Bearing tapered roller sorting system

Abstract

The utility model discloses a bearing tapered roller sorting system which aims at solving the problems that in the prior art, after being sorted, tapered rollers are placed disorderly and are prone to damage, and the automation degree of material box replacement is not high. The system comprises a feeding conveying line, a measuring unit, a discharging conveying line, at least one group of robot sorting units, a central controller, a full box conveying line and an empty box conveying line. The robot sorting unit comprises an industrial robot, a grading box position used for containing the material boxes with the independent partition units, a box changing and line transferring mechanism and an empty box stopping mechanism. The industrial robot grabs the rollers on the discharging conveying line according to grades and places the rollers into the independent partition units of the material box under the control of the central controller. The box changing and line transferring mechanism automatically exchanges the material boxes with empty boxes on the empty box conveying line when the material boxes are full, and the empty box stopping mechanism is responsible for positioning the empty boxes. According to the utility model, efficient sorting and ordered filling of tapered rollers can be realized, and the automation level of material box turnover is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of automation equipment technology, and in particular to a bearing tapered roller sorting system. Background Technology

[0002] Tapered rollers, as essential mechanical components, directly impact the performance of the final product through their quality and dimensional accuracy. The production process requires precise dimensional measurement, grading, and sorting of a large number of tapered rollers. To improve production efficiency, inspection accuracy, and consistency, automated inspection and sorting lines have been widely adopted.

[0003] Existing technologies, such as Chinese utility model patent CN211247421U, disclose a "bearing roller production and inspection assembly line." This assembly line consists of a feeding device, a conveying device, and multiple inspection stations (such as dimensional and appearance inspection, hardness inspection, and crack detection) and corresponding rejection stations arranged sequentially along the conveying path. It uses an automated inspection unit to perform parameter testing on the rollers and, based on the test results, rejects defective products from the main conveyor line, while qualified products are conveyed to a qualified product collection device. This solution, to a certain extent, automates the bearing roller inspection process and achieves preliminary separation based on whether the product is qualified or not.

[0004] However, existing technologies have shortcomings when handling tapered rollers, which require high levels of orderly placement and surface protection. Firstly, existing technologies typically collect rollers in batches, which can easily lead to collision damage and disordered storage of precision rollers, affecting quality and subsequent processes. They fail to address the issue of accurately and orderly placing rollers of different grades into internally partitioned material boxes for protection and orderly storage. Secondly, existing technologies primarily focus on roller detection and rejection. They lack efficient solutions for the automated management and flow of material boxes at sorting stations, particularly integrated automation mechanisms for automatically removing full boxes, automatically introducing and replacing empty boxes, and positioning them. Manual operation limits the overall level of automation and efficiency. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of this utility model is to provide a bearing tapered roller sorting system to solve the technical problems in the prior art, such as disordered placement of tapered rollers after sorting, which easily leads to damage, and low automation of material box replacement at the sorting station.

[0006] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this utility model provides a bearing tapered roller sorting system. This system includes a feeding conveyor line for receiving tapered rollers, a measuring unit for measuring the tapered rollers and assisting in determining their grade, and a discharging conveyor line for carrying and conveying the tapered rollers to be inspected. The key feature is that at least one set of robotic sorting units is arranged along the discharging conveyor line. Each set of robotic sorting units includes at least one industrial robot and at least two grading boxes for placing material boxes of different grades of tapered rollers. To properly protect and orderly store the rollers, the material boxes are equipped with independent partition units. The industrial robots, controlled by a central controller, can pick up tapered rollers of the target grade from the discharging conveyor line and place them into the designated independent partition units within the material boxes of the corresponding grading boxes. This directly solves the problems of disordered placement and easy damage of the rollers, achieving refined and protected storage.

