Patent Application
20220088785
The present application claims priority to European Patent Application No. 20 197 828.5 filed on Sep. 23, 2020. The entire contents of the above-listed application is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.
The present invention relates to a device for the automatic establishment of a plug-in connection of a plug arranged at a cable to a plug mating element and to a gripper that can be used in such a device.
Document DE 10 2017 217601 A1 shows a method of plugging in an electric plug by means of a gripper arranged at a robot. In this process, the plug is first moved to the socket so that it contacts it mechanically and determines the correct plug-in position by a search movement of the plug in a search plane transverse to the plug-in direction. However, due to the mechanical strain of the plug and socket, this solution is only possible at all for specific plugs and sockets. It is additionally time-consuming and complex.
A charging station for charging electrically operated automobiles is known from document US 2015/0210174 A1 in which the plug of the charge cable is automatically connected to the charge socket by means of a robot.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved device for the automated establishment of a plug-in connection of a plug arranged at a cable to a plug mating element.
This object is achieved by a device in accordance with claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the present invention form the subject of the dependent claims.
The present invention comprises in a first aspect a device for the automated establishment of a plug-in connection of a plug arranged at a cable to a plug mating element comprising a gripper for gripping the plug, a handling unit having a plurality of axes for moving the gripper, and a control for controlling the gripper and the handling unit. Provision is made in this respect that the device comprises at least one second gripper for gripping the cable or a second plug arranged at the other end of the cable. Longer cables having a plug and/or cables having plugs arranged at both ends can also be installed by the further gripper.
The handling unit is in particular a multi-axis robot and/or a surface portal.
The device in accordance with the invention is in particular a device for the automated cabling of battery modules, in particular in the manufacture of vehicles having hybrid and/or electric drives.
The control of the device in accordance with the invention is preferably programmed such that the methods described in the following for the establishment of a plug-in connection of a plug to a plug mating element are carried out in an automated manner. To the extent that how the handling unit and/or the grippers is/are used is described in the following, this always takes place—unless otherwise stated—by a corresponding control by the control that is correspondingly programmed for this purpose.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the second gripper is arranged at a second handling unit having a plurality of axes.
The second handling unit is in particular a multi-axis robot and/or a surface portal.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the first and second grippers are movable together via at least one and preferably a plurality of movement axes of a handling unit.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the first gripper is arranged via a first handling unit and the second gripper is arranged via a second handling unit at a common support element that is movable via a third handling unit. The third handling unit can in particular serve the rough positioning of the two grippers; the first and second handling units the fine positioning.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the movement space of the first and second handling units is smaller than that of the third handling unit.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the first and second handling units are a surface portal and/or a three-dimensional portal. The third handling unit can also be a surface portal and/or a three-dimensional portal. The longest travel path of a movement axis of the first and second handling units is preferably shorter than the longest travel path of a movement axis of the third handling unit and is further preferably shorter than the shortest travel path of a movement axis of the third handling unit.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the second gripper Is connected to the gripper via at least one movement axis.
The first gripper can in particular be arranged at a support element at which the second gripper is movably arranged via a movement axis. The support element is preferably moved by a handling unit.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the movement axis is a linear axle.
The linear axle is preferably aligned in a plane perpendicular to the plug-in direction and/or in parallel with the direction of the cable leading away from the plug in a straight direction.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the control is designed such that the second gripper grips the cable to position it during and/or after the plugging of the plug.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the cable is kinked at the point where it leaves the second gripper.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, two first grippers for gripping the two plugs arranged at the cable and two second grippers for gripping the cable are provided by which the cable is kinked.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the second gripper has two gripping elements, in particular gripping jaws, between which the cable is gripped, with a side edge of at least one of the gripping elements over which the cable extends being curved.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the gripping elements have a length of at least 2 cm, and preferably of at least 3 cm, in the direction of the cable. Alternatively or additionally, two second grippers are arranged between the kink point and the plug along the cable. Strains that act on the cable by the bending are thereby kept away from the plug.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the gripping elements are formed by rollers.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the rollers are rotatably supported. In a possible embodiment, the rotatability of at least one of the rollers can be blocked, in particular via an actuator that fixes the roller.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the rollers have an undercut for the cable at their outer peripheries. This undercut can be formed, for example, as a projecting edge and/or can be formed by a side wall of a groove running around at the outer periphery of the roller by which the cable is at least partly gripped around.
