Feeding equipment and feeding method

Abstract

The invention provides feeding equipment and a feeding method.The feeding equipment comprises at least one stock bin, the stock bin comprises a jacking mechanism, the jacking mechanism comprises a jacking driving part and a jacking support connected with the jacking driving part, and the jacking support is used for bearing a plurality of stacked materials; the jacking driving piece is used for driving the jacking support to jack the materials in the jacking direction, and the jacking direction is consistent with the stacking direction of the multiple materials; the turnover mechanism is used for picking up and turning over the nth layer of materials in the multiple materials; the material taking mechanism is used for picking up and transferring the mth layer of materials in the multiple materials and the nth layer of materials overturned by the overturning mechanism, m is not equal to n, and m and n are positive integers; and the material placing table is used for receiving the mth layer of materials and the nth layer of materials transferred by the material taking mechanism. The production efficiency can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of battery technology, and in particular to a feeding device and a feeding method. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of new energy technologies, the demand for new energy products such as battery devices and energy storage devices continues to increase, which puts higher requirements on the production efficiency of these new energy products. Summary of the invention

[0003] The embodiments of the present application provide a feeding device and a feeding method with high production efficiency.

[0004] In the first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a feeding device, comprising: at least one silo, the silo comprising a lifting mechanism, the lifting mechanism comprising a lifting drive and a lifting support connected to the lifting drive, the lifting support being used to carry a plurality of stacked materials, the lifting drive being used to drive the lifting support to lift the materials along a lifting direction, and the lifting direction is consistent with the stacking direction of the plurality of materials; a flipping mechanism, used to pick up and flip the nth layer of materials among the plurality of materials; a material picking mechanism, used to respectively pick up and transfer the mth layer of materials among the plurality of materials and the nth layer of materials flipped by the flipping mechanism, m≠n and m and n are positive integers; a material unloading table, used to receive the mth layer of materials and the nth layer of materials transferred by the material picking mechanism.

[0005] The silo can accommodate multiple stacked materials. Among the multiple stacked materials, the mth layer of materials that do not need to be turned over can be directly picked up by the material picking mechanism and transferred to the discharge table. The nth layer of materials that need to be turned over can be turned over by the turning mechanism and then picked up by the material picking mechanism and transferred to the discharge table. This can not only speed up the loading speed, meet the production rhythm, and improve production efficiency, but also eliminate the need to design additional fixtures in the silo and can be compatible with materials of different sizes. In addition, the stacked materials can also reduce the space occupied by the site.

[0006] In some embodiments, one of m and n is an odd number and the other is an even number.

[0007] By using the flipping mechanism and the material taking mechanism to pick up materials in the silo alternately according to odd and even numbers, the production rhythm and process requirements can be met and the loading efficiency can be improved. At the same time, for materials such as side panels with flanges, the space occupied by the site can be greatly reduced, which helps the silo to accommodate more materials.

[0008] In some embodiments, the silo includes: a material storage rack having a storage space for accommodating the material; and the lifting support is disposed in the storage space.

[0009] The lifting mechanism drives multiple stacked materials to the top picking position one by one, which can realize automatic feeding and improve production efficiency; the storage rack forms a storage space for accommodating materials, reducing the risk of scattering of multiple stacked materials.

[0010] In some embodiments, the silo further includes: a first slide rail extending along the lifting direction, and the lifting bracket is slidably connected to the first slide rail.

[0011] The jacking bracket is slidably connected to the first slide rail extending along the jacking direction, which can improve the stability of the jacking bracket during the process of jacking materials and reduce the risk of materials shaking and sliding.

[0012] In some embodiments, the material storage rack can switch between a preparation position and a lifting position. When the material storage rack is switched to the preparation position, it is used to receive the material. When the material storage rack is switched to the lifting position, it is used to provide the material to the flipping mechanism and the material taking mechanism.

[0013] Thus, while one of the multiple silos is supplying materials, the remaining silos with insufficient or exhausted materials can receive incoming materials at the preparation position, so that the multiple silos can realize continuous material supply without stopping, thereby improving production efficiency.

[0014] In some embodiments, the silo also includes: a fixed plate, the fixed plate is provided with a second slide rail extending along a first direction, the storage rack is slidably connected to the second slide rail, the storage rack can switch between the preparation position and the lifting position along the second slide rail, and the first direction is perpendicular to the lifting direction.

[0015] The material storage rack is slidably connected to the second slide rail through a second slide rail extending along the first direction, and the material storage rack can switch between the material preparation position and the lifting position more smoothly, reducing the risk of material shaking. At the same time, the material storage rack slides along the first direction perpendicular to the lifting direction to switch to the material preparation position, avoiding the flipping mechanism and the material picking mechanism that pick up the material on the top of the material storage rack, reducing the risk of mutual interference.

[0016] In some embodiments, the storage rack is provided with a handle.

[0017] By arranging a handle on the material storage rack, the material storage rack can be switched manually between the material preparation position and the lifting material position, which is convenient for operation, reduces the layout of the drive structure, and thus reduces the space occupied by the site.

[0018] In some embodiments, a loading port is disposed on the top of the material storage rack, and a first material detection device is disposed on the material storage rack at the position of the loading port, and the first material detection device is used to detect the position of the material in the material storage rack.

[0019] By detecting the position of the material in the material storage rack through the first material detection device, abnormal conditions of the material in the silo can be discovered in time, thereby improving the reliability of material feeding.

[0020] In some embodiments, the flipping mechanism includes at least one flipping assembly, and the flipping assembly includes a flipping driving member and a connecting rod connected to the flipping driving member, and the connecting rod is provided with a flipping suction cup.

[0021] The flipping mechanism can automatically realize the picking and flipping operations of materials, thereby improving production efficiency.

[0022] In some embodiments, a plurality of the material bins are provided, and the plurality of the material bins are arranged in parallel; the flipping mechanism further includes a moving assembly, the moving assembly includes a moving drive member and a third slide rail extending along the arrangement direction of the plurality of the material bins, the flipping drive member is connected to the third slide rail via a slider, and the moving drive member is connected to the slider.

[0023] By providing multiple silos, the multiple silos are arranged in parallel, and the flip assembly can move along the arrangement direction of the multiple silos, so that materials in the silos can be picked up uninterruptedly, thereby improving production efficiency.

[0024] In some embodiments, a plurality of the flipping assemblies are provided, and the plurality of the flipping assemblies are arranged in parallel along the arrangement direction.

[0025] Multiple turning components can pick up multiple materials to be turned at one time, thereby further improving production efficiency.

[0026] In some embodiments, the material picking mechanism includes a multi-axis robotic arm and a material picking suction cup arranged at the end of the multi-axis robotic arm, and the air circuit interface of the material picking suction cup is connected to the negative pressure device through a dual air circuit solenoid valve.

[0027] Since the material picking suction cup is connected to the negative pressure device through a dual-air circuit solenoid valve, the dual-air circuit solenoid valve has a power-off and air-off holding function. Even if there is a sudden power-off and air-off phenomenon, the material picking suction cup can keep sucking the material, thereby reducing the risk of the side panel falling.

[0028] In some embodiments, the material picking suction cup includes a mounting frame and a plurality of suction nozzles disposed on the mounting frame, and an elastic member is disposed between each of the suction nozzles and the mounting frame.

[0029] When the suction nozzle sucks materials, the elastic part plays a certain buffering role to reduce the damage degree of the side plate.

[0030] In some embodiments, the mounting frame is provided with a second material detection device, and the second material detection device is used to detect the material sucked by the suction nozzle.

[0031] The mounting frame is provided with a second material detection device, which can detect whether the suction nozzle has sucked the material into place, thereby improving the reliability of material transfer.

[0032] In some embodiments, the unloading table includes a first unloading table, a second unloading table and a switching mechanism, wherein the switching mechanism is connected to the first unloading table and the second unloading table, and is used to drive the first unloading table and the second unloading table to alternately reach a receiving position for receiving the material.

[0033] By driving the first unloading platform and the second unloading platform to alternately reach the receiving position for receiving the material through the switching mechanism, uninterrupted material receiving can be achieved, thereby improving production efficiency.

[0034] In some embodiments, the unloading table also includes a fourth slide rail and a fifth slide rail parallel to each other, the first unloading table is slidably connected to the fourth slide rail, the second unloading table is slidably connected to the fifth slide rail, and the second unloading table is located below the first unloading table; the switching mechanism includes a servo motor, a driving wheel, a driven wheel and a transmission belt, the driving wheel is connected to the servo motor, the transmission belt is wound around the driving wheel and the driven wheel, and the first unloading table and the second unloading table are respectively connected to the upper and lower sections of the transmission belt.

