Automatic replacement device for vacuum laser welding protection lens

Abstract

The utility model provides an automatic replacing device for vacuum laser welding protection lenses, which comprises a lens box and a rotating rod, the lens box is used for loading a certain number of protection lenses, the rotating rod comprises a rotatable push rod and a lens bearing tray, and a control system is electrically connected with the rotatable push rod and the lens bearing tray on the rotating rod. The rotatable push rod enables the lens bearing tray and the laser head lens insertion opening to be located at the same horizontal height. The lens box is additionally arranged, a certain number of lenses are loaded in the lens box, the control system is used for controlling the rotary rod, the rotary push rod is matched with the lens bearing tray, the to-be-replaced lens is fed into the laser head lens insertion opening, automatic replacement of the protection lens is achieved, manual replacement time is saved, and efficiency is improved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of laser welding, especially an automatic replacement device for vacuum laser welding protective lenses. BACKGROUND

[0002] The penetration depth of laser welding in a vacuum environment is significantly improved, and the weld formation and defects such as porosity are greatly improved, so that significant effects that cannot be achieved by conventional laser welding methods can be obtained. In recent years, the research on the mechanism of vacuum laser welding process and laser welding devices in low vacuum or even local negative pressure environments has been increasingly improved, making vacuum laser welding technology show good application prospects in the welding of thick plates in the fields of ships, nuclear power, and pressure vessels. In general, a laser welding processing head has two lenses: one is a focusing lens, which is a high-precision optical element, and the focusing lens is expensive and difficult to replace. Therefore, a second lens, i.e., a laser protective lens, is designed, which is located between the laser head nozzle and the focusing lens, and its main function is to protect the focusing lens and block spatters from splashing onto the lens to cause damage to the lens. Therefore, the cleanliness of the protective lens directly affects the processing performance and quality of laser welding.

[0003] Currently, in the welding process of traditional carbon steel and other materials, the protective lens plays a good role in protecting the focusing lens. However, with the use of high-power lasers and the development of high-spatter (such as titanium alloy) and high-reflectivity (such as aluminum alloy and copper alloy) welding processes, the loss rate of the protective lens has greatly increased. In order to protect the focusing lens, it is necessary to stop the experiment and replace the protective lens. Traditional protective lens replacement devices, such as the invention disclosed in CN218695187U, can only determine whether the protective lens is damaged by observing the shape of the laser during the experiment, which cannot accurately identify the state of the protective lens and can easily cause damage to the laser focusing lens. At the same time, if the protective lens is damaged, the air compression system needs to be opened, and a person needs to enter the vacuum chamber to remove the protective lens from the laser processing head, and then manually replace it. The cleaning step of the experiment needs to be repeated, and the vacuum needs to be re-established after everything is finished. For a large-size vacuum welding system, the time for a single vacuum is about 1-1.5 hours, and the repeated opening and closing of the vacuum chamber and the cleanliness of the test piece and the laser processing head have a negative impact on the experiment. Therefore, the traditional protective lens replacement device greatly increases the time and labor costs, and to some extent, affects the experimental quality. Therefore, it is one of the important problems to be solved to research a device and method for automatically replacing the laser welding protective lens. SUMMARY

[0004] Therefore, the utility model aims at providing an automatic replacement device for vacuum laser welding protective lenses.

[0005] To address the aforementioned issues, this application provides an automatic replacement device for protective lenses in vacuum laser welding, comprising a lens cassette and a rotating rod. The lens cassette is used to load a certain number of protective lenses. The rotating rod includes a rotatable push rod and a lens holder. A control system is electrically connected to the rotatable push rod and the lens holder on the rotating rod. The rotatable push rod positions the lens holder and the laser head lens insertion port at the same horizontal level.

[0006] In some embodiments, the lens case includes a lower base for holding a protective lens and an upper base for limiting the stacking height of the lenses. The lower base is provided with a spring-back mechanism, one end of which is connected to the lower base, and the other end of which is provided with a protective lens placement plate. The lens is placed between the protective lens placement plate and the upper base.

[0007] In some embodiments, a rubber pad is provided at the position corresponding to the upper base of the protective lens placement plate.

[0008] In some embodiments, the number of protective lenses is 10-20.

[0009] In some embodiments, the rebound mechanism may be a spring, a hydraulic rod, or the like.

[0010] The lens case and the rotating rod are fixed to the tooling fixture of the laser processing head by tooling.

[0011] The rotatable push rod is at the same horizontal height as the lens to be replaced. The end of the rotatable push rod is adapted to the shape of the protective lens. A pin is provided on the end to be inserted between the lens to be replaced and the second protective lens.

[0012] In some embodiments, the lens tray includes a lens-receiving end, which is an arc-shaped groove, the inner wall of which is adapted to the size of the edge of the protective lens.

[0013] In some embodiments, a waste mirror box is included, which is installed on a tooling fixing table and located below the mirror receiving end movement line of the mirror receiving tray.