The second grippers can here, as described above, be connected to one of the first grippers via a movement axis and/or can be moved via a common handling unit by a first gripper.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the second gripper has a pressing element for pressing the cable into a mount.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the pressing element is arranged at the second gripper movable via an actuator.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the gripping elements of the second gripper are designed as guide elements by which the second gripper can be traveled along the cable to guide it along a defined route. The guide elements can be rotatably supported here and can roll off on the cable
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the second gripper has a pressing element that is preferably rotatably supported at the gripper and rolls off on the cable.
The pressing element can here be travelable by an actuator between the gripping elements of the gripper in a possible embodiment to press the cable out of the gripping elements into a mount.
The pressing element can here be arranged behind the gripping elements of the gripper in a possible embodiment to press the cable into a mount after exiting the gripping elements
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the device comprises two grippers for gripping and plugging the plugs arranged at the two ends of a cable.
The device furthermore preferably comprises at least one further gripper to grip the cable.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the first gripper comprises a plug-in actuator for moving the plug into a plugged-in position with the plug mating element.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the plug-in actuator is a linear actuator. It can, for example, be a pneumatic cylinder and/or an electromechanical linear drive.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the first gripper is a mechanical gripper for gripping the plug. The gripper preferably comprises at least two mechanical elements, in particular gripping jaws and/or gripping fingers, that are movable relative to one another via an actuator.
The movement axis of the plug-in actuator is preferably perpendicular to the movement axis of the gripping elements.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the plug-in actuator moves the plug via a pushing element to move into the final plug-in position. The pushing element can be the gripping elements of the gripper in a possible embodiment of the present invention. In a preferred embodiment, the pushing element is, however, an element separate from the gripping elements.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the pushing element presses onto an upper side of the plug. In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the pushing element is arranged above a reception region for the plug provided between the gripping elements.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the control is designed such that it controls the first gripper such that it loosens or releases the grip of the gripper before the plug-in actuator moves the plug into the final plug-in position by means of the pushing element. The grip of the gripper can be loosened or released in this process before the pushing element moves the plug or at least before the plug has been moved into the final plugged in position.
The control is designed in a possible embodiment of the present invention such that it controls the handling unit to move the plug into an engagement position with the plug mating element and controls the plug-in actuator to move the plug into the final plug-in position with the plug mating element with a stationary handling unit.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the first gripper comprises a compensation unit that permits a compensation movement of the gripper with respect to the handling unit in at least one operating mode.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the compensation unit comprises one or more springs against whose preload the gripper can be laterally and/or axially deflected.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the compensation unit can be switched from a first operating mode in which the compensation unit permits a compensation movement of the gripper with respect to the handling unit into a second operating mode in which the gripper is rigidly arranged at the handling unit.
The plug-in actuator is preferably arranged at a base body of the first gripper that is connected to the end member of the handling unit via the compensation unit.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the first gripper comprises a latching device for latching a latching element of the plug and/or of the plug mating element. In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the latching device comprises a contact element for contacting the latching element in a plugged-in position of the plug. The gripper furthermore preferably comprises an actuator for moving the contact element relative to the plug.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the plug-in actuator is used to move the contact element relative to the plug. A pushing element for moving the plug is preferably connected to the plug-in actuator in a movable, and further preferably in a resilient, manner and therefore permits a further movement of the plug-in actuator, by which the contact element is moved toward the latching element, after the moving of the plug into the plugged-in position.
The contact element is preferably movably connected to the plug-in actuator and is preferably preloaded in the plug-in direction via a spring. The spring thus transmits the force for latching the latching element onto the contact element.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the end position of the plug-in actuator is recognized via a sensor. The movement of the plug-in actuator is preferably stopped as soon as the end position has been reached in which the latching element has been latched. The sensor can here detect an approach of the sensor to the pushing element in a possible embodiment.
In an alternative embodiment, the gripper can have an additional actuator for moving the contact element.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the end position of the actuator that is used for moving the contact element is recognized via a sensor. The movement of the actuator is preferably stopped as soon as the end position has been reached in which the latching element has been latched.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the first gripper comprises an alignment element that can be brought into contact with at least one side surface of the plug mating element to align the plug with the plug mating element. In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the device is designed such that the alignment element comes into contact with a side surface of the plug-mating element.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the alignment element and the plug held by means of the gripping element are movable relative to one another by means of an actuator of the first gripper to align the plug with the plug mating element. The alignment therefore does not take place or at least does not exclusively take place via a movement of the handling unit.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the first gripper comprises at least two alignment elements that encompass the plug mating element at oppositely disposed sides and are travelable toward one another via the at least one actuator to align the plug with respect to the plug mating element.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the alignment elements grip the plug mating element. In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the alignment of the plug takes place by aligning the gripper.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the control is designed such that the plug is brought into an engagement position with the plug mating element while the at least one alignment element is in contact with the plug mating element and the alignment elements preferably grip the plug mating element. The movement of the plug into the final plug-in position preferably also takes place while the at least one alignment element is in contact with the plug mating element and the alignment elements preferably grip the plug mating element.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the alignment element is arranged at the gripper movable by an actuator and moves the former relative to the handling unit.
