A blanking device and method for a tubular container

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of unloading device and method of tubular container, including the material taking device being arranged in the discharge end of conveying line, the material taking device includes material taking hand and the turnover movement mechanism of driving material taking hand turnover and telescopic, the tubular container is placed on mesh belt by material arranging mechanism of material taking hand, the tubular container's unloading device further includes the pushing mechanism of pushing tubular container from clamp, and the material taking device and pushing mechanism are respectively arranged in the two sides of conveying line.Compared with prior art, the material taking hand of the application is driven by the turnover movement mechanism and cooperates with the pushing mechanism, which can simultaneously take the tubular containers on the clamp with double-row staggered distribution, and then cooperates with the material arranging mechanism, so that the tubular containers with height difference in the two rows can be accurately placed on the mesh belt, realizing automatic and rapid unloading.Meanwhile, the unloading process is divided into two steps of taking and arranging, so that the material taking hand can take at a faster frequency, improving the unloading efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of tubular formulation dispensing technology, and in particular to a dispensing device and method for tubular containers. Background Technology

[0002] In daily life, people often take various medications, including sugar pills and other granular powders, with water. This often requires swallowing the medication first, followed by drinking water to allow it to enter the stomach for digestion and absorption. This feeding process is cumbersome and prone to choking, causing discomfort. For bedridden individuals, administering medication is even more difficult. With market development, customized tubular containers have emerged, primarily for storing and quickly administering powders (pills). Currently, most domestic dry powder inhaler manufacturers use manual feeding for tubular container formulations. However, this method is slow, so automated feeding is generally adopted. Automated feeding faces the following challenges: tubular containers are relatively soft and easily deformed, increasing the difficulty of handling them; secondly, to increase the conveyor capacity, the tubular containers are arranged in a staggered manner, resulting in them being distributed at different heights before being placed on the feeding conveyor belt, making it difficult for them to fall onto the conveyor belt simultaneously. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This invention provides a feeding device and method for tubular containers to solve the problems of soft tubular containers and misaligned distribution of tubular containers in the prior art, which make automated feeding difficult.

[0004] The present invention provides a feeding device for tubular containers, including a feeding device disposed at the discharge end of a conveyor line. The feeding device includes a feeding hand and a flipping and moving mechanism for driving the feeding hand to flip and extend. The feeding hand places the tubular container on a mesh belt through a material handling mechanism. The feeding device for tubular containers also includes a pushing mechanism for pushing the tubular container out of a clamp. The feeding device and the pushing mechanism are respectively disposed on both sides of the conveyor line.

[0005] Preferably, the material handling hand is provided with two rows of staggered vacuum nozzles, and the material handling mechanism receives the tubular container from the material handling hand and places it on the mesh belt.

[0006] Preferably, the flipping and moving mechanism includes: a flipping frame, a rotating shaft, a support, and a power component. The material handling device is slidably mounted on the flipping frame. A rotating shaft is provided between the flipping frame and the support. The power component drives the flipping frame to rotate around the rotating shaft and is fixed on the support.

[0007] Preferably, the flipping and moving mechanism further includes a translation cylinder and a guide rod, wherein the piston rod of the translation cylinder and the guide rod are both fixedly connected to the material handling device, and the guide rod is slidably connected to the flipping frame.

[0008] Preferably, the power component is a motor, which is located below the bracket, and a synchronous belt is provided between the motor and the rotating shaft.

[0009] Preferably, the pushing mechanism includes: two support seats, two push plates and two pushing cylinders, the pushing cylinders are fixed on the support seats, the push plates are fixedly connected to the piston rods of the pushing cylinders, and the two push plates are respectively located above and below the clamp.

[0010] Preferably, the material handling mechanism includes: two material handling plates, a base plate and a lifting cylinder, the two material handling plates are respectively fixed at both ends of the base plate, the piston rod of the lifting cylinder is fixedly connected to the base plate, and the material handling plates, the base plate and the lifting cylinder are arranged from top to bottom.

[0011] Preferably, both the push plate and the feeding plate have two rows of limiting grooves, and the two rows of limiting grooves are staggered.

[0012] Preferably, the material handling mechanism is provided with a waste removal mechanism on the side near the discharge end of the conveyor belt; the waste removal mechanism includes: a waste removal cylinder, a waste removal plate and a waste collection box, the waste removal cylinder and the waste collection box are respectively provided on both sides of the conveyor belt, the piston rod of the waste removal cylinder is fixedly connected to the waste removal plate, the multiple waste removal cylinders are divided into two groups, the two groups of waste removal cylinders are arranged vertically and staggered.