[0014] The lens tray is equipped with a flipping mechanism, which controls the lens end to flip so that the protective lens falls from the lens tray into the waste lens box.

[0015] This utility model has at least the following beneficial technical effects:

[0016] 1. The automatic protective lens replacement device provided in this application adds a lens box, loads a certain number of lenses in the lens box, and then uses a control system to control a rotating rod, including a rotatable push rod and a lens tray, to send the lens to be replaced into the laser head lens insertion port, thereby realizing the automatic replacement of the protective lens, saving manual replacement time and improving efficiency;

[0017] 2. The automatic protective lens replacement device provided in this application automatically detaches the protective lens and drops it into the waste bin by setting a flipping mechanism on the lens tray and controlling the flipping mechanism to flip the lens end.

[0018] 3. The automatic lens replacement device provided in this application has a pin on the rotatable push rod to separate the protective lens being used from the second lens. Attached Figure Description

[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other embodiments can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0020] In the diagram:

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an automatic replacement device for laser welding protective lenses according to an embodiment of this application;

[0022] Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating an automatic replacement method for a laser welding protective lens according to an embodiment of this application;

[0023] Among them, 1. Laser head, 11. Laser head lens insertion port, 12. Tooling fixing table, 2. Lens box, 21. Lower base, 22. Upper base, 23. Spring mechanism, 24. Rubber pad, 3. Control system, 30. Rotary rod, 31. Rotatable push rod, 32. Lens tray, 33. Flipping mechanism, 34. Lens slot, 35. Waste lens box, 36. Pin, 4. Protective lens. Detailed Implementation

[0024] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this utility model clearer, the embodiments of this utility model will be further described in detail below with reference to specific examples and accompanying drawings.

[0025] It should be noted that all uses of the terms "first" and "second" in the embodiments of this utility model are for the purpose of distinguishing two different entities or different parameters with the same name. Therefore, "first" and "second" are merely for convenience of expression and should not be construed as limiting the embodiments of this utility model. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such as other steps or units inherent in a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units. Example

[0026] like Figure 1An automatic replacement device for a vacuum laser welding protective lens 4 is shown, comprising a lens box 2 and a rotating rod. The lens box 2 is used to load a certain number of lenses. The rotating rod is installed on a tooling fixing table 12. The rotating rod includes a rotatable push rod 32 and a lens holding tray 32. The lens holding tray 32 is at the same horizontal height as the laser head lens insertion port 11.

[0027] It should be noted that the lens case 2 includes a lower base 21 for holding the protective lens 4 and an upper base 22 for limiting the height of the lens. A spring-loaded mechanism 23 is provided on the lower base 21, with one end connected to the lower base 21 and the other end having a protective lens 4 placement plate. The lens is placed between the protective lens 4 placement plate and the upper base 22. It should also be noted that in some embodiments, to prevent the lens case 2 from scratching or damaging the protective lens 4, rubber pads 24 are provided at corresponding positions on the protective lens 4 placement plate and the upper base 22.

[0028] In some embodiments, the number of protective lenses 4 is 10-20.

[0029] In some embodiments, the rebound mechanism 23 may be a spring, a hydraulic rod, or the like.

[0030] The lens holder 2 and the rotating rod are fixed to the laser processing head by tooling. The rotatable push rod 32 of the rotating rod is at the same horizontal height as the lens to be replaced. The pin 36 of the rotatable push rod 32 is inserted between the lens to be replaced and the second protective lens 4, pushing the lens to be replaced onto the lens receiving tray 32. The lens receiving tray 32 includes a receiving end, which is an arc-shaped groove. The inner wall of the groove is adapted to the size of the protective lens 4. The lens receiving tray 32 is at the same horizontal height as the laser head lens insertion port 11. The rotatable push rod 32 and the lens receiving tray 32 are electrically connected to the control system 3.

[0031] It should be noted that in some embodiments, in order to replace the lens more efficiently, the lens receiving tray 32 is provided with a flipping mechanism 33. The flipping mechanism 33 controls the lens receiving end to flip. When the lens receiving tray 32 rotates to the designated position, the flipping mechanism 33 flips 90°, so that the arc-shaped groove opening of the lens receiving end faces downward, so that the protective lens 4 falls from the lens receiving groove 34 into the waste lens box 35.

[0032] When the protective lens 4 is needed, the control system 3 controls the rotatable push rod 32 to rotate clockwise to a predetermined position via an electrical signal. The pin 36 inside the semicircular ring of the rotatable push rod 32 pushes the protective lens 4 to be replaced from the lens box 2 onto the lens receiving groove 34 of the rotatable lens receiving tray 32. The spring-back mechanism 23 springs back, and the protective lens 4 placed on it rises accordingly, and the second protective lens 4 is in the position of the lens to be replaced. Then the rotatable push rod 32 moves back to its original position counterclockwise.

[0033] The control system 3 controls the rotatable mirror tray 32 via electrical signals to rotate the protective lens 4 clockwise to the laser head 1, so that it enters the set position through the laser protective lens 4 insertion port, and the laser head 1 performs welding operations.