[0007] To address the issue of low automation in material box replacement at sorting stations, each robotic sorting unit includes a box-changing transfer mechanism and multiple empty box stopping mechanisms. The box-changing transfer mechanism automatically pushes a full box to the full-box conveyor line when it is full at the grading box position, and efficiently pushes empty boxes from the empty box conveyor line into their corresponding grading box positions simultaneously. Meanwhile, each empty box stopping mechanism reliably stops and positions the empty boxes conveyed on the empty box conveyor line at its corresponding empty box buffer position. These empty box buffer positions correspond one-to-one with the grading box positions, ensuring an orderly supply of empty boxes and the continuity of sorting operations.

[0008] To further ensure the continuity and reliability of empty material box supply and avoid production interruptions caused by single material source failure or empty box depletion, each empty box feeding mechanism in the bearing tapered roller sorting system is equipped with a sensor to detect the remaining material box quantity. The central controller is electrically connected to the sensor to monitor the remaining empty material boxes in the empty box feeding mechanism. When it detects that the material boxes in a certain empty box feeding mechanism in the current working state are depleted, it automatically switches to another empty box feeding mechanism to continue supplying material boxes and promptly sends a box replenishment signal to the operator. This effectively ensures the continuity of empty material box supply and improves the stable operation capability of the production line.

[0009] To optimize the filling efficiency and space utilization of the individual compartments within the material box, and to address the issues of disordered filling or wasted space that may result from simple placement, the end effector of the industrial robot is equipped with a pick-and-place mechanism adapted to the shape of the tapered rollers. This mechanism places the tapered rollers into each individual compartment of the material box. Preferably, the industrial robot is configured to place the tapered rollers one by one, in an orderly manner, according to a preset filling sequence, until all individual compartments of the material box are filled or reach a preset full condition. This intelligent filling strategy improves the space utilization and orderly filling of the material box.

[0010] To achieve effective determination of roller grades, as an improvement to the aforementioned tapered roller sorting system for bearings, the measuring unit is a contact-type single-diameter measuring unit that measures the diameter of the tapered rollers. The measuring unit is electrically connected to the central controller and is used to perform contact measurements on the tapered rollers to obtain their single key diameter data. The central controller determines the roller grade based on this single key diameter data and instructs the industrial robot accordingly to perform subsequent sorting and box-setting operations, providing a clear and efficient basis for roller grading.

[0011] To further improve the success rate and placement accuracy of the industrial robot in dynamically grasping the tapered rollers and to solve the grasping problem caused by the dynamic changes in the roller position on the conveyor line, the unloading conveyor line is preferably equipped with an encoder and multiple position sensors. The central controller is electrically connected to the encoder and position sensors, assigns a unique tracking identifier to each tapered roller and monitors its position in real time. Based on the detection results of the measurement unit and the encoder signal of the unloading conveyor line, the central controller tracks the position of the rollers in real time and dynamically commands the corresponding industrial robot to grasp them, ensuring a high success rate and high precision in grasping.

[0012] To ensure the coordination, reliability, and adaptability of the box-changing transfer mechanism to different grading box positions, and to address potential interference or inefficiency issues in the general description of the mechanism, as an improvement to the bearing tapered roller sorting system described in this application, the box-changing transfer mechanism preferably includes a pushing component along the X-axis and a moving component along the Y-axis. The moving component along the Y-axis moves the pushing component along the X-axis to the target grading box position. Subsequently, the pushing component along the X-axis efficiently performs the removal of loaded material boxes and the replenishment of empty material boxes, making the removal of full boxes and the introduction of empty boxes more coordinated, efficient, and structurally more reliable.

[0013] To achieve effective blocking and release control of empty material boxes and solve the problems of inaccurate positioning or untimely release that may be caused by simple blocking, as an improvement to the bearing tapered roller sorting system described in this application, each empty box blocking mechanism is preferably set on one side of the empty box conveyor path and corresponds to each empty box buffer position, and is uniformly scheduled and controlled by a central controller. The empty box blocking mechanism may specifically include a cylinder and a linkage mechanism linked to the cylinder. The linkage mechanism can extend into the empty box conveyor path to reliably block the empty material box, or retract from it to allow the empty material box to pass smoothly, ensuring the positioning and controlled release of the empty box in the buffer position.

