Automatic detection device for fermented grains and working method thereof

Abstract

The application provides a kind of automatic inspection device of fermented grains and its working method, the device includes multi-station rotary table, near infrared detection equipment, turnover filling mechanism, sampling cup temporary storage conveying line, robot and gripper, sampling cup recycling box.Sampling cup is transported to the end of sampling cup temporary storage conveying line;Robot gripper grabs sampling cup and test dish and places in turnover filling mechanism;Turnover filling mechanism clamps sampling cup and test dish, and robot gripper loosens and moves away;Turnover filling mechanism overturns, compacts, and overturning mechanism loosens;Robot takes away test dish and places in near infrared inspection equipment;Robot takes away empty sampling cup and throws in sampling cup collection box;After inspection, robot grabs test dish and places in the first flushing position of multi-station rotary table;After washing and drying, test dish waits for next use.The application can realize the automation of fermented grains inspection, greatly reduce the labor intensity of inspection personnel, and reduce the demand for artificial inspection links.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of brewing technology, specifically to an automated testing device for brewing mash and its operating method. Background Technology

[0002] In the winemaking process, current near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) testing equipment requires frequent manual operation, including sample loading, loading and unloading of test dishes, and cleaning and drying of the test dishes. This work is monotonous and repetitive. In continuous production environments such as large wineries, it is necessary to arrange dedicated personnel to work in shifts for this task, such as the testing of the components of the fermented mash. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address the problems of existing technologies, this invention provides an automated testing device and its operating method for fermented mash, enabling automated testing of fermented mash. After personnel place the special container (sampling cup) to be tested into the feed inlet, the device can perform the testing automatically. Personnel only need to clean the fermented mash sampling cup, greatly reducing the labor intensity of testing personnel and minimizing the need for manual labor in the testing process.

[0004] This invention provides an automated inspection device for brewing mash, including a multi-station turntable, a near-infrared detection device, a flipping and filling mechanism, a sampling cup temporary storage and conveying line, a robot and grippers, and a sampling cup recycling box;

[0005] The robot and gripper are located at the end of the sampling cup temporary conveyor line. The robot and gripper grab the sampling cup or test dish and move between the multi-station turntable, near-infrared detection equipment, flipping and filling mechanism and sampling cup temporary conveyor line.

[0006] The sampling cup temporary storage and conveyor line is used to store and transport sampling cups, which are used to transfer the mash.

[0007] The flipping and filling mechanism is located near the robot and gripper. It flips and squeezes the mash to transfer it from the sampling cup to the test dish and compacts it.

[0008] The near-infrared testing device, located near the robot, gripper, and flipping filling mechanism, is used to obtain parameters of the mash in the testing dish;

[0009] The multi-station turntable, located below the robot, grippers, and near-infrared inspection equipment, is used for cleaning and drying inspection dishes;

[0010] The sampling cup recycling box, located below the robot and gripper and flipping loading mechanism, is used to collect used sampling cups.

[0011] In a further improvement, the robot and gripper pick up sampling cups from the sampling cup temporary storage conveyor line and place them into the flipping and filling mechanism; pick up sampling cups from the flipping and filling mechanism and drop them into the sampling cup recycling box; pick up test dishes from the multi-station turntable and transfer them to the flipping and filling mechanism; pick up test dishes from the flipping and filling mechanism and transfer them to the near-infrared inspection equipment; and pick up test dishes from the near-infrared inspection equipment and transfer them to the multi-station turntable.

[0012] In a further improvement, the robot is a desktop six-axis robot, the gripper is a pneumatic gripper, and the finger part that contacts the sampling cup is a contouring part that corresponds to both the sampling cup and the test dish.

[0013] As a further improvement, the sampling cup temporary storage and conveying line adopts a reciprocating flexible plate chain line.

[0014] In a further improvement, the multi-station turntable includes a table surface and a water tank, spray heads, turntable partitions, a planetary reducer, a servo motor, a hot air blower, and inspection dishes distributed on the table surface. The inspection dishes are distributed between the turntable partitions. The planetary reducer and servo motor control the rotation of the turntable partitions. The spray heads and hot air blower are distributed around the turntable partitions, and the water tank is located below the spray heads. The rotating part of the multi-station turntable is divided into six equal parts, with one half inside the water tank and the other half outside.

