Tobacco storage cabinet discharging device and control method for discharging of tobacco storage cabinet

Abstract

The present invention relates to a tobacco storage cabinet discharging device and a control method for discharging tobacco from a tobacco storage cabinet. Among them, the tobacco storage cabinet discharging device includes: a storage cabinet, which stores tobacco materials therein; a conveyor, whose feeding end is arranged at the discharging port of the storage cabinet; a sensor, arranged at the feeding end of the conveyor, and the sensor is configured to detect the stacking height of tobacco materials at the feeding end of the conveyor; and a controller, electrically connected to the sensor, and the controller is configured to control the conveyor to be in an operating state or a standby state according to the stacking height of the tobacco materials sent by the sensor. The conveyor alternates between the operating state and the standby state to stack and temporarily store tobacco materials in a step-by-step manner. After the tobacco materials are discharged sufficiently and evenly, the stacking height of the materials can no longer be detected by the sensor, and the conveyor operates normally, alleviating problems such as insufficient material flow at the head of the storage cabinet, large flow fluctuations, and long duration, and improving the product quality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of tobacco equipment, and particularly to a tobacco storage cabinet discharging device and a control method for discharging tobacco from a storage cabinet. Background Art

[0002] The processing of tobacco leaves into cut tobacco is an important part of the production process of a tobacco processing line. During multi-batch production, in order to ensure the stability of the material flow for subsequent processing, the materials dropped into the storage cabinet by the distributing vehicle are roughly evenly distributed in the cabinet. However, during the paving and stacking process, the materials at the head and tail ends in the storage cabinet will naturally form a slope shape, and the side of the materials in the cabinet is roughly trapezoidal.

[0003] When the storage cabinet discharges materials, the bottom belt runs at a constant speed. It is difficult for the materials with a slope shape at the head to meet the incoming material flow requirements of subsequent processing equipment (such as a temperature and humidity increasing machine, etc.) per unit time, resulting in the following three problems: 1) The incoming material flow is low, causing the tobacco sheet temperature and humidity increasing machine to be unable to switch from standby to production state, and the materials at the head of the batch not being steamed or humidified with water according to the specified process. 2) The incoming material flow fluctuates greatly. When the application ratio of steam or humidifying water is fixed, it is easy to cause uneven temperature and humidity increase of the materials. 3) The gentler the slope of the materials at the head, the longer the head time. Through on-site measurement, the average head time for each batch of storage cabinet discharging is up to five minutes. The above problems will all lead to unqualified processing of the materials at the head by subsequent processing equipment and affect their quality control level. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Some embodiments of the present invention provide a tobacco storage cabinet discharging device and a control method for discharging tobacco from a storage cabinet, which are used to alleviate the problems of low and fluctuating incoming material flow.

[0005] Some embodiments of the present invention provide a tobacco storage cabinet discharging device, which includes:

[0006] A storage cabinet, which stores tobacco materials therein;

[0007] A conveyor, whose feeding end is arranged at the discharging port of the storage cabinet;

[0008] A sensor, which is arranged at the feeding end of the conveyor, and the sensor is configured to detect the stacking height of the tobacco materials at the feeding end of the conveyor; and

[0009] A controller, which is electrically connected to the sensor, and the controller is configured to control the conveyor to be in an operating state or a standby state according to the stacking height of the tobacco materials sent by the sensor.

[0010] In some embodiments, it further includes a vibrating trough, and the vibrating trough communicates the discharging port of the storage cabinet with the feeding end of the conveyor.

[0011] In some embodiments, the feeding end of the conveyor has an overlapping part with the vibrating trough.

[0012] In some embodiments, a bracket is included, and the bracket is arranged at the overlapping part of the feeding end of the conveyor and the vibrating trough, and the sensor is arranged on the bracket.

[0013] In some embodiments, the sensor includes a diffuse reflection photoelectric switch.

[0014] In some embodiments, the controller includes a programmable logic controller.

[0015] Some embodiments of the present invention provide a control method for discharging tobacco from a storage cabinet, which includes the steps:

[0016] S10: When the storage cabinet starts to discharge, the conveyor is in a standby state, and the tobacco material accumulates at the feeding end of the conveyor.