[0014] To address the issue of manual handling and stacking of fully loaded material boxes after sorting, which limits the overall automation level and increases labor intensity, an improvement to the aforementioned bearing tapered roller sorting system is to preferably install an automatic stacking unit at the end of the full-box conveyor line. The automatic stacking unit includes a stacking robot used to automatically pick up different grades of material boxes from the full-box conveyor line and neatly stack them on a designated area of ​​the pallet according to preset rules. This technical solution further improves the automation level of the entire production line and reduces labor costs by automating downstream material handling.

[0015] The technical advantages of this application are as follows:

[0016] 1. This application fundamentally solves the problems of disordered stacking, collisions, and surface damage caused by batch collection of rollers in existing technologies by employing an industrial robot to pick up tapered rollers that have been graded by a measuring unit and place them in specific positions within a material box with independent partition units. This refined placement method not only ensures that each roller is effectively protected within its independent partition unit, maintaining its high-quality state after precision machining, but also achieves orderly storage of the rollers, greatly facilitating subsequent automated assembly or manual retrieval processes, and significantly improving product quality control and the efficiency of subsequent processes.

[0017] 2. This application, through the establishment of a box-changing transfer mechanism and an empty box blocking mechanism, and their coordinated operation, achieves the automatic removal of fully loaded material boxes and the automatic introduction, buffering, and positioning of empty material boxes at the sorting station. When a material box is full, the box-changing transfer mechanism automatically pushes it to the full-box conveyor line and simultaneously introduces empty boxes from the empty box conveyor line to the grading box position, while the empty box blocking mechanism ensures that empty boxes are accurately waiting in the designated buffer position. This integrated automatic box-changing and feeding mechanism effectively replaces traditional manual operation, significantly shortens box-changing time, ensures the continuity of sorting operations, and significantly improves the automation turnover efficiency and equipment utilization rate of the entire production line.

[0018] 3. This application uses an industrial robot as the core sorting execution component, with intelligent scheduling by a central controller, which greatly improves the overall automation level, placement accuracy, and operational flexibility of the sorting operation. The high precision and programmability of the industrial robot enable it to accurately and reliably perform complex gripping and placement tasks, ensuring that the rollers fall into the designated compartments of the material box, far exceeding the capabilities of traditional simple rejection mechanisms. This robotized precision operation not only reduces human intervention and reliance on operator skills but also gives the system the flexibility to handle rollers of different specifications and adapt to different sorting strategies, laying a solid foundation for achieving efficient and intelligent automated production. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is an overall schematic diagram of a bearing tapered roller sorting system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0020] Figure 2 This is a side view of a bearing tapered roller sorting system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0021] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the empty box rotation line of a bearing tapered roller sorting system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0022] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a full-box rotation line of a bearing tapered roller sorting system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0023] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the central controller module of a bearing tapered roller sorting system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0024] In the picture:

[0025] 1. Feeding conveyor line; 2. Measuring unit; 3. Unloading conveyor line;

[0026] 4. Robot sorting unit; 41. Industrial robot; 42. Grading box;

[0027] 43. Box changing and transfer mechanism; 431. Pushing component; 432. Moving component;

[0028] 44. Empty box stopping mechanism; 441. Empty box buffer position; 442. Cylinder; 443. Linkage mechanism;

[0029] 5. Material box; 51. Independent partition unit;

[0030] 6. Central controller;

[0031] 7. Full box conveyor line;

[0032] 8. Empty box conveyor line;

[0033] 9. Empty box feeding mechanism;

[0034] 10. Automated stacking unit; 101. Stacking robot; 102. Pallet. Detailed Implementation

[0035] The embodiments of the technical solution of this application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. These embodiments are only used to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of this application and are therefore merely examples, and should not be used to limit the scope of protection of this application.

