Automatic feeding device and automatic feeding method

Abstract

The application discloses an automatic feeding device, which comprises a three-axis sliding platform mechanical hand, a height detection element and a controller. The three-axis sliding platform mechanical hand comprises a sliding mechanism and a gripper rotatably mounted on the sliding mechanism. The gripper is located above the objects to be processed. The sliding mechanism can drive the gripper to move in three perpendicular directions. The height detection element is fixed on one side of the gripper and is at the same height as the gripper. The controller is electrically connected to the sliding mechanism and the height detection element. The controller is used to calculate the horizontal moving distance of the gripper according to a preset mode, calculate the vertical moving height of the gripper according to the vertical distance, and control the sliding mechanism to act according to the calculation results to drive the gripper to sequentially grasp the objects to be processed and transfer them to the processing station, thereby realizing the full-automatic feeding of the objects to be processed, greatly improving the feeding efficiency, and further improving the overall processing efficiency of the whole production line. The application also discloses an automatic feeding method.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of automatic pipe processing, and particularly relates to an automatic feeding device and an automatic feeding method suitable for a backrest pipe automatic production line. BACKGROUND

[0002] Baby carriers are widely used in families with babies. More and more diversified baby carriers bring great convenience to users. The frames of various baby carriers are assembled by pipe pieces of different shapes and functions after being processed respectively. Therefore, the processing quality of the pipe pieces directly affects the safety of the baby carriers, and the efficiency of each processing procedure of the pipe pieces directly affects the overall production efficiency.

[0003] Taking a backrest pipe for a baby carriage as an example, the backrest pipe has a bending structure, and mounting holes of different purposes are arranged at different positions of the backrest pipe. The existing processing method for the backrest pipe includes the procedures of pipe bending, punching, edge cutting, etc. Each procedure is completed by manual operation, that is, an operator takes a straight pipe piece from a hopper and puts it into a single pipe bending machine to perform pipe bending, then takes the pipe piece out and carries it to a punch to perform punching, and then takes the pipe piece out and puts it into the next punch to perform edge cutting. Since each procedure is completed by manual operation, the processing efficiency of each procedure is not high, and the efficiency of manual feeding is low, which directly affects the processing efficiency of subsequent procedures. The efficiencies of different operators are not synchronized, which causes the processing efficiency of adjacent workstations to be unbalanced, and affects the overall production efficiency.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to provide an automatic feeding device and an automatic feeding method suitable for the above production line to solve the problems in the prior art. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application aims to provide an automatic feeding device to improve the processing efficiency.

[0006] Another object of the present application is to provide an automatic feeding method to improve the processing efficiency.

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the technical scheme of the present application is: providing an automatic feeding device for sequentially grabbing the to-be-processed articles in a material rack and transferring them to a processing station, which comprises a three-axis sliding table manipulator, a height detection member and a controller; wherein the three-axis sliding table manipulator comprises a sliding mechanism and a gripper rotatably mounted on the sliding mechanism, the sliding mechanism is arranged on one side of the material rack and makes the gripper located above the to-be-processed articles, and the sliding mechanism can drive the gripper to move in three perpendicular directions; the height detection member is fixed on one side of the gripper and is at the same height as the gripper, and is used for detecting the vertical distance from the to-be-processed articles; the controller is electrically connected to the sliding mechanism and the height detection member respectively, and the controller is used for calculating the horizontal moving step distance of the gripper according to a preset mode, and calculating the vertical moving height of the gripper according to the vertical distance, and controlling the sliding mechanism to act to drive the gripper to sequentially grab the to-be-processed articles and transfer them to the processing station according to the calculation results.

[0008] Preferably, the controller calculates the horizontal moving step distance of the gripper according to the distance between the two opposite ends of the material rack and the number of the to-be-processed articles arranged between the two opposite ends of the material rack.

[0009] Preferably, the controller calculates the horizontal moving step distance of the gripper according to the number of the to-be-processed articles arranged between the two opposite ends of the material rack and the outer diameter size of the to-be-processed articles.

[0010] Preferably, the automatic feeding device further comprises a horizontal distance detection member electrically connected to the controller, the horizontal distance detection member is mounted on one end of the material rack and can be vertically moved, and is used for detecting the horizontal distance from the to-be-processed articles, and the controller calculates the horizontal moving step distance of the gripper according to the horizontal distance.

