Robotic bolt tightening and feeding system

Abstract

The invention relates to the robotic bolt tightening and feeding system used in multi- tightening operations of bolts on the workpiece (150) in robotic automation lines and enabling the bolts to be tightened by multiple sequences on the workpiece (150) in a certain order.

Description

[0001] DESCRIPTION

[0002] Robotic bolt tightening and feeding system

[0003] Technical Field

[0004] The invention relates to a system used in robotic automation lines, especially in electric vehicle battery assembly lines, for multi-tightening operations of bolts on the battery interior and top cover.

[0005] In particular, the invention relates to a system that allows the bolts to be tightened by multiple sequences on the workpiece in a certain order and shortens the process cycle time thanks to its multiple operations.

[0006] Prior Art

[0007] Bolt tightening and bolt feeding operations in robotic automation lines are processes that directly affect cycle time. Bolt feeding systems are a type of automation system used in industrial production processes. These systems allow small parts such as bolts to be fed automatically. Bolt feeding systems are used to accelerate repetitive bolting operations on the production line, increase accuracy and reduce labor.

[0008] In the present art, bolt feeding systems generally comprise feeding hopper, feeding mechanism, detection and positioning systems, torque tightening devices. The said feeding hopper is the place where the bolts are stored and transferred to the feeding mechanism. Usually a capacity hopper is used and ensures that the bolts are continuously transferred to the feeding mechanism. The feeding mechanism takes the bolts individually or according to a certain arrangement and directs them towards the point where they will be installed. The feeding mechanism usually uses a conveyor belt, vibrating feeding mechanism or a similar system. Detection and positioning systems are used to ensure that the bolt is correctly received and placed at the targeted point. Detection systems can use sensors or imaging systems to detect the presence and correct position of the bolt. Torque tightening devices are special devices that allow bolts to be tightened to the correct torque. These devices automatically stop when the bolt reaches the appropriate tightening force and provide feedback when necessary. Bort feeding systems are commonly used in many industries, especially in automotive, electronics, domestic appliances and similar assembly lines. These systems help optimize production processes by providing high efficiency, accuracy and repeatability.

[0009] A common shortcoming of existing systems is the absence or inadequacy of multiple screw aligning and tightening process. For the application, systems that take the bolts coming to a bolt feeding and alignment path and perform the necessary tightening operations perform this operation one by one in the robotics industry.

[0010] In the research conducted in the literature, the document numbered CN1Q2015427 can be shown as an example of the prior art. The said document relates to tire mounting equipment, tire mounting method, work equipment, and vehicle operation methods. In the method in question, the bolt feeding process is carried out by a robot different from our invention and the nuts are arranged with the robot for multiple tightening. In our invention, this method was simplified and made by developing an alignment and filling method in the bolt flow path without using a robot.

[0011] In the research conducted in the literature, the document numbered CN108461664 can be shown as another example of the prior art. The said document relates to the battery pack top cover fully automatic glue coating installation system. The system in question is the glue coating system in the battery pack installation systems and the assembly of the glued parts. The said system, bolt tightening is performed with a single tightener and tightening is performed on the top cover of the battery pack with a photographic assembly. In our invention, there is no study on gluing. In addition, our invention aims to make the bolt tightening operation in the battery packs faster and functional with the different design in the tightening and feeding systems.

[0012] In the research conducted in the literature, the document numbered CN106217022A can be shown as another example of the prior art. The said document relates to the automatic bolt feeding mechanism and robot tightening system. In the said document, the feeding system and the tightening apparatus are designed together, as well as the bolt feeding system is provided by vacuuming method. In the said document, a tightening system design was carried out in essence together with the feeding system. In our invention, the operation is carried out thanks to two separate systems, bolt feeding device and tightening device. In the research conducted in the literature, the document numbered CN216829571 can be shown as another exampie of the prior art. The said document relates to the automatic robot bolt tightening workstation system. In this system, the tightening system is made directly with a single gun with feeding, and the workpiece is used together with the camera assembly used for recognition. In our invention, it was made by developing an alignment and filling method specially designed for the bolt flow path without using the camera.

[0013] As a result due to the mentioned disadvantages and the insufficiency of the current solutions regarding the subject matter, a development is required to be made in the relevant technical field.

