An automated food tray handling and loading and unloading system

Abstract

The present invention discloses an automated food pallet handling and loading and unloading system, including a conveyor line body, a robot automatic grasping device is provided inside the conveyor line body, a guardrail is provided on the periphery, a ceiling rail device is also provided on the outside of the guardrail, a ceiling rail trolley is suspended below the ceiling rail device for movement, and a lower positioning device is also provided below the ceiling rail trolley. The beneficial effects of the present invention are: through the upper and lower positioning devices, in conjunction with the robot, ±360° grasping and placing of food pallets can be achieved; fast and flexible handling of food pallets is achieved, and the handling space can be adapted to the greatest extent; the entire process is safe, reliable, fast and efficient, and can be widely promoted and used in the food production industry with small handling space, high requirements for hygiene and cleanliness of the working environment, and heavy workload.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of food production and processing, and in particular to an automated food tray transport and loading and unloading system. Background Art

[0002] In modern industry, automation in the production process has become a topic of great concern. The level of automation in all walks of life is getting higher and higher. Modern food production and processing workshops are often equipped with automated equipment to improve production efficiency and complete tasks that are difficult or dangerous for workers to complete. In the traditional process of handling and loading and unloading food pallets, most production lines are mainly based on manual handling, which has high labor intensity, high rate of work-related accidents, and low efficiency, increasing the production management cost of the food production industry. In view of this, it is necessary to design an automated food pallet handling and loading and unloading system to solve the shortcomings of traditional manual handling of food pallets, such as labor-intensive and inefficient, and to realize a system that can continuously and stably carry out the function of handling and loading and unloading food pallets for a long time, thereby greatly reducing the amount of manual labor, improving production efficiency, reducing production costs, and reducing the occurrence of work-related accidents. Summary of the invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and provide an automated food tray handling and loading and unloading system.

[0004] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the technical problem is: an automatic food tray handling and loading and unloading system, including a conveyor line body, characterized in that: a robot automatic grabbing device is provided inside the conveyor line body, a guardrail is provided outside the conveyor line body, a ceiling rail device is also provided outside the guardrail, a ceiling rail trolley is suspended below the ceiling rail device for movement, and a lower positioning device is also provided below the ceiling rail trolley;

[0005] The overhead rail device includes a track and a rotating platform. The upper part of the rotating platform is connected to the track through a connecting column. An upper positioning device is also provided on the rotating platform. The upper part of the overhead rail trolley is movably connected to the upper positioning device, and the lower part of the overhead rail trolley is movably connected to the lower positioning device.

[0006] Preferably, the rotating platform includes a group of mutually perpendicular beams, a turntable is provided on the beams, and pulleys are connected to both ends of each beam through brackets, and the turntable can rotate along the pulleys.

[0007] Preferably, the upper positioning device is arranged on the crossbeam of the rotating table through an upper bracket, and the upper positioning device includes a positioning cylinder fixed on the upper bracket, and the lower end of the positioning cylinder is connected to a baffle through a floating joint, and the baffle is N-shaped and has a notch at its upper end, the lower end of the floating joint is stuck in the notch, and the upper end is connected to the positioning cylinder, and the baffle is used to clamp the overhead rail trolley.

[0008] Preferably, the lower positioning device includes a frame assembly, a rotating assembly and a clamping assembly, the rotating assembly is arranged in the middle of the frame assembly, the clamping assembly is arranged on one side of the rotating assembly, and symmetrical retaining edges are also provided above the rotating assembly and on the left and right sides of the clamping assembly.

[0009] Preferably, the robot automatic grasping device comprises a robot base, a robot body, and a robot gripper which are arranged in sequence from bottom to top, wherein the lower part of the robot body is arranged on the robot base, and the upper part is movably connected to the robot gripper.

[0010] Preferably, the conveyor line body is a U-shaped structure, the guardrail is arranged on the outside of the U-shaped structure, and a notch is arranged at the open end of the U-shaped structure, and the lower positioning device is arranged at the notch.