[0013] The present invention also provides a method for feeding a tubular container, including the feeding device for the tubular container as described above, and the method for feeding the tubular container further includes the following steps:

[0014] S1: The material handler uses a vacuum nozzle to pick up two sets of staggered tubular containers inside the clamps on the conveyor line;

[0015] S2: The pushing mechanism pushes the two sets of tubular containers out of the clamp and onto the material handling hand;

[0016] S3: The material handler flips the two sets of tubular containers, which are distributed at different heights, from a vertical position to a horizontal position;

[0017] S4: The feeding mechanism rises to receive the two sets of tubular containers on the feeding hand;

[0018] S5: The feeding plate descends, and the two sets of tubular containers fall onto the mesh belt in sequence.

[0019] Compared with existing technologies, the material handler of this invention, driven by a flipping and moving mechanism, works in conjunction with a pushing mechanism to simultaneously pick up materials from two rows of staggered tubular containers on the fixture. Then, in coordination with a sorting mechanism, it ensures that the two rows of tubular containers with height differences accurately fall onto the conveyor belt, achieving automatic and rapid unloading. During this process, the tubular containers are also transformed from a vertical to a horizontal position. Furthermore, by dividing the unloading process into two steps—picking and sorting—the material handler can pick up materials at a faster frequency, improving unloading efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0020] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in this invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of this invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative effort.

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a partial structural schematic diagram of the material handling device of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the feeding mechanism of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the material handling mechanism of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the waste rejection mechanism of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an application scenario of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 7 for Figure 2 Enlarged schematic diagram of the structure at point A;

[0028] Figure 8 for Figure 6 Enlarged schematic diagram of the structure at point B;

[0029] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the fixture of the present invention.

[0030] Figure label:

[0031] 1. Mesh belt, 2. Material handling device, 3. Material handling hand, 4. Tilting and moving mechanism, 5. Pushing mechanism, 6. Material sorting mechanism, 31. Vacuum nozzle, 41. Tilting frame, 42. Rotating shaft, 43. Support, 44. Power component, 45. Translation cylinder, 46. Guide rod, 47. Synchronous belt, 51. Support base, 52. Push plate, 53. Pushing cylinder, 61. Material sorting plate, 62. Base plate, 63. Lifting cylinder, 100. Limiting groove, 7. Waste rejection mechanism, 71. Waste rejection cylinder, 72. Waste rejection plate, 73. Waste collection box, 8. Conveyor line, 81. Clamp, 9. Tubular container. Detailed Implementation

[0032] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the technical solutions of this invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this invention.

[0033] See attached document Figure 1 and attached Figure 9This embodiment provides a feeding device for tubular containers, including a feeding device 2 disposed at the discharge end of a conveyor line 8. The feeding device 2 includes a feeding hand 3 and a flipping and moving mechanism 4 that drives the feeding hand 3 to flip and extend. The feeding hand 3 places the tubular container 9 on a mesh belt 1 through a material handling mechanism 6. This embodiment also includes a pushing mechanism 5 that pushes the tubular container 9 out of a clamp 81. Specifically, when the feeding hand 3 sucks up the tubular container 9 in the clamp 81, the pushing mechanism 5 pushes the tubular container 9 out of the clamp 81, and then the material handling mechanism 6 places the sucked-up tubular container 9 on the mesh belt 1. The conveyor line 8 transports the clamp 81 to the feeding device 2. The flipping and moving mechanism 4 drives the feeding hand 3 to flip upward so that it faces the tubular container 9, and then drives the feeding hand 3 to move forward to fit against the tubular container 9. Vacuuming is activated, the feeding hand 3 sucks up the tubular container 9 on the clamp 81, and the pushing mechanism 5 pushes the tubular container 9 towards the feeding hand 3, so that the tubular container 9 leaves the clamp 81. Then, the flipping and moving mechanism 4 drives the picking hand 3 to flip downwards, making the tubular container 9 parallel to the mesh belt 1. Finally, the sorting mechanism 6 catches the tubular container 9 upwards and then descends to place the tubular containers 9 onto the mesh belt 1 in sequence. This invention completes the picking process of the tubular container 9 from the clamp 81 by using the picking hand 3 to suck up the container and the pushing mechanism 5 to push it. Then, the sorting mechanism 6 places the tubular containers 9 onto the mesh belt 1 in sequence. This structural design ensures that each tubular container 9 falls accurately onto the mesh belt 1. Secondly, the feeding process is divided into two parts: picking up and releasing. The picking hand 3 and the sorting mechanism 6 each handle one part, increasing the picking frequency of the picking hand 3 and thus improving the feeding efficiency. The picking device 2 and the pushing mechanism 5 are respectively located on both sides of the conveyor line 8.