[0014] Purpose of the Invention

[0015] The invention relates to a robotic bolt tightening and feeding system that eliminates the mentioned disadvantages and brings new advantages to the relevant technical field.

[0016] The main purpose of the invention is to provide a robotic bolt tightening and feeding system that allows the bolts to be tightened by multiple sequences on the workpiece in a certain order.

[0017] The purpose of the invention is to provide a robotic bolt tightening and feeding system that shortens the process cycle time by performing multiple operations instead of performing individual operations on the workpiece.

[0018] Another purpose of the invention is to provide a robotic bolt tightening and feeding system that makes production efficient in robotic production lines.

[0019] Another purpose of the invention is to provide a robotic bolt tightening and feeding system that allows the bolts collectively arranged on the workpiece in a certain order to be controlled by the control algorithm and to be tightened collectively by means of the gripper. To achieve purposes that are said above and can be inferred by the detailed description; the invention is a robotic bolt tightening and feeding system comprising at least one vibratory bowl used in multi-tightening operations on the workpiece of the bolts in the robotic automation lines and containing bolts and transmitting bolts by vibration, a linear vibratory feeding track carrying the bolts transmitted from the vibratory bowl by vibration, a hopper fill sensor measuring the fullness amount of the vibratory bowl, a hopper fill sensor holder positioning the hopper fill sensor to the vibratory bowl, a linear vibration trigger presence sensor detecting whether the bolts have come from the vibratory bowl to the linear vibratory feeding track, and a piston presence sensor detecting whether the bolts coming from the linear vibratory feeding track have come to the correct position, and comprises the following; a movable bolt feeding carriage located on the linear vibratory feeding track and feeding the bolts on the linear vibratory feeding track, the bolt located on the bolt feeding carriage, bolt feed piston connected to the linear vibratory feeding track and allowing the bolts coming from the linear vibratory feeding track to the piston presence sensor to be placed in the bolt slot in the bolt feeding carriage, bolt slot presence sensor located in the bolt slot and detects the presence status of the bolts coming into the bolt slot, tightening gripper, which takes the bolts that come to the appropriate position in the bolt feeding carriage by magnetization, tightening wrench, which performs multiple tightening of bolts to the workpiece in the tightening gripper, robot operating the tightening gripper, control computer that manages the robotic bolt tightening and feeding system with a control algorithm.

[0020] The invention is also a robotic bolt tightening and feeding method used in multitightening operations on the workpiece of the bolts in robotic automation lines, a) transmission of bolts from the vibratory bowl to the linear vibratory feeding track by vibration, b) detection of the bolts by the linear vibration trigger presence sensor and initiation of the linear vibratory feeding track movement, c) the piston presence sensor detecting bolts coming from the linear vibratory feeding track, and the bolts being placed into the bolt slot on the bolt feeding carriage by the bolt feeding piston, using the control algorithm executed on the control computer, d) the bolts detected by the bolt slot presence sensor are moved by the bolt feeding carriage towards the tightening gripper, e) the robot receives the tightening gripper when the occupancy status of the bolt slot presence sensor is successful, f) the tightening gripper received by the robot performs the process of tightening the bolts to the workpiece and then brings the boring gripper back to the bolt feeding point by the robot.

[0021] The structural and characteristic features and all advantages of the invention will be more clearly understood by means of the following figures and the detailed description with reference to these figures. Therefore, the assessment should be made while considering the figure and their detailed descriptions.

[0022] Figures to Help Understanding of the Invention

[0023] Figure 1 is an appearance of the bolt tightening and feeding system of the invention.

[0024] Figure 2 is an appearance of the vibratory bowl and linear vibratory feeding track belonging to the bolt tightening and feeding system of the invention.

[0025] Figure 3 is a diagram of the control algorithm executed on the control computer of the bolt tightening and feeding system of the invention.

