Automatic loading device and method for material cart

Abstract

A material cart automatic loading device comprises a material tray loading mechanism, a material tray conveying mechanism for conveying material trays to an upper tray mechanism, and an upper tray linkage mechanism. The upper tray mechanism and the material tray conveying mechanism are respectively arranged on both sides of the material cart, and can convey material trays to the material cart in a linked manner. The upper tray mechanism comprises an upper tray station for transferring material trays, an elevator for lifting and lowering the upper tray station, and a material tray pushing part for pushing the material tray on the upper tray station to the material cart. The upper tray linkage mechanism comprises a detection part for detecting the conveying of the material tray and a limiting part for limiting the conveying of the material tray. According to the material cart automatic loading device and method of the present invention, since the material tray conveying mechanism and the material tray loading mechanism are respectively arranged on both sides of the material cart, and the upper tray linkage mechanism is used to drive the upper tray mechanism to load the material trays to both sides of the material cart at the same time, not only the automation of material loading of the material cart is realized, but also the safety and stability of production are improved, the labor intensity and labor are reduced, and the production efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to vacuum freeze drying equipment, and in particular to an automatic loading device and method for a material cart. Background Art

[0002] Vacuum freeze drying equipment, or simply freeze drying equipment, freezes food, medicine and other materials to a temperature below their eutectic point, turning the water in them into solid ice, and then sublimates the ice directly into water vapor in a vacuum environment, and then uses a water trap to condense the water vapor to finally dry the items. In traditional freeze drying equipment, loading and unloading are done manually. For example, the materials to be freeze-dried are manually loaded onto trays, and then the trays are manually sent into the feed cart. However, manual loading and unloading is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and there are safety hazards. For example, the feed cart can usually load and unload materials on both sides, but it is strictly required to load and unload materials on both sides at the same time, otherwise it will tilt due to the unbalanced weight on both sides, and in severe cases, it will cause the feed cart to overturn. Figure 1 and Figure 2 The Chinese invention patent application No. 201510017464.8 shown in the figure discloses a vacuum freeze-drying device for processing food, including a bin body 1, a vertical side bracket 12 fixed inside the bin body, the bracket extending out of a heating shelf 13, and a storage space for a material cart 14 is formed between the heating shelves on both sides, and the material cart includes a vertical suspension 42, and a horizontal material tray 43 extends from the vertical suspension. When the material cart is pushed into the bin body, the horizontal material tray on the material cart suspension is exactly located between two adjacent horizontal heating shelves. During processing, the food material to be freeze-dried is spread on the material tray and then transferred to the material cart, and is sent into the interior of the bin body 1 by means of a hanging material cart hung on the hanging rails 1-4. However, Figure 1 and Figure 2 The freeze drying equipment shown first requires a material truck to deliver the materials to be freeze-dried into the vacuum drying chamber. However, the clearance height of the material truck is relatively high, and it is still quite difficult for the operator to complete the loading and unloading of the materials. Secondly, when loading and unloading the material tray to the material truck, the left and right sides of the material truck still need to load and unload the materials evenly to ensure the stability of the material truck and prevent the material truck from tilting and causing the material tray to fall off, which also brings great difficulty to the operator's work. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the defects of the prior art and provide a device and method for automatically loading a material cart onto a plate of a freeze-drying device to solve the above-mentioned technical problems in the prior art.

[0004] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic loading device for a material cart, comprising a material tray loading mechanism, a material tray conveying mechanism for conveying material trays to the upper tray mechanism, and an upper tray linkage mechanism, wherein the upper tray mechanism and the material tray conveying mechanism are respectively arranged on both sides of the material cart and can convey material trays to the material cart in a linked manner, the upper tray mechanism comprises an upper tray station for transferring material trays, an elevator for raising and lowering the upper tray station, and a material tray pushing portion for pushing the material tray on the upper tray station to the material cart, and the upper tray linkage mechanism comprises a detection portion for detecting the conveying of the material tray and a limiting portion for limiting the conveying of the material tray.

[0005] The tray pushing part comprises a hydraulic cylinder and a telescopic rod thereof, and a gas-liquid converter used in conjunction with the hydraulic cylinder.

[0006] The elevator comprises a lifting platform, and the upper plate station is arranged on the lifting platform.