[0015] In a further improvement, the multi-station turntable, near-infrared detection equipment, flipping and filling mechanism, sampling cup temporary storage and conveying line, robot and gripper are all connected to a control and detection system. The control and detection system monitors and controls the status of each moving part and drives the above-mentioned motion actuators.

[0016] In a further improvement, the flipping and filling mechanism includes a cylinder with a guide rod, a pressure head, a sampling cup, a test dish tray, a cylinder, a rotating base plate, a linear guide rail, and a base. The rotating base plate is connected to the base via the rotating cylinder, which performs a 180° reciprocating rotation. The cylinder with the guide rod, pressure head, sampling cup tray, test dish tray, cylinder, and linear guide rail are mounted on the rotating base plate. The cylinder drives the sampling cup tray to move along the linear guide rail, and the cylinder with the guide rod drives the pressure head to push the sampling cup to the bottom.

[0017] In a further improvement, the sampling cup temporary storage and conveying line has a stop device and a sensor for detecting the sampling cups at its end. The sampling cups put in by the personnel are conveyed to the end in sequence. The sensor will feed back the information on whether there is material at the end to the control system. Based on this, the control system sends a material picking instruction to the robot at the appropriate time.

[0018] In a further improvement, the sidewall of the sampling cup is made of a hard material for easy positioning and gripping, while the bottom is made of a soft material so that the mash can be poured and compacted under external force in the flipping and filling mechanism.

[0019] The multi-station rotary table is characterized in that:

[0020] Its rotating parts are divided into multiple equal parts by baffles, and each part corresponds to a workstation;

[0021] Each division of the rotating component has a designated spot for placing a test dish (with the dish opening facing outwards);

[0022] The rotating component can rotate intermittently at a predetermined pace under power drive;

[0023] Each workstation is equipped with a water spray nozzle or a hot air blower according to its predetermined function. The nozzle is aimed at the test dish to rinse the test dish that has been rotated to the current position, and the hot air blower is used to dry it. The water spray nozzle and the hot air blower are installed under the table of the multi-station turntable. There is a water tank under the water spray nozzle to collect water and mash residue.

[0024] When the baffle pauses rotation between the rotating parts, it fills the gap between the multi-station turntable and the water tank below, which is intended to prevent liquid from splashing during rinsing and affecting other mechanisms and the subsequent drying effect.

[0025] The present invention also provides a method for operating an automated testing device for fermented grains, comprising the following steps:

[0026] The sampling cup is transported to the end of the sampling cup temporary storage conveyor line;

[0027] The robot gripper picks up the sampling cup and places it into the flipping and filling mechanism;

[0028] The robot gripper picks up the cleaned and dried test dish and places it in the flipping and filling mechanism;

[0029] The flipping filling mechanism clamps the sampling cup and the test dish, and the robot gripper releases and removes them;

[0030] The tilting loading mechanism tilts and compacts the material, then the tilting mechanism releases.

[0031] The robot removes the test dish and places it into the near-infrared testing equipment;

[0032] The robot takes away the empty sampling cup and puts it into the sampling cup collection box;

[0033] After the inspection is completed, the robot picks up the inspection dish and places it in the first rinsing position of the multi-station turntable;

[0034] After being rinsed and dried, the test dishes are ready for use the next time.

[0035] The flipping and compaction process of the flipping filling mechanism is as follows:

[0036] When the robot places the test dish with the opening facing down directly above the sampling cup, the cylinder retracts, driving the mechanism to move along the linear guide rail, the sampling cup moves upward, and the cup opening and the test dish are pressed together to seal.

[0037] After the robot gripper releases and moves away, the rotating cylinder rotates the sampling cup and test dish 180°.

[0038] The cylinder with guide rod pushes the pressure head towards the bottom of the sampling cup, deforming the bottom of the sampling cup and pressing the mash firmly into the test dish;

[0039] The cylinder with guide rod retracts and extends, separating the sampling cup and the test dish. The robot gripper removes the test dish containing the fermented mash, and the other mechanisms return to their original positions.

