KR102560783B1 - Artificial graphite production automation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an artificial graphite production automation apparatus, comprising: a gantry crane provided above a graphitization furnace and movable along the longitudinal direction of a base structure; A conveyor installed on one side of the upper portion of the base structure in the longitudinal direction to transfer a raw material crucible loading pallet, a graphite crucible loading pallet, or an empty pallet; An articulated robot installed on the gantry crane and movable in its longitudinal direction; A fixed pipe part installed on the other upper side of the base structure to supply or discharge subsidiary materials; A movable piping unit provided to be coupled to the fixed piping unit, including a moving unit, and providing an intermediate path for supplying and recovering subsidiary materials to each graphitization furnace while moving together with the gantry crane; Doedoe fixed to the crane leg of the gantry crane located on the other upper side of the base structure, the holder consisting of a tool holder on which a plurality of working tools are mounted and a binding tool holder on which the moving means of the moving pipe unit is installed; and a buffer hopper installed above the gantry crane to temporarily store and discharge subsidiary materials, wherein the articulated robot performs work by selectively mounting one of a plurality of work tools provided on a cradle.

Description

Artificial graphite production automation apparatus {Artificial graphite production automation apparatus}

The present invention relates to an artificial graphite production automation device, and more particularly, to an artificial graphite production automation device that does not scatter subsidiary materials when inputting subsidiary materials, increases the management convenience of piping facilities for supplying and collecting subsidiary materials, and improves the operating efficiency of a robot provided in a gantry crane.

Artificial graphite is widely used in fields such as anode materials for secondary batteries, electrodes for iron and steel making, electric discharge machining electrodes, nuclear fusion reactors, semiconductors and solar cells.

Such artificial graphite has disadvantages of low graphitization and high price due to manufacturing process cost compared to natural graphite, but has a relatively excellent lifespan characteristic, and is particularly in the limelight as an anode material for secondary batteries.

Accordingly, the present applicant has disclosed an artificial graphite production automation system for artificial graphite production in Patent Document 1 below.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the artificial graphite production automation system includes a raw material filling unit 100, a crucible heat treatment unit 200, a new filler supply unit 300, a filler processing unit 400, and a graphite crucible processing unit 500. As shown in FIG. A plurality of gantry robots are provided in the working gantry 230, and the gantry robot is composed of a crucible working robot 230a for loading and unloading the crucible and a filling material working robot 230b for supplying and discharging the filling material.

In addition, the crucible working robot 230a is provided with an arm capable of holding the crucible, and the filling material working robot 230b has an inflow and outflow line, which is a passage through which the resistance material and the insulating material are supplied and discharged. made up of lines

However, the input/output line needs to be moved together with the filler working robot 230b while being connected to the new insulating material transfer line 350 and the new resistive material transfer line 370. Considering the size of the crucible heat treatment unit 200 ranging from several tens to hundreds of meters, it is not easy to install and manage the input/output line, and in particular, when replacing the input/output line, there is a problem in that the entire input/output line spanning several tens of meters must be replaced.

In addition, when the crucible working robot 230a is working, the filling material working robot 230b is in a stopped state, and when the filling material working robot 230b is working, the crucible working robot 230a is in a stopped state. Therefore, there is a problem that expensive robots cannot be operated efficiently.

In addition, there is a problem in that when the insulating material or the resistance material supplied to the graphitization furnace is discharged through the input and output lines, it is scattered while being blown into the graphitization furnace by the supplied blowing force.

Accordingly, the present applicant came up with the present invention to improve these problems found in the process of preparing the system.

Registered Patent Publication No. 10-2163786 (Announced on October 8, 2020)

An object to be solved by the present invention is to provide an artificial graphite production automation device that does not scatter subsidiary materials when inputting subsidiary materials into the graphitization furnace, can increase the convenience of management of piping facilities for supplying and recovering subsidiary materials, and improves operational efficiency of a robot provided in a gantry crane.