In a preferred embodiment, the alignment element is arranged at the gripper movable by an actuator and moves the former relative to the handling unit, with this movement being made possible by the compensation unit that is arranged between the gripper and the handling unit and that is deflected by the alignment element to align the gripper.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the device comprises a camera for detecting the position of the plug mating element, with the control preferably being designed such that the plug received at the gripper is traveled to a plug-in position in front of the plug mating element on the basis of the detected position.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the camera is arranged at the first gripper, with the control preferably being designed such that the camera is first traveled into a measurement position in front of the plug mating element to detect the position of the plug mating element and the plug received at the gripper is thereupon traveled into the plug-in position by repositioning the first gripper.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the position detection is used to determine an offset between an actual position and an intended position of the plug mating element and to correspondingly correct the position of the gripper for plugging the plug.
In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the detection of the position of the plug mating element and/or the traveling of the plug into the plug-in position takes place by a rigidly connected compensation element and the movement of the plug into the plugged position takes place by means of the plug-in actuator with a flexibly connected compensation unit.
The present invention furthermore comprises a gripper for a device such as has been described above, with it being a second gripper for gripping the cable.
The second gripper here in particular comprises a pressing element for pressing the cable into a mount.
Alternatively or additionally, the second gripper can be combined with a first gripper. The two grippers can in particular be connected to one another via a movement axis.
The gripper or grippers can here be designed as has already been described above with respect to the device in accordance with the invention.
The second gripper can in particular comprise rollers as gripping elements such as has been described above.
The present invention furthermore comprises a method for the automated establishment of a plug-in connection of a plug arranged at a cable and having a plug mating element having a device such as has been described above, with two plugs arranged at the ends of the cable being gripped and plugged by a first and second gripper and/or with a plug being gripped and plugged by a first griper and the cable being gripped and positioned by a second gripper.
The method in this respect preferably takes place such as has already been described in more detail above.
The method is in particular used for the cabling of battery modules, in particular in the manufacture of vehicles having hybrid and/or electric drives.
Cables that serve as module connectors for connecting battery modules can hereby in particular be installed.
The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to embodiments and to drawings.
There are shown:
Embodiments of the present invention that implement a plurality of aspects of the invention in combination in part will be described in more detail in the following. The aspects shown in combination in the embodiments can, however, also each be used per se in accordance with the invention.
The embodiment of the device shown in
The cabling of such battery modules has previously been done manually since no devices for the automated establishment of the plug-in connections were available. The present invention now offers such a device via which the plug-in connections can be established in an automated manner, in particular with battery modules.
The use of the present invention in particular takes place as part of the manufacture of vehicles having hybrid and/or electric drives. The support devices 2 at which the modules 1 are installed can here be transported to the device in accordance with the invention via a transport arrangement 3 to establish the plug-in connections. The device in accordance with the invention can here be part of a production line for manufacturing automobiles.
The device in accordance with the invention can here be used in a possible application for the installation of cables at whose two ends a respective plug is arranged that is connected to a plug mating element by the device in accordance with the invention.
In alternative embodiments, one end of the cable could, however, also already be electrically connected.
In a possible embodiment, the device in accordance with the invention is designed and its control is in particular programmed such that a plurality of cables are successively installed at the battery unit of the same vehicle by the device. Cables of different lengths and/or having a different extent of the cable can preferably be installed in this process.
In possible embodiments of the present invention, a plurality of devices in accordance with the invention can be arranged after one another in a production line, with a first device installing shorter cables than a second device in a possible embodiment.
The above-described use for cabling battery modules is not only possible in the first embodiment of a device in accordance with the invention shown in
The devices in accordance with the invention here have, as shown in
In the embodiment shown in
The control 50 of the device in accordance with the invention is respectively programmed such that the methods described within the framework of the present application for the establishment of a plug-in connection of a plug to a plug mating element are carried out in an automated manner. The total installation of the cables and plugs in particular takes place in an automated manner.
