Fuel cell collector plate feeding system

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of visual inspection equipment manufacturing, in particular to a fuel cell collector plate feeding system. In an initial state, a bearing jig of a full-load batch fuel cell collector plate falls on a right conveyor, and under the action of carrying force, the bearing jig in the full-load state flows to a jig transverse moving runner through a full-load jig conveying runner and temporarily stays at a feeding station; and after the collector plate is picked up and emptied by the multi-degree-of-freedom picking manipulator, the no-load state bearing jig performs displacement motion along the jig transverse moving runner under the action of driving force from the transverse moving driving mechanism until the no-load state bearing jig is aligned with the no-load jig conveying runner. Therefore, on one hand, on the premise that the collector plate feeding rhythm is met, the field area occupied by the fuel cell collector plate feeding system is greatly reduced; and on the other hand, when the collector plate is picked up and emptied, the fuel cell collector plate feeding system is kept in a shutdown state or an almost state, and the electric energy consumption is obviously reduced.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The utility model relates to visual inspection equipment manufacturing technical field especially a fuel cell current collecting plate feeding system. BACKGROUND

[0002] Fuel cell as a kind of high-efficiency power generation device that does not burn fuel and directly converts the chemical energy of fuel into electrical energy by electrochemical reaction mode, has been widely valued and applied. The current collecting plate is an important component in the fuel cell system, which plays a key role in concentrating, distributing and transmitting the electrical energy generated by the fuel cell. The current collecting plate is a plate-shaped assembly made of conductive material, used to connect multiple single cells in the fuel cell stack and provide power supply and current distribution function.

[0003] A large number of structural features and formed welds are distributed on the current collecting plate, and they all have extremely strict forming quality requirements. In terms of formed welds alone, according to the functional classification of current collecting plate area, it is divided into flow channel area welding and sealing area welding, and the corresponding welding materials are mostly metal, and the thickness of single material is controlled between 0.05-0.3mm, specifically: the weld surface should be smooth and flat, without obvious weld porosity, indentation, porosity, crack and other defects; the weld should be smoothly transitioned with the base material, without obvious undercut, incomplete fusion, incomplete penetration and other defects; the shape and size of the weld should meet the design requirements, and should not exceed the allowable deviation; the weld surface should not have defects such as missed welding, miswelding, slag inclusion and other defects that affect use and appearance. Upstream new energy vehicle manufacturers newly purchase a batch of visual inspection equipment, mainly composed of machine, ring conveyor belt, bearing jig, turnover manipulator, upstream visual inspection camera and downstream visual inspection camera and other parts. The bearing jig is used to support single current collecting plate. A plurality of bearing jigs are arranged on the ring conveyor belt in sequence, and the current collecting plate is subjected to upstream detection position under the conveying force from the ring conveyor belt, during which the upstream visual inspection camera picks up the complete front image of the current collecting plate, and then the turnover manipulator performs 180° turnover operation on the current collecting plate, continues to flow under the conveying force, and undergoes downstream detection position, during which the downstream visual inspection camera picks up the complete back image of the current collecting plate. However, according to the feedback from the upstream new energy vehicle manufacturers, in actual application, the detection effect is poor, the detection efficiency is extremely low, the image processing time is too long, and the data is easily distorted during processing, which leads to the phenomenon of mis-detection and missed detection of weld defects. In view of this, the company recently developed a fuel cell current collecting plate visual inspection equipment.

[0004] In view of the current technical situation, in order to meet the design purpose of synchronous flow of a plurality of linearly arranged carrying jigs, the total length of the conveyor is strictly required, which occupies a large site area, and the workshop layout design is extremely difficult. Moreover, limited by the conveying speed of the conveyor, the number of current collectors that can be supplied per unit time is relatively limited, which is difficult to match the working rhythm of the visual detection camera. In addition, during the whole visual detection process, the conveyor needs to be kept in operation state in real time, which has the problem of low energy utilization rate. Therefore, it is urgent for technical personnel to solve the above problems. Practical new type content

