Variable pitch feeder and method of using the same

Abstract

The present invention discloses a variable pitch feeder and a method for using the same, wherein the variable pitch feeder comprises a first workpiece grasping assembly and a second workpiece grasping assembly and a third workpiece grasping assembly located on both sides thereof, wherein the first workpiece grasping assembly, the second workpiece grasping assembly and the third workpiece grasping assembly are arranged on a variable pitch adjustment mechanism, wherein the spacing between the first workpiece grasping assembly and the second workpiece grasping assembly and the spacing between the first workpiece grasping assembly and the third workpiece grasping assembly are smaller in the first state than in the second state, and the variable pitch adjustment mechanism is arranged on a moving mechanism that drives it to reciprocate along the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction. This scheme realizes the material grasping operation in three adjacent material troughs by making the spacing between the three workpiece grasping assemblies smaller in the first state, and when loading, the spacing between the two is enlarged to realize the requirement of larger spacing between the material receiving positions of multiple material receiving devices, thereby realizing one-time loading of multiple positions, and greatly improving the loading efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of feeding equipment, in particular to a variable pitch feeding machine and a use method thereof. Background Art

[0002] A mask is a sanitary product, generally worn on the mouth and nose to filter the air entering the mouth and nose, so as to prevent harmful gases, odors, and droplets from entering and exiting the wearer's mouth and nose. It is made of gauze or paper. The mask has a certain filtering effect on the air entering the lungs. When respiratory infectious diseases are prevalent or when working in a dusty environment, wearing a mask is very effective.

[0003] After the masks are processed, they need to be put into packaging bags for protection. With the continuous improvement of the automation requirements of processing enterprises, various automatic bagging equipment have emerged. However, the existing automatic bagging equipment often grabs the masks through vacuum suction heads or grippers and places them on the corresponding material receiving equipment to automatically perform subsequent bagging operations.

[0004] In order to improve the bagging efficiency, three masks can be grabbed by three suction cups or clamps at the same time and then placed on three receiving devices. However, due to the large structure of the receiving equipment itself, the distance between the receiving positions of the three receiving devices is often larger than the distance between the three material troughs for placing the masks. This results in the three masks grabbed by the three suction cups or clamps being unable to correspond to the three receiving positions at the same time, and it is also impossible to place the three masks on the three receiving devices at one time. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above problems existing in the prior art and to provide a variable pitch feeder and a method for using the same.

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0007] A variable pitch loader comprises a first workpiece grasping assembly and a second workpiece grasping assembly and a third workpiece grasping assembly located on both sides thereof, wherein the first workpiece grasping assembly, the second workpiece grasping assembly and the third workpiece grasping assembly are arranged on a variable pitch adjustment mechanism, and the spacing between the first workpiece grasping assembly and the second workpiece grasping assembly and the spacing between the first workpiece grasping assembly and the third workpiece grasping assembly are smaller in the first state than in the second state, and the variable pitch adjustment mechanism is arranged on a moving mechanism that drives it to reciprocate along the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction.

[0008] Preferably, in the variable pitch loader, the first workpiece grasping assembly includes at least one suction cup, a groove is formed on the bottom surface of the suction cup, the suction cup includes a disc-shaped main body, one side of the main body is formed with a groove with a side surface as an inwardly concave arc surface, an air duct is formed on the main body, one end of the air duct is a plurality of air outlets and is located at the bottom surface of the groove, the other end of the air duct extends to the other side or the circumferential surface of the main body, and a cover plate covering the plurality of air outlets and maintaining a gap with the bottom surface of the groove is arranged above the groove.

[0009] Preferably, in the variable pitch loader, the variable pitch adjustment mechanism includes a support, at least one guide rail extending along the Y-axis is inserted into the support, and the guide rail is slidably sleeved with shaft sleeves located on both sides of the support, one of the shaft sleeves is connected to a push-pull device that drives it to slide back and forth along the guide rail and is fixed to the support, a rotating shaft is provided at the bottom of the support, two transmission rods distributed in an X shape are pivotally connected to the rotating shaft, and the first ends of the two transmission rods are respectively pivotally connected to one end of the first linkage rod, and the other end of the first linkage rod is pivotally connected to the same point of the shaft sleeve at the corresponding end; the second ends of the two transmission rods are respectively pivotally connected to one end of the second linkage rod, and the other ends of the two second linkage rods are pivotally connected to the same point of the shaft sleeve at the corresponding end.