[0011] Preferably, the height detection member and the horizontal distance detection member are both laser sensors.

[0012] Preferably, the sliding mechanism comprises a first guide rail arranged in a first direction, a second guide rail slidably connected to the first guide rail and arranged in a second direction, and a telescopic shaft slidably connected to the second guide rail and arranged in a third direction, and the gripper and the height detection member are mounted on the end of the telescopic shaft, wherein the to-be-processed articles in the material rack are arranged in the first direction and the second direction.

[0013] Preferably, the sliding mechanism further comprises a fixed plate fixed to one end of the telescopic shaft, and the gripper and the height detection member are fixed to the fixed plate and are at the same height.

[0014] Preferably, the gripper comprises a rotary cylinder fixed to the fixed plate and a gripping member fixed to the rotary cylinder, and the height detecting member is arranged at the same height as the gripping member.

[0015] Preferably, the gripping member is an electromagnet.

[0016] Preferably, the sliding mechanism further comprises a first sliding block and a second sliding block, the first sliding block is slidingly connected to the first guide rail and fixed to one end of the second guide rail, and the second sliding block is slidingly connected to the second guide rail, and the telescopic shaft is slidingly connected to the second sliding block.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, since the automatic feeding device of the present application is provided with a gripper and a height detecting member at the same height at the end of the three-axis sliding table mechanism, the height of the gripper to the workpiece to be processed can be detected by the height detecting member, and the controller controls the gripper to move downward by a corresponding height to grab the workpiece to be processed, then the controller calculates the walking distance of the horizontal movement of the gripper according to a preset mode, and controls the sliding mechanism to move the gripper horizontally by the walking distance, and then moves downward to grab another workpiece to be processed, and so on, so as to realize the full-automatic feeding of the workpieces to be processed, greatly improve the feeding efficiency, and further improve the overall processing efficiency of the whole production line.

[0018] Correspondingly, the present application also provides an automatic feeding method for transferring workpieces to be processed to a processing station by a gripper, which comprises the following steps:

[0019] acquiring the walking distance of the horizontal movement of the gripper in a first direction and the preset distance of the horizontal movement of the gripper in a second direction and storing them;

[0020] controlling the gripper to move to an initial position in the first direction, and controlling the gripper to move to a gripping position in the second direction by the preset distance;

[0021] acquiring the height between the gripper and the workpiece to be processed in the material rack, and controlling the gripper to move downward by the height to grab the workpiece to be processed, and then controlling the gripper to move in the second direction by the preset distance to move the workpiece to be processed to a processing station and release it;

[0022] repeating the control of the gripper to move in the first direction by the walking distance to grab the workpieces to be processed one by one, and controlling the gripper to move the workpieces to be processed to the processing station one by one.

[0023] Preferably, the step of "acquiring the walking distance of the horizontal movement of the gripper in a first direction and the preset distance of the horizontal movement of the gripper in a second direction and storing them" comprises the following steps:

[0024] acquire the length L of the material rack and the number n of the to-be-processed objects arranged on each layer of the material rack and store them;

[0025] calculate the walking distance of the gripper moving along the first direction according to the formula s=L / n, wherein s is the walking distance;

[0026] acquire the distance between the processing station and the grabbing position and store it as the preset distance.

[0027] Preferably, the automatic feeding method further comprises the following steps:

[0028] determine whether the feeding of the to-be-processed objects on one layer in the material rack is completed;

[0029] if yes, acquire the current height between the gripper and the to-be-processed objects in the material rack and store it, control the gripper to move downward by the current height to grab the to-be-processed objects, and then control the gripper to move by the preset distance along the second direction to release the to-be-processed objects to the processing station;

[0030] repeat the control of the gripper to move reversely by the walking distance along the first direction to grab the to-be-processed objects one by one.

[0031] Preferably, the determination of whether the feeding of the to-be-processed objects on one layer in the material rack is completed is specifically:

[0032] determine whether the number of the to-be-processed objects grabbed by the gripper during the movement along the first direction is equal to n or the total distance of the gripper moving along the first direction is equal to L, and if yes, the feeding of the to-be-processed objects on one layer in the material rack is completed.

