Tobacco leaf selection system and process method

Abstract

The invention discloses a tobacco leaf selection system and process method, and belongs to the technical field of tobacco processing. Comprising a raw material input module, a sorting module and a finished product output module, and the finished product output module comprises a solid box conveying line and an empty box conveying line; the raw material input module conveys tobacco bales to the sorting module, a tobacco leaf sorting worker unpacks the tobacco bales in the sorting module and then selects tobacco leaves, the tobacco leaves are subpackaged into different turnover boxes according to grading requirements, and the turnover boxes are conveyed by a solid box conveying line after being full. Fully-loaded turnover boxes on the solid box conveying line are taken out at the output end of the finished product output module, tobacco leaves in the turnover boxes are poured into the corresponding grading tobacco frames, and then the empty turnover boxes are put into the empty box conveying line and sent back to the sorting module to be taken by a tobacco leaf sorting worker; according to the tobacco leaf selection system and the technological method, manual carrying labor is effectively saved, the automation degree is high, logistics is smooth, information flow is accurate, meanwhile, potential safety hazards of an operation area are reduced, and the tobacco leaf selection system and the technological method are suitable for large-scale production.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a tobacco leaf selection system and process method, belonging to the tobacco processing technical field. BACKGROUND

[0002] Before processing, tobacco leaf processing enterprises need to grade and select the purchased raw material tobacco leaves, remove green tobacco, moldy tobacco and sundries in the raw material tobacco leaves, and at the same time, according to the sorting quality requirements of cigarette enterprises, the tobacco leaves are industrially graded to form tobacco module formula, and then the module formula is assembled according to the process requirements for tobacco leaf processing. In the process of tobacco grading and selection, the steel tobacco frame containing multiple bales is first transported to the vicinity of the selection table, the bales are taken out from the tobacco frame by manual, the tobacco leaves packaged in the bales are unpacked, the tobacco leaves are identified by manual piece by piece, and the tobacco leaves of the same grade are loaded into the selected steel tobacco frame according to a certain arrangement order; at the same time of tobacco leaf sorting, the accumulated empty bales or bale pieces need to be collected and stored; the selected green tobacco, moldy tobacco and sundries need to be collected and excluded from production; the remaining tobacco pieces in the sorting process also need to be collected and stored for subsequent use.

[0003] The current commonly used tobacco leaf grading and selecting method is: manual unpacking, grading and selecting, and classified loading in the frame on the selection table or clean ground. In this method, the workers need to carry the bales from the steel tobacco frame to the selection table or clean ground, unpack the bales, grade and select, classify and stack the tobacco leaves of different grades, and then put the selected tobacco leaves of the same grade into the selected tobacco frame according to a certain arrangement order after the quality inspection. This method has the following disadvantages: 1. The bales need to be manually carried from the steel tobacco frame to the selection table or clean ground, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive; 2. A mobile quality inspector is needed to inspect the selected tobacco leaves at each station, and for hundreds of industrialized sorting stations, the number of quality inspections required is large, and the quality of the inspector is high; 3. The classified stacking of qualified tobacco leaves and the arrangement of the classified tobacco leaves into the designated steel tobacco frame also need to be carried out by the selection workers, which is prone to errors and causes confusion of the tobacco grades; 4. The environment of the leaf selection site is complex, the bales need to be transported to each station by forklift or hydraulic cart, and the empty bales or bale pieces, green and moldy tobacco, sundries and tobacco pieces also need to be collected by a separate person, and the selected bales need to be pulled away by the forklift and weighed and labeled nearby, the forklift and the workers work together on the sorting site, which has a high safety risk. 5. The information flow of each process is not smooth, and it strongly depends on manual recording, which is low in efficiency and prone to errors.

[0004] On the basis of this method, some re-drying enterprises take the tobacco leaves after grading into different color plastic turnover boxes, and then send them to a certain area through roller conveyor, and then put them into designated tobacco frame according to the color of the turnover box by manual, which separates the selected tobacco leaf frame process from the sorting process in the operation space, to a certain extent, reduces the mixing of logistics, personnel and vehicle flow in the field operation, but cannot completely avoid the safety hazards of mixed operation of personnel and vehicles in the selected leaf work area, and increases the process of manually putting tobacco leaves in the turnover box into the tobacco frame, so the labor intensity does not decrease; at the same time, the fluctuation of the weight of tobacco leaves in the turnover box has a great influence on the fluctuation of the total weight of the tobacco leaves in the frame, which is not conducive to the accurate assembly of the subsequent module formula. The Chinese utility model patent with application number 201721148111.2 discloses a kind of precision leaf selection line precision piece selection mode tobacco piece sorting system, which adopts double-ring type conveying line, inner ring conveying line carries out tobacco bale conveying sorting, and outer ring conveying line carries out selected tobacco piece conveying and frame loading, but its structure is compact, the field environment is still relatively complex, the leaf selection efficiency is limited, and the classification and frame loading according to nicotine content cannot meet the diversified grading requirements of leaf threshing and redrying enterprises. SUMMARY

[0005] (I) Technical problems to be solved The technical problem to be solved by the present application is to solve the problems of time and labor consumption in existing tobacco leaf sorting, complex leaf selection site environment, great safety hazards, poor information flow in each process, low efficiency and easy to make mistakes, and management problems caused by difficulty in statistical work and qualified rate of individual leaf selection workers.

