Material conveying system and method

Abstract

The invention relates to a material conveying system and method, the material conveying system comprises a stirring working state, and the material conveying system comprises a liquid storage container configured to store materials; the conveying pipe is communicated to the liquid storage container; the liquid return part is arranged on the conveying pipe and is configured to drive the materials to intermittently and reversely flow in the conveying pipe in a stirring working state, and the materials are driven to positively flow in the conveying pipe by utilizing negative pressure generated by reverse flow in at least part of pipelines of the conveying pipe in an intermittent period, so that the materials can be conveyed to the conveying pipe through the liquid return part; and the reciprocating flow of the material is realized. According to the scheme, materials in the conveying pipe are backflushed to the liquid storage container through the liquid return part, the materials in the liquid storage container are sucked into the conveying pipe through negative pressure, the two actions are alternately carried out to stir the materials, the forward discharging function and the reverse backflow stirring function are integrated through the single conveying pipe, the single-pipeline double-function design is achieved, and the stirring efficiency is improved. A pipeline system is simplified, and cleaning and maintenance are facilitated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of fluid transportation, and in particular to a material transportation system and method. Background Art

[0002] At present, beverages containing suspended particles or ingredients of different densities are prone to sedimentation and stratification after being left in liquid storage containers for a long time, resulting in uneven discharge concentration and deteriorated taste. Traditional solutions include:

[0003] 1. Adding a mechanical stirring device: additional stirring motor and blades are required, which makes the equipment structure complicated and has cleaning dead corners. It is not suitable for bagged liquid storage containers and has poor versatility.

[0004] 2. Multi-pipeline circulation system: Material mixing is achieved by adding independent circulation pipelines, but the number of pipeline branches increases, cleaning is difficult and it is easy to leave deteriorated materials.

[0005] Therefore, there is an urgent need for an integrated solution with a simple structure and both transportation and anti-sedimentation and stratification functions. Summary of the invention

[0006] Based on this, the present invention provides a material conveying system and method to solve the problem that the stirring device of the existing conveying system has a complex structure and is difficult to clean.

[0007] In one aspect, the present invention provides a material conveying system, wherein the material conveying system includes a stirring working state, and the material conveying system includes:

[0008] a liquid storage container configured to store material;

[0009] a delivery pipe connected to the liquid storage container;

[0010] The liquid return member is arranged on the conveying pipe and is configured to drive the material to intermittently flow in the reverse direction in the conveying pipe under the stirring working state, and to drive the material to flow forward in the conveying pipe during the intermittent period by utilizing the negative pressure generated by the reverse flow in at least a part of the pipeline of the conveying pipe, so as to realize the reciprocating flow of the material.

[0011] In one embodiment, in the stirring working state, the liquid return member intermittently drives the material to flow in the reverse direction: the driving of the material to intermittently flow in the conveying pipe in the reverse direction includes:

[0012] When the liquid return component drives the material to flow, the liquid return component causes negative pressure to be formed in the pipe section located on the side of the liquid return component away from the liquid storage container;

[0013] During the intermittent period, the negative pressure generated by the reverse flow in at least a portion of the conveying pipe is used to drive the material to flow forward in the conveying pipe:

[0014] When the liquid return member does not drive the material to flow, the liquid return member connects the pipe section forming negative pressure with the liquid storage container, so as to re-absorb the material in the liquid storage container into the conveying pipe through the negative pressure effect.

[0015] In one of the embodiments, a control member is provided on the pipeline of the liquid return member away from the liquid storage container;

[0016] The material conveying system further includes a discharge working state, in which at least one of the control component and the liquid return component is configured to drive the material to flow forward in the conveying pipe, and when one of the components drives the material to flow forward, the other component is in a state of being turned on or driving the material to flow forward;

[0017] In the stirring working state, the control component is configured to block the delivery pipe.

[0018] In one of the embodiments, the liquid return member is configured to be inactive and in a conducting state in the discharge working state;

[0019] The control component is configured to drive the material to flow in a forward direction in the discharging working state, and the control component is a power pump.

[0020] In one embodiment, the liquid return member is configured to drive the material to flow in a positive direction along the conveying pipe in the discharge working state;

[0021] The control component is a power pump configured to drive the material to flow in a forward direction in the discharging working state, or the control component is a control valve configured to be in a conducting state in the discharging working state.

[0022] In one embodiment, the delivery tube is a hose;

[0023] The liquid return member includes an extrusion head and a driver for driving the extrusion head to intermittently move along a partial pipe section of the conveying pipe, and the conveying pipe is extruded during the movement of the extrusion head along the conveying pipe.

[0024] In one embodiment, the extrusion head includes a roller rotatably disposed on the driver.

[0025] In one embodiment, the driver is a rotary drive structure, which drives the extrusion head to run on a circular trajectory, and at least a portion of the conveying pipe is arranged on the circular trajectory.

