Manipulator for automatically grabbing lifting lugs at four corners

Abstract

A manipulator capable of automatically grabbing four-corner lifting lugs belongs to the field of ton bag packaging machinery and comprises a hanging bracket, the hanging bracket is connected to an external robot, grabbing mechanisms are arranged at the four-corner ends of the hanging bracket, every two adjacent grabbing mechanisms are symmetrically arranged about the X-axis or the Y-axis, and each grabbing mechanism comprises a suction cup and a lifting lug hooking mechanism. The suction cup can suck and lift the lifting lugs stacked on the upper surface of the ton bag in a lifting mode, a hook body capable of swinging up and down is arranged on the lifting lug hooking mechanism, and when the hook body swings to the lower position, the lower end of the hook body is lower than the bottom end of the suction cup and can penetrate into the inner sides of the lifting lugs lifted after being sucked by the suction cup. The camera is connected with the machine vision control system, the camera obtains an image of the upper surface of the ton bag, and the machine vision control system identifies and confirms the position of the lifting lug and controls the external robot to drive the suction cup to move to the position above the middle of the lifting lug. According to the lifting lug grabbing device, the lifting lugs can be accurately recognized and grabbed, the success rate of grabbing the lifting lugs is increased, and the overall packaging efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a manipulator for automatically grasping the four - corner lifting lugs, belonging to the field of ton - bag packaging machinery. Background Art

[0002] Patent document CN219970151U discloses a device for automatically clamping the four - corner lifting lugs of a ton - bag. This device uses a suction - bag and clamp - lug manipulator to suck the upper surface of the ton - bag and then lift it onto the bag - supporting plates of four supporting - lug mechanisms. The supporting plates move away from the center of the ton - bag simultaneously to hook the lifting lugs stacked on the upper surface of the ton - bag and then spread them outwards. Then, the swinging clamping plates inside the manipulator clamp the lugs and drive the ton - bag to move into the subsequent ton - bag bag - covering and lug - hanging processes. Although this device realizes the function of automatically clamping the four - corner lifting lugs of the ton - bag, during the clamping process, four supporting - lug mechanisms need to cooperate with the suction - bag and clamp - lug manipulator to complete the clamping action simultaneously, resulting in a relatively complex structure and cumbersome clamping actions. In addition, when the four supporting plates move away from the center of the ton - bag simultaneously, it is easy for some supporting plates to fail to hook the lugs and spread them outwards. In this case, the lugs cannot be clamped by the swinging clamping plates inside the manipulator, and the ton - bag cannot enter the subsequent ton - bag bag - covering and lug - hanging processes. At this time, the ton - bag should be removed from the production line, leading to a reduction in the overall packaging efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To solve the problems of cumbersome actions and low working efficiency when clamping the four - corner lifting lugs of a ton - bag in the prior art, the present invention provides a manipulator for automatically grasping the four - corner lifting lugs. It includes a hanging frame, the hanging frame is connected to an external robot, and grasping mechanisms are provided at the four - corner ends of the hanging frame. Two adjacent groups of grasping mechanisms are symmetrically arranged with respect to the X - axis or Y - axis. The grasping mechanism includes a vertically arranged suction cup and a vertically arranged hook - lifting - lug mechanism. The suction cup can be lifted and lowered to suck and lift the lifting lugs stacked on the upper surface of the ton - bag. The hook - lifting - lug mechanism is provided with a hook body that can swing up and down. When the hook body swings to the lower position, its lower end is lower than the bottom end of the suction cup and can penetrate into the inner side of the lifting lug that has been sucked and lifted by the suction cup. A camera is provided in the middle of the lower end of the hanging frame, and the camera is connected to a machine vision control system. The camera acquires the image of the upper surface of the ton - bag, the machine vision control system identifies and confirms the position of the lifting lugs, and controls the external robot to drive the suction cup to move above the middle of the lifting lugs.