[0005] Therefore, the design personnel of the present application, in view of the above-mentioned problems and defects, collected relevant data, evaluated and considered from all aspects, and through the continuous experiments and modifications of the technical personnel engaged in this industry for many years of research and development experience, finally led to the emergence of the fuel cell current collector feeding system.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present application relates to a fuel cell current collector feeding system, which belongs to a fuel cell current collector visual detection device, comprising a carrying jig, a carrying machine and a multi-degree-of-freedom picking manipulator. The carrying jig is used to load fuel cell current collectors in batches, and is transferred between different stations under the driving force from the carrying machine. The multi-degree-of-freedom picking manipulator is used to transfer the fuel cell current collectors from the carrying jig to the next process one by one. The carrying machine comprises a left conveyor, a right conveyor, a barrier and a transverse driving mechanism. The left conveyor and the right conveyor are arranged side by side, and the conveying directions of the two are opposite. The barrier is used to locally isolate the left conveyor and the right conveyor, so that the full-jig conveying flow channel, the jig transverse flow channel and the empty-jig conveying flow channel can be formed. The jig transverse flow channel simultaneously crosses the left conveyor and the right conveyor, and the full-jig conveying flow channel is driven by the right conveyor, and the empty-jig conveying flow channel is driven by the left conveyor. The transverse driving mechanism is used to drive the empty carrying jig to perform displacement motion along the jig transverse flow channel, and the left conveyor and the right conveyor are used as the installation basis.

[0007] As a further improvement of the disclosed technical scheme of the present application, the carrying jig comprises a substrate and a material blocking assembly. The substrate is provided with an avoidance gap for the transverse driving mechanism to apply a driving force thereto. The material blocking assembly is composed of a plurality of material blocking pieces which are detachably fixed on the substrate and are in an upright state, so that the left current collector stacking partition and the right current collector stacking partition are formed.

[0008] As further improvement of the disclosed technical scheme in the utility model, the fuel cell current collector plate feeding system further comprises a position guiding mechanism.

[0009] As further improvement of the disclosed technical scheme in the utility model, the position guiding mechanism is composed of multiple pin-cylinder and guiding sleeves. The multiple pin-cylinder are installed on the right-positioned conveyor and hidden below the base plate. The base plate is uniformly provided with multiple mounting holes for embedding the guiding sleeves. In the process of the guiding sleeves being deeply inserted by the corresponding pin-cylinder, the relative position of the full-load carrying fixture is guided.

[0010] As further improvement of the disclosed technical scheme in the utility model, the transverse movement driving mechanism comprises a bearing frame, a linear module, a lifter and a force applying element. The left-positioned conveyor and the right-positioned conveyor are jointly used as the installation basis of the bearing frame and hidden below the two conveyors. The linear module is used to drive the lifter to perform transverse movement and is installed on the bearing frame. The force applying element for directly applying lateral thrust to the base plate is driven by the lifter.

[0011] As further improvement of the disclosed technical scheme in the utility model, the force applying element is in the shape of "L" and is connected by a horizontal segment and a vertical hooking segment. The horizontal segment is detachably fixed to the lifter by means of fasteners. The vertical hooking segment extends into the avoiding gap to apply lateral thrust to the base plate.

[0012] As further improvement of the disclosed technical scheme in the utility model, multiple long waist-shaped holes are formed on the horizontal segment and arranged in a rectangular array.

[0013] In the initial state, the full-load carrying fixture of the batch fuel cell current collector plates is placed on the right-positioned conveyor, and under the action of the carrying force, the full-load carrying fixture is transferred to the fixture transverse movement flow channel through the full-load fixture conveying flow channel and temporarily stays at the feeding station; after the current collector plates are picked up by the multi-degree-of-freedom picking manipulator and emptied, the empty-load carrying fixture performs displacement movement along the fixture transverse movement flow channel under the driving force from the transverse movement driving mechanism until it is opposite to the empty-load fixture conveying flow channel; then, under the action of the carrying force from the left-positioned conveyor, the empty-load carrying fixture is transferred along the empty-load fixture conveying flow channel and finally stops at the carrying fixture recycling station.

