CN211414272U - Vacuum feed assembly module for assembling protector and automatic assembly system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a vacuum feed assembly module for assembling a protector, the protector comprising a base, a disc, a resilient arm, an upper cover plate, and a fastener configured to fasten the base, disc, resilient arm, upper cover plate of the protector together during assembly to form a protector assembly, wherein the vacuum feed assembly module is configured to complete the feeding and assembly of the disc or resilient arm in a combination of vacuum suction and contour fit during assembly. The present disclosure also relates to an automated assembly system for assembling a protector.

Description

Vacuum feed assembly module for assembling protector and automatic assembly system

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a vacuum feed assembly module for assembling a protector. In addition, the present disclosure also relates to an automatic assembly system for assembling the protector.

Background

The protector is a circuit protection device which breaks the circuit connection by the rapid bending of the disk when the protection temperature is exceeded. The disc is usually made of two or more layers of alloys having different coefficients of thermal expansion, and the disc heats up when an electric current is passed through it. Since the thermal expansion coefficients of the respective alloys are different from each other, the disc serving as the heat sensitive element is rapidly bent and deformed by the internal stress generated by heating to allow the protector to perform a protection operation. In such protectors, in addition to the disc, a resilient arm is provided to which the disc can abut. One end of the elastic arm is a fixed end which is fixed, the other end of the elastic arm is a free end which can move, and a movable contact is arranged on the free end of the elastic arm. The movable contact is connected with the disc serving as the thermosensitive element through the elastic arm, and the elastic arm is driven to move through the thermosensitive deformation of the disc to complete the opening and closing between the movable contact arranged on the elastic arm and the fixed contact arranged on the base in the protector, so that the circuit connection is connected or disconnected, and the protection effect is achieved.

However, the existing protector products are generally assembled manually, and therefore have the following disadvantages: in the assembling process, at least the working procedures of feeding, assembling, checking and the like need to be carried out by workers, the workload is large, the labor intensity is high due to heavy tasks, the workers are easy to generate fatigue, frequent rest is needed, the assembling efficiency is reduced, the manual assembling quality is difficult to guarantee, the assembling error is large, and the assembling qualified rate is low. In addition, the assembly process inevitably needs mechanical equipment, so that safety accidents easily occur during assembly, and unnecessary personal and property losses are caused. Further, in order to improve the assembling efficiency, the assembling work is generally performed in a plurality of steps, and thus a large number of assembling workers are required, which results in a high labor cost. Therefore, it is necessary to design an automatic assembling system for the protector.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

In order to overcome the deficiencies in the prior art, the utility model provides a vacuum feed equipment module for assembling protector. Additionally, the utility model also provides an automatic equipment system for protector.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a vacuum feed assembly module for assembling a protector, the protector comprising a base, a disc, a resilient arm, an upper cover plate, and a fastener configured to fasten the base, disc, resilient arm, upper cover plate of the protector together during assembly to form a protector assembly, wherein the vacuum feed assembly module is configured to complete the feeding and assembly of the disc or resilient arm in a combination of vacuum suction and form fit during assembly.

In one embodiment of the vacuum feed assembly module, the vacuum feed assembly module comprises a drive and a vacuum arm, on which a vacuum arm suction opening and a vacuum arm profiling area are provided, the vacuum arm suction opening being configured for sucking the disc or the resilient arm in a vacuum sucking manner and the vacuum arm profiling area being configured for sucking and holding the disc or the resilient arm in a profiling fitting manner.

In one embodiment of the vacuum feed assembly module, the vacuum arm further comprises a vacuum arm positioning pin configured for positioning a disc or a resilient arm for vacuum suction of the disc or the resilient arm.

In one embodiment of the vacuum feed assembly module, the vacuum feed assembly module further comprises a swaging mechanism configured to depress the disc or spring arm to secure the disc or spring arm in place after the vacuum arm completes the vacuum suction of the disc or spring arm and feeds the disc or spring arm to the assembly position.