[0034] As another embodiment of the present invention: refer to the appendix Figure 7 The material handling hand 3 has two rows of staggered vacuum nozzles 31. The material handling mechanism 6 can move along the height direction. After receiving the tubular containers 9 from the material handling hand 3, the material handling mechanism 6 places them on the mesh belt 1. The two rows of tubular containers 9 on the clamp 81 are in a vertical position. When the material handling hand 3 picks up the tubular containers 9 and flips them downwards parallel to the mesh belt 1, the two rows of tubular containers 9 on the material handling hand 3 are distributed vertically. If they are placed directly on the mesh belt 1, there will be a certain distance between the upper row of tubular containers 9 and the mesh belt 1, which will cause an error in the falling position. Therefore, the material handling mechanism 6 is needed to handle the tubular containers 9 before placing them on the mesh belt 1 to ensure that both rows of tubular containers 9 are accurately placed on the mesh belt 1.

[0035] As another embodiment of the present invention: refer to the appendix Figure 2The flipping and moving mechanism 4 includes a flipping frame 41, a rotating shaft 42, a support 43, and a power component 44. The material picking device 2 is slidably mounted on the flipping frame 41. A rotating shaft 42 is provided between the flipping frame 41 and the support 43. The power component 44 drives the flipping frame 41 to rotate around the rotating shaft 42, thereby driving the material picking device 2 to rotate, that is, driving the material picking hand 3 to flip up and down, so as to change the tubular container 9 from a vertical state to a horizontal state. The power component 44 is fixed on the support 43.

[0036] The tilting and moving mechanism 4 also includes a translation cylinder 45 and a guide rod 46. The piston rod of the translation cylinder 45 and the guide rod 46 are both fixedly connected to the material handling device 2, and the guide rod 46 is slidably connected to the tilting frame 41. Specifically, the piston rod of the translation cylinder 45 drives the material handling hand 3 to move horizontally along the tilting frame 41 to pick up the tubular container 9 on the clamp 81; during this process, the guide rod 46 plays a guiding role.

[0037] Specifically, the power component 44 is a motor, which is located below the bracket 43. A synchronous belt 47 is provided between the motor and the rotating shaft 42. The motor drives the rotating shaft 42 to rotate through the synchronous belt 47, thereby driving the tilting frame 41 to rotate.

[0038] As another embodiment of the present invention: refer to the appendix Figure 3 The pushing mechanism 5 includes two support seats 51, two push plates 52, and two pushing cylinders 53. The pushing cylinders 53 are fixed to the support seats 51, and the push plates 52 are fixedly connected to the piston rods of the pushing cylinders 53. The two push plates 52 are located above and below the clamp 81, respectively. When pushing the tubular container 9, the two push plates 52 are located at the upper and lower ends of the tubular container 9, respectively. Specifically, the pushing mechanism 5 is located on the side of the conveyor line 8 away from the tilting and moving mechanism 4.

[0039] As another embodiment of the present invention: refer to the appendix Figure 4 The material handling mechanism 6 includes two material handling plates 61, a base plate 62, and a lifting cylinder 63. The two material handling plates 61 are fixed to both ends of the base plate 62 and are respectively located on both sides of the conveyor belt 1. The two material handling plates 61 correspond to both ends of the tubular containers 9. The piston rod of the lifting cylinder 63 is fixedly connected to the base plate 62. The material handling plates 61, the base plate 62, and the lifting cylinder 63 are arranged from top to bottom. The piston rod of the lifting cylinder 63 drives the material handling plates 61 to rise until they are in contact with the two rows of tubular containers 9. Then, the vacuum nozzle 31 releases the tubular containers 9, and the tubular containers 9 fall onto the material handling plates 61. The material handling plates 61 descend along both sides of the conveyor belt 1, and the tubular containers 9 fall onto the conveyor belt 1.