[0034] After welding is completed, the rotatable push rod 32 is moved out counterclockwise. The quality is observed through the closed-circuit monitoring of the vacuum welding system. If the surface is damaged or there is spatter, it is inserted into the slot of the laser protective lens 4. If it is damaged, the lens tray 32 is rotated to the designated position, and the flipping mechanism 33 is flipped 90° so that the arc-shaped groove opening at the lens end faces downward, so that the protective lens 4 falls from the lens tray 34 into the waste lens box 35. The lens removal operation is repeated.

[0035] Another aspect of this application is to provide an automatic replacement method for a vacuum laser welding protective lens 4, comprising the following steps:

[0036] (1) Place a certain number of laser protective lenses 4 into the lens case 2, and evacuate the laser working environment;

[0037] (2) The movable push rod pushes the protective lens 4 to be replaced into the lens slot 34 of the flip-up lens tray 32;

[0038] (3) The rotatable mirror tray 32 pushes the lens described in step (2) into the lens socket of the laser head 1, and the laser head 1 performs welding operations;

[0039] (4) Synchronously, the rotatable push rod 32 exits the lens box 2, and under the action of the spring mechanism 23, the second lens springs back to the position of the lens to be replaced;

[0040] (5) After the laser head 1 is welded in step (3), the mirror tray 32 can be flipped and withdrawn in the opposite direction to observe and judge whether the protective lens 4 is damaged.

[0041] (6) If yes, the lens tray 32 is flipped over, detached from the protective lens 4, and steps 2 to 5 are repeated; if no, the operation continues.

[0042] The above are exemplary embodiments disclosed in this utility model. However, it should be noted that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments of this utility model as defined by the claims. The functions, steps, and / or actions of the methods according to the disclosed embodiments described herein do not need to be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although the elements disclosed in the embodiments of this utility model may be described or claimed individually, they may be understood as multiple unless explicitly limited to a singular number.

[0043] It should be understood that, as used herein, the singular form "a" is intended to include the plural form as well, unless the context clearly supports an exception. It should also be understood that, as used herein, "and / or" refers to any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associatedly listed items. The embodiment numbers disclosed above are for descriptive purposes only and do not represent the superiority or inferiority of the embodiments.

[0044] Those skilled in the art should understand that the discussion of any of the above embodiments is merely exemplary and is not intended to imply that the scope of the present invention (including the claims) is limited to these examples. Within the framework of the present invention, technical features of the above embodiments or different embodiments can also be combined, and many other variations of different aspects of the present invention exist, which are not provided in the details for the sake of brevity. Therefore, any omissions, modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automatic replacement device for vacuum laser welding protective lenses, characterized in that, The system includes a lens holder and a rotating rod. The lens holder is used to load a certain number of protective lenses. The rotating rod includes a rotatable push rod and a lens tray. The control system is electrically connected to the rotatable push rod and the lens tray on the rotating rod. The rotatable push rod positions the lens tray and the laser head lens insertion port at the same horizontal level.

2. The automatic replacement device for a vacuum laser welding protective lens according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lens case includes a lower base for holding protective lenses and an upper base for limiting the stacking height of the lenses. The lower base is provided with a spring-loaded mechanism, one end of which is connected to the lower base and the other end of which is provided with a protective lens placement plate. The lenses are placed between the protective lens placement plate and the upper base.

3. The automatic replacement device for a vacuum laser welding protective lens according to claim 2, characterized in that, Rubber pads are installed at the corresponding positions of the protective lens placement plate and the upper base.

4. The automatic replacement device for a vacuum laser welding protective lens according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lens case and the rotating rod are fixed to the tooling fixture of the laser processing head by tooling.

5. The automatic replacement device for a vacuum laser welding protective lens according to claim 1, characterized in that, The rotatable push rod is at the same horizontal height as the lens to be replaced. The end of the rotatable push rod is adapted to the shape of the protective lens. A pin is provided on the end to be inserted between the lens to be replaced and the second protective lens.

6. The automatic replacement device for a vacuum laser welding protective lens according to claim 5, characterized in that, The lens tray includes a lens-bearing end, which is an arc-shaped groove, and the inner wall of the groove is adapted to the size of the edge of the protective lens.

7. An automatic replacement device for a vacuum laser welding protective lens according to claim 1 or 6, characterized in that, Waste mirror box, which is installed on the tooling fixing table and located below the mirror receiving end movement line of the mirror receiving tray.

8. The automatic replacement device for a vacuum laser welding protective lens according to claim 6, characterized in that, The lens tray is equipped with a flipping mechanism, which controls the lens end to flip so that the protective lens falls from the lens tray into the waste lens box.

9. The automatic replacement device for a vacuum laser welding protective lens according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number of protective lenses is 10-20.

10. An automatic replacement device for a vacuum laser welding protective lens according to claim 2, characterized in that, The rebound mechanism is either a spring or a hydraulic rod.

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