Patent Publication Number: US-11046069-B2

Title: Wheel logo imprinting device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application claims benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 201810504933.2, filed on May 24, 2018, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     With the popularity of aluminum alloy hubs, more customers pursue individualization and aesthetics. After the hub coating is completed, many customers require that the front rims, spokes or window edges of wheels are imprinted with iconic logos, and that one or more logos are arranged on one circle of the wheel. At present, when a logo is manually imprinted, the position is not easy to control, the precision is low, and the attractiveness is poor due to the lacking of special equipment for imprinting a logo on the front side of a wheel. High temperature baking is required after the logo is imprinted to dry the paint. According to the process characteristics, manual imprinting is performed first and then baking in an oven is performed, so the efficiency is low, and the automatic production of the assembly line cannot be realized. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure relates to the field of imprinting technology, specifically to a device for imprinting a logo on the front side of a wheel. The objective of the present disclosure is to provide a wheel logo imprinting device, which can be used for continuous production of assembly lines, can realize multi-directional, multi-angle and multi-number imprinting of personalized logos, orderly connects feeding, imprinting, drying and discharging through a reasonable process layout, and integrates imprinting and drying by using double stations so as to greatly improve the production efficiency and shorten the production cycle. 
     In order to achieve the above objective, the technical solution of the present disclosure lies in a wheel logo imprinting device, including a frame, a first jacking cylinder, first feed guide pillars, a first support frame, a guide sleeve, a first feed platform, an air pump, a first positioning column, guide rails, a gear rack, a left sliding table, a right sliding table, a clamping cylinder, positioning shafts, positioning wheels, a support frame, a first servo motor, a bearing seat, a bearing, a shaft, a rotary table, a second servo motor, a third servo motor, a first manipulator, a second manipulator, roller driven motors, rollers, first upper cylinders, first upper guide pillars, a first upper platform, a visual identifier, second upper cylinders, second upper guide pillars, a second upper platform, a side cylinder, side guide rails, a side platform, a feed cylinder, second feed guide pillars, a second feed platform, a paint supply tank, an elastic pressure head, a third upper cylinder, third upper guide pillars, an oven rack, oven heat sources, fourth upper cylinders, fourth upper guide pillars, sleeves, shields, a second jacking cylinder, discharge guide pillars, a second support frame, a discharge platform and a second positioning column. 
     The wheel logo imprinting device includes a wheel feeding system, a position identification system, a wheel turning system, a logo imprinting system, a station switching system, a logo drying system and a wheel discharging system. The respective systems coordinate to connect feeding, imprinting, drying and discharging of wheels orderly and reciprocally for continuous production. 
     The guide rails are symmetrically mounted on the first support frame, the left sliding table and the right sliding table are symmetrically mounted on the guide rails and connected by the gear rack, the output end of the clamping cylinder is connected to the right sliding table, and the four positioning wheels are mounted on the left sliding table and the right sliding table via the positioning shafts. The output end of the first jacking cylinder is connected to the first feed platform. Under the guidance of the first feed guide pillars, the first jacking cylinder controls the first feed platform to move up and down. The first positioning column is mounted on the upper end surface of the first feed platform to prevent a wheel from deviating during ascending, the air pump is mounted inside the first feed platform to output compressed air, and the compressed air is blown out from the upper end surface of the first feed platform to dry the flange surface of the wheel so as to improve the positioning stability of the wheel. After the wheel enters a roller bed, the clamping cylinder is started, the left sliding table and the right sliding table move synchronously under the action of the gear rack, the wheel can be initially positioned by the four positioning wheels, and then the positioning wheels are reset; next, the first jacking cylinder is started to drive the first feed platform to ascend, and the air pump is opened to provide compressed air to the flange surface of the wheel; when the first feed platform contacts the flange surface of the wheel, the first positioning column is inserted into the center hole of the wheel, the air pump is closed, the first feed platform continues to ascend to jack the wheel to a predetermined height, the first manipulator located above the wheel can clamp the wheel through the four rollers, and then the first feed platform is re reset. This is the wheel feeding system, and the wheel is conveyed from the roller bed to be clamped by the manipulator. 
