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second handling robot (13) is installed between the belt feeding mechanism (4) and the NG product storage box (5).

9. An automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings according to claim 1, characterized in that: The belt feeding mechanism (4) is specifically composed of a motor, a belt installed at the power output end of the motor, a tensioning wheel installed inside the belt on the side away from the motor, a slide installed on one side of the belt, and guide rails installed on both sides of the bottom end of the slide.

10. An automatic loading and unloading optical inspection machine for motor bearings according to claim 1, characterized in that: The synchronous feeding mechanism (17) mainly consists of a drive motor, a transmission belt installed at the power output end of the drive motor, a pulley gear transmission assembly installed at one end of the transmission belt, and synchronous feeding assemblies installed on both sides of the pulley gear transmission assembly.

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