Feeding device and feeding method for packaging similar-cone-shaped products

Abstract

The invention relates to a feeding device and a feeding method for packaging similar conical products. The feeding device comprises a fixing frame, a material box used for containing the similar-cone-shaped products and a lifting mechanism used for lifting the similar-cone-shaped products in the material box upwards and then conveying the similar-cone-shaped products to the assembly line. The guiding mechanism is arranged between the lifting mechanism and the assembly line and used for guiding the cone-like products and conveying the cone-like products to the assembly line according to the same posture. According to the feeding device for packaging the cone-like products, the guiding mechanism is adopted, the cone-like products can be adjusted to be in a unified posture on the guiding mechanism by means of the gravity of the cone-like products before the cone-like products enter an assembly line, and therefore the operation difficulty of a mechanical arm used in the follow-up packaging process is effectively reduced; and the failure rate of the manipulator is also reduced, and the packaging efficiency is greatly improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of packaging equipment, in particular to a feeding device and a feeding method for packaging quasi-conical products. Background Art

[0002] The feeding device is a commonly used mechanism on the packaging assembly line. For some conventionally shaped products, there are suitable feeding mechanisms to choose from. However, for some special-shaped products, such as conical products, due to their irregular structure, conventional feeding devices cannot be used directly when feeding. For example, conical cigarettes are currently usually packaged manually, which is costly and inefficient. The feeding device of the existing automatic packaging equipment usually uses a vibrating plate to shake the material apart, and then transfers the material to the subsequent packaging device through a lifting device or a conveyor belt for grabbing and packaging. However, the material of the conical cigarette is relatively soft and is generally conical in shape. The vibrating plate cannot effectively disperse the accumulated conical cigarettes, resulting in stacking during lifting and transmission. Since the posture of the conical products transported from the lifting mechanism to the assembly line is random, it brings great difficulties to the subsequent grabbing and boxing. Summary of the invention

[0003] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a loading device for packaging cone-like products, including a fixed frame, a material box for containing cone-like products, a lifting mechanism for lifting the cone-like products in the material box upward and conveying them to the assembly line, and also including a guiding mechanism arranged between the lifting mechanism and the assembly line for guiding the cone-like products and conveying the cone-like products to the assembly line in the same posture.

[0004] On the basis of the above scheme, the quasi-conical products are conveyed to the assembly line in the same posture in such a way that all the quasi-conical products are fed into the assembly line with their large ends facing forward.

[0005] Based on the above scheme, the guiding mechanism includes a rolling plate for receiving the conical products transported on the lifting mechanism and allowing the conical products to roll to the side away from the lifting mechanism by their own gravity; and a guide plate for receiving the conical products sliding down from the rolling plate and allowing the conical products to continue to slide down to the assembly line with the big head facing forward.

[0006] Based on the above solution, the rolling plate and the guide plate both form an angle of 20-26° with the horizontal plane.

[0007] Based on the above solution, a guide groove is provided on the guide plate.

[0008] Based on the above scheme, the length of the rolling plate for the quasi-conical product to roll down is 1.5-2.0 times the length of the quasi-conical product; the length of the guide groove (4-3) for the quasi-conical product to slide down is 1.1-1.6 times the length of the quasi-conical product.

[0009] On the basis of the above scheme, the lifting mechanism includes a belt driven by a motor, and the belt is provided with a plurality of raised horizontal grids perpendicular to the conveying direction; a horizontal groove is formed between two adjacent horizontal grids for driving the cone-shaped products to move together when the belt moves; the angle α between the belt and the horizontal plane is 50-55°; the angle between the bottom wall of the material box and the belt is 90°.

[0010] On the basis of the above scheme, the maximum spacing of the transverse grooves is greater than 1.5 times the maximum diameter of the large end of the quasi-conical product and less than 2 times the maximum diameter of the large end of the quasi-conical product.

[0011] Based on the above solution, the cross section of the horizontal grid is trapezoidal, and the side away from the belt is smaller.

