Online weighing equipment for lead-acid battery plates

Abstract

This invention provides an online weighing device for lead-acid battery plates, including a weighing unit and a conveying unit. The conveying unit is configured to retrieve plates from the conveyor line and place them into the weighing unit. The weighing unit includes a weighing module, a cylinder, and a carrier plate. The top of the weighing module is equipped with a weighing platform, and the top of the weighing platform has several spaced-apart raised strips, with slots formed between adjacent raised strips. The carrier plate is located above the weighing platform and is driven by the cylinder to move towards or away from the weighing platform. The carrier plate has several forks. The conveying unit places the plates onto the forks, which then move downwards into the corresponding slots, causing the plates to fall onto the raised strips of the weighing platform. The added weighing platform reduces the contact area between its bearing surface and the plates, making it less likely for the plates to adhere to the platform. This prevents damage when the robotic arm picks up the plates, thus avoiding broken plates from flowing into the conveyor line.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of intelligent equipment technology for lead-acid batteries, and in particular to online weighing equipment for lead-acid battery plates. Background Technology

[0002] A crucial step in the production of lead-acid battery plates is weighing. Samples are randomly selected from a conveyor plate for weighing. Qualified plates are then fed into the production line, while defective plates are discarded. A utility model patent with authorization number CN217687449U discloses a plate weighing machine that can automate sampling inspection, replacing manual labor. However, the plates on the conveyor line contain moisture and are warm, making them prone to adhering to the weighing pan surface when placed in the weighing machine. Furthermore, the conveyor speed exceeds 300 pcs / min, necessitating a corresponding increase in sampling speed. Excessive robotic arm speed can damage the plates when retrieving them from the suction cups. Since weighing and judgment have already been completed, damage occurring during this process is not recognized as abnormal, and these damaged plates flow back into the conveyor line, leading to inconsistent product quality. Utility Model Content

[0003] In view of this, the present invention provides an online weighing device for lead-acid battery plates, which at least partially solves the problems in the prior art.

[0004] This utility model provides an online weighing device for lead-acid battery plates, including a weighing unit and a conveying unit. The conveying unit is configured to retrieve plates from a conveyor line and place them into the weighing unit, and to retrieve plates from the weighing unit and place them into the conveyor line. The weighing unit is configured to weigh the plates. The weighing unit includes a weighing module, a cylinder, and a carrier plate. The top of the weighing module is provided with a weighing platform, and the top of the weighing platform is provided with several spaced protrusions, with slots formed between adjacent protrusions. The carrier plate is located above the weighing platform and is driven by the cylinder to move towards or away from the weighing platform. The carrier plate has several forks, and the conveying unit places the plates onto the forks, which then move downwards into the corresponding slots, causing the plates to fall onto the protrusions of the weighing platform.

[0005] The weighing unit features a liftable carrier plate. When the carrier plate is raised, it awaits material reception. A robotic arm first places the electrode plate onto the carrier plate, and then a suction cup releases the electrode plate from the vacuum. During this process, the weighing module does not generate a reading, ensuring clean electrode plate sampling data. The shorter lifting stroke of the robotic arm allows for faster operation, adapting to the conveyor line speed and increasing sampling capacity. The reduced contact area between the weighing platform's bearing surface and the electrode plate prevents adhesion between the electrode plate and the platform, ensuring the robotic arm does not damage the electrode plate during pickup and avoiding broken electrode plates flowing into the conveyor line.