In one embodiment of the vacuum feed assembly module, the swage mechanism includes a left swage pin and a right swage pin.

In one embodiment of the vacuum feed assembly module, the drive means is a servo motor.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an automated assembly system for assembling a protector, the protector comprising a base, a disc, a resilient arm, an upper cover plate, and a fastener configured to fasten the base, disc, resilient arm, upper cover plate of the protector together during assembly to form a protector assembly, wherein the automated assembly system comprises a vacuum feed assembly module as described above.

During the assembly process of the protector, the vacuum feeding assembly module for assembling the protector according to the present disclosure can accurately and efficiently complete the feeding and assembly of the disc or the elastic arm in the protector assembly. In addition, according to the automatic assembly system for assembling the protector disclosed by the disclosure, the automatic assembly of the protector is realized, the operation is simple, the assembly efficiency is high, the assembly quality is stable, the universality is strong, the service life is long, the maintenance is convenient, and the use and maintenance cost is reduced.

Drawings

Various objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings are merely exemplary illustrations of the disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the drawings, like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the different views.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a protector assembled according to an automated assembly system of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is an overall schematic view of an automated assembly system according to the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a racking module in an automated assembly system according to the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a schematic view of a base transport module in an automated assembly system according to the present disclosure.

Fig. 5A and 5B are a schematic diagram and a pre-calibration detailed description diagram, respectively, of a pre-calibration module in an automated assembly system according to the present disclosure.

Fig. 6A and 6B are a schematic diagram of a rivet assembly module and an illustrative diagram of a rivet assembly process, respectively, in an automated assembly system according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a disk transport and assembly module in an automated assembly system according to the present disclosure.

Fig. 8A is a partially enlarged view of a disc transfer and assembly module in an automatic assembly system according to the present disclosure, fig. 8B is an explanatory view of a vacuum suction process of a disc, and fig. 8C is an explanatory view of a disc assembly process.

Fig. 9A is a schematic view of an upper cover assembly module in an automatic assembly system according to the present disclosure, and fig. 9B is an explanatory view of pre-riveting rivets in the upper cover assembly module.

Fig. 10A is a schematic view of a rivet fastening module in an automatic assembly system according to the present disclosure, and fig. 10B is an explanatory view of riveting rivets and calibrating a protector component in the rivet fastening module.

Fig. 11A is a schematic diagram of an AOI detection module in an automatic assembly system according to the present disclosure, and fig. 11B is an explanatory diagram of a detection operation procedure of the AOI detection module.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged partial view of the protector assembled by the automated assembly system according to the present disclosure, showing the spacing between the lobes and the discs provided on the resilient arms.

Detailed Description

The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the disclosure are shown. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosure can be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described below; rather, the embodiments described below are intended to provide a more complete disclosure of the present disclosure, and to fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. It is also to be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in various ways to provide further additional embodiments. The detailed configuration can be appropriately modified by those skilled in the art within a range not departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

It should be understood that like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the several views. In the drawings, the size of some of the features may be varied for clarity.

Unless otherwise defined, terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein shall have the meanings that are commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. Unless otherwise indicated, the terms "comprising" and "including" as used in the specification and claims should be interpreted in an open-ended fashion, that is, the terms "comprising" and "including" should be interpreted as being synonymous with the terms "including at least" or "including at least".

As used in this disclosure, unless otherwise noted, the terms "upper," "lower," "top," "bottom," and the like are merely relative orientations of the device and its associated components in the orientations as illustrated.

It is to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity.

To the above-mentioned defect among the prior art, the utility model provides an automatic equipment system for assembling protector. Additionally, the utility model also provides a fastener conveying and equipment module for assembling the protector. Embodiments for implementing the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a protector assembled according to an automated assembly system of the present disclosure. Such as

As shown in fig. 1, the protector 10 includes a base 12, a disc 13, a resilient arm 14, an upper cover 15, and a fastener 11 for fastening the above components together. Preferably, the fasteners 11 are rivets.