[0014] In practical application, the fuel cell current collector plate feeding system disclosed in the utility model can at least achieve the following beneficial technical effects, specifically:

[0015] 1) Abandoned traditional linear carrying feeding mode, in the application, the batch fuel cell collector plate is stacked and placed on the carrying fixture, and the left conveyor and the right conveyor are used to carry the full load state carrying fixture and the empty load state carrying fixture respectively, and after the feeding is completed, the empty load state carrying fixture is moved from the right conveyor to the left conveyor under the pushing force from the transverse driving mechanism, so that on the one hand, the area occupied by the fuel cell collector plate feeding system is greatly reduced under the premise that the number of fuel cell collector plates carried in unit time is guaranteed, which is beneficial to the execution of workshop layout design, and on the other hand, during the picking and gradual emptying of the fuel cell collector plate by the multi-degree-of-freedom picking manipulator, whether it is the left conveyor and the right conveyor or the transverse driving mechanism, it remains in the state of stop or almost machine, so that the power consumption can be effectively reduced and the power utilization rate can be improved;

[0016] 2) Thanks to the rapid, efficient and high-precision characteristics of the multi-degree-of-freedom picking manipulator, the total number of fuel cell collector plates that can be supplied in unit time can be effectively increased, which provides a good foundation for matching the working rhythm of the subsequent visual detection camera. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the drawings needed in the following embodiment or prior art description will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor.

[0018] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the fuel cell collector plate visual detection equipment disclosed by the present application.

[0019] Figure 2 is a perspective view of the fuel cell collector plate feeding system disclosed by the present application.

[0020] Figure 3 is a state diagram of the carrying fixture in the fuel cell collector plate feeding system disclosed by the present application after the placement of the carrying mechanism is completed.

[0021] Figure 4 is also a perspective view of the fuel cell collector plate feeding system disclosed by the present application (hidden part of the carrying fixture, multi-degree-of-freedom picking manipulator and left and right conveyors under the state of conveying roller).

[0022] Figure 5 is a perspective view of the carrying fixture in the fuel cell collector plate feeding system disclosed by the present application.

[0023] Figure 6 is a top view of Figure 5 .

[0024] Figure 7 is a three-dimensional schematic view of the carrying machine in the fuel cell current collector plate feeding system disclosed by the utility model.

[0025] Figure 8 is a top view of Figure 7 .

[0026] Figure 9 is also a three-dimensional schematic view of the carrying machine in the fuel cell current collector plate feeding system disclosed by the utility model (part of the conveying roller in the state of the left and right placed conveyors).

[0027] Figure 10 is a three-dimensional schematic view of the transverse driving mechanism in the fuel cell current collector plate feeding system disclosed by the utility model.

[0028] Figure 11 is a three-dimensional schematic view of the force applying member in the fuel cell current collector plate feeding system disclosed by the utility model.

[0029] Figure 12 is a three-dimensional schematic view of the position guiding mechanism in the fuel cell current collector plate feeding system disclosed by the utility model.

[0030] Figure 13 is a top view of Figure 3 .

[0031] Figure 14 is an A-A sectional view of Figure 13 .

[0032] Figure 15 is a B-B sectional view of Figure 13 .

[0033] 1-carrier jig; 11-substrate; 111-avoidance notch; 112-mounting hole; 12-material blocking assembly; 121-material blocking piece; 13-left-placed current collector plate stacking partition; 14-right-placed current collector plate stacking partition; 2-carrying machine; 21-left-placed conveyor; 22-right-placed conveyor; 23-barrier piece; 24-transverse driving mechanism; 241-force bearing frame; 242-linear module; 243-lifter; 244-force applying member; 2441-flat segment; 24411-long strip waist-shaped hole; 2442-erect hooking segment; 25-full-load jig conveying flow channel; 26-jig transverse flow channel; 27-empty-load jig conveying flow channel; 3-multi-degree-of-freedom picking manipulator; 4-position guiding mechanism; 41-pinhole cylinder; 42-guiding sleeve. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] In the description of the utility model, it is understood that the terms "front", "back", "left", "right", "up", "down" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the utility model and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the indicated device or element must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the utility model.

