CN107825116B

CN107825116B - Corner block replacement equipment

Info

Publication number: CN107825116B
Application number: CN201711287064.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 黄庆国; 张华�; 宋彦
Original assignee: Guangdong Esquel Textiles Co Ltd
Current assignee: Guangdong Esquel Textiles Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-12-07
Filing date: 2017-12-07
Publication date: 2024-04-30
Anticipated expiration: 2037-12-07
Also published as: CN107825116A

Abstract

The invention relates to a corner block replacement device for replacing a first corner block on a corner seat with a second corner block, comprising: a work table; the feeding device is arranged on the workbench to form a feeding station and comprises a storage structure and a discharge structure, and the dismounting device is arranged on the workbench to form a dismounting station; the rotating device is arranged on the workbench and comprises a rotating structure and a support piece for placing the angular seat, and the support piece is arranged on the rotating structure and rotates between the feeding station and the dismounting station along with the rotating structure; the picking and placing device comprises a mechanical arm arranged on one side of the rotating structure and a picking and placing structure arranged on the mechanical arm; the control device is in communication connection with the feeding device, the dismounting device, the rotating device and the picking and placing device. The corner block replacing equipment can automatically complete the replacement of the corner blocks on the corner seat, so that the replacement speed of the corner blocks is increased, the accuracy of the replacement of the corner blocks is improved, and the labor cost is reduced.

Description

Corner block replacement equipment

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of textile machinery, in particular to corner block replacement equipment.

Background

The circular knitting machine is widely applied to the textile field for producing T-shirts, underwear, sportswear, decorative cloth and the like due to the characteristics of multiple looping systems, high rotating speed, high yield, quick pattern deformation, good quality, strong product adaptability and the like. The corner block is used as a structure which can change knitting patterns and is applied to a circular knitting machine and has important function in the spinning process. At present, the angular seat runway of the circular knitting machine is divided into four runways, can be used for knitting needles with four different feet to knit, the angular categories are divided into three angular blocks of needle outlet, needle containing and flat needle, and all cloth cover organization structures are formed by combining the three angular blocks.

When the machine is organized and needs to be replaced by another organization cloth cover, the corner blocks on the corner seats need to be replaced according to different organization structures, the replacement is very time-consuming, and in the long-time replacement, the installation errors easily occur manually, the phenomena of flat needles, needle containing or needle discharging misplacement occur, and the quality problem of the woven grey cloth is caused, so that the production efficiency and the product quality are reduced.

Disclosure of Invention

Based on the above, it is necessary to provide a corner block replacement device which is time-saving, labor-saving and not prone to error, aiming at the problems that the replacement of the corner block is time-consuming, labor-consuming and prone to error.

An angular block replacement apparatus for replacing a first angular block on an angular seat with a second angular block, the angular block replacement apparatus comprising:

A work table;

The feeding device is arranged on the workbench to form a feeding station and comprises a storage structure and a discharging structure, the storage structure comprises a storage channel for storing the second corner blocks, the discharging structure comprises a discharging channel for outputting the second corner blocks, and an inlet of the discharging channel is communicated with an outlet of the storage channel;

The dismounting device is arranged on the workbench to form a dismounting station and comprises a sliding rail, a dismounting structure and a mounting structure, wherein the dismounting structure and the mounting structure are arranged on the sliding block and move along the sliding rail, the dismounting structure is used for separating the first corner block from the corner seat, and the mounting structure is used for connecting the second corner block with the corner seat;

the rotating device is arranged on the workbench and comprises a rotating structure and a support piece used for placing the angular seat, and the support piece is arranged on the rotating structure and rotates between the feeding station and the dismounting station along with the rotating structure;

The picking and placing device comprises a mechanical arm arranged on one side of the rotating structure and a picking and placing structure arranged on the mechanical arm, wherein the picking and placing structure comprises a first picking and placing mechanism, a second picking and placing mechanism and a third picking and placing mechanism, the first picking and placing structure is used for picking and placing the first corner block, the second picking and placing mechanism is used for picking and placing the corner seat, and the third picking and placing mechanism is used for picking and placing the second corner block; and

The control device is in communication connection with the feeding device, the dismounting device, the rotating device and the picking and placing device, and is used for controlling the working states of the feeding device, the dismounting device, the rotating device and the picking and placing device.