[0040] Specifically, both the push plate 52 and the sorting plate 61 have two rows of limiting grooves 100, which are staggered so that the sorting plate 61 can catch the two rows of tubular containers 9 on the pick-up hand 3, and the push plate 52 can push out the two rows of tubular containers 9 on the clamp 81 at the same time.

[0041] Specifically, a vertical plate is fixed between the material handling plate 61 and the base plate 62, and the vertical plate has weight reduction holes.

[0042] As another embodiment of the present invention: a waste removal mechanism 7 is provided on the side of the material handling mechanism 6 near the discharge end of the mesh belt 1.

[0043] As another embodiment of the present invention: refer to the appendix Figure 5 The waste removal mechanism 7 includes a waste removal cylinder 71, a waste removal plate 72, and a waste collection box 73. The waste removal cylinder 71 and the waste collection box 73 are respectively located on both sides of the conveyor belt 1. The piston rod of the waste removal cylinder 71 is fixedly connected to the waste removal plate 72. The multiple waste removal cylinders 71 are divided into two groups, which are arranged vertically and staggered. The waste removal plate is set one-to-one with the tubular containers 9 on the conveyor belt 1. Due to the large structure of the waste removal cylinders 71, a staggered arrangement of two groups is adopted. When the tubular container 9 on the conveyor belt 1 is unqualified, the piston rod of the waste removal cylinder 71 corresponding to the tubular container 9 extends, driving the waste removal plate 72 to push the tubular container 9 into the waste collection box 73.

[0044] The present invention also provides a method for feeding a tubular container, including the aforementioned feeding device for the tubular container, as shown in the attached drawing. Figure 6 and attached Figure 8 It also includes the following steps:

[0045] S1: When the conveyor line 8 delivers the clamp 81 to the unloading station, the picker 3 uses the vacuum nozzle 31 to suck up the two sets of staggered tubular containers 9 in the clamp 81 on the conveyor line 8; specifically, the flipping and moving mechanism 4 flips and extends to bring the picker 3 to the tubular containers 9 on the clamp 81, and starts to draw a vacuum to suck up the tubular containers 9. At the same time, the translation cylinder 45 in the flipping and moving mechanism 4 releases the compressed air in the cylinder, so that the piston rod in the translation cylinder 45 is in a free state.

[0046] S2: The pushing mechanism 5 pushes the two sets of tubular containers 9 out of the clamp 81 and onto the material handling hand 3;

[0047] S3: The material handling arm 3 flips the two sets of tubular containers 9, which are distributed at different heights, from a vertical position to a horizontal position. Specifically, when the pushing cylinder 53 of the pushing mechanism 5 moves to its maximum stroke, the translation cylinder 45 in the flipping and moving mechanism 4 is connected to compressed air to drive the tubular containers 9 back to the starting position. Then, the pushing plate 52 of the pushing mechanism 5 moves backward, and the vacuum nozzle 31 of the flipping and moving mechanism 4 sucks up the tubular containers 9 and flips them downwards by 90°. The tubular containers 9 are then parallel to the mesh belt 1, and at this time, the two sets of tubular containers 9 are distributed at different heights.

[0048] S4: The material handling mechanism 6 rises to catch the two sets of tubular containers 9 on the material handling hand 3; specifically, the material handling plate 61 of the material handling mechanism 6 rises to fit with the tubular containers 9, the vacuum is closed, and the two ends of the tubular containers 9 fall on the material handling plate 61.

[0049] S5: The material handling plate 61 descends, and the two sets of tubular containers 9 fall onto the mesh belt 1 in sequence. The material handling plate 61 continues to descend, separating from the tubular containers 9. Then, the mesh belt 1 completes the conveying and discharge of the tubular containers 9, the rejection mechanism 7 completes the rejection of defective products before discharge, and the photoelectric counting device completes the counting of qualified products.

[0050] The material handling hand 3 of this invention, driven by the flipping and moving mechanism 4, works in conjunction with the pushing mechanism 5 to simultaneously pick up materials from two rows of staggered tubular containers 9 on the clamp 81. Then, in conjunction with the sorting mechanism 6, it ensures that the two rows of tubular containers 9 with a height difference accurately fall onto the mesh belt 1, achieving automatic and rapid unloading. During this process, the tubular containers 9 are also changed from a vertical to a horizontal position. Furthermore, dividing the unloading process into two steps—picking up and sorting—allows the material handling hand 3 to pick up materials at a faster frequency, improving unloading efficiency.