[0010] Preferably, in the variable pitch loader, there are two guide rails, a bearing plate is provided at one end of the two guide rails, a lead screw is provided on the bearing plate, the outer end of the lead screw is connected to a manual turntable, a baffle is provided on the movable nut of the lead screw, and the baffle is slidably provided on the track.

[0011] Preferably, in the variable pitch loader, the moving mechanism uses a first motor as a power source.

[0012] Preferably, the variable pitch loader also includes a workpiece storage trough and a lifting assembly located below the first workpiece grasping assembly, the second workpiece grasping assembly and the third workpiece grasping assembly, the workpiece storage trough includes at least three material troughs, and the lifting assembly uses a second motor as a power source to drive the workpieces in the three material troughs to rise and fall.

[0013] Preferably, in the variable pitch loader, the lifting assembly is located on the side of the workpiece receiving slot, and each side plate of the slot facing the lifting assembly has a notch matching the lifting plate of the lifting assembly.

[0014] Preferably, in the variable pitch loader, the workpiece receiving slots include 9 slots, and the bottom of the receiving slots is connected to a translation device that drives the storage slots to reciprocate along the Y-axis direction.

[0015] Preferably, in the variable pitch loader, the workpiece receiving slot includes three components, each component includes three material slots, and each component is detachably arranged on a support.

[0016] The feeding method of the variable pitch feeder comprises the following steps:

[0017] S1, the first workpiece grabbing assembly, the second workpiece grabbing assembly and the third workpiece grabbing assembly are kept in a first state and are located above the three material slots of the workpiece receiving slot;

[0018] S2, the moving mechanism drives the first workpiece grasping assembly, the second workpiece grasping assembly and the third workpiece grasping assembly to move down to the suction cup to absorb the mask at the top of the trough and then move up;

[0019] S3, the moving mechanism drives the first workpiece grasping assembly, the second workpiece grasping assembly and the third workpiece grasping assembly to extend forward, and at the same time or afterwards, the variable pitch adjustment mechanism switches the first workpiece grasping assembly, the second workpiece grasping assembly and the third workpiece grasping assembly to the second state;

[0020] S4, the moving mechanism drives the first workpiece grasping assembly, the second workpiece grasping assembly and the third workpiece grasping assembly to move downward, and after the suction cup stops adsorbing the material, the moving mechanism drives the first workpiece grasping assembly, the second workpiece grasping assembly and the third workpiece grasping assembly to reset.

[0021] The advantages of the technical solution of the present invention are mainly reflected in:

[0022] This solution has an ingenious design and a simple structure. By making the gaps between the three workpiece grabbing components adjustable, the distance between each of them in the first state is made smaller to achieve the grabbing operation in three adjacent material troughs. When loading materials, the distance between each of them is enlarged to achieve the requirement of larger distances between the receiving positions of multiple receiving devices, thereby achieving one-time loading of multiple positions and greatly improving the loading efficiency.

[0023] The suction cup structure of this solution can effectively avoid the problem that conventional vacuum suction cups easily adsorb multiple masks at the same time, resulting in the inability to bag them individually, and effectively ensure the effectiveness of bagging.

[0024] The mobile mechanism of this solution adopts a single motor to realize lifting and forward and backward telescopic movement. It has an ingenious structure, effectively reduces the power source, reduces equipment costs and saves energy consumption. The forward and backward telescopic and lifting movements do not interfere with each other. The overall rhythm is fast, the control is simple and the efficiency is high.

[0025] The workpiece storage slot of the present invention cooperates with the lifting mechanism, which can effectively lift the mask in the trough to compensate for the stroke of the suction cup. At the same time, one lifting mechanism can match multiple workpiece storage slots, which is conducive to simplifying the structure, and the overall structure is more compact and occupies less space.