[0035] Therefore, through the cooperation of the servo motor and the transmission belt, the first unloading table and the second unloading table can be moved back and forth synchronously, so as to reach the material receiving position alternately, which can realize uninterrupted material receiving, speed up the production rhythm and improve production efficiency.

[0036] In some embodiments, at least one material fixture and a material positioning component are disposed on the first unloading table and the second unloading table, and the material positioning component is used to push the material on the material fixture to move to a specified position along different directions.

[0037] The material positioning component is used to push the material on the material fixture to move to the specified position in different directions, so that the position of each material on the material fixture is consistent, which facilitates subsequent processing and helps to improve processing accuracy.

[0038] In some embodiments, the positioning assembly includes a first positioning assembly and a second positioning assembly, the first positioning assembly includes a first positioning drive and a first push rod, the first positioning drive is used to drive the first push rod to move along a first direction and push the material on the material clamp, the second positioning assembly includes a second positioning drive and a second push rod, the second positioning drive is used to drive the second push rod to move along a second direction and push the material on the material clamp, the first direction, the second direction and the stacking direction of the multiple materials are perpendicular to each other.

[0039] The material on the material fixture is positioned in the first direction and the second direction by the first positioning component and the second positioning component, so that each material placed on the material fixture can accurately reach the specified position, thereby improving the positioning accuracy of the material.

[0040] In some embodiments, the loading equipment also includes: a material unloading conveying mechanism and a visual inspection mechanism, the visual inspection mechanism is used to detect the material picked up by the material picking mechanism, and the material unloading conveying mechanism is used to receive unqualified materials picked up by the material picking mechanism based on the detection of the visual inspection mechanism.

[0041] By using the visual inspection mechanism to inspect the materials placed before the unloading table, unqualified materials can be discovered in time, thus improving the reliability of feeding.

[0042] In some embodiments, along the first direction, the flipping mechanism is located between the material bin and the material picking mechanism; along the second direction, the visual inspection mechanism and the material picking mechanism are both located between the unloading platform and the unloading conveying mechanism, and the first direction, the second direction and the stacking direction of the multiple materials are perpendicular to each other.

[0043] The reasonable layout of various mechanisms in the feeding equipment can not only reduce the space occupied by the site, but also shorten the operation time, speed up the production rhythm, and thus improve production efficiency.

[0044] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a feeding method, which is applied to a feeding device, wherein the feeding device includes a silo, a turning mechanism, a material picking mechanism and a material placing table, wherein the silo includes a lifting mechanism, wherein the lifting mechanism includes a lifting drive and a lifting bracket connected to the lifting drive, wherein the lifting bracket carries a plurality of stacked materials, and the feeding method includes: the lifting drive drives the lifting bracket to lift the plurality of materials along a lifting direction so that a target material among the plurality of materials reaches a picking position, and the lifting direction is consistent with a stacking direction of the plurality of materials; in response to the silo The target material is in place instruction in the material handling device, and the odd or even number of the target material in the total number of materials stacked in multiple layers is judged; based on the judgment result, the turning mechanism and the material picking mechanism corresponding to the odd or even number are respectively controlled to pick up the target material; if the material picking mechanism picks up the target material, the material picking mechanism is controlled to place the target material on the material placing table; if the turning mechanism picks up the target material, the turning mechanism is controlled to turn over the target material, and the material picking mechanism is controlled to pick up the target material after being turned over by the turning mechanism and place the target material on the material placing table.

[0045] Based on the materials in the odd-numbered layers and the even-numbered layers, the flipping mechanisms and the material-grabbing mechanisms corresponding to the odd-numbered layers and the even-numbered layers are controlled to pick up the materials alternately, so that each material can be placed on the unloading table in a posture that meets the requirements (for example, the same posture), which is convenient for subsequent processing, meets the beat requirements, and improves production efficiency.

[0046] In some embodiments, the loading equipment also includes a unloading conveying mechanism and a visual inspection mechanism, and the loading method also includes: detecting the target material picked up by the picking mechanism through the visual inspection mechanism, and judging whether the target material is qualified based on the inspection result; if it is judged to be qualified, the picking mechanism is controlled to place the qualified target material on the discharge table; if it is judged to be unqualified, the picking mechanism is controlled to place the unqualified target material on the unloading conveying mechanism.

[0047] By inspecting the target materials picked up by the picking mechanism through the visual inspection mechanism, unqualified materials can be discovered in time, thus improving the reliability of feeding.

[0048] In some embodiments, the unloading table includes a first positioning component and a second positioning component, the first positioning component includes a first positioning drive and a first push rod connected to the first positioning drive, the second positioning component includes a second positioning drive and a second push rod connected to the second positioning drive, after the material picking mechanism places the target material on the unloading table, the loading method also includes: controlling the first positioning drive to drive the first push rod to push the target material along the first direction, and controlling the second positioning drive to drive the second push rod to push the target material along the second direction, thereby positioning the target material to a specified position, and the first direction, the second direction, and the stacking directions of the multiple materials are perpendicular to each other.

[0049] The material on the material fixture is positioned in the first direction and the second direction by the first positioning component and the second positioning component, so that each material placed on the material fixture can accurately reach the specified position, thereby facilitating subsequent processing and helping to improve the subsequent processing accuracy of the material. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0050] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show certain embodiments of the present application and therefore should not be regarded as limiting the scope.

[0051] Figure 1 A top view of the overall structure of a feeding device provided in some embodiments of the present application; Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a silo provided in some embodiments of the present application; Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a flipping mechanism provided in some embodiments of the present application; Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of a material taking mechanism provided in some embodiments of the present application; Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a partial structure of a material unloading platform provided in some embodiments of the present application; Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of a material unloading and conveying mechanism provided in some embodiments of the present application; Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of a visual inspection mechanism provided in some embodiments of the present application; Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a structure in which multiple materials are stacked together in some embodiments of the present application; Fig. 9 The process of the feeding method provided in some embodiments of the present application Figure 1 ; Fig.10 The process of the feeding method provided in some embodiments of the present application Figure 2 ; Fig.11 The process of the feeding method provided in some embodiments of the present application Figure 3 .

[0052] icon: 100-feeding equipment; 200-material; 201-first side; 202-second side; 203-flange; 10-bin; 11-storage rack; 11A-accommodation space; 11B-feeding port; 12-lifting mechanism; 13-first slide rail; 14-fixed plate; 15-handle; 16-first material detection device; 121-lifting drive; 122-lifting bracket; 20-turning mechanism; 21-turning assembly; 22-moving assembly; 211-turning drive; 212-connecting rod; 213-turning suction cup; 221-moving drive; 222-third slide rail; 223-sliding block; 30-feeding mechanism; 31-feeding suction cup; 32-dual air circuit solenoid valve; 33-second material detection device ;34-flange;311-mounting frame;312-suction nozzle;313-elastic member;40-discharging table;40A-material receiving position;41-first discharging table;42-second discharging table;43-switching mechanism;44-fourth slide rail;45-fifth slide rail;46-material clamp;47-positioning assembly;431-servo motor;432-driving wheel;433-transmission belt;471-first positioning assembly;472-second positioning assembly;4711-first positioning drive member;4712-first push rod;4721-second positioning drive member;4722-second push rod;50-unloading conveying mechanism;51-conveying motor;52-conveying belt;60-visual detection mechanism;61-camera;62-light source. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the present application described and shown in the drawings here can be arranged and designed in various different configurations.

[0054] It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present application may be combined with each other.

[0055] It should be noted that similar reference numerals and letters denote similar items in the following drawings, and therefore, once an item is defined in one drawing, further definition and explanation thereof is not required in subsequent drawings.

[0056] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, it should be noted that the indicated orientation or positional relationship is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, or the orientation or positional relationship in which the product of the application is usually placed when in use, or the orientation or positional relationship commonly understood by those skilled in the art, which is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application. In addition, the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. are only used to distinguish the description and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0057] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, it is also necessary to explain that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "set" and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0058] At present, from the perspective of market development, the application of new energy technologies is becoming more and more extensive. Taking battery devices as an example, battery devices are widely used in electric vehicles such as electric bicycles, electric motorcycles, electric vehicles, as well as electric tools, drones, energy storage equipment and other fields. With the continuous expansion of the application field of battery devices, the market demand is also constantly expanding, so higher requirements are put forward for the production efficiency of battery devices.

[0059] In the manufacturing process of battery devices, loading equipment is required in many links. Based on the requirements of the manufacturing process, it is sometimes necessary to adjust the posture of the incoming materials to adapt to the subsequent processing technology. Taking the side panels in the battery device as an example, usually, the structures of the two opposite sides of the side panels along the thickness direction are different, one side is basically flat, and the other side has a flange. When loading the side panels, there may be certain requirements for the placement posture of the side panels, such as requiring the side of the side panel with the flange to always face up to facilitate subsequent processing.

