Automatic decoction system and decoction barrel cache region scheduling method

Abstract

The invention relates to an automatic decoction system and a decoction barrel cache region scheduling method in the technical field of traditional Chinese medicine decoction production. The automatic decoction system comprises a cache system scheduling system, an MES system, a PLC system, a medicine pouring system, an automatic water adding system, a cache system, a decoction system and a slag pouring and cleaning system, wherein the medicine pouring system, the automatic water adding system, the cache system, the decoction system and the slag pouring and cleaning system are sequentially connected through multiple sections of conveying lines to form a closed loop; the cache system scheduling system is used for acquiring prescription information from the MES system, controlling scheduling of empty buckets according to actual requirements, and transmitting scheduling information to the PLC system; the temporary storage system is used for storing empty barrels and soaking barrels added with water, and conveying lines on the upstream and the downstream of the temporary storage system are connected with a conveying line between the deslagging and cleaning system and the medicine pouring system through branch conveying lines correspondingly, so that an empty barrel circulation loop special for empty barrel circulation is formed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of traditional Chinese medicine decoction production, and in particular to an automatic decoction system and a decoction barrel buffer area scheduling method. Background Art

[0002] In the process of decocting Chinese herbal medicines, it is generally necessary to soak the slices after adding water for a period of time before decocting. Usually, the average decocting time is 50 minutes and the average soaking time is 30 minutes. In the automated decoction production process, in order to meet the production of more prescriptions per day, the number of decoction barrels is generally 1.5-2 times the number of decoction stations. Therefore, the automated production line needs to have both an empty barrel cache for storing empty barrels after the task is completed and an immersion barrel cache for storing immersion barrels containing medicinal materials and water during the task.

[0003] However, during the production process, the boiling barrels are basically in the buffer warehouse for storing soaking barrels and the boiling station, and the buffer warehouse for storing empty barrels is basically empty, resulting in a waste of the buffer warehouse. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an automated decoction system and a decoction barrel buffer area scheduling method, so as to solve the technical problem that in the prior art, the automated production line needs to have both an empty barrel buffer and a soaking barrel buffer, but during the production process, the decoction barrels are basically in the buffer for storing soaking barrels and the decoction station, and the buffer for storing empty barrels is basically empty, resulting in a waste of the buffer.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention specifically provides an automated decoction system, including a buffer system scheduling system, an MES system, a PLC system, and a medicine pouring system, an automatic water adding system, a buffer system, a decoction system, and a slag pouring and cleaning system which are sequentially connected by multiple sections of conveying lines to form a closed loop;

[0006] The cache system scheduling system is used to obtain prescription information from the MES system, control the scheduling of empty barrels according to actual needs, and transmit the scheduling information to the PLC system;

[0007] The PLC system is used to control the actions of each system and each section of the conveyor line according to the dispatch information;

[0008] The medicine pouring system is used to pour medicinal materials into the empty barrel;

[0009] The automatic water adding system is used to add water to the incoming medicinal material barrel into which the medicinal materials have been added;

[0010] The cache system is used to store empty barrels and soaking barrels after adding water. The upstream and downstream conveying lines of the cache system are respectively connected to the transmission lines between the slag pouring and cleaning system and the medicine pouring system through branch transmission lines to form an empty barrel circulation loop dedicated to the circulation of empty barrels.

[0011] The decoction system comprises a plurality of decoction stations, each of which can perform an automated decoction process on an incoming soaking barrel according to prescription information;

[0012] The residue pouring and cleaning system is used to pour out the Chinese medicine residue from the decoction barrel and clean the decoction barrel.

[0013] As a preferred solution of the present invention, a first diverter is provided on the conveying line between the residue pouring and cleaning system and the medicine pouring system, a second diverter is provided on the conveying line between the automatic water adding system and the buffer system, and a third diverter is provided on the conveying line between the buffer system and the decoction system;

[0014] The first diverter device can select to transport the empty barrels flowing from the upstream empty barrel conveying line to the medicine pouring system through the feeding transmission line or to the second diverter device through the transfer transmission line. The second diverter device is used to transport the empty barrels or soaking barrels flowing from the upstream empty barrel conveying line to the cache system. The third diverter device is used to transport the soaking barrels in the cache system to the decoction system or to transport the empty barrels in the cache system to the empty barrel conveying line.