Fig. 2 is an overall schematic view of an automated assembly system according to the present disclosure. The automatic assembly system according to the present disclosure can be used to achieve automatic assembly of the protector 10, as shown in fig. 2, which mainly comprises: a base transport module 200 configured to support and transport a base strip of material; a fastener delivery and assembly module configured for delivering fasteners and assembling individual fasteners on bases in the base tape to form a tape of first subassemblies, and comprising a fastener delivery module 301 and a fastener assembly module 302; a disc transport and assembly module 400 configured to transport a disc tape and assemble a single disc on the first subassembly to form a second subassembly tape; a resilient arm transfer and assembly module 500 configured for transferring a resilient arm web and assembling a single resilient arm on the second subassembly to form a third subassembly web; an upper cover plate transfer and assembly module configured for transferring an upper cover plate and assembling a single upper cover plate on the third subassembly to form a fourth subassembly of the web, and comprising an upper cover plate transfer module 601 and an upper cover plate assembly module 602; and a fastener fastening module 700 configured to fasten the base, the disc, the resilient arm, and the upper cover together with a fastener to form a strip of protector components.

Preferably, the automated assembly system may further include a racking module 100 configured to carry the base tape, the disc tape, and the resilient arm tape. Further preferably, the automatic assembly system may further include an AOI detection module (i.e., optical detection module) 800 configured to optically detect a spacing between a convex hull disposed on the resilient arm and a disc in the protector assembly. Further preferably, the automated assembly system may further include a cutting module 920 configured to cut the strip of protector components to obtain individual protectors. In addition, the automatic assembly system may further include a start-up check cutting module 900 and a material supporting module 910, wherein the start-up check cutting module 900 is configured to perform a start-up check cutting operation on the strip of material, and the material supporting module 910 is configured to carry and convey the strip of material.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a racking module in an automated assembly system according to the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 3, the rack module 100 includes: a holder base 1001; a bracket 1002; a guide rail 1003 configured to guide and transfer the base material tape; a base racking tray 1004 configured to carry a base tape; a resilient arm support tray 1005 configured to carry a resilient arm web; a disc cartridge tray 1006 configured to carry a disc tape; and a discharging motor 1007 configured to drive the corresponding stocker tray and release the corresponding tape.

Fig. 4 is a schematic view of a base transport module in an automated assembly system according to the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 4, the base transfer module 200 includes: a base 2001; a bracket 2002; a servo motor 2003; a kick-off mechanism 2004; and tape track 2005. The servo motor 2003 is configured to drive the kick-off mechanism 2004 to drive and guide the base tape 2006 carried on the tape track 2005.

Preferably, the base transport module 200 may further include a pre-calibration module 210. FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B

Fig. 5B is a schematic diagram and a pre-calibration detailed description diagram, respectively, of a pre-calibration module in an automated assembly system according to the present disclosure, as shown, the pre-calibration module 210 is configured for pre-calibrating a height H of a stationary contact disposed on a base. Referring to fig. 5A, the pre-calibration module 210 includes: a base 2101; tape track 2102; a cam box 2103; an alignment mechanism 2104; a cam box 2105; and a servo motor 2106. Referring to fig. 5B, the alignment mechanism 2104 includes a base securing ram 2108 and a pre-alignment head 2109, wherein the base securing ram 2108 is configured to press against a base strip 2107 to secure a base, and the pre-alignment head 2109 is configured to press against a stationary contact at an end of the base and pre-align a height H of the stationary contact.

Further, referring to fig. 2, a fastener delivery and assembly module according to the present disclosure includes: a fastener delivery module 301 configured to deliver fasteners; and a fastener assembly module 302 that assembles a fastener in a base of the protector in such a manner that the fastener can be prevented from falling.