[0026] Descriptions of Part References

[0027] 10. Vibratory bowl

[0028] 20. Linear vibratory feeding track

[0029] 30. Hopper fill sensor

[0030] 40. Hopper fill sensor holder

[0031] 50. Linear vibration trigger presence sensor

[0032] 60. Piston presence sensor

[0033] 70. Bolt feeding carriage

[0034] 80. Bolt slot

[0035] 90. Bolt feeding piston

[0036] 100. Bolt slot presence sensor

[0037] 110. Tightening gripper 120. Tightening wrench

[0038] 130. Robot

[0039] 140. Control computer

[0040] 150. Workpiece

[0041] Detailed Description of the Invention

[0042] In this detailed description, the preferred alternatives of the bolt tightening and feeding system of the invention are explained only for a better understanding of the subject and in a way that does not have any limiting effect.

[0043] Figure 1 shows the appearance of the robotic bolt tightening and feeding system of the invention. Accordingly, the bolt tightening and feeding system is at its most basic comprises; at least one vibratory bowl (10) containing bolts and transmitting bolts by vibration, the linear vibratory feeding track (20) carrying the bolts transmitted from the vibratory bowl (10) by vibration, the hopper fill sensor (30) measuring the fullness amount of the vibratory bowl (20), the hopper fill sensor holder (40) positioning the hopper fill sensor (30) to the vibratory bowl (20), the linear vibration trigger presence sensor (50) detecting whether the bolts are coming from the vibratory bowl (20) to the linear vibratory feeding track (20), the piston presence sensor (60), which detects whether the bolts coming from the linear vibratory feeding track (20) reach the correct position, the bolt feeding carriage (70), which feeds the bolts on the linear vibratory feeding track (20), the bolt slot (80) in the bolt feeding carriage (70), the bolt feeding piston (90), which allows the bolts coming to the piston presence sensor (60) from the linear vibratory feeding track (20) to be placed in the bolt slot (80) in the bolt feeding carriage (70), the bolt slot presence sensor (100), which detects the presence of the bolts coming to the bolt slot (80), tightening gripped (110) which takes the bolts which are at the appropriate position in the bolt feeding carriage (70), tightening wrench (120) which performs multi-tightening operation to the workpiece (150) on the tightening gripper (110), the robot (130) that operates the tightening gripper (110), the control computer (140) that manages the robotic bolt tightening and feeding system with the control algorithm.

[0044] In the robotic bolt tightening and feeding system of the invention, the circular vibratory bowl (10) which stores the bolts in a mixed manner and the vibratory bowl (10) transfer the bolts to the linear vibratory feeding track (20) located next to it with vibrations. As seen in Figure 2, the hopper fill sensor (30) is positioned on the circular vibratory bowl (10) by means of the hopper fill sensor holder (40). The hopper fill sensor (30) in question measures the fullness amount of the vibratory bowl (20).

[0045] There is a linear vibration trigger presence sensor (50) on the linear vibratory feeding track (20) that detects whether there is a bolt coming from the vibratory bowl (10) to the linear vibratory feeding track (20). At the same time, there is a piston presence sensor (60) on the linear vibratory feeding track (20) that detects whether the bolts coming from the linear vibratory feeding track (20) are in the correct position.

[0046] On the linear vibratory feeding track (20), there is a movable bolt feeding carriage (70) that feeds the bolts to the tightening gripper (110). There are bolt slots (80) on the bolt feeding carriage (70) spaced at intervals.

[0047] The linear vibratory feeding track (20) is associated with the bolt feeding piston (90), which allows the bolts coming from the linear vibratory feeding track (20) to the piston presence sensor (60) to be placed in the bolt slot (80) in the bolt feeding carriage (70). The bolt feeding carriage (70) moves each time the bolt feeding piston (90) operates, and the bolts are inserted into the bolt slots (80).

[0048] The bolt slots (80) have a bolt slot presence sensor (100) that detects the presence of bolts coming into the bolt slot (80).

[0049] A tightening gripper (110) is operated by means of a robot (130) for the process of tightening the bolts arriving at the appropriate position on the workpiece (150) on the side of the bolt feeding carriage (70). The said tightening gripper (110) comprises tightening wrenches (120). There are magnets at the end of the tightening wrenches (120).

[0050] The tightening gripper (110) magnetizes the bolts that come to the appropriate position in the bolt feeding carriage (70), and the tightening wrenches (120) tighten the bolts to the workpiece (150) in the tightening gripper (110). The robotic bolt tightening and feeding system of the invention is managed by a control computer (140) with a control algorithm. The said control algorithm is shown in Figure 3.