In order to solve the above problems, the artificial graphite production automation apparatus of the present invention includes a gantry crane provided above the graphitization furnace and movable along the longitudinal direction of the base structure; A conveyor installed on one side of the upper portion of the base structure in the longitudinal direction to transfer a raw material crucible loading pallet, a graphite crucible loading pallet, or an empty pallet; An articulated robot installed on the gantry crane, movable in its longitudinal direction, and directly performing crucible charging and discharging operations and auxiliary material input and recovery operations; A fixed pipe part installed on the other upper side of the base structure to supply or discharge subsidiary materials; a movable pipe part detachably provided to the fixed pipe part and providing an intermediate path for supplying and recovering subsidiary materials to each graphitization furnace while moving with the gantry crane; Doedoe fixed to the crane leg of the gantry crane located on the other upper side of the base structure, the holder consisting of a tool holder on which a plurality of working tools are mounted and a binding tool holder on which the moving means of the moving pipe unit is installed; And a buffer hopper fixedly installed on the upper part of the gantry crane to temporarily store and discharge subsidiary materials, wherein the articulated robot performs work by selectively mounting one of a plurality of work tools provided on a cradle, and the moving pipe part includes a first flexible hose detachably provided in the fixed pipe part, and the moving means enables the first flexible hose to be moved in at least two or more directions, and the work tool is moved inside the graphitization furnace by the articulated robot for auxiliary material supply and recovery work. It includes a subsidiary material working tool equipped with a second flexible hose that can move freely.

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In addition, in the artificial graphite production automation apparatus of the present invention, an automatic binding device is provided at the front end of the first flexible hose, a common pipe fixedly installed on a gantry crane is connected to one end of the first flexible hose, a first switching valve is provided at the other end of the common pipe, and a second switching valve is provided at the outlet side of the buffer hopper, and one end of a subsidiary material supply line and a subsidiary material suction line are connected to the first switching valve, and the other end of the subsidiary material supply line is connected to the buffer hopper, The other end of the auxiliary material suction line is connected to the second switching valve.

In addition, the artificial graphite production automation apparatus of the present invention further includes a plurality of fixing jigs for mounting and fixing working tools on the upper part of the tool holder, and each fixing jig is provided with a recognition means capable of recognizing the working tools mounted on the corresponding fixing jig.

In addition, the apparatus for automating the production of artificial graphite of the present invention further includes a crushing tool including a molding die for evenly compacting the subsidiary material when the working tool is used to insert the subsidiary material into the graphitization furnace, a debris handling tool including a tray for holding crucible fragments, and a crucible grip tool configured to hold the crucible in order to perform crucible charging and discharging operations.

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In addition, in the artificial graphite production automation apparatus of the present invention, a blade having an upward inclination angle is formed at the front end of the molding die, a plurality of cutting blades are protruded from the blade, the cutting blade is provided in a wedge shape, and a center blade has a downward inclination angle.

According to the artificial graphite production automation apparatus of the present invention, the subsidiary material is temporarily stored and discharged through the buffer hopper, but is free-falled by its own weight and introduced into the graphitization furnace, so that the subsidiary material does not scatter and the working environment is improved.

In addition, according to the artificial graphite production automation apparatus of the present invention, it is easy to install and manage piping facilities for supplying and recovering subsidiary materials through a moving pipe unit.

In addition, according to the artificial graphite production automation apparatus of the present invention, since a plurality of work tools can be selectively mounted and work can be performed, the articulated robot can be efficiently operated.

1A is an overall configuration diagram of an artificial graphite production automation system according to the prior art, and FIG. 1B is a configuration diagram of a crucible heat treatment unit of the artificial graphite production automation system according to the prior art.
2 is a block diagram of an artificial graphite production automation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of part “A” in FIG. 2 .
4 is another embodiment of a compaction tool in an artificial graphite production automation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is an embodiment of a debris treatment tool in an artificial graphite production automation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the present invention, carbon black, insulating materials, and resistance materials introduced into the graphitization furnace for graphitization are referred to as "subsidiary materials," and a crucible filled with raw materials in which all materials that can be used to produce artificial graphite are mixed in a powder state is referred to as a "raw crucible". A pallet on which a plurality of raw material crucibles are loaded is called a "raw material crucible loading pallet", a pallet on which a plurality of graphite crucibles are loaded is called a "graphite crucible loading pallet", and a raw material crucible loading pallet, a graphite crucible loading pallet, and an empty pallet are collectively referred to as a "pallet".