[0006] In a preferred embodiment, the handling unit includes a robotic arm and an adsorption assembly. The robotic arm's actuator is fitted with a fixture base plate, and two sets of adsorption assemblies are mounted on the fixture base plate. One set of adsorption assemblies is configured to pick up electrode plates from the conveyor line, and the other set is configured to pick up electrode plates from the carrier plate. After one set of adsorption assemblies picks up an electrode plate from the conveyor line, a blank area appears in the conveyor line. The other set of adsorption assemblies then places the weighed and deemed qualified electrode plates into the blank area. Preferably, the adsorption assembly includes a suction cup base plate, a suction cup, and an annular plate. The suction cup base plate is connected to the fixture base plate, the suction cup is fixedly connected to the suction cup base plate, and the annular plate is fitted over the suction cup. Preferably, the suction cup is a Bernoulli suction cup. Preferably, the adsorption assembly has two suction cups, each of which is fitted with an annular plate. A connecting plate is provided between the two annular plates, and one side of the connecting plate is bent upward to form an ear plate that fits against the side of the suction cup base plate. The ear plate has a U-shaped groove, through which bolts are passed to fix the annular plate to the suction cup base plate. The annular plate can increase the contact area during adsorption, thus requiring less suction force to firmly hold the electrode plate, preventing the electrode plate from falling off during transportation, and solving the technical problem of excessive suction force damaging the electrode plate.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment, the transport unit further includes a vision module disposed above the conveyor line; the vision module includes a camera for acquiring images of the electrode plates on the conveyor line, and a laser sensor for detecting whether the electrode plates have moved to the point of being photographed; the vision module calculates the coordinate values ​​of the electrode plates based on the images acquired by the camera.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, the device further includes a conveying unit connected to the conveyor line; the conveying unit includes two sets of chain lines that gradually move away from each other; the device includes two sets of weighing units located on the same side of the conveying unit, and the transport unit moves the electrode plates on the chain lines to the corresponding weighing units. One set of adsorption components places the electrode plates into one of the weighing units, while the other set of adsorption components removes the electrode plates from the other weighing unit. This saves time for the transport unit and improves the overall operating speed of the device. Attached Figure Description

[0009] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and beneficial effects of this utility model clearer, the following drawings are provided for illustration: Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an online weighing device for lead-acid battery plates. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of an online weighing device for lead-acid battery plates (without the outer casing). Figure 3 This is a structural diagram of the handling assembly (excluding the robotic arm); Figure 4 This is a structural schematic diagram of the load-bearing unit; Figure 5 This is a structural schematic diagram of another state of the load-bearing unit; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the ring plate structure. Detailed Implementation

[0010] To further illustrate the technical means and effects adopted by this utility model in order to achieve the intended utility model purpose, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments.

[0011] Figure 1 illustrates an online weighing device for lead-acid battery plates, comprising a machine base 100 and a conveying unit 200 located beside the machine base. The machine base is equipped with a handling unit 300 and a weighing unit 400, with a waste bin 500 for collecting defective plates located beside the weighing unit. The conveying unit's starting end is connected to a roller cutting unit 600 for cutting the plates, and its ending end is connected to a conveyor line. The conveying unit includes two sets of chain lines 210 that gradually move away from each other. Each time the roller cutting unit cuts two plates, they enter these two sets of chain lines and are gradually separated by them. Two weighing units are located on the machine base. The handling unit moves the plates from the chain lines to the corresponding weighing units, which weigh the plates. If the plate is a qualified product, the handling unit places it back into the original chain line; if the plate is a defective product, the handling unit places it into the waste bin.

[0012] like Figure 2 As shown, the handling unit 300 includes a robotic arm 310 and a vision module 320. The robotic arm's actuator is equipped with a fixture base plate 340, on which two sets of adsorption components 330 are mounted. One set of adsorption components is configured to pick up an electrode plate from the conveying unit and place it into the weighing unit, while the other set is configured to pick up an electrode plate from the weighing unit and place it into the conveying unit. The vision module includes a camera 321 and a laser sensor 322. The laser sensor detects an electrode plate entering the imaging area, the camera is activated to acquire an image of the electrode plate, and the vision module calculates the coordinates of the electrode plate based on the image acquired by the camera. When the robotic arm's actuator moves above the conveying unit, the robotic arm picks up one of the electrode plates. After the electrode plate in the chain is removed, a blank area appears. When this blank area flows to the bottom of another adsorption module, the handling unit places the weighed electrode plate into the blank area.

[0013] In some implementations, the weighing unit and the chain line have a one-to-one correspondence, that is, the weighing unit only weighs the electrode plates in this conveyor line, and the weighed electrode plates are only placed in this chain line, which can improve the data quality of the entire production line.

[0014] See Figure 3 The adsorption assembly includes a suction cup base plate 331, two suction cups 332, and an annular plate 333. The suction cups are preferably Bernoulli suction cups. The suction cup base plate is connected to the fixture base plate, and the suction cups are fixedly connected to the suction cup base plate. Each suction cup is fitted with an annular plate. Figure 6 As shown, a connecting plate 334 is provided between the two annular plates. One side of the connecting plate is bent upward to form an ear plate 335 that fits against the side of the suction cup base plate. A U-shaped groove 336 is provided in the ear plate, and bolts are passed through the U-shaped groove to fix the annular plate to the suction cup base plate. The annular plate can increase the contact area during adsorption, so that the electrode plate can be firmly held with a smaller suction force, preventing the electrode plate from falling off during transportation and solving the technical problem of damaging the electrode plate due to excessive suction force.