[0026] The workpiece storage slot adopts the method of multiple independent components, and combined with the manual quick chuck, each component can be quickly disassembled and assembled, so that when one component is feeding, other components can be replenished, thereby improving the processing cycle, saving replenishment time and improving work efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] FIG1 is a perspective view of the present invention (the frame is hidden in the figure);

[0028] FIG2 is a partial stereogram of the workpiece grabbing assembly and the variable pitch adjustment mechanism of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 is a sectional view of the suction cup of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 is a top view of the variable pitch adjustment mechanism of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 5 is a bottom view of the variable pitch adjustment mechanism of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 6 Figure 2 Enlarged view of area B;

[0033] Figure 7 is a three-dimensional diagram of the mobile mechanism of the present invention (partial structure of the bracket 59 is hidden in the figure);

[0034] Figure 8 is a top view of the mobile mechanism of the present invention;

[0035] Fig. 9 is a rear view of the mobile mechanism of the present invention;

[0036] Fig.10 is a front view of the workpiece storage tank of the present invention;

[0037] Fig.11 yes Figure 1 A magnified image of area A;

[0038] Fig.12 is a top view of the workpiece receiving slot of the present invention;

[0039] Fig.13 is a three-dimensional diagram of the lifting mechanism of the present invention (part of the columns and the frame are hidden in the figure);

[0040] Fig.14 is a side view of the lifting mechanism of the present invention;

[0041] Fig.15 It is a perspective view of the driving plate of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The purpose, advantages and features of the present invention will be illustrated and explained by the non-limiting description of the following preferred embodiments. These embodiments are only typical examples of the application of the technical solution of the present invention, and any technical solution formed by equivalent replacement or equivalent transformation falls within the scope of protection claimed by the present invention.

[0043] In the description of the scheme, it should be noted that the terms "center", "up", "down", "left", "right", "front", "back", "vertical", "horizontal", "inside", "outside" and the like indicate positions or positional relationships based on the positions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of description and simplified description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation of the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance. Moreover, in the description of the scheme, with the operator as a reference, the direction close to the operator is the proximal end, and the direction away from the operator is the distal end.

[0044] The variable pitch feeder disclosed by the present invention is described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It can be used for feeding thin sheets such as masks, sanitary napkins, scouring pads, and small parts, such as the attached drawings. Figure 1 As shown, it includes a first workpiece grasping component 1 and a second workpiece grasping component 2 and a third workpiece grasping component 3 located on both sides thereof, the first workpiece grasping component 1, the second workpiece grasping component 2 and the third workpiece grasping component 3 are arranged on a variable pitch adjustment mechanism 4, the distance between the first workpiece grasping component 1 and the second workpiece grasping component 2 and the distance between the first workpiece grasping component 1 and the third workpiece grasping component 3 are smaller in the first state than in the second state, and the variable pitch adjustment mechanism 4 is arranged on a moving mechanism 5 that drives it to reciprocate along the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction.

[0045] When picking up materials, the first workpiece grabbing assembly 1, the second workpiece grabbing assembly 2 and the third workpiece grabbing assembly 3 shrink and move closer to each other, thereby meeting the spacing requirements of the three material troughs. After picking up materials, the three workpiece grabbing assemblies 1, 2, and 3 expand, thereby increasing the spacing, which can now meet the spacing requirements between the three conveyor lines.

[0046] As attached Figure 2 As shown, the first workpiece grasping assembly 1 includes at least one suction cup 11, preferably two suction cups 11, which are respectively connected to a flat plate 13 through a vertical rod 12, and the flat plate 13 is connected to the variable pitch adjustment mechanism 4. The suction cup 11 can be a vacuum suction cup. When a vacuum suction cup is used, the suction force and suction position of the suction cup need to be accurately designed to ensure that it can only adsorb one mask during adsorption.

[0047] Of course, in a preferred embodiment, the suction cup 21 may also be other structures, for example, Figure 3 As shown, the suction cup 11 includes a disc-shaped main body 111, a groove 112 is formed on one side of the main body 111, and the side surface 1121 of the groove is an arc surface. An air duct 113 is formed on the main body 111, and a plurality of air outlets are formed at one end of the air duct 113 and are located at the groove bottom surface 1122 of the groove 112, and the other end of the air duct 113 extends to the other side or circumferential surface of the main body 111, and a cover plate 114 is arranged above the groove to cover the plurality of air outlets and maintain a gap with the groove bottom surface 1122, and the cover plate 114 is connected to the connecting hole at the groove bottom surface 1122 by bolts, and the inner surface of the cover plate 114 is preferably an arc surface, so that the flow of the airflow blown out from the air outlet can be smoother and the resistance can be reduced.