[0012] The present invention also provides a feeding method for cone-shaped product packaging, comprising the following steps:

[0013] (1) Place the cone-shaped product into the material box;

[0014] (2) Driven by the belt, the horizontal grid continuously brings the conical products in the material box into the horizontal groove and continues to lift them upward;

[0015] (3) When lifted to the top, the conical products in the horizontal grid roll down from the horizontal grid to the rolling plate of the guide mechanism;

[0016] (4) The quasi-conical product rolls down along the rolling plate under the action of its own gravity. During the rolling process, the quasi-conical product constantly adjusts its posture with the big end facing downward;

[0017] (5) When the quasi-conical product leaves the rolling plate (4-1), the thick end of the quasi-conical product moves forward into the guide groove and the guide groove further adjusts the posture of the quasi-conical product. Then, the quasi-conical product continues to slide along the guide groove and finally enters the assembly line.

[0018] The feeding device for the packaging of quasi-conical products of the present invention adopts a guide mechanism, so that the quasi-conical products can be adjusted to a uniform posture on the guide mechanism by their own gravity before entering the assembly line, thereby effectively reducing the difficulty of operating the manipulator used in the subsequent packaging process, reducing the failure rate of the manipulator, and greatly improving the efficiency of packaging. The lifting mechanism used in the device is designed for the trapezoidal structure of the horizontal grid, the angle of the belt, the spacing of the horizontal grooves, and the angle between the bottom surface of the material box and the belt, so that the lifting mechanism as a whole can achieve the effect of dispersed feeding. When feeding, the quasi-conical products are not piled up or overlapped, which is particularly suitable for the feeding of soft quasi-conical cigarettes, and completely replaces the vibration plate used in the existing lifting mechanism. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the feeding mechanism in Example 1 of the present application;

[0021] Figure 2 This is a schematic structural diagram of a cone-shaped product in Example 1 of the present application;

[0022] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the feeding mechanism in Example 1 of the present application from a top view (without a guide mechanism);

[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the feeding mechanism in Example 1 of the present application from a top view (with a guide mechanism);

[0024] Figure 5 for Figure 4 The structural diagram of part A in the figure;

[0025] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the guide mechanism in Example 1 of the present application;

[0026] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the main viewing angle structure of the feeding mechanism in Example 1 of the present application;

[0027] Figure 8 for Figure 7 Schematic cross-sectional view along the AA direction;

[0028] Fig. 9 for Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the structure of part A. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The following will be combined with 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 making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] Example 1

[0031] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the present invention provides a loading device for packaging cone-like products, including a fixing frame 1, a material box 2 for containing cone-like products, a lifting mechanism 3 for lifting the cone-like products in the material box 2 upwards and conveying them to an assembly line, and also including a guiding mechanism 4 arranged between the lifting mechanism 3 and the assembly line for guiding the cone-like products and conveying the cone-like products to the assembly line in the same posture.

[0032] like Figure 2 As shown, the quasi-conical product described in the present application refers to a product whose overall shape is similar to a cone. The quasi-conical product has a large end (diameter A) and a small end (diameter a), and A>a.

[0033] As a product for specific application, the quasi-conical product is a quasi-conical cigarette, which is made of a relatively soft material, with paper or tobacco leaves on the outside and shredded tobacco on the inside.

[0034] When packaging cone-shaped products, if a gripper-type robot is used, the cone-shaped products will be scratched due to the material problem of the cone-shaped products. Therefore, a suction cup-type robot is chosen. Figure 3 As shown, when the conventional feeding mechanism is feeding, the quasi-conical products will be directly transported from the lifting mechanism 3 to the assembly line. At this time, the quasi-conical products cannot maintain a posture, that is, the large heads or small heads of the quasi-conical products entering the assembly line cannot be all oriented in one direction. This brings great problems to the manipulator when packaging on the assembly line, because when the quasi-conical products are loaded into the packaging box or packaging bottle in the same direction, when the large heads or small heads of the two quasi-conical products in front and behind are opposite, in order to achieve the same direction, the suction cup manipulator needs to rotate 180° after grabbing the first one before grabbing the second one. However, due to the weight and rotation speed of the suction cup manipulator itself, a large inertia will be formed, which often causes the suction cup manipulator to malfunction. In order to solve this technical problem, it is best to make the quasi-conical products entering the assembly line maintain the same posture, so that the suction cup manipulator does not need to rotate when grabbing.