     The first upper cylinders are fixedly mounted on the frame directly above the wheel and controls the first upper platform to move up and down under the guidance of the first upper guide pillars, the visual identifier is mounted on the first upper platform, and the first upper cylinders drive the first upper platform to move up and down to adjust the visual detection accuracy of the visual identifier. After the manipulator clamps the wheel, the roller driven motors can drive the rollers to rotate so as to drive the wheel to rotate at a low speed, and an imprinting position in the circumferential direction can be accurately found by the detection of the visual identifier. After the imprinting position is found, the wheel stops rotating. After one logo is imprinted, the imprinting system is retracted, the wheel can continue to rotate, and next imprinting position is searched through the visual identifier, thereby realizing multi-position and multi-number imprinting of personalized logos in the circumferential direction of the wheel. This is the position identification system. 
     The second servo motor is fixed on the rotary table, and its output end is connected to the first manipulator to control the turning of the manipulator, thereby controlling the turning of the wheel. The front spokes, rim and window of the wheel have certain arc angles. When a logo is imprinted, the elastic pressure head needs to be perpendicular to the imprinted surface, so the wheel needs to be turned over. The second servo motor can control the wheel to turn over at any angle, so that the elastic pressure head is perpendicular to the imprinted surface. This is the wheel turning system. 
     The second upper cylinders are mounted at the top of the side frame of the position identification system. Under the guidance of the second upper guide pillars, the second upper cylinders control the second upper platform to move up and down. The side cylinder and the side guide rails are mounted on the second upper platform, the side platform is mounted on the side guide rails, and the output end of the side cylinder is connected to the side platform. The feed cylinder is mounted on the side platform and controls the second feed platform to move up and down under the guidance of the second feed guide pillars, the paint supply tank is mounted on the second feed platform and the elastic pressure head is mounted at its output end. The height of the elastic pressure head can be adjusted under the aid of the second upper cylinders to be close to the front side of the wheel, and the horizontal position of the elastic pressure head can be adjusted via the side cylinder such that the elastic pressure head can imprint any radial position of the wheel, and cooperates with the position identification system and the wheel turning system to realize the imprinting of the wheel at any position in the radial direction and the circumferential direction, with strong flexibility. The feed imprinting of the elastic pressure head can be accomplished via the feed cylinder, and paint can be automatically replenished to the top of the elastic pressure head via the paint supply tank to ensure that the imprinted logo is clear. This is the logo imprinting system. 
     The first servo motor is mounted on the support frame and its output end is connected to the rotary table to control the rotation of the rotary table. The second servo motor and the third servo motor are symmetrically mounted on the rotary table at an angle of degrees. The output end of the second servo motor is connected to the first manipulator, and this is the left station for the imprinting of the wheel. The output end of the third servo motor is connected to the second manipulator, and this is the right station for the drying of the logo. During the initial operation, first, the manipulator at the left station clamps the wheel for imprinting, and the manipulator at the right station is idle. After the wheel at the left station is imprinted, the first servo motor is started to drive the rotary table to rotate degrees, the idle manipulator at the right station is switched to the left side for feeding and imprinting, and the manipulator clamping the wheel at the left station is switched to the right side for drying and discharging. When the device operates continuously, the wheel at the left station is fed and imprinted, and the wheel at the right station is dried and discharged at the same time. The processes are integrated through the double stations to greatly shorten the production cycle. This is the station switching system. 
     The third upper cylinder is mounted directly above the wheel at the right station. Under the guidance of the third upper guide pillars, the third upper cylinder controls the oven rack to move up and down. A plurality of oven heat sources are uniformly distributed on the oven rack to ensure a suitable temperature for drying the logo paint. The fourth upper cylinders are also fixed at the upper part of the frame. Under the guidance of the fourth upper guide pillars, the fourth upper cylinders control the shields to move up and down. The shields and the sleeves jointly form an oven outer wall for maintaining the temperature stability and guaranteeing quick drying of the logo paint. This is the logo drying system. 