[0004] The hook - lifting - lug mechanism includes a pneumatic gripper. Hook bodies are respectively provided at the two swinging ends on the lower part of the pneumatic gripper. The pneumatic gripper can drive the hook bodies to swing downwards and close. A suction cup is provided in the middle below the pneumatic gripper. The upper end of the suction cup is connected to the lower end of the mounting plate, and the upper end of the mounting plate is connected to the fixed end of the pneumatic gripper. The bottom end of the suction cup is higher than the lower end after the hook bodies swing and close.

[0005] The hook - lifting - lug mechanism is connected to a rotary cylinder, and the rotary cylinder drives the hook - lifting - lug mechanism to rotate in the horizontal plane.

[0006] A lifting lug stacked on the upper surface of the ton bag is provided with a lifting lug positioning color block in the middle. The machine vision control system can identify and confirm the position coordinates of the lifting lug positioning color block, and control the external robot to drive the suction cup to move directly above the lifting lug positioning color block.

[0007] The grasping mechanism is connected to the cylinder rod of the horizontal cylinder. The cylinder body of the horizontal cylinder is connected to the hanging frame, and the axis of the cylinder rod of the horizontal cylinder passes through the center of the hanging frame.

[0008] The suction cup is a needle-punched suction cup.

[0009] A supplementary light is further provided at the lower end of the hanging frame, and a light-shielding plate is provided at the upper end of the hanging frame.

[0010] The grasping mechanism further includes a lifting cylinder, and the lifting cylinder drives the suction cup to lift vertically.

[0011] The grasping mechanism further includes a lifting cylinder, and the lifting cylinder drives the suction cup and the hook lifting lug mechanism to lift vertically at the same time.

[0012] The beneficial effects of the present invention are: A. By using the machine vision control system and the camera to identify and position the lower lifting lug, and controlling the grasping mechanism to perform the action of grasping the lifting lug, it ensures that the suction cup can suck the lifting lug at a suitable position and complete the grasping, reduces the requirement for the regularity of manual stacking of ton bags, greatly improves the success rate of grasping the lifting lug, and its grasping structure and action are simple, improving the overall packaging efficiency.

[0013] B. The suction cup and the hook lifting lug mechanism lift vertically at the same time. During the upward movement of the suction cup after sucking the lifting lug, the hook body can swing downward and close, which can avoid the problem of grasping failure caused by the accidental dropping of the lifting lug during the upward pulling of the lifting lug by the suction cup, improving the reliability of the equipment.

[0014] C. By using two groups of hook bodies to swing downward to form a closure, it avoids the phenomenon of accidental unhooking during the process of the manipulator grasping the lifting lug and moving it to the subsequent bag sleeving and hanging device, providing guarantee for its smooth entry into the subsequent lifting lug handover process.

[0015] D. By using the provided needle-punched suction cup, when sucking, the steel needles penetrate into the lifting lug, which can more reliably pull up the lifting lug, reducing the risk of dropping during the pulling up of the lifting lug, and further improving the reliability of the equipment.

[0016] E. By using the provided supplementary light and light-shielding plate, it can increase the supplementary light effect when acquiring images, reduce the influence of external factors such as reflection, make the image clearer, the machine vision control system can more accurately position the lifting lug, and improve the accuracy of the movement of the external robot.

[0017] F. A lifting lug positioning color block is provided on the lifting lug, so that the machine vision control system can determine the exact position of the lifting lug by identifying the coordinates of the lifting lug positioning color block, while reducing the recognition difficulty of the machine vision control system.

[0018] G. The use of machine vision control system greatly improves the practicality of the manipulator. According to the position of the lifting lugs located by the system, the order of grabbing the lifting lugs can be controlled to achieve optimal work efficiency.

[0019] H. Use the horizontal cylinder to drive the grabbing mechanism to move horizontally outward, so that the lifting lug grabbed by the manipulator moves to the vicinity of the hook of the bagging hook device, providing a guarantee for the lifting lug to be hooked and handed over smoothly.

[0020] I. The pneumatic gripper is driven by a rotary cylinder to rotate in the horizontal plane to change the direction of the hook. On the one hand, when the hook cannot pass through the lifting eye after swinging downward, the direction of the hook can be adjusted to meet the grabbing action of the lifting eye. On the other hand, when the lifting eye is separated from the hook body, its opening direction can avoid the hook of the bag hooking device, further ensuring that the lifting eye can be hooked and handed over smoothly. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional axonometric view of the manipulator of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 2 It is a front view of the manipulator of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 Bottom view of .