[0035] The content of the utility model will be further described in detail below in combination with specific embodiments, Figure 1 The utility model discloses fuel cell current collector plate visual inspection equipment's three -dimensional schematic diagram is shown, can know, fuel cell current collector plate feeding system is laid out in the upstream, to be used for the optical detection unit in the downstream continuously supply fuel cell current collector plate.

[0036] Figure 2 The utility model discloses fuel cell current collector plate feeding system's three -dimensional schematic diagram is shown, can know, it mainly comprises several parts such as bearing fixture 1, carrying machinery 2 and multi -freedom degree pick -and -place manipulator 3. Among them, bearing fixture 1 is used to load fuel cell current collector plate in batches, and it is transferred between different stations under the driving force from carrying machinery 2. Multi -freedom degree pick -and -place manipulator 3 is used to transfer fuel cell current collector plate by bearing fixture 1 to the next process piece by piece.

[0037] As Figure 7 、 8 As shown in the description, carrying machinery 2 mainly comprises several parts such as left conveyor 21, right conveyor 22, barrier 23 and transverse drive mechanism 24. Left conveyor 21 and right conveyor 22 are placed side by side along the front-back direction, and the conveying directions of the two are opposite. Barrier 23 is used to locally isolate left conveyor 21 and right conveyor 22, and full-load fixture conveying flow channel 25, fixture transverse flow channel 26 and empty-load fixture conveying flow channel 27 can be formed. 26 The fixture transverse flow channel simultaneously spans left conveyor 21 and right conveyor 22, and the carrying driving force of full-load fixture conveying flow channel 25 is only from right conveyor 22, and the carrying driving force of empty-load fixture conveying flow channel 27 is only from left conveyor 21. Transverse drive mechanism 24 is used to drive empty-load bearing fixture 1 to perform displacement movement along fixture transverse flow channel 26, and left conveyor 21 and right conveyor 22 are used as its mounting base.

[0038] The working principle of the fuel cell current collector plate feeding system is roughly as follows: in the initial state, the full-load batch fuel cell current collector plate bearing fixture 1 is placed on the right conveyor 22, and under the action of the carrying force, the full-load bearing fixture 1 is transferred to the fixture transverse flow channel 26 through the full-load fixture conveying flow channel 25, and temporarily stops at the feeding station; then, the multi-degree-of-freedom picking manipulator 3 acts to pick up the fuel cell current collector plates one by one and transfer them to the next process until the fuel cell current collector plates are completely emptied; then, the empty-load bearing fixture 1 performs displacement motion along the fixture transverse flow channel 26 under the driving force from the transverse driving mechanism 24 until it is opposite to the empty-load fixture conveying flow channel 27; then, under the action of the carrying force from the left conveyor 21, the empty-load bearing fixture 1 is transferred along the empty-load fixture conveying flow channel 27 and finally stops at the bearing fixture recovery station.

[0039] In this embodiment, the batch fuel cell current collector plates are stacked on the bearing fixture 1, and the left conveyor 21 and the right conveyor 22 are used to carry the full-load bearing fixture 1 and the empty-load bearing fixture 1 respectively. After the feeding is completed, the empty-load bearing fixture 1 is transversely moved from the right conveyor 22 to the left conveyor 21 under the action of the pushing force from the transverse driving mechanism 24. In this way, on the one hand, the area occupied by the fuel cell current collector plate feeding system is greatly reduced under the premise of ensuring the number of fuel cell current collector plates carried per unit time, which is beneficial to the execution of workshop layout design; on the other hand, during the picking and gradual emptying of the fuel cell current collector plates by the multi-degree-of-freedom picking manipulator 3, whether it is the left conveyor 21 and the right conveyor 22 or the transverse driving mechanism 24, they all remain in the state of stop or almost stop, thereby effectively reducing the amount of electric energy consumption and improving the utilization rate of electric energy.