[0060] At present, the method of manually loading the side panels one by one cannot meet the production cycle, resulting in low production efficiency; and the manual loading increases the probability of errors in the placement of the side panels, which cannot meet the requirements of subsequent processing. In addition, with the continuous increase in the types of battery devices, the sizes of side panels required in different types of battery devices may be different. For example, for larger side panels with a length of more than 800mm, a larger clamp is required to fix the side panels, but it is not compatible due to the limited site area.

[0061] Multiple side panels can be stacked without the need to design a separate fixture. The side panels that meet the posture requirements among the multiple stacked side panels can be directly picked up and transferred, and the side panels that do not meet the posture requirements among the multiple stacked side panels can be flipped to meet the posture requirements and then transferred. This not only makes it compatible with side panels of different sizes, but also meets the requirements of the manufacturing process and improves production efficiency.

[0062] Based on the above design concept, an embodiment of the present application provides a feeding device, including: at least one silo, the silo includes a jacking mechanism, the jacking mechanism includes a jacking drive and a jacking bracket connected to the jacking drive, the jacking bracket is used to carry multiple stacked materials, the jacking drive is used to drive the jacking bracket to jack the materials along a jacking direction, and the jacking direction is consistent with the stacking direction of the multiple materials; a turning mechanism, used to pick up and turn over the nth layer of materials among the multiple materials; a material picking mechanism, used to pick up and transfer the mth layer of materials among the multiple materials and the nth layer of materials turned over by the turning mechanism, m≠n and m and n are positive integers; a material unloading table, used to receive the mth layer of materials and the nth layer of materials transferred by the material picking mechanism.

[0063] The silo can accommodate multiple stacked materials. Among the multiple stacked materials, the mth layer of materials that do not need to be turned over can be directly picked up by the material picking mechanism and transferred to the discharge table. The nth layer of materials that need to be turned over can be turned over by the turning mechanism and then picked up by the material picking mechanism and transferred to the discharge table. This can not only speed up the loading speed, meet the production rhythm, and improve production efficiency, but also eliminate the need to design additional fixtures in the silo and can be compatible with materials of different sizes. In addition, the stacked materials can also reduce the space occupied by the site.

[0064] The loading equipment in the embodiment of the present application is not limited to loading the side panels of the battery device, but can also be used to achieve efficient loading of the end panels, upper covers, bottom guard plates, and other stackable products of the battery device, and products that have and do not have flipping requirements alternating among the stacked products.

[0065] In the following description, the material is described by taking the side plate of a battery device as an example.

[0066] Below, refer to Figures 1 to 11 The loading device 100 of the embodiment of the present application is described in detail.

[0067] The embodiment of the present application provides a loading device 100, including: at least one silo 10, the silo 10 is used to accommodate a plurality of stacked materials 200; a turning mechanism 20, used to pick up and turn over the nth layer of materials among the plurality of materials 200; a material picking mechanism 30, used to pick up and transfer the mth layer of materials among the plurality of materials and the nth layer of materials turned over by the turning mechanism 20, respectively, m≠n and m and n are positive integers; a material placement table 40, used to receive the mth layer of materials and the nth layer of materials transferred by the material picking mechanism 30.

[0068] The silo 10 has a storage space for storing a plurality of stacked materials 200. The plurality of stacked materials 200 means that the plurality of materials 200 can be stacked together along a stacking direction in the storage space of the silo 10. The stacking direction can be, for example, Figure 2 The up and down direction shown in is the direction of arrow Z.

[0069] The material 200 may be various components in the process of manufacturing a battery device. Specifically, the battery device may include a housing and a plurality of arranged battery cells disposed in the housing, and the plurality of arranged battery cells are fixed in the housing by side plates and end plates. The battery device may also include a top plate disposed on the top of the battery cell and a bottom plate disposed on the bottom of the battery cell. The material 200 may be a side plate, an end plate, a top plate or a bottom plate, etc. The embodiment of the present application has no particular limitation on the type of the material 200, and any component that can be stacked in the silo 10 and has a flipping requirement may be used.

[0070] Reference Figure 8, taking the material 200 as a side panel as an example, the side panel includes a first surface 201 and a second surface 202 opposite to each other in the thickness direction, and both ends of the side panel along the length direction protrude from the first surface 201 to form a flange 203. In the battery device, the flange 203 can be used to connect with the end plate to better fix the battery cell. Usually, the first surface 201 with the flange 203 is the side facing the battery cell, which is the inner side, the so-called "back side", and the second surface 202 is the side facing away from the battery cell, which is the outer side, the so-called "front side". Based on the requirements of the manufacturing process, it is sometimes necessary to load the side panel in a fixed posture, for example, the first surface 201 of the side panel with the flange is always facing upward. Of course, depending on the different manufacturing processes, there may sometimes be a situation where the second surface 202 of the side panel is always facing upward.

[0071] One or more silos 10 may be provided. One silo 10 may be provided with one or more storage spaces. Among the silos 10, one may be a feeding silo for feeding materials to the turning mechanism 20 and the material taking mechanism 30, and the remaining silos 10 may be standby silos for waiting to feed materials to the turning mechanism 20 and the material taking mechanism 30. Figure 2 There are four silos 10, each of which includes two accommodating spaces for accommodating materials 200. When one of the silos 10 is supplying materials, the other silos 10 can be used for material preparation operations.

[0072] The turning mechanism 20 is used to pick up and turn over the nth layer of materials among the multiple materials 200. The nth layer of materials is the material that needs to be turned over among the stacked materials in the silo 10. The turning angle can be determined based on the process requirements.

[0073] The material taking mechanism 30 is used to pick up and transfer the m-th layer of materials and the n-th layer of materials turned over by the turning mechanism 20 among the multiple materials 200, respectively, where m≠n and m and n are positive integers. The m-th layer of materials is the material that does not need to be turned over by the turning mechanism 20 among the stacked materials in the silo 10, and the m-th layer of materials can be directly picked up by the material taking mechanism 30 and transferred to the material discharging platform 40. The material taking mechanism 30 is also used to pick up the n-th layer of materials turned over by the turning mechanism 20 and transfer the n-th layer of materials to the material discharging platform 40.

[0074] In some embodiments, the material picking mechanism 30 can directly pick up the nth layer of materials that are being turned over on the flipping mechanism 20. The flipping mechanism 20 does not need to transfer the nth layer of materials, and does not need to set up an additional station for placing the turned materials, thereby improving the feeding efficiency and reducing the space occupied. The flipping mechanism 20 can have the functions of picking up materials and turning materials, and the material picking mechanism 30 has not only the function of picking up materials but also the function of transferring materials.

[0075] For example, when the nth layer of materials arrives at the picking position, the turning mechanism 20 picks up the nth layer of materials and turns it 180°, and the picking mechanism 30 picks up the nth layer of materials after turning 180° and transfers it to the unloading platform 40. When the mth layer of materials arrives at the picking position, the picking mechanism 30 directly picks up the mth layer of materials and transfers the mth layer of materials to the unloading platform 40.

[0076] The above m≠n and m and n are positive integers. The values ​​of m and n are based on the total number of materials in the accommodating space of the silo 10 in the initial state. The total number of materials in the initial state is the total number of materials in the silo 10 before or about to start feeding. For example, the total number of materials in the initial state in the silo 10 is 20, which are recorded from top to bottom as the first layer of materials, the second layer of materials, the third layer of materials, the fourth layer of materials, the fifth layer of materials, and ... the 20th layer of materials. Of course, it can also be recorded from bottom to top, and the total number of materials in the initial state is not limited to 20, and can be more or less.

[0077] In addition, the turning mechanism 20 and the material taking mechanism 30 can alternately pick up the materials in the material taking bin 10 in sequence, or can alternately pick up the materials in the material bin 10 in a manner of one or more layers at intervals, and the number of layers at each interval can be the same or different. For example, the turning mechanism 20 picks up the materials in the first layer, the material taking mechanism 30 picks up the materials in the second layer, the turning mechanism 20 picks up the materials in the third layer, the material taking mechanism 30 picks up the materials in the fourth layer, and so on, and the materials in the material bin 10 are picked up alternately in sequence. For another example, the turning mechanism 20 picks up the materials in the first layer, the turning mechanism 20 picks up the materials in the second layer, the material taking mechanism 30 picks up the materials in the third layer, the material taking mechanism 30 picks up the materials in the fourth layer, and so on, and the materials in the material bin 10 are picked up alternately in a manner of two layers at intervals.

