Heat shrink tubing mounting system

Abstract

Mounting system, characterized in that it has: a feeding mechanism (100) designed to feed a shrink tube (12); a cutting mechanism (200) which is configured to cut a section of shrink tubing of a predetermined length from the shrink tubing (12) which is fed by the feeding mechanism (100); a clamping mechanism (300) designed to clamp the heat shrink tubing (12) during cutting of the heat shrink tubing (12) by the cutting mechanism (200); a robot (500) configured to grasp the section of heat shrink tubing (12) that has been cut off from the heat shrink tubing (12); and a vision system (410, 420) which is configured to guide the robot (500) so that it wraps the section of shrink tubing (12) around a line (11) of an electrical device (10).

Description

Cross-reference to a related application

[0001] This application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 201710178125.7, filed on March 23, 2017, with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Background of the inventionField of the invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a mounting system, in particular it relates to a mounting system adapted to mount a heat shrink tube to a lead of an electrical device. Description of related technology

[0003] In the field of electrical devices, heat-shrink tubing often needs to be wrapped around a wire of the electrical device for waterproofing and insulation. According to the current state of the art, the heat-shrink tubing is generally manually installed on the wire of the electrical device.The process of manual assembly of the heat shrink tube is as follows: First, an operator needs to cut a section of heat shrink tube with a predetermined length from a long heat shrink tube; then, the section of heat shrink tube is placed on a heating mechanism to heat one end of it, so that one end of the section of heat shrink tube is melted and sealed; then, the wire of the electrical device is inserted into the section of heat shrink tube through the opened other end of the section of heat shrink tube, so that the section of heat shrink tube is wrapped around the wire; then, the section of heat shrink tube wrapped around the wire is heated by a heating device so that the section of heat shrink tube is heated and shrunk around the wire of the electrical device.

[0004] However, manually installing the heat-shrink tubing on the electrical device's wiring is very time-consuming, reducing the manufacturing efficiency of the electrical wiring. Furthermore, manual assembly reduces assembly accuracy. Overview of the invention

[0005] The present invention has been made to eliminate or mitigate at least one aspect of the above-mentioned disadvantages.

[0006] According to an object of the present invention, a mounting system is provided that can quickly mount a heat shrink tube to a lead of an electrical device with high mounting accuracy.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an assembly system comprising: a feeding mechanism configured to feed a heat-shrinkable tube; a cutting mechanism configured to cut a portion of heat-shrinkable tube having a predetermined length from the heat-shrinkable tube fed by the feeding mechanism; a clamping mechanism configured to clamp the heat-shrinkable tube while the cutting mechanism is cutting the heat-shrinkable tube; a robot configured to grip the portion of heat-shrinkable tube cut from the heat-shrinkable tube; and a vision system configured to guide the robot to wrap the portion of heat-shrinkable tube onto a lead of an electronic device.

[0008] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the assembly system further comprises a heating mechanism configured to heat one end of the heat-shrinkable tubing section before wrapping the heat-shrinkable tubing section over the lead of the electrical device, so that one end of the heat-shrinkable tubing section is melted and sealed. The lead is inserted into the heat-shrinkable tubing section through the opened other end of the heat-shrinkable tubing section.

[0009] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the heating mechanism is configured to spray hot air onto the one end of the portion of the heat shrink tube so that the one end of the portion of the heat shrink tube is melted and sealed.

[0010] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the mounting system further comprises a diameter adjusting tip configured to expand a diameter of the portion of the heat shrink tubing to a predetermined size before the portion of the heat shrink tubing is wrapped onto the lead of the electrical device.

[0011] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the diameter adjusting tip is formed in a conical shape.

[0012] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the robot is configured to wrap the portion of the shrink tube onto the diameter adjusting tip under the guidance of the vision system in order to expand the diameter of the portion of the shrink tube to the predetermined size by the diameter adjusting tip.

[0013] According to yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the diameter adjusting tip is provided on a support body of the clamping mechanism, wherein an axis of the diameter adjusting tip extends in a horizontal direction.