[0033] In summary, due to the automatic feeding method of the present application, the height of the gripper to the to-be-processed objects is automatically acquired to control the gripper to move downward by the corresponding height to grab the to-be-processed objects, and then the gripper is controlled to move by the walking distance in the horizontal direction to grab the to-be-processed objects one by one, and the cycle is repeated until the automatic feeding of the to-be-processed objects is completed, so that the feeding efficiency is greatly improved, and the overall processing efficiency of the whole production line is improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0034] Figure 1 is a structural schematic view of the automatic feeding device of the present application.

[0035] Figure 2 is Figure 1 is a structural schematic view from another angle.

[0036] Figure 3 is Figure 1 is a side view of

[0037] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the calculation principle of the automatic feeding device of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of an embodiment of the automatic feeding method of the present invention.

[0039] Figure 6 yes Figure 5 The sub-flowchart of step S01.

[0040] Figure 7 This is a flowchart of another embodiment of the automatic feeding method of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0041] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which similar element reference numerals represent similar elements. The automatic feeding device 100 provided by the present invention is used to automatically grab the workpieces 300 to be processed in the material rack 200 in sequence and automatically transfer them to the processing station. It is mainly applicable to automatic feeding of pipe fittings in automatic tube stamping equipment, but is not limited thereto.

[0042] Please refer to the following first. Figures 1-2 As shown, the automatic feeding device 100 of the present invention includes a three-axis sliding robot 110, a height detection element 120, and a controller (not shown). The three-axis sliding robot 110 is located on one side of the material rack 200. The three-axis sliding robot 110 includes a sliding mechanism 111 and a rotatable gripper 112 mounted on the sliding mechanism 111. The sliding mechanism 111 can drive the gripper 112 to move in three perpendicular directions, and the gripper 112 is positioned higher than the workpiece 300 to be processed on the material rack 200. The height detection element 120 is fixed to one side of the gripper 112 and is located at the same height as the gripper 112. The height detection element 120 is used to detect the distance between the gripper and the workpiece 300. The controller calculates the vertical distance of the gripper 112 based on this vertical distance, and controls the sliding mechanism 111 to move the gripper 112 down to the specified height to grab the workpiece 300 to be processed. At the same time, the controller also calculates the walking distance of the gripper 112 moving horizontally in one direction according to a preset method so that the gripper 112 can grab the workpiece 300 to be processed one by one, and controls the sliding mechanism 111 to move the gripper 112 horizontally in another direction to transfer the workpiece 300 to be processed to the processing station.

[0043] The height detection element 120 in this invention is preferably a laser sensor, but it is not limited to this and other detection elements can also be used.

[0044] Continue reading Figures 1-2As shown, the sliding mechanism 111 in the present application comprises a first guide rail 1111, a second guide rail 1112, an extension shaft 1113, a first sliding block 1114, a second sliding block 1115 and a fixing plate 1116. The first guide rail 1111 is installed above the material rack 200 and arranged along the first direction (the direction of the x-axis), the first sliding block 1114 is slidingly connected to the first guide rail 1111 and fixed with one end of the second guide rail 1112, the second guide rail 1112 is arranged along the second direction (the direction of the y-axis) and perpendicular to the first guide rail 1111, the second sliding block 1115 is slidingly connected to the second guide rail 1112, the extension shaft 1113 is slidingly connected to the second sliding block 1115 and arranged along the third direction (the direction of the z-axis), the fixing plate 1116 is installed at the lower end of the extension shaft 1113, the gripper 112 and the height detection member 120 are respectively installed on the fixing plate 1116 and located at the same height, the gripper 112 realizes the grabbing of the to-be-processed object 300 through the extension of the extension shaft 1113 in the third direction, the transfer of the to-be-processed object 300 is realized through the sliding of the extension shaft 1113 along the second guide rail 1112, and the grabbing of the next to-be-processed object 300 is realized through the sliding of the extension shaft 1113 along the first guide rail 1111.

[0045] In combination Figures 1-3 As shown, the gripper 112 further comprises a rotary air cylinder 1121 installed on the fixing plate 1116 and a grabbing member 1122 fixed to the rotary air cylinder 1121, and the height detection member 120 and the grabbing member 1122 are located at the same height, so as to ensure that the vertical distance detected by the height detection member 120 is the height required for the gripper 112 to move downward.