[0078] The above-mentioned turning mechanism 20 and the material taking mechanism 30 alternately picking up the materials in the bin 10 can be realized by a control device, and the control device can be a host computer or a controller integrated in the turning mechanism 20 and / or the material taking mechanism 30. The control device can control the turning mechanism 20 and the material taking mechanism 30 to alternately pick up the materials in the bin 10 based on a control program.

[0079] The unloading platform 40 is used to receive the m-th layer of materials and the n-th layer of materials transferred by the material taking mechanism 30. The unloading platform 40 receives the m-th layer of materials that meet the required posture directly picked up by the material taking mechanism 30 from the silo 10, and receives the n-th layer of materials picked up by the material taking mechanism 30 after being turned over by the turning mechanism 20. The postures of the n-th layer of materials and the m-th layer of materials on the unloading platform 40 can be the same. Of course, according to actual process requirements, the postures of the n-th layer of materials and the m-th layer of materials on the unloading platform 40 can also be different.

[0080] The silo 10 accommodates multiple stacked materials 200. Among the multiple stacked materials 200, the mth layer of materials that do not need to be turned over can be directly picked up by the material picking mechanism 30 and transferred to the material discharge table 40. The nth layer of materials that need to be turned over is turned over by the turning mechanism 20 and then picked up by the material picking mechanism 30 and transferred to the material discharge table 40. This can not only speed up the loading speed, meet the production rhythm, and improve production efficiency, but also eliminate the need to design additional fixtures in the silo and can be compatible with materials of different sizes. In addition, the stacked materials can also reduce the space occupied by the site.

[0081] In some embodiments, one of m and n is an odd number and the other is an even number.

[0082] In one example, n is an odd number, m is an even number, the turning mechanism 20 picks up and turns over the odd-numbered materials in the silo 10 , and the material taking mechanism 30 directly picks up and transfers the even-numbered materials in the silo 10 .

[0083] In another example, m is an odd number, n is an even number, the turning mechanism 20 picks up and turns over the even-numbered material in the silo 10 , and the material taking mechanism 30 directly picks up and transfers the odd-numbered material in the silo 10 .

[0084] Thus, the turning mechanism 20 and the material taking mechanism 30 pick up the materials in the silo 10 alternately in sequence according to the odd and even numbers.

[0085] Reference Figure 8 , taking m as an odd number and n as an even number as an example, the odd-numbered side panels are placed in the silo 10 with the first side 201 of the side panel with the flange facing upward, and the even-numbered side panels are placed in the silo 10 with the second side 202 of the side panel without the flange facing downward. Specifically, the plurality of side panels are stacked in the up-down direction, and from top to bottom are the first layer of side panels, the second layer of side panels, the third layer of side panels, the fourth layer of side panels ... the thirteenth layer of side panels, wherein the first layer of side panels with the flanged first side 201 faces upward, the second layer of side panels The first side 201 with flanges faces downward, the first side 201 with flanges of the third layer faces upward, the first side 201 with flanges of the fourth layer faces downward..., that is, the first side 201 with flanges of the side panels in the odd layers faces upward, and the first side 201 with flanges of the side panels in the even layers faces downward, so that the side panels of the odd layers and the side panels of the even layers are stacked together in an alternating front and back manner and nested with each other, thereby minimizing the space occupation, thereby helping the silo 10 to accommodate more materials. The picking mechanism 30 picks up the side panels of the odd layers and transfers them to the unloading platform 40, the flipping mechanism 20 picks up the side panels of the even layers and flips them 180°, and then the flipped side panels are picked up by the picking mechanism 30 and transferred to the unloading platform 40, so that the postures of the side panels of the odd layers and the side panels of the even layers being transferred to the unloading platform 40 are all with the first side 201 with flanges always facing upward.

[0086] Figure 8 The stacking method of multiple side panels is only exemplary. It can be understood that the number of side panels can be less or more than the number shown in the figure, and the arrangement method can also be various. For example, the odd-numbered side panels and the even-numbered side panels are not stacked in an alternating manner, such as alternating in front and back every certain number of layers.

[0087] The materials in the silo 10 are picked up alternately in sequence according to odd and even numbers by the flipping mechanism 20 and the picking mechanism 30 to meet the production rhythm and process requirements, thereby improving the loading efficiency. At the same time, for materials such as side panels with flanges, the site space occupied can be greatly reduced, which helps the silo 10 to accommodate more materials.

[0088] In some embodiments, the silo 10 includes: a storage rack 11, having a accommodating space 11A for accommodating material 200; a lifting mechanism 12, including a lifting drive 121 and a lifting bracket 122 connected to the lifting drive 121, the lifting bracket 122 is arranged in the accommodating space 11A, and is used to carry the material 200, the lifting drive 121 is used to drive the lifting bracket 122 to lift the material 200 along the lifting direction Z, and the lifting direction Z is consistent with the stacking direction of multiple materials 200.

[0089] The material storage rack 11 has a receiving space 11A for receiving the material 200 , and the material storage rack 11 may have one or more receiving spaces 11A. Figure 2 The embodiment shows a case where the storage rack 11 has two receiving spaces 11A in a silo 10. As an example, the storage rack 11 may be a frame structure, and the frame structure encloses the receiving space 11A with a certain height in the vertical direction so as to receive a plurality of stacked materials 200.

[0090] Driven by the lifting drive 121, the lifting bracket 122 lifts multiple stacked materials 200 along the lifting direction Z, so that the multiple stacked materials 200 reach the top picking position one by one. When the top layer of material 200 reaches the top picking position, the material picking mechanism 30 and the flipping mechanism 20 pick up the material 200.

[0091] The lifting drive component 121 can be a component such as a servo motor, a cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, etc. that can directly or indirectly drive the lifting bracket 122 to rise and fall.

[0092] The lifting mechanism 12 drives multiple stacked materials 200 to the top picking position one by one, thereby realizing automatic material feeding and improving production efficiency.

[0093] In some embodiments, the silo 10 further includes: a first slide rail 13 extending along the lifting direction Z, and the lifting bracket 122 is slidably connected to the first slide rail 13 .

[0094] The first slide rail 13 guides the lifting bracket 122. The lifting bracket 122 can be slidably connected to the first slide rail 13 through a slider.

[0095] The lifting bracket 122 is slidably connected to the first slide rail 13 through the first slide rail 13 extending along the lifting direction Z, which can improve the stability of the lifting bracket 122 in the process of lifting the material 200 and reduce the risk of shaking of the material 200.

[0096] In some embodiments, the material storage rack 11 can switch between the material preparation position and the lifting and loading position. When the material storage rack 11 is switched to the material preparation position, it is used to receive the material 200. When the material storage rack 11 is switched to the lifting and loading position, it is used to provide the material 200 to the turning mechanism 20 and the material taking mechanism 30.

[0097] When the material 200 in the storage rack 11 is exhausted or insufficient, it is switched to the preparation position to feed the material into the storage rack 11. When the feeding is completed, the storage rack 11 is switched to the lifting position so that the lifting mechanism 12 can lift the material 200, thereby providing the material 200 to the turning mechanism 20 and the material taking mechanism 30.

[0098] Thus, while one of the multiple silos 10 is supplying materials, the remaining silos 10 with insufficient materials can receive incoming materials at the preparation position, so that the multiple silos 10 can achieve continuous material supply and improve production efficiency.

[0099] In some embodiments, the silo 10 also includes: a fixed plate 14, the fixed plate 14 is provided with a second slide rail (not shown) extending along the first direction X, the storage rack 11 is slidably connected to the second slide rail, and the storage rack 11 can switch between the preparation position and the lifting position along the second slide rail, and the first direction X is perpendicular to the lifting direction Z.

[0100] The second slide rail guides the material storage rack 11 during the switching process between the material preparation position and the lifting material position. For example, the fixed plate 14 can be arranged at the bottom of the material storage rack 11, and the top of the material storage rack 11 is slidably connected by the second slide rail on the fixed plate 14.

[0101] Through the second slide rail extending along the first direction X, the material storage rack 11 is slidably connected to the second slide rail, and the material storage rack 11 can switch between the preparation position and the lifting position more smoothly, reducing the risk of material 200 shaking. At the same time, the material storage rack 11 slides along the first direction X perpendicular to the lifting direction Z to switch to the preparation position, avoiding the material turning mechanism 20 and the material picking mechanism 30 picking up the material on the top of the material storage rack 11, reducing the risk of mutual interference.

[0102] In some embodiments, the storage rack 11 is provided with a handle 15 .