[0011] Preferably, a robot control cabinet and an electric control cabinet are provided on the outside of the guardrail, a wire trough is provided between the guardrail and the conveyor line body, and a pneumatic panel is provided on the outside of the bottom of the conveyor line body.

[0012] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the present invention can realize ±360° grabbing and placing of food trays through the upper and lower positioning devices in conjunction with the robot; it realizes the rapid and flexible transportation of food trays, adapts to the transportation space to the greatest extent, and completely replaces manual transportation. It can overcome the problems of traditional manual food tray transportation and loading and unloading methods, such as labor-intensiveness, difficulty in ensuring hygiene and cleanliness, and low efficiency, and realize the automation of food tray transportation and loading and unloading processes. The whole process is safe, reliable, fast and efficient, and can be widely promoted and used in the food production industry with small transportation space, high requirements for hygiene and cleanliness of the working environment, and heavy workload. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 It is an overall stereogram of the present invention;

[0014] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Top view;

[0015] Figure 3 for Figure 1 Structural diagram of the overhead rail trolley, overhead rail device and lower positioning device;

[0016] Figure 4 for Figure 3 A partial enlarged view of the sky rail device;

[0017] Figure 5 for Figure 4 Enlarged view of the upper positioning device;

[0018] Figure 6 The figure is the structural diagram of the upper positioning device;

[0019] Figure 7 It is the structural diagram of the lower positioning device;

[0020] Figure 8 This is a structural diagram of the rotary assembly of the lower positioning device;

[0021] Fig. 9 This is the internal structure diagram of the lower positioning device;

[0022] Fig.10 This is the structural diagram of the robot's automatic grasping device.

[0023] The markings in the figure are:

[0024] 1. Robot automatic grasping device; 11. Robot base; 12. Robot body; 13. Robot gripper;

[0025] 2. Lower positioning device; 21. Frame assembly; 22. Rotation assembly; 23. Clamping assembly; 24. Side guard;

[0026] 25. Limiting assembly; 3. Upper positioning device; 31. Upper bracket; 32. Positioning cylinder; 33. Floating joint;

[0027] 34. baffle; 341. notch; 4. conveyor line; 41. gap; 5. robot control cabinet; 6. electric control cabinet; 7. overhead rail trolley; 8. overhead rail device; 81. track; 82. turntable; 821. beam; 822. turntable; 823. bracket; 824. pulley; 9. pneumatic panel; 10. guardrail; 100. wire trough. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

[0029] Embodiment 1

[0030] like Figure 1-10 As shown:

[0031] An automated food tray handling and loading and unloading system includes a conveyor line body 4, a robot automatic grabbing device 1 is provided inside the conveyor line body 4, a guardrail 10 is provided outside the conveyor line body 4, a ceiling rail device 8 is provided outside the guardrail 10, a ceiling rail trolley 7 is suspended below the ceiling rail device 8 for movement, and a lower positioning device 2 is provided below the ceiling rail trolley 7;

[0032] The overhead rail device 8 includes a track 81 and a rotating platform 82. The upper part of the rotating platform 82 is connected to the track through a connecting column. An upper positioning device 3 is also provided on the rotating platform 82. The upper part of the overhead rail trolley 7 is movably connected to the upper positioning device 3, and the lower part of the overhead rail trolley 7 is movably connected to the lower positioning device 2.

[0033] The rotating platform 82 includes a group of mutually perpendicular beams 821 , on which a turntable 822 is disposed. At both ends of each beam 821 , a pulley 824 is connected via a bracket 823 , and the turntable 822 can rotate along the pulley 824 .

[0034] The upper positioning device 3 is arranged on the crossbeam 821 of the rotating table 82 through the upper bracket 31. The upper positioning device 3 includes a positioning cylinder 32 fixed on the upper bracket 31. The lower end of the positioning cylinder 32 is connected to a baffle 34 through a floating joint 33. The baffle is n-shaped and has a slot 341 at its upper end. The lower end of the floating joint 33 is stuck in the slot, and the upper end is connected to the positioning cylinder 32. The n-shaped baffle 34 extends downward to clamp the overhead rail trolley.