[0007] The lift also includes a linear bearing portion and a movable rod for supporting the vertical movement of the lift platform, as well as a servo motor and a reducer.

[0008] The device also includes a trolley locking mechanism for locking the bottom of the trolley.

[0009] The detection part includes a first detection part arranged at the front side of the tray conveying mechanism and a second detection part arranged at the front side of the upper tray station.

[0010] The limiting portion includes a first limiting portion arranged at the front side of the tray conveying mechanism and a second limiting portion arranged at the front side of the upper tray station.

[0011] According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for automatically loading a material cart onto a tray is provided, wherein a tray loading mechanism, a tray conveying mechanism and a tray loading linkage mechanism are arranged on both sides of the material cart, the tray loading mechanism comprises a tray loading station for transferring the material tray, an elevator for lifting the tray loading station, and a tray pushing part for pushing the material tray on the tray loading station to the material cart, the tray loading linkage mechanism comprises a detection part for detecting the conveying of the material tray and a limiting part for limiting the conveying of the material tray, and the method comprises the following steps:

[0012] A. Use the detection unit to detect the tray conveying in the tray conveying mechanism;

[0013] B. Open the limit part and send the tray in the tray conveying mechanism to the upper tray station;

[0014] C. When it is determined that the upper tray stations on both sides of the material cart have the specified number of trays in place, start the elevator to lift the upper tray station to the predetermined tray layer of the material cart;

[0015] D. When it is determined that the upper tray stations on both sides of the material cart have reached the predetermined material tray layer of the material cart, the material tray pushing unit is started to push the material trays in the upper tray stations into the material cart.

[0016] The detection part includes a first detection part arranged at the front side of the tray conveying mechanism and a second detection part arranged at the front side of the upper tray station.

[0017] The limiting portion includes a first limiting portion arranged at the front side of the tray conveying mechanism and a second limiting portion arranged at the front side of the upper tray station.

[0018] According to the automatic loading device and method of the material cart of the present invention, since the material tray conveying mechanism and the loading tray mechanism are respectively arranged on both sides of the material cart, and the loading tray mechanism is driven by the loading tray linkage mechanism to load the trays to both sides of the material cart at the same time, not only the automation of loading the material cart is realized, but also the safety and stability of production are improved, the labor intensity and labor workload are reduced, and the production efficiency is improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] By combining the accompanying drawings, various embodiments of the automatic loading device and method of the material cart of the present invention are described to better understand the present invention. Other advantages and features of the present invention will become more clear in the following description. In the accompanying drawings:

[0020] Figure 1 and Figure 2 The present invention is a schematic diagram of a feed truck of a freeze-drying device in the prior art.

[0021] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram showing an automatic loading device for a freeze-drying equipment material cart according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 4 Yes means Figure 3 A partial schematic diagram of the device shown.

[0023] Figure 5 Yes means Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an elevator of the automatic loading device is shown.

[0024] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram showing an automatic loading device for a material cart according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram showing a loading plate linkage mechanism of the automatic loading plate device of the material cart according to the present invention.

[0026] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram showing the operation flow of the method for automatically loading material onto a plate according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention clearer, the technical solution of the present invention will be clearly described below in conjunction with the specific embodiments of the present invention and the corresponding drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing an automatic loading device for a freeze-drying equipment vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 Yes means Figure 3 A partial schematic diagram of the device shown. Figure 3 and Figure 4 According to the present invention, the automatic tray loading device for the freeze-drying equipment cart comprises a tray loading mechanism 32 arranged on a workbench 31, and a tray conveying mechanism 34 for conveying trays to the tray loading mechanism 32. The tray loading mechanism 32 and the tray conveying mechanism 34 are, for example, arranged on both sides of the cart 30, and can convey trays to the cart 30 in a linked manner. The tray loading mechanism 32 comprises a tray loading station 321 for transferring trays, an elevator 322 for lifting and lowering the tray loading station 321, and a pushing part 324 for pushing the trays on the tray loading station 321 to the cart 30. For example, when the tray loading station 321 is lowered on the table surface of the workbench 31, it can receive the trays delivered by the tray conveying mechanism 34. The tray conveying mechanism 34 includes a conveyor belt 341 disposed at the feeding end of the workbench 31, which transfers the tray loaded with materials to the upper tray station 321, for example, by chain conveying, and the upper tray station 321 of the upper tray mechanism 32 can receive two trays at a time, for example. That is, the upper tray station 321 can simultaneously deliver two trays into a certain layer of the two rows of tray racks on one side of the material cart 30.