[0015] like Figure 4 and 5 As shown, the weighing unit 400 includes a weighing module 410, a cylinder 420, and a carrier plate 430. A weighing platform 440 is located on top of the weighing module, and several spaced-apart raised strips 441 are arranged on the top of the weighing platform, forming slots between adjacent raised strips. The carrier plate is positioned above the weighing platform and is driven by the cylinder to move towards or away from the weighing platform. The carrier plate 430 has several forks 431. The transport unit places the electrode plate onto the forks, which then descend into the corresponding slots, causing the electrode plate A to fall onto the raised strips of the weighing platform. The reduced contact area between the bearing surface formed by the raised strips and the electrode plate makes it less likely for the electrode plate to adhere to the weighing platform, preventing damage when the robotic arm picks up the electrode plate and avoiding broken electrode plates flowing into the conveyor line. The weighing unit includes a liftable carrier plate. When the carrier plate is raised to await material reception, the robotic arm can first place the electrode plate on the carrier plate, and then use a suction cup to release the electrode plate from the vacuum. After the weighing unit completes the weighing, the carrier plate lifts the electrode plate upwards, awaiting the arrival of the transport unit for removal. During the release and removal of the electrode plate, the weighing module does not generate a reading, ensuring clean sampling data. Simultaneously, the robot's lifting stroke is shortened, allowing for faster operation and better adaptation to the conveyor line speed, thus increasing the sampling throughput.

[0016] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present utility model and are not intended to limit the present utility model in any way. Although the present utility model has been disclosed above with reference to preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present utility model. Any person skilled in the art can make some modifications or alterations to the above-disclosed technical content to create equivalent embodiments without departing from the scope of the present utility model. Any simple modifications, equivalent changes and alterations made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present utility model without departing from the scope of the present utility model shall still fall within the scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. An online weighing device for lead-acid battery plates, characterized in that, The device includes a weighing unit and a conveying unit. The conveying unit is configured to retrieve electrode plates from a conveyor line and place them into the weighing unit, and to retrieve electrode plates from the weighing unit and place them into the conveyor line. The weighing unit is configured to weigh the electrode plates. The weighing unit includes a weighing module, a cylinder, and a carrier plate. The weighing module has a weighing platform on its top, and the top of the weighing platform has several spaced-apart raised strips forming slots between adjacent raised strips. The carrier plate is positioned above the weighing platform and is driven by the cylinder to move towards or away from the weighing platform. The carrier plate has several forks. The conveying unit places the electrode plates onto the forks, and the forks move downward into the corresponding slots, causing the electrode plates to fall onto the raised strips of the weighing platform.

2. The lead-acid battery plate on-line weighing apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The handling unit includes a robotic arm and an adsorption assembly. The actuator end of the robotic arm is equipped with a fixture base plate, and two sets of the adsorption assemblies are installed on the fixture base plate. One set of adsorption assemblies is configured to pick up the electrode plate from the conveyor line, and the other set of adsorption assemblies is configured to pick up the electrode plate from the carrier plate.

3. The lead-acid battery plate on-line weighing apparatus of claim 2 wherein, The adsorption assembly includes a suction cup base plate, a suction cup, and an annular plate. The suction cup base plate is connected to the fixture base plate, the suction cup is fixedly connected to the suction cup base plate, and the annular plate is fitted onto the outside of the suction cup.

4. The online weighing device for lead-acid battery plates according to claim 3, characterized in that, The adsorption assembly has two suction cups, each of which is fitted with an annular plate. A connecting plate is provided between the two annular plates. One side of the connecting plate is bent upward to form an ear plate that fits against the side of the suction cup base plate. A U-shaped groove is provided in the ear plate, and the annular plate is fixedly connected to the suction cup base plate by bolts passing through the U-shaped groove.

5. The lead-acid battery plate on-line weighing apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The transport unit also includes a vision module disposed above the conveyor line; the vision module includes a camera for acquiring images of the electrode plates on the conveyor line, and a laser sensor for detecting whether the electrode plates have moved to the point of being photographed. The vision module calculates the coordinates of the electrode plates based on the images obtained by the camera.

6. The lead-acid battery plate on-line weighing apparatus of claim 1 wherein, It also includes a conveying unit that connects to the conveyor line; the conveying unit includes two sets of chain lines that gradually move away from each other; the equipment includes two sets of weighing units located on the same side of the conveying unit, and the handling unit moves the electrode plates on the chain line to the corresponding weighing unit.

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