[0103] The storage rack 11 can be manually slid along the second slide rail extending in the first direction X, so as to switch between the preparation position and the lifting position, that is, the switching operation of the storage rack 11 can be conveniently achieved by pulling the handle 15 along the first direction X, so that the storage rack 11 is designed to be similar to a drawer-type structure. Of course, the storage rack 11 can also be automatically switched between the preparation position and the lifting position by a driving device, which can be, for example, a motor, a cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, etc.

[0104] The material storage rack 11 is provided with a handle 15, and the material storage rack 11 can be switched between the material preparation position and the material lifting position manually, which is convenient for operation, reduces the arrangement of the driving structure, and makes the entire silo 10 more concise.

[0105] In some embodiments, a loading port 11B is disposed on the top of the storage rack 11 , and a first material detection device 16 is disposed at the loading port 11B of the storage rack 11 . The first material detection device 16 is used to detect the position of the material 200 in the storage rack 11 .

[0106] The first material detection device 16 can detect whether the topmost material 200 among the multiple stacked materials 200 is in place, and if so, the turning mechanism 20 and the material taking mechanism 30 pick up the material 200. The first material detection device 16 can be, for example, a laser sensor.

[0107] The first material detection device 16 can also detect whether the topmost material 200 among the multiple stacked materials 200 is tilted, and if so, a warning is issued. The first material detection device 16 can be, for example, a diagonal sensor.

[0108] As an example, see Figure 2 The first material detection device 16 can be fixed at the loading port 11B by a support rod.

[0109] By detecting the position of the material 200 in the material storage rack 11 through the first material detection device 16, abnormal conditions can be discovered in time, thereby improving the reliability of material feeding.

[0110] In some embodiments, the flip mechanism 20 includes at least one flip assembly 21 , and the flip assembly 21 includes a flip driving member 211 and a connecting rod 212 connected to the flip driving member 211 , and the connecting rod 212 is provided with a flip suction cup 213 .

[0111] The flip suction cup 213 is used to pick up the material 200. The flip driving member 211 drives the connecting rod 212 to rotate, thereby driving the flip suction cup 213 to flip the picked up material 200. The flip angle is determined based on the manufacturing process requirements. Figure 3 When the side panel is flipped, the flip suction cup 213 picks up the second surface 202 ( Figure 8 As shown, the connecting rod 212 is driven to rotate by the flip driving member 211, thereby driving the flip suction cup 213 to flip the picked-up side panel 180°, so that the side panel has a flange 203 ( Figure 8 The first side 201 (shown) Figure 8 The flip driving member 211 may be a servo motor, a cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, etc.

[0112] The turning mechanism 20 can automatically realize the picking and turning operations of the material 200, thereby improving the production efficiency.

[0113] In some embodiments, a plurality of silos 10 are provided, and the plurality of silos 10 are arranged in parallel; the flipping mechanism 20 further includes a moving assembly 22, the moving assembly 22 includes a moving drive member 221 and a third slide rail 222 extending along the arrangement direction of the plurality of silos 10, the flipping drive member 211 is connected to the third slide rail 222 via a slider 223, and the moving drive member 221 is connected to the slider 223.

[0114] At least one of the multiple silos 10 can provide materials 200 for the flip mechanism 20, and the remaining silos 10 can contain materials 200 for standby use. For example, when the materials 200 in one silo 10 are used up, the mobile driving member 221 drives the slider 223 to extend along the third slide rail 222 of the arrangement direction of the multiple silos 10 to drive the flip assembly 21 to the next silo 10 waiting for standby use, so as to pick up the materials in the other silo 10, thereby realizing uninterrupted material loading.

[0115] By providing a plurality of silos 10 , the plurality of silos 10 are arranged in parallel, and the turnover assembly 21 can move along the arrangement direction of the plurality of silos 10 , so that uninterrupted material loading can be achieved and production efficiency can be improved.

[0116] In some embodiments, a plurality of flipping assemblies 21 are provided, and the plurality of flipping assemblies 21 are arranged in parallel along the arrangement direction.

[0117] The number of the turning components 21 can be two, three, four or more.

[0118] The plurality of turning assemblies 21 can pick up a plurality of materials 200 to be turned at one time, thereby further improving production efficiency.

[0119] As an example, see Figure 2 and Figure 3 There are four silos 10 arranged along the second direction Y, each silo 10 has two containing spaces 11A, and two flipping assemblies 21 are provided. The two flipping assemblies 21 are used to pick up the materials to be flipped in the two containing spaces 11A in each silo 10 at a time.

[0120] In some embodiments, the material picking mechanism 30 includes a multi-axis robotic arm and a material picking suction cup 31 disposed at the end of the multi-axis robotic arm, and the air circuit interface of the material picking suction cup 31 is connected to the negative pressure device through a dual air circuit solenoid valve 32.

[0121] The multi-axis robot can move in different directions. In some embodiments, the multi-axis robot can also rotate around one or more axes. As an example, the multi-axis robot can move along the first direction X, the second direction Y and the lifting direction Z, and can also rotate around the rotation axis of the lifting direction Z. As an example, refer to Figure 4 The material taking suction cup 31 is connected to the end of the multi-axis robot arm through a flange 34.

[0122] The material taking suction cup 31 can suck and release the material 200. Since the material taking suction cup 31 is connected to the negative pressure device through the dual-circuit electromagnetic valve 32, the dual-circuit electromagnetic valve has a power-off and air-off holding function, reducing the risk of the side panel falling.

[0123] In some embodiments, the material picking suction cup 31 includes a mounting frame 311 and a plurality of suction nozzles 312 disposed on the mounting frame 311 , and an elastic member 313 is disposed between each suction nozzle 312 and the mounting frame 311 .

[0124] The elastic member can be a spring, an elastic rubber member, etc.

[0125] When the suction nozzle 312 sucks the material 200 , the elastic member 313 plays a certain buffering role to reduce the damage to the side plate.

[0126] In some embodiments, the mounting frame 311 is provided with a second material detection device 33 , and the second material detection device is used to detect the material 200 sucked by the suction nozzle 312 .

[0127] When the second material detection device 33 detects that the suction nozzle 312 sucks the material 200, the next operation is performed. The second material detection device 33 can be a device such as a laser sensor, a visual camera, etc. that can detect the presence or absence of the material 200.

[0128] The second material detection device 33 is provided on the mounting frame 311, which can detect whether the suction nozzle 312 sucks the material 200 into place, thereby improving the reliability of material transfer.

[0129] In some embodiments, the unloading table 40 includes a first unloading table 41, a second unloading table 42 and a switching mechanism 43. The switching mechanism 43 is connected to the first unloading table 41 and the second unloading table 42, and is used to drive the first unloading table 41 and the second unloading table 42 to alternately reach the receiving position 40A for receiving the material 200.

[0130] When the first unloading platform 41 or the second unloading platform 42 reaches the material receiving position 40A, it receives the material 200 transferred by the material taking mechanism 30. When the first unloading platform 41 is full of material 200, the switching mechanism 43 drives the first unloading platform 41 to leave the material receiving position 40A, and drives the unloaded second unloading platform 42 to reach the material receiving position 40A, thereby receiving the material 200 transferred by the material taking mechanism 30, and this reciprocating process is repeated to achieve uninterrupted material receiving. The first unloading platform 41 and the second unloading platform 42 can leave and arrive at the material receiving position 40A synchronously or asynchronously. Synchronous operation can speed up the cycle and improve production efficiency.

[0131] The switching mechanism 43 drives the first unloading platform 41 and the second unloading platform 42 to alternately reach the receiving position 40A for receiving the material 200, so that uninterrupted material receiving can be achieved and production efficiency can be improved.

[0132] In some embodiments, reference Figure 5 The unloading platform 40 also includes a fourth slide rail 44 and a fifth slide rail 45 which are parallel to each other. The first unloading platform 41 is slidably connected to the fourth slide rail 44, and the second unloading platform 42 is slidably connected to the fifth slide rail 45. The second unloading platform 42 is located below the first unloading platform 41; the switching mechanism 43 includes a servo motor 431, a driving wheel 432, a driven wheel (not shown) and a transmission belt 433. The driving wheel 432 is connected to the servo motor 431, and the transmission belt 433 is wound around the driving wheel 432 and the driven wheel. The first unloading platform 41 and the second unloading platform 42 are respectively connected to the upper and lower sections of the transmission belt 433.