[0036] Example 1

[0037] like Figures 1-4 The diagram illustrates the overall structure of a tapered roller bearing sorting system. The system mainly comprises a loading conveyor line 1, a measuring unit 2, and a unloading conveyor line 3, connected sequentially. The loading conveyor line 1 receives the tapered rollers to be sorted and transports them to the measuring unit 2. The measuring unit 2 measures the dimensions and other parameters of the passing tapered rollers and sends the measurement data to a central controller 6. The central controller 6 determines the grade of the rollers according to preset judgment criteria. After measurement and grade determination, the rollers continue to be transported by the unloading conveyor line 3 to the subsequent robotic sorting unit 4.

[0038] At least one set of robotic sorting units 4 are arranged along the unloading conveyor line 3. For example... Figures 1-2 As shown, the core component of each robot sorting unit 4 is at least one industrial robot 41. The industrial robot 41 can be a six-axis robot or a SCARA robot, etc., and its end effector is equipped with grippers suitable for grasping tapered rollers. Within the working area of ​​the robot sorting unit 4, at least two grading bin positions 42 are provided for placing material boxes 5 that hold tapered rollers of different grades. Figure 4 As shown, the material box 5 has multiple independent partition units 51 inside, each of which is used to accommodate one or more tapered rollers, ensuring that the rollers do not come into direct contact with each other. Based on the determination result of the measuring unit 2, the central controller 6 instructs the industrial robot 41 to accurately pick up the tapered rollers of the target grade from the unloading conveyor line 3 and place them into the designated independent partition unit 5 in the material box 5 of the specific grade on the corresponding grading box position 42.

[0039] To achieve automated flow of material boxes 5, each robot sorting unit 4 also includes a box-changing transfer mechanism 43 and multiple empty box blocking mechanisms 44. The function of the box-changing transfer mechanism 43 is that when a material box 5 in a certain grading box position 42 is full or reaches a preset quantity, the central controller 6 instructs the box-changing transfer mechanism 43 to operate. Figure 4As shown, the box-changing transfer mechanism 43 can push a full material box 5 from the grading box position 42 to the full box conveyor line 7, which then transports the full box to the subsequent work station or storage area. Simultaneously with pushing the full box, the box-changing transfer mechanism 43 also pushes (or pulls) empty material boxes 5 waiting on the empty box conveyor line 8 into the vacant grading box position 42 to ensure the continuity of the sorting operation.

[0040] The empty box conveyor line 8 supplies empty material boxes 5 to the robot sorting unit 4. To ensure that the empty material boxes 5 arrive at the box-changing position in an orderly and timely manner, multiple empty box blocking mechanisms 44 are installed. For example... Figure 3 As shown, each empty box stopping mechanism 44 is located on one side of the empty box conveyor line 8 and corresponds to an empty box buffer position 441. When an empty material box 5 moves along the empty box conveyor line 8 to the empty box buffer position 441, the corresponding empty box stopping mechanism 44 actuates (e.g., extends a blocking arm) to stop and position it. The empty box buffer position 441 corresponds one-to-one with the grading box position 42, ensuring that the box changing and transfer mechanism 43 can accurately grab or receive empty boxes.

[0041] In a preferred embodiment, to ensure a continuous supply of empty material boxes 5, at least two independent empty box feeding mechanisms 9 can be set at the starting position of the empty box conveyor line 8. The central controller 6 can monitor the remaining amount of empty material boxes in each empty box feeding mechanism 9. When it is detected that the empty material boxes in a currently operating empty box feeding mechanism 9 are about to run out or have already run out, the central controller 6 will automatically switch to another empty box feeding mechanism 9 with sufficient empty material boxes for feeding, and at the same time send a signal to the operator to replenish empty boxes (e.g., through human-machine interface display or audible and visual alarm), thereby avoiding production interruptions caused by untimely empty box supply.