[0035] The lower positioning device 2 includes a frame assembly 21, a rotating assembly 22 and a clamping assembly 23. The rotating assembly 22 is arranged in the middle of the frame assembly 21, and the clamping assembly 21 is arranged on one side of the rotating assembly 22. Above the rotating assembly 22 and on the left and right sides of the clamping assembly 23, mutually symmetrical retaining edges 24 are also arranged.

[0036] The robot automatic grasping device 1 includes a robot base 11, a robot body 12, and a robot gripper 13 which are arranged in sequence from bottom to top. The lower part of the robot body 12 is arranged on the robot base 11, and the upper part is movably connected to the robot gripper 13, so as to facilitate the installation and disassembly of the robot automatic grasping device 1.

[0037] The conveyor line body 4 is a U-shaped structure, the guardrail 10 is arranged on the outside of the U-shaped structure, and a notch 41 is arranged at the open end of the U-shaped structure. The lower positioning device 2 is arranged at the notch 41, which is convenient for the lower positioning device 2 to fix the overhead rail trolley 7 near the conveyor line body 4, so as to facilitate the robot automatic grasping device 1 to pick up and place items on the overhead rail trolley 7.

[0038] A robot control cabinet 5 and an electric control cabinet 6 are provided outside the guardrail 10 , a wire trough 100 is provided between the guardrail 10 and the conveyor line body 4 , and a pneumatic panel 9 is provided outside the bottom of the conveyor line body 4 .

[0039] The working principle and working process of the present invention are as follows:

[0040] After the overhead rail trolley 7 moves to the specified position along the overhead rail device 8, the positioning cylinder 32 of the upper positioning device 3 extends downward, driving the floating joint 33 to push the baffle 34 to move downward, and the baffle 34 blocks the overhead rail trolley 7. Then, the lower positioning device 2 limits the overhead rail trolley 7 through the retaining edges 24 on the left and right sides of the frame assembly 21 so that it does not shake left and right. The clamping assembly 23 of the lower positioning device 2 clamps the overhead rail trolley 7. At this time, the positioning of the overhead rail trolley 7 is completed. The clamping assembly 23 is an opening and closing structure driven by a cylinder, such as Figure 3 As shown, the opening is used to clamp the bottom frame of the overhead rail trolley 7 to fix the overhead rail trolley 7.

[0041] The robot body 12 of the robot automatic grasping device 1 places the pallet on the conveyor line body 4 to the designated position of the overhead rail trolley 7 through the robot gripper 13. After placing one side of the overhead rail trolley 7, the lower limit assembly 25 on the front side of the lower positioning device 2 is released through the electric control cabinet 6, and then the overhead rail device 8 is driven by the electric control cabinet 6, so that the overhead rail trolley 7 rotates 180 degrees along the overhead rail device 8. At this time, the clamping assembly 23 of the lower positioning device 2 keeps the overhead rail trolley clamped, that is, the lower positioning The clamping assembly 23 and the rotating assembly 22 of the device 2 both rotate 180 degrees synchronously with the overhead rail trolley 7, and the pallet on the other side of the overhead rail trolley 7 is aligned with the robot automatic grasping device 1; then the rear lower limit assembly 25 of the lower positioning device 2 clamps the rotating assembly 22, and the overhead rail trolley 7 is now re-positioned; the robot body 12 of the robot automatic grasping device 1 places the pallet on the conveyor line body 4 to the designated position of the overhead rail trolley 7 through the robot gripper 13, and the other side of the overhead rail trolley 7 is also filled with pallets.

[0042] Then, the lower limit assembly 25 on the rear side of the lower positioning device 2 is released by the electric control cabinet 6, and then the overhead rail device 8 is driven by the electric control cabinet 6, so that the overhead rail trolley 7 rotates 180 degrees along the overhead rail device 8 to return to the initial state, and the front lower limit assembly 25 of the lower positioning device 2 clamps the rotary assembly 22. At this time, the overhead rail trolley 7 rotates back to the initial position to complete the re-positioning. Because the rotation is driven by the overhead rail device 8, the overhead rail device 8 needs to drive the overhead rail trolley 7 and the clamping assembly 23 and the rotary assembly 22 of the lower positioning device 2 to rotate back to the initial position.