[0035] The way that the quasi-cone products are conveyed to the assembly line in the same posture can be that the large heads of all the quasi-cone products enter the assembly line first, or the small heads of all the quasi-cone products enter the assembly line first; or all the quasi-cone products enter in other directions but all the quasi-cone products maintain the same posture.

[0036] like Figure 6 As shown, the present application provides a specific structure of a guide mechanism 4 that allows the large ends of all conical products to enter the production line first.

[0037] The guide mechanism 4 includes a rolling plate 4-1 for receiving the cone-shaped product conveyed by the lifting mechanism 3 and allowing the cone-shaped product to roll to a side away from the lifting mechanism 3 by its own gravity;

[0038] and

[0039] The guide plate 4-2 is used to receive the conical products sliding down from the rolling plate 4-1 and allow the conical products to continue to slide down to the assembly line with the big end facing forward.

[0040] like Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, after the quasi-conical product falls onto the rolling plate 4-1, it will roll downward under the action of its own gravity (the arc with an arrow is the rolling direction of the quasi-conical product, and the straight line with an arrow is the overall moving direction of the quasi-conical product). Since the quasi-conical product is a special-shaped structure with one end larger than the other, the large end is at the bottom. After that, the quasi-conical product will fall onto the guide plate 4-2 and continue to slide down to the assembly line. When the quasi-conical product falls onto the guide plate 4-2, the large end will first contact the guide plate 4-2.

[0041] In order to make the cone-shaped products fall onto the rolling plate 4-1 and roll down by their own gravity, the angle between the guide mechanism 4 and the horizontal plane is 24°; that is, the rolling plate 4-1 and the guide plate 4-2 both form an angle of 24° with the horizontal plane.

[0042] Specifically, the rolling plate 4-1 is a smooth flat plate, and the guide plate 4-2 is provided with a guide groove 4-3. In order to better adjust the posture of the quasi-conical product, the guide groove 4-3 is a V-shaped groove. If the length of the rolling plate 4-1 for the quasi-conical product to roll down is too short, the posture of the quasi-conical product has not yet been adjusted. At this time, the posture of the quasi-conical product falling into the V-shaped guide groove 4-3 of the guide plate 4-2 is relatively messy, and the subsequent posture adjustment cannot be completed; if it is too long, the posture of the quasi-conical product is over-adjusted due to inertia, which also causes the posture of the quasi-conical product falling into the V-shaped guide groove 4-3 of the guide plate 4-2 to be relatively messy; therefore, the length of the rolling plate 4-1 for the quasi-conical product to roll down is 1.5-2.0 times the length of the quasi-conical product; this length can meet the requirement that the quasi-conical product that enters the rolling plate 4-1 laterally rotates under the action of its own gravity so that its thick end faces forward. Similarly, the length of the guide groove 4-3 for the quasi-conical product to slide down should not be too long or too short. If it is too long, the quasi-conical product will be affected by friction and eventually stay in the V-shaped guide groove of the guide plate 4-2 and cannot enter the assembly line. If it is too short, the quasi-conical product will directly enter the assembly line from the rolling plate 4-1 before its posture is completely stabilized. Therefore, the length of the guide groove 4-3 for the quasi-conical product to slide down is 1.1-1.6 times the length of the quasi-conical product.

[0043] Fixing parts 4 - 4 for connecting with the lifting mechanism 3 are provided on both sides of the guide mechanism 4 .

[0044] After using the above-mentioned guide mechanism 4, the conical products entering the assembly line from the feeding device will maintain the same posture with the big head facing forward, thereby providing a good foundation for the next step of packaging.