[0042] In another preferred embodiment, in order to make more efficient use of the internal space of the material box 5 and ensure the orderly storage, the industrial robot 41, under the instruction of the central controller 6, can place the tapered rollers one by one and orderly into each independent partition unit 51 of the material box 5 according to a preset filling order (e.g., from left to right, from top to bottom, or a specific jump order) until all independent partition units 51 of the material box 5 are filled or other preset filling conditions are met (such as reaching a specific quantity or weight).

[0043] In a specific measurement scheme, measurement unit 2 can be a contact-type single-diameter measurement unit. This type of measurement unit obtains the dimensional data of a key diameter (e.g., large end diameter, small end diameter, or average diameter) by contacting the surface of the tapered roller with a mechanical probe. The central controller 6 determines the specific grade of the roller based on this single key diameter dimensional data, comparing it with a preset tolerance range or grading standard. For example, it classifies the roller as a high-quality qualified product, a standard qualified product, a reworked product, or a scrap product. Based on this grade information, it directs the industrial robot 41 to perform corresponding sorting and box-setting actions.

[0044] In another preferred embodiment, to improve the accuracy and reliability of the industrial robot 41 in dynamically grasping the rollers, the unloading conveyor line 3 can be equipped with an encoder and multiple position sensors. The encoder is used to acquire the running distance and speed of the unloading conveyor line 3, while the position sensors (such as photoelectric sensors) are used to detect the moment when the roller passes through a specific position. The central controller 6 assigns a unique tracking identifier to each tapered roller passing through the measuring unit 2 and associates its measurement results and grade information with that identifier. Combining the encoder signal and the trigger signal from the position sensor, the central controller 6 can track the position of each measured roller on the unloading conveyor line 3 in real time and dynamically issue grasping commands to the corresponding industrial robot 41, ensuring accurate grasping of the target roller even when the conveyor line is running continuously.

[0045] In another preferred embodiment, the specific structure of the box-changing and transfer mechanism 43 is as follows: Figures 3-4 As shown, it can include an X-axis pushing component 431 and a Y-axis moving component 432. The Y-axis moving component 432 (e.g., a slide mounted on a transverse guide rail) can drive the X-axis pushing component 431 to move between multiple grading box positions 42, aligning it with the target grading box position 42 where a box-changing operation is required. Then, the X-axis pushing component 431 (e.g., a rodless cylinder or electric push rod) performs the actual push-pull action, pushing a full material box 5 from the grading box position 42 onto the full box conveyor line 7, while simultaneously pulling (or pushing) an empty material box 5 from the empty box buffer position 441 on the empty box conveyor line 8 into the empty grading box position 42.

[0046] In another preferred embodiment, the specific structure of the empty box stopping mechanism 44 is as follows: Figure 4As shown, each empty box blocking mechanism 44 can be set on one side of the empty box conveyor line 8 and aligned with the corresponding empty box buffer position 441. It can be uniformly scheduled and controlled by the central controller 6. In a specific implementation, the empty box blocking mechanism 44 includes a cylinder 442 and a linkage mechanism 443 that is linked to the piston rod of the cylinder 442. When it is necessary to block an empty box, the cylinder 442 is activated, driving the linkage mechanism 443 to extend onto the main conveying path of the empty box conveyor line 8 to block the advancing empty box; when it is necessary to release the empty box, the cylinder 442 is activated in the opposite direction, driving the linkage mechanism 443 to retract from the conveying path, allowing the empty box to pass.

[0047] like Figures 1-2 As shown, in another preferred embodiment, an automated stacking unit 10 can also be provided at the end of the full-box conveyor line 7. The automated stacking unit 10 typically includes a stacking robot 101 (which can be a multi-axis robot or a gantry robot) and one or more pallets 102 for placing the stacked boxes. When the boxes 5 filled with different grades of tapered rollers arrive at the automated stacking unit 10 via the full-box conveyor line 7, the stacking robot 101 automatically picks them up and stacks them neatly on the designated area of ​​the pallet 102 according to preset rules (e.g., by grade, by batch), thereby achieving full automation from sorting and boxing to final palletizing.