     The second jacking cylinder is symmetrically mounted on the right side of the first jacking cylinder. Under the guidance of the discharge guide pillars, the second jacking cylinder controls the discharge platform to move up and down. When the logo of the wheel at the right station is dried, the second jacking cylinder is started to drive the discharge platform to ascend till the discharge platform contacts the flange surface of the wheel, the manipulator releases the wheel, the wheel falls onto the discharge platform, the second positioning column plays a role in radial stabilization, then, the second jacking cylinder returns and is reset, and the wheel falls into the logistics roller bed and continues to turn down. This is the wheel discharging system. 
     The operating process of the wheel logo imprinting device is as follows: first, after a wheel enters the roller bed, the clamping cylinder is started, the left sliding table and the right sliding table move synchronously under the action of the gear rack, and the four positioning wheels can initially position the wheel and then the four positioning wheels are reset; next, the first jacking cylinder is started to drive the first feed platform to ascend, the air pump is opened to provide compressed air to the flange surface of the wheel, the first positioning column is inserted into the center hole of the wheel when the first feed platform contacts the flange surface of the wheel, the air pump is closed, the first feed platform continues to ascend to jack the wheel to a predetermined height, the first manipulator above the wheel clamps the wheel via the four rollers, and the first feed platform is reset to complete feeding of the wheel; then the roller driven motors are started to drive the wheel to rotate at a low speed, a circumferential imprinting position can be accurately found by the detection of the visual identifier, then the wheel stops rotating, the elastic pressure head is adjusted to a predetermined radial position of the wheel via the side cylinder, the second servo motor controls the wheel to turn a certain angle such that the elastic pressure head is perpendicular to the imprinted surface, at this time, the circumferential and radial positions of an imprinted logo are determined, the elastic pressure head is perpendicular to the imprinted surface, and the logo is imprinted via the feed of the feed cylinder; next, the first servo motor is started to drive the rotary table to rotate degrees, the idle manipulator at the right station is switched to the left side for feeding and imprinting of a second wheel, the manipulator clamping the wheel at the left station is switched to the right side, the third upper cylinder and the fourth upper cylinders are started to drive the oven heat sources to begin drying near the front side of the wheel, and the shields preserve the heat; after the logo of the wheel at the right station is dried, the second jacking cylinder is started to drive the discharge platform to ascend till the discharge platform contacts the flange surface of the wheel, the manipulator releases the wheel, the wheel falls onto the discharge platform, then the second jacking cylinder returns and is reset, the wheel falls into the logistics roller bed, the logo imprinting of the first wheel is completed, at this time, the feeding and imprinting of the second wheel are completed, the first servo motor is started again to drive the rotary table to rotate degrees, the idle manipulator at the right station is switched to the left side for reloading next wheel, and the wheel clamped at the left station is switched to the right side and dried. So far, the device enters a continuous steady state, the wheel at the left station is fed and imprinted, the wheel at the right station is dried and discharged at the same time, and so on. 
     The device can be used for continuous production of assembly lines, can realize multi-directional, multi-angle and multi-number imprinting of personalized logos, orderly connects feeding, imprinting, drying and discharging through a reasonable process layout, and integrates imprinting and drying by using double stations so as to greatly improve the production efficiency and shorten the production cycle. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of a wheel logo imprinting device according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of the wheel logo imprinting device according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a left view of the wheel logo imprinting device according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a left view when the wheel logo imprinting device imprints a logo according to the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS 
     
         
         
           
               1 —frame,  2 —first jacking cylinder,  3 —first feed guide pillar,  4 —first support frame,  5 —guide sleeve,  6 —first feed platform,  7 —air pump,  8 —first positioning column,  9 —guide rail,  10 —gear rack,  11 —left sliding table,  12 —right sliding table,  13 —clamping cylinder,  14 —positioning shaft,  15 —positioning wheel,  16 —support frame,  17 —first servo motor,  18 —bearing seat,  19 —bearing,  20 —shaft,  21 —rotary table,  22 —second servo motor,  23 —third servo motor,  24 —first manipulator,  25 —second manipulator,  26 —roller driven motor,  27 —roller,  28 —first upper cylinder,  29 —first upper guide pillar,  30 —first upper platform,  31 —visual identifier,  32 —second upper cylinder,  33 —second upper guide pillar,  34 —second upper platform,  35 —side cylinder,  36 —side guide rail,  37 —side platform,  38 —feed cylinder,  39 —second feed guide pillar,  40 —second feed platform,  41 —paint supply tank,  42 —elastic pressure head,  43 —third upper cylinder,  44 —third upper guide pillar,  45 —oven rack,  46 —oven heat source,  47 —fourth upper cylinder,  48 —fourth upper guide pillar,  49 —sleeve,  50 —shield,  51 —second jacking cylinder,  52 —discharge guide pillar,  53 —second support frame,  54 —discharge platform,  55 —second positioning column. 