[0046] In the present application, the grabbing member 1122 is preferably an electromagnet, when the extension shaft 1113 moves downward to the specified height, the electromagnet is powered on and attracts the to-be-processed object 300, when the gripper 112 moves to the processing station, the electromagnet is powered off to release the to-be-processed object 300. Of course, according to the different materials of the to-be-processed object 300, the grabbing member 1122 can adopt other components, such as a suction cup, etc.

[0047] In combination Figure 1 , 4In one embodiment of the present application, the controller calculates the step distance of the horizontal movement of the gripper 112 according to the distance between the two opposite ends of the material rack 200 and the number of the workpieces 300 arranged between the two opposite ends of the material rack 200, so as to realize the one-by-one grabbing of the workpieces 300. Specifically, the length direction of the material rack 200 is arranged along the x-axis, and a plurality of layers of the workpieces 300 are arranged in the height direction (z-axis direction) of the material rack 200, and each layer of the workpieces 300 is arranged along the x-axis. Therefore, after the controller obtains the length L of the material rack 200 and the number n of the workpieces 300 arranged in each layer, the controller calculates the step distance of the horizontal movement of the gripper 112 along the x-axis according to the formula s = L / n, so as to realize the one-by-one grabbing of each layer of the workpieces 300.

[0048] Of course, the step distance of the horizontal movement of the gripper 112 along the x-axis can also be calculated in other ways. For example, in another embodiment, the workpieces 300 are regular round tubes or square tubes, and the diameter of the round tube or the square tube can be directly used as the step distance of the horizontal movement of the gripper 112 along the x-axis, that is, the distance of the horizontal movement of the gripper 112 along the x-axis is equal to the diameter of the round tube or the square tube, and the one-by-one grabbing of each layer of the workpieces 300 can also be realized.

[0049] In the above manner, the controller can determine whether the feeding of one layer of the workpieces 300 is completed by counting the workpieces 300 or calculating the total distance of the horizontal movement of the gripper 112 along the x-axis. For example, in one manner, if the number of the workpieces 300 in each layer is n, when the gripper 112 starts to grab the first workpiece 300 from one end of the material rack 200, the controller starts to count the workpieces 300, and when the number of the counted workpieces 300 is equal to n, it is determined that the feeding of one layer of the workpieces 300 is completed, and the controller controls the gripper 112 to move reversely along the first guide rail 1111 to grab the workpieces 300 in the next layer. In another manner, since the length L of the material rack 200 is a constant, when the gripper 112 starts to grab the first workpiece 300 from one end of the material rack 200, the controller starts to calculate the total distance of the horizontal movement of the gripper 112 along the x-axis, and when the total distance of the horizontal movement of the gripper 112 along the x-axis is equal to L, it is determined that the gripper 112 has moved to the other end of the material rack 200, and the controller controls the gripper 112 to move reversely along the first guide rail 1111 to grab the workpieces 300 in the next layer.

[0050] Further, in the above manner, the change in the vertical distance detected by the height detection member 120 can be combined to more accurately determine whether the feeding of the layer of workpieces 300 has been completed. Specifically, the controller compares the current detected vertical distance with the previously detected vertical distance each time, and if the current vertical distance is greater than the previously detected vertical distance and the number of workpieces 300 grabbed by the gripper 112 is n, or the current vertical distance is greater than the previously detected vertical distance and the distance of the gripper 112 moving in the x-axis direction is equal to L, it is determined that the feeding of the layer of workpieces 300 has been completed, at which time the gripper 112 is controlled to move downward to the current height to grab the workpieces 300 of the next layer, and the gripper 112 is controlled to move in the reverse direction along the first guide rail 1111 to grab the workpieces 300 of the next layer one by one.

[0051] With continued reference to Figures 1-2 As shown, when a plurality of racks 200 are provided, the plurality of racks 200 are arranged in sequence along the x-axis direction, and the spacing D between the adjacent workpieces 300 between the adjacent two racks 200 is fixed, which is pre-recorded by the worker and stored in the controller, so that when the feeding of all the workpieces 300 on one rack 200 is completed, the controller controls the gripper 112 to move a distance D along the first guide rail 1111 to feed the workpieces 300 in the next rack 200.

[0052] With continued reference to Figures 1-4 As shown, the feeding process and principle of the automatic feeding device 100 of the present application are described.