[0006] (II) Technical solutions In order to solve the above technical problems, on the one hand, the present application provides a tobacco leaf selection system for grading the tobacco leaves in each tobacco bale in the raw material frame and then loading them into different turnover boxes, and then merging them into different graded tobacco frames, so as to realize the grading and selection of tobacco leaves. The tobacco leaf selection system comprises a raw material input module, a sorting module and a finished product output module, the finished product output module comprises a full box conveying line and an empty box conveying line and is arranged in a double-layer structure, and the empty box conveying line is a closed loop conveying structure. The raw material input module is provided with an unloading manipulator at the input end to transfer the tobacco bales in the raw material frame to the raw material input module, the raw material input module conveys the tobacco bales to the sorting module, the leaf selection worker selects the tobacco leaves after opening the bales in the sorting module, and packs the tobacco leaves into different turnover boxes according to the grading requirements, the full turnover boxes are conveyed by the full box conveying line, the finished product output module is provided with an unloading manipulator at the output end, the full turnover boxes on the finished product output module are taken out by the unloading manipulator, the tobacco leaves in the turnover boxes are poured into the corresponding graded tobacco frames, and then the empty turnover boxes are put into the empty box conveying line to return to the sorting module for the leaf selection worker to use.

[0007] The tobacco leaf selection system adopts a modular structure consisting of a raw material input module, a sorting module and a finished product output module. Through the above structure, the tobacco leaf grading process can be divided into different sections, with clear division of labor and no interference with each other. The information flow of each process is smooth, the leaf selection site environment is simple, and safety hazards are reduced. Tobacco leaf sorting saves time and effort, improves sorting efficiency and is less prone to errors.

[0008] Furthermore, the raw material input module, sorting module and finished product output module are arranged in a straight line, an L shape or a U shape to adapt to different types of workshops and site layouts.

[0009] Furthermore, the tobacco leaf selection system also includes an information reading device, a solid box diversion conveying device, an information system and a control system. The output end of the solid box conveying line diverts multiple graded conveying lines to output turnover boxes containing different grades of tobacco leaves respectively, and an information reading device and a solid box diversion conveying device are sequentially arranged at the diversion starting position along the output direction. It should be noted that each diversion point generally diverts two lines, so when three or more graded conveying lines are set, there will be multiple diversion points, and it is necessary to set a solid box diversion conveying device at each diversion point. However, it is generally only necessary to set an information reading device at the initial diversion starting position (diversion point). Of course, an information reading device can also be set in front of the solid box diversion conveying device at each diversion point. The information reading device, information system, control system and solid box diversion conveying device are sequentially connected or electrically connected, and the turnover box is provided with an electronic tag for identification by the information reading device. The out-of-frame robot and the in-frame robot are electrically connected to the control system respectively. The control system can separately control the unloading and loading robots, as well as the full-case diversion conveying equipment (e.g., start and stop control). The information system collects information about the turnover boxes output from different graded conveyor lines and feeds it back to the control system, enabling more intelligent and automated control. The full-case diversion conveying equipment diverts the full cases on the full-case conveyor lines to different graded conveyor lines for output.

[0010] Furthermore, the tobacco leaf selection system also includes a quality inspection platform and a weighing and metering device. The grading conveyor line is sequentially provided with a quality inspection platform and a weighing and metering device along the conveying direction, and tobacco leaf quality inspection and automatic weighing and metering are performed on the full boxes respectively. The weighing and metering device is communicatively connected or electrically connected to the information system, and the full box weight information is synchronously transmitted to the information system. Further, the empty box conveying line is coincided with the full box conveying line at one end of the sorting module (and layered up and down), reducing the floor area, and far away from the output end of the sorting module, or the empty box conveying line is provided with multiple grading recovery lines coincided with the grading conveying lines at the end far away from the sorting module, the conveying directions of which are opposite, and the empty box converging conveying equipment is arranged at the confluence of the grading recovery lines, and the empty box converging conveying equipment is electrically connected with the control system, and the empty boxes conveyed by the grading recovery lines are converged on the circulating line of the empty box conveying line by the empty box converging conveying equipment, facilitating the recovery of the empty boxes. It should be noted that the empty box conveying line generally converges two grading recovery line routes at each confluence, so when three or more grading recovery lines are arranged, multiple confluences will be formed, and the empty box converging conveying equipment needs to be arranged at each confluence.