[0048] During operation, the suction cup 21 is connected to an air supply device (not shown in the figure) for supplying air to it through a pipeline. The gas supplied into the suction cup 21 by the air supply device is blown out from the bottom surface of the groove through the air channel, and is quickly discharged to the surroundings along the side of the groove under the cover of the cover plate 114.

[0049] As attached Figure 2 As shown, the structures of the second workpiece grasping assembly 2 and the third workpiece grasping assembly 3 are the same as the structure of the first workpiece grasping assembly 1 described above, and are not described in detail herein.

[0050] As attached Figure 4 -Attached Figure 6 As shown, the variable pitch adjustment mechanism 4 includes a support 41, and at least one guide rail 42 extending along the Y axis is inserted on the support 41. Preferably, there are two guide rails 42, and each guide rail 42 is slidably provided with a shaft sleeve 43 located on both sides of the support 41. The two shaft sleeves 43 at the same end are connected by the same connecting plate 440. The connecting plate 440 at one end is connected to a push-pull device 44 that drives the two connected shaft sleeves 43 to slide back and forth along the guide rail 42 and is fixed on the support 41. A rotating shaft 45 is provided at the bottom of the support 41, and two transmission rods 46 distributed in an X shape are pivotally connected to the rotating shaft 45, and the first ends of the two transmission rods 46 are pivotally connected to one end of a first linkage rod 47, and the other end of the first linkage rod 47 is pivotally connected to the same point of the shaft sleeve 43 at the corresponding end; the second ends of the two transmission rods 46 are pivotally connected to one end of a second linkage rod 48, and the other ends of the two second linkage rods 48 are pivotally connected to the same point of the shaft sleeve 43 at the corresponding end.

[0051] The push-pull device 44 can be a pneumatic cylinder arranged along the Y-axis direction, or it can be an oil cylinder or an electric push cylinder, and a supporting plate 49 is provided at one end of the two guide rails 42, and a lead screw 410 is provided on the supporting plate. The outer end of the lead screw 410 is connected to a manual turntable 420, and a baffle 430 is provided on the movable nut of the lead screw 410. The baffle 430 can be slidably set on the track 42, so that the distance of the baffle 430 can be adjusted as needed, thereby controlling the moving stroke of the sleeve, thereby adjusting the spacing between two adjacent workpiece grasping assemblies to adapt to the spacing requirements of different material connection lines.

[0052] As attached Figure 1 As shown, the support 41 of the variable pitch adjustment mechanism 4 is connected to the moving mechanism 5 , and the moving mechanism 5 uses a first motor 51 as a power source.

[0053] Specifically, as attached Figure 7 As shown, the moving mechanism 5 includes a first guide seat 52, and the first guide seat 52 is assembled by two groups of dampers, so as to avoid the support column 53 thereon from generating a large impact and vibration when moving back and forth, affecting the feeding stability and reducing the collision damage of the workpiece; the first guide seat 52 is slidably plugged with two support columns 53 extending along the X-axis direction, and the tail ends of the two support columns 53 are provided with push plates 54, and a positioning groove or positioning hole 541 extending along the Z-axis direction is formed on the push plate 54, and a roller is limited in the positioning groove 541, and the roller is connected to the first end 551 of a push rod 55 through an axis, and the push rod 55 is L-shaped, and the second end 552 of the push rod 55 is connected to a rotating shaft 56, the rotating shaft 56 is embedded in an annular guide groove 571 on the side of a rotating disk 57, the annular guide groove 571 includes a small semicircular arc segment and a convex driving arc segment, the rotating disk 57 is rotatably arranged on the bracket 59 through the rotating shaft 58, and one end of the rotating shaft 58 is connected to the first motor 51 located on the bracket 59, the bending portion 553 of the pushing rod 55 is rotatably connected to a shaft 510, and the shaft 510 is fixed on the bracket 59, so when the rotating disk 57 rotates, the annular guide groove 571 on the rotating disk will drive the second end of the pushing rod 55 to rotate around the shaft 510 connected to it, and then the rotation of the first end thereof can push the two support columns to extend and retract relative to the first guide seat 52.