           
         
       
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The details and working conditions of the specific device proposed by the present disclosure will be described below in combination with the accompanying drawings. 
     A wheel logo imprinting device includes a frame  1 , a first jacking cylinder  2 , first feed guide pillars  3 , a first support frame  4 , a guide sleeve  5 , a first feed platform  6 , an air pump  7 , a first positioning column  8 , guide rails  9 , a gear rack  10 , a left sliding table  11 , a right sliding table  12 , a clamping cylinder  13 , positioning shafts  14 , positioning wheels  15 , a support frame  16 , a first servo motor  17 , a bearing seat  18 , a bearing  19 , a shaft  20 , a rotary table  21 , a second servo motor  22 , a third servo motor  23 , a first manipulator  24 , a second manipulator  25 , roller driven motors  26 , rollers  27 , first upper cylinders  28 , first upper guide pillars  29 , a first upper platform  30 , a visual identifier  31 , second upper cylinders  32 , second upper guide pillars  33 , a second upper platform  34 , a side cylinder  35 , side guide rails  36 , a side platform  37 , a feed cylinder  38 , second feed guide pillars  39 , a second feed platform  40 , a paint supply tank  41 , an elastic pressure head  42 , a third upper cylinder  43 , third upper guide pillars  44 , an oven rack  45 , oven heat sources  46 , fourth upper cylinders  47 , fourth upper guide pillars  48 , sleeves  49 , shields  50 , a second jacking cylinder  51 , discharge guide pillars  52 , a second support frame  53 , a discharge platform  54  and a second positioning column  55 . 
     The wheel logo imprinting device includes a wheel feeding system, a position identification system, a wheel turning system, a logo imprinting system, a station switching system, a logo drying system and a wheel discharging system. The respective systems coordinate to connect feeding, imprinting, drying and discharging of wheels orderly and reciprocally for continuous production. 
     The guide rails  9  are symmetrically mounted on the first support frame  4 , the left sliding table  11  and the right sliding table  12  are symmetrically mounted on the guide rails  9  and connected by the gear rack  10 , the output end of the clamping cylinder  13  is connected to the right sliding table  12 , and the four positioning wheels  15  are mounted on the left sliding table  11  and the right sliding table  12  via the positioning shafts  14 . The output end of the first jacking cylinder  2  is connected to the first feed platform  6 . Under the guidance of the first feed guide pillars  3 , the first jacking cylinder  2  controls the first feed platform  6  to move up and down. The first positioning column  8  is mounted on the upper end surface of the first feed platform  6  to prevent a wheel from deviating during ascending, the air pump  7  is mounted inside the first feed platform  6  to output compressed air, and the compressed air is blown out from the upper end surface of the first feed platform  6  to dry the flange surface of the wheel so as to improve the positioning stability of the wheel. After the wheel enters a roller bed, the clamping cylinder  13  is started, the left sliding table  11  and the right sliding table  12  move synchronously under the action of the gear rack  10 , the wheel can be initially positioned by the four positioning wheels  15 , and then the positioning wheels  15  are reset; next, the first jacking cylinder  2  is started to drive the first feed platform  6  to ascend, and the air pump  7  is opened to provide compressed air to the flange surface of the wheel; when the first feed platform  6  contacts the flange surface of the wheel, the first positioning column  8  is inserted into the center hole of the wheel, the air pump  7  is closed, the first feed platform  6  continues to ascend to jack the wheel to a predetermined height, the first manipulator  24  located above the wheel can clamp the wheel through the four rollers  27 , and then the first feed platform  6  is re reset. This is the wheel feeding system, and the wheel is conveyed from the roller bed to be clamped by the manipulator. 