According to the corner block replacement equipment, the support piece is driven by the rotating structure to rotate between different stations and is positioned at the different stations. Firstly, the angular seat is placed on the support piece by the taking and placing device, the angular seat is driven by the rotating structure to rotate to the dismounting station, and the first angular block and the angular seat can be separated by the dismounting structure. Then, the corner seat rotates to the feeding station under the drive of the rotating structure, the taking and placing structure can take off the first corner block which is separated from the corner seat under the drive of the mechanical arm, and then obtain the second corner block from the discharging channel and place the second corner block on the corner seat. Then, the corner seat is positioned at the disassembly station again under the drive of the rotating structure, and the mounting structure can connect the second corner block to the corner seat. Finally, the taking and placing structure can take off the corner seat which is replaced by the second corner block from the support piece. Therefore, the corner block replacement equipment can automatically complete the replacement of the corner block on the corner seat, so that the replacement speed of the corner block is accelerated, the accuracy of corner block replacement is improved, and the labor cost is reduced.

In one embodiment, the corner block replacing device further comprises a recognition device in communication connection with the control device, the recognition device is located on one side, away from the workbench, of the rotating structure to form a recognition station, and the recognition device is used for recognizing the first corner block and the second corner block on the corner seat.

In one embodiment, the corner block replacement apparatus further includes a receiving container with an opening at one end, where the receiving container is disposed on the workbench and is used for storing the first corner block.

In one embodiment, the corner block replacing device further comprises a conveying device for conveying the corner block, the conveying device is arranged below the workbench, the conveying device comprises a conveying assembly and a blocking structure, the conveying assembly is used for driving the corner block to move from a starting end to a finishing end, and the blocking structure is arranged at the finishing end of the conveying assembly.

In one embodiment, the conveying device comprises two groups of conveying components which are arranged at intervals, and the conveying directions of the two groups of conveying components are opposite.

In one embodiment, the rotating device further comprises a first fixing structure, the first fixing structure is arranged outside the rotating structure, the first fixing structure comprises a fixing driving piece and a first fixing piece connected to the fixing driving piece, the fixing driving piece can drive the first fixing piece to stretch out and fix the corner seat on the support piece located at the current station, and the fixing driving piece can also drive the first fixing piece to retract and release the corner seat on the support piece located at the current station.

In one embodiment, the rotating structure comprises a rotation driving member and a rotating table connected to the rotation driving member, wherein the plurality of support members are arranged on the rotating table along the circumferential direction.

In one embodiment, the dismounting structure comprises a dismounting structure body and a dismounting head rotatably arranged on the dismounting structure body, the mounting structure comprises a mounting structure body and a mounting head rotatably connected to the mounting structure body, and the dismounting head and the mounting head are both positioned above the rotary table.

In one embodiment, the dismounting device further comprises a fastener delivery device comprising a fastener delivery tube with an outlet end facing the dismounting station and cooperating with the mounting head.

In one embodiment, the feeding device further comprises a pushing structure, the pushing structure is arranged at one end of the discharging structure, the pushing structure comprises a push rod arranged at one side of the outlet of the storage channel away from the discharging channel, and the push rod can stretch and retract along the extending direction of the discharging channel so as to extend into or withdraw from the outlet of the storage channel.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a corner block replacement apparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conveyor of the corner block changing apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a rotating device of the corner block replacement apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a loading device of the corner block changing apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

fig. 5 is a structural view of a pick-and-place structure of the corner block replacement apparatus shown in fig. 1.

Detailed Description

In order that the invention may be readily understood, a more complete description of the invention will be rendered by reference to the appended drawings. Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may also be present. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "left," "right," and the like are used herein for illustrative purposes only.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used herein in the description of the invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The term "and/or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

As shown in fig. 1, an apparatus 100 for replacing corner blocks according to the present preferred embodiment includes a table 12, a loading device 20, a dismounting device 30, a rotating device 50, a picking and placing device 60, and a control device (not shown). The corner block changing apparatus 100 can be used for changing different corner blocks 300 (shown in fig. 2) on a corner seat 200 in a circular knitting machine or other knitting machines to change different patterns of knitting. As shown in fig. 2, the corner blocks 300 each include a horizontally extending placement portion and a holding portion extending vertically from one end of the placement portion.

Specifically, the corner block replacing apparatus 100 is configured to replace a first corner block on the corner seat 200 with a second corner block, where the first corner block is a corner block 300 to be replaced on the corner seat 200, and the second corner block is a corner block 300 for replacing the first corner block. The first corner block and the second corner block may correspond to one type of corner block 300, and may also include a plurality of different types of corner blocks 300. In this embodiment, the first corner block and the second corner block each include three types of needle-out, needle-containing, and flat needle, so as to form different arrangements and combinations on the corner seat 200.