[0054] Further, as attached Figure 7 As shown, two slide rails 520 are vertically arranged on the first guide seat 52, and the two slide rails 520 are slidably inserted into the second guide seat 530. The second guide seat 530 is fixed in position (fixed on a frame, which is not shown in the figure), and they are preferably composed of two rows of dampers, so as to avoid collision and vibration caused by excessive impact force when the slide rail 520 slides up and down.

[0055] As attached Figure 7 -Attached Fig. 9 As shown, a flat plate 540 is provided at the upper end of the slide rail 520, and a convex portion 5401 is formed on the flat plate 540, and a connecting member 550 with an interface is clamped at the convex portion 5401, and the connecting member 550 is pivotally connected to one end of a lifting rod 560, and the other end of the lifting rod 560 is rotatably connected to a fixed shaft 570, and the fixed shaft 570 is fixed on the bracket 59, and a roller 580 is provided on the inner side of the lifting rod 560, and the roller 580 is composed of an 8-shaped driving plate 590, and the side wall of the driving plate 590 is against the roller 580, and the center of the driving plate 590 is connected to the rotating shaft 58, so that when the first motor 51 drives the rotating shaft 58, the driving plate 590 is also driven to rotate, thereby driving the roller 580 to rise and fall through its own shape.

[0056] Further, as attached Figure 1 As shown, the variable pitch loader also includes a workpiece receiving trough 6 and a lifting assembly 7 located below the first workpiece grasping assembly 1, the second workpiece grasping assembly 2 and the third workpiece grasping assembly 3. The workpiece receiving trough 6 includes at least three material troughs 61. The lifting assembly 7 uses a second motor 71 as a power source to drive the masks in the three material troughs 61 to rise and fall.

[0057] For details, see the attached Fig.10 -Attached Fig.12 As shown, the workpiece storage groove 6 includes three independent components 63, each component 63 includes three material troughs 61, and the three components 63 are detachably arranged on a support 64. The inner wall of each component 63 includes two handles 631, and a row of jacks or slots 632 with height differences are formed on the inner wall. The support 64 includes an L-shaped plate 641, and three groups of L-shaped support plates 642 of equal height are formed on the side plate of the L-shaped plate 641. A manual quick chuck 643 is arranged on the vertical plate of the L-shaped support plate 642. The manual quick chuck 643 is a known technology and will not be described in detail here. The locking head of the manual quick chuck 643 can be embedded in the jack or slot 632 in the locked state so that each component 63 can be quickly replaced.

[0058] The bottom of the L-shaped plate 641 is connected to a translation device 62 that drives the workpiece receiving slot 6 to reciprocate along the Y-axis direction. The translation device 62 can be any device or mechanism that produces linear movement. For example, the translation device 62 is a pneumatic cylinder, an oil cylinder, an electric cylinder, an electric push rod, etc., or a structure composed of a motor and a transmission mechanism, so that by translating the support 64, a component 63 thereon is located directly below the first workpiece grasping assembly 1, the second workpiece grasping assembly 2 and the third workpiece grasping assembly 3. At this time, the other two components 63 are located on the outside so that the component 63 can be replaced and replenished, which is beneficial to improving efficiency.

[0059] In addition, as the first workpiece grasping assembly 1, the second workpiece grasping assembly 2 and the third workpiece grasping assembly 3 continuously take away the mask at the top of the component 63, the height of the mask in the material trough gradually decreases, so it is necessary to lift the mask in the material trough to a height that the first workpiece grasping assembly 1, the second workpiece grasping assembly 2 and the third workpiece grasping assembly 3 can grasp. At the same time, the three components 63 need to be translated. Therefore, in order to reduce the number of lifting assemblies 7 to simplify the structure and reduce power costs, as shown in the attached Figure 1 As shown, the lifting assembly 7 is located at the inner side of the workpiece receiving groove 6, as shown in the attached Fig.13 , Attachment Fig.14 As shown, the lifting assembly 7 includes a pulley 73 connected to the second motor 71, the pulley 73 is connected to the driven wheel 75 through a belt 74, the driven wheel 75 is connected to the lower end of the screw of the lead screw 76, the screw of the lead screw 76 extends along the Z-axis direction, and the movable nut of the lead screw 76 is connected to the plate 77, two guide sleeves 78 are provided on the plate 77, the two guide sleeves 78 are mounted on two guide columns 79 extending along the Z-axis direction and fixed in position, and the front end of the plate 77 is provided with three lifting plates 72 extending to the outside thereof, each of the material trough 61 has a notch 612 matching the lifting plate 72 on the side plate 611 facing the lifting assembly 9, so that the lifting plate 72 extends into the material trough 61, and the moving stroke of the lifting plate 72 is equivalent to or slightly larger than the height of the material trough 61.