[0011] Further, the sorting module includes manual selection tables, and the manual selection tables are arranged on one side or both sides of the raw material input module, the full box conveying line passes through all the manual selection tables in the tobacco leaf selection system, and then bends to the discharge end of the system; and the empty box conveying line is arranged in a circulating manner in the form of an inner ring or an outer ring relative to the multiple manual selection tables. More specifically, the manual selection tables are arranged in two rows, and multiple manual selection tables are arranged in each row, the output end of the raw material input module is arranged on both sides of the sorting module or across the two rows of manual selection tables, and the end of the manual selection table close to the raw material input module is provided with a downward slope, and the raw material input module and the manual selection table are connected through the downward slope, so that the leaf selection workers can pull the tobacco bales along the downward slope to the manual selection table, and more working energy can be concentrated on the grading selection of tobacco leaves.

[0012] Further, the output end of the raw material input module is arranged on both sides of the sorting module, the input end of the finished product output module is arranged across the middle part of the sorting module, the full box conveying line starts at the inner side of one row of manual selection tables, passes through the row of manual selection tables to the opposite end of the inner side, reverses to the other row of manual selection tables, passes through the inner side of the other row of manual selection tables, and then branches into multiple grading conveying lines. Another arrangement is that the output end of the raw material input module is arranged across the middle part of the sorting module, and the input end of the finished product output module is arranged around the outer side of the sorting module; the full box conveying line starts at the outer side of one row of manual selection tables, passes through the row of manual selection tables to the opposite end of the outer side, reverses to the other row of manual selection tables, passes through the outer side of the other row of manual selection tables, and then branches into multiple grading conveying lines. The arrangement is flexible and diverse.

[0013] On the other hand, the application also provides a tobacco leaf selection process, which is suitable for the tobacco leaf selection system described above and includes the following steps: S1 cigarette pack loading: The raw cigarette racks containing cigarette packs are transported to the input end of the raw material input module by a forklift or other means. The unloading robot grabs the cigarette packs in the raw cigarette racks and moves them to the raw material input module. The cigarette packs are then transported to the sides of the manual sorting stations in the sorting module. S2 Tobacco Leaf Sorting: Leaf sorting workers remove tobacco bales from the raw material input module along the sliding ramp, unpack them, and sort the leaves. The tobacco leaves of each grade selected according to requirements are placed into different empty turnover boxes (the turnover boxes can be set to different colors). The sorted debris, broken tobacco, empty flax bales or flax sheets, and flax ropes are also placed into different empty turnover boxes. Once any turnover box is full, the leaf sorting worker places the full box on the full box conveyor line and takes out the corresponding empty box from the empty box conveyor line to continue sorting. S3 Full case conveying and diversion: Full cases are transported along the full case conveyor line and pass through the information reading device, which reads the information on the electronic tag embedded in the case and transmits it to the information system. The control system controls the full case diversion conveying equipment according to the instructions of the information system to divert the full cases and then transport them along the graded conveyor line; S4 Full Case Quality Inspection and Weighing: Before the diverted full cases arrive at the full case delivery ports on the grading conveyor line, they first pass through the quality inspection platform, where quality inspectors conduct quality inspections and pick out tobacco leaves that do not meet the grade (or pick out unqualified full cases and put them back on the empty case conveyor line and notify the corresponding leaf selection workers to rework). Qualified full cases continue to be conveyed to the weighing and metering device for weighing and metering. The weight information is transmitted to the information system, and the full cases continue to be conveyed to the full case delivery port; S5: Tobacco framing and empty box return: A frame-feeding robot grabs a full box and flips the tobacco inside onto the designated position of a grading frame. The empty box is then placed on the empty box conveyor line. A weighing device is used to calculate the weight of the tobacco loaded into the grading frame. Once the weight meets the standard, the grading frame is moved by a forklift and replaced with a new one. S6 debris recycling: Full boxes loaded with sundries, broken cigarettes, empty sacks or sacks, and hemp ropes are automatically diverted and transported to the designated full box output port after being identified by the information system. The box is placed at the recycling station by a frame-entering robot, and the recycling workers carry out unified processing and place the empty boxes nearby on the empty box conveyor line.

[0014] More specifically, the leaf selecting workers and quality inspectors are respectively equipped with portable information readers with different numbers. The leaf selecting workers bind the turnover boxes with personal information through the portable information readers. When the quality inspectors inspect unqualified turnover boxes, the quality inspectors read the information through the portable information reader and directly place the boxes on the nearest empty box conveyor line, and notify the leaf selecting workers at the corresponding workstations through the information system to pick up the boxes from the empty box conveyor line and rework them.

[0015] (3) Beneficial effects The above technical solution of the present invention has the following advantages: 1) The cigarette pack loading station provided by the present invention is centrally located at the feed end of the system, the tobacco leaf framing station is centrally located at the discharge end of the system, the selection station and the turnover box operation are located in the middle of the system, and the forklift operation area for transporting cigarette frames is far away from the selection station where people are concentrated. The logistics of raw material input and finished product output of the system are simple and smooth, which improves the operating efficiency of the system while greatly reducing the safety hazards of mixed operations between people and vehicles.