[0014] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the mounting system further comprises a heating device configured to heat the portion of the heat-shrinkable tube after the portion of the heat-shrinkable tube has been wrapped onto the lead of the electrical device, so that the portion of the heat-shrinkable tube is heated and shrunk onto the lead.

[0015] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the heating device is mounted on the robot, and the robot is configured to move the heating device under the guidance of the vision system to the portion of the shrink tube wrapped around the wire, so that the portion of shrink tube is evenly heated and shrunk onto the wire.

[0016] According to a further exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the heating device comprises a soldering head configured to perform a welding operation.

[0017] According to a further exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a gripping device is mounted on the robot and the robot is configured to grip the portion of the shrink tube by the gripping device.

[0018] According to a further exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the mounting system further comprises a fixing device configured to fix the electrical device and the line of the electrical device in their position.

[0019] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the vision system comprises a first camera and a second camera. An optical axis of the first camera extends in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the line, and an optical axis of the second camera extends in a vertical direction perpendicular to the line.

[0020] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the feeding mechanism includes: a main body having a slit formed thereon extending in a longitudinal direction of the main body and configured to receive the heat-shrinkable tube; a sliding block slidably mounted on the main body and configured to push the heat-shrinkable tube outward in the longitudinal direction of the main body; and a linear actuator mounted on the main body and configured to drive the sliding block to slide in the longitudinal direction of the main body.

[0021] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the clamping mechanism comprises a pair of clamping fingers, one of the pair of clamping fingers being movable and the other of the pair of clamping fingers being fixed.

[0022] In the above various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the assembling system can implement the automatic assembly of the heat shrink tube, thereby improving the assembly efficiency and ensuring the assembly accuracy. Short description of the drawings

[0023] The above and other features of the present invention will become apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is an illustrative perspective view of a mounting system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is an illustrative perspective view of a cutting mechanism of the Fig. 1 shown mounting system; Fig. 3 is an illustrative perspective view of a clamping mechanism of the Fig. 1 shown mounting system; Fig. 4 is an illustrative perspective view of a diameter adjustment tip of the Fig. 3 shown clamping mechanism; Fig. 5 is an illustrative perspective view of a robot of the Fig. 1 shown mounting system; and Fig. 6 is an illustrative perspective view of a heat shrink tube wrapped around a lead of an electrical device. Detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention

[0024] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to the same elements. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concepts of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0025] In the following detailed description, for the purpose of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. However, it will be apparent that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown schematically to simplify the drawing.

[0026] According to a general concept of the present invention, there is provided an assembly system comprising: a feeding mechanism configured to feed a heat-shrinkable tube; a cutting mechanism configured to cut a portion of heat-shrinkable tube having a predetermined length from the heat-shrinkable tube fed by the feeding mechanism; a clamping mechanism configured to clamp the heat-shrinkable tube while the cutting mechanism is cutting the heat-shrinkable tube; a robot configured to grip the portion of heat-shrinkable tube cut from the heat-shrinkable tube; and a vision system configured to guide the robot to wrap the portion of heat-shrinkable tube onto a lead of an electronic device.

[0027] Fig. 1 is an illustrative perspective view of a mounting system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] As in Fig. 1, the assembly system in one embodiment primarily comprises a feed mechanism 100, a cutting mechanism 200, a clamping mechanism 300, a vision system 410, 420, and a robot 500. The feed mechanism 100 is configured to feed a heat-shrink tubing 12. The cutting mechanism 200 is configured to cut a portion of heat-shrink tubing having a predetermined length from the heat-shrink tubing 12 fed by the feed mechanism 100. The clamping mechanism 300 is configured to clamp the heat-shrink tubing 12 while the cutting mechanism 200 is cutting the heat-shrink tubing 12. The robot 500 is configured to grip the portion of heat-shrink tubing 12 that has been cut from the heat-shrink tubing 12.The vision system 410, 420 is configured to guide the robot 500 so that it wraps the section of shrink tubing 12 onto a cable 11 of an electrical device 10 (see . Fig. 6).

[0029] Fig. 6 is an illustrative perspective view of a heat shrink tube 12 wrapped around a lead 11 of an electrical device 10.