As shown in fig. 1 and 4, the loading device 20 is disposed on the workbench 12 to form a loading station. The feeding device 20 comprises a storage structure 22 and a discharging structure 24, the storage structure 22 comprises a storage channel 222 for storing the second corner block, the discharging structure 24 comprises a discharging channel (not shown) for outputting the second corner block, and an inlet of the discharging channel is communicated with an outlet of the storage channel 222. Thus, the second corner block stored in the storage channel 222 can enter the discharging channel to be convenient for the pick-and-place device 60 to pick.

As shown in fig. 1, a dismounting device 30 is provided on the table 12 to form a dismounting station. The dismounting device 30 comprises a sliding rail 32, a dismounting structure 34 and a mounting structure 36, wherein the dismounting structure 34 and the mounting structure 36 are arranged on the sliding block and move along the sliding rail 32, the dismounting structure 34 is used for separating a first corner block from the corner seat 200, and the mounting structure 36 is used for connecting a second corner block from the corner seat 200, so that the separation of the first corner block from the corner seat 200 and the mounting of the second corner block from the corner seat 200 are completed.

As shown in fig. 1 and 3, the rotating device 50 is mounted on the workbench 12, and comprises a rotating structure 52 and a support 54 for placing the angular seat 200, wherein the support 54 is mounted on the rotating structure 52 and rotates between a loading station and a dismounting station along with the rotating structure 52.

As shown in fig. 1 and 5, the pick-and-place device 60 includes a robot arm 62 disposed on one side of the rotating structure 52 and a pick-and-place structure 64 mounted on the robot arm 62. The picking and placing structure 64 includes a first picking and placing mechanism 644, a second picking and placing mechanism 646 and a third picking and placing mechanism 648, wherein the first picking and placing mechanism 644 is used for picking and placing a first corner block, the second picking and placing mechanism 646 is used for picking and placing the corner seat 200, and the third picking and placing mechanism 648 is used for picking and placing a second corner block. Thus, the first picking and placing mechanism 644 can remove the first corner block from the corner seat 200, the second picking and placing mechanism 646 can place the corner seat 200 on the support 54 or remove the corner seat 200 from the support 54, and the third picking and placing mechanism 648 can place the second corner block on the corner seat 200.

The control device is connected to the feeding device 20, the dismounting device 30, the rotating device 50, the picking and placing device 60 and other devices to control the working states of the feeding device 20, the dismounting device 30, the rotating device 50, the picking and placing device 60 and other devices, so that the automatic operation of the corner block replacement equipment 100 is realized.

Specifically, the control device comprises a manual operation mode and an automatic operation mode, when the manual operation mode is selected, the feeding, dismounting, rotating and taking-out steps can be manually selected according to the requirement, and the control device can be sequentially executed step by step, and can skip some steps to execute the next step; when the automatic operation mode is selected, the corner block replacement device 100 automatically replaces according to set working parameters (such as a starting-up module and a starting-up runway), and when the automatic operation mode is selected, unmanned monitoring is realized in the whole process, and alarm prompt can be carried out when abnormal conditions occur.

In the corner block replacing apparatus 100, the support 54 is driven by the rotating structure 52 to rotate between different stations and be located at different stations. First, the angular seat 200 is placed on the support 54 by the pick-and-place device 60, the angular seat 200 is driven by the rotating structure 52 to rotate to the disassembling station, and the disassembling structure 34 can separate the first angular block from the angular seat 200. Then, the corner seat 200 is driven by the rotating structure 52 to rotate to the feeding station, the pick-and-place structure 64 can be driven by the mechanical arm 62 to remove the first corner block separated from the corner seat 200, and then obtain the second corner block from the discharging channel and place the second corner block on the corner seat 200. Then, the corner seat 200 is driven by the rotating structure 52 to be located at the dismounting station again, and the mounting structure 36 can mount the second corner block placed on the corner seat 200. Finally, the pick-and-place structure 64 can remove the corner seat 200 that has been replaced with the second corner block from the support 54. In this way, the corner block replacing device 100 can automatically complete the replacement of the corner block 300 on the corner seat 200, thereby accelerating the replacement speed of the corner block 300, improving the replacement accuracy of the corner block 300 and reducing the production cost.

With continued reference to fig. 1, the corner block replacing apparatus 100 includes a machine 10 with traveling wheels, wherein the machine 10 is provided with a movable table 12, and the table 12 is disposed at one side of the machine 10 at intervals to mount the feeding device 20, the rotating device 50, the picking and placing device 60, and the like, and the mechanical arm 62 is mounted on one side of the machine 10, which is not provided with the machine 12, and can rotate relative to the machine 10, so that the picking and placing structure 64 is located above the machine 12.

The corner block changing apparatus 100 further comprises a recognition device 70 in communication with the control device, the recognition device 70 being located on a side of the rotating structure 52 remote from the table 12 to form a recognition station for recognizing the first corner block and the second corner block on the corner seat 200.