[0016] 2) The turnover box (full and empty) conveyor line provided by the present invention adopts an upper and lower double-layer arrangement. The full boxes on the upper full box conveyor line are transported immediately after being placed, and are automatically identified and diverted to the tobacco framing station. The empty boxes on the lower empty box conveyor line are returned from the tobacco framing station and converged into a circular conveyor close to the manual selection station. Each manual selection station can access the box at any time as needed. The system layout is reasonable, compact, and occupies a small area.

[0017] 3) The quality inspection stations provided by the present invention are installed on the graded conveyor lines of the full boxes that have been sorted by grade. The quality inspectors only need to conduct quality inspections on the full boxes of a single grade or at most two grades that pass through this station, which greatly improves inspection efficiency. When each station and quality inspection station of the manual selection table are equipped with a portable (mobile) information reading device, this system can realize the traceability of leaf selection quality information. The quality inspectors can place the full boxes that fail the quality inspection on the empty box conveyor line nearby and notify the leaf selectors at the corresponding stations through the information system to remove the boxes from the circulating empty box conveyor line and rework them. This improves efficiency while ensuring the grade accuracy and stable quality of the framed tobacco leaves.

[0018] 4). The sorting method provided by the present invention preferentially adopts turnover boxes of different colors corresponding to the graded tobacco leaves, as well as empty burlap bags or burlap ropes, broken tobacco leaves, and sundries. The selectors only need to put the turnover boxes of corresponding colors according to the tobacco leaf grade and material type, and place the full boxes on the full box conveyor line. When a portable (mobile) information reading device is configured, an action of scanning and reading the fixed information mark on the turnover box is added. The turnover box information is automatically recorded and processed by the information system, and after the information reading device of the full box conveyor line reads the turnover box information, the control system automatically distributes and diverts it, and the robot at the tobacco leaf framing station automatically loads the graded tobacco frame of the corresponding grade or places it on the empty burlap bag, broken tobacco, and sundries recovery station. The entire system has a high degree of automation, accurate information flow, and the probability of human error is minimized, which is very suitable for large-scale production of tobacco leaf grading and selection.

[0019] 5) The tobacco leaf selection system provided by the present invention can be arranged in a straight, L, or U-shaped configuration by flexibly adjusting the logistics delivery path and direction to adapt to different types of workshops and site layouts. The tobacco bale loading action at the system's feed end and the tobacco leaf framing action at the discharge end can also be replaced by fully manual methods, providing enterprises with a good investment-output ratio and flexible expansion and upgrade space.

[0020] 6). The raw material input module provided by the present invention directly transports the cigarette packs to a higher position on one side of each manual selection table. The selectors can very conveniently pull the cigarette packs down the slide ramp to the manual selection table, and focus more on the grading and selection of tobacco leaves. The full boxes of turnover boxes that have been packaged are placed on the full box conveyor line on the other side of the manual selection table, and then the corresponding empty boxes are removed from the empty box conveyor line to continue tobacco leaf selection, which reduces labor intensity, improves work efficiency, and is less likely to cause grading errors or mixed loading errors.

[0021] In addition to the technical problems solved by the present invention, the technical features of the technical solutions constituted, and the advantages brought about by the technical features of these technical solutions described above, other technical features of the present invention and the advantages brought about by these technical features will be further explained in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the internal circulation plan layout of the tobacco leaf selection system of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the side view of the artificial selection platform.

[0025] Figure 3 for Figure 1 Schematic side view of the tobacco leaf framing station.

[0026] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of one of the planar layouts of the external circulation type of the tobacco leaf selection system of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 5 for Figure 4 Schematic side view of the cigarette pack loading station.

[0028] Figure 6 for Figure 4Schematic side view of the tobacco leaf framing station.

[0029] Figure 7 This is another schematic diagram of the planar layout of the external circulation type tobacco leaf selection system of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 8 for Figure 4 、 Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the side view of the artificial selection platform.