The control that is only shown schematically in
The features in accordance with the invention of the device shown in
The grippers here each serve to grip a plug 10 that is pushed into a plug mating element 15 in the form of a plug strip. The plug 10 is here arranged at a cable 11 and establishes an electrical connection between the cable 11 and the plug mating element 15.
In the embodiment, the plug 10 has a latching element 13 that is mechanically actuable and that latches the plug in the plugged in position. The latching element 13 can for this purpose cooperate with a mating element 16 of the plug mating element which can, for example, be a latching nose. Grippers in accordance with the invention can, however, also be used for plugging plugs without a latching element.
In a first aspect of the present invention, the movement by which the plug is pushed into the plugged in position with the plug mating element 15, at least does not exclusively take place by the handling unit 20+, but rather at least in part also by a plug-in actuator 36 of the respective gripper. The use of such a plug-in actuator 36 that can also be called a joining actuator permits the grippers in accordance with the invention to establish the plug-in connection more efficiently and with greater freedom from strain for the plug and the plug mating element.
The plug-in actuator can in particular be a linear actuator that moves the plug into a plugged-in position with the plug mating element 15. The plug-in actuator 36 can in particular press the plug 10 onto an end abutment of the plug mating element 15 in this process to join the plug-in connection.
The axis of movement of the plug-in actuator 36 extends in the embodiment perpendicular to the axis of movement of the gripping jaws 33 of the gripper. The axis of movement of the plug-in actuator 36 is furthermore perpendicular to a plane defined by the upper side of the plug 10 or by the contact surface of the pushing element 37. The axis of movement of the plug-in actuator 36 furthermore extends in the plug-in direction of the plug.
The joining actuator 36 in the embodiments is a pneumatic cylinder in each case. Any desired other actuators, in particular any desired other linear actuators are also conceivable, for example an electromechanical drive or a hydraulic drive.
To grip the plug 10, the gripper has one or more respective gripping elements 33 via which the plug is gripped. The gripper can, for example, be a mechanical, pneumatic, and/or magnetic gripper. In a possible embodiment of the present invention, the gripper is a vacuum gripper and/or an adaptive shape gripper. In the embodiments shown, the gripper is a mechanical gripper. Mechanical gripping elements, in particular two gripping jaws, are accordingly used that can be moved toward one another by means of an actuator to grip the plug. In alternative embodiments, however, other grippers can also be used, for example pneumatic grippers.
In the embodiments, the plug-in actuator 36 for moving the plug does not, however, act on the plug 10 by the gripping elements 33, but rather in that the plug-in actuator 36 moves a pushing element 37 that presses against the upper side of the plug 10 and pushes it into the plugged-in position.
In the embodiments, the gripper is here controlled such that the gripping elements 33 loosen or release their grip on the plug before the plug-in actuator has moved the plug into the plugged position.
In the embodiment shown in
In the second embodiment shown in
In alternative embodiments, it would, however, also be conceivable that the plug-in actuator moves the gripping elements to move the plug received in the gripping elements into the plugged-in position by means of the gripping elements.
In the embodiment, the control 50 is respectively designed such that it controls the handling unit to move the plug into an engagement position with the plug mating element 15. The handling unit is thereupon no longer moved on, but the plug-in actuator is rather controlled to move the plug into the final plug-in position with the plug mating element 15 with a stationary handling unit. The handling unit is therefore only used to bring the plug into engagement with the plug mating element; the actual plug-in procedure then follows via the plug-in actuator 36.
As already shown above, the grip of the gripper is here loosened or released after the plug has been moved into the engagement position and the plug is then pushed into the final plug-in position by the pushing element.
In the embodiment, the grippers each have an installation element 31 by means of which they are installed at the end member of the handling unit. As can be seen in
The plug-in actuator 36 is here arranged at the gripper such that it can move an element of the gripper, in particular the pushing element 37 and/or the gripping elements 33 of the gripper, relative to this installation element 31 and thus relative to the end member to the handling unit.
In a further aspect of the present invention that is also part of the present invention independently of the use of a plug-in actuator, the embodiments of the grippers in accordance with the invention comprise a compensation unit 32 that permits an escape movement of the gripper relative to the installation element 31 and thus relative to the end member of the handling unit in at least one operating mode.
In both embodiments, the plugging of the plug into the final plug-in position here takes place in a state of the compensation unit in which it enables a compensation movement. Strains that would otherwise be transmitted from the handling unit onto the plug are hereby kept away from it.