Preferably, in the automated assembly system according to the present disclosure, the fasteners used are rivets, the fastener transfer module 301 is a rivet transfer module, and the fastener assembly module 302 is a rivet assembly module. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the fasteners used may be various other types of conventional fasteners.

Fig. 6A and 6B are a schematic diagram of a rivet assembly module and an illustrative diagram of a rivet assembly process, respectively, in an automated assembly system according to the present disclosure. Referring to fig. 6A, the rivet assembly module 302 includes: a rivet module base 3021; a tuner wheel 3022; a module adjusting rail 3023; a tape track 3024; a cam box 3025; and a servo motor 3026 serving as a driving device.

Referring to fig. 6B, a rivet 3028 is fed by a rivet feed pin 3027 into a rivet pallet profile slot 3029 provided on the rivet pallet 3030, driven by a servo motor 3026. As shown in fig. 6B, the rivet pallet profile slot 3029 comprises two portions of different widths, wherein a first portion of greater width is sized to allow the head of the rivet 3028 to pass therethrough, and a second portion of lesser width is sized to allow only the tail of the rivet 3028 to pass therethrough but not the head of the rivet 3028. Thus, the rivet pallet profile groove 3029 is configured to have a function of preventing the rivet from falling. Specifically, as shown in fig. 6B, in section (1) and (2), a rivet feed pin 3027 first feeds a rivet 3028 into a first portion of a rivet pallet profile slot 3029 and passes the head of the rivet 3028 therethrough. Next, as shown in section (3) of fig. 6B, the rivet feed pin 3027 is moved horizontally to move the rivet 3028 horizontally to the second portion of the rivet pallet profile slot 3029. Then, as shown in part (4) of fig. 6B, the rivet feed pin 3027 moves vertically downward, and since the second portion is sized to allow only the tail of the rivet 3028 to pass therethrough but not the head of the rivet 3028 to pass therethrough (i.e., the second portion is sized larger than the tail of the rivet 3028 but smaller than the head of the rivet 3028), the rivet 3028 is retained on the rivet support plate 3030 without falling off, facilitating subsequent rivet assembly operations.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a disk transport and assembly module in an automated assembly system according to the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 7, the disc transfer and assembly module 400 includes: a rivet module base 4001; a tuning wheel 4002; a module adjustment track 4003; a tape track 4004; a cam box 4005; and a servo motor 4006.

Fig. 8A is a partially enlarged view of a disc transfer and assembly module in an automatic assembly system according to the present disclosure, fig. 8B is an explanatory view of a vacuum suction process of a disc, and fig. 8C is an explanatory view of a disc assembly process. As shown in the figure, under the driving of the servo motor 4006, the disc is cut off from the disc tape by the cutting device, and the disc is transferred above the tape 4007 by the vacuum arm 4008 by means of vacuum suction. As shown in fig. 8B, section (1), a vacuum arm 4008 is provided with a vacuum arm suction port 40081, a vacuum arm positioning pin 40082, and a vacuum arm profiling area 40083. As shown in fig. 8B (2), disc 13 is accurately positioned and sucked in a vacuum sucking manner by means of vacuum arm suction port 40081 and vacuum arm positioning pin 40082. Then, as shown in the partial views (1) and (3) of fig. 8B, the disk 13 is securely held in the vacuum arm contoured region 40083 in a contour fit. Subsequently, as shown in fig. 8A and fig. 8C, part (1), the vacuum arm 4008 accurately transfers and fits the sucked disc 13 onto the rivet 11 that has passed through the base 12, and the left and right swage needles 4009 and 4010 press down to the disc 13 to fix the disc 13 in place. Subsequently, as shown in partial views (2) and (3) of fig. 8C, the vacuum arm 4008 is retracted and the left and right swage needles 4009 and 4010 are removed, thereby completing automatic assembly of the disc 13.

It should be noted that the structure of the spring arm transfer and assembly module and the operation of the assembly spring arm are similar to those of the disc transfer and assembly module 400, and therefore, for the sake of brevity, the description will not be repeated.