[0026] On the other hand, the present invention further provides a material conveying method, which is performed using the material conveying system of any of the above embodiments, and comprises the following steps:

[0027] S1, determine whether the material in the liquid storage container meets the direct delivery conditions, if the direct delivery conditions are met, execute step S2, if not, execute step S3;

[0028] S2. Set the material conveying system to the discharging working state, set the control component to drive the material in the liquid storage container to flow forward along the conveying pipe to convey the material, and stop the action when the material conveying amount meets the demand;

[0029] S3. Set the material conveying system to a stirring working state, the liquid return component actuates and drives the material in the conveying pipe to intermittently reversely flow back to the liquid storage container, and utilizes the reflux impact force to stir the material in the liquid storage container. When the liquid return component is in a conducting state, the negative pressure section of the conveying pipe sucks part of the material in the liquid storage container into the conveying pipe, thereby realizing a reciprocating circulation flow of the material between the liquid storage container and the conveying pipe, and performing cyclic stirring. After the cyclic stirring for the first time t1, execute step S2.

[0030] In one embodiment, the direct conveying condition is: in a static state, the material is static for a time shorter than a second time t2; in a conveying state, the material is stirred for a time shorter than a third time t3.

[0031] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0032] The material conveying system can realize the reciprocating flow of materials in the liquid storage container and the conveying pipe through the action of the liquid return piece, and utilize the impact force of the reverse flow of the material and the negative pressure suction of the forward suction to fully stir the material without a mechanical stirring device, thereby preventing the material from being statically stratified and ensuring uniform conveying of the material.

[0033] In addition, this system integrates the forward discharge and reverse reflux stirring functions through a single conveying pipe, realizing a single-pipe dual-function design, simplifying the piping system and facilitating cleaning and maintenance; and the reflux port and the liquid outlet are the same, which can not only avoid or eliminate the blockage of the liquid outlet, but also more accurately stir the sediment near the liquid outlet, so that the material near the liquid outlet is more uniform, ensuring the uniformity of the next feeding. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a material conveying system in one embodiment;

[0035] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the material flow direction of a material conveying system in a first discharging mode in an embodiment;

[0036] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the material flow direction of a material conveying system in a second discharging mode in an embodiment;

[0037] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the material flow direction of the material conveying system in the third discharging mode in one embodiment;

[0038] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the material flow direction of a material conveying system in a stirring working state in one embodiment;

[0039] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the structure of a liquid return member in a material conveying system including two extrusion heads in one embodiment.

[0040] The figure marks in the drawings of the specification include: liquid storage container 100, delivery pipe 200, liquid return part 300, extrusion head 310, driver 320, motor 321, mounting plate 322, extrusion cover 330, first position 340, second position 350, concave cavity 360, arc wall 370, control part 400. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0042] It should be noted that the illustrations provided in this embodiment are only used to schematically illustrate the basic concept of the present invention.

[0043] The structures, proportions, sizes, etc. illustrated in the drawings in this specification are only used to match the contents disclosed in the specification so as to facilitate understanding and reading by persons familiar with this technology, and are not used to limit the conditions under which the present invention can be implemented. Any structural modification, change in proportion or adjustment of size should still fall within the scope of the technical contents disclosed in the present invention without affecting the effects and purposes that can be achieved by the present invention.

[0044] The directions or positional relationships indicated by the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "middle", "longitudinal", "lateral", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", "radial", "circumferential" and the like in this specification are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings and are only for the convenience of simplifying the description. They do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operate in a specific direction, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0045] As described in the background art, beverages containing suspended particles or components of different densities are prone to stratification after being left in a liquid storage container for a long time, resulting in uneven discharge concentration and deteriorated taste.

[0046] In traditional solutions, adding a mechanical stirring device requires additional configuration of a stirring motor and blades, which results in a complex equipment structure and dead corners for cleaning. It is not suitable for bagged liquid storage containers and has poor versatility. The multi-pipeline circulation system requires the addition of independent circulation pipelines to achieve material mixing, but the number of pipeline branches increases, making cleaning difficult and prone to residual deteriorated materials.

[0047] Based on this, the embodiment of the present invention provides a material conveying system, which includes a stirring working state, see Figure 1 , the material conveying system specifically includes:

[0048] The liquid storage container 100 is configured to store materials;

[0049] A delivery pipe 200 connected to the liquid storage container 100;

[0050] The liquid return member 300 is arranged on the conveying pipe 200. In the stirring working state, it is configured to drive the material to intermittently flow in the reverse direction in the conveying pipe 200, and to drive the material to flow forward in the conveying pipe 200 during the intermittent period by utilizing the negative pressure generated by the reverse flow in at least part of the pipeline of the conveying pipe 200, so as to realize the reciprocating flow of the material.

[0051] According to the material conveying system of the embodiment of the present invention, when it is necessary to stir the material in the liquid storage container 100, it is switched to the stirring working state. In the stirring working state, the liquid return member 300 drives the material to intermittently reversely flow in the conveying pipe 200, so that the material flows reversely along the conveying pipe 200 into the liquid storage container 100, and the reflux impact force is used to stir the material in the liquid storage container 100, so that the material is more uniform.