In a possible embodiment, the compensation unit 32 can be switched, and in particular from a first operating mode in which the compensation unit permits a compensation movement of the gripper with respect to the handling unit, into a second operating mode in which the gripper is rigidly arranged at the handling unit. In alternative embodiments of the present invention, the compensation unit can also always be in the first operating mode in which it permits a compensation movement.
The compensation unit 32 can here have one or more springs against whose preload the gripper can deflect laterally or in the axial direction.
The compensation unit can here be set up such as is described in document EP 2 679 354 A2 of the same applicant with respect to
The switchability can here, for example, be provided pneumatically in that a retaining force by which the gripper is fixed with respect to the installation element 31 is pneumatically produced to fix the switching unit.
In a further aspect of the present invention that can likewise be used independently of the previously described aspects, the gripper comprises a latching device for latching the latching element 13 of the plug 10.
In the embodiment, a respective contact element 38 is provided for this purpose that contacts the latching element 13 in the plugged-in position of the plug 10 and moves it into the latched position.
The contact element 38 is movable via an actuator of the gripper in both embodiments. It is a linear actuator in both cases. Either the plug-in actuator 36 or a further actuator 35 separate therefrom can be used as the actuator.
In both embodiments, the arrangement for moving the contact element 38 is in any case designed such that the contact element is movable relative to the pushing element 37 by which the plug is pushed into the plugged-in position to actuate the latching element 13 of the plug.
Since the two embodiments of the gripper are each used as part of the industrial installation of cables and plugs, the position of the plug mating element is already known in advance from the geometry of the device at which the plug is to be plugged. However, certain deviations of the actual position from the intended position occur in industrial production due to tolerances.
To be able to compensate these deviations, the two embodiments each have an alignment device by which the plug can be aligned in the correct position relative to the plug mating element to enable a plugging of the plug despite a deviation of the actual position of the plug mating element from the position intended for it.
These alignment devices are also each separate subject matters of the present invention independently of the above-described aspects.
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment, two alignment elements 34, they are designed as alignment jaws in the embodiment, are provided for this purpose that are movable relative to one another via an actuator. The alignment elements 34 here form gripping elements that engage around the plug mating element 15.
The alignment of the gripper relative to the plug mating element 15 takes place here in an operating mode of the compensation unit 32 in which it permits a compensation movement of the gripper. The gripper is therefore aligned with respect to the plug mating element 15 by the closing of the alignment elements around said plug mating element 15. This takes place directly in a direction of movement of the alignment elements 34 by the actuator of the alignment elements 34, in a direction perpendicular thereto by the run-on chamfers 34′ of the alignment elements 34 that engage around edges of the plug on both sides and center them with respect to the alignment elements 34.
Both the alignment elements 34 and the gripping elements 33 are arranged at a base body 39 of the gripper. The axes of movement of the alignment elements 34 and of the gripping elements 33 extend in parallel with one another.
In the embodiment, the alignment elements 34 extend at least in part in the plug-in direction below the gripping elements 33 for gripping the plug 10.
The alignment elements 34 in the embodiment hereby project beyond the front side of the plug mating element 15 so that run-on chamfers 34′ come into contact with the corners of the plug when the alignment elements 34 close in a position in which the plug mating element 15 is actually arranged further forward than intended.
The pushing element 37 is likewise arranged at the base body 39 of the gripper via the plug-in actuator 36 and can therefore be moved independently of the gripping elements 33 and the alignment elements 34.
The pushing element 37 is here arranged between the respective gripping elements 33 engaging around the sides of the plug or of the plug mating element and the alignment elements 34 over the reception region for the plug formed by the gripping elements 33 and so presses onto the upper side of the plug to push it into the plug mating element 15.
The plugging in this respect runs as follows:
The handling first moves the gripper with the plug 10 gripped by the gripping elements 33 into an alignment position in front of the plug mating element in which the plug 10 does not yet contact it, but the alignment elements 34 are already arranged to the side of the plug mating element 15. This takes place on the basis of a predefined position of the end element of the handling unit determined on the basis of the intended position of the plug mating element 15. If the compensation element is switchable, this preferably takes place with a rigidly connected compensation unit.
The alignment of the gripper taking place subsequent thereto takes place with a released compensation unit. The alignment elements 34 hereby center the gripper with the plug 10 in the correct position above the plug mating element 15.
The handling unit 20 now moves the plug 10 into the plug mating element 15 so that the plug comes into engagement therewith.