[0030] As in Fig. 1 and Fig. 6, in one embodiment, the mounting system further comprises a heating mechanism 600 configured to heat one end (a right end in Fig. 6) 12a of the section of the heat-shrinkable tube 12 is heated before the section of the heat-shrinkable tube 12 is wrapped around the cable 11 of the electrical device 10, so that one end 12a of the section of the heat-shrinkable tube 12 is melted and sealed. The cable 11 is passed through the opened other end (the left end in Fig. 6) 12b of the section of the shrink tube 12 is inserted into the section of the shrink tube 12.

[0031] Although not shown, in one embodiment, the heating mechanism 600 is configured to spray hot air to heat the one end 12a of the portion of the heat shrink tube 12 so that the one end 12a of the portion of the heat shrink tube 12 is melted and sealed.

[0032] Fig. 2 is an illustrative perspective view of a cutting mechanism 200 of the Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the cutting mechanism 200 may include a pair of scissors and a drive device (not shown) for driving the scissors to open and close.

[0033] Fig. 3 is an illustrative perspective view of a clamping mechanism 300 of the Fig. 1 illustrated mounting system; Fig. 4 is an illustrative perspective view of a diameter adjustment tip 340 of the Fig. 3 shown clamping mechanism 300.

[0034] As in Fig. 3 to 4, in one embodiment, the assembly system further includes a diameter adjustment tip 340 configured to expand a diameter of the portion of heat shrink tubing 12 to a predetermined size before the portion of heat shrink tubing 12 is wrapped around the lead 11 of the electrical device 10. In this way, the expanded heat shrink tubing 12, after being expanded, can be easily wrapped around the lead 11 of the electrical device 10.

[0035] As in Fig. As shown in Figures 3 to 4, the diameter adjustment tip 340 is conically shaped in one embodiment. The robot 500 is configured to wrap the section of shrink tubing 12 around the diameter adjustment tip 340 under the guidance of the vision system 410, 420 in order to expand the diameter of the section of shrink tubing 12 to the specified size by the diameter adjustment tip 340.

[0036] As in Fig. 3 to 4, in one embodiment, the diameter adjusting tip 340 is provided on a support body 330 of the clamping mechanism 300, with an axis of the diameter adjusting tip 340 extending in a horizontal direction.

[0037] As in Fig. 3 to 4, in one embodiment, the clamping mechanism 300 includes a pair of clamping fingers 310, 320, wherein one of the pair of clamping fingers 310, 320 is movable and the other of the pair of clamping fingers 310, 320 is stationary.

[0038] Fig. 5 is an illustrative perspective view of a robot 500 of the Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 5, in one embodiment, the assembly system further includes a heating device 520 configured to heat the portion of heat shrink tubing 12 after the portion of heat shrink tubing 12 has been wrapped onto the lead 11 of the electrical device 10, such that the portion of heat shrink tubing 12 is heated and shrunk onto the lead 11.

[0039] As in Fig. 1 and Fig. 5, in one embodiment, the heating device 520 is mounted on the robot 500, and the robot 500 is configured to move the heating device 520 under the guidance of the vision system 410, 420 to the portion of the shrink tube 12 wrapped around the lead 11 so that the portion of the shrink tube 12 is evenly heated and shrunk onto the lead 11.

[0040] As in Fig. 1 and Fig. As shown in Figure 5, in one embodiment, the heating device 520 is a soldering head configured to perform a welding operation. This eliminates the need to provide an additional heating device for the heat-shrink tubing 12, thereby simplifying the assembly system.

[0041] As in Fig. 1 and Fig. 5, in one embodiment, a gripping device 510 is mounted on the robot 500 and the robot 500 is configured to grip the portion of the shrink tube 12 by the gripping device 510.

[0042] As in Fig. 1, in one embodiment the mounting system further comprises a fixing device 700 which is configured to fix the electrical device 10 and the cable 11 of the electrical device 10 in their position.