[0045] Conventional lifting mechanisms for cylindrical products have no requirements for the arrangement of the products, so the width of the transverse groove of the lifting mechanism used is wider, and the cylindrical products have neat and regular shapes and can be stacked and arranged in the wider transverse groove; when the material is a conical product of the patent (such as conical cigarettes), there are requirements for the arrangement of the material on the assembly line. The width of the transverse groove of the lifting mechanism used for conventional cylindrical products is too wide, which will cause the material to stack or get stuck during the lifting process, making it impossible to achieve uniform transportation of the material, affecting the subsequent packaging.

[0046] In order to meet the needs of lifting and loading cone-shaped products, this application provides a specific implementation case of a lifting mechanism 3, such as Figure 8 and 9 As shown, the lifting mechanism 3 includes a belt 3-1 driven by a motor, and the belt 3-1 is provided with a plurality of raised horizontal grids (3-2) perpendicular to the conveying direction; a horizontal groove 3-3 is formed between two adjacent horizontal grids 3-2 for driving the cone-shaped products to move together when the belt 3-1 moves.

[0047] The maximum spacing of the transverse grooves 3-3 is greater than 1.5 times the maximum diameter of the large end of the conical product and less than 2 times the maximum diameter of the large end of the conical product. This arrangement can prevent the conical product from overlapping after entering the transverse grooves 3-3.

[0048] The cross section of the horizontal grid 3-2 is trapezoidal, and the side away from the belt 3-1 is smaller. This arrangement can make it easier for the conical products in the material box 2 to enter the horizontal groove.

[0049] The angle α between the belt 3-1 and the horizontal plane is 50-55°, preferably 53°. The angle design between the belt 3-1 and the horizontal plane is directly related to the amount of material loading. If the angle is too large, the materials will be stacked in the transverse grooves 3-3-3, and finally each transverse groove 3-3 will not have only one layer of material.

[0050] In the prior art, the material box 2 usually uses a vibration plate to disperse the material by vibration, and then the dispersed material is pulled up by a lifting mechanism and sent to the subsequent conveyor belt for packaging. When the vibration plate is used for vibration dispersion, since the material of the cone-like product is relatively soft and the shape is irregular, the vibration plate cannot disperse the material, resulting in subsequent material stacking, and the cone-like product cannot be separated by the horizontal grid 3-2 and the horizontal groove 3-3 set on the belt, resulting in the inability to load the material.

[0051] like Figure 8 As shown, the angle between the bottom wall 2-1 of the material box 2 and the belt 3-1 is 90°. This arrangement allows the conical products to enter the transverse groove 3-3 in an orderly manner and effectively avoids the problem of multiple products stacking in the same transverse groove 3-3 due to a large angle.

[0052] Example 2

[0053] Based on the feeding device in Example 1, the present application provides a feeding method for cone-shaped product packaging, comprising the following steps:

[0054] (1) Place the cone-shaped product into the material box 2;

[0055] (2) Driven by the belt 3-1, the horizontal grid 3-2 continuously brings the conical products in the material box 2 into the horizontal groove 3-3 and continues to lift them upward;

[0056] (3) When lifted to the top, the conical products in the horizontal grid 3-2 roll down from the horizontal grid 3-2 onto the rolling plate 4-1 of the guide mechanism 4;

[0057] (4) The quasi-conical product rolls down along the rolling plate 4-1 under the action of its own gravity. During the rolling process, the quasi-conical product continuously adjusts its posture with the big end facing downward;

[0058] (5) When the quasi-conical product leaves the rolling plate 4-1, the thick end of the quasi-conical product enters the guide groove 4-3 forward and the guide groove 4-3 further adjusts the posture of the quasi-conical product. Then, the quasi-conical product continues to slide along the guide groove 4-3 and finally enters the assembly line.

[0059] When the quasi-conical product leaves the rolling plate 4-1 and enters the guide groove 4-3, the thick end of the quasi-conical product is forward, but at this time, the quasi-conical product is not completely along the direction of the guide groove 4-3. However, due to the effect of the V-shaped guide groove 4-3, the thick posture of the quasi-conical product completes the final adjustment, and the big end moves forward and continues to slide forward along the guide groove 4-3.