Referring to FIG. 2, an artificial graphite production automation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a gantry crane 10 provided on the top of a graphitization furnace (a), a conveyor 20 installed on one upper side of a base structure (b), an articulated robot 30 installed on the gantry crane 10, a fixed pipe part 40 installed on the other upper side of the base structure (b), and a moving pipe part 50 provided to be coupled to the fixed pipe part 40. It includes a cradle 60 installed on one side of the gantry crane 10 and a buffer hopper 70 installed above the gantry crane 10, and the articulated robot 30 is provided on the cradle 60. It is characterized in that one of the plurality of working tools 65 is selectively mounted to perform work.

Here, the graphitization furnace (a) is a facility for producing artificial graphite by graphitizing the raw material inside the raw material crucible, and a known graphitization furnace is used, and a base structure (b) provided for installation of a work space for workers and various facilities. It is installed inside (b).

Hereinafter, specific contents of the present invention will be described for each configuration.

The gantry crane 10 is a support structure provided with various equipment for performing crucible loading and discharging operations and subsidiary material input and recovery operations, and moves in the upper space of the base structure (b) along the rail (c) installed in the longitudinal direction (z) in the upper space of the base structure (b).

The conveyor 20 is configured to transfer raw material crucible loading pallets, graphite crucible loading pallets, or empty pallets, and is installed on one side of the upper portion of the base structure (b) in its longitudinal direction (z).

Although not shown, a carry-in lifter is configured at the start end of the conveyor 20 in the transfer direction, and a transfer lifter is configured at the end of the conveyor 20 in the transfer direction.

The loading lifter is disposed adjacent to one end of the conveyor 20 and is a device for transporting raw material crucible loading pallets or empty pallets located on the ground to the height of the upper surface of the base structure (b), and the loading lifter is a device disposed adjacent to the other end of the conveyor 20 and transporting empty pallets or graphite crucible loading pallets back to the ground.

The articulated robot 30 is configured to directly perform crucible loading and discharging operations and subsidiary material inputting and retrieval operations. The articulated robot 30 is provided with an arm capable of selectively mounting a plurality of working tools 65 described later, and a vision camera equipped with rotation and zoom functions for active operation.

The articulated robot 30 can recognize and mount a specific work tool 65 from the recognition means 64 provided in the fixing jig 63 using a vision camera, and can perform work while checking the internal state of graphitization through the vision camera, so the accuracy and efficiency of work increases.

On the other hand, in the graphitization furnace (a), secondary materials such as carbon black, heat insulating material, and resistance material are stacked from the bottom, and an articulated robot 30 equipped with a subsidiary material work tool 65a to be described later inputs the carbon black, heat insulating material, or subsidiary material that freely falls from the buffer hopper 70 in a state close to the working surface of the resistance material, so that scattering when inputting the subsidiary material can be prevented.

In addition, through the free operation of the articulated robot 30, the insulation material, resistance material, and carbon black can be separately taken out from the top of the graphitization furnace after the graphitization process, so that the separation and reuse efficiency of subsidiary materials can be increased.

For reference, the articulated robot shown by the dotted line on the right side of FIG. 2 is for explaining a state in which the crucible grip tool 65d is mounted and moving.

The fixed pipe part 40 is a pipe fixed to the other side of the upper part of the base structure (b) to transport subsidiary materials supplied from a plurality of supply silos installed on the ground, recover subsidiary materials in the graphitization furnace, and discharge them to a plurality of recovery silos installed on the ground. As a pipe, it is provided to correspond to each graphitization furnace.

In one embodiment, the fixed pipe part 40 is composed of a subsidiary material supply pipe 41 and a subsidiary material recovery pipe 42, but its arrangement is not limited thereto and can be modified as long as only supply and recovery of subsidiary materials are possible.