[0024] Figure 4 It is a structural diagram of a ton bag.

[0025] Figure 5 It is a structural diagram of the grasping mechanism.

[0026] Figure 6 It is a structural diagram of the hook and lug mechanism.

[0027] Figure 7 It is a state diagram of the camera acquiring an image.

[0028] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of a single suction cup sucking a lifting ear.

[0029] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the state where four suction cups simultaneously absorb the lifting ears.

[0030] Figure 10 It is a schematic diagram of the state of the robot arm completing the grasping of the lifting ear.

[0031] Figure 11It is a schematic diagram of the state of the manipulator transfer lifting lug.

[0032] Figure 12 It is a schematic diagram of the state of the manipulator after completing the transfer of the lifting lug. Specific implementation manner

[0033] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present invention clearer, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are exemplary and are intended to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0034] See Figures 1 to 10 , a manipulator for automatically grasping the four-corner lifting lugs, which includes a suspension bracket 1. The suspension bracket 1 is connected to an external robot. Gripping mechanisms 2 are provided at the four corners of the suspension bracket 1. Two adjacent groups of gripping mechanisms 2 are symmetrically arranged with respect to the X-axis or the Y-axis. The gripping mechanism 2 includes a vertically arranged suction cup 21 and a vertically arranged hook lifting lug mechanism 22. The suction cup 21 can be lifted to suck and lift the lifting lug B stacked on the upper surface of the ton bag A. The hook lifting lug mechanism 22 is provided with a hook body 221 that can swing up and down and is approximately L-shaped. When the hook body 221 swings to the lower position, its lower end is lower than the bottom end of the suction cup 21 and can penetrate into the inner side of the lifting lug B that is sucked and lifted by the suction cup 21. A camera 3 is provided in the middle of the lower end of the suspension bracket 1. The camera 3 is connected to the machine vision control system. The camera 3 acquires an image of the upper surface of the ton bag A. The machine vision control system identifies and confirms the position of the lifting lug B, and controls the external robot to drive the suction cup 21 to move above the middle of the lifting lug B. The system determines the order of grasping the lifting lug B according to the position coordinates of the lifting lug B, and can control some of the gripping mechanisms 2 to grasp the lower lifting lug B first, and then sequentially control the external robot to move so that the remaining gripping mechanisms 2 grasp the lower lifting lug B. The system can also directly control the four groups of gripping mechanisms 2 to grasp the lower lifting lug B according to the position coordinates.

[0035] Further, a lifting lug positioning color block C is provided in the middle of the lifting lug B stacked on the upper surface of the ton bag A. The machine vision control system can identify and confirm the position coordinates of the lifting lug positioning color block C, and control the external robot to drive the suction cup 21 to move directly above the lifting lug positioning color block C. The machine vision control system can determine the accurate position of the lifting lug B by identifying the position coordinates of the lifting lug positioning color block C.

[0036] Further, a supplementary light 4 is also provided at the lower end of the suspension bracket 1, and a light shielding plate 5 is provided at the upper end of the suspension bracket 1 to increase the supplementary light effect and reduce the influence of external factors such as reflection, so that the acquired image is clearer, and the machine vision control system can more accurately identify the position coordinates of the lifting lug positioning color block C on the lifting lug B.

[0037] Further, the grasping mechanism 2 further includes a lifting cylinder 23. The lifting cylinder 23 drives the suction cup 21 and the hook and ear mechanism 22 to vertically lift and lower simultaneously. After the suction cup 21 vertically descends to suck the ear B stacked on the upper surface of the empty bag and then rises, the suction cup 21 pulls the ear B upward to form a loop. During the process that the suction cup 21 vertically rises and drives the ear B to be pulled upward, the hook body 221 provided on the hook and ear mechanism 22 swings downward and penetrates into the inner side of the ear B sucked by the suction cup 21. The hook and ear mechanism 22 may not lift and lower simultaneously with the suction cup 21, that is, the lifting cylinder 23 drives the suction cup 21 to lift and lower alone. After the suction cup 21 drives the ear B to vertically rise to the initial position, the hook body 221 provided on the hook and ear mechanism 22 then penetrates into the inner side of the ear B sucked by the suction cup 21.

