Gas Sensor Assembly Posture Adjustment and Port Opening

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Solution Overview

Problem

The existing gas sensor assembly processes face challenges in accurately inserting sensor elements into contact members due to issues with position and posture alignment, leading to interference, collision, and reduced operational efficiency, especially in mass production settings.

Innovation Solution

A gas sensor assembling apparatus that includes a conveyance mechanism, posture adjustment station, and integration station, which secures the opening of the insertion port and checks the orientation of the sensor element to ensure correct insertion, thereby eliminating interference and collision risks and improving processing reliability and efficiency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If the sensor element is inserted into the contact member without precise position and posture determination, then the insertion process is simpler and faster, but interference and collision occur between components leading to assembly failure

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveassembly speedVSAvoidassembly success rate
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by determining the positions and postures of the sensor element, contact member, opening pin, and opening claws before the insertion process begins. The control device calculates and sets these parameters in advance based on predetermined relationships, ensuring that when insertion occurs, all components are already positioned to avoid interference and collision, thus maintaining both high assembly speed and high success rate

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements feedback through the control device that monitors and adjusts the positions and postures of components during the assembly process. The control device receives information about component positions and makes real-time adjustments to ensure proper alignment, preventing interference and collision while maintaining assembly reliability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Ease of operation

If the insertion port is wide opened using opening pin and opening claws, then the sensor element can be inserted more easily, but the disposed position and posture of the contact member must be constant to avoid interference and collision

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinsertion easeVSAvoidposition control requirement
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The control device monitors the position of the contact member and adjusts the positions of the opening pin and opening claws based on feedback about contact member positioning. This feedback mechanism allows the system to accommodate variations in contact member position while still achieving proper insertion port opening without interference

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary determination of the disposed position and posture of the contact member, opening pin, and opening claws before the opening operation. This preliminary positioning ensures that when the opening pin and claws are deployed, they will not interfere with the contact member regardless of minor position variations

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Manufacturing precision

If the contact member posture is adjusted before sensor element insertion, then insertion accuracy is improved, but the assembly process time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinsertion accuracyVSAvoidassembly cycle time
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent maintains continuity of useful action by integrating the posture adjustment of the contact member into the overall assembly sequence without creating separate, time-consuming adjustment steps. The control device coordinates the posture adjustment with the insertion process itself, ensuring that the adjustment occurs as part of the continuous assembly flow rather than as a separate preparatory step, thus minimizing time loss while achieving high insertion accuracy

Inventive Principle:
Principle #20Continuity of useful action

Data Source

PatentEP3467488B1Gas sensor assembling device and assembling method
Publication Date: 2022.09.21 NGK INSULATORS LTD
  • EP3467488B1 patent drawingFigure 1(a)~1(b)
  • EP3467488B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3467488B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A gas sensor assembling apparatus capable of reliably and efficiently performing processing of inserting a sensor element into a contact member is provided. In a gas sensor assembling apparatus configured to integrate first and second gas sensor components, a posture adjustment part configured to adjust the posture of a first member in a horizontal plane adjusts the posture of the first member to an insertion possible posture determined in advance while holding the first member having been transferred from a conveyance mechanism at a posture adjustment position fixedly determined in advance, and transfers the first member in the insertion possible posture to the conveyance mechanism while maintaining at the posture adjustment position, the conveyance mechanism conveys, to an integration position, the first member in the insertion possible posture having been transferred from the posture adjustment part, and at the integration position, the first member and the second member are integrated with each other by inserting a sensor element of a second member into an insertion port of the first member in the insertion possible posture.