An automated spray repair apparatus

Abstract

This utility model relates to the field of spray coating repair technology and discloses an automated spray coating repair device, including a machine tool body; a conveyor belt for conveying sheet metal is provided on the machine tool body; a detection mechanism is provided above the conveyor belt, the detection mechanism including a light shield to form a darkroom environment, and a camera and a supplementary light inside the light shield; and a repair mechanism is provided above the conveyor belt, the repair mechanism including a robotic arm and a putty spray head mounted on the robotic arm. In this utility model, by setting up a light shield and a built-in supplementary light, a darkroom acquisition environment with constant illumination is constructed, effectively avoiding interference from external light. The system uses a high-resolution camera to capture images of the sheet metal in real time and uses image processing algorithms to automatically identify the type of defects, accurately calculate their coordinates and dimensions, providing an accurate data foundation for subsequent automated repair and significantly improving the reliability of detection.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of spray coating repair technology, and in particular to an automated spray coating repair device. Background Technology

[0002] In the production of engineered wood products such as wood panels, furniture, and wood flooring, various defects such as knots, cracks, holes, and scratches inevitably appear on the surface due to the characteristics of raw materials or processing techniques. These defects not only affect the appearance and grade of the product but may also reduce its physical properties and service life. Therefore, detecting defects on the surface of the panels and filling and repairing them with materials such as putty is a key process to ensure product quality and increase product added value. With the continuous improvement of industrial automation, developing automated repair equipment that can replace manual labor has become an inevitable trend in the industry.

[0003] In current production practices, the repair process for board defects mainly relies on manual operation. The typical process is as follows: workers on the production line first visually inspect each board, identifying the location, type, and approximate size of defects based on their experience; then, using tools such as scrapers and putty guns, they manually apply and press putty or other filler materials onto the defects; finally, they smooth the surface and perform subsequent finishing. The entire process's pace and repair quality depend entirely on the operator's skill level, sense of responsibility, and current physical condition (such as fatigue). Even some so-called semi-automated equipment essentially only replaces manual application with robotic arms, while the crucial defect identification and location steps still require manual intervention for marking or inputting coordinates, thus failing to achieve true automation.

[0004] However, existing defect detection methods, primarily based on manual visual inspection, suffer from fundamental and insurmountable flaws, which have become the core bottleneck restricting the full automation of the repair process. First, manual inspection has extremely low reliability. Workers' visual judgment is highly subjective and unstable, easily affected by fatigue, emotions, and other factors, leading to high rates of missed and false detections. Second, the detection accuracy is severely insufficient. For crucial information such as the specific location and geometric dimensions (length, width, area) of defects, humans can only provide a vague judgment, failing to provide precise, quantitative data for subsequent automated repair. More importantly, the effectiveness of manual visual inspection is highly susceptible to changes in ambient lighting in the workshop. The intensity and angle of light, as well as reflections and shadows on the board surface, severely interfere with the human eye's ability to identify subtle or low-contrast defects, resulting in extremely poor consistency and reliability of the inspection results. This unreliable inspection method cannot form the front-end data foundation required for an automated closed loop, making the automation and precision of subsequent repair processes impossible. Utility Model Content

[0005] To overcome the above shortcomings, this utility model provides an automated spraying and repair equipment, which aims to improve the problem that workers' visual judgment is highly subjective and unstable, and is easily affected by factors such as fatigue and emotions, resulting in a high rate of missed detection and false detection.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model adopts the following technical solution: an automated spraying repair device, comprising:

[0007] Machine tool body; the machine tool body is equipped with a conveyor belt for conveying sheet metal;

[0008] The detection mechanism is located above the conveyor belt. The detection mechanism includes a light shield that forms a darkroom environment, and a camera and a supplementary light located inside the light shield.

[0009] A repair mechanism disposed above the conveyor belt, the repair mechanism comprising a robotic arm and a putty spray head mounted on the robotic arm;

[0010] And a controller electrically connected to the detection and repair mechanisms;

[0011] The controller is used to control the robotic arm to move the putty spray head to the defect location for spraying repair based on the defect information of the board material collected by the camera.

[0012] As a further description of the above technical solution:

[0013] The conveyor belt is driven by a drive motor.