[0051] The working principle of the robotic bolt tightening and feeding system of the invention is as follows:

[0052] The bolts carried from the circular vibratory bowl (10) to the linear vibratory feeding track (20) and detected by the linear vibration trigger presence sensor (50) come in until the piston presence sensor (60) detects it. When the detection occurs, it places the bolts in the bolt slot (80) located in the bolt feeding carriage (70) by the bolt feeding piston (90). This insertion process is determined by the control algorithm executed by the control computer (140) so that it occurs periodically after the bolts coming to the bolt slot presence sensor (100) are detected, and the bolt feeding carriage (70) acts according to the control algorithm. The bolts placed in the bolt slots (80) with certain spaced intervals are fed to the tightening gripper (110) comprising the tightening wrenches (120) by the bolt feeding carriage (70) after being detected by the bolt slot presence sensor (100). The bolts are loaded onto the tightening gripper (110) by magnets located at the end of the tightening wrenches (120). The robot (130) then receives the tightening gripper (110) and the tightening gripper (110) tightens the bolts to the workpiece (150). After that, the robot (130) brings the tightening gripper (110) back to the bolt feeding point.

[0053] The robotic bolt tightening and feeding system of the invention is controlled by a control algorithm over a control computer (140). With this, the bolts in the circular vibratory bowl (10) are processed according to the fullness information of the circular vibratory bowl (10) thanks to the hopper fill sensor (30) held by the hopper fill sensor holder (40).

Claims

CLAIMS1. A robotic bolt tightening and feeding system used for multi-tightening operations of bolts onto workpiece (150) in robotic automation lines and comprising at least one vibratory bowl (10) comprising bolts and transmitting them with vibration, a linear vibratory feeding track (20) conveying bolts transferred from the vibratory bowl (10) by vibration, a hopper fill sensor (30) measuring the fullness amount of bolts in the vibratory bowl (20), a hopper fill sensor holder (40) positioning the hopper fill sensor (30) on the vibratory bowl (20), a linear vibration trigger presence sensor (50) detecting whether bolts are present on the linear vibratory feeding track (20) from the vibratory bowl (20), and a piston presence sensor (60) detecting whether bolts on the linear vibratory feeding track (20) are in the correct position, characterized by comprising; movable bolt feeding carriage (70) located on top of the linear vibratory feeding track (20) and which feeds bolts on the linear vibratory feeding track (20), bolt slot (80) that is located on the bolt feeding carriage (70), bolt feeding piston (90) connected with the linear vibratory feeding track (20) and which ensures the placement of bolts from the piston presence sensor (60), which is connected to the linear vibratory feeding track (20), into the bolt slot (80) on the bolt feeding carriage (70), bolt slot presence sensor (100) located on top of the bolt slot (80) and which detects the presence of bolts in the bolt slot (80), tightening gripper (110) magnetically taking the bolts positioned correctly on the bolt feeding carriage (70). tightening wrench (120) located on the tightening gripper (110) which performs multi-tightening operations of bolts onto the workpiece (150). robot (130) operating the tightening gripper (110), control computer (140) that manages the robotic bolt tightening and feeding system with its control algorithm.

2. A robotic bolt tightening and feeding method used for multi-tightening operations of bolts onto workpiece (150) in robotic automation lines, characterized by comprising the following process steps:a) transfer of bolts from the vibratory bowl (10) to the linear vibratory feeding track (20) through vibration, b) detection of bolts by the linear vibration trigger presence sensor (50) and initiation of movement of the linear vibratory feeding track (20), c) detecting bolts coming from the linear vibratory feeding track (20) by piston presence sensor (60), and being placed the bolts into the bolt slot (80) on the bolt feeding carriage (70) by the bolt feeding piston (90), using the control algorithm executed on the control computer (140), d) moving of the bolts detected by the bolt slot presence sensor (100) after being taken by the bolt feeding carriage (70) to the tightening gripper (11 ), e) engaging the tightening gripper (110) by the robot (130) when the bolt slot presence sensor (100) confirms the slot is full, f) performing the tightening operation of bolts onto the workpiece (150) tightening gripper (110) picked up by the robot (130), and then the tightening gripper (110) being brought back to the bolt feeding point by the robot (130).

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