[0038] Further, the suction cup 21 is preferably a needle suction cup, and other structures such as Bernoulli suction cups can also be used. When the needle suction cup vertically descends to suck the ear B, its steel needles penetrate into the ear B. When the needle suction cup vertically rises, the ear B at the penetrated part is driven to be pulled upward.

[0039] Further, the hook and ear mechanism 22 includes a pneumatic gripper 222. Hook bodies 221 are respectively provided at the swinging ends on both sides of the lower part of the pneumatic gripper 222. The pneumatic gripper 222 can drive the hook bodies 221 to swing downward and close. A suction cup 21 is provided in the middle below the pneumatic gripper 222. The upper end of the suction cup 21 is connected to the lower end of the mounting plate 223, and the upper end of the mounting plate 223 is connected to the fixed end of the pneumatic gripper 222. The bottom end of the suction cup 21 is higher than the lower end after the hook bodies 221 swing and close. During the process that the suction cup 21 vertically descends to suck the ear B, the pneumatic gripper 222 is in an open state of swinging upward. In addition to the structural form in which the two groups of hook bodies 221 swing downward and close to hook the ear B, a structural form such as one group of hook bodies 221 swinging downward and penetrating into the inner side of the ear B lifted after being sucked by the suction cup 21 can also be adopted.

[0040] Further, referring to Figure 11 the grasping mechanism 2 is connected to the cylinder rod of the horizontal cylinder 6. The cylinder body of the horizontal cylinder 6 is connected to the hanging frame 1, and the axis of the cylinder rod of the horizontal cylinder 6 passes through the center of the hanging frame 1. The cylinder rod of the horizontal cylinder 6 is preferably connected to the cylinder body of the lifting cylinder 23 inside the grasping mechanism 2. The cylinder rod of the horizontal cylinder 6 can also be connected to the hook and ear mechanism 22 or the rotary cylinder 24 etc. inside the grasping mechanism 2. The horizontal cylinder 6 drives the grasping mechanism 2 to horizontally move outward, so that the ear B grasped by the hook body 221 moves near the hook of the bag sleeving and hanging device, for preparing the hook hanging handover of the ear B.

[0041] Further, referring to Figure 12, the hook hanger mechanism 22 is connected to the rotary cylinder 24, and the rotary cylinder 24 drives the hook hanger mechanism 22 to rotate in the horizontal plane to change the direction of the hook body 221; the rotary cylinder 224 is preferably connected to the cylinder rod of the lifting cylinder 23, and can also be connected to the hanger 1 or the cylinder rod end of the horizontal cylinder 6; during the subsequent hook hanging action, the hook body 221 needs to approach the hook handover lug B of the bag sleeving and hanging device. Before the hook body 221 opens to release the lug B, it can rotate a certain angle to avoid the hook of the bag sleeving and hanging device and complete the handover lug action.

[0042] See Figures 7 to 12 , to illustrate the working principle of the embodiment of the present invention: The external robot drives the manipulator to move, so that the hanger 1 moves directly above the ton bag A, and the camera 33 acquires the images of the ton bag A and the lug B stacked on the upper surface of the ton bag A; The machine vision control system identifies the lug positioning color blocks C on the lug B, confirms the position coordinates of the four lug positioning color blocks C, and according to the coordinate position situation, the system selects the grasping method and controls the movement of the external robot, so that one set of suction cups 21 is directly above the lug positioning color block C on one of the corner lugs B; The lifting cylinder 23 drives the suction cup 21 to descend vertically to suck the lower lug B and then rise, and the pneumatic gripper 222 drives the hook body 221 to swing downward to close and hook the lug B sucked by the suction cup 21; The system controls the movement of the external robot to successively make the other three sets of suction cups 21 face the lug positioning color block C on the lug B and perform grasping in sequence to complete the grasping action of the four corner lugs; After the grasping is completed, the external robot drives the manipulator and the ton bag A to move to the lower part of the middle of the bag sleeving and hanging device. The horizontal cylinder 6 drives the grasping mechanism 2 to move outward synchronously, so that the upper end of the lug B moves to the inner side of the hook. The suction cup 21 releases the lug B, and the rotary cylinder 24 drives the pneumatic gripper 222 to rotate 90 degrees in the horizontal plane. The pneumatic gripper 222 drives the hook body 221 to swing upward to open, so that the upper end of the lug B falls and is hooked on the hook to complete the handover action of the lug B.