[0040] It should also be noted that according to the known in the art, the multi-degree-of-freedom picking manipulator 3 has the design characteristics of rapid execution, high efficiency and high precision, so in actual application, it can quickly empty the bearing fixture 1, thereby effectively increasing the total number of fuel cell current collector plates that can be supplied by the fuel cell current collector plate feeding system per unit time, which provides a good foundation for matching the working rhythm of the subsequent visual detection camera.

[0041] As Figure 5 , 6As shown in the figure, the carrying fixture 1 is mainly composed of a base plate 11 and a material blocking assembly 12. The material blocking assembly 12 is composed of a plurality of material blocking pieces 121 which are detachably fixed on the base plate 11 and stand upright, and left-arranged current collector plate stacking subarea 13 and right-arranged current collector plate stacking subarea 14 are formed. In actual application, the left-arranged current collector plate stacking subarea 13 and the right-arranged current collector plate stacking subarea 14 can be used to carry a plurality of stacked fuel cell current collector plates. Under the premise that the total number of carrying is determined, the stacking height of the fuel cell current collector plates is controlled within a reasonable range, thereby greatly improving the carrying stability and safety of the carrying fixture 1.

[0042] As shown in the figure, Figure 3 , 4 As shown in the figure, the fuel cell current collector plate feeding system is additionally provided with a position guiding mechanism 4. The position guiding mechanism 4 is installed based on the right-arranged conveyor 22. After the fully loaded carrying fixture 1 is positioned relative to the fixture transverse flow channel 26, the position guiding mechanism 4 is started to guide the relative position, which provides a good foundation for the subsequent high-efficiency and high-precision operation of the multi-degree-of-freedom picking manipulator 3.

[0043] As shown in the figure, Figure 12 , 13 , 15, the position guiding mechanism 4 is composed of four pin-cylinder 41 and guiding sleeve 42. The four pin-cylinder 41 are installed based on the right-arranged conveyor 22 and hidden below the base plate 11. The base plate 11 is uniformly provided with a plurality of mounting holes 112 for embedding the guiding sleeve 42 (as shown in the figure Figure 5 , 6 In actual application, when the fully loaded carrying fixture 1 is transferred to the fixture transverse flow channel 26 through the fully loaded fixture conveying flow channel 25 and temporarily stays at the feeding station, the four pin-cylinder 41 are simultaneously started, the pins thereof perform upward movement, and in the process of the guiding sleeve 42 being deeply inserted by the corresponding pin-cylinder 41, the relative position of the fully loaded carrying fixture 1 is guided.

[0044] It is known that according to design common sense, the transverse driving mechanism 24 can adopt various design structures to realize the transverse movement of the empty carrying fixture 1. However, a design structure which is simple, easy to manufacture and implement, and has very smooth pushing movement is recommended, which is as follows: Figure 9 , 10As shown in Figures 13 and 14, the lateral drive mechanism 24 includes a support frame 241, a linear module 242, a lifter 243, and a force-applying component 244. The left conveyor 21 and the right conveyor 22 together serve as the mounting base for the support frame 241, which is concealed beneath them. The linear module 242 drives the lifter 243 to perform lateral movement, and it is mounted on the support frame 241. The force-applying component 244, which directly applies lateral thrust to the base plate 11, is driven by the lifter 243 (preferably a cylinder with excellent response speed). The base plate 11 has a clearance notch 111 (e.g., for easy application of driving force by the force-applying component 244) to the plate. Figure 5 (as shown in the image).