[0015] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention further provides a method for scheduling a boiling barrel buffer area, using the above automatic boiling system, comprising the following steps:

[0016] When the decoction system releases a large number of decoction stations in a short period of time, the empty barrels output by the residue pouring and cleaning system increase, but there is no vacant position in the medicine pouring system, the empty barrels output by the residue pouring and cleaning system are directly transmitted to the cache system through the empty barrel circulation loop, so as to bypass the medicine pouring system and the automatic water adding system to make the transmission line unobstructed, ensure that the decoction system and the residue pouring and cleaning system can discharge barrels normally, and relieve the pressure of the medicine pouring system and the automatic water adding system;

[0017] When a large number of decoction barrels remain in the decoction system and the number of empty barrels upstream of the medicine pouring system is insufficient, the empty barrels in the buffer system are directly transferred to the medicine pouring system through the empty barrel circulation loop, bypassing the decoction system and the residue pouring and cleaning system, ensuring the supply of empty barrels for the medicine pouring system and the automatic water adding system, and freeing up buffer space for the soaking barrels.

[0018] As a preferred solution of the present invention, the first diversion device preferentially distributes empty barrels to the medicine pouring system. When there is a cache position on the feeding conveyor line, the cache system scheduling system notifies the PLC system to send the empty barrel to the medicine pouring system; if the feeding conveyor line is full, the cache system scheduling system instructs the PLC to send the empty barrel to the transfer transmission line, and then the second diversion device decides whether to send it to the cache system;

[0019] The second diverter preferably transports the soaking barrel to the cache system, and transports the empty barrel to the cache system when there are enough cache positions in the cache system;

[0020] The third diverter device preferably conveys the soaking barrels that have reached the soaking time in the buffer system to the boiling system, and conveys the empty barrels toward the first diverter device only when there are enough empty barrel positions on the empty barrel conveyor line.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0022] The present invention caches empty barrels and soaking barrels in a cache library, and constructs an empty barrel circulation loop dedicated to the circulation of empty barrels in a large decoction barrel circulation loop. When a large number of decoction stations are released by the decoction system in a short period of time, but there are no vacant positions in the medicine pouring system, or when a large number of decoction barrels are retained in the decoction system and the number of empty barrels upstream of the medicine pouring system is insufficient, the empty barrels in the crowded place can be quickly transported away through the empty barrel circulation loop, and the empty barrels can be transported to the place where there are barrels missing. Under the premise of not affecting the decoction work, the number of cache libraries is reduced and the occupied area is reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] In order to more clearly illustrate the implementation methods of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for the implementation methods or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only exemplary, and for ordinary technicians in this field, other implementation drawings can be derived from the provided drawings without creative work.

[0024] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of an automated decoction system in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 This is a diagram of the scheduling architecture of the boiling barrel buffer area in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 3 is an interaction flow chart at a node of a first flow distribution device in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 4 is an interaction flow chart at a node of a second flow distribution device in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 5This is an interaction flow chart at the node of the second diversion device in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. 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 creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] The hollow barrel in the present invention refers to an empty decoction barrel, the medicinal material barrel refers to a decoction barrel with medicinal pieces added, and the soaking barrel refers to a decoction barrel with medicinal pieces and water added.

[0031] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the present invention specifically provides an automated decoction system, including a buffer system scheduling system, an MES system, a PLC system, and a medicine pouring system, an automatic water adding system, a buffer system, a decoction system, and a slag pouring and cleaning system, which are sequentially connected by multiple sections of conveying lines to form a closed loop;

[0032] The cache system scheduling system is used to obtain prescription information from the MES system, control the scheduling of empty barrels according to actual needs, and transmit the scheduling information to the PLC system;

[0033] The PLC system is used to control the actions of each system and each section of the conveyor line according to the dispatch information;

[0034] The medicine pouring system is used to pour medicinal materials into the empty barrel;

[0035] The automatic water adding system is used to add water to the incoming medicinal material barrel into which the medicinal materials have been added;

[0036] The cache system is used to store empty barrels and soaking barrels after adding water. The upstream and downstream conveying lines of the cache system are respectively connected to the transmission lines between the slag pouring and cleaning system and the medicine pouring system through branch transmission lines to form an empty barrel circulation loop dedicated to the circulation of empty barrels.

[0037] The decoction system comprises a plurality of decoction stations, each of which can perform an automated decoction process on an incoming soaking barrel according to prescription information;

[0038] The residue pouring and cleaning system is used to pour out the Chinese medicine residue from the decoction barrel and clean the decoction barrel.

[0039] The specific composition of the empty barrel circulation circuit is as follows:

[0040] A first flow diverter is provided on the conveying line between the residue pouring and cleaning system and the medicine pouring system, a second flow diverter is provided on the conveying line between the automatic water adding system and the buffer system, and a third flow diverter is provided on the conveying line between the buffer system and the decoction system;

[0041] The first diverter device can select to transport the empty barrels flowing from the upstream empty barrel conveying line to the medicine pouring system through the feeding transmission line or to the second diverter device through the transfer transmission line. The second diverter device is used to transport the empty barrels or soaking barrels flowing from the upstream empty barrel conveying line to the cache system. The third diverter device is used to transport the soaking barrels in the cache system to the decoction system or to transport the empty barrels in the cache system to the empty barrel conveying line.