[0133] The first unloading platform 41 and the second unloading platform 42 are alternately brought to the receiving position 40A by changing the rotation direction of the servo motor 431. As an example, two fourth slide rails 44 may be provided, the two fourth slide rails 44 are parallel to each other and extend along the second direction Y, and two fifth slide rails 45 may also be provided, the two fifth slide rails 45 are parallel to each other and extend along the second direction Y, wherein along the first direction X, the two fifth slide rails 45 are located between the two fourth slide rails 44. As an example, since the first unloading table 41 and the second unloading table 42 are respectively connected to the upper and lower sections of the transmission belt 433, the servo motor 431 rotates clockwise, and the first unloading table 41 approaches and reaches the material receiving position 40A along the fourth slide rail 44, and at the same time, the second unloading table 42 moves away from the material receiving position 40A along the fifth slide rail 45; the servo motor 431 rotates counterclockwise, and the first unloading table 41 moves away from the material receiving position 40A along the fourth slide rail 44, and at the same time, the second unloading table 42 approaches and reaches the material receiving position 40A along the fifth slide rail 45, so that the first unloading table 41 and the second unloading table 42 move synchronously and alternately reach the material receiving position 40A.

[0134] Therefore, by cooperating with the servo motor 431 and the transmission belt 433, the first unloading table 41 and the second unloading table 42 can move synchronously and alternately reach the material receiving position 40A, so as to realize uninterrupted material receiving, speed up the production rhythm and improve the production efficiency.

[0135] In some embodiments, at least one material fixture 46 and a material positioning component 47 are disposed on the first unloading table 41 and the second unloading table 42. The material positioning component 47 is used to push the material 200 on the material fixture 46 to move to a specified position along different directions.

[0136] Since the position of the material 200 placed on the material fixture 46 may not be accurate and does not reach the specified position of the material fixture 46, it will cause inconvenience to subsequent processing and may affect the subsequent processing accuracy. Therefore, it is necessary to perform secondary positioning on the material 200 placed on the material fixture 46.

[0137] The material positioning component 47 is used to push the material 200 on the material fixture 46 to move to the specified position in different directions, so that the position of each material 200 on the material fixture 46 is consistent, which is convenient for subsequent processing and helps to improve the subsequent processing accuracy of the material.

[0138] In some embodiments, reference Figure 5 The positioning assembly 47 includes a first positioning assembly 471 and a second positioning assembly 472. The first positioning assembly 471 includes a first positioning driving member 4711 and a first push rod 4712. The first positioning driving member 4711 is used to drive the first push rod 4712 to move along a first direction X and push the material 200 on the material clamp 46. The second positioning assembly 472 includes a second positioning driving member 4721 and a second push rod 4722. The second positioning driving member 4721 is used to drive the second push rod 4722 to move along a second direction Y and push the material 200 on the material clamp 46. The first direction X, the second direction Y and the stacking direction (lifting direction Z) of multiple materials are perpendicular to each other.

[0139] The first positioning driving member 4711 drives the first push rod 4712 to move the material 200 on the material clamp 46 along the first direction X until the material 200 abuts against the X-direction limiting structure of the material clamp 46 along the first direction X, and the second positioning driving member 4721 drives the second push rod 4722 to move the material 200 on the material clamp 46 along the second direction Y until the material 200 abuts against the Y-direction limiting structure of the material clamp 46 along the second direction Y, thereby pushing the material 200 to a specified position. The first positioning driving member 4711 and the second positioning driving member 4721 can be a linear motor, a cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, etc.

[0140] The material 200 on the material fixture 46 is positioned in the first direction X and the second direction Y by the first positioning component 471 and the second positioning component 472 , so that each material 200 placed on the material fixture 46 can accurately reach the specified position, thereby improving the positioning accuracy of the material 200 .

[0141] In some embodiments, the loading equipment 100 also includes: a material unloading conveying mechanism 50 and a visual inspection mechanism 60, the visual inspection mechanism 60 is used to detect the material 200 picked up by the material picking mechanism 30, and the material unloading conveying mechanism 50 is used to receive the unqualified material 200 picked up by the material picking mechanism 30 based on the detection of the visual inspection mechanism 60.

[0142] The material 200 picked up by the material picking mechanism 30 may first be inspected by the visual inspection mechanism 60 . If the inspection is qualified, the qualified material 200 is transferred to the material discharge platform 40 . If the inspection is unqualified, the unqualified material 200 is transferred to the material discharge conveying mechanism 50 .

[0143] The visual inspection mechanism 60 can detect the posture and / or defects of the material, and the posture of the material can include whether the front and back sides are facing correctly, for example, whether the side with the flange of the side panel is facing upward, etc. The defects of the material can include surface scratches, dents, cracks, etc.

[0144] As an example, see Figure 7 The visual detection mechanism 60 includes a camera 61 and light sources 62 respectively arranged on both sides of the camera 61. The lens of the camera 61 can be facing upward, and the light sources 62 on both sides can be bar light sources.

[0145] The unloading conveying mechanism 50 is used to receive the unqualified material 200 and convey the unqualified material 200 to the unloading position. Figure 6 The unloading conveying mechanism 50 may include a conveying motor 51 and a conveying belt 52, and the conveying belt 52 is connected to the conveying motor 51 through a pulley.

[0146] By inspecting the material 200 placed before the material placement platform 40 through the visual inspection mechanism 60, unqualified materials can be discovered in time, thereby improving the reliability of material loading.

[0147] In some embodiments, reference Figure 1 Along the first direction X, the flipping mechanism 20 is located between the silo 10 and the material picking mechanism 30; along the second direction Y, the visual inspection mechanism 60 and the material picking mechanism 30 are both located between the unloading platform 40 and the unloading conveying mechanism 50, and the first direction X, the second direction Y and the stacking direction (lifting direction Z) of multiple materials are perpendicular to each other.

[0148] The reasonable layout of various mechanisms in the feeding equipment can not only reduce space occupancy, but also shorten the time of each operation step, speed up the production rhythm, and thus improve production efficiency.

[0149] The present application also provides a feeding method, which is applied to a feeding device 100, wherein the feeding device 100 includes a silo 10, a turning mechanism 20, a material taking mechanism 30 and a material placing platform 40, wherein the silo 10 includes a lifting mechanism 12, wherein the lifting mechanism 12 includes a lifting drive 121 and a lifting bracket 122 connected to the lifting drive 121, wherein the lifting bracket 122 carries a plurality of stacked materials 200, Fig. 9 The feeding method includes: step S10, step S11 and step S12.

[0150] In step S10 , the lifting driving member 121 drives the lifting support 122 to lift the multiple materials 200 along the lifting direction so that the target material among the multiple materials 200 reaches the picking position, and the lifting direction is consistent with the stacking direction of the multiple materials.

[0151] In step S11, in response to the instruction that the target material 200 in the silo 10 is in place, determining whether the target material 200 is an even or odd number in the total number of the multiple stacked materials; In step S12, based on the judgment result, the turning mechanism 20 and the material taking mechanism 30 corresponding to the odd and even numbers are respectively controlled to pick up the target material 200; If the picking mechanism 30 picks up the target material 200 , the picking mechanism 30 is controlled to place the target material 200 on the material placement table 40 ; if the flipping mechanism 20 picks up the target material 200 , the flipping mechanism 20 is controlled to flip the target material 200 , and the picking mechanism 30 is controlled to pick up the target material 200 flipped by the flipping mechanism 20 and place the target material 200 on the material placement table 40 .

[0152] The target material 200 in place instruction means that the target material 200 in place instruction is triggered when the top material of the multiple stacked materials in the silo 10 reaches the picking position. Of course, the material 200 in place instruction can also be triggered manually through an operating platform or voice command.

[0153] The total number of stacked materials refers to the total number of materials in the initial state of the silo 10, that is, the total number before or about to start feeding. They can be counted from bottom to top or from top to bottom, that is, the topmost material can be the first layer material, or the bottommost material can be the first layer material.

[0154] The turning mechanism 20 and the picking mechanism 30 corresponding to the odd and even numbers can be that when the target material is the odd-numbered layer of material, the turning mechanism 20 corresponds, and when the target material is the even-numbered layer of material, the picking mechanism 30 corresponds; or it can be that when the target material is the odd-numbered layer of material, the picking mechanism 30 corresponds, and when the target material is the even-numbered layer of material, the turning mechanism 20 corresponds.

[0155] If the picking mechanism 30 picks up the target material 200, the picking mechanism 30 is controlled to place the target material 200 on the material placement platform 40, that is, the material does not need to be flipped by the flipping mechanism 20. If the flipping mechanism 20 picks up the target material 200, the flipping mechanism 20 is controlled to flip the target material 200, and the picking mechanism 30 is controlled to pick up the target material 200 flipped by the flipping mechanism 20 and place the target material 200 on the material placement platform 40, that is, the target material 200 is first flipped and then placed on the material placement platform 40 by the picking mechanism 30.