The gripping elements 33 are now opened. The plug-in actuator 35 presses the plug 10 onto the end abutment. The plug is now in the final plug-in position.
In the embodiment, the gripper furthermore comprises a latching device for latching the latching element 13 of the plug as soon as the latter is in the final plug-in position.
A contact element 38 that is traveled toward the latching element 13 is provided for this purpose. In the embodiment, the contact element 38 moves the latching element 13 in the plug-in direction.
To move the contact element 38, a latching actuator 35 is provided via which the contact element 38 is arranged at the base body 39 of the gripper. The contact element can therefore be moved independently of the gripping elements 33, the alignment elements 34, and the pushing element 37.
The latching actuator 35 in the embodiment is a linear actuator, for example a pneumatic cylinder.
The latching actuator here actuates the latching element, in particular the latching pin of the plug, after the latter is in the final plugged-in position.
The plug-in procedure is thus concluded.
In the embodiment shown in
The position detection takes place in the embodiment via image recognition. The position detection can, however, also take place in alternative embodiments via more complex camera-based sensors by which the actual position of the plug matting element 16 is detected two-dimensionally or three-dimensionally, for example a laser scanner.
In the embodiment, the camera 41 is arranged next to the base body 39 of the gripper and is set back with respect to the gripping elements 33. The optical axis of the camera 41 is aligned in parallel with the plug-in direction of the plug or of the axis of movement of the plug-in actuator 36 in the embodiment.
In the embodiment, the camera is fastened to the installation element 31 to which the compensation unit 32 is also fastened and is therefore connected to the handling unit without the interposition of the compensation unit 32.
The determination of the actual position of the plug mating element 15 takes place in that the handling unit travels the camera 41 over the plug mating element 15. This takes place on the basis of the intended position of the plug mating element 15. The actual position of the plug mating element 15 is detected by image recognition and the offset from the intended position is determined.
The handling unit now travels the gripper with the plug 10 into a plug-in position in front of the plug mating element 15 while taking account of the offset determined by the camera. The handling unit then travels the plug 10 into the plug mating element 15 so that the two are in engagement with one another.
If the compensation unit is switchable, the traveling to the plug-in position in front of the plug mating element 15 takes place with a rigidly connected compensation unit.
The compensation unit is in contrast preferably released for the movement of the plug 10 into the plug mating element 15. Alternatively, the compensation unit can also be released after the plug has been brought into engagement with the plug mating element 15 via the handling unit.
The plug-in actuator is now controlled to press the plug onto the end abutment. This is done with a released compensation unit.
The pressing of the plug into its final plugged-in position also does not take place via the gripping elements 33, but rather via a pushing element 37 in the second embodiment shown in
In the second embodiment shown in
The plug-in actuator 36 is arranged at a base body 39 of the gripper that is connected to the end member of the handling unit via the compensation unit 32. Rods 42 are furthermore provided via which the base element 46 is guided in the axial direction of the plug-in actuator 36 with respect to the base body 39.
In the second embodiment, the gripping elements 33 therefore move along with the pushing element 37 while the pushing element 37 pushes the plug into its final plugged-in position. However, they no longer engage the plug 10 during this pushing movement so that no strains are transmitted from the gripper 40 to the plug 10.
The second embodiment of the gripper also has a latching device for latching the latching element 13 of the plug 10. A contact element 38 is provided here that pressure on the latching element 13 by an actuator of the gripper to actuate the former.
In the second embodiment, the contact element 38 is actuated via the plug-in actuator 36 and is arranged at the base element 46 for this purpose.
To permit a further movement of the base element 46 with the contact element 38 after the pushing element 37 has pushed the plug into its final plugged-in position, the pushing element 37 is movably arranged at the base element 46. The pushing element 37 is preloaded in the plug-in direction via springs 44 with respect to the base element 46. The preload of the springs 44 is greater than the plug-in force that is required to plug the plug into its final plugged-in position. Once the plug has been pushed against the end abutment, the base element 46 can, however, approach the pushing element 37 against the force of the springs 44 and can thus actuate the latching element by the contact element 38.
If the base element 46 is moved toward the pushing element 37 and the plug against the force of the springs 44, the gripping elements 33 that are rigidly arranged at the base element 46 in the axial direction move together with the latter in the plug-in direction or in the axial direction.
The gripping elements 33 are equipped with an undercut 43 that engages around the upper edge of the plug and that thus prevents the plug from falling out of the gripper on a gripping of the plug. The plug can, however, be moved upward within the gripping elements 33 against the preload of the springs 44, with the upper edge engaged around by the undercuts 43 moving upward in a cut-out in the inner side walls of the gripping elements.