[0031] In the figure: 1. Raw material cigarette frame; 2. Frame-out robot; 3. Loading and conveying equipment; 4. Cigarette package conveying and accumulation equipment; 5. Downhill ramp; 6. Manual selection table; 7. Full box conveyor line; 8. Empty box conveyor line; 9. Information reading device; 10. Full box diversion and conveying equipment; 11. Quality inspection platform; 12. Weighing and metering device; 13. Full box output port; 14. Frame-in robot; 15. Grading cigarette frame; 16. Recycling station; 17. Empty box input port; 18. Empty box merging and conveying equipment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] To make the purpose, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention more clear, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0033] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they may refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; mechanical connections or electrical connections; direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; and internal communication between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0034] Example 1 The embodiment provides a tobacco leaf selection system, which comprises a turnover box, a raw material input module (mostly a conveying belt structure), a sorting module, a finished product output module (mostly a conveying roller structure), an information reading device 9, a full-box shunt conveying equipment 10, empty-box confluence conveying equipment 18 (the empty-box confluence conveying equipment 18 is used for converging empty boxes conveyed back from each tobacco leaf framing station into the empty-box conveying line 8 of the turnover box), a weighing and metering device 12, an information system and a control system (the information system and the control system are not shown in the drawing, and it should be noted that the information system and the control system of the embodiment can be realized by using prior art means, such as PLC control. The information system mainly collects information and then feeds back to the control system, and the control system controls the start and stop of each device connected thereto and other work). The raw material input module comprises a feeding conveying equipment 3 and a tobacco bale conveying and accumulating equipment 4, a tobacco bale feeding station is arranged at the feeding conveying equipment 3, a frame discharging mechanical arm 2 and a raw material tobacco frame 1 are arranged at the tobacco bale feeding station, the sorting module comprises a plurality of manual selection tables 6 arranged in order, and the manual selection tables 6 and the tobacco bale conveying and accumulating equipment 4 are connected through a downward slide 5, the finished product output module comprises a turnover box full-box conveying line 7 and an empty-box conveying line 8, a quality inspection platform 11 (station), a tobacco leaf framing station and a recovery station 16 are arranged at the output end of the finished product output module, an in-frame mechanical arm 14 and a graded tobacco frame 15 are arranged at the tobacco leaf framing station. It should be noted that the control system can be electrically connected with the information reading device 9, the full-box shunt conveying equipment 10, the empty-box confluence conveying equipment 18, the weighing and metering device 12, the feeding conveying equipment 3, the tobacco bale conveying and accumulating equipment 4, the frame discharging mechanical arm 2, the turnover box full-box conveying line 7, the empty-box conveying line 8 and the in-frame mechanical arm 14 and the like to control the work of the devices respectively.

[0035] The tobacco bale feeding station is arranged at the feeding end of the system, and a frame discharging mechanical arm 2 automatic mechanical arm grabbing mode or a manually operated power-assisted handling mechanical arm is used to carry the tobacco bales stacked in the steel raw material tobacco frame 1 to the feeding conveying equipment 3 one by one, and the tobacco bales are conveyed to each manual selection table 6 by the tobacco bale conveying and accumulating equipment 4.

[0036] The orderly arranged multi-station manual selection table 6 is arranged on one side or both sides of the cigarette pack conveying and accumulation equipment 4. The side of the cigarette pack conveying and accumulation equipment 4 is connected to the inner side of the selection table through a sliding ramp 5. The leaf selection workers at each station pull the cigarette packs from the cigarette pack conveying and accumulation equipment 4 along the sliding ramp 5 to the selection table, and complete the process of unpacking and selecting leaves, and pack the tobacco leaves into turnover boxes of different (colors) according to grading requirements. The empty hemp packs or hemp pieces and hemp ropes, broken tobacco pieces, sundries, etc. generated in the process are also packed into different turnover boxes. After any turnover box is full, it can be placed on the turnover box full box conveyor line 7 at one end of the manual selection table 6 by the leaf selection workers. Each turnover box is fixedly embedded with an easy-to-read electronic tag (such as RFID, barcode or QR code, etc.) and has a unique identification code for automatic identification by the machine (information reading device 9 and portable information reader). The turnover boxes are lightweight rectangular boxes of the same size and specifications but different appearance colors. One grade of tobacco leaves is packed in one color (empty hemp bags or hemp pieces and hemp ropes, broken tobacco pieces, and sundries can correspond to one color) for easy manual identification. The length of the turnover box is appropriate for holding tobacco leaves without folding or breaking, and the weight of the actual box after filling is appropriate for convenient short-distance transportation by leaf selectors.

[0037] Exemplarily, the turnover box full box conveyor line 7 and the empty box conveyor line 8 are arranged in a double-layer configuration, with the upper layer conveying full turnover boxes and the lower layer conveying empty turnover boxes; the turnover box full box conveyor line 7 and the empty box conveyor line 8 of this system can be arranged flexibly, but generally present an inner ring or outer ring circular arrangement relative to the multi-station manual selection table 6; the upper layer full box conveyor line 7 has a clear starting point, passes through the outside of all the manual selection tables 6 in this system in parallel, and detours to the discharge end of this system, and conveys the full boxes to each tobacco leaf framing station through the full box diversion conveying equipment 10.

[0038] The full-box diversion conveyor 10 is used to automatically divert full boxes to different tobacco framing stations according to tobacco leaf grade. This diversion is based on the electronic tag information on the turnover boxes read by the information reader 9. After processing by the information system, the control system controls the full-box diversion conveyor 10 to perform the diversion operation. The information reader 9 is located before the first full-box diversion conveyor 10 and is used to read the electronic tag information on the turnover boxes and transmit the read information to the information system. The quality inspection platform 11 (station) and weighing and metering device 12 are located after the full-box diversion conveyor 10 and before the tobacco framing station. They respectively perform tobacco leaf quality inspection and automatic weighing on the full boxes, and the full-box weight information is simultaneously transmitted to the information system. It should be noted that the grading conveyor line after the full-box diversion conveyor 10 can use a step-by-step conveyor belt to facilitate quality inspection and weighing. Other existing technologies can also be used to implement quality inspection and weighing operations on the grading conveyor line.