[0040] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows:

[0041] 1. It can automate the inspection of fermented mash. After the personnel put the special container (sampling cup) to be inspected into the feed port, the device can perform the inspection automatically. The personnel only need to clean the fermented mash sampling cup, which greatly reduces the labor intensity of the inspectors and reduces the need for manual labor in the inspection process.

[0042] 2. The conveyor line serves as the feeding and temporary storage mechanism for the sampling cups, making them easy to grasp.

[0043] 3. Use soft-bottomed sampling cups in conjunction with other relevant institutions to achieve automatic filling of mash samples, thereby improving filling efficiency.

[0044] 4. The multi-station turntable enables the cleaning and drying of test dishes. Attached Figure Description

[0045] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0046] Figure 1 It is the overall layout diagram;

[0047] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the tilting and loading mechanism;

[0048] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a multi-station cleaning and drying mechanism.

[0049] The diagram includes: 1-Multi-station turntable; 2-Near-infrared detection equipment; 3-Tilting and filling mechanism; 4-Sampling cup temporary storage and conveying line; 5-Robot and gripper; 6-Sampling cup recycling box; 11-Water tank; 12-Water spray head; 13-Turntable partition; 14-Planetary reducer; 15-Servo motor; 16-Hot air blower; 17-Test dish; 18-Tabletop; 31-Cylinder with guide rod; 32-Pressure head; 33-Sampling cup support plate; 34-Test dish support plate; 35-Cylinder; 36-Rotating base plate; 37-Linear guide rail; 38-Rotating cylinder; 39-Base; 40-Sampling cup. Detailed Implementation

[0050] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0051] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the automated fermentation mash inspection device proposed in this invention is shown; see also Figure 1 The automatic fermentation mash inspection device includes:

[0052] The sampling cup temporary conveyor line 4 uses a reciprocating flexible plate chain, which increases the capacity of the sampling cups (up to 100 or more) by increasing the conveying length in a limited space, in order to deal with the problem of concentrated feeding time.

[0053] The robot and gripper 5 are desktop six-axis robots. The gripper is a pneumatic gripper. The finger part that contacts the sampling cup is a stainless steel contoured part obtained by CNC machining. The gripper part can correspond to both the sampling cup and the test dish without switching.

[0054] The sampling cup recycling box 6 can be pulled out from the device for easy cleaning of the sampling cup.

[0055] The near-infrared detection device 2 can communicate with the control system and upload the measured data.

[0056] A multi-station turntable 1 has a rotating section structure divided into six equal parts, with one half inside and half outside the water tank. The turntable includes a platform 18 and, distributed on the platform 18, a water tank 11, spray nozzles 12, turntable partitions 13, a planetary reducer 14, a servo motor 15, a hot air blower 16, and inspection dishes 17. The inspection dishes are distributed between the turntable partitions. The planetary reducer and servo motor control the rotation of the turntable partitions. The spray nozzles and hot air blower are distributed around the turntable partitions, and the water tank is located below the spray nozzles. The rotating section of the multi-station turntable is divided into six equal parts, with one half inside and half outside the water tank.

[0057] The flipping filling mechanism 3 fills the test dish and compacts it by flipping the test dish and sampling cup.

[0058] The control and detection system is designed to monitor and control the state of each moving part, drive the aforementioned motion actuators, and achieve automated detection.

[0059] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the flipping and filling mechanism is shown. The flipping and filling mechanism includes a cylinder with a guide rod 31, a pressure head 32, a sampling cup holder 33, a test dish holder 34, a cylinder 35, a rotating base plate 36, a linear guide rail 37, a rotating cylinder 38, and a base 39. The rotating base plate is connected to the base via the rotating cylinder, which rotates 180° reciprocatingly. The cylinder with the guide rod, pressure head, sampling cup holder, test dish holder, cylinder, and linear guide rail are mounted on the rotating base plate. The cylinder drives the sampling cup holder to move along the linear guide rail, and the cylinder with the guide rod drives the pressure head to push towards the bottom of the sampling cup.