In the embodiment, the pushing element 37 is designed as an elongate plate that is guided via two rods 43 in cutouts 45 of the base element 46, with the springs 44 surrounding the rods 43 and preloading the pushing element 37 with respect to the base element 46.
A sensor 48 is furthermore arranged at the base element 46 and recognizes when the base element 46 has been moved into a position in which the contact element was actuated. In the embodiment, the sensor 48 is installed in a projection 47 at the base body 46 and is designed as a proximity sensor that recognizes an approach of the pushing element 47 to the lower side of the sensor 48.
The contact element 38 is movably arranged in the plug-in direction at the base element 46 and is preloaded in the plug-in direction via a spring. The preload of the spring is here greater than the force required to actuate the latching element. If the latching element is actuated, the movable support of the contact element protects the latching element from damage when the base element 46 is moved further toward the plug.
The previously described grippers serve the gripping of a plug to connect it to a plug mating element.
In accordance with a further independent aspect of the present invention, the device in accordance with the invention comprises, in addition to a first gripper for gripping a plug, a second gripper that is used to grip the cable or a second plug arranged at the other end of the cable. If the second gripper for gripping the other plug is used, cables at whose two ends plugs are arranged can be connected to corresponding plug mating elements by the device in accordance with the invention. If the second gripper is used to grip the cable, the present invention enables a positioning of the cable in accordance with a desired extent of the cable. This is in particular of advantage on the installation of longer cables since the pliable design of the cables makes a positioning of longer cables difficult solely by a positioning of the plugs.
The first and second grippers can each be arranged at a first and second handling unit having a plurality of axes of movement to be moved independently of one another at least in part.
The movement space of the handling units 24 and 25 is smaller than that of the third handling unit 26. The handling unit 26 serves the rough positioning of the twin gripper formed via the two grippers 40. The two handling units 24 and 25 in contrast serve the fine positioning of the grippers, in particular the positioning of plugs received in the two grippers with respect to the corresponding plug mating elements.
In the embodiment, the two handling units 24 and 25 are configured as mini surface portals, with the support element 27 representing a movement rail at which a side of the respective handling unit is travelable. A further slide of the respective handling units forms a further axis extending perpendicular thereto.
A further axis of the handling units 24 and 25 in the plug-in direction is not necessary since, where necessary, the plug-in actuator of the respective gripper can carry out a position compensation in the plug-in direction.
The third handling unit 26 is a three-dimensional portal that is arranged via a support device 5 above a transport line 3 on which the support device 2 for the battery modules is transported to the device in accordance with the invention.
In the embodiment shown in
The device shown in
In the third embodiment of a device in accordance with the invention shown in
In the embodiment, the two handling units are multi-axial robots having rotational axes, in particular 6-axis industrial robots. They permit moving the two grippers independently of one another in each case.
In the embodiment, the grippers are arranged via a gripping arm extension at the respective end element of the handling unit 24, 25 to avoid a collision of the handling units.
This embodiment also preferably serves the plugging of short cables in which the cable itself does not have to be supported or gripped.
A gripper in accordance with the first embodiment could also be used here instead of a gripper in accordance with the second embodiment.
A fourth embodiment of a device in accordance with the invention is shown in
Longer cables can also be positioned or non-linear cable guides can be implemented by the additional gripper 70 for gripping the cable.
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment, the two handling units 24, 25 are multi-axial robots having rotational axes, in particular 6-axis industrial robots. Alternatively, surface portals could also be used here or a solution such as is shown in
A gripper in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention is furthermore used as the gripper 40 for gripping the plug in the embodiment. Alternatively, however, another gripper, for example a gripper in accordance with the first embodiment, could also be used.
The gripper 70 for gripping the cable is a mechanical gripper having two gripping elements 72 that can be moved toward one another via an actuator to receive and mechanically hold the cable between them. In the embodiment in
The gripper 70 is combined with the gripper 40 such that the cable is guided in a straight direction away from the plug to the gripper 70 when the plug and the cable are gripped by the respective grippers. The respective gripping jaws 33, 72 of the grippers 40. 70 in particular extend in parallel and the respective axes of movement of the actuators for moving the gripping elements likewise extend in parallel.
In the embodiment, the gripper 70 for gripping the cable is connected via a linear axle 71 to the gripper 40 for gripping the plug. The distance at which the gripper 70 grips the cable from the plug can be set via this linear axle.