Specifically, the recognition device 70 includes a recognition bracket, an image recognition unit, and an image acquisition structure. The recognition bracket is mounted on the workbench 12, and the image acquisition structure is mounted on the recognition bracket for acquiring images of the first corner block and the second corner block on the corner seat 200 of the recognition station and transmitting the images to the image recognition unit. The image recognition unit can recognize the arrangement and combination mode of the first corner blocks on the corner seat 200, so that the data of the first corner blocks needing to be replaced are obtained, the data are fed back to the control device, and the control device controls the working states of the dismounting device 30 and the rotating device 50 according to the data; the image recognition unit may also recognize the arrangement and combination manner of the second corner blocks on the corner seat 200, so as to obtain the data of the replaced second corner blocks to confirm whether the arrangement of the second corner blocks is correct, thereby improving the replacement accuracy of the corner blocks. In this embodiment, the image recognition unit is a high-definition camera, so that images of the first corner block and the second corner block can be rapidly captured.

As shown in fig. 1, the corner block replacement apparatus 100 further includes a receiving container 80 with an opening at one end, where the receiving container 80 is disposed on the table 12 and located on one side of the rotating structure 52, for storing the first corner block. In this way, the first corner block removed by the pick-and-place device 60 can be recycled into the receiving container 80.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the corner block replacement apparatus 100 further includes a conveying device 90 for conveying the corner block 200, where the conveying device is disposed on the machine table 10 and below the working table 12, so that the pick-and-place device 60 picks up and places the corner block 200 and saves the volume of the corner block replacement apparatus 100.

Specifically, the conveying device 90 includes a conveying assembly 91 and a blocking structure 92, the conveying assembly 91 is used for driving the corner seat 200 to move from a start end to a finish end, the blocking structure 92 is disposed at the finish end of the conveying assembly 91, and the corner seat 200 can not move continuously along the conveying assembly 91 under the supporting of the blocking structure 92, so as to be closely arranged at the finish end of the conveying assembly 91, so that the pick-and-place device 60 can conveniently pick the corner seat 200 of the corner block 300 to be replaced from the conveying device 90, or place the corner seat 200 with the corner block 300 replaced in the conveying device 90.

In the present embodiment, the number of the conveying members 91 is plural, and the plurality of conveying members 91 are disposed at intervals in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveying members 91, so as to simultaneously complete conveying of the plurality of corner seats 200, thereby improving conveying efficiency. Specifically, the conveying device 90 includes four conveying members 91, the four conveying members 91 are arranged at intervals and divided into two groups, the conveying direction of one group of two adjacent conveying members 91 located at one side is opposite to the conveying direction of the other group of two adjacent conveying members 91 located at the other side, so that conveying of the corner seats 200 in different directions is completed, and the pick-and-place device 60 is located outside the terminal end of one group of conveying members 91 (i.e., outside the starting end of the other group of conveying members 91).

In this way, the angular seat 200 is transferred from the end far from the pick-and-place device 60 by one group of transfer components 91 to gradually approach the pick-and-place device 60, and finally is closely arranged at the terminal end of the transfer components 91. The pick-and-place device 60 may obtain the corner seat 200 from the terminal end of the conveying component 91, then place the corner seat 200 on the rotating device 50 for replacing the corner block 300, and then place the corner seat 200 with the corner block 300 replaced on the start end of the other group of conveying components 91 near the pick-and-place device 60. The corner seat 200 with the corner block 300 replaced is driven by the conveying assembly 91 to move away from the pick-and-place device 60 to the end of the conveying assembly 91, so that the next step is performed.

In an embodiment, the conveying device 90 further includes a limiting structure 93, the limiting structure 93 extends along the length direction of the conveying component 91 and is spaced from the conveying component 91, and the clamping portion of the corner seat 200 can be inserted into the limiting space to limit the displacement of the corner seat 200 in the extending direction perpendicular to the conveying component 91 through the limiting space, so as to prevent the corner seat 200 from sliding off the conveying component 91.

In an embodiment, the conveying device 90 further includes a conveying rail 94, and a receiving groove extending along the extending direction of the conveying assembly 91 is formed at the top of the conveying rail 94, and the conveying assembly 91 is received in the receiving groove. In this way, the conveying rail 94 protects the conveying assembly 91 from damage.

The conveyor 90 further includes a drive mechanism 95, the drive mechanism 95 including a drive 952 mounted on the table 12, a first transmission assembly 954, and a second transmission assembly 956. One of the first transmission component 954 and the second transmission component 956 is located at the start end of the transmission component 91, the other of the first transmission component 954 and the second transmission component 956 is located at the end of the transmission component 91, the driving piece 952 is connected with the first transmission component 954 and/or the second transmission component 956, and the transmission component 91 is wound around the first transmission component 954 and the second transmission component 956, so that the transmission component 954 and the second transmission component 956 are driven to move.