The movable pipe part 50 is configured to provide an intermediate path for supplying and recovering subsidiary materials to each graphitization furnace while moving with the gantry crane 10, and includes a first flexible hose 51 detachably provided to the fixed pipe part 40 and a common pipe 52, one end of which is connected to the first flexible hose 51 and fixedly installed on the gantry crane 10.

An automatic binding device 511 is provided at the front end of the first flexible hose 51 to facilitate coupling with the fixed pipe part 40, and a moving means 512 capable of moving the first flexible hose 51 in at least two or more directions is provided, and a first switching valve 53 is provided at the other end of the common pipe 52.

An auxiliary material supply line 54 and an auxiliary material suction line 55, which will be described later, are connected to the first switching valve 53.

As shown in FIG. 3, the holder 60 is fixedly installed on the crane leg d of the gantry crane 10 located on the upper side of the base structure b, and includes a tool holder 61 on which a plurality of working tools 65 are mounted and a binder holder 62 on which the moving means 512 of the moving pipe part 50 is mounted.

In addition, a plurality of fixing jigs 63 for holding and fixing working tools 65 are further provided on the upper part of the tool holder 61, and each fixing jig 63 is provided with a recognition means 64 capable of recognizing the working tool 65 mounted on the corresponding fixing jig 63.

The working tool 65 is a device selectively mounted on the articulated robot 30 to perform auxiliary material supply and recovery and crucible loading and discharging operations.

The auxiliary material work tool 65a has an inlet and outlet 651a for supplying and collecting auxiliary materials, and a second flexible hose 652a is connected to the inlet and outlet 651a so that the auxiliary material work tool 65a is freely movable in the graphitization furnace by the articulated robot 30.

The compacting tool 65b is a device for evenly compacting the subsidiary material when inserting the subsidiary material into the graphitization furnace, and includes a forming die 651b.

As shown in FIG. 4 as an embodiment, the compaction tool 65b includes a blade 652b and a cutting blade 653b at the tip of a molding die 651b.

The blade 652b is formed by extending the front end of the molding die 651b and has a bent or round structure having an upward inclination angle θ, and the cutting blade 653b is manufactured in a wedge shape when viewed from a plane, but the central blade 653'b of the cutting blade 653b may have a structure having a downward inclination angle α and a downward inclination surface β.

Here, due to the input characteristics of the free-falling subsidiary materials, the subsidiary materials have no choice but to be put in as many valleys and crests are created similarly to the waveform, and the load may be added to the molding die 651b due to the valleys during compaction work. The load acting on the molding die 651b can be reduced.

Also, a blade 652'b may be further provided at the rear of the forming die 651b, so that compaction may be performed while moving backward.

On the other hand, since the crucible is deteriorated and damaged when repeatedly used at a high temperature, there is a case where it is necessary to remove the broken crucible fragments. As a component for collecting the crucible fragments present in the graphitization furnace, the crucible fragments treatment tool 65c is configured to include a tray 651c for containing the crucible fragments as shown in FIG.

The crucible fragments contained in the tray 651c are collected and discharged into a collection box provided on the base structure (b).

The crucible grip tool 65d is a device having a structure capable of holding a crucible in order to perform crucible loading and discharging operations, and is provided with a separate driving means and operates alone or mechanically connected to the articulated robot 30 to operate.

As shown in FIG. 2, the buffer hopper 70 is fixedly installed on the upper part of the gantry crane 10 and temporarily stores subsidiary materials before being introduced into the graphitization furnace.

The buffer hopper 70 is provided with a subsidiary material supply line 54 having one side connected to the first switching valve 53 and the other side connected to the buffer hopper 70, and a second switching valve 56 is provided on the outlet side of the buffer hopper 70.

And the auxiliary material suction line 55 is configured by connecting between the first switching valve 53 and the second switching valve 56.

The aforementioned second flexible hose 652a may be directly connected to the second switching valve 56 or indirectly connected through an intermediate pipe.

As described above, in the present invention, subsidiary materials are temporarily stored and discharged through the buffer hopper 70, but are free-falled by their own weight and introduced into the graphitization furnace, thereby suppressing the scattering of subsidiary materials and improving the working environment.