[0053] Before starting work, the worker first records the spacing D between the adjacent two racks 200, and records the length L of each rack 200 and the number n of workpieces 300 arranged in each layer, and the controller stores the above data, and then calculates the walking distance of the gripper 112 moving along the x-axis according to the formula s=L / n and stores it; at the same time, the distance between the processing station and the grabbing position is obtained and stored as a preset distance, which is the distance of the gripper 112 moving along the y-axis.

[0054] With reference to Figure 1Before starting the feeding, the automatic feeding device 100 first performs an initial operation. Specifically, the controller first controls the first slider 1114 to drive the second guide rail 1112 and the telescopic shaft 1113 to slide along the first guide rail 1111 to an initial position, for example, to slide in the negative direction of the x-axis to one end of the first guide rail 1111. Then, the controller controls the second slider 1115 to drive the telescopic shaft 1113 to slide along the second guide rail 1112 by the preset distance to reach the grabbing position, for example, to slide in the positive direction of the y-axis by the preset distance. The preset distance is previously set according to the length of the workpiece 300 and the distance between the workpiece 300 and the processing station, as long as the telescopic shaft 1113 can slide above the workpiece 300 and be easily grabbed.

[0055] When starting the feeding, the controller first acquires the vertical distance h between the height detection member 120 and the workpiece 300 detected by the height detection member 120, controls the telescopic shaft 1113 to move in the negative direction of the z-axis by a corresponding height according to the vertical distance h, so that the gripper 112 is lowered to a specified height, controls the electromagnet to be powered to attract the workpiece 300, then controls the rotary cylinder 1121 to act to drive the gripper 112 to rotate by a preset angle, and controls the second slider 1115 to drive the telescopic shaft 1113 to slide in the negative direction of the y-axis by the preset distance. At this time, the gripper 112 reaches the processing station, and the electromagnet is controlled to be de-energized to release the workpiece 300 on the processing station.

[0056] Then, the second slider 1115 is controlled to drive the telescopic shaft 1113 to slide in the positive direction of the y-axis again to the grabbing position, and the first slider 1114 is controlled to slide in the positive direction of the x-axis on the first guide rail 1111 by a step distance s, that is, to drive the gripper 112 to slide to a position corresponding to the next workpiece 300. At this time, the telescopic shaft 1113 is controlled to slide in the negative direction of the z-axis by a height h again, so that the gripper 112 is lowered to the specified height again, and the electromagnet is controlled to be powered to attract the workpiece 300 again. Then, the rotary cylinder 1121 is controlled to act to drive the gripper 112 to rotate by a preset angle, and the second slider 1115 is controlled to drive the telescopic shaft 1113 to slide in the negative direction of the y-axis by the preset distance. At this time, the gripper 112 reaches the processing station, and the electromagnet is controlled to be de-energized to release the workpiece 300 on the processing station.

[0057] The above steps are cycled until the number of the workpieces 300 recorded by the controller is n, and the vertical distance h detected by the height detection member 120 changes, specifically, the current vertical distance is greater than the previous detected vertical distance, it is determined that the feeding of the workpieces 300 in the layer is completed, at this time, the telescopic shaft 1113 is controlled to slide along the negative direction of the z-axis, so that the gripper 112 continues to move down to the current height to grab the workpieces 300 in the next layer, and when the feeding of the workpieces 300 in the layer is completed and the gripper 112 returns to the grabbing position on the second guide rail 1112, the first sliding block 1114 is controlled to slide along the negative direction of the x-axis by the walking distance s, so that the gripper 112 grabs the next workpiece 300. The above steps are cycled until the feeding of the workpieces 300 in the layer is completed.

[0058] When the feeding of all the workpieces 300 in the rack 200 is completed, the controller controls the first sliding block 1114 to slide along the positive direction of the x-axis on the first guide rail 1111 by the sliding distance D, so that the gripper 112 slides to the position of the workpieces 300 corresponding to the end of the next rack 200, and then the gripper 112 is controlled to repeat the above steps to complete the grabbing of the workpieces 300 in the rack 200.

[0059] The structure, arrangement and the like of other parts of the automatic feeding device 100 are conventional designs in the art, and will not be described in detail here.