[0017] S20: The sensor continuously detects the accumulation height of the tobacco material at the feeding end of the conveyor and sends the accumulation height signal to the controller; and

[0018] S30: The controller compares the received accumulation height with the preset height value therein. When the accumulation height is greater than or equal to the preset height value, the controller controls the conveyor to be in an operating state to transport the tobacco material. When the accumulation height is less than the preset height value, the controller controls the conveyor to be in a standby state.

[0019] In some embodiments, in step 30, when the accumulation height is less than the preset height value and the controller controls the conveyor to be in a standby state, the following steps are further included:

[0020] Step 40: When the conveyor is in a standby state, start timing. When the accumulation height is greater than or equal to the preset height value and the conveyor returns to an operating state, the timing ends, and this time is the measured standby time.

[0021] Judge whether the measured standby time is greater than the preset standby time. If the measured standby time is greater than or equal to the preset standby time, return to step 20.

[0022] In some embodiments, in step 40, if the measured standby time is less than the preset standby time, it is considered that the standby time is too short, and the count is incremented by one; then judge whether the total count is less than the preset number. If the total count is less than the preset number, return to step 20.

[0023] In some embodiments, in step 40, if the total count is greater than or equal to the preset number, the sensor stops detecting, and the conveyor is in a normal continuous operating state.

[0024] Based on the above technical solutions, the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0025] In some embodiments, a sensor is provided at the feeding end of the conveyor. The sensor detects the stacking height of the tobacco material at the feeding end of the conveyor and sends the detected stacking height information to the controller. The controller controls the conveyor to be in an operating state or a standby state according to the stacking height of the tobacco material sent by the sensor. The conveyor alternates between the operating state and the standby state to stack and temporarily store the tobacco material in a step-by-step manner. After the discharge of the tobacco material is sufficient and uniform, the sensor may no longer be used to detect the stacking height of the material, and the conveyor operates normally, alleviating the problems such as insufficient material flow at the head of the storage cabinet, large flow fluctuations, and long duration, and improving the product quality. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention and constitute a part of this application. The schematic embodiments of the present invention and their descriptions are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute an improper limitation to the present invention. In the drawings:

[0027] Figure 1 FIG. is a schematic diagram of a tobacco storage cabinet discharging device according to some embodiments of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 FIG. is a control principle block diagram of a control method for discharging tobacco from a tobacco storage cabinet according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0029] The reference numerals in the drawings are explained as follows:

[0030] 1 - storage cabinet; 2 - conveyor; 3 - sensor; 4 - vibrating trough; 5 - support; 6 - tobacco material. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0031] The technical solutions in the embodiments will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0032] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus should not be construed as limiting the protection scope of the present invention.

[0033] Such as Figure 1As shown, a tobacco storage cabinet discharging device provided for some embodiments includes a storage cabinet 1, a conveyor 2, a sensor 3, and a controller.

[0034] The storage cabinet 1 stores tobacco materials 6.

[0035] The feeding end of the conveyor 2 is arranged at the discharging port of the storage cabinet 1.

[0036] The sensor 3 is arranged at the feeding end of the conveyor 2, and the sensor 3 is configured to detect the stacking height of the tobacco materials 6 at the feeding end of the conveyor 2.

[0037] The controller is electrically connected to the sensor 3, and the controller is configured to control the conveyor 2 to be in an operating state or a standby state according to the stacking height of the tobacco materials 6 sent by the sensor 3.

[0038] During the laying and stacking process of the tobacco materials 6 in the storage cabinet 1, a slope shape will naturally appear at both the head and tail ends of the storage cabinet 1, that is: the tobacco materials 6 stacked in the storage cabinet 1 are generally trapezoidal. Therefore, when the storage cabinet 1 starts to discharge materials for the first time, the conveyor 2 runs at a constant speed, and the discharging flow rate of the tobacco materials 6 in the slope-shaped head part in the storage cabinet 1 per unit time is difficult to meet the incoming material flow rate requirements of subsequent processing equipment, such as a temperature and humidity increasing machine, etc.

[0039] Based on this, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, a sensor 3 is arranged at the feeding end of the conveyor 2. The sensor 3 detects the stacking height of the tobacco materials 6 at the feeding end of the conveyor 2 and sends the detected stacking height information to the controller. The controller controls the conveyor 2 to be in an operating state or a standby state according to the stacking height of the tobacco materials 6 sent by the sensor 3. For example: the controller compares the received stacking height with the preset height value therein. When the stacking height is greater than or equal to the preset height value, the controller controls the conveyor 2 to be in an operating state to transport the tobacco materials 6. When the stacking height is less than the preset height value, the controller controls the conveyor 2 to be in a standby state.