[0039] The tobacco leaf framing station is arranged at the discharge end of the system, and the tobacco leaves in the graded real boxes after the split are loaded into the corresponding steel graded tobacco frames 15 according to requirements, and the empty boxes are placed into the empty box conveying line 8 nearby. This process can be completed manually or by using an automatic mechanical arm (a framing mechanical hand) configured with a special clamp. The special clamp is adapted to the size specifications of the turnover box. Each mechanical arm can correspond to one or two real box split end points and one or two graded tobacco frames 15. The mechanical arm automatically loads the tobacco leaves in the specified real box into the specified position in the specified graded tobacco frame 15 according to the instructions of the control system, and places the empty box at the specified position of the empty box conveying line 8.

[0040] It should be noted that the real box split conveying device 10 and the empty box combined conveying device 18 are conventional devices in logistics, and existing technologies can be directly used.

[0041] Embodiment 2 This embodiment is a further optimization of the tobacco leaf selection system based on embodiment 1. In this embodiment, the manual selection tables 6 are arranged in two rows in parallel and transversely. Each row of manual selection tables 6 is provided with multiple longitudinal parallel manual selection tables 6. The output end of the raw material input module is arranged on both sides of the sorting module or transversely between the two rows of manual selection tables 6.

[0042] Exemplarily, as shown in Figure 1-3 , the output end of the raw material input module is arranged on both sides of the sorting module, the input end of the finished product output module is arranged transversely in the middle of the sorting module, the real box conveying line 7 starts at one end of the inner side of one row of manual selection tables 6, runs in parallel through the row of manual selection tables 6 to the opposite end of the inner side, changes direction to the other row of manual selection tables 6, runs through the inner side of the other row of manual selection tables 6, and then splits into multiple graded conveying lines.

[0043] Another arrangement is as shown in Figure 4-8 , the output end of the raw material input module is arranged transversely in the middle of the sorting module, and the input end of the finished product output module is arranged around the outer side of the sorting module. The real box conveying line 7 starts at one end of the outer side of one row of manual selection tables 6, runs in parallel through the row of manual selection tables 6 to the opposite end of the outer side, changes direction to the other row of manual selection tables 6, runs through the outer side of the other row of manual selection tables 6, and then splits into multiple graded conveying lines.

[0044] In this embodiment, the empty box conveyor line 8 is located at one end of the sorting module and overlaps with the full box conveyor line 7 (overlapping in the horizontal direction and layered up and down in the height direction), and the end away from the sorting module passes through the output ends of all grading conveyor lines, or the empty box conveyor line 8 is away from the sorting module and is provided with multiple grading recovery lines that overlap with the grading conveyor line (overlapping in the horizontal direction and layered up and down in the height direction). The two have opposite conveying directions, and an empty box merging conveying equipment 18 is provided at the confluence of each grading recovery line. The empty box merging conveying equipment 18 is electrically connected to the control system, and the empty boxes transported from the grading recovery line are merged into the circulation line of the empty box conveyor line 8 through the empty box merging conveying equipment 18.

[0045] Example 3 This embodiment, based on the second embodiment, provides a process method for the tobacco leaf selection system described in the above embodiment. According to the production scheduling and material preparation arrangements, raw tobacco frames 1 filled with cigarette bales are transported to the cigarette bale loading area. Loading workers operate the auxiliary handling robot to grab the cigarette bales in the raw tobacco frames 1 and transport them to the loading conveyor 3. The cigarette bales are then transported to the cigarette bale conveying and accumulation device 4 and then to the sequentially arranged manual selection tables 6. Leaf selection workers drag the cigarette bales along the sliding ramp 5 to the manual selection tables 6, where they are unpacked and selected. The selected tobacco leaves of different grades are respectively loaded into empty turnover boxes of different colors. The selected debris, broken cigarettes, empty flax bales or flax sheets, and flax ropes are also loaded into empty boxes of different colors. The empty boxes can be removed from the empty turnover box conveyor line 8 before the current selection shift or at the end of the previous shift and placed on or under the manual selection tables 6. When any turnover box is filled and becomes a solid box, the leaf sorting worker will place the solid box on the turnover box solid box conveyor line 7 nearby, and at the same time remove the corresponding empty box from the turnover box empty box conveyor line 8 below to continue sorting. The solid box moves along the turnover box solid box conveyor line 7 to the information reading device 9. When passing through the information reading device 9, the RFID electronic tag embedded in the turnover box body is read and the information data is transmitted to the information system for processing. The information system determines the grade or type of material loaded in the solid box. The control system controls the solid box diversion conveying equipment 10 according to the instructions of the information system to divert and convey the solid box until it reaches the corresponding grade of solid box output port 13. Before the diverted full boxes reach the full box output ports 13, they first pass through the quality inspection platform 11 (workstation), where quality inspectors conduct quality inspections and pick out tobacco leaves that do not meet the grade requirements. Qualified full boxes continue to move to the weighing and metering device 12 for weighing and metering, and the weight information is transmitted to the information system for processing. The full boxes continue to move until they stop at the fixed position of the full box output port 13. An automatic robotic arm (frame entry robot 14) equipped with a special clamp grabs the full box and turns the tobacco leaves in the box over to the designated position of the grading tobacco frame 15. The empty box is then placed at the empty box input port 17 at the set position. After the robotic arm completes one action cycle, it proceeds to the next full box framing action.