[0052] The intermittent period can be understood as the period when the liquid return member 300 drives the material to intermittently reversely flow without driving the material. For example, the process in which the liquid return member 300 drives the material to intermittently reversely flow includes the material driving period and the intermittent period:

[0053] During the material driving period, the liquid return member 300 can drive the material to flow in the reverse direction. At the same time, the liquid return member 300 will exert continuous suction on the pipe section located on the side of the liquid return member 300 away from the liquid storage container 100, so that negative pressure is formed inside the pipe section.

[0054] During the intermittent period, the liquid return component 300 does not drive the material to flow, and the liquid return component 300 connects the pipe section that forms negative pressure during the driving period with the liquid storage container 100. At this time, the material in the liquid storage container 100 will be re-sucked into the delivery pipe 200 under the action of the negative pressure effect in the pipeline.

[0055] The above-mentioned intermittent period is the intermittent period.

[0056] Therefore, under the stirring working state, the liquid return component 300 can realize the alternating operation of the two actions of material reverse driving and material positive negative pressure suction, so that the reciprocating flow of the material can be realized, which can not only improve the flow rate of the material in the stirring process and enhance the stirring efficiency, but also utilize the impact force of the reverse flow of the material and the negative pressure suction of the positive suction to achieve sufficient stirring of the material without the mechanical stirring device in the liquid, prevent the phenomenon of static stratification of the material, and ensure the uniform transportation of the material.

[0057] Moreover, the liquid return member 300 of the present solution drives the logistics to flow in reverse intermittently, so that the negative pressure of the pipe section of the liquid return member 300 away from the liquid storage container 100 can be released in time, avoiding the occurrence of pipe bursting.

[0058] In addition, the present solution can integrate the forward discharge and reverse reflux stirring functions through a single conveying pipe 200, realize a single-pipe dual-function design, simplify the piping system, and facilitate cleaning and maintenance; and the reflux port and the liquid outlet are the same, which can not only avoid or eliminate the blockage of the liquid outlet, but also more accurately stir the sediment near the liquid outlet, so that the material near the liquid outlet is more uniform, ensuring the uniformity during the next feeding.

[0059] The material conveying system provided by the embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0060] according to Figure 1 The material conveying system according to at least one embodiment of the present invention is exemplarily shown. The material conveying system includes: a liquid storage container 100 , a conveying pipe 200 and a liquid return member 300 .

[0061] The liquid storage container 100 is used to store materials and is the material supply end of the material conveying system, supplying corresponding materials to the user when in use.

[0062] It should be noted that the material stored in the liquid storage container 100 in this embodiment is mainly a fluid material, more specifically, a fluid material containing suspended particles or components of different densities, such as juice containing pulp. Such materials are usually prone to precipitation and stratification after being left standing for a period of time, resulting in uneven discharge. The conveying system can perform targeted mixing operations on such materials to achieve uniform conveying of the materials, so as to provide users with drinks with uniform concentration and good taste.

[0063] It is not difficult to understand that the liquid storage container 100 can also be used to store conventional fluid materials (fluid materials with consistent density and uniform distribution). When such materials are transported through a conveying system, only the conveying function of the conveying system can be used without performing a mixing operation.

[0064] It should be understood that in the present embodiment, the liquid storage container 100 mainly performs the storage function, and its specific form is not limited here. In actual use, it can adopt various forms according to the type of stored materials and the use environment.

[0065] For example, in some examples, the liquid storage container 100 can be a tank, bottle, cylinder or bag container, and its material can be a hard non-deformable material or a flexible deformable material, and its shape can be a square, cylinder, sphere, etc.

[0066] See also Figure 1 The liquid storage container 100 is connected to a delivery pipe 200, through which the material in the liquid storage container 100 can be guided to a designated position or component to achieve the supply of the material.

[0067] Specifically, in the present embodiment, the delivery pipe 200 is a single pipe having two ends, namely a feed end and a discharge end. The feed end is connected to the liquid storage container 100 to realize the connection between the liquid storage container 100 and the delivery pipe 200, and the discharge end is connected to a designated position or component. For example, when used in a juice dispensing device, the discharge end can be connected to a juice dispensing head, thereby realizing the supply of liquid from the liquid storage container 100 to the juice dispensing head through the delivery pipe 200.

[0068] In this embodiment, the type of the delivery pipe 200 can be a metal hard pipe or a plastic hose, as long as the delivery guidance of the material can be ensured.

[0069] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the delivery tube 200 is preferably a hose, so that the delivery tube 200 has the characteristics of being easily bent, squeezed and recovered from squeezing, which facilitates the pipeline wiring of the delivery tube 200 and also provides a basis for using a peristaltic pump to drive material transportation below.

[0070] Specifically, the delivery tube 200 may be a food-grade silicone hose, and its diameter and length may be determined according to the actual usage scenario, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

[0071] In addition, in the present embodiment, the specific location where the delivery pipe 200 is connected to the liquid storage container 100 may not be restricted, as long as it is ensured that the delivery pipe 200 can basically extract all the materials in the liquid storage container 100. In other words, the delivery pipe 200 can be connected from various directions of the liquid storage container 100, for example, from the top, middle or bottom of the liquid storage container 100.