Accordingly, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that in an automated assembly system according to the present disclosure, the disc transfer and assembly module 400 and the resilient arm transfer and assembly module described above are each a vacuum feed assembly module configured to accomplish the feeding and assembly of either the disc 13 or the resilient arm 14 in a combination of vacuum suction and contour fit during assembly.

Fig. 9A is a schematic view of an upper cover assembly module in an automatic assembly system according to the present disclosure, and fig. 9B is an explanatory view of pre-riveting rivets in the upper cover assembly module. Referring to fig. 9A, the upper cover plate assembly module 602 includes: a rivet module base 6021; a turning wheel 6022; a module adjustment track 6023; a tape track 6024; a cam box 6025; a servo motor 6026 and an upper cover plate storage detection structure 6027.

Referring to fig. 9B, driven by the servo motor 3026, the vacuum arm 6029 assembles the upper cover plate onto the rivets of the strip 6028 that have passed through the base, disk and spring arm in a vacuum suction manner similar to that described above, and pre-rivets the rivets with a pre-riveting head (i.e., pre-rivet) 6030 to prevent the upper cover plate from shifting or falling off.

Fig. 10A is a schematic view of a rivet fastening module in an automatic assembly system according to the present disclosure, and fig. 10B is an explanatory view of riveting rivets and calibrating a protector component in the rivet fastening module. Referring to fig. 10A, a rivet fastening module 700 includes: a base 7001; a tape track 7002; a cam box 7003; a riveting alignment mechanism 7004; a cam box 7005; and a servo motor 7006. Among them, the rivet alignment mechanism 7004 used as a fastening alignment module is optional, and the rivet alignment mechanism 7004 is configured to align the interval between the convex hull provided on the elastic arm and the disc in the protector member.

Referring to fig. 10B, the protector assembly 7010 is positioned by the positioning pin 7009 and supported by the riveting support 7007 and the alignment support 7008 together, the riveting head 7011 is pressed against the rivet to rivet, while the alignment head 7012 crimps the movable and stationary contacts of the protector assembly together to align the spacing between the bosses and the disks provided on the resilient arms. That is, fastening of a rivet as a fastener and calibration of the caulking calibration mechanism 7004 serving as a fastening calibration block can be performed simultaneously, and the caulking position of the caulking head and the calibration position of the calibration head can be controlled separately.

Fig. 11A is a schematic diagram of an AOI detection module in an automatic assembly system according to the present disclosure, and fig. 11B is an explanatory diagram of a detection operation procedure of the AOI detection module. As shown, an AOI detection module (i.e., optical detection module) 800 is configured to optically detect a gap G (see fig. 12) between a convex hull disposed on a resilient arm and a disc in a protector assembly. Referring to fig. 11A, the AOI detection module 800 includes: a base 8001; a tape track 8002; a servo motor 8003; detecting and distributing wheel set 8004; and an optical system 8005.

Specifically, referring to fig. 11B, the AOI detection module 800 includes: a feed wheel 8007 serving as a first feed mechanism configured to convey a protector assembly to be tested 8008; a material holding wheel 8016 serving as a material holding mechanism configured to lift the protector assembly under test 8011 to a detection position where optical detection is possible; and an optical system 8005 including light sources 8009, 8013 and camera 8012 and configured to acquire an image of the protector element 8011 under test and detect a gap G (see fig. 12) between a convex hull provided on the elastic arm and a disc in the protector element 8011 under test.