[0046] The grading tobacco frame 15 is placed at positions A, B, C, D and E in the figure, corresponding to different tobacco grades, at corresponding positions of the real box output port 13 of the corresponding grade, and the automatic mechanical arm can adopt a one-to-one mode or a one-to-two mode with the real box output port 13. When the real box contains sundries, broken tobacco, empty bales or bale pieces and bale ropes, the real box diversion conveying device 10 will divert the real box to the designated real box output port 13, such as the real box output port 13 corresponding to position E, and the mechanical arm will directly place the box at the recycling station 16, so as to facilitate the auxiliary workers to separately recycle and process. After processing, the auxiliary workers can place the empty box on the turnover box empty box conveying line 8 near the recycling station 16 for the selected leaf workers to use. The weight of the tobacco in each grading tobacco frame 15 is counted by the information system, and the handler is notified to replace the empty frame when the set value is reached.

[0047] Embodiment 4 In this embodiment, a separately numbered portable information reader can be provided for each selected leaf worker and quality inspector. The selected leaf worker can scan and read the turnover box before placing the real box on the turnover box real box conveying line 7, the information system can bind the box with the corresponding information of the selected leaf worker, and the feedback information of the weighing and metering device 12 can automatically count the work quantity of the selected leaf worker per shift; when the tobacco in the box is unqualified after inspection at the quality inspection station, the quality inspector can read the information and directly place the real box on the nearest turnover box empty box conveying line 8, and inform the selected leaf worker at the corresponding station to take the box from the empty box conveying line 8 and rework.

[0048] Embodiment 5 In this embodiment, the arrangement of the real box diversion and the grading tobacco frame 15 can be set according to the specific conditions of the tobacco grades, such as a certain grade of tobacco in this batch of tobacco accounting for a large proportion, such as about 50% of the total amount of tobacco, the grading tobacco frames 15A and B can be set as the same grade, and the corresponding real box diversion is also uniformly diverted according to the same grade; similarly, if two grades of tobacco account for a small proportion, such as less than 10% of the total amount of tobacco, the two grades can be diverted to the same real box output port 13, such as the real box output port 13 corresponding to the grading tobacco frame 15D, and the automatic mechanical arm can respectively turn the box and load it into the grading tobacco frame 15D or E.

[0049] It should be noted that when loading cigarette bales, an automated robotic arm (unloading robot 2) equipped with a dedicated gripper for grabbing cigarette bales can also be used to transport cigarette bales from the raw cigarette rack 1 to the loading conveyor 3, replacing the assisted handling robot and operator. Alternatively, a fully manual method can be used, with workers transporting cigarette bales from the raw cigarette rack 1 to the loading conveyor 3, without the use of an assisted handling robot or automated robotic arm. When framing tobacco leaves after grading, a fully manual method can also be used, with workers tipping the tobacco leaves from the full box into the grading tobacco rack 15, without the use of an automated robotic arm.

[0050] The specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Various changes can be made within the knowledge of ordinary technicians in this field without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A tobacco leaf selection system for grading tobacco leaves in each tobacco pack in a raw tobacco frame (1) and then loading them into different turnover boxes and then into different grading tobacco frames (15), characterized in that: It comprises a raw material input module, a sorting module and a finished product output module, wherein the finished product output module comprises a full box conveying line (7) and an empty box conveying line (8) which are arranged up and down to form a double-layer structure, and the empty box conveying line (8) is a closed-loop circulation conveying structure; The input end of the raw material input module is provided with a frame-out robot (2) to transfer the cigarette packs in the raw material cigarette frame (1) to the raw material input module. The raw material input module transports the cigarette packs to the sorting module. The leaf selection worker selects the tobacco leaves after opening the cigarette packs in the sorting module, and packs the tobacco leaves into different turnover boxes according to the grading requirements. After the turnover boxes are filled, they are transported by the full box conveyor line (7). The output end of the finished product output module is provided with a frame-in robot (14). The frame-in robot (14) takes out the full turnover boxes on the full box conveyor line (7), and pours the tobacco leaves in the turnover boxes into the corresponding grading cigarette frames (15). Then, the empty turnover boxes are put into the empty box conveyor line (8) and sent back to the sorting module for the leaf selection workers to take.

2. The tobacco leaf selection system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The raw material input module, the sorting module and the finished product output module are arranged in a straight line, an L shape or a U shape.