[0029] Figure 5 Yes means Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an elevator of the automatic loading device shown in FIG. Figures 3 to 5The upper plate station 321 is arranged on the lifting platform of the elevator 322. The elevator 322 includes, for example, a linear bearing part and a movable rod 3223 supporting the vertical movement of the lifting platform, and a servo system including a servo motor and a reducer 3221. On the one hand, the torque of the lifting platform can be improved by the reduction ratio of the reducer 3221. On the other hand, the operation of the lifting platform can be made more stable by setting a reasonable acceleration and deceleration time of the servo system. The servo system drives the lifting rod or chain 3225 through the driving shaft, and controls the up and down movement of the lifting platform through the linkage shaft 3226. Preferably, the elevator 322 is also provided with a top limit part and a bottom limit part to ensure the safety of the platform during the lifting process. In addition, a trolley locking mechanism 36 is also provided on the workbench 31. When the trolley 30 suspended on the trolley guide rail 301 is sent to the workbench 31, the bottom of the trolley is fixed, for example, by the trolley locking mechanism 36. The trolley locking mechanism 36 includes, for example, a locking cylinder, which can lock the bottom of the trolley 30 on the workbench 31 using, for example, a locking rod (not shown) to prevent it from sliding.

[0030] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of an automatic loading device for a freeze-drying equipment vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figures 3 to 6 The tray pushing part 324, for example, includes a hydraulic cylinder (or air cylinder) 3241 disposed on the side of the upper plate station 321 away from the material cart 30. Preferably, for example, the hydraulic cylinder 3241 is used in combination with the gas-liquid converter 3242 to avoid the instability of the traditional air cylinder control. Moreover, the upper plate station 321 uses the hydraulic cylinder 3241 as a tray pushing mechanism and is used in combination with the gas-liquid converter 3242, without the need for a hydraulic station. In particular, the gas-liquid converter 3242 is filled with anti-wear and pressure-resistant oil, and the anti-wear and pressure-resistant oil in the gas-liquid converter is pushed by compressed air, and then the hydraulic cylinder telescopic rod is pushed through the oil pipe and the hydraulic cylinder 3241 to move, so that the tray that has been transported to the upper plate station 321 can be steadily pushed into each layer of the material cart 30. This is because the mechanical action of the hydraulic cylinder is more stable than that of the air cylinder, and the movement speed of the telescopic rod of the hydraulic cylinder 3241 can be adjusted by adjusting the pressure of the compressed air, so that the speed of the telescopic action is adjustable, thereby making the operation of the tray pushing part more stable, so as to ensure that the material loaded in the tray will not be scattered outside the tray during the pushing process.

[0031] According to the automatic loading device for the material cart of the present invention, when the empty material cart 30 suspended on the material cart guide rail 301 is sent to the top of the workbench 31, the material cart locking mechanism 36 installed on the workbench fixes the bottom of the material cart on the workbench. Then, the loading station 321 of the loading mechanism 32 disposed on both sides of the material cart receives the material trays sent from the material tray conveying mechanism 34. After confirming that the loading stations 321 on both sides have received the specified number of material trays, the elevators 322 located on both sides of the material cart, for example, lift the loading station 321 to the highest material tray layer of the material cart, and then, the telescopic rods of the hydraulic cylinders 3241 of the material tray pushing parts 324 located on both sides of the material cart push the material trays on the loading stations 321 on both sides to the highest material tray layer of the material cart 30 at the same time. Subsequently, the elevator 322 lowers the unloaded upper tray station 321 to the table top of the workbench 31, continues to receive the trays sent from the tray conveying mechanism 34, and repeats the previous operations, such as sending the trays from top to bottom into each tray layer on both sides of the material cart 30, and finally sends the material cart 30 loaded with the trays into the freeze-drying chamber of the freeze-drying equipment, for example, through a guide rail.