[0060] In summary, since the automatic feeding device 100 of the present application, the end of the three-axis sliding table manipulator 110 is provided with the gripper 112 and the height detection member 120 at the same height, so that the height of the gripper 112 to the workpiece 300 can be detected by the height detection member 120, and the controller controls the gripper 112 to move down by a corresponding height to grab the workpiece 300, and then the controller calculates the walking distance of the horizontal movement of the gripper 112 according to a preset mode, and controls the sliding mechanism 111 to move the gripper 112 horizontally by the walking distance, and then moves down to grab another workpiece 300. The above steps are cycled to realize the automatic feeding of the workpieces 300, improve the feeding efficiency, and further improve the overall processing efficiency of the entire production line.

[0061] Referring to Figure 5 The present application also provides an automatic feeding method, which is suitable for automatically transporting the workpieces in a rack to a next processing station by the gripper of a three-axis sliding table manipulator. An embodiment of the method comprises the following steps:

[0062] S01: obtaining and storing the walking distance of the gripper moving in a first direction and the preset distance of moving in a second direction; wherein the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction;

[0063] S02: controlling the gripper to move to an initial position in a first direction and controlling the gripper to move to a picking position in a second direction by a preset distance; wherein the picking position is a position above and capable of picking the workpiece in the second direction, and can be flexibly set according to different workpieces;

[0064] S03: obtaining and storing the height between the gripper and the workpiece in the material rack;

[0065] S04: controlling the gripper to move downward in a third direction by the height and controlling the gripper to pick the workpiece;

[0066] S05: controlling the gripper to move in the second direction by the preset distance and controlling the gripper to release the workpiece to a processing station, and controlling the gripper to move reversely in the second direction to the picking position;

[0067] S06: controlling the gripper to move in the first direction by the walking distance, and returning to the step S03 until the feeding of the workpiece is completed.

[0068] Referring to Figure 6 Fig. 1, in the automatic feeding method of the present application, the S01 specifically comprises the following steps:

[0069] S11: obtaining and storing the length L of the material rack and the number n of workpieces arranged on each layer of the material rack;

[0070] S12: calculating the walking distance of the gripper in the first direction according to the formula s = L / n, wherein s is the walking distance;

[0071] S13: obtaining and storing the distance between the processing station and the picking position as the preset distance.

[0072] Referring to Figure 5 , Figure 7 Fig. 2, in another embodiment of the automatic feeding method of the present application, the embodiment further comprises the following steps on the basis of the above embodiment:

[0073] S07: judging whether the feeding of the workpiece on one layer of the material rack is completed; if yes, proceeding to step S08, and if no, returning to step S03;

[0074] S08: obtaining and storing the current height between the gripper and the workpiece in the material rack, controlling the gripper to move downward in the third direction by the current height to pick the workpiece, controlling the gripper to move in the second direction by the preset distance to release the workpiece to the processing station, and controlling the gripper to move reversely in the second direction to the picking position.

[0075] S09: controlling the gripper to move reversely in the first direction by the walking distance and returning to step S08 until the feeding of the articles to be processed in the layer is completed.

[0076] More specifically, in step S07, if the number of the articles to be processed grabbed by the gripper is equal to n or the total distance of the movement of the gripper in the first direction is equal to L, the feeding of the articles to be processed in the layer in the magazine is completed.

[0077] Correspondingly, due to the automatic feeding method of the present application, the height of the gripper to the articles to be processed is automatically obtained to control the gripper to move downward by the corresponding height to grab the articles to be processed, and then the gripper is controlled to move in the horizontal direction by the walking distance to grab the articles to be processed one by one, and the cycle is repeated until the automatic feeding of the articles to be processed is completed, thus the feeding efficiency is greatly improved, and the overall processing efficiency of the whole production line is improved.