[0051] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features; and these modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A feeding device for a tubular container, characterized in that, The system includes a material handling device (2) installed at the discharge end of the conveyor line (8). The material handling device (2) includes a material handling hand (3) and a flipping and moving mechanism (4) that drives the material handling hand (3) to flip and extend. The material handling hand (3) places the tubular container (9) on the mesh belt (1) through the material handling mechanism (6). The material unloading device for the tubular container also includes a pushing mechanism (5) that pushes the tubular container (9) out of the clamp (81). The material handling device (2) and the pushing mechanism (5) are respectively installed at the discharge end of the conveyor line (8). On both sides of the feed line (8); the material picker (3) is provided with staggered vacuum nozzles (31), the vacuum nozzles (31) are used to pick up the tubular containers (9) pushed out from the clamp (81), the material handling mechanism (6) includes a lifting material handling plate (61), the material handling plate (61) has a limit groove (100), the limit groove (100) is staggered, and the material handling mechanism (6) is used to receive the tubular containers (9) on the material picker (3) and place them on the mesh belt (1).

2. The feeding device for the tubular container according to claim 1, characterized in that, The flipping and moving mechanism (4) includes: a flipping frame (41), a rotating shaft (42), a support (43), and a power component (44). The material picking device (2) is slidably arranged on the flipping frame (41). A rotating shaft (42) is provided between the flipping frame (41) and the support (43). The power component (44) drives the flipping frame (41) to rotate around the rotating shaft (42). The power component (44) is fixed on the support (43).

3. The feeding device for the tubular container according to claim 2, characterized in that, The flipping and moving mechanism (4) also includes a translation cylinder (45) and a guide rod (46). The piston rod of the translation cylinder (45) and the guide rod (46) are both fixedly connected to the material taking device (2), and the guide rod (46) is slidably connected to the flipping frame (41).

4. The feeding device for the tubular container according to claim 3, characterized in that, The power component (44) is a motor, which is located below the bracket (43), and a synchronous belt (47) is provided between the motor and the rotating shaft (42).

5. The feeding device for the tubular container according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pushing mechanism (5) includes: two support seats (51), two push plates (52) and two pushing cylinders (53). The pushing cylinders (53) are fixed on the support seats (51), and the push plates (52) are fixedly connected to the piston rods of the pushing cylinders (53). The two push plates (52) are located above and below the clamp (81) respectively.

6. The feeding device for the tubular container according to claim 5, characterized in that, The material handling mechanism (6) includes a base plate (62) and a lifting cylinder (63). Two material handling plates (61) are fixed at both ends of the base plate (62). The piston rod of the lifting cylinder (63) is fixedly connected to the base plate (62). The material handling plates (61), the base plate (62) and the lifting cylinder (63) are arranged from top to bottom.

7. The feeding device for the tubular container according to claim 6, characterized in that, The push plate (52) has two rows of limiting grooves (100), and the two rows of limiting grooves (100) are staggered.

8. The feeding device for the tubular container according to claim 2, characterized in that, The material handling mechanism (6) is provided with a waste removal mechanism (7) on one side near the discharge end of the mesh belt (1); the waste removal mechanism (7) includes: a waste removal cylinder (71), a waste removal plate (72) and a waste collection box (73). The waste removal cylinder (71) and the waste collection box (73) are respectively located on both sides of the mesh belt (1). The piston rod of the waste removal cylinder (71) is fixedly connected to the waste removal plate (72). The multiple waste removal cylinders (71) are divided into two groups. The two groups of waste removal cylinders (71) are arranged vertically and staggered.

9. A method for feeding a tubular container, characterized in that, The feeding device for the tubular container as described in any one of claims 1-8, wherein the feeding method for the tubular container further includes the following steps: S1: The material handling hand (3) uses the vacuum nozzle (31) to suck up two sets of staggered tubular containers (9) in the clamp (81) on the conveyor line (8); S2: The pushing mechanism (5) pushes the two sets of tubular containers (9) out of the clamp (81) onto the material handling hand (3); S3: The material handler (3) flips the two sets of tubular containers (9) that are distributed at different heights from a vertical state to a horizontal state; S4: The feeding mechanism (6) rises to catch the two sets of tubular containers (9) on the feeding hand (3); S5: The feed plate (61) descends, and the two sets of tubular containers (9) fall onto the mesh belt (1) in sequence.

Images