[0040] Therefore, at the initial stage of the discharge of the storage cabinet 1, the tobacco material 6 is stacked on the conveyor 2. When the accumulated height detected by the sensor 3 at the position is greater than or equal to the preset height value, the conveyor 2 starts to operate, and the tobacco material 6 advances with the conveyor 2. When the accumulated height detected by the sensor 3 at the position is less than the preset height value, the conveyor 2 stops operating, and the tobacco material 6 continues to stack. When the accumulated height detected by the sensor 3 at the position is greater than or equal to the preset height value, the conveyor 2 starts to operate, and the tobacco material 6 advances with the conveyor 2. When the accumulated height detected by the sensor 3 at the position is less than the preset height value, the conveyor 2 stops operating, and the tobacco material 6 continues to stack. This cycle repeats until the discharge of the tobacco material 6 at the head end of the storage cabinet 1 is nearly completed or completed. After the tobacco material 6 is discharged sufficiently and evenly, it is no longer necessary to detect the accumulated height of the material through the sensor 3, alleviating the problem that it is difficult for subsequent processes to process the material at the head end according to the specified process requirements due to insufficient material flow, large flow fluctuations, and long duration at the head end of the storage cabinet 1, and improving the product quality.

[0041] In some embodiments, the tobacco storage cabinet discharge device further includes a vibrating trough 4, and the vibrating trough 4 communicates with the discharge port of the storage cabinet 1 and the feeding end of the conveyor 2. The tobacco material 6 discharged from the discharge port of the storage cabinet 1 is conveyed to the conveyor 2 through the vibrating trough 4.

[0042] In some embodiments, the feeding end of the conveyor 2 and the vibrating trough 4 have an overlapping part.

[0043] In some embodiments, the tobacco storage cabinet discharge device further includes a bracket 5. The bracket 5 is arranged at the overlapping part of the vibrating trough 4 and the feeding end of the conveyor 2. The sensor 3 is arranged on the bracket 5 and is located above the overlapping part of the vibrating trough 4 and the feeding end of the conveyor 2.

[0044] In some embodiments, the sensor 3 includes a diffuse reflection photoelectric switch.

[0045] The accumulated height of the material at the overlapping part of the feeding end of the conveyor 2 and the vibrating trough 4 is monitored by the diffuse reflection photoelectric switch; then, according to the state of the diffuse reflection photoelectric switch, the operating state of the conveyor 2 is dynamically adjusted by using a control algorithm.

[0046] In some embodiments, the controller includes a programmable logic controller (PLC).

[0047] As Figure 1 shown, the bracket 5 is installed at the overlapping part of the vibrating trough 4 and the conveyor 2 after the discharge of the storage cabinet 1. The diffuse reflection photoelectric switch is installed on the bracket 5 and is located above the overlapping part. The diffuse reflection photoelectric switch transmits signals to the PLC that controls the on-site equipment through a cable. The diffuse reflection photoelectric switch can monitor the accumulated height of the material at the overlapping part; the PLC dynamically adjusts the operating state of the conveyor according to its state by using a control algorithm.

[0048] Some embodiments provide a control method for the discharge of a tobacco storage cabinet, which includes the steps:

[0049] S10: The storage cabinet 1 starts to discharge, the conveyor 2 is in a standby state, and the tobacco material 6 accumulates at the feeding end of the conveyor 2.

[0050] S20: The sensor 3 continuously detects the accumulation height of the tobacco material 6 at the feeding end of the conveyor 2 and sends the accumulation height signal to the controller; and

[0051] S30: The controller compares the received accumulation height with the preset height value therein. When the accumulation height is greater than or equal to the preset height value, the controller controls the conveyor 2 to be in an operating state to transport the tobacco material 6. When the accumulation height is less than the preset height value, the controller controls the conveyor 2 to be in a standby state.