[0078] The above only discloses the preferred embodiments of the present application, of course, cannot limit the scope of the present application, the equivalent changes made in the patent application scope of the present application still belongs to the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An automatic feeding device for sequentially grabbing objects to be processed from a material rack and transferring them to a processing station, characterized in that, include: A three-axis sliding table robot includes a sliding mechanism and a rotatable gripper mounted on the sliding mechanism. The sliding mechanism is located on one side of the material rack and the gripper is positioned above the workpiece to be processed. The sliding mechanism can drive the gripper to move in three perpendicular directions. A height detection component, which is fixed to one side of the gripper and at the same height as the gripper, is used to detect the vertical distance from the gripper to the workpiece to be processed; The controller is electrically connected to the sliding mechanism and the height detection device. The controller is used to calculate the horizontal walking distance of the gripper according to a preset method, and to calculate the vertical height of the gripper according to the vertical distance. Then, according to the calculation results, the controller controls the sliding mechanism to drive the gripper to grab the workpiece to be processed in sequence and transfer it to the processing station. The controller calculates the walking distance of the gripper in one direction based on the distance between the two opposite ends of the material rack and the number of the objects to be processed arranged between the two opposite ends of the material rack. The gripper moves at the walking distance to pick up the objects to be processed one by one. When the current vertical distance is greater than the previously detected vertical distance and the number of the objects to be processed grasped by the gripper is the number n of the objects to be processed arranged on each layer of the material rack, or when the current vertical distance is greater than the previously detected vertical distance and the distance the gripper moves in the first direction is equal to the length L of the material rack, the controller controls the gripper to move down to the current height to grasp the objects to be processed on the next layer, and controls the gripper to move in the opposite direction to grasp the objects to be processed on the next layer one by one.

2. The automatic feeding device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The controller obtains the distance between the processing station and the gripping position of the workpiece as a preset distance for the gripper to move horizontally in another direction. The gripper moves at the preset distance to transfer the workpiece to the processing station.

3. The automatic feeding device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The height detection device is a laser sensor.

4. The automatic feeding device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The sliding mechanism includes a first guide rail arranged along a first direction, a second guide rail slidably connected to the first guide rail and arranged along a second direction, and a telescopic shaft slidably connected to the second guide rail and arranged along a third direction. The gripper and the height detection component are installed at the end of the telescopic shaft. The workpieces to be processed in the material rack are arranged sequentially along the first direction.

5. The automatic feeding device as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The sliding mechanism also includes a fixed plate fixed to one end of the telescopic shaft, and the gripper and the height detection component are respectively fixed to the fixed plate and located at the same height.

6. The automatic feeding device as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The gripper includes a rotary cylinder fixed to the fixed plate and a gripping component fixed to the rotary cylinder, and the height detection component and the gripping component are located at the same height.

7. The automatic feeding device as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The gripping component is an electromagnet.

8. The automatic feeding device as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The sliding mechanism further includes a first slider and a second slider. The first slider is slidably connected to the first guide rail and fixed to one end of the second guide rail. The second slider is slidably connected to the second guide rail, and the telescopic shaft is slidably connected to the second slider.

9. An automatic feeding method, suitable for transferring workpieces to a processing station via a gripper, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Obtain and store the walking distance of the gripper moving horizontally in the first direction and the preset distance moving horizontally in the second direction; Control the gripper to move along the first direction to the initial position, and control the gripper to move along the second direction by the preset distance to the gripping position; The height between the gripper and the workpiece to be processed in the material rack is obtained, and the gripper is controlled to move down by the height to grab the workpiece to be processed. Then, the gripper is controlled to move along the second direction by the preset distance to move the workpiece to the processing station and release it. Repeatedly control the gripper to move the walking distance along the first direction to grab the objects to be processed one by one, and control the gripper to move the objects to be processed one by one to the processing station; Determine whether the loading of one layer of the objects to be processed in the material rack has been completed; wherein, when the current height is greater than the previously detected height and the number of objects to be processed grabbed by the gripper is the number n of objects to be processed arranged in each layer of the material rack, or when the current height is greater than the previously detected height and the distance moved by the gripper in the first direction is equal to the length L of the material rack, it is determined that the loading of one layer of objects to be processed has been completed. If completed, the current height between the gripper and the workpiece to be processed in the material rack is obtained and stored, and the gripper is controlled to move down to the current height to grab the workpiece to be processed. Then, the gripper is controlled to move along the second direction by the preset distance and the workpiece to be processed is released to the processing station. The gripper is repeatedly controlled to move the walking distance in the opposite direction along the first direction to grasp the objects to be processed one by one.

10. The automatic feeding method as described in claim 9, characterized in that, The step of "acquiring and storing the walking distance of the gripper moving horizontally in the first direction and the preset distance moving horizontally in the second direction" includes the following steps: Obtain and store the length L of the material rack and the number n of the items to be processed arranged on each layer of the material rack; The walking distance of the gripper along the first direction is calculated according to the formula s = L / n, where s is the walking distance; Obtain the distance between the processing station and the gripping position and store it as the preset distance.

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