[0060] During the operation of the entire equipment, various sensors (proximity sensors, photoelectric sensors, etc., not shown in the figure) can be combined with control devices such as PLC to start and stop power sources such as cylinders, motors, and air supply devices, and switch the working status (forward and reverse rotation of the motor, extension and retraction light status of the cylinder). This is a known technology and is not the focus of this solution, so it will not be elaborated on.

[0061] The feeding method of the variable pitch feeder described above will be specifically described below, including the following steps:

[0062] S0, manually or through automated equipment, the masks are stacked in the material trough 61 of the three components, and then the three components are fixed on the support 64 respectively, and at the same time, the translation device 62 drives a component 63 to move to the material taking position.

[0063] S1, the push-pull device 44 keeps the first workpiece grabbing assembly 1, the second workpiece grabbing assembly 2 and the third workpiece grabbing assembly 3 in the first state (i.e., the retracted state), and the moving mechanism 5 makes the first workpiece grabbing assembly 1, the second workpiece grabbing assembly 2 and the third workpiece grabbing assembly 3 located above the three material troughs 61 of the workpiece storage trough 6.

[0064] S2, at this time, the first motor 51 of the moving mechanism 5 starts to drive the rotating shaft 58 to rotate, and the rotating shaft 58 drives the driving plate 590 to rotate. Fig.15 As shown, the roller 580 switches from contacting the protruding portion 5901 on the side of the driving plate 590 to contacting the inner recessed portion 5902 of the driving plate 590. During this switching process, the height of the roller 580 is gradually reduced, so that the lifting rod 560 rotates around the fixed shaft 570 connected to it, so that the end of the lifting rod 560 connected to the slide rail 520 descends, and then the slide rail 520 moves downward relative to the second guide seat 530. The downward movement of the slide rail 520 drives the first guide seat at its lower end to move downward, so that the first workpiece grasping assembly 1, the second workpiece grasping assembly 2 and the third workpiece grasping assembly 3 move down until the suction cups thereon are close to the uppermost mask in the material trough.

[0065] Subsequently, the blowing device supplies air to the suction cup, thereby utilizing the principle that the airflow in the inner recess of the suction cup is faster and has a lower pressure, while the airflow on the mask side is slower and has a higher pressure, so that the top mask is sucked by the suction cup 21. At this time, as the rotating shaft 58 continues to rotate or reverse, the contact position between the roller 580 and the side of the driving plate 590 is switched from the inner recess 5902 to the protrusion 5902 on the other side, so that the lifting rod 560 is gradually lifted to move the first workpiece grasping assembly 1, the second workpiece grasping assembly 2 and the third workpiece grasping assembly 3 that adsorb the mask upward.

[0066] S3, when the first motor 51 is started, it also drives the turntable 57 to rotate. When the turntable 57 rotates, the rotating shaft 56 moves in the annular guide groove 571. Due to the shape limitation of the annular guide groove 57, when the rotating shaft 56 is located in the small semicircular arc section of the annular guide groove 571, the rotating shaft 56 does not rotate with the rotation of the annular guide groove 571. When the rotating shaft 56 is located in the convex driving arc section of the annular guide groove 571, the rotating shaft 56 is driven to move along with the movement of the driving arc section. The movement of the rotating shaft 56 drives the push rod 55 to rotate around the axis 510, so that the front end of the push rod 55 extends forward and backward, thereby driving the support column 53 connected thereto to extend and retreat. Furthermore, when the slide rail is raised or lowered, the push rod 55 does not rotate around the shaft 510 to which it is connected. When the lifting rod 560 is lifted to the maximum height, the push rod 55 rotates around the shaft 510, and the moving mechanism 5 drives the first workpiece grabbing assembly 1, the second workpiece grabbing assembly 2 and the third workpiece grabbing assembly 3 to extend forward.