[0048] The working process of this utility model is roughly as follows: Conical rollers enter the measuring unit 2 via the feeding conveyor line 1 for parameter measurement and grade determination. Rollers with determined grades are then conveyed by the unloading conveyor line 3. The central controller 6, based on the roller grade and real-time position, instructs the industrial robot 41 in the corresponding robot sorting unit 4 to grasp the rollers and place them into the independent partition unit 51 within the corresponding grade material box 5. When a material box 5 is full, the box-changing mechanism 43 automatically exchanges it with an empty box from the empty box conveyor line 8. The supply of empty boxes is ensured by the empty box blocking mechanism 44 and the empty box feeding mechanism 9 working together. Fully loaded material boxes 5 are output via the full box conveyor line 7 and can optionally be automatically stacked by the automatic stacking unit 10.

[0049] Example 2

[0050] like Figure 5 This embodiment discloses a control method for a central controller 6 of a bearing tapered roller sorting system. The core of this method lies in the closed-loop control of the central controller 6 over the entire process of rollers from feeding, measuring, grading, sorting to intelligent management and replacement of the material box.

[0051] Step 1: When the system starts, the central controller 6 (such as a PLC or industrial computer) first initializes, including hardware self-test and parameter loading. The hardware self-test checks the connection and function of key components such as the central controller (6) and the feeding conveyor line (1), the measuring unit 2, the unloading conveyor line 3, the robot sorting unit 4 (including the industrial robot 41), the material box 5 status sensor, the box changing mechanism 43, the empty box blocking mechanism 44, the empty box feeding mechanism 9 on the empty box conveyor line 8, and the automatic stacking unit 10. The parameter loading retrieves process parameters such as the tapered roller specifications, tolerance range, material box 5 definition (including the usage strategy of its internal independent partition unit 51), box changing threshold, industrial robot 41 position, and conveyor line speed. At the same time, the human-machine interface (HMI) initializes, starts the operation interface, and displays the system status. After the self-test is successful, the system enters standby mode, waiting for the operator to issue a start command.

[0052] Step Two: Tapered Roller Information Acquisition and Grade Determination Stage. Tapered rollers are fed to measuring unit 2 via conveyor line 1 for contact-type single-diameter measurement to obtain the actual diameter parameters. This measurement data is transmitted in real-time to the input interface module of central controller 6 via a high-speed data interface. The data processing and grade determination module inside central controller 6 receives the raw measurement data, performs data cleaning, conversion, and feature calculation, and then compares the calculated feature values ​​with the preset tolerance ranges for each grade of the tapered roller model in the storage module to determine the quality grade of the tapered roller, such as: high-quality qualified product, standard qualified product, reworked product, and scrap. The determination result, including the unique ID of the tapered roller, the measured value, and the final grade, is recorded in the database of central controller 6 and sent to the HMI for real-time display via the communication module.

[0053] Step 3: The tapered roller, after measurement, continues to move downstream on the unloading conveyor line 3. Encoders or a series of photoelectric sensors installed on it feed back the real-time position information of the tapered roller to the tapered roller tracking and positioning module of the central controller 6. This module, combined with the current operating speed of the unloading conveyor line 3, calculates and continuously updates the dynamic position of the tapered roller in the conveyor line coordinate system. When the central controller 6 predicts that the tapered roller is about to reach the preset gripping window area of ​​the industrial robot 41 in the robot sorting unit 4, its robot control module will query and determine the specific position of the target material box 5 to be placed in the grading box position 42 based on the judgment level of the tapered roller, and send a sorting operation instruction to the controller of the industrial robot 41. This instruction includes at least the three-dimensional coordinates of the tapered roller to be gripped, the tapered roller's grade information, and the three-dimensional placement coordinates of the target material box 5 in the grading box position 42. After receiving the instruction, the industrial robot 41's controller plans the optimal motion path, driving the robotic arm to carry the end effector to quickly and accurately pick up the tapered roller from the moving unloading conveyor line 3 and gently place it into the designated independent partition unit 51 of the corresponding grade material box 5 on the grading box position 42. After the industrial robot 41 completes the placement, it sends a work completion signal to the central controller 6. The central controller 6 then updates the processing status of the tapered roller and accumulates the number of tapered rollers in the corresponding grade material box 5.