[0052] The control method for the discharge of the tobacco storage cabinet provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure is implemented by using the tobacco storage cabinet discharge device in the above embodiments. This control method is particularly applicable to the initial stage when the storage cabinet 1 just starts to discharge, that is, the stage when the end tobacco material in the storage cabinet 1 is discharged, namely: at the initial head stage of the storage cabinet discharge. This control method corresponds to the head control mode of the tobacco storage cabinet discharge device. In the head control mode, the storage cabinet 1 discharges, and the tobacco material 6 stacks on the conveyor 2. When the accumulation height at the detection position of the sensor 3 is greater than or equal to the preset height value, the controller controls the conveyor 2 to start running, and the tobacco material 6 advances with the conveyor 2; when the accumulation height at the detection position of the sensor 3 is less than the preset height value, the controller controls the conveyor 2 to stop running, and the tobacco material 6 continues to stack; when the accumulation height at the detection position of the sensor 3 is greater than or equal to the preset height value, the controller controls the conveyor 2 to start running, and the tobacco material 6 advances with the conveyor 2; when the accumulation height at the detection position of the sensor 3 is less than the preset height value, the controller controls the conveyor 2 to stop running, and the tobacco material 6 continues to stack, and so on in a cycle.

[0053] Through this control method, the conveyor 2 downstream of the discharge port of the storage cabinet 1 stacks and temporarily stores the head material in a step-by-step manner. When the algorithm determines that the subsequent incoming material is sufficient, it exits the head control mode, and then the conveyor sends the temporarily stored material and the subsequent incoming material to the downstream equipment for processing together, eliminating the problems of low material flow rate, large flow rate fluctuations, and long duration in the head stage of the storage cabinet discharge, and effectively ensuring the processing quality of the head material in the subsequent processes. This control method is simple to operate, has good control effects, and is fully automatic in the process, and is suitable for application near the discharge ports of each storage cabinet in the wire-making line.

[0054] In some embodiments, in step 30, when the accumulation height is less than the preset height value, the controller controls the conveyor 2 to be in a standby state, and then further includes:

[0055] Step 40: Start timing when the conveyor 2 is in the standby state. When the stacking height is greater than or equal to the preset height value and the conveyor 2 is in the running state again, the timing ends, and this time is the measured standby time.

[0056] Judge whether the measured standby time is greater than the preset standby time. If the measured standby time is greater than or equal to the preset standby time, return to Step 20.

[0057] In some embodiments, in Step 40, if the measured standby time is less than the preset standby time, it is considered that the standby time is too short and the count is incremented by one. Then judge whether the total count times is less than the preset times. If the total count times is less than the preset times, return to Step 20.

[0058] In some embodiments, in Step 40, if the total count times is greater than or equal to the preset times, the sensor 3 stops detecting and the conveyor 2 maintains the normal continuous running state.

[0059] As Figure 2 shown, the following lists the specific process of the control method for the discharge of the tobacco storage cabinet in some embodiments:

[0060] 1) At the initial stage of the discharge of the storage cabinet, enable the control mode of the material head. The conveyor 2 downstream of the storage cabinet 1 enters the standby state. The tobacco material discharged from the storage cabinet 1 is transported through the vibrating chute 3 and accumulates at the overlapping part between the vibrating chute 3 and the conveyor 2.

[0061] 2) Monitor the stacking height of the tobacco material at the overlapping part through the diffuse reflection photoelectric switch installed above the conveyor 2. When the stacking height of the tobacco material at the overlapping part is greater than or equal to the preset height value, the diffuse reflection photoelectric switch transmits the signal of having material to the PLC, and the PLC program controls to start the conveyor 2 to run forward for feeding. When the stacking height of the material at the overlapping part does not meet the requirements, the diffuse reflection photoelectric switch transmits the signal of empty material to the PLC, and the PLC program controls the conveyor 2 to enter the standby state, and the material from the vibrating chute 3 continues to accumulate at the overlapping part.

[0062] 3) When the conveyor 2 enters the standby state, the PLC program starts the timer T to measure the standby duration t of the conveyor 2 this time. When the conveyor 2 starts again, the timer T stops, and compare the standby duration t with the preset standby duration t 0 ;

[0063] If the standby duration t is less than the preset standby duration t 0 , it is judged that the standby duration is too short, the count is incremented by one, the total count times k is incremented by 1, and return to Step 2). Until when k reaches the preset value n, it can be considered that the subsequent incoming materials are sufficient, exit the control mode of the material head, transfer to the normal production mode, and the conveyor 2 resumes the normal running state for continuous feeding.