The gripper 70 has the object of stabilizing the preshaped cable, in particular to prevent it from sagging, and to hold it in shape and/or to kink the cable at a defined point if it is not preshaped.
As can be recognized in
The front edge 75 of the gripping jaws 72 of the gripper 70 in
The gripper jaws 72 are preferably either designed as relatively wide to keep the bending torque of the cable away from the plug 10 or two grippers 70 are used that successively engage at the cable. The gripper jaws 72 can preferably have a length of more than two centimeters, in particular of more than five centimeters.
In the embodiment in
The axis of the rollers 72 extends in the embodiment perpendicular to a plane in which the cable extends and/or perpendicular to the direction of movement of the linear axle 71 and/or in the plug-in direction of the first gripper 40.
The rollers are preferably rotatably supported. In a possible embodiment, the rollers can be fixed in at least one rotational position, for example by an actuator that travels the rollers axially toward a braking element.
The rollers 72 therefore grip the cables laterally at their periphery. In the embodiment, a respective undercut in the form of a peripheral groove is provided at the periphery of the rollers 72 by which the cable is engaged around and is hereby secured at the gripper.
The gripper 70 can be traveled along the cable while it grips the cable to position it and to kink it in the end position of the travel path.
The second gripper such as is shown in
The first gripper 40 in the embodiment is arranged at a support element 76 that includes the linear axle 71 at which the gripper 70 is arranged. The support element 76 to which the two grippers are fastened is in turn arranged at the end member of the handling unit.
An additional actuator 74 that can press on the cable via a contact element 73 is arranged at the gripper 70 for gripping the cable to press said cable, for example, into a clip or into a cable passage. The axis of the actuator or the axis of movement of the contact element 73 preferably extends perpendicular to the extent of the cable through the gripper and perpendicular to the closing direction of the gripping elements 72 and/or in parallel with the plug-in direction for plugging the plug. In this respect, the rollers 72 of the embodiment in
The device shown in
It would be conceivable in alternative embodiments to combine a combination bending gripper such as is shown in
The first embodiment of a device in accordance with the invention that was already shown in
In this embodiment, grippers 60 for gripping the cable are furthermore used in addition to grippers 30 for gripping the plugs, with the grippers 60 for gripping the cable being arranged at separate handling units 22 and 23. The grippers for gripping the plugs are equally arranged at separate handling units 20 and 21.
Such an embodiment in particular serves the plugging of long cables with or without a kink or, as in the embodiment, also with two kinks. The cable can be bent at a defined position or laid at a defined position by the two grippers 60. The two separate handling units take over the plugging of the plugs at the cable ends and at least one further handling unit takes over the positioning or bending and tracking and laying of the cable.
In the embodiment, the handling units are each multi-axial robots having rotational axes, in particular 6-axis industrial robots. Alternatively, however, surface portals can also be used here.
A solution such as is shown in
Two or more of the grippers can, for example, respectively be arranged via smaller handling units at a support arrangement that is roughly positioned via a larger handling unit. It would in particular be conceivable that all the grippers are arranged via smaller handling units at a common support element that is positioned via a larger handling unit.
The grippers 60 can be designed as simple mechanical grippers. They can, however, also be configured like the grippers 70 that have already been described in more detail with reference to
Within the framework of the present invention, cable laying grippers can furthermore be used such as are shown in
The gripper 80, 90 has gripping elements 81, 91 that serve as guide elements and that are laid at the cable 11. The gripping elements 81, 91 are preferably rotatably supported so that they can roll off along the cable. The shape of the gripping elements 81, 92 preferably tapers downwardly so that the cable can be pressed downwardly out of the gripping elements.
The gripper furthermore has a pressing element 82, 92 that presses onto the cable from above to press it into a corresponding reception passage, for example.
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment shown in
In both embodiments, the pressing elements 81, 92 are rotationally supported and in so doing roll off on the cable. In the embodiment in
The cable laying grippers shown in
The cable layering grippers are preferably traveled along the cable after the plugs at the cable ends have been connected by other grippers to the corresponding plug mating elements.
In the possible embodiment of the present invention, the cable laying grippers are combined with combination grippers such as are shown in
The traveling of the laying grippers along the cable preferably takes place along a predetermined route stored in the control. In a possible embodiment, a camera can furthermore be arranged at the laying grippers by which the receiver is detected into which the cable should be pressed to carry out a position correction.
The cable laying grippers can be combined with all the devices in accordance with the invention described above.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 197 828.5 | Sep 2020 | EP | regional |