[0067] At the same time or afterwards, the push-pull device 44 of the variable pitch adjustment mechanism 4 is started, pushing the sleeve 43 connected thereto to slide toward the outer end along the guide rail 42, thereby pushing the second workpiece grasping assembly 2 connected to the sleeve 43 and the first workpiece grasping assembly 1 to increase the distance. At the same time, the sleeve 43 at one end drives the first linkage rod 47 connected thereto to deform (that is, their angle is reduced), and drives the second linkage rod 48 to deform through the deformation of the X-shaped transmission rod 46, thereby driving the sleeve 43 at the other end to move away from the support 41. At this time, the first workpiece grasping assembly 1, the second workpiece grasping assembly 2 and the third workpiece grasping assembly 3 are switched to the second state (open state) and correspond to a material receiving device respectively, and materials can be unloaded at this time.

[0068] S4, then, the second motor of the moving mechanism 5 drives the slide rail 520 to descend, thereby driving the first workpiece grasping assembly 1, the second workpiece grasping assembly 2 and the third workpiece grasping assembly 3 to move downward. After moving to the lowest position, the air supply device stops supplying air to the suction cup, so that the suction cup stops adsorption, and the mask thereon falls onto the material receiving device. Subsequently, the moving mechanism 5 drives the first workpiece grasping assembly 1, the second workpiece grasping assembly 2 and the third workpiece grasping assembly 3 to reset and pick up materials again.

[0069] There are many implementation methods of the present invention, and all technical solutions formed by equivalent transformation or equivalent transformation fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. Variable pitch feeder, characterized by: The invention comprises a first workpiece grasping assembly (1) and a second workpiece grasping assembly (2) and a third workpiece grasping assembly (3) located on both sides thereof, wherein the first workpiece grasping assembly (1), the second workpiece grasping assembly (2) and the third workpiece grasping assembly (3) are arranged on a variable pitch adjustment mechanism (4), the spacing between the first workpiece grasping assembly (1) and the second workpiece grasping assembly (2) and the spacing between the first workpiece grasping assembly (1) and the third workpiece grasping assembly (3) are smaller in a first state than in a second state, and the variable pitch adjustment mechanism (4) is arranged on a moving mechanism (5) that drives the variable pitch adjustment mechanism (4) to reciprocate along the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction; The first workpiece grasping assembly (1) comprises at least one suction cup (11), the suction cup (11) comprising a disc-shaped main body (111), a groove (112) whose side surface is an inwardly concave arc surface being formed on one side of the main body (111), an air channel (113) being formed on the main body (111), one end of the air channel (113) being a plurality of air outlets and being located at the bottom surface of the groove (112), the other end of the air channel (113) extending to the other side or circumferential surface of the main body (111), and a cover plate (114) covering the plurality of air outlets and maintaining a gap with the bottom surface of the groove being provided above the groove (112); The moving mechanism (5) comprises a first guide seat (52), on which at least one support column (53) extending in the X-axis direction can be slidably inserted, and the support column (53) is connected to a rotating shaft (58) driven by a first motor (51) through a first transmission mechanism; the first guide seat (52) is vertically provided with at least one slide rail (520) extending in the Z-axis direction, and the slide rail (520) is slidably inserted into a second guide seat (530) fixed in a position, and the slide rail (520) is connected to a rotating shaft (58) driven by a first motor (51) through a first transmission mechanism. The first guide seat (52) and / or the second guide seat (530) include at least one damper; the first transmission mechanism includes a push plate (54) arranged at the rear end of the support column (53); a positioning groove (541) extending along the Z-axis direction is formed on the push plate (54); a roller is limited in the positioning groove (541); the roller is connected to the first end (551) of a push rod (55) through an axis; the push rod (55) is L-shaped, and its second end (552) is vertically arranged The second rotating shaft (56) is embedded in an annular guide groove (571) on the surface of a rotating disk (57), and the rotating disk (57) is coaxially fixed to the rotating shaft (58). The bent portion (553) of the push rod (55) is rotatably connected to a shaft (510), and the shaft (510) is fixed to a bracket (59); the second transmission mechanism includes a lifting rod (560) having one end pivotally connected to the upper end of the slide rail (520), and the other end of the lifting rod (560) is rotatably connected to a A fixed shaft (570) is arranged on the inner side of the lifting rod (560), and the roller (580) abuts against an 8-shaped driving plate (590) and is driven to rise and fall by the driving plate (590), and the center of the driving plate (590) is connected to the rotating shaft (58); a flat plate (540) with a convex portion (5401) is arranged on the top of the slide rail (520), and a connecting piece (550) is clamped on the convex portion (5401), and the connecting piece is pivotally connected to the lifting rod (560).