[0072] For liquid storage containers 100 made of different materials, the connection positions of the delivery tube 200 and the inside of the liquid storage container 100 can also be designed to be different. For example, when the liquid storage container 100 is made of hard material, it will not deform itself. No matter from which direction the delivery tube 200 is connected to the liquid storage container 100, its feed end must extend to the bottom of the liquid storage container 100 to facilitate the suction of materials; and when the liquid storage container 100 is made of flexible material, it has deformable properties. Even if the delivery tube 200 does not extend to the bottom of the liquid storage container 100, the entire material can be sucked through the deformation of the liquid storage container 100. Therefore, in this case, it is only necessary to ensure that the feed end of the delivery tube 200 is connected to the liquid storage container 100.

[0073] See also Figure 1 In this embodiment, it is preferred that the delivery pipe 200 is directly connected to the bottom of the liquid storage container 100. For example, a liquid outlet is provided at the bottom of the liquid storage container 100, and the delivery pipe 200 is connected to the liquid outlet. In this way, the length of the delivery pipe 200 can be reduced, the cost can be reduced, and it is also convenient for the material to enter the delivery pipe 200 under the action of gravity, which is more convenient for the material to be transported.

[0074] See also Figure 1 A liquid return component 300 and a control component 400 are disposed on the delivery pipe 200 , wherein the liquid return component 300 is located between the control component 400 and the liquid storage container 100 .

[0075] In this embodiment, the liquid return component 300 and the control component 400 are components for driving the flow of materials or controlling the on-off of the conveying pipe 200, and based on the control switching of the liquid return component 300 and the control component 400, the control switching of the stirring working state and the discharging working state of the material conveying system can be realized.

[0076] Specifically, in the stirring working state, the liquid return member 300 is used to drive the material to intermittently flow in the reverse direction in the conveying pipe 200, and the control member 400 is used to block the conveying pipe 200. Among them, "reverse" can be understood as the direction from the discharge end to the feed end of the conveying pipe 200.

[0077] In the above embodiment, the liquid return member 300 drives the material to intermittently flow in the reverse direction, which can be understood as that one operation cycle of the liquid return member 300 includes a material driving period and an intermittent period.

[0078] When the liquid return member 300 is in the material driving period, a driving force can be applied to the material to make the material flow in the reverse direction. The impact force of the material backflow can fully stir the material in the liquid storage container 100 without the mechanical stirring device in the liquid, so as to prevent the material from being stratified when it is left to stand. In addition, during this period, since the liquid return member 300 has a suction force on the pipe section between the liquid return member 300 and the control member 400, and the control member 400 blocks the delivery pipe 200, a negative pressure is formed in the closed pipe section between the liquid return member 300 and the control member 400.

[0079] When the liquid return member 300 is in the intermittent period of the same operating cycle, there is no driving force on the material, and the liquid return member 300 is in a conducting state, so that the liquid storage container 100 is connected to the pipe section that forms a negative pressure during reverse flow. At this time, the negative pressure in the pipe section will generate a positive suction force on the material in the liquid storage container 100, so that the material is re-sucked into the conveying pipe 200.

[0080] Based on the above, when the liquid return component 300 runs multiple operation cycles, the material in the conveying pipe 200 is intermittently backwashed into the liquid storage container 100 and the material in the liquid storage container 100 is intermittently forward sucked into the conveying pipe 200, and these two actions are alternately cycled, so that the impact force of the reverse flow of the material and the negative pressure suction force of the forward suction can be used to fully stir the material, prevent the material from being statically stratified, and also speed up the reciprocating flow rate of the material to improve the stirring effect.

[0081] In this embodiment, in the discharge working state, at least one of the control component 400 and the liquid return component 300 can drive the material to flow forward in the conveying pipe 200, and when one of the components drives the material to flow forward, the other component is in a state of being turned on or driving the material to flow forward. Here, "forward" can be understood as the direction from the feed end to the discharge end of the conveying pipe 200.

[0082] The above description can be understood as including the following three discharging methods:

[0083] 1. In the discharging working state, see Figure 2 , the liquid return member 300 provides driving force for the forward flow of the material, while the control member 400 does not provide driving force and only plays a conducting role. In this case:

[0084] The liquid return member 300 may be a power pump capable of bidirectional action, for example, a bidirectional gear pump with a bypass valve. The gear pump reverses during reflux stirring, and is started intermittently to drive the material to flow in the opposite direction intermittently. The conveying pipe 200 is opened through the bypass valve during shutdown to achieve intermittent connection of the conveying pipe 200. The gear pump continues to rotate forward during discharge to drive the material to flow in the forward direction.

[0085] The control element 400 may be a control valve, such as an electrically controlled stop valve, an electrically controlled gate valve, etc., which blocks the conveying pipe 200 during reflux stirring and opens the conveying pipe 200 during discharge.