[0045] Depend on Figure 11 As can be clearly seen in the diagram, the force-applying component 244 is L-shaped, consisting of a horizontal section 2441 and a vertical hook section 2442 connected together. The horizontal section 2441 is detachably fixed to the lifting device 243 by means of fasteners. The vertical hook section 2442 extends into the clearance notch 111 to apply lateral thrust towards the base plate 11. Multiple elongated waist-shaped holes 24411 for fasteners to pass through are formed on the horizontal section 2441 and arranged in a rectangular array. Thus, on the one hand, the model of the force-applying component 244 can be optimally matched according to the specific dimensions of the support fixture 1, and the entire replacement process is convenient and quick; on the other hand, after the support fixture 1 is positioned relative to the loading station and has been guided, the worker needs to ensure that the force-applying component 244 occupies the correct position relative to the support fixture 1. Otherwise, loosen all fasteners, drag the force-applying component 244 in the left-right direction until the vertical hook section 2442 is about to abut against the base plate 11, and then tighten all fasteners again.

[0046] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables those skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A fuel cell current collector plate feeding system belonging to a fuel cell current collector plate visual inspection apparatus, comprising a carrying fixture, a carrying machine and a multi-degree-of-freedom pick-up robot; the carrying fixture is used to batch load fuel cell current collector plates, and is transferred between different stations under the driving force from the carrying machine; the multi-degree-of-freedom pick-up robot is used to transfer the fuel cell current collector plates from the carrying fixture to the next process one by one, characterized in that, The carrying machine comprises a left conveyor, a right conveyor, a partition and a transverse driving mechanism; the left conveyor and the right conveyor are arranged side by side and have opposite conveying directions; the partition is used to locally isolate the left conveyor and the right conveyor, so that a full-load carrier conveying flow channel, a carrier transverse flow channel and an empty-load carrier conveying flow channel are formed; the carrier transverse flow channel simultaneously transversely crosses the left conveyor and the right conveyor, the full-load carrier conveying flow channel is driven by the right conveyor, and the empty-load carrier conveying flow channel is driven by the left conveyor; the transverse driving mechanism is used to drive the empty-load carrier to perform displacement movement along the carrier transverse flow channel, and the left conveyor and the right conveyor jointly serve as the mounting base thereof.

2. The fuel cell plate loading system of claim 1, wherein The carrier comprises a substrate and a material blocking assembly; the substrate is provided with an avoiding notch for the transverse driving mechanism to apply driving force thereto; the material blocking assembly is composed of a plurality of material blocking pieces which are detachably fixed to the substrate and vertically arranged, so that a left-set current-carrying plate stacking partition and a right-set current-carrying plate stacking partition are formed.

3. The fuel cell plate loading system of claim 2, wherein the plate loading system further comprises a plate loading system controller configured to control the plate loading system. A position guiding mechanism is further included; the position guiding mechanism is mounted on the right conveyor; after the full-load carrier is positioned relative to the carrier transverse flow channel, the position guiding mechanism is started to guide the relative position thereof.

4. The fuel cell plate loading system of claim 3, wherein the plate loading system further comprises a plate loading system controller. The position guiding mechanism is composed of a plurality of pin-cylinder assemblies and guiding sleeves; the pin-cylinder assemblies are all mounted on the right conveyor and hidden below the substrate; the substrate is uniformly provided with a plurality of mounting holes for the guiding sleeves to be embedded; in the process that the guiding sleeves are deeply inserted by the corresponding pin-cylinder assemblies, the relative position of the full-load carrier is guided.

5. The fuel cell current collector plate feeding system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein The transverse driving mechanism comprises a bearing frame, a linear module, a lifter and a force applying piece; the left conveyor and the right conveyor jointly serve as the mounting base of the bearing frame and are hidden below the two conveyors; the linear module is used to drive the lifter to perform transverse movement and is mounted on the bearing frame; the force applying piece which is used to directly apply lateral thrust to the substrate is driven by the lifter.

6. The fuel cell plate loading system of claim 5, wherein, The force applying piece is in the shape of "L" and is connected by a horizontal segment and a vertical hooking segment; the horizontal segment is detachably fixed to the lifter by means of a fastener; the vertical hooking segment extends into the avoiding notch to apply lateral thrust to the substrate.

7. The fuel cell plate loading system of claim 6, wherein the plate loading system further comprises a plate loading system controller. A plurality of long waist-shaped holes are formed on the horizontal segment and are arranged in a rectangular array.

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