     The first upper cylinders  28  are fixedly mounted on the frame directly above the wheel and controls the first upper platform  30  to move up and down under the guidance of the first upper guide pillars  29 , the visual identifier  31  is mounted on the first upper platform  30 , and the first upper cylinders  28  drive the first upper platform  30  to move up and down to adjust the visual detection accuracy of the visual identifier  31 . After the manipulator clamps the wheel, the roller driven motors  26  can drive the rollers  27  to rotate so as to drive the wheel to rotate at a low speed, and an imprinting position in the circumferential direction can be accurately found by the detection of the visual identifier  31 . After the imprinting position is found, the wheel stops rotating. After one logo is imprinted, the imprinting system is retracted, the wheel can continue to rotate, and next imprinting position is searched through the visual identifier  31 , thereby realizing multi-position and multi-number imprinting of personalized logos in the circumferential direction of the wheel. This is the position identification system. 
     The second servo motor  22  is fixed on the rotary table  21 , and its output end is connected to the first manipulator  24  to control the turning of the manipulator, thereby controlling the turning of the wheel. The front spokes, rim and window of the wheel have certain arc angles. When a logo is imprinted, the elastic pressure head  42  needs to be perpendicular to the imprinted surface, so the wheel needs to be turned over. The second servo motor  22  can control the wheel to turn over at any angle, so that the elastic pressure head  42  is perpendicular to the imprinted surface. This is the wheel turning system. 
     The second upper cylinders  32  are mounted at the top of the side frame of the position identification system. Under the guidance of the second upper guide pillars  33 , the second upper cylinders  32  control the second upper platform  34  to move up and down. The side cylinder  35  and the side guide rails  36  are mounted on the second upper platform  34 , the side platform  37  is mounted on the side guide rails  36 , and the output end of the side cylinder  35  is connected to the side platform  37 . The feed cylinder  38  is mounted on the side platform  37  and controls the second feed platform  40  to move up and down under the guidance of the second feed guide pillars  39 , the paint supply tank  41  is mounted on the second feed platform  40  and the elastic pressure head  42  is mounted at its output end. The height of the elastic pressure head  42  can be adjusted under the aid of the second upper cylinders  32  to be close to the front side of the wheel, and the horizontal position of the elastic pressure head  42  can be adjusted via the side cylinder  35  such that the elastic pressure head  42  can imprint any radial position of the wheel, and cooperates with the position identification system and the wheel turning system to realize the imprinting of the wheel at any position in the radial direction and the circumferential direction, with strong flexibility. The feed imprinting of the elastic pressure head  42  can be accomplished via the feed cylinder  38 , and paint can be automatically replenished to the top of the elastic pressure head  42  via the paint supply tank  41  to ensure that the imprinted logo is clear. This is the logo imprinting system. 
     The first servo motor  17  is mounted on the support frame  16  and its output end is connected to the rotary table  21  to control the rotation of the rotary table  21 . The second servo motor  22  and the third servo motor  23  are symmetrically mounted on the rotary table at an angle of 180 degrees. The output end of the second servo motor  22  is connected to the first manipulator  24 , and this is the left station for the imprinting of the wheel. The output end of the third servo motor  23  is connected to the second manipulator  25 , and this is the right station for the drying of the logo. During the initial operation, first, the manipulator at the left station clamps the wheel for imprinting, and the manipulator at the right station is idle. After the wheel at the left station is imprinted, the first servo motor  17  is started to drive the rotary table  21  to rotate 180 degrees, the idle manipulator at the right station is switched to the left side for feeding and imprinting, and the manipulator clamping the wheel at the left station is switched to the right side for drying and discharging. When the device operates continuously, the wheel at the left station is fed and imprinted, and the wheel at the right station is dried and discharged at the same time. The processes are integrated through the double stations to greatly shorten the production cycle. This is the station switching system. 