[0060] Each embodiment in this specification is described in a related manner, and the same or similar parts between the embodiments can be referred to each other, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention are included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A feeding device for packaging quasi-conical products, comprising a fixed frame (1), a material box (2) for containing the quasi-conical products, and a lifting mechanism (3) for lifting the quasi-conical products in the material box (2) upward and conveying them to an assembly line, characterized in that: It also includes a guiding mechanism (4) disposed between the lifting mechanism (3) and the assembly line for guiding the quasi-conical products and conveying the quasi-conical products to the assembly line in the same posture.

2. The feeding device for packaging quasi-conical products according to claim 1, characterized in that: The quasi-conical products are conveyed to the assembly line in the same posture in such a manner that all the quasi-conical products are fed into the assembly line with their large ends facing forward.

3. The feeding device for packaging quasi-conical products according to claim 2, characterized in that: The guide mechanism (4) comprises a rolling plate (4-1) for receiving the cone-shaped product conveyed by the lifting mechanism (3) and allowing the cone-shaped product to roll toward a side away from the lifting mechanism (3) by its own gravity; and The guide plate (4-2) is used for receiving the quasi-conical product sliding down from the rolling plate (4-1) and allowing the quasi-conical product to continue sliding down to the production line in a posture with the big end facing forward.

4. The feeding device for packaging quasi-conical products according to claim 3, characterized in that: The rolling plate (4-1) and the guide plate (4-2) both form an angle of 20-26° with the horizontal plane.

5. The feeding device for packaging quasi-conical products according to claim 3, characterized in that: The guide plate (4-2) is provided with a guide groove (4-3), and the guide groove (4-3) is a V-shaped groove.

6. The feeding device for packaging quasi-conical products according to claim 3, characterized in that: The rolling plate (4-1) allows the quasi-conical product to roll down for a length that is 1.5-2.0 times the length of the quasi-conical product; the guide groove (4-3) allows the quasi-conical product to slide down for a length that is 1.1-1.6 times the length of the quasi-conical product.

7. The feeding device for packaging quasi-conical products according to claim 3, characterized in that: The lifting mechanism (3) comprises a belt (3-1) driven by a motor, and the belt (3-1) is provided with a plurality of raised horizontal grids (3-2) perpendicular to the conveying direction; a horizontal groove (3-3) is formed between two adjacent horizontal grids (3-2) for driving the cone-shaped product to move together when the belt (3-1) moves; the angle α between the belt (3-1) and the horizontal plane is 50-55°; and the angle between the bottom wall (2-1) of the material box (2) and the belt (3-1) is 90°.

8. The feeding device for packaging quasi-conical products according to claim 7, characterized in that: The maximum spacing of the transverse grooves (3-3) is greater than 1.5 times the maximum diameter of the large end of the quasi-conical product, and less than 2 times the maximum diameter of the large end of the quasi-conical product.

9. The feeding device for packaging quasi-conical products according to claim 7, characterized in that: The cross section of the horizontal grid (3-2) is trapezoidal, and the side away from the belt (3-1) is smaller.

10. A feeding method for packaging quasi-conical products, characterized in that: Using the feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 9 comprises the following steps: (1) placing the cone-shaped product into a material box (2); (2) Driven by the belt (3-1), the horizontal grid (3-2) continuously brings the conical products in the material box (2) into the horizontal groove (3-3) and continues to lift them upward; (3) When lifted to the top, the quasi-conical products in the horizontal grid (3-2) roll down from the horizontal grid (3-2) onto the rolling plate (4-1) of the guide mechanism (4); (4) The quasi-conical product rolls down along the rolling plate (4-1) under the action of its own gravity. During the rolling process, the quasi-conical product continuously adjusts its posture with the large end facing downward; (5) When the quasi-conical product leaves the rolling plate (4-1), the thick end of the quasi-conical product enters the guide groove (4-3) forward and the guide groove (4-3) further adjusts the posture of the quasi-conical product. Then, the quasi-conical product continues to slide along the guide groove (4-3) and finally enters the production line.

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