[0064] In some embodiments, the conveyor 2 is controlled to run step by step according to the state of the diffuse reflection photoelectric switch, so that the conveyor 2 stacks and temporarily stores the head material whose incoming material flow does not meet the requirements of subsequent production. The timer T is used to record the standby duration t before each step of the conveyor 2; when the standby duration t is less than the preset standby duration t 0 , it is determined that the standby duration is too short, and it is counted once, and the total number of counts k is incremented by 1; the conveyor 2 repeats stepping and stacking the incoming material until when k reaches the preset value n, it can be considered that the subsequent incoming material is sufficient, and the head control mode is exited, and the conveyor 2 resumes the normal operating state. The conveyor is used to stack and temporarily store the head material so that its flow can meet the requirements of the incoming material flow during the normal processing of subsequent equipment, and the processing quality of the head material is improved.

[0065] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that using terms such as "first", "second", "third", etc. to limit components is only for the convenience of distinguishing the above components. Without further statement, the above terms have no special meaning, so it cannot be understood as a limitation on the protection scope of the present invention.

[0066] In addition, without explicit negation, the technical features of one embodiment can be beneficially combined with one or more other embodiments.

[0067] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and not to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that: still can modify the specific implementation manners of the present invention or perform equivalent replacements on some technical features; without departing from the spirit of the technical solutions of the present invention, they should all be covered by the scope of the technical solutions claimed by the present invention.

Claims

1. A control method for discharging tobacco from a storage cabinet, characterized in that, it includes the steps of: S10: The storage cabinet (1) starts to discharge, the conveyor (2) is in a standby state, and the tobacco material (6) accumulates at the feeding end of the conveyor (2); S20: The sensor (3) continuously detects the accumulation height of the tobacco material (6) at the feeding end of the conveyor (2), and sends the accumulation height signal to the controller; and S30: The controller compares the received accumulation height with the preset height value therein. When the accumulation height is greater than or equal to the preset height value, the controller controls the conveyor (2) to be in an operating state to transport the tobacco material (6). When the accumulation height is less than the preset height value, the controller controls the conveyor (2) to be in a standby state; S40: When the conveyor (2) is in a standby state, timing starts. When the sensor (3) detects that the accumulation height is greater than or equal to the preset height value and the conveyor (2) returns to an operating state, the timing ends, and this time is the measured standby time; Judge whether the measured standby time is greater than the preset standby time. If the measured standby time is greater than or equal to the preset standby time, return to S20; if the measured standby time is less than the preset standby time, it is considered that the standby time is too short and the count is incremented by one. Then judge whether the total count is less than the preset number of times. If the total count is less than the preset number of times, return to S20; if the total count is greater than or equal to the preset number of times, the sensor (3) stops detecting and the conveyor (2) is in a normal continuous operating state.

2. A tobacco storage cabinet discharging device for implementing the control method for discharging tobacco from a storage cabinet according to claim 1 above, characterized in that, it includes: A storage cabinet (1) that stores tobacco material (6) therein; A conveyor (2) whose feeding end is arranged at the discharging port of the storage cabinet (1); A sensor (3) arranged at the feeding end of the conveyor (2), and the sensor (3) is configured to detect the accumulation height of the tobacco material (6) at the feeding end of the conveyor (2); and A controller electrically connected to the sensor (3), and the controller is configured to control the conveyor (2) to be in an operating state or a standby state according to the accumulation height of the tobacco material (6) sent by the sensor (3).

3. The tobacco storage cabinet discharging device according to claim 2, characterized in that, it further includes a vibrating trough (4), and the vibrating trough (4) communicates the discharging port of the storage cabinet (1) with the feeding end of the conveyor (2).

4. The tobacco storage cabinet discharging device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The feeding end of the conveyor (2) and the vibrating trough (4) have an overlapping part.

5. The tobacco storage cabinet discharging device according to claim 4, characterized in that, it includes a bracket (5), the bracket (5) is arranged at the overlapping part of the feeding end of the conveyor (2) and the vibrating trough (4), and the sensor (3) is arranged on the bracket (5).

6. The tobacco storage cabinet discharging device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The sensor (3) includes a diffuse reflection photoelectric switch.

7. The tobacco storage cabinet discharging device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The controller includes a programmable logic controller.

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