Further, the conveying component 91 is a roller chain surrounding the first and second transmission components 954 and 956, the roller chain includes a plurality of rollers sequentially arranged along the first direction and a chain plate connected to the plurality of rollers, and the placement portion of the corner seat 200 abuts against the rollers, so that the corner seat is driven by the rollers to move. In this embodiment, the roller is a rubber wheel, so that a larger friction force is generated between the roller and the angular seat 200 to drive the angular seat 200 to move synchronously. It is to be understood that the structure of the transfer assembly 91 is not limited thereto and may be provided as desired.

As shown in fig. 1 and 3, the rotating device 50 includes two first fixing structures 56, and the two first fixing structures 56 respectively correspond to a loading station and a dismounting station, so that the corner seats 300 located at the loading station and the dismounting station are firmly limited on the support 64. It will be appreciated that the number of first securing structures 56 is not limited thereto and may be provided as desired.

The rotating structure 52 includes a rotation driving member 524 and a rotation table 522 connected to the rotation driving member 524, a plurality of holders 54, and a plurality of holders 54 are circumferentially disposed on the rotation table 522. In this embodiment, the rotating device 50 includes four support members 54, the four support members 54 are uniformly arranged along the circumferential direction of the rotary table 522, and the adjacent two support members 54 form an included angle of 90 ° therebetween, so that the angular seat 200 on each support member 54 can be machined at the same time at four stations, so as to improve the machining efficiency. The finished corner seat 200 at one station may be rotated with the support 54 to the next station for further processing. It will be appreciated that the number of lugs 54 is not limited thereto and that a different number of lugs 54 may be provided as desired.

Specifically, each support member 54 includes an end plate 542 and two side plates 544 disposed at opposite ends of the end plate 542 and on the same side of the end plate 542, and the end plate 542 and the two side plates 544 enclose together to form a limiting space that cooperates with the clamping portion of the corner seat 200. The first fixing part 564 of the first fixing structure 56 is driven by the fixing driving part 562 to enter and exit the limiting space. When the corner seat 200 is placed on the support 54, the placement portion of the corner seat 200 is supported on the side plate 544 of the support 54, and the clamping portion can extend into the limiting space; when the support 54 with the corner seat 200 is rotated to the station with the first fixing member 564, the first fixing member 564 may extend into the limiting space from between the two side plates 544 and clamp and fix the corner seat 200 with the end plate 542.

Further, the end of the side plate 544 away from the end plate 542 is further provided with a support plate 546, and the two support plates 546 are respectively bent and extended from the two side plates 544. In this way, the two support plates 546 may together form a support structure on which the placement portion of the corner seat 200 may be supported, so as to be firmly limited on the support 54 to facilitate the taking and placing of the corner seat 200.

In one embodiment, the rotating device 50 further includes a second fixing structure 58, where the second fixing structure 58 is disposed on the rotating structure 52 and located on a side of the support 54 away from the first fixing structure 56, and the second fixing structure 58 includes a second fixing member 582 facing the support 54, so as to apply a pushing force to the corner seat 200 to firmly limit the corner seat 200 on the support 54.

Referring again to fig. 1, the detachment structure 34 includes a detachment structure body and a detachment head rotatably disposed on the detachment structure body, and the mounting structure 36 includes a mounting structure body and a mounting head rotatably coupled to the mounting structure body. The disassembly structure body and the installation structure body are both installed on the slide rail 32 and move along the slide rail 32, and the disassembly head and the installation head are both positioned above the rotary table 522 to correspond to the corner seat 200 on the support 54. The rotating removal head may loosen the fasteners connecting the first corner block to the corner seat 200, thereby separating the first corner block from the corner seat 200. Furthermore, the removal head may also suck away the removed fasteners to retrieve the fasteners. The rotating mounting head may then tighten the fastener connecting the second corner block to the corner seat 200, thereby connecting the second corner block to the corner seat 200. Specifically, the fastener is a screw, and screw holes are formed on the corner block 300 and the corner seat 200 to be connected with each other by the screw. In this embodiment, the disassembling structure 34 is a screw loosening machine, and the mounting structure 36 is a screw tightening machine, which are all of the prior art in the field, and thus are not described herein.