[0032] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the loading plate linkage mechanism of the automatic loading plate device for the material cart according to the present invention. Figure 7 The upper plate linkage mechanism, for example, includes a detection part arranged on both sides of the material cart 30 for detecting the conveying of the material tray and a limit part for limiting the conveying of the material tray. Preferably, the detection part includes a first detection part 71 arranged on the front side of the material tray conveying mechanism and a second detection part 72 arranged on the front side of the upper plate station, and the limit part includes a first limit part 76 arranged on the front side of the material tray conveying mechanism and a second limit part 77 arranged on the front side of the upper plate station. When the first detection part 71 located on both sides of the workbench 31 detects that a specified number of material trays enter the material tray conveying mechanism 34 docking with the previous process, the first limit part 76 is opened to allow the material trays to enter the conveying belt 341 of the conveying mechanism 34 on both sides. Then, when the second detection part 72 located on both sides of the workbench detects that a specified number of material trays, for example, when two material trays are in place, the second limit part 77 is opened, and the material trays are conveyed to the upper plate station 321 on both sides of the material cart through the conveying belt 341. Then, the elevators 322 on both sides are started to lift the upper tray station 321 to the predetermined tray layer of the material cart 30, and the tray pushing parts 324 on both sides push the trays located at the upper tray station 321 into the predetermined tray layer at the same time. Then, the elevator 322 descends to the workbench 31, and the third detection part 73 set on the elevator 322 detects that the lifting action is completed. At the same time, when the first detection part 71 also detects that a specified number of trays have entered the tray conveying mechanism 34 connected to the previous process, the first limit part 76 is opened to allow the subsequent trays to enter the conveyor belt 341 of the conveying mechanism 34, and the above operation is repeated until the entire upper tray loading task of the material cart 30 is completed.

[0033] Figure 8 Schematic diagram showing the operation flow of the automatic loading method of the material cart according to the present invention. Figure 7 and Figure 8 According to the automatic loading method of the material cart of the present invention, it is preferably provided with an automatic loading control system of the material cart to ensure that the material tray conveying mechanism 34 located on both sides of the material cart 30 can simultaneously deliver the material trays located at the loading station 321 into the material tray layer of the material cart, so as to prevent the material cart from tilting unexpectedly due to the inconsistent loading weight on both sides of the material cart. The automatic loading control system of the material cart of the present invention includes, for example, a processor and a memory, the latter storing the automatic loading operation process of the material cart. Figure 8 The schematic diagram shows the operation flow of a method for automatically loading a material cart. In step S80, the system opens the limiter 77, and the material tray conveying mechanism 34 conveys the material trays to the loading tray station 321 respectively. In step S81, the system determines whether a specified number of material trays are in place at the first loading tray station on one side of the material cart. If yes, the process enters step S82, and the system determines whether a specified number of material trays are in place at the second loading tray station on the other side of the material cart. If yes, the process enters step S83, and the system starts the lifting mechanisms 322 on both sides of the material cart to lift the loading tray station 321 to the predetermined material tray layer of the material cart respectively. In step S84, the system determines whether the loading tray stations 321 on the first lifting mechanism and the second lifting mechanism have reached the predetermined material tray layer of the material cart. If yes, the process goes to step S85, the system starts the first tray pushing mechanism and the second tray pushing mechanism 324 on both sides of the material cart to push the trays in the upper tray station 321 into the predetermined tray layer of the material cart at the same time; step S86, the system starts the lifting mechanism 322 to descend to the workbench surface; then, the system determines in step S87 whether each tray layer of the material cart is fully loaded? If no, the process returns to step S81 and repeats the above operation. If yes, the system ends the upper tray operation in step S88, and the material cart 30 is pushed into the freeze-drying chamber.

[0034] According to the above-mentioned embodiments of the present invention, although the above description only involves the automatic loading device and method of the material cart of the freeze-drying equipment, technicians in this field can understand that the automatic unloading process of the material cart is still based on the same design ideas and technical solutions as mentioned above.

[0035] Similarly, according to the concept of the present invention, the above-described automatic loading device and method of the feed cart are not only applicable to the field of freeze-drying equipment, but also to other fields that similarly require the use of feed carts for loading.