[0054] Step 4: The central controller 6's material box management and box-changing logic module monitors the loading status of all material boxes 5 on the grading box positions 42 in real time. This can be achieved through counting monitoring or sensor monitoring. When any material box 5 reaches the preset full box condition, the central controller 6 automatically starts the box-changing procedure. This process may include temporarily pausing the sorting of the conical rollers of that grade and displaying the currently changing box information to the operator via HMI. Subsequently, the central controller 6 instructs the box-changing transfer mechanism 43, and the Y-axis moving component 432 drives the X-axis pushing component 431 to the corresponding position of the grading box position 42. Then, the X-axis pushing component 431 pushes the full material box 5 from the grading box position 42 to the full box conveyor line 7, while simultaneously pushing the empty material box 5 from the empty box buffer position 441 on the empty box conveyor line 8 into the empty grading box position 42. The central controller 6 instructs the empty box feeding mechanism 9 to transport an empty material box 5 of the corresponding specification from the empty box conveyor line 8 to the empty box buffer position 441 of the empty box blocking mechanism 44. The empty box stopping mechanism 44, through its cylinder 442 driving the linkage mechanism 443, ensures that the empty material (5) stops at the designated position, waiting for the box changing transfer mechanism 43 to push it in next. Each mechanism and sensor (such as limit switches and position sensors) feeds back the completion signal of each step to the central controller 6. After the central controller 6 confirms that the new empty material box 5 has been accurately positioned, it updates the status of the box in the system and displays the box changing completion through the HMI, and then resumes the normal sorting operation of the tapered rollers of that grade.

[0055] Step 5: The full boxes 5 output from the full box conveyor line 7 are transported to the automated stacking unit 10. The central controller 6 instructs the stacking robot 101 in the automated stacking unit 10 to pick up these full boxes 5 from the end of the full box conveyor line 7 and stack them onto the pallet 102 according to a pre-set pattern. When a pallet 102 is full, the stacking robot 101 sends a completion signal to the central controller 6, which can trigger the subsequent automated transfer process of the pallet 102 or prompt the operator for manual handling.

[0056] Throughout the operation, the central controller 6 continuously performs multiple functions through the human-machine interface and system monitoring module. This includes dynamically displaying the system's operating status, the working conditions of each piece of equipment (e.g., feeding conveyor line 1, measuring unit 2, unloading conveyor line 3, industrial robot 41, box changing mechanism 43, empty box blocking mechanism 44, full box conveyor line 7, empty box conveyor line 8, empty box feeding mechanism 9, stacking robot 101) on the HMI, current tapered roller information, loading progress of each grade of material box 5, and production statistics. The system also allows authorized operators to modify some process parameters through the HMI, such as tapered roller model switching, tolerance fine-tuning, and box changing threshold adjustment. Furthermore, the central controller 6 stores key production data, equipment operation logs, and alarm information in its internal storage module or uploads them to the upper-level MES / SCADA system for querying and traceability. When any abnormality is detected (such as measurement data errors, robot grasping failure, sensor malfunction, box changing timeout, motor overload, etc.), the central controller 6 immediately triggers the alarm mechanism (including audible and visual alarms and HMI information prompts), records the fault details, and executes corresponding operations according to the preset fault handling logic, such as automatic retry, safe shutdown, or prompting for manual intervention. Through the above integration and control, this system can efficiently, accurately, and intelligently manage the entire tapered roller automated sorting, box changing, and stacking process, achieving a high degree of automation and unmanned operation, significantly improving production efficiency, sorting quality, and management level, while reducing labor costs and the risk of human error.

[0057] Finally, it should be noted that, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application pertains; the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the application; the terms “comprising” and “having”, and any variations thereof, in the specification, claims, and foregoing description of the drawings are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion.