The dismounting device 30 further comprises a fastener delivery device for delivering or retrieving fasteners. The fastener delivery apparatus 90 includes a fastener delivery tube 40 with an outlet end of the fastener delivery tube 40 facing the mounting head and engaging the mounting head. Specifically in this embodiment, the outlet end of the fastener delivery tube 40 is aligned with the threaded bore in the second corner block, and then the fastener is slid down the fastener delivery tube 40 into the threaded bore and finally tightened by the mounting head to mount the second corner block on the corner seat 200.

As shown in fig. 1 and 4, the feeding device 20 further includes a pushing structure 26, the pushing structure 26 is disposed at one end of the discharging structure 24, the pushing structure 26 includes a push rod 266 disposed at one side of the outlet of the storage channel 222 away from the discharging channel, and the push rod 266 can stretch along the extending direction of the discharging channel to extend into or withdraw from the outlet of the storage channel 222, so as to push the second corner block at the outlet of the storage channel 222 to the discharging channel, and further move the second corner block at one end of the outlet of the discharging channel forward, thereby facilitating the picking and placing device 60.

Further, the storage structure 22 is detachably disposed on the discharge structure 24. In this way, when the second corner block in the storage structure 22 is used up, the entire storage structure 22 can be directly replaced without affecting the delivery of the second corner block by the discharge structure 24.

In the present embodiment, the extending direction of the storage channel 222 is perpendicular to the extending direction of the discharge channel. Specifically, the storage channel 222 extends in the vertical direction, and the discharge channel extends in the horizontal direction, so that the second corner blocks in the storage channel 222 can automatically and sequentially drop to the outlet of the storage channel 222 under the action of gravity without being pushed by other structures. It is understood that the extending directions of the storage channel 222 and the discharge channel are not limited thereto, and may be set as required.

Further, the storage structure 22 includes a plurality of storage channels 222, and the discharging structure 24 includes a plurality of discharging channels, which are in one-to-one correspondence with the storage channels 222. Thus, the plurality of storage channels 222 and the storage channels 222 can respectively store and transport the second corner blocks with different shapes, thereby meeting the requirements of knitting different patterns. In this embodiment, the storage structure 22 includes three storage channels 222, the discharging structure 24 also includes three discharging channels, and the inner diameters of the storage channels 222 and the discharging channels are slightly larger than the outer diameter of the second angular block, so that the second angular block can fall smoothly and move horizontally, and the second angular block is prevented from being blocked or worn.

The storage structure 22 includes a storage plate 224 and a plurality of storage side plates 226 disposed at intervals on one side of the storage plate 224, and two adjacent storage side plates 226 and the storage plate 224 together define a storage channel 222. Further, the length of the storage plate 224 is smaller than that of the storage plate 224 so that a notch is arranged at the outlet of the discharging channel, therefore, the outlet of the storage channel 222 is formed by only two storage side plates 226, and the push rod 266 can extend into the storage channel 222 from below the storage plate 224.

The discharging structure 24 comprises a base 242 and a discharging mechanism 244 arranged at one end of the upper surface of the base 242, wherein the discharging mechanism 244 comprises a discharging bottom plate 2442 and discharging limiting plates 2444 arranged at one side of the discharging bottom plate 2442 at intervals, and two adjacent discharging limiting plates 2444 and the base jointly define a discharging channel. Specifically, the discharge bottom plate 2442 is horizontally installed on the base 242, and the discharge limiting plate 2444 is vertically installed on the upper surface of the discharge bottom plate 2442, thereby forming a discharge channel. The storage structure 22 is located at the other end of the upper surface of the base 242, and the outlet of the storage structure 22 is aligned with the inlet of the discharge channel, so as to facilitate the movement of the corner seat 200.

With continued reference to fig. 1, the pushing structure 26 includes a pushing seat 262 and a pushing driving member 264, the pushing driving member 264 is disposed on the pushing seat 262, and the push rod 266 is mounted on an end of the pushing driving member 264 near the discharging structure 24. In this manner, the push-out driver 264 may drive the push rod 266 to retract to push the second corner block.

Specifically, the push-out structure 26 includes a plurality of push-out driving members 264 and a plurality of push rods 266, where each push-out driving member 264 is provided with one push rod 266. In this way, the pushing structure 26 can push the second corner blocks located in the plurality of storage channels 222 simultaneously or separately, so as to achieve flexible transportation of the corner seats 200. In the present embodiment, the push-out driver 264 is a push-out cylinder.

In one embodiment, the corner block loading device 20 further includes a monitoring module (not shown) for monitoring the number of second corner blocks in the storage structure 22. When the second corner block in the storage structure 22 is used up, the monitoring module can alarm to prompt the operator to replace the storage structure 22 without affecting the production progress.