[0036] According to the concept of the present invention, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications thereto, but these changes and modifications are all within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automatic tray loading device for a material cart, comprising a tray loading mechanism, a tray conveying mechanism for conveying the material tray to the upper tray mechanism, and an upper tray linkage mechanism, wherein the upper tray mechanism and the tray conveying mechanism are respectively arranged on both sides of the material cart, and can convey the material tray to the material cart in a linked manner, the upper tray mechanism comprising an upper tray station for transferring the material tray, a lift for lifting the upper tray station, and a tray pushing part for pushing the material tray on the upper tray station to the material cart, the upper tray station comprising a first upper tray station and a second upper tray station, the tray pushing part comprising a first tray pushing mechanism and a second tray pushing mechanism, the upper tray linkage mechanism comprising a detection part for detecting the conveying of the material tray and a limiting part for limiting the conveying of the material tray, the automatic tray loading device for the material cart also comprises an automatic tray loading control system for the material cart comprising a processor and a memory, the storage The device stores an automatic tray loading operation process for the material cart. When the memory is run by the processor, the system executes the automatic tray loading operation process for the material cart, including determining whether a specified number of trays are in place at the first tray loading station on one side of the material cart, and determining whether a specified number of trays are in place at the second tray loading station on the other side of the material cart. When it is determined that a specified number of trays are in place at the first tray loading station and the second tray loading station, the elevators on both sides of the material cart are started to lift the tray loading stations to the predetermined tray layers of the material cart, and the first tray pushing mechanism and the second tray pushing mechanism on both sides of the material cart are started to push the trays in the tray loading stations into the predetermined tray layers of the material cart at the same time. When it is determined that each tray layer of the material cart is fully loaded with trays, the material cart loaded with trays is sent into the freeze-drying bin of the freeze-drying equipment through the material cart guide rails.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The tray pushing part comprises a hydraulic cylinder and a telescopic rod thereof, and a gas-liquid converter used in conjunction with the hydraulic cylinder.

3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The elevator comprises a lifting platform, and the upper plate station is arranged on the lifting platform.

4. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that The lift also includes a linear bearing portion and a movable rod for supporting the vertical movement of the lift platform, as well as a servo motor and a reducer.

5. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that It also includes a trolley locking mechanism for locking the bottom of the trolley.

6. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The detection part includes a first detection part arranged at the front side of the tray conveying mechanism and a second detection part arranged at the front side of the upper plate station, and the limiting part includes a first limiting part arranged at the front side of the tray conveying mechanism and a second limiting part arranged at the front side of the upper plate station.

7. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that When the first detection unit detects that a specified number of trays have entered the tray conveying mechanism connected to the previous process, the first limiting unit opens to allow the trays to enter the conveyor belts of the conveying mechanisms on both sides. When the second detection unit detects that a specified number of trays are in place, the second limiting unit opens and sends the trays to the upper tray stations on both sides of the material cart through the conveyor belts.

8. A method for automatically loading a material cart onto a plate using the automatic loading device for a material cart as claimed in claim 1, comprising the following steps: A. Use the detection parts arranged on both sides of the material cart to detect the material tray conveying in the material tray conveying mechanism; B. Open the limit parts set at both ends of the material cart and send the material tray in the material tray conveying mechanism to the upper tray station; C. Determine whether the first loading station on one side of the material cart has a specified number of material trays in place; D. Determine whether the specified number of trays are in place at the second tray loading station on the other side of the material cart; E. When it is determined that the first and second tray loading stations on both sides of the material cart have a specified number of trays in place, the elevators on both sides of the material cart are started to lift the first and second tray loading stations to the predetermined tray layer of the material cart; F. When it is determined that the first and second upper tray stations on both sides of the material cart have reached the predetermined material tray layer of the material cart, the first material tray pushing mechanism and the second material tray pushing mechanism are started to simultaneously push the material trays in the first and second upper tray stations into the material cart; G. When it is determined that each tray layer of the feed cart is fully loaded with trays, the feed cart loaded with trays is sent into the freeze-drying bin of the freeze-drying equipment through the feed cart guide rail.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The detection part includes a first detection part arranged at the front side of the tray conveying mechanism and a second detection part arranged at the front side of the upper tray station.

10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The limiting portion includes a first limiting portion arranged at the front side of the tray conveying mechanism and a second limiting portion arranged at the front side of the upper tray station.

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