[0043] Subsequently, the positioning cylinder 32 of the upper positioning device 3 retracts, driving the baffle 34 to move upward, thereby retracting the blockage on the upper part of the overhead rail trolley 7; the clamping assembly 23 opens, releasing the overhead rail trolley 7, and the overhead rail trolley 7 is manually driven to continue moving to the next process.

[0044] This system can also be used in conjunction with other equipment to perform other processes, such as pouring the food in the tray into another container for the next process; the food trays on the conveyor line body 4 can also be placed in turn and smoothly on the food tray cart for the next food processing process or for recycling empty trays. The present invention uses upper and lower positioning devices and cooperates with robots to achieve ±360° grabbing and placing of food trays; it achieves fast and flexible transportation of food trays, adapts to the transportation space to the greatest extent, and completely replaces manual transportation. It is not limited by space and position, can adapt to the transportation space to the greatest extent, and can completely replace manual transportation, making the entire process safe, reliable, fast and efficient. It can be widely promoted and used in industries with small transportation space, high requirements for hygiene and cleanliness of the working environment, and heavy transportation workload.

[0045] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention in other forms. Any technician familiar with the profession may use the above disclosed technical content to change or modify it into an equivalent embodiment with equivalent changes. However, any simple modification, equivalent change and modification made to the above embodiment according to the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the technical solution of the present invention still belongs to the protection scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automated food tray handling and loading and unloading system, comprising a conveyor line, characterized in that: A robot automatic grasping device is provided inside the conveyor line body, and a guardrail is provided outside the conveyor line body; a ceiling rail device is also provided outside the guardrail, a ceiling rail trolley is suspended below the ceiling rail device, and a lower positioning device is also provided below the ceiling rail trolley; The overhead rail device includes a track and a rotating platform. The upper part of the rotating platform is connected to the track through a connecting column. An upper positioning device is also provided on the rotating platform. The upper part of the overhead rail trolley is movably connected to the upper positioning device, and the lower part of the overhead rail trolley is movably connected to the lower positioning device. The rotating platform includes a group of mutually perpendicular beams, on which a rotating disk is arranged, and at both ends of each beam, pulleys are connected through brackets, and the rotating disk can rotate along the pulleys; The upper positioning device is arranged on the crossbeam of the rotating platform through an upper bracket, and the upper positioning device includes a positioning cylinder fixed on the upper bracket, and the lower end of the positioning cylinder is connected to a baffle through a floating joint, and the baffle is n-shaped, and a notch is opened at the upper end thereof, and the lower end of the floating joint is stuck in the notch, and the upper end is connected to the positioning cylinder, and the baffle is used to clamp the overhead rail trolley; The lower positioning device includes a frame assembly, a rotating assembly and a clamping assembly. The rotating assembly is arranged in the middle of the frame assembly, and the clamping assembly is arranged on one side of the rotating assembly. Mutually symmetrical ribs are also arranged above the rotating assembly and on the left and right sides of the clamping assembly.

2. The automated food tray handling and loading and unloading system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The robot automatic grasping device comprises a robot base, a robot body, and a robot gripper which are arranged in sequence from bottom to top. The lower part of the robot body is arranged on the robot base, and the upper part is movably connected to the robot gripper.

3. The automated food tray handling and loading and unloading system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The conveyor line body is a U-shaped structure, the guardrail is arranged on the outside of the U-shaped structure, and a notch is arranged at the open end of the U-shaped structure, and the lower positioning device is arranged at the notch.

4. The automated food tray handling and loading and unloading system according to claim 3 is characterized in that: A robot control cabinet and an electric control cabinet are also provided on the outside of the guardrail, a wire trough is also provided between the guardrail and the conveyor line body, and a pneumatic panel is also provided on the outside of the bottom of the conveyor line body.

Images