[0014] As a further description of the above technical solution:

[0015] The robotic arm is driven by at least one servo motor to achieve high-precision positioning.

[0016] As a further description of the above technical solution:

[0017] The robotic arm has a gantry-type structure.

[0018] As a further description of the above technical solution:

[0019] The repair mechanism also includes a scraper, which is mounted on the robotic arm and is used to smooth the sprayed putty.

[0020] As a further description of the above technical solution:

[0021] The opening and closing status of the putty spray head and the spray flow rate are precisely controlled by the controller.

[0022] As a further description of the above technical solution:

[0023] The testing mechanism and the repair mechanism are arranged sequentially along the conveyor belt's transport direction.

[0024] As a further description of the above technical solution:

[0025] The controller has a built-in image processing algorithm for analyzing the images captured by the camera to identify the type, coordinates, and size information of defects.

[0026] This utility model has the following beneficial effects:

[0027] 1. In this invention, a darkroom environment with constant illumination is first constructed by setting up a light shield and a built-in supplementary light, effectively avoiding interference from external light. The system uses a high-resolution camera to capture images of the board material in real time, and uses image processing algorithms to automatically identify the type of defects and accurately calculate their coordinates and dimensions, providing an accurate data foundation for subsequent automated repair and significantly improving the reliability of the detection.

[0028] 2. In this utility model, a gantry-type three-axis servo motion mechanism is adopted, which can quickly and accurately position the spraying device to the defect location. Its putty spraying device, through the coordinated control of electromagnets and air valves, can finely adjust the putty flow rate and opening / closing state, thereby performing adaptive and precise repair based on the detected defect information, greatly improving repair quality, material utilization, and overall work efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0029] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of an automated spraying and repair device proposed in this utility model;

[0030] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the light shield of an automated spraying and repair equipment proposed in this utility model;

[0031] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the scraper structure of an automated spraying and repair equipment proposed in this utility model;

[0032] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the putty spray head structure of an automated spraying and repair equipment proposed in this utility model.

[0033] Legend:

[0034] 1. Camera; 2. Sunshade; 3. Conveyor belt; 4. Machine tool body; 5. Drive motor; 6. Servo motor; 7. Robotic arm; 8. Putty spray head; 9. Scraper; 10. Fill light. Detailed Implementation

[0035] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of the present utility model.

[0036] Reference Figures 1-3 One embodiment of this utility model is an automated spraying repair device, comprising:

[0037] The machine tool body 4 serves as the supporting foundation for the entire equipment, providing a stable and rigid mounting platform for all components such as the conveyor belt, inspection mechanism, and repair mechanism. A conveyor belt 3 is installed on the machine tool body 4 to transport sheet metal. Its function is to automate and continuously transport the sheet metal within the equipment, allowing it to sequentially pass through the inspection area and repair area. An inspection mechanism positioned above the conveyor belt 3 performs non-contact scanning of the sheet metal surface on the conveyor belt to automatically acquire defect information. The inspection mechanism includes a light shield 2 that creates a darkroom environment, and a camera 1 and a supplementary light 10 located inside the light shield 2. Its function is... The light shield 2 isolates the interference of external ambient light, and the supplementary light 10 provides uniform and constant illumination, thereby creating the best image acquisition conditions for the camera 1 and ensuring the stability and accuracy of the detection. The repair mechanism set above the conveyor belt 3 is used to automatically perform physical repair work based on the defect data provided by the detection mechanism. The repair mechanism includes a robotic arm 7 and a putty spray head 8 mounted on the robotic arm 7. Its function is to move the putty spray head 8 precisely to any position on the surface of the board through the robotic arm 7 and perform the spraying action, as well as a controller electrically connected to the detection mechanism and the repair mechanism.Its function is to act as the central nervous system of the entire equipment, responsible for receiving data, processing information, issuing control commands, and coordinating the collaborative work of various parts. The controller is used to control the robotic arm 7 to move the putty spray head 8 to the defect location for spraying repair based on the defect information of the board collected by the camera 1. This function realizes closed-loop automation from defect detection to repair execution without human intervention. The conveyor belt 3 is driven by a drive motor 5, which provides power for the operation of the conveyor belt 3. Its speed can be adjusted by the controller to match the production rhythm. The robotic arm 7 is driven by at least one servo motor 6 to achieve high-precision positioning. Its function is to use the fast response and closed-loop control characteristics of the servo motor 6 to ensure that the robotic arm 7 can reach the target coordinate point quickly, smoothly and with extremely high repeatability. The robotic arm 7 has a gantry structure, which provides a large-range Cartesian coordinate motion system covering the entire width of the board. The structure is stable and suitable for planar operations. The repair mechanism also includes a scraper 9, which is used for auxiliary processing after the spraying operation is completed. The scraper 9 is installed on the robotic arm 7. The upper part is used to smooth the putty after spraying. Its function is that after spraying, the robotic arm 7 can immediately switch or use the scraper 9 to smooth the filled putty, ensuring that the repair area is flush with the board surface, thus improving the repair quality. The opening and closing status and spraying flow rate of the putty spraying head 8 are precisely controlled by the controller. Its function is to adaptively adjust the spraying amount and spraying time based on the defect size and depth information analyzed by the controller, thereby achieving on-demand spraying, avoiding material waste and ensuring repair effect. The detection mechanism and the repair mechanism are arranged sequentially along the conveyor belt 3. This assembly line layout allows the board to be detected before entering the repair area, realizing continuous operation of the detection and repair process and improving overall efficiency. The controller has a built-in image processing algorithm to analyze the images captured by the camera 1 to identify the type, coordinates and size information of defects. Its function is to automatically extract the defect features in the image through the algorithm and convert them into precise data (such as X / Y coordinates, length, width, etc.) that the machine can understand and execute. This is the data foundation for achieving automated and precise repair.