     The third upper cylinder  43  is mounted directly above the wheel at the right station. Under the guidance of the third upper guide pillars  44 , the third upper cylinder  43  controls the oven rack  45  to move up and down. A plurality of oven heat sources  46  are uniformly distributed on the oven rack  45  to ensure a suitable temperature for drying the logo paint. The fourth upper cylinders  47  are also fixed at the upper part of the frame. Under the guidance of the fourth upper guide pillars  48 , the fourth upper cylinders  47  control the shields  50  to move up and down. The shields  50  and the sleeves  49  jointly form an oven outer wall for maintaining the temperature stability and guaranteeing quick drying of the logo paint. This is the logo drying system. 
     The second jacking cylinder  51  is symmetrically mounted on the right side of the first jacking cylinder  2 . Under the guidance of the discharge guide pillars  52 , the second jacking cylinder  51  controls the discharge platform  54  to move up and down. When the logo of the wheel at the right station is dried, the second jacking cylinder  51  is started to drive the discharge platform  54  to ascend till the discharge platform  54  contacts the flange surface of the wheel, the manipulator releases the wheel, the wheel falls onto the discharge platform  54 , the second positioning column  55  plays a role in radial stabilization, then, the second jacking cylinder  51  returns and is reset, and the wheel falls into the logistics roller bed and continues to turn down. This is the wheel discharging system. 
     The operating process of the wheel logo imprinting device is as follows: first, after a wheel enters the roller bed, the clamping cylinder  13  is started, the left sliding table  11  and the right sliding table  12  move synchronously under the action of the gear rack  10 , and the four positioning wheels  15  can initially position the wheel and then the four positioning wheels  15  are reset; next, the first jacking cylinder  2  is started to drive the first feed platform  6  to ascend, the air pump  7  is opened to provide compressed air to the flange surface of the wheel, the first positioning column  8  is inserted into the center hole of the wheel when the first feed platform  6  contacts the flange surface of the wheel, the air pump  7  is closed, the first feed platform  6  continues to ascend to jack the wheel to a predetermined height, the first manipulator  24  above the wheel clamps the wheel via the four rollers  27 , and the first feed platform  6  is reset to complete feeding of the wheel; then the roller driven motors  26  are started to drive the wheel to rotate at a low speed, a circumferential imprinting position can be accurately found by the detection of the visual identifier  31 , then the wheel stops rotating, the elastic pressure head  42  is adjusted to a predetermined radial position of the wheel via the side cylinder  35 , the second servo motor  22  controls the wheel to turn a certain angle such that the elastic pressure head  42  is perpendicular to the imprinted surface, at this time, the circumferential and radial positions of an imprinted logo are determined, the elastic pressure head is perpendicular to the imprinted surface, and the logo is imprinted via the feed of the feed cylinder  38 ; next, the first servo motor  17  is started to drive the rotary table  21  to rotate 180 degrees, the idle manipulator at the right station is switched to the left side for feeding and imprinting of a second wheel, the manipulator clamping the wheel at the left station is switched to the right side, the third upper cylinder  43  and the fourth upper cylinders  47  are started to drive the oven heat sources  46  to begin drying near the front side of the wheel, and the shields  50  preserve the heat; after the logo of the wheel at the right station is dried, the second jacking cylinder  51  is started to drive the discharge platform  54  to ascend till the discharge platform  54  contacts the flange surface of the wheel, the manipulator releases the wheel, the wheel falls onto the discharge platform  54 , then the second jacking cylinder  51  returns and is reset, the wheel falls into the logistics roller bed, the logo imprinting of the first wheel is completed, at this time, the feeding and imprinting of the second wheel are completed, the first servo motor  17  is started again to drive the rotary table  21  to rotate 180 degrees, the idle manipulator at the right station is switched to the left side for reloading next wheel, and the wheel clamped at the left station is switched to the right side and dried. So far, the device enters a continuous steady state, the wheel at the left station is fed and imprinted, the wheel at the right station is dried and discharged at the same time, and so on. 
     The device can be used for continuous production of assembly lines, can realize multi-directional, multi-angle and multi-number imprinting of personalized logos, orderly connects feeding, imprinting, drying and discharging through a reasonable process layout, and integrates imprinting and drying by using double stations so as to greatly improve the production efficiency and shorten the production cycle.