[0043] As in Fig. 1, in one embodiment, the vision system 410, 420 comprises a first camera 410 and a second camera 420, wherein an optical axis of the first camera 410 extends in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the line 11 and an optical axis of the second camera 420 extends in a vertical direction perpendicular to the line 11. In this way, a horizontal position and a vertical position of the section of heat-shrink tubing 12 can be achieved by the robot 500, thereby ensuring that the section of heat-shrink tubing 12 is able to be correctly wrapped around the line 11 of the electrical device 10.

[0044] As in Fig. 1, the feeding mechanism 100, in one embodiment, primarily includes a main body 110, a sliding block 120, and a linear actuator 130. A slot extending in a longitudinal direction of the main body 110 and configured to receive the heat-shrinkable tube 12 is formed on the main body 110. The sliding block 120 is slidably mounted on the main body 110 and configured to push the heat-shrinkable tube 12 outward in the longitudinal direction of the main body 110, so that the heat-shrinkable tube 12 is moved outward in the longitudinal direction of the main body 110. The linear actuator 130 is mounted on the main block 110 and configured to drive the sliding block 120 to slide in the longitudinal direction of the main body 110.

[0045] As in Fig. 1, in one embodiment, the assembly system further comprises a base plate 1. The feeding mechanism 100, the cutting mechanism 200, the clamping mechanism 300, the vision system 410, 420, the robot 500, the heating mechanism 600, and the fixing device 700 are mounted on the base plate 1.

[0046] As in Fig. 1 and Fig. 5, in one embodiment, the robot 500 may be a robot with multiple degrees of freedom, for example, a six-axis robot.

[0047] The following describes a process for mounting the heat shrink tube on the lead of the electrical device with reference to Fig. 1 to 6 are described in detail.

[0048] As in Fig. 1, the feeding mechanism 100 first feeds the shrink tube 12 to the cutting mechanism 200 and the clamping mechanism 300.

[0049] Subsequently, the clamping mechanism 300 clamps the heat shrink tube 12 and the cutting mechanism 200 cuts off a section of the heat shrink tube 12 with a predetermined length from the heat shrink tube 12.

[0050] Subsequently, the clamping mechanism 300 releases the shrink tube 12 and the robot 500 grips the portion of the shrink tube 12 that has been cut off from the shrink tube 12.

[0051] Subsequently, the robot 500 wraps the section of the shrink tube 12 onto the diameter adjustment tip 340 under the guidance of the vision system 410, 420 in order to expand the diameter of the section of the shrink tube 12 to the specified size by the diameter adjustment tip 340.

[0052] Subsequently, the robot 500 moves the section of the shrink tube 12 under the guidance of the vision system 410, 420 to the heating mechanism 600, and the heating mechanism 600 heats one end 12a of the section of the shrink tube 12 so that the one end 12a of the section of the shrink tube 12 is melted and sealed.

[0053] The robot 500 then wraps the section of shrink tubing 12 onto the cable 11 of the electrical device 10 under the guidance of the vision system 410, 420.

[0054] Finally, the robot 500 releases the portion of the shrink tube 12 and moves the heating device 520 to the portion of the shrink tube 12 wrapped on the wire 11, and the heating device 520 heats the portion of the shrink tube 12 evenly so that the portion of the shrink tube 12 is heated and shrunk onto the wire 11.

[0055] In this way, the shrink tube 12 is mounted on the cable 11 of the electrical device 10.

[0056] In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the electrical device 10 may be a sensor or a connector.

[0057] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above embodiments are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. For example, numerous modifications to the above embodiments may be made by those skilled in the art, and various features described in different embodiments may be freely combined without conflicting in design or spirit.

[0058] Although several exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications may be made to these embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.

[0059] As used herein, an element referred to in the singular and preceded by the word "a" or "an" should be understood as not excluding the plural of elements or steps unless such exclusion is expressly stated. Furthermore, references to "one embodiment" of the present invention should not be construed as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also include the recited features. Moreover, embodiments that "include" or "have" an element or a plurality of elements with a particular characteristic may include additional such elements that do not possess that characteristic, unless expressly stated otherwise.