2. The variable pitch feeder according to claim 1, characterized in that: The variable pitch adjustment mechanism comprises a support (41), at least one guide rail (42) extending along the Y-axis is plugged into the support (41), shaft sleeves (43) located on both sides of the support (41) are slidably sleeved on the guide rail (42), one of the shaft sleeves (43) is connected to a push-pull device (44) which is fixed on the support (41) and drives it to slide back and forth along the guide rail (42), and a third rotating shaft (45) is arranged at the bottom of the support (41), and two shaft sleeves (43) are arranged in an X shape. The transmission rod (46) is pivotally connected to the third rotating shaft (45), and the first ends of the two transmission rods (46) are respectively pivotally connected to one end of a first linkage rod (47), and the other end of the first linkage rod (47) is pivotally connected to the same point of the shaft sleeve (43) at the corresponding end; the second ends of the two transmission rods (46) are respectively pivotally connected to one end of a second linkage rod (48), and the other ends of the two second linkage rods (48) are pivotally connected to the same point of the shaft sleeve (43) at the corresponding end.

3. The variable pitch feeder according to claim 2, characterized in that: There are two guide rails (42), one end of each of the two guide rails (42) is provided with a bearing plate (49), a lead screw (410) is provided on the bearing plate, the outer end of the lead screw (410) is connected to a manual turntable (420), a baffle (430) is provided on the movable nut of the lead screw (410), and the baffle (430) is slidably arranged on the rails (42).

4. The variable pitch feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: It also includes a workpiece storage trough (6) and a lifting assembly (7) located below the first workpiece grasping assembly (1), the second workpiece grasping assembly (2) and the third workpiece grasping assembly (3), wherein the workpiece storage trough (6) includes at least three material troughs (61), and the lifting assembly (7) uses a second motor (71) as a power source to drive the workpieces in the three material troughs (61) to rise and fall.

5. The variable pitch feeder according to claim 4, characterized in that: The lifting assembly (7) is located on the side of the workpiece storage slot (6), and each of the material slots (61) has a notch (612) on the side plate (611) facing the lifting assembly that matches the lifting plate (72) of the lifting assembly (7).

6. The variable pitch feeder according to claim 4, characterized in that: The workpiece storage trough (6) comprises nine material troughs (61), and a translation device (62) is connected to the bottom of the storage trough (6) for driving the storage trough (6) to reciprocate along the Y-axis direction.

7. The variable pitch feeder according to claim 4, characterized in that: The workpiece storage trough (6) comprises three components (63), each component (63) comprises three material troughs (61), and each component (63) is detachably arranged on a support (64).

8. The feeding method of the variable pitch feeder according to claim 1, characterized in that: The steps include: S1, the first workpiece grasping assembly (1), the second workpiece grasping assembly (2) and the third workpiece grasping assembly (3) maintain a first state and are located above the three material slots of the workpiece receiving slot (6); S2, the moving mechanism (5) drives the first workpiece grasping assembly (1), the second workpiece grasping assembly (2) and the third workpiece grasping assembly (3) to move downward until the suction cup absorbs the mask at the top of the trough and then moves upward; S3, the moving mechanism (5) drives the first workpiece grasping assembly (1), the second workpiece grasping assembly (2) and the third workpiece grasping assembly (3) to extend forward, and at the same time or afterwards, the variable pitch adjustment mechanism switches the first workpiece grasping assembly (1), the second workpiece grasping assembly (2) and the third workpiece grasping assembly (3) to the second state; S4, the moving mechanism (5) drives the first workpiece grasping assembly (1), the second workpiece grasping assembly (2) and the third workpiece grasping assembly (3) to move downward, and after the suction cup stops adsorbing the material, the moving mechanism (5) drives the first workpiece grasping assembly (1), the second workpiece grasping assembly (2) and the third workpiece grasping assembly (3) to reset.

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