[0086] 2. In the discharging working state, see Figure 3 , the liquid return member 300 provides a driving force for the forward flow of the material, and the control member 400 also provides a driving force for the forward flow of the material. In this case:

[0087] Likewise, the liquid return member 300 may be a power pump capable of bidirectional action, such as a bidirectional gear pump with a bypass valve, and its operation mode is the same as that in the first discharging mode.

[0088] At the same time, the control element 400 is also a power pump, which blocks the conveying pipe 200 during reflux stirring and provides driving force during discharge. In addition, to ensure that the control element 400 can block the conveying pipe 200 during stirring operation, the control element 400 needs to use a power pump that is not conductive when not in operation, such as a power pump with a shutdown cut-off function, or a power pump and a control valve are combined to achieve this function.

[0089] 3. In the discharging working state, see Figure 4 , the control element 400 provides driving force for the forward flow of the material, while the liquid return element 300 does not provide driving force and only plays a conducting role. In this case:

[0090] The control component 400 uses a power pump. Similarly, to ensure that the control component 400 can block the delivery pipe 200 in the stirring working state, the control component 400 needs to use a power pump that is not conductive when not in operation, such as a power pump with a shutdown cut-off function, or a power pump and a control valve combination to achieve this function.

[0091] The liquid return component 300 may be a power pump that is turned on in the shutdown state, such as a gear pump with a bypass valve, which is started intermittently during reflux stirring to drive the material to intermittently flow in the opposite direction and to intermittently turn on the conveying pipe 200 through the bypass valve; and when discharging the material, the conveying pipe 200 is turned on through the bypass valve.

[0092] Therefore, through the combination of two pumps or a single pump plus a control valve, the control switching between the stirring working state and the discharging working state of the material conveying system can be realized.

[0093] Specifically, the control component 400 in the second discharging method and the third discharging method can adopt a gear pump, a peristaltic pump, a plunger pump, a screw pump, etc.

[0094] In this embodiment, the control element 400 is preferably a peristaltic pump, which is referred to as a delivery peristaltic pump. A peristaltic pump is a type of pump that delivers fluid by squeezing a hose, and its delivery accuracy can reach up to ±0.5%, which can meet the needs of quantitative delivery and quantitative distribution.

[0095] Moreover, the control component 400 adopts a peristaltic pump, so that during installation, the delivery pipe 200 using a hose can be directly installed into the peristaltic pump, which can achieve the purpose of material transportation through a single pipe, avoids pipe docking, and has a simpler and more integrated structure, which is easier to clean.

[0096] It should be noted that, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the structure of the peristaltic pump and the installation method between the delivery tube 200 and the peristaltic pump belong to conventional technical means and will not be described in detail here.

[0097] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the control component 400 is a peristaltic pump, and the peristaltic pump includes at least two rollers, and when the peristaltic pump is stopped, at least one of the rollers is in a position to squeeze the conveying tube 200. In this way, the conveying tube 200 can be blocked by squeezing the conveying tube 200 by the rollers to prevent the flow of materials, so as to block the conveying tube 200 in the stirring working state.

[0098] The liquid return member 300 in the first discharging method, the second discharging method and the third discharging method can be implemented by the following structure:

[0099] See also Figure 1 The liquid return member 300 includes an extrusion head 310 and a driver 320 for driving the extrusion head 310 to intermittently move along a portion of the delivery pipe 200, and the delivery pipe 200 is squeezed during the movement of the extrusion head 310 along the delivery pipe 200, and the delivery pipe 200 is released after the extrusion head 310 is separated from the delivery pipe 200.

[0100] For further information, see Figure 1 The extrusion head 310 includes a rolling element rotatably arranged on the driver 320. For example, the rolling element can be a roller. The roller can rotate when extruding the conveying tube 200, thereby reducing the friction between the roller surface and the surface of the conveying tube 200, improving the smoothness of operation and reducing the wear of the conveying tube 200.

[0101] For further information, see Figure 1The track of the extrusion head 310 driven by the driver 320 is a circular track, and part of the pipe section of the delivery pipe 200 is arranged on the circular track. In this way, intermittent movement on the delivery pipe 200 can be achieved through the unidirectional rotation of the extrusion head 310, and its operation mode is simpler and the control is more convenient.

[0102] For details, see Figure 1 The driver 320 may include a motor 321 and a mounting disk 322 fixed on the output shaft of the motor 321. The extrusion head 310 is mounted on the outer peripheral side of the mounting disk 322. In this way, when the motor 321 drives the mounting disk 322 to rotate, the extrusion head 310 can be driven to rotate around to form a circular motion trajectory.

[0103] See also Figure 1 The liquid return member 300 also includes an extrusion cover 330, on which a concave cavity 360 with an arc-shaped wall surface 370 is provided. The diameter of the circle where the arc-shaped wall surface 370 is located is slightly larger than the diameter of the outer circle trajectory of the extrusion head 310, and the difference in diameter between the two is less than twice the wall thickness of the delivery tube 200. Part of the delivery tube 200 is fitted in the arc-shaped wall surface 370 and installed in the concave cavity 360, so that when the driver 320 drives the extrusion head 310 to rotate through the arc-shaped wall surface 370, the delivery tube 200 can be squeezed on the arc-shaped wall surface 370.