Claims

[1] Mounting system, characterized by that it has: a feeding mechanism (100) configured to feed a shrink tube (12); a cutting mechanism (200) configured to cut a portion of the shrink tube having a predetermined length from the shrink tube (12) fed by the feeding mechanism (100); a clamping mechanism (300) configured to clamp the shrink tube (12) during cutting of the shrink tube (12) by the cutting mechanism (200); a robot (500) configured to grip the portion of the shrink tube (12) that has been cut off from the shrink tube (12); and a vision system (410, 420) configured to guide the robot (500) to wrap the section of shrink tubing (12) onto a cable (11) of an electrical device (10). [2] The mounting system of claim 1, further comprising: a heating mechanism (600) designed to heat one end (12a) of the section of the shrink tube (12) before the section of the shrink tube (12) is wrapped around the line (11) of the electrical device (10), so that the one end (12a) of the section of the shrink tube (12) is melted and sealed, wherein the cable (11) is inserted into the section of the shrink tube (12) through the open other end (12b) of the section of the shrink tube (12). [3] Mounting system according to claim 2, wherein the heating mechanism (600) is arranged to direct hot air onto to spray one end (12a) of the section of the shrink tube (12) so that that one end (12a) of the section of shrink tube (12) is melted and sealed. [4] Mounting system according to claim 2, further comprising: a diameter adjustment tip (340) configured to expand a diameter of the portion of the heat shrink tube (12) to a predetermined size before the portion of the heat shrink tube (12) is wrapped onto the lead (11) of the electrical device (10). [5] The mounting system of claim 4, wherein the diameter adjusting tip (340) is formed in a conical shape. [6] The assembly system according to claim 4, wherein the robot (500) is configured to wrap the portion of the shrink tube (12) onto the diameter adjusting tip (340) under the guidance of the vision system (410, 420) in order to expand the diameter of the portion of the shrink tube (12) to the predetermined size by the diameter adjusting tip (340). [7] The mounting system according to claim 4, wherein the diameter adjusting tip (340) is provided on a support body (330) of the clamping mechanism (300), an axis of the diameter adjusting tip (340) extending in a horizontal direction. [8] Mounting system according to one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: a heating device (520) configured to heat the portion of the shrink tube (12) after the portion of the shrink tube (12) has been wrapped onto the lead (11) of the electrical device (10), so that the portion of the shrink tube (12) is heated and shrunk onto the lead (11). [9] The assembly system according to claim 8, wherein the heating device (520) is mounted on the robot (500), and the robot (500) is configured to move the heating device (520) under the guidance of the vision system (410, 420) to the portion of the shrink tube (12) wrapped around the wire (11) so that the portion of the shrink tube (12) is evenly heated and shrunk onto the wire (11). [10] The assembly system of claim 8, wherein the heating device (520) comprises a soldering head configured to perform a welding operation. [11] Assembly system according to one of claims 1 to 10, wherein a gripping device (510) is mounted on the robot (500) and the robot (500) is adapted to grip the portion of the shrink tube (12) by the gripping device (510). [12] Mounting system according to one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising: a fixing device (700) configured to fix the electrical device (10) and the cable (11) of the electrical device (10) in their position. [13] Mounting system according to one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the vision system (410, 420) comprises a first camera (410) and a second camera (420), wherein an optical axis of the first camera (410) extends in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the line (11) and an optical axis of the second camera (420) extends in a vertical direction perpendicular to the line (11). [14] Mounting system according to one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the feed mechanism (100) comprises: a main body (110) having a slit formed thereon extending in a longitudinal direction of the main body (110) and configured to receive the heat shrink tube (12); a sliding block (120) slidably mounted on the main body (110) and adapted to push the shrink tube (12) outward in the longitudinal direction of the main body (110); and a linear actuator (130) mounted on the main block (110) and configured to drive the sliding block (120) to slide in the longitudinal direction of the main body (110). [15] Mounting system according to one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the clamping mechanism (300) comprises a pair of clamping fingers (310, 320), wherein one of the pair of clamping fingers (310, 320) is movable and the other of the pair of clamping fingers (310, 320) is fixed.

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