Sensor-Guided Bolt Fastening Alignment for Tolerance Stack-Up
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in secondary battery assembly is the misalignment of bolt fastening points due to accumulated tolerance, leading to material distortion and production issues, particularly with low-rigidity materials like aluminum plates or plastic.
Innovation Solution
A bolt fastening device module with a nutrunner equipped with sensing devices, such as laser sensors, to accurately align the bolt and fastening hole by measuring and adjusting the position based on a reference height, using a tapered surface to enhance precision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional bolt fastening is used without sensing devices, then the assembly process is simple and fast, but the alignment precision between bolt and fastening hole deteriorates due to accumulated tolerance
Solution Approach 1:
The sensing devices measure the position of the fastening hole before the bolt fastening operation, allowing the system to predict and correct potential misalignment in advance. This preliminary measurement enables the nutrunner to adjust its position proactively, ensuring precise alignment without adding complex real-time control mechanisms during the fastening process itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensing devices act as an intermediary between the bolt fastening system and the workpiece, providing measurement data that enables precise positioning. This intermediary measurement system bridges the gap between the simple fastening mechanism and the requirement for high alignment precision, allowing accurate fastening without directly complicating the fastening mechanism itself.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple materials are stacked and joined together, then the assembly can accommodate complex structures, but the center point of bolt fastening and the center point of the fastening hole may not coincide due to accumulated tolerance
Solution Approach 1:
Before performing the bolt fastening operation, the sensing devices measure the actual position of the fastening hole on the stacked materials. This preliminary measurement allows the system to identify any deviations caused by accumulated tolerance across multiple material layers, enabling corrective positioning of the nutrunner before the fastening operation begins.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensing devices provide feedback information about the actual position of the fastening hole, which is then used to adjust the nutrunner's positioning. This feedback loop ensures that even when multiple materials are stacked with varying tolerances, the system can compensate and achieve precise center coincidence between the bolt and fastening hole.
3Weight of moving object
If low-rigidity materials such as aluminum plates or plastic are used, then the assembly can be lightweight and cost-effective, but physical deformation of these materials occurs during bolt fastening
Solution Approach 1:
The sensing devices measure the position of the fastening hole before the bolt fastening operation, allowing the system to establish an accurate reference point. This preliminary measurement enables precise positioning of the bolt, ensuring that the fastening force is applied exactly where intended, thereby minimizing unintended deformation of the low-rigidity materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces purely mechanical positioning with a measurement-based positioning system. Instead of relying solely on mechanical fixtures and alignment, the sensing devices provide precise positional information that guides the nutrunner, reducing the mechanical forces and misalignment that could cause deformation of lightweight materials.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Ensures reliable and precise bolt fastening by correcting the alignment of bolt and hole positions, minimizing material deformation and improving assembly quality.
Implementation Method 1
the plurality of sensing devices may be configured as laser sensors, and the controller may control the plurality of sensing devices to measure heights of a plurality of points on a surface of the coupling member where the fastening hole is formed
Data Source
AI summary
Proposed is a bolt fastening device module, including a nutrunner having an end to which a is coupled, at least one sensing device coupled to the nutrunner, at least one coupling member having a fastening hole to which the bolt is coupled, and a controller coupled to the nutrunner and controlling the at least one sensing device to sense a height of at least one point on a circumferential surface of the fastening hole to adjust a coupling position of the bolt and the fastening hole.