[0042] It should be noted that, since there are a large number of implementation methods for each functional system, each diversion device and each transmission line in the prior art, the present invention does not improve these, so the specific construction method is not given in the present invention. The focus of the present invention is on the overall construction logic and scheduling method of the automated decoction system. Each system, each diversion device and each transmission line can adopt the corresponding existing technology and can complete the corresponding actions.

[0043] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention further provides a method for scheduling a boiling barrel buffer area, using the above automatic boiling system, comprising the following steps:

[0044] When the decoction system releases a large number of decoction stations in a short period of time, the empty barrels output by the residue pouring and cleaning system increase, but there is no vacant position in the medicine pouring system, the empty barrels output by the residue pouring and cleaning system are directly transmitted to the cache system through the empty barrel circulation loop, so as to bypass the medicine pouring system and the automatic water adding system to make the transmission line unobstructed, ensure that the decoction system and the residue pouring and cleaning system can discharge barrels normally, and relieve the pressure of the medicine pouring system and the automatic water adding system;

[0045] When a large number of decoction barrels remain in the decoction system and the number of empty barrels upstream of the medicine pouring system is insufficient, the empty barrels in the buffer system are directly transferred to the medicine pouring system through the empty barrel circulation loop, bypassing the decoction system and the residue pouring and cleaning system, ensuring the supply of empty barrels for the medicine pouring system and the automatic water adding system, and freeing up buffer space for the soaking barrels.

[0046] In summary, the present invention caches empty barrels and soaking barrels in a cache library, and constructs an empty barrel circulation loop dedicated to the circulation of empty barrels in a large decoction barrel circulation loop. When the decoction system releases a large number of decoction stations in a short period of time, but the medicine pouring system has no vacant positions, or when a large number of decoction barrels are retained in the decoction system and the number of empty barrels upstream of the medicine pouring system is insufficient, the empty barrel circulation loop can quickly transport the empty barrels in the crowded places and transport the empty barrels to the places where there are barrel shortages. Under the premise of not affecting the decoction work, the number of cache libraries can be reduced and the floor space can be reduced.

[0047] The interaction process of each diversion node is as follows.

[0048] like Figure 3 As shown, the interaction process of the first distribution device node is as follows:

[0049] Port ① is the incoming direction of empty barrels, port ② is for conveying empty barrels to the medicine pouring system, and port ③ is for conveying empty barrels to the second diversion device, and further, to the cache system.

[0050] At this node, the cache system scheduling system determines the destination of the bucket based on the bucket status and task requirements, and gives priority to allocating empty buckets to the medicine pouring system.

[0051] When there is a cache position on the feeding conveyor line, the cache system scheduling system notifies the PLC system to send the empty barrel to the medicine pouring system; if the feeding conveyor line is full, the cache system scheduling system instructs the PLC to send the empty barrel to the transfer transmission line, and then the second diversion device decides whether to send it to the cache system. This interactive process ensures that each barrel can be correctly allocated to the appropriate storage area.

[0052] like Figure 4 As shown, the interaction process of the second split device node is as follows:

[0053] ① port is for the incoming direction of clean empty barrels, ② port is for the incoming direction of soaking barrels, and ③ port is for conveying empty barrels or soaking barrels to the buffer system.

[0054] At this node, the cache system scheduling system determines the destination of the bucket based on the status of the bucket and the task requirements, preferably transporting the soaking bucket to the cache system, and transporting the empty bucket to the cache system when there are enough empty bucket locations in the cache system.

[0055] When soaking barrels or empty barrels enter the cache system, the cache system scheduling system needs to allocate storage locations for them. First, the cache system scheduling system determines the appropriate free locations based on the current storage status and rules. Then, the cache system scheduling system notifies the PLC system of the specific storage location, and the PLC controls the mechanical equipment to accurately place the barrels in the specified location. This process ensures that soaking barrels or empty barrels enter the cache in an orderly manner according to the optimized storage strategy.

[0056] like Figure 5 As shown, the interaction process of the third split device node is as follows:

[0057] Port ② is the incoming direction of empty barrels or soaking barrels, port ① is for conveying clean empty barrels to the first diversion device, and port ③ is for conveying soaking barrels and empty barrels to the boiling system.

[0058] At this point, during normal production, the cache system scheduling system gives priority to delivering the soaking barrels that have reached the soaking time to the boiling system, and when there are enough empty barrels on the empty barrel conveyor line, the empty barrels are delivered to the direction of the first diversion device.