[0156] As an example, see Figure 8 , multiple side panels are stacked in the up-down direction, and are recorded as the 1st layer side panel, the 2nd layer side panel, the 3rd layer side panel, the 4th layer side panel... the 13th layer side panel from top to bottom, wherein the first surface 201 with the flange of the 1st layer side panel faces upward, the first surface 201 with the flange of the 2nd layer side panel faces downward, the first surface 201 with the flange of the 3rd layer side panel faces upward, the first surface 201 with the flange of the 4th layer side panel faces downward..., that is, the first surface 201 with the flange of the side panel in the odd-numbered layers faces upward, and the first surface 201 with the flange of the side panel in the even-numbered layers faces downward, so that the odd-numbered layer side panels and the even-numbered layer side panels are stacked together in an alternating manner with the front and back sides and are nested with each other, thereby minimizing the space occupied, thereby helping the silo 10 to accommodate more materials. When the first layer of side panels is in place, the material picking mechanism 30 is controlled to pick up the first layer of side panels and transfer the first layer of side panels to the unloading table 40; when the second layer of side panels is in place, the flipping mechanism 20 is controlled to pick up the second layer of side panels and flip the second layer of side panels 180° so that the first surface 201 of the second layer of side panels faces upward, and then the material picking mechanism 30 is controlled to pick up the flipped second layer of side panels and transfer the second layer of side panels to the unloading table 40. In this way, based on the materials of the odd and even layers, the flipping mechanism 20 and the material picking mechanism 30 are controlled to pick up the materials alternately.

[0157] Based on the materials in the odd and even layers, the flipping mechanisms 20 and the material picking mechanisms 30 corresponding to the odd and even layers are controlled to pick up the materials alternately, so that each material can be placed on the unloading table 40 in a required posture (for example, the same posture) to facilitate subsequent processing, meet the rhythm requirements, and improve production efficiency.

[0158] In some embodiments, the loading device 100 further includes a material unloading conveying mechanism 50 and a visual detection mechanism 60. Fig.10 The feeding method further includes: step S13.

[0159] In step S13, the target material 200 picked up by the picking mechanism 30 is detected by the visual inspection mechanism 60, and whether the target material 200 is qualified is determined based on the inspection result. If it is determined to be qualified, the picking mechanism 30 is controlled to place the qualified target material 200 on the discharge table 40; if it is determined to be unqualified, the picking mechanism 30 is controlled to place the unqualified target material 200 on the unloading conveying mechanism 50.

[0160] The qualified target material 200 includes, but is not limited to, materials that meet the posture requirements for being placed on the unloading platform 40. For example, for a side panel, a side panel with a flange facing upward is a qualified material.

[0161] Unqualified target materials 200 include, but are not limited to, materials that do not meet the posture requirements for being placed on the unloading table 40 and materials with defects, wherein the defects include scratches, dents, cracks, and the like.

[0162] By inspecting the target material 200 picked up by the material taking mechanism 30 through the visual inspection mechanism 60, unqualified materials can be discovered in time, thereby improving the reliability of material feeding.

[0163] In some embodiments, the unloading table 40 includes a first positioning assembly 471 and a second positioning assembly 472, the first positioning assembly 471 includes a first positioning driving member 4711 and a first push rod 4712 connected to the first positioning driving member 4711, and the second positioning assembly 472 includes a second positioning driving member 4721 and a second push rod 4722 connected to the second positioning driving member 4721; After the material taking mechanism 30 places the target material 200 on the material placing platform 40, refer to Fig.11 The feeding method further includes: step S14.

[0164] In step S14, the first positioning drive member 4711 is controlled to drive the first push rod 4712 to push the target material 200 along the first direction X, and the second positioning drive member 4721 is controlled to drive the second push rod 4722 to push the target material 200 along the second direction Y, so that the target material 200 is positioned to a specified position, and the first direction X, the second direction Y, and the stacking direction (lifting direction Z) of multiple materials are perpendicular to each other.

[0165] Since the position of the material 200 placed on the material fixture 46 may not be accurate, that is, it does not reach the specified position of the material fixture 46, it brings inconvenience to subsequent processing and may affect the subsequent processing accuracy. Therefore, the material 200 placed on the material fixture 46 needs to be re-positioned.

[0166] The material 200 on the material fixture 46 is positioned in the first direction X and the second direction Y by the first positioning component 471 and the second positioning component 472, so that each material 200 placed on the material fixture 46 can accurately reach the specified position, thereby facilitating subsequent processing and helping to improve the subsequent processing accuracy of the material.

[0167] Next, a specific example of the present application is described.

[0168] In the side panel installation process of traditional battery devices, the side panel loading method is manual single-piece loading. For side panels longer than 800mm, a larger fixture needs to be designed. The site space is limited and the fixture cannot be compatible. There is an extended sheet metal (flange) on the back of the side panel that cannot be compatible with the fixture. In addition, the silo cannot be hard-limited, and the accuracy of manual loading cannot be controlled. In addition, there is a risk that the side panel cannot be sucked up or falls during operation.

[0169] In view of the existence of the above-mentioned problems, an embodiment of the present application provides a loading device that can be used for the side panel installation process of the battery device. The traditional silo is replaced by an integrated loading device. The loading device can be designed at the original silo position, and the footprint is approximately 3.2m×2m×2.1m. The original silo occupies the site, and the original silo space can be effectively utilized.

[0170] Reference Figure 2 The loading equipment includes a silo 10, a collaborative robot (a flipping mechanism 20, a material taking mechanism 30), a machine vision (a visual inspection mechanism 60), an NG station (a material unloading conveying mechanism 50), and a buffer slide (a material unloading platform 40), which are independent of each other and do not interfere with each other. Figure 2 The feeding of the silo 10 adopts a clip-type, which can accommodate multiple stacked side panels, solving the problem that the fixtures used for large-size side panels are difficult to be compatible. The material preparation of the silo 10 adopts a drawer type to achieve non-stop feeding; refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 , a collaborative robot is used to realize that the flipping mechanism 20 and the picking mechanism 30 alternately pick up the side panels. When the side panel with the flange is facing upward, it is directly picked up by the picking mechanism 30 and transferred to the unloading table 40. When the side panel with the flange is facing downward, it is flipped 180° by the flipping mechanism 20 and then picked up by the picking mechanism 30 and transferred to the unloading table 40. In this way, the side panel placed on the unloading table 40 always has the flanged side facing upward, which is convenient for subsequent processing; refer to Figure 7 In order to prevent the side panels from being placed upside down, a visual inspection mechanism 60 is used to detect abnormal posture and defects of incoming materials in a timely manner, thereby improving the reliability of material loading. The unloading table 40 is designed as a double upper and lower structure to achieve uninterrupted material loading and meet the process beat requirements; refer to Figure 5The side panels on the unloading table 40 are repositioned through the positioning assembly 47 so that the positions of each side panel placed on the unloading table 40 are consistent, meeting the process cycle requirements.

[0171] Specifically, refer to Figure 2 The material bin 10 includes: a lifting servo motor (lifting drive 121), a drawer slide storage rack 11, and the lifting servo motor lifts the side plate, so that the side plate can be accurately sent to the picking position at the loading port 11B. The loading port 11B is equipped with a grating sensor for detecting whether the side plate is tilted. The storage rack 11 is also provided with a sensor to determine whether the side plate is in place.

[0172] Reference Figures 3 to 7 The collaborative robot includes: a material picking mechanism 30 and a flipping mechanism 20. The servo motor (moving drive 221) in the flipping mechanism 20 cooperates with the third slide rail 222 and the slider 223 to accurately move the flipping component 21 to the top of the side panel in the silo 10. For the even-numbered side panel, the flipping suction cup 213 in the flipping component 21 sucks the even-numbered side panel and flips it 180° through the rotating cylinder (flipping drive 211) so that the back side of the side panel (the side with the flange) is always facing upward, and then, the multi-axis robotic arm in the material picking mechanism 30 drives the material picking suction cup 31 to move to the top of the flipped side panel, and sucks the flipped side panel through the material picking suction cup 31, and then drives the material picking suction cup 31 through the multi-axis robotic arm to suck the flipped side panel and move it to the visual inspection mechanism 60 for inspection. If it is qualified, it is placed on the material unloading table 40, and if it is unqualified, it is placed on the unloading conveying mechanism 50. For the odd-numbered side panel, the multi-axis robot arm in the picking mechanism 30 drives the picking suction cup 31 to move to the top of the side panel in the silo 10 and suck the odd-numbered side panel. Then, the multi-axis robot arm drives the picking suction cup 31 to suck the odd-numbered side panel and move it to the visual inspection mechanism 60 for inspection. If it is qualified, it is placed on the discharge table 40. If it is unqualified, it is placed on the unloading conveying mechanism 50.