As shown in fig. 11B, a plurality of to-be-tested protector elements 8008 on a material belt 8006 are conveyed by a feed wheel 8007, and a to-be-tested protector element 8011 is lifted by a material supporting wheel 8016 to a detection position where optical detection is performed, thereby achieving separation of the to-be-tested protector element 8011 from the to-be-tested protector element 8008. The measured protector assembly 8011 in the detecting position is held in the detecting position by the nip wheel 8010 and the carrier wheel 8016 serving as nip mechanisms. The protector element 8011 under test is irradiated with the light source 8009 on one side of the protector element 8011 under test, and light emitted from the light source 8009 and passing through the protector element 8011 under test is refracted by the mirror 8013 on the other side of the protector element 8011 under test toward the camera 8012, and an image of the protector element 8011 under test is acquired by the camera 8012 to detect a gap G (see fig. 12) between a convex hull provided on an elastic arm in the protector element 8011 under test and a disc. Then, the protector assembly 8014 for which the detection has been completed is conveyed further by the feed wheel 8015 serving as a second feed mechanism.

In actual operation, the staking alignment mechanism 7004 and the AOI detection module 800, which act as a fastening alignment module, can cooperate to achieve closed loop control of the spacing G between the bosses and the disks disposed on the spring arms in the protector assembly. Thus, the protector can be assembled with high quality.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged partial view of a protector assembled according to the automated assembly system of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 12, a convex hull 141 is provided on the resilient arm 14, and a gap G exists between the convex hull 141 and the disc 13. As described previously, the staking calibration mechanism 7004 serving as a fastening calibration module can be used to calibrate the gap G between the boss 141 and the disc 13 provided on the resilient arm 14 in the protector assembly, the AOI detection module 800 can be used to optically detect the gap G between the boss 141 and the disc 13 provided on the resilient arm 14 in the protector assembly, and the staking calibration mechanism 7004 serving as a fastening calibration module and the AOI detection module 800 can cooperate to achieve closed-loop control of the gap G between the boss 141 and the disc 13 provided on the resilient arm 14 of the protector. Thus, the specifications and performance of the protector assembled by the automatic assembly system according to the present disclosure can be ensured to meet requirements.

Compared with the manual assembly mode of the protector in the prior art, the automatic assembly system for the protector has the advantages of high assembly efficiency, stable assembly quality, strong universality, long service life, convenience in maintenance and operation, low use and maintenance cost and the like.

Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and variations can be made to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure without materially departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, all such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure as defined by the following claims. The scope of the disclosure is defined by the appended claims, and equivalents of those claims are intended to be embraced therein.

Claims (7)

1. A vacuum feed assembly module for assembling a protector, wherein the protector comprises a base, a disc, a resilient arm, an upper cover plate and a fastener configured to fasten the base, disc, resilient arm, upper cover plate of the protector together during assembly to form a protector assembly, wherein the vacuum feed assembly module is configured to complete the feeding and assembly of the disc or resilient arm in a combination of vacuum suction and form fit during assembly.

2. The vacuum feed assembly module of claim 1, comprising a drive and a vacuum arm, on which a vacuum arm suction opening and a vacuum arm profiling area are provided, the vacuum arm suction opening being configured for sucking the disc or the resilient arm in a vacuum sucking manner and the vacuum arm profiling area being configured for sucking and holding the disc or the resilient arm in a profiling fit.

3. The vacuum feed assembly module of claim 2, wherein the vacuum arm further comprises a vacuum arm positioning pin configured to position a disc or spring arm for vacuum extraction of the disc or spring arm.

4. The vacuum feed assembly module of claim 3, further comprising a swage mechanism configured to depress a disc or spring arm to secure the disc or spring arm in place after the vacuum arm completes vacuum suction of the disc or spring arm and feeds the disc or spring arm to an assembly position.

5. The vacuum feed assembly module of claim 4, wherein the swage mechanism includes a left swage pin and a right swage pin.

6. The vacuum feed assembly module of any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the drive means is a servo motor.

7. An automated assembly system for assembling a protector, wherein the protector comprises a base, a disc, a resilient arm, an upper cover plate, and a fastener configured to fasten the base, disc, resilient arm, upper cover plate of the protector together during assembly to form a protector assembly, characterized in that the automated assembly system comprises a vacuum feed assembly module according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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