[0038] Working Principle: When using this automated spraying and repair equipment, the conveyor belt 3, driven by the drive motor 5, transports the board to the bottom of the light shield 2. Under the protection of the light shield 2, the board is illuminated by the supplementary light 10, and images are captured by the camera 1 above the light shield 2. After the images are captured, the board is again transported by the conveyor belt 3 to the bottom of the robotic arm 7. At the bottom of the robotic arm 7, based on the board defects shown in the detected and captured images, the servo motor 6 is used to drive the movement of the robotic arm 7, which in turn drives the putty spray head 8. The putty spray head 8 precisely sprays putty powder onto the defect points and cracks identified by the camera 1, and then the scraper 9 is used to smooth the sprayed putty powder.

[0039] Finally, it should be noted that the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present utility model and is not intended to limit the present utility model. Although the present utility model has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent substitutions for some of the technical features. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present utility model should be included within the protection scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. An automated spraying repair device, characterized in that, include: Machine tool body (4); The machine tool body (4) is provided with a conveyor belt (3) for conveying the plate; The detection mechanism is set above the conveyor belt (3). The detection mechanism includes a light shield (2) that forms a dark room environment, and a camera (1) and a supplementary light (10) set inside the light shield (2). A repair mechanism is provided above the conveyor belt (3), the repair mechanism including a robotic arm (7) and a putty spray head (8) mounted on the robotic arm (7). And a controller electrically connected to the detection and repair mechanisms; The controller is used to control the robotic arm (7) to move the putty spray head (8) to the defect location for spraying repair based on the board defect information collected by the camera (1).

2. The automated spraying and repair equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conveyor belt (3) is driven by a drive motor (5).

3. The automated spraying and repair equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The robotic arm (7) is driven by at least one servo motor (6) to achieve high-precision positioning.

4. The automated spraying and repair equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that: The robotic arm (7) is a gantry structure.

5. The automated spraying and repair equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The repair mechanism also includes a scraper (9), which is mounted on the robotic arm (7) and is used to smooth the sprayed putty.

6. The automated spraying and repair equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The opening and closing state of the putty spray head (8) and the spraying flow rate are precisely controlled by the controller.

7. The automated spraying and repair equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The testing mechanism and the repair mechanism are arranged sequentially along the conveyor belt (3) in the direction of transport.

8. The automated spraying and repair equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The controller has a built-in image processing algorithm for analyzing the images captured by the camera (1) to identify the type, coordinates and size information of defects.

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