[0104] Based on the above structural design, the liquid return member 300 forms a single-roller peristaltic pump. In the stirring working state, see Figure 5 , and its usage process is:

[0105] First, the driver 320 drives the extrusion head 310 to move to the first position 340 of the delivery tube 200 to form an extrusion on the delivery tube 200;

[0106] Then, the driver 320 drives the extrusion head 310 to move in the reverse direction of the delivery pipe 200 while maintaining the extrusion of the delivery pipe 200. During this process, the extrusion head 310 drives the material in the delivery pipe 200 in the reverse direction to the liquid storage container 100. At the same time, a negative pressure is formed in the pipe section between the liquid return component 300 and the control component 400.

[0107] After the driver 320 drives the extrusion head 310 to move to the second position 350 of the delivery pipe 200, the extrusion head 310 releases the delivery pipe 200. At this time, the pipe section with negative pressure is connected to the liquid storage container 100, and the material in the liquid storage container 100 is re-sucked into the delivery pipe 200.

[0108] Subsequently, the driver 320 drives the extrusion head 310 to move to the first position 340 of the conveying pipe 200 again, and then repeats the above operation to achieve intermittent reflux drive of the material.

[0109] In the discharging working state, corresponding to the first and second discharging methods, the forward drive of the material can be realized by driving the extrusion head 310 to rotate forward through the driver 320; corresponding to the third discharging method, the extrusion head 310 can run to a position where the conveying pipe 200 is not squeezed, and the conveying pipe 200 can be kept conductive, and the discharging is driven by the control component 400.

[0110] Furthermore, in this embodiment, in one operation cycle of the liquid return member 300, the duration of driving the material flow is longer than the duration of not driving the material flow. For example, the duration of driving the material flow may be twice the duration of not driving the material flow. In this way, the reflux impact force of the material can be enhanced, the reflux stirring effect can be improved, and the stirring efficiency can be improved.

[0111] Specifically, corresponding to the liquid return component 300 of the above-mentioned single roller structure design, one operating cycle of the liquid return component 300 refers to a 360-degree rotation of the extrusion head 310. Accordingly, as long as the central angle of the arc where the arc-shaped wall surface 370 is located is greater than 180 degrees, it can be ensured that the time for which the liquid return component 300 drives the material flow within one operating cycle is longer than the time for which the material flow is not driven.

[0112] In other embodiments, the number of the extrusion heads 310 may be two, three, etc., to form a peristaltic pump with two, three, etc. rollers.

[0113] For example, the central angle between any two adjacent extrusion heads 310 is greater than the central angle of the arc wall 370, so as to ensure that when the previous extrusion head 310 moves to the second position 350, the next extrusion head 310 has not yet moved to the first position 340, thereby ensuring that during the operation of the liquid return member 300, the delivery pipe 200 is not squeezed for a period of time, so as to ensure that the negative pressure can be released and the pipeline is connected in the discharge working state. Figure 6 An embodiment in which two extrusion heads 310 are provided is exemplarily shown.

[0114] For another example, there are two extrusion heads 310, and the angle of the two extrusion heads 310 is smaller than the central angle of the arc wall 370. In this way, during reflux stirring, the two extrusion heads 310 move counterclockwise to press the liquid back into the liquid storage container 100. During this process, when the material between the control part 400 and the liquid return part 300 is completely sucked, the two extrusion heads 310 simultaneously squeeze the delivery pipe 200 against the arc wall 370, and the delivery pipe 200 between the two extrusion heads 310 will be in a negative pressure state. Then, when the first two extrusion heads 310 are When 310 rotates counterclockwise out of the curved wall 370, the conveying pipe 200 between the two extrusion heads 310 is connected to the liquid storage container 100, and the material in the liquid storage container 100 can be sucked out of the conveying pipe 200 again through negative pressure. Subsequently, the rear extrusion head 310 continues to move counterclockwise to squeeze the sucked material outward. When the front extrusion head 310 moves to the curved wall 370 again, the above action of extruding the material and sucking the material by negative pressure is repeated. This cycle drives the material to intermittently flow in the opposite direction to achieve the stirring function.

[0115] Furthermore, a position sensing element (not shown in the figure) is provided on the driver 320. For example, the position sensing element can be an encoder, a Hall sensor, etc., which is arranged on the motor 321 to monitor the rotation position of the rotating shaft of the motor 321, and then the position of the extrusion head 310 can be accurately known, providing a basis for switching the discharging tooling state and the stirring working state of the system.

[0116] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a material conveying method, which is performed using the material conveying system of any of the above embodiments, and includes steps S1 to S3.

[0117] Step S1, delivery judgment, judging whether the material in the liquid storage container 100 meets the direct delivery conditions, if the direct delivery conditions are met, executing step S2, if not, executing step S3.

[0118] The direct conveying conditions are as follows: in a static state, the material is static for a time shorter than a second time t2; in a conveying state, the material is stirred for a time shorter than a third time t3.