3. The tobacco leaf cleaning system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The invention also includes an information reading device (9), a solid box diversion conveying device (10), an information system and a control system. The output end of the solid box conveying line (7) diverts a plurality of graded conveying lines, and the information reading device (9) and the solid box diversion conveying device (10) are sequentially arranged at the diversion starting position along the output direction. The information reading device (9), the information system, the control system and the solid box diversion conveying device (10) are sequentially connected in communication or electrical connection. The turnover box is provided with an electronic tag for identification by the information reading device (9); the out-of-frame robot (2) and the in-frame robot (14) are respectively electrically connected to the control system.

4. The tobacco leaf cleaning system according to claim 3, characterized in that: It also includes a quality inspection platform (11) and a weighing and metering device (12). The quality inspection platform (11) and the weighing and metering device (12) are sequentially arranged on the grading conveying line along the conveying direction. The weighing and metering device (12) is communicatively connected or electrically connected to the information system.

5. The tobacco leaf cleaning system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The empty box conveyor line (8) is located at one end of the sorting module and overlaps with the full box conveyor line (7), and passes through the output ends of all grading conveyor lines at the end away from the sorting module, or the empty box conveyor line (8) is provided with multiple grading recovery lines that overlap with the grading conveyor lines at the end away from the sorting module, and an empty box merging conveying device (18) is provided at the merging point, and the empty box merging conveying device (18) is electrically connected to the control system.

6. The tobacco leaf cleaning system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The sorting module includes an artificial selection table (6), the artificial selection table (6) is arranged in two rows, and each row of artificial selection tables (6) is provided with multiple artificial selection tables (6), the output end of the raw material input module is arranged on both sides of the sorting module or across between the two rows of artificial selection tables (6), and a sliding ramp (5) is provided at one end of the artificial selection table (6) close to the raw material input module, and the raw material input module and the artificial selection table (6) are connected via the sliding ramp (5).

7. The tobacco leaf cleaning system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The output ends of the raw material input module are arranged on both sides of the sorting module, and the input end of the finished product output module is arranged across the middle of the sorting module. The solid box conveyor line (7) starts from one end of the inner side of one row of manual selection tables (6), passes through the row of manual selection tables (6) to the other end opposite to the inner side, and then changes to another row of manual selection tables (6). After passing through the inner side of the other row of manual selection tables (6), it is divided into multiple grading conveyor lines.

8. The tobacco leaf cleaning system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The output end of the raw material input module is arranged across the middle of the sorting module, and the input end of the finished product output module is arranged around the outside of the sorting module; the full box conveyor line (7) starts from one end of the outside of one row of manual selection tables (6), passes through the row of manual selection tables (6) to the other end opposite to the outside, and then changes to another row of manual selection tables (6), and after passing through the outside of the other row of manual selection tables (6), it is divided into multiple grading conveyor lines.

9. A tobacco leaf selection process, characterized by: The tobacco leaf selection system according to any one of claims 4 to 8 comprises the following steps: S1 cigarette pack loading: the out-of-frame robot (2) grabs the cigarette pack in the raw material cigarette frame (1) and moves the cigarette pack to the raw material input module, and then transports it to the sorting module; S2 Tobacco leaf sorting: Leaf sorting workers unpack and sort tobacco leaves. The selected tobacco leaves of different grades are placed into different empty turnover boxes. The sorted debris, broken tobacco, empty sacks or sacks, and hemp ropes are also placed into different empty turnover boxes. When any turnover box is filled to form a full box, it is placed on the full box conveyor line (7). At the same time, the corresponding empty box is taken out from the empty box conveyor line (8) to continue sorting. S3: The full box is transported along the full box conveyor line (7), and passes through the information reading device (9) to read the information of the electronic tag embedded in the box body and transmit it to the information system. The control system controls the full box diversion conveying equipment (10) according to the instructions of the information system to divert the full box and then transport it along the graded conveyor line; S4: The diverted boxes are first inspected by the quality inspection platform (11) and inspected by the quality inspector. The qualified boxes are then transported to the weighing and metering device (12) for weighing and metering. The weight information is transmitted to the information system and then transported to the box output port (13). S5: Tobacco box loading and empty box return: The box loading robot (14) picks up the full box and turns the tobacco leaves in the box into the grading box (15), and then places the empty box on the empty box conveyor line (8); S6 Miscellaneous items recycling: Full boxes loaded with miscellaneous items, broken cigarettes, empty sacks or hemp pieces and hemp ropes are automatically diverted and transported to the designated full box output port (13) after being identified by the information system. The box is placed at the recycling station (16) by the frame entry robot (14). The recycling workers carry out unified processing and place the empty boxes on the empty box conveyor line (8) nearby.

10. The tobacco leaf selection process according to claim 9, characterized in that: The leaf selecting workers and quality inspectors are respectively equipped with portable information readers with numbers. The leaf selecting workers bind the turnover boxes with personal information through the portable information readers. The quality inspectors read the information of unqualified boxes through the portable information readers and place them on the nearest empty box conveyor line (8). The information system is used to notify the corresponding leaf selecting workers to take the boxes from the empty box conveyor line (8) and rework them.

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