[0060] The flipping mechanism is powered by a rotary cylinder 38 mounted on base 39, which can rotate 180° reciprocatingly. The clamping action is driven by cylinder 35. When the robot places the test dish (mouth down) directly above the sampling cup, cylinder 35 retracts, causing the sampling cup support plate to move along the linear guide rail 37, lifting the sampling cup upwards. The cup mouth and the test dish are pressed together in a sealed manner. After the robot grippers release and remove them, the rotary cylinder 38 flips the sampling cup and test dish 180°. The guide rod cylinder 31 then pushes the pressure head 32 towards the bottom of the sampling cup 40, deforming the bottom of the sampling cup 40 and compacting the mash into the test dish. The guide rod cylinder 31 retracts, cylinder 35 extends, separating the sampling cup and test dish. The robot grippers remove the test dish containing the mash, and the other mechanisms return to their original positions. This is the flipping and filling process.

[0061] Figure 3A schematic diagram of a multi-station turntable is shown. The turntable is driven by a servo motor 15 and a planetary reducer 14. The turntable partition 13 divides the moving part of the turntable into six equal parts. Each rotation of 60° can move the current test dish to the next station. At the same time, the turntable partition can also continue to seal the space surrounded by the water tank 11 and the table surface 18 after rotation, preventing the water sprayed from the water nozzle 12 from splashing outside the water tank. There are three water nozzles 12 and three hot air blowers 16, corresponding to the six equal parts of the turntable. The test dish will be sprayed with water three times and heat-sealed and dried three times from the time it is put in to the time it is taken out.

[0062] The control and detection system mainly includes a control unit, a detection unit, and a drive unit. It is responsible for detection and control throughout the entire operation of the device. The detection unit is used for material detection, moving part position detection, etc. The drive unit includes the servo motor 15 for the turntable and the drive and speed regulation of the flexible plate chain motor. The control unit not only receives operating parameters set by the operator, but also displays various status data detected by the detection unit, and directs and coordinates the detection unit and drive unit to perform corresponding actions according to the programmed workflow.

[0063] The automated workflow of the control and detection system is as follows:

[0064] The sampling cup is conveyed to the end of the flexible plate conveyor belt;

[0065] The robot gripper picks up the sampling cup and places it into the flipping and filling mechanism;

[0066] The robot gripper picks up the cleaned and dried test dish and places it in the flipping and filling mechanism;

[0067] The flipping filling mechanism clamps the sampling cup and the test dish, and the robot gripper releases and removes them;

[0068] The tilting loading mechanism tilts and compacts the material, then the tilting mechanism releases.

[0069] The robot removes the test dish and places it into the near-infrared testing equipment;

[0070] The robot takes away the empty sampling cup and puts it into the sampling cup collection box;

[0071] After the inspection is completed, the robot picks up the inspection dish and places it in the first rinsing position of the multi-station turntable;

[0072] After passing through six stages of rinsing, rinsing, rinsing, drying, drying, and drying, the test dish is ready for the next use.

[0073] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner. Similar or identical parts between embodiments can be referred to interchangeably. Each embodiment focuses on its differences from other embodiments. In particular, for the device embodiments, the above descriptions are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention. Since they are fundamentally similar to the method embodiments, the descriptions are relatively simple, and relevant parts can be referred to the descriptions of the method embodiments. The above descriptions are merely specific embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in the present invention, without departing from the principle of the present invention, should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An automated testing device for fermented grains, characterized in that: Includes multi-station turntable, near-infrared inspection equipment, flipping and filling mechanism, sampling cup temporary storage and conveying line, robot and gripper, and sampling cup recycling box; The robot and gripper are located at the end of the sampling cup temporary conveyor line. The robot and gripper grab the sampling cup or test dish and move between the multi-station turntable, near-infrared inspection equipment, flipping and filling mechanism and sampling cup temporary conveyor line. The sampling cup temporary storage and conveyor line is used to store and transport sampling cups, which are used to transfer the mash. The flipping and filling mechanism is located near the robot and gripper. It flips and squeezes the mash to transfer it from the sampling cup to the test dish and compacts it. The near-infrared testing device, located near the robot, gripper, and flipping filling mechanism, is used to obtain parameters of the mash in the testing dish; The multi-station turntable, located below the robot, grippers, and near-infrared inspection equipment, is used for cleaning and drying inspection dishes; The sampling cup recycling box, located below the robot and gripper and flipping filling mechanism, is used to collect used sampling cups; The flipping and filling mechanism includes a cylinder with a guide rod, a pressure head, a sampling cup, a test dish tray, a cylinder, a rotating base plate, a linear guide rail, and a base. The rotating base plate is connected to the base via the rotating cylinder, which rotates 180° reciprocatingly. The cylinder with a guide rod, the pressure head, the sampling cup tray, the test dish tray, the cylinder, and the linear guide rail are mounted on the rotating base plate. The cylinder drives the sampling cup tray to move along the linear guide rail, and the cylinder with a guide rod drives the pressure head to push the sampling cup to the bottom.