[0119] The static state means that the material is statically placed in the liquid storage container 100, which can be understood as no material transportation and stirring is performed at least during the time t4. In this state, the material is prone to static sedimentation and stratification in the liquid storage container 100, resulting in uneven distribution of the material, which is not conducive to uniform transportation of the material.

[0120] Correspondingly, if the material is allowed to stand for a short time, the material in the liquid storage container 100 has not settled or has not been stratified, and the uniformity of the material can be ensured during the material transport. If the material is allowed to stand for a longer time, the material in the liquid storage container 100 has settled and has been stratified, and the material distribution is uneven. The uniformity of the material transport cannot be ensured during the material transport, and therefore the material needs to be mixed and stirred before transport. Wherein, t2 is greater than t4, for example, t2 is 80 minutes and t4 is 60 minutes.

[0121] The conveying state means that the material in the liquid storage container 100 is being conveyed by the conveying system. In this state, the material in the liquid storage container 100 has a certain fluidity, but it is still easy to produce precipitation and stratification if it is not stirred for a long time, resulting in uneven distribution of the material, which is not conducive to the uniform conveying of the material.

[0122] It should be understood that the conveying in the conveying state can be continuous conveying or intermittent conveying. Among them, intermittent conveying means that during the conveying process, the control component 400 may be shut down for a period of time and then restarted after a feeding, but this time interval is short, less than t4, and does not belong to the aforementioned static state.

[0123] Correspondingly, in the conveying state, if the time since the last stirring of the material is less than the third time t3, it means that the time since the last stirring and mixing of the material is not long. During this time period, the sedimentation and stratification of the material in the liquid storage container 100 have not occurred or are not obvious. At this time, conveying the material can still ensure the uniformity of material transportation; and when the time since the last stirring exceeds the third time t3, it means that the material has not been stirred for a long time. Although the material keeps flowing, obvious sedimentation and stratification still occur, and the material is unevenly distributed. At this time, conveying the material cannot ensure the uniformity of material transportation, so it also needs to be mixed and stirred before conveying.

[0124] That is to say, in the conveying state, the system will regularly stir the material in the liquid storage container 100 at a time interval of the third time t3 to ensure the uniformity of the material. Wherein, t3 is greater than t2, for example, 100 minutes.

[0125] It should be understood that in this embodiment, the values ​​of the second time t2 and the third time t3 can be set to be different according to different materials. Specifically, the faster the sedimentation and stratification of the material occurs, the smaller the values ​​of the second time t2 and the third time t3 are set, and vice versa. The specific values ​​of the second time t2 and the third time t3 corresponding to different materials can be obtained based on experience or experiments, and are not listed one by one in this embodiment.

[0126] In addition, the setting and timing of the second time t2 and the third time t3 can be performed through a controller, which is connected to the material conveying system and controls the opening and closing of the control component 400 and the liquid return component 300. The controller can be a PLC (programmable controller). For example, in a static state, the timing of the second time t2 can be turned on when the liquid return component 300 and the control component 400 are closed, or when a flow sensor is provided in the conveying system, the timing of the second time t2 can be turned on when the flow sensor detects that the material flow of the system is stably maintained at 0. In the conveying state, the timing of the third time t3 can be turned on after exiting the stirring working state.

[0127] S2, material transportation, setting the material transportation system to the discharging working state, driving the material in the liquid storage container 100 to flow forward along the conveying pipe 200 for material transportation, and the control component 400 stops moving after the material transportation volume meets the demand.

[0128] For example, corresponding to the above-mentioned embodiment in which the control member 400 is a peristaltic pump and the liquid return member 300 is a single roller peristaltic pump. Figure 4 By controlling the extrusion head 310 of the liquid return member 300 to remain in a stopped state without squeezing the delivery tube 200, and then turning on the control member 400 to start the delivery peristaltic pump, the material can be quantitatively delivered.

[0129] The material delivery amount meeting the demand can be understood as the material delivery amount at the delivery end of the delivery pipe 200 meeting the beverage preparation demand, and the delivery peristaltic pump can be turned off at this time. It should be understood that for different beverages, the material delivery amount meeting the demand can be different.

[0130] S3, reflux stirring, set the material conveying system to the stirring working state, the liquid return component 300 is actuated and intermittently drives the material in the conveying pipe 200 to flow back to the liquid storage container 100, and the reflux impact force is used to stir the material in the liquid storage container 100, and when the liquid return component 300 is in the conducting state, the negative pressure section of the conveying pipe 200 sucks part of the material in the liquid storage container 100 into the conveying pipe 200, so as to realize the reciprocating circulation flow of the material between the liquid storage container 100 and the conveying pipe 200, and perform cyclic stirring. After the cyclic stirring for the first time t1, execute step S2.

[0131] For example, corresponding to the above-mentioned embodiment in which the control member 400 is a peristaltic pump and the liquid return member 300 is a single roller peristaltic pump. Figure 5 , set the control component 400 to the closed state and block the delivery pipe 200 at that location; then open the liquid return component 300, and make the roller of the single-roller peristaltic pump move in the counterclockwise direction to intermittently squeeze the material in the delivery pipe 200 back into the liquid storage container 100, thereby achieving reflux stirring of the material in the liquid storage container 100.