[0173] A collaborative robot is used, which is highly flexible and can repeatedly pick up the side panels in the silo 10; the picking suction cup 31 adopts a dual-air circuit solenoid valve, which has a power-off and air-off holding function to reduce the risk of the side panel falling; a diagonal sensor can also be set on the picking suction cup 31 to detect whether the side panel is placed upside down, and it also has a real-time monitoring function for the side panel; the picking suction cup 31 is connected to the spring (elastic member 313) to reduce damage to the side panel.

[0174] The unloading table 40 has a secondary positioning and shaping mechanism for the side plate (material positioning assembly 47), which can adjust the position of the side plate in the first direction X and the second direction Y through the side push cylinder (first positioning drive member 4711, second positioning drive member 4721), so that the positions of the side plates placed on the unloading table 40 can be kept consistent. The double-layer slide (first unloading table 41 and second unloading table 42) switches back and forth to meet the production rhythm requirements.

[0175] The above are only preferred embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. For those skilled in the art, the present application may have various modifications and variations. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A feeding device, characterized in that: include: At least one silo, the silo comprising a lifting mechanism, the lifting mechanism comprising a lifting drive and a lifting support connected to the lifting drive, the lifting support being used to carry a plurality of stacked materials, the lifting drive being used to drive the lifting support to lift the materials along a lifting direction, the lifting direction being consistent with a stacking direction of the plurality of materials; A turning mechanism, used for picking up and turning over the nth layer of materials among the plurality of materials; A material taking mechanism, used for picking up and transferring the m-th layer of materials and the n-th layer of materials turned over by the turning mechanism, respectively, where m≠n and m and n are positive integers; The material unloading platform is used to receive the m-th layer of materials and the n-th layer of materials transferred by the material taking mechanism.

2. The feeding equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: One of m and n is an odd number, and the other is an even number.

3. The feeding equipment according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The silo comprises: A material storage rack having a storage space for storing the material; The lifting bracket is arranged in the accommodating space.

4. The feeding equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that: The silo further comprises: a first slide rail extending along the lifting direction, and the lifting bracket is slidably connected to the first slide rail.

5. The feeding equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that: The material storage rack can be switched between a preparation position and a lifting position. When the material storage rack is switched to the preparation position, it is used to receive the material. When the material storage rack is switched to the lifting position, it is used to provide the material to the turning mechanism and the material taking mechanism.

6. The feeding device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The silo also includes: a fixed plate, which is provided with a second slide rail extending along a first direction, and the storage rack is slidably connected to the second slide rail. The storage rack can switch between the preparation position and the lifting position along the second slide rail, and the first direction is perpendicular to the lifting direction.

7. The feeding device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The material storage rack is provided with a handle.

8. The feeding equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that: The top of the storage rack is provided with a loading port. The material storage rack is provided with a first material detection device at the position of the loading port, and the first material detection device is used to detect the position of the material in the material storage rack.

9. The feeding equipment according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The flipping mechanism comprises at least one flipping assembly, and the flipping assembly comprises a flipping driving member and a connecting rod connected to the flipping driving member, and the connecting rod is provided with a flipping suction cup.

10. The feeding device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The silos are provided in plurality, and the silos are arranged in parallel; The flipping mechanism also includes a moving assembly, which includes a moving drive and a third slide rail extending along the arrangement direction of the plurality of bins, the flipping drive is connected to the third slide rail via a slider, and the moving drive is connected to the slider.

11. The feeding device according to claim 10, characterized in that: The flipping components are provided in plurality, and the plurality of flipping components are arranged in parallel along the arrangement direction.

12. The feeding device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The material picking mechanism comprises a multi-axis mechanical arm and a material picking suction cup arranged at the end of the multi-axis mechanical arm, and the air circuit interface of the material picking suction cup is connected to the negative pressure device through a double air circuit solenoid valve.

13. The feeding device according to claim 12, characterized in that: The material taking suction cup comprises a mounting frame and a plurality of suction nozzles arranged on the mounting frame, and an elastic member is arranged between each suction nozzle and the mounting frame.

14. The feeding device according to claim 13, characterized in that: The mounting frame is provided with a second material detection device, and the second material detection device is used to detect the material sucked by the suction nozzle.

15. The feeding device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The unloading platform includes a first unloading platform, a second unloading platform and a switching mechanism. The switching mechanism is connected to the first unloading platform and the second unloading platform and is used to drive the first unloading platform and the second unloading platform to alternately reach a receiving position for receiving the material.

16. The feeding device according to claim 15, characterized in that: The unloading platform further comprises a fourth slide rail and a fifth slide rail which are parallel to each other, the first unloading platform is slidably connected to the fourth slide rail, the second unloading platform is slidably connected to the fifth slide rail, and the second unloading platform is located below the first unloading platform; The switching mechanism includes a servo motor, a driving wheel, a driven wheel and a transmission belt, the driving wheel is connected to the servo motor, the transmission belt is wound around the driving wheel and the driven wheel, and the first unloading platform and the second unloading platform are respectively connected to the upper and lower sections of the transmission belt.

17. The feeding device according to claim 15, characterized in that: The first unloading table and the second unloading table are both provided with at least one material fixture and a material positioning component, and the material positioning component is used to push the material on the material fixture to move to a specified position along different directions.

18. The feeding device according to claim 17, characterized in that: The positioning assembly includes a first positioning assembly and a second positioning assembly, the first positioning assembly includes a first positioning drive and a first push rod, the first positioning drive is used to drive the first push rod to move along a first direction and push the material on the material clamp, the second positioning assembly includes a second positioning drive and a second push rod, the second positioning drive is used to drive the second push rod to move along a second direction and push the material on the material clamp, the first direction, the second direction and the stacking direction of the multiple materials are perpendicular to each other.

19. The feeding device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The feeding equipment also includes: a material unloading conveying mechanism and a visual detection mechanism, wherein the visual detection mechanism is used to detect the material picked up by the material picking mechanism, and the material unloading conveying mechanism is used to receive unqualified materials picked up by the material picking mechanism based on detection by the visual detection mechanism.

20. The feeding device according to claim 19, characterized in that: Along the first direction, the flipping mechanism is located between the silo and the material taking mechanism; Along the second direction, the visual inspection mechanism and the material picking mechanism are both located between the material placing platform and the material unloading conveying mechanism, and the first direction, the second direction and the stacking direction of the plurality of materials are perpendicular to each other.

21. A feeding method, characterized in that: Applied to a feeding device, the feeding device comprises a silo, a turning mechanism, a material taking mechanism and a material unloading platform, the silo comprises a lifting mechanism, the lifting mechanism comprises a lifting driving member and a lifting bracket connected to the lifting driving member, the lifting bracket carries a plurality of stacked materials, and the feeding method comprises: The lifting driving member drives the lifting bracket to lift the plurality of materials along a lifting direction so that a target material among the plurality of materials reaches a picking position, and the lifting direction is consistent with a stacking direction of the plurality of materials; In response to an instruction that a target material in the silo is in place, determining an odd or even number of the target material in the total number of a plurality of stacked materials; Based on the judgment result, the flipping mechanism and the material taking mechanism corresponding to the odd and even numbers are respectively controlled to pick up the target material; If the material picking mechanism picks up the target material, the material picking mechanism is controlled to place the target material on the material placing platform; If the turning mechanism picks up the target material, the turning mechanism is controlled to turn over the target material, and the material picking mechanism is controlled to pick up the target material after being turned over by the turning mechanism and place the target material on the material placing table.

22. The feeding method according to claim 21, characterized in that: The feeding equipment further includes a feeding conveying mechanism and a visual inspection mechanism, and the feeding method further includes: The target material picked up by the material picking mechanism is detected by the visual detection mechanism, and whether the target material is qualified is determined based on the detection result. If it is determined to be qualified, the material picking mechanism is controlled to place the qualified target material on the material discharge table; if it is determined to be unqualified, the material picking mechanism is controlled to place the unqualified target material on the unloading conveying mechanism.

23. The feeding method according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that: The unloading platform includes a first positioning assembly and a second positioning assembly, wherein the first positioning assembly includes a first positioning driving member and a first push rod connected to the first positioning driving member, and the second positioning assembly includes a second positioning driving member and a second push rod connected to the second positioning driving member; After the material taking mechanism places the target material on the material placing platform, the material loading method further includes: The first positioning drive component is controlled to drive the first push rod to push the target material along a first direction, and the second positioning drive component is controlled to drive the second push rod to push the target material along a second direction, so as to position the target material to a specified position, and the first direction, the second direction, and the stacking directions of the multiple materials are perpendicular to each other.

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