On the other hand, the artificial graphite production automation device of the present invention is comprehensively controlled and managed through a control room.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

10: gantry crane
20: conveyor
30: articulated robot
40: fixed piping
41: subsidiary material supply pipe 42: subsidiary material recovery pipe
50: moving piping part
51: first flexible hose 52: common pipe
53: first conversion valve 54: subsidiary material supply line
55: subsidiary material suction line 56: second switching valve
60: cradle
61: tool holder 62: binding tool holder
63: fixed jig 64: recognition means
65: tool for work
70: buffer hopper

Claims (7)

In the artificial graphite production automation device including a plurality of graphitization furnaces (a) installed inside the base structure (b) to graphitize the raw material inside the raw material crucible,
A gantry crane 10 provided above the graphitization furnace (a) and movable along the longitudinal direction (z) of the base structure (b);
A conveyor 20 installed on one side of the upper portion of the base structure (b) in the longitudinal direction (z) to transport raw material crucible loading pallets, graphite crucible loading pallets or empty pallets;
An articulated robot 30 that is installed on the gantry crane 10 and is movable in its longitudinal direction (y) and directly performs crucible loading and discharging operations and subsidiary material input and recovery operations;
A fixed pipe part 40 installed on the other upper side of the base structure (b) to supply or discharge subsidiary materials;
A moving pipe part 50 that is detachably provided to the fixed pipe part 40 and provides an intermediate path for supplying and recovering subsidiary materials to each graphitization furnace (a) while moving with the gantry crane 10;
It is fixedly installed on the crane leg (d) of the gantry crane (10) located on the other upper side of the base structure (b), a tool holder (61) on which a plurality of working tools (65) are mounted, and a cradle (60) consisting of a binding tool cradle (62) on which the moving means (512) of the moving pipe part (50) is installed; and
A buffer hopper 70 fixedly installed on the upper part of the gantry crane 10 to temporarily store and discharge subsidiary materials;
The articulated robot 30 performs work by selectively mounting one of the plurality of work tools 65 provided on the cradle 60,
The movable pipe part 50 includes a first flexible hose 51 detachably provided to the fixed pipe part 40,
The moving means 512 enables the first flexible hose 51 to move in at least two directions,
The work tool 65 includes a subsidiary material work tool 65a equipped with a second flexible hose 652a freely movable in the graphitization furnace by the multi-joint robot 30 for auxiliary material supply and recovery work. Artificial graphite production automation device, characterized in that it includes. delete According to claim 1,
An automatic binding device 511 is provided at the front end of the first flexible hose 51, and a common pipe 52 fixedly installed on the gantry crane 10 is connected to one end of the first flexible hose 51, and a first switching valve 53 is provided at the other end of the common pipe 52. A second switching valve 56 is provided on the outlet side of the buffer hopper 70, and an auxiliary material supply line 5 is provided in the first switching valve 53 4) and one end of the subsidiary material suction line 55 are respectively connected, the other end of the subsidiary material supply line 54 is connected to the buffer hopper 70, and the other end of the subsidiary material suction line 55 is second The artificial graphite production automation device, characterized in that it is connected to the switching valve (56). According to claim 1,
A plurality of fixing jigs 63 for holding and fixing work tools 65 are further provided on the upper part of the tool holder 61, and each fixing jig 63 has a work tool mounted on the fixing jig 63. An artificial graphite production automation device characterized in that a recognition means 64 capable of recognizing the work tools 65 is provided. According to claim 1,
The working tool 65 is
An artificial graphite production automation device further comprising a crushing tool 65b including a molding die 651b for evenly compacting subsidiary materials when inserting subsidiary materials into the graphitization furnace, a debris handling tool 65c including a tray 651c for containing crucible fragments, and a crucible grip tool 65d having a structure capable of holding the crucible to perform crucible charging and discharging operations. delete According to claim 5,
The forming die 651b has a blade 652b having an upward inclination angle θ is formed at the front end, a plurality of cutting blades 653b are protruded from the blade 652b, and the cutting blade 653b is provided in a wedge shape and the central blade ′ has a downward inclination angle α.