[0132] Among them, executing step S2 after reflux stirring for the first time t1 can be understood as that the material in the liquid storage container 100 has achieved the effect of sufficient mixing and uniform particle distribution after reflux stirring for the first time t1. At this time, the reflux stirring can be ended and the material conveying operation of step S2 is executed.

[0133] Among them, the value of the second time t can be set to different values ​​according to different materials.

[0134] The technical features of the above embodiments may be combined arbitrarily. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0135] The above embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present application, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that, for a person of ordinary skill in the art, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present application shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A material conveying system, comprising a stirring working state, characterized in that: The material conveying system comprises: A liquid storage container (100) configured to store materials; A delivery pipe (200), which is connected to the liquid storage container (100); The liquid return member (300) is arranged on the conveying pipe (200) and is configured to drive the material to intermittently flow in the reverse direction in the conveying pipe (200) in the stirring working state, and to drive the material to flow in the forward direction in the conveying pipe (200) during the intermittent period by utilizing the negative pressure generated by the reverse flow in at least a part of the pipeline of the conveying pipe (200), so as to realize the reciprocating flow of the material.

2. The material conveying system according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the stirring working state, during the process in which the liquid return member (300) drives the material to intermittently flow in the reverse direction: The step of driving the material to intermittently flow in the conveying pipe (200) in the reverse direction comprises: When the liquid return component (300) drives the material to flow, the liquid return component (300) causes negative pressure to be formed in the pipe section located on the side of the liquid return component (300) away from the liquid storage container (100); During the intermittent period, the negative pressure generated by the reverse flow in at least a portion of the conveying pipe (200) is used to drive the material to flow in the conveying pipe (200) in the forward direction: When the liquid return component (300) does not drive the material to flow, the liquid return component (300) connects the pipe section that forms negative pressure with the liquid storage container (100) so as to re-absorb the material in the liquid storage container (100) into the conveying pipe (200) through the negative pressure effect.

3. The material conveying system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: A control component (400) is provided on the pipeline of the liquid return component (300) on a side away from the liquid storage container (100); The material conveying system further comprises a discharge working state, in which at least one of the control component (400) and the liquid return component (300) is configured to drive the material to flow forward in the conveying pipe (200), and when one of the components drives the material to flow forward, the other component is in a state of being turned on or driving the material to flow forward; In the stirring working state, the control member (400) is configured to block the delivery pipe (200).

4. The material conveying system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The liquid return member (300) is configured to be inactive and in a conducting state in the discharge working state; The control component (400) is configured to drive the material to flow in a forward direction in the discharge working state, and the control component (400) is a power pump.

5. The material conveying system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The liquid return member (300) is configured to drive the material to flow in a positive direction along the conveying pipe (200) in the material discharging working state; The control component (400) is a power pump configured to drive the material to flow in a forward direction in the discharging working state, or the control component (400) is a control valve configured to be in a conducting state in the discharging working state.

6. The material conveying system according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: The delivery pipe (200) is a hose; The liquid return member (300) comprises an extrusion head (310) and a driver (320) for driving the extrusion head (310) to intermittently move along a partial pipe section of the delivery pipe (200), and the delivery pipe (200) is extruded during the movement of the extrusion head (310) along the delivery pipe (200).

7. The material mixing and conveying system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The extrusion head (310) includes a rolling element rotatably arranged on the driver (320).

8. The material mixing and conveying system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The driver (320) is a rotary drive structure, and the trajectory along which the driver drives the extrusion head (310) to run is a circular trajectory, and at least a portion of the delivery pipe (200) is arranged on the circular trajectory.

9. A material conveying method, characterized in that: The method is carried out using the material conveying system according to any one of claims 3 to 8, which comprises the following steps: S1, determining whether the material in the liquid storage container (100) meets the direct delivery condition, if the direct delivery condition is met, executing step S2, if not, executing step S3; S2, setting the material conveying system to a discharging working state, driving the material in the liquid storage container (100) to flow forward along the conveying pipe (200) to convey the material, and stopping the operation when the material conveying amount meets the demand; S3, setting the material conveying system to a stirring working state, the liquid return component (300) drives the material in the conveying pipe (200) to intermittently reversely flow back to the liquid storage container (100), and utilizes the reflux impact force to stir the material in the liquid storage container (100), and when the liquid return component (300) is in a conducting state, the negative pressure section of the conveying pipe (200) sucks part of the material in the liquid storage container (100) into the conveying pipe (200), so as to realize a reciprocating circulation flow of the material between the liquid storage container (100) and the conveying pipe (200), and perform cyclic stirring, and after the cyclic stirring for a first time t1, execute step S2.

10. The material conveying method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The direct conveying condition is: in a static state, the material is static for a time shorter than a second time t2; in a conveying state, the material is stirred for a time shorter than a third time t3.

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