[0058] In the description of the embodiments of this application, technical terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish different objects and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number, specific order, or primary and secondary relationship of the indicated technical features. In the description of the embodiments of this application, "multiple" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly defined.

[0059] In this document, the term "embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of this phrase in various places throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a mutually exclusive, independent, or alternative embodiment. It will be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0060] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit them. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features therein. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.

Claims

1. A bearing tapered roller sorting system, comprising an loading conveyor line (1) for receiving tapered rollers, a measuring unit (2) for measuring the tapered rollers and assisting in determining their grade, and an unloading conveyor line (3) for carrying and conveying the tapered rollers to be inspected, characterized in that: At least one set of robot sorting units (4) are arranged along the unloading conveyor line (3). The robot sorting unit (4) includes at least one industrial robot (41) and at least two grading box positions (42) for placing material boxes (5) of different grades of conical rollers. The material box (5) is provided with an independent partition unit (51). The industrial robot (41) is controlled by the central controller (6) to grab the conical rollers of the target grade from the unloading conveyor line (3) and place them into the material box (5) in the corresponding grading box position (42). Each group of robot sorting units (4) further includes a box changing and transfer mechanism (43) and multiple empty box blocking mechanisms (44). The box changing and transfer mechanism (43) is configured to push the full box to the full box conveyor line (7) and push the empty box on the empty box conveyor line (8) into the corresponding grading box position (42) when the material box (5) on the grading box position (42) is full. Each empty box blocking mechanism (44) is used to stop and position the empty material box (5) conveyed on the empty box conveyor line (8) at the corresponding empty box buffer position (441). The empty box buffer position (441) is set in a one-to-one correspondence with the grading box position (42).

2. The bearing tapered roller sorting system according to claim 1, characterized in that: At least two independent empty box feeding mechanisms (9) are set at the starting position of the empty box conveyor line (8), which can alternately release empty material boxes (5) to the empty box conveyor line (8) under the control of the central controller (6).

3. The bearing tapered roller sorting system according to claim 2, characterized in that, Each of the empty box feeding mechanisms (9) is equipped with a sensor to detect the remaining amount of the material box (5), and the central controller (6) is electrically connected to the sensor.

4. The bearing tapered roller sorting system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The end effector of the industrial robot (41) is equipped with a pick-and-place mechanism adapted to the shape of the tapered roller, for placing the tapered roller into each of the individual partition units (51) of the material box (5).

5. The bearing tapered roller sorting system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The measuring unit (2) is a contact-type single-diameter measuring unit for measuring the diameter of a tapered roller, and the measuring unit (2) is electrically connected to the central controller (6).

6. The bearing tapered roller sorting system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The feeding conveyor line (3) is equipped with an encoder and multiple position sensors, and the central controller (6) is electrically connected to the encoder and position sensors.

7. The bearing tapered roller sorting system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The box changing and transfer mechanism (43) includes an X-axis pushing component (431) and a Y-axis moving component (432). The Y-axis moving component (432) is used to move the X-axis pushing component (431) to the target grading box position (42). The X-axis pushing component (431) is used to perform the removal of the loaded material box (5) and the replenishment of the empty material box.

8. The bearing tapered roller sorting system according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each of the empty box blocking mechanisms (44) is located on one side of the path of the empty box conveyor line (8) and corresponds to each of the empty box buffer positions (441). It is uniformly scheduled and controlled by the central controller (6). The empty box blocking mechanism (44) includes a cylinder (442) and a linkage mechanism (443) linked with the cylinder (442). The linkage mechanism (443) extends into the empty material box conveyor path to block the empty material box, or retracts from it to allow the empty material box to pass.

9. The bearing tapered roller sorting system according to claim 1, characterized in that: An automatic stacking unit (10) is set at the end of the full box conveyor line (7). The automatic stacking unit (10) includes a stacking robot (101) for grabbing and stacking different grade material boxes (5) in a full state onto a designated area of ​​the pallet (102).

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