As shown in fig. 1 and 5, the pick-and-place structure 64 further includes a replacing base 642, and the first, second and third pick-and-place structures 644, 646, 648 are all mounted on the replacing base 642 to form a whole, and the replacing base 642 is used for connecting the mechanical arm 62 so as to drive the whole pick-and-place device 60 to be located at different processing positions under the driving of the mechanical arm 62.

With continued reference to fig. 1 and 5, the first pick-and-place structure 644 includes an adsorption rod 6422 connected to an external device and a suction cup 6444 disposed at one end of the adsorption rod 6422, where the suction cup 6444 sucks the first corner block to be replaced from the corner seat 200 by an adsorption force generated by the external device, so that the first corner block is quickly separated from the corner seat 200. Thereafter, when the suction cup 6444 is positioned in the receiving container 80, the suction force generated by the external device is reduced, thereby putting the first corner into the receiving container 80. In this embodiment, the number of the first pick-and-place structures 644 is two and are spaced apart to collectively pick up the first corner block. It is understood that the number of the first pick-and-place structures 644 is not limited thereto, and a plurality of first pick-and-place structures 644 may be provided as needed to satisfy the requirement of the adsorption force.

Second pick-and-place structure 646 includes a first driver 6462 and two jaws 6464 connected to first driver 6462, wherein the two jaws 6464 are moved toward or away from each other by the drive of first driver 6462 to grip or release corner bases 200 to transport corner bases 200 from conveyor 90 to conveyor 50 or to transport corner bases 200 from conveyor 50 to conveyor 90. In this embodiment, first driver 6462 is a clamping cylinder. It is to be appreciated that in other embodiments, first driver 6462 may be other power sources for driving first pick-and-place members, and is not limited in this regard.

Third picking and placing structure 648 includes a second driving member 6482 and a second picking and placing member 6484 connected to second driving member 6482. Second picking and placing member 6484 has two jaws at the end remote from second driving member 6482. Second driving member 6482 can drive the two jaws to open or close. Thus, the jaws of second picking and placing member 6484 may extend into the threaded holes of corner block 300, and second driving member 6482 may drive the jaws to open to engage the walls of the threaded holes of the second corner block and engage the second corner block, and then move picking and placing device 60 by robot arm 62. When the second corner block is placed on the corner seat 200, the second driver 6482 drives the two jaws together, so that the jaws are separated from the threaded holes of the second corner block to release the second corner block, thereby completing the placement of the second corner block. In this embodiment, second driver 6482 is a clamping cylinder. It will be appreciated that in other embodiments, second driver 6482 may be another source of power for driving the second pick-and-place member, and is not limited in this regard.

Further, the corner pick-and-place device 60 of the knitting machine further includes a buffer structure 649, wherein the buffer structure 649 connects the third pick-and-place structure 648 with the mounting base 642 to provide a buffer for the third pick-and-place structure 648 when the second corner block is placed, so as to avoid the damage of the second corner block and the corner seat 200 caused by collision. Thus, when the third pick-and-place structure 648 places the second corner block, the second corner block receives the reaction force of the corner seat 200, and the reaction force is transferred to the third pick-and-place structure 648, and the third pick-and-place structure 648 compresses the buffer structure 649 to offset the reaction force, thereby avoiding damage to the second corner and the corner seat 200.

The operation of the above-mentioned corner block replacement apparatus 100 is as follows:

First, the pick-and-place device 60 acquires the corner seat 200 from the conveying device 90, places the corner seat 200 on the support 54 of the rotating device 50 at the pick-and-place station, and the corner seat 200 reaches the recognition station under the rotation of the rotating structure 52, and the recognition device 70 acquires and recognizes the image of the first corner block.

Then, the corner seat 200 at the recognition station is rotated to the disassembly station, and the disassembly device 30 unscrews the fastener connecting the first corner block and the corner seat 200 and recovers the fastener. Then, the corner seat 200 is driven by the rotating structure 52 to rotate to the feeding station, the pick-and-place device 60 obtains a first corner block from the corner seat 200 and places the first corner block in the receiving container 80, and then obtains a second corner block from the feeding device 20 and places the second corner block on the corner seat 200.

Then, the corner seat 300 with the second corner block is rotated to the recognition station, and the recognition device 70 re-acquires the image of the second corner block to determine whether the installation is correct. When the second corner block is properly installed, the corner seat 200 is again rotated to the removal station and the mounting structure 36 connects the second corner block to the corner seat 200 via fasteners.

Finally, the corner seat 200 with the corner block 300 replaced is returned to the pick-and-place station, and the pick-and-place device 60 picks up the corner seat 200 and places the corner seat 200 on the conveying device 90 to be conveyed to the next step.