Claims

1. A manipulator for automatically grasping four-corner lifting ears, comprising a hanging frame (1), the hanging frame (1) being connected to an external robot, characterized in that: The four corners of the hanger (1) are provided with gripping mechanisms (2), and two adjacent groups of gripping mechanisms (2) are symmetrically arranged about the X-axis or the Y-axis. The gripping mechanisms (2) include a vertically arranged suction cup (21) and a vertically arranged hook and ear mechanism (22). The suction cup (21) can be lifted and lowered to suck and lift the ear (B) stacked on the upper surface of the ton bag (A). The hook and ear mechanism (22) is provided with a hook body (221) that can swing up and down. When the hook body (221) swings to a lower position, its lower end is lower than the bottom end of the suction cup (21) and can penetrate into the inner side of the ear (B) lifted after being sucked by the suction cup (21). A camera (3) is provided in the middle of the lower end of the hanger (1). The camera (3) is connected to a machine vision control system. The camera (3) obtains an image of the upper surface of the ton bag (A). The machine vision control system identifies and confirms the position of the ear (B), and controls an external robot to drive the suction cup (21) to move to the upper middle of the ear (B).

2. The robot for automatically grabbing the four-corner lifting ears according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The hook ear mechanism (22) comprises a pneumatic clamp (222), and hook bodies (221) are respectively provided at the swinging ends on both sides of the lower part of the pneumatic clamp (222). The pneumatic clamp (222) can drive the hook body (221) to swing downward and close. A suction cup (21) is provided at the middle part below the pneumatic clamp (222), and the upper end of the suction cup (21) is connected to the lower end of the mounting plate (223). The upper end of the mounting plate (223) is connected to the fixed end of the pneumatic clamp (222), and the bottom end of the suction cup (21) is higher than the lower end of the hook body (221) after it swings closed.

3. The robot for automatically grabbing the four-corner lifting ears according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The hook-lifting lug mechanism (22) is connected to a rotary cylinder (24), and the rotary cylinder (24) drives the hook-lifting lug mechanism (22) to rotate in a horizontal plane.

4. The robot for automatically grabbing the four-corner lifting ears according to claim 1 is characterized in that: A lifting ear positioning color block (C) is provided in the middle of the lifting ear (B) stacked on the upper surface of the ton bag (A). The machine vision control system can identify and confirm the position coordinates of the lifting ear positioning color block (C), and control the external robot to drive the suction cup (21) to move to the top of the lifting ear positioning color block (C).

5. The robot for automatically grabbing the four-corner lifting ears according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The grabbing mechanism (2) is connected to the cylinder rod of the horizontal cylinder (6), the cylinder body of the horizontal cylinder (6) is connected to the hanger (1), and the axis of the cylinder rod of the horizontal cylinder (6) passes through the center of the hanger (1).

6. The robot for automatically grabbing the four-corner lifting ears according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The suction cup (21) is a needle-piercing suction cup.

7. The robot for automatically grabbing the four-corner lifting ears according to claim 1 is characterized in that: A fill light (4) is also provided at the lower end of the hanger (1), and a sunshade (5) is provided at the upper end of the hanger (1).

8. The robot for automatically grabbing the four-corner lifting ears according to claim 1 or 5, characterized in that: The gripping mechanism (2) further comprises a lifting cylinder (23), and the lifting cylinder (23) drives the suction cup (21) to vertically lift and lower.

9. The robot for automatically grabbing the four-corner lifting ears according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The grabbing mechanism (2) further comprises a lifting cylinder (23), and the lifting cylinder (23) drives the suction cup (21) and the hook and ear mechanism (22) to lift vertically simultaneously.

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