2. The automated inspection device for fermented mash according to claim 1, characterized in that: The robot and gripper pick up sampling cups from the sampling cup temporary storage conveyor line and place them into the flipping and filling mechanism; pick up sampling cups from the flipping and filling mechanism and drop them into the sampling cup recycling box; pick up test dishes from the multi-station turntable and transfer them to the flipping and filling mechanism; pick up test dishes from the flipping and filling mechanism and transfer them to the near-infrared testing equipment; and pick up test dishes from the near-infrared testing equipment and transfer them to the multi-station turntable.

3. The automated inspection device for fermented mash according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The robot is a desktop six-axis robot, the gripper is a pneumatic gripper, and the finger part that contacts the sampling cup is a contouring part that corresponds to both the sampling cup and the test dish.

4. The automated inspection device for fermented mash according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sampling cup temporary storage and conveying line adopts a reciprocating flexible plate chain.

5. The automated inspection device for fermented mash according to claim 1, characterized in that: The multi-station turntable includes a table surface and water tanks, spray heads, turntable partitions, planetary reducers, servo motors, hot air blowers, and inspection dishes distributed on the table surface. The inspection dishes are distributed between the turntable partitions. The planetary reducers and servo motors control the rotation of the turntable partitions. The spray heads and hot air blowers are distributed around the turntable partitions. The water tanks are located below the spray heads.

6. The automated inspection device for fermented mash according to claim 5, characterized in that: The rotating part of the multi-station turntable is divided into six equal parts, with half inside the water tank and half outside the water tank.

7. The automated inspection device for fermented mash according to claim 1, characterized in that: The multi-station turntable, near-infrared inspection equipment, flipping and filling mechanism, sampling cup temporary storage and conveying line, robot and gripper are all connected to a control and detection system. The control and detection system monitors and controls the status of each moving part and drives the multi-station turntable, near-infrared inspection equipment, flipping and filling mechanism, sampling cup temporary storage and conveying line, robot and gripper.

8. A method for operating an automated fermentation mash inspection device, employing the automated fermentation mash inspection device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: The sampling cup is transported to the end of the sampling cup temporary storage conveyor line; The robot gripper picks up the sampling cup and places it into the flipping and filling mechanism; The robot gripper picks up the cleaned and dried test dish and places it in the flipping and filling mechanism; The flipping filling mechanism clamps the sampling cup and the test dish, and the robot gripper releases and removes them; The tilting loading mechanism tilts and compacts the material, then the tilting mechanism releases. The robot removes the test dish and places it into the near-infrared testing equipment; The robot takes away the empty sampling cup and puts it into the sampling cup collection box; After the inspection is completed, the robot picks up the inspection dish and places it in the first rinsing position of the multi-station turntable; After being rinsed and dried, the test dishes are ready for use the next time.

9. The working method of the automated fermentation mash inspection device according to claim 8, characterized in that, The flipping and compaction process of the flipping filling mechanism is as follows: When the robot places the test dish with the opening facing down directly above the sampling cup, the cylinder retracts, driving the mechanism to move along the linear guide rail, the sampling cup moves upward, and the cup opening and the test dish are pressed together to seal. After the robot gripper releases and moves away, the rotating cylinder rotates the sampling cup and test dish 180°. The cylinder with guide rod pushes the pressure head towards the bottom of the sampling cup, deforming the bottom of the sampling cup and pressing the mash firmly into the test dish; The cylinder with guide rod retracts and extends, separating the sampling cup and the test dish. The robot gripper removes the test dish containing the fermented mash, and the other mechanisms return to their original positions.

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