In the above working process, four corner seats 200 are always placed on the rotating structure 52, and the four corner seats 200 are simultaneously located at different stations to simultaneously perform different processing procedures, so that the replacement efficiency is high.

According to the corner block replacing equipment 100, the feeding station, the identification station, the dismounting station and the picking and placing station are formed around the rotating device 50 through the feeding device 20, the identification device 70, the dismounting device 30 and the picking and placing device 60, and the corner block 300 is automatically replaced under the automatic control of the control device, so that the replacing efficiency is improved, the labor cost is reduced, and errors caused by manual operation can be avoided.

The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined, and all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are not described for brevity of description, however, as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features, they should be considered as the scope of the description.

The above examples illustrate only a few embodiments of the invention, which are described in detail and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, which are all within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of protection of the present invention is to be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An angular block replacement apparatus for replacing a first angular block on an angular seat with a second angular block, the angular block replacement apparatus comprising:

A work table;

The dismounting device is arranged on the workbench to form a dismounting station and comprises a sliding rail, a dismounting structure and a mounting structure, wherein the dismounting structure and the mounting structure are arranged on the sliding rail and move along the sliding rail, the dismounting structure is used for separating the first corner block from the corner seat, and the mounting structure is used for connecting the second corner block with the corner seat;

The control device is in communication connection with the feeding device, the dismounting device, the rotating device and the picking and placing device and is used for controlling the working states of the feeding device, the dismounting device, the rotating device and the picking and placing device;

The first picking and placing mechanism comprises an adsorption rod connected to an external device and a sucker arranged at one end of the adsorption rod, and the sucker sucks the first corner block which needs to be replaced from the corner seat through adsorption force generated by the external device so as to enable the first corner block to be quickly separated from the corner seat;

the second picking and placing structure comprises a first driving piece and two clamping jaws connected with the first driving piece, and the two clamping jaws are mutually close to or far away from each other under the driving of the first driving piece, so that the corner seats are clamped or loosened, and the corner seats are conveyed from the conveying device to the rotating device or conveyed from the rotating device to the conveying device;

the third picking and placing structure comprises a second driving piece and a second picking and placing piece connected to the second driving piece, two clamping claws are arranged at one end, far away from the second driving piece, of the second picking and placing piece, and the second driving piece can drive the two clamping claws to open or gather;

The rotating device further comprises a first fixing structure, the first fixing structure is arranged outside the rotating structure, the first fixing structure comprises a fixing driving piece and a first fixing piece connected with the fixing driving piece, the fixing driving piece can drive the first fixing piece to extend out and fix the corner seat on the support piece of the current station, and the fixing driving piece can also drive the first fixing piece to retract and release the corner seat on the support piece of the current station;

Each support piece comprises an end plate and two side plates which are arranged at two opposite ends of the end plate at intervals and are positioned on the same side of the end plate, and the end plate and the two side plates are jointly enclosed to form a limit space matched with the clamping part of the corner seat;

The first fixing piece of the first fixing structure is driven by the fixing driving piece to enter and exit the limiting space.

2. The corner block replacement apparatus of claim 1 further comprising identification means in communication with the control means, the identification means being located on a side of the rotating structure remote from the table to form an identification station, the identification means being for identifying the first corner block and the second corner block on the corner seat.

3. The corner block replacement apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a receptacle having an opening at one end, the receptacle being disposed on the table for storing the first corner block.

4. The corner block replacement apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a conveyor for conveying the corner block, the conveyor being disposed below the table, the conveyor comprising a conveyor assembly for driving the corner block from a start end to a finish end, and a blocking structure disposed at the finish end of the conveyor assembly.

5. The corner piece changing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said conveying means comprises two sets of conveying members arranged at intervals, and the conveying directions of said two sets of conveying members are opposite.

6. The corner piece changing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotating structure includes a rotation driving member and a rotation table connected to the rotation driving member, the plurality of holders are provided in plurality, and the plurality of holders are provided on the rotation table in a circumferential direction.

7. The corner piece replacement apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the dismounting structure comprises a dismounting structure body and a dismounting head rotatably provided to the dismounting structure body, the mounting structure comprises a mounting structure body and a mounting head rotatably connected to the mounting structure body, and the dismounting head and the mounting head are both located above the turntable.

8. The corner piece replacement device of claim 7 wherein the dismounting device further comprises a fastener delivery device comprising a fastener delivery tube having an outlet end facing the dismounting station and engaging the mounting head.

9. The corner piece changing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the feeding device further comprises a push-out structure provided at one end of the discharge structure, the push-out structure comprises a push rod provided at one side of the outlet of the storage channel away from the discharge channel, and the push rod is retractable along the extension direction of the discharge channel to extend into or withdraw from the outlet of the storage channel.