[0059] Interactive process of soaking barrel outbound delivery: When the outbound delivery conditions are met on the cache line of the cache system, the cache system scheduling system starts the outbound delivery process of the soaking barrel. The selection of outbound delivery is based on the soaking time of the barrel, and the barrel with the longest soaking time is prioritized. The cache system scheduling system selects the soaking barrel that meets the conditions from the cache library and notifies the PLC to perform the outbound delivery operation. The PLC controls the mechanical equipment to take the specified barrel out of the cache library and transport it to the decoction system.

[0060] Empty barrel outbound interaction process: The empty barrel outbound process is triggered when the cache system scheduling system detects that a new empty barrel is needed. First, the cache system scheduling system checks the empty barrel inventory on the empty barrel conveyor line. When the inventory is insufficient, the cache system scheduling system selects an empty barrel from the cache system and sends an outbound instruction. After receiving the instruction, the PLC controls the mechanical equipment to take the specified empty barrel out of the cache and convey it to the empty barrel conveyor line.

[0061] The above embodiments are only exemplary embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. The protection scope of the present application is defined by the claims. Those skilled in the art may make various modifications or equivalent substitutions to the present application within the essence and protection scope of the present application, and such modifications or equivalent substitutions shall also be deemed to fall within the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An automated decoction system, characterized in that: It includes a cache system scheduling system, an MES system, a PLC system, and a medicine pouring system, an automatic water adding system, a cache system, a decoction system, and a slag pouring and cleaning system which are connected in sequence by multiple conveyor lines to form a closed loop; The cache system scheduling system is used to obtain prescription information from the MES system, control the scheduling of empty barrels according to actual needs, and transmit the scheduling information to the PLC system; The PLC system is used to control the actions of each system and each section of the conveyor line according to the dispatch information; The medicine pouring system is used to pour medicinal materials into the empty barrel; The automatic water adding system is used to add water to the incoming medicinal material barrel into which the medicinal materials have been added; The cache system is used to store empty barrels and soaking barrels after adding water. The upstream and downstream conveying lines of the cache system are respectively connected to the transmission lines between the slag pouring and cleaning system and the medicine pouring system through branch transmission lines to form an empty barrel circulation loop dedicated to the circulation of empty barrels. The decoction system is used to perform an automated decoction process on the incoming soaking bucket according to the prescription information; The residue pouring and cleaning system is used to pour out the Chinese medicine residue from the decoction barrel and clean the decoction barrel.

2. The automatic decoction system according to claim 1, characterized in that: A first flow diverter is provided on the conveying line between the residue pouring and cleaning system and the medicine pouring system, a second flow diverter is provided on the conveying line between the automatic water adding system and the buffer system, and a third flow diverter is provided on the conveying line between the buffer system and the decoction system; The first diverter device can select to transport the empty barrels flowing from the upstream empty barrel conveying line to the medicine pouring system through the feeding transmission line or to the second diverter device through the transfer transmission line. The second diverter device is used to transport the empty barrels or soaking barrels flowing from the upstream empty barrel conveying line to the cache system. The third diverter device is used to transport the soaking barrels in the cache system to the decoction system or to transport the empty barrels in the cache system to the empty barrel conveying line.

3. A method for scheduling a boiling barrel buffer area, characterized in that: Using the automated decoction system as claimed in claim 1 or 2 comprises the following steps: When the decoction system releases a large number of decoction stations in a short period of time, the empty barrels output by the residue pouring and cleaning system increase, but there is no vacant position in the medicine pouring system, the empty barrels output by the residue pouring and cleaning system are directly transmitted to the cache system through the empty barrel circulation loop, so as to bypass the medicine pouring system and the automatic water adding system to make the transmission line unobstructed, ensure that the decoction system and the residue pouring and cleaning system can discharge barrels normally, and relieve the pressure of the medicine pouring system and the automatic water adding system; When a large number of decoction barrels remain in the decoction system and the number of empty barrels upstream of the medicine pouring system is insufficient, the empty barrels in the buffer system are directly transferred to the medicine pouring system through the empty barrel circulation loop, bypassing the decoction system and the residue pouring and cleaning system, ensuring the supply of empty barrels for the medicine pouring system and the automatic water adding system, and freeing up buffer space for the soaking barrels.

4. A method for scheduling a boiling barrel buffer area according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first diversion device preferentially distributes empty barrels to the medicine pouring system. When there is a buffer position on the feeding conveyor line, the buffer system scheduling system notifies the PLC system to send the empty barrel to the medicine pouring system. If the feeding conveyor line is full, the buffer system scheduling system instructs the PLC to send the empty barrel to the transfer transmission line, and then the second diversion device decides whether to send it to the buffer system. The second diverter preferably transports the soaking barrel to the cache system, and transports the empty barrel to the cache system when there are enough cache positions in the cache system; The third diverter device preferably conveys the soaking barrels that have reached the soaking time in the buffer system to the boiling system, and conveys the empty barrels toward the first diverter device only when there are enough empty barrel positions on the empty barrel conveyor line.

Images