Material box conveying and stacking device

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of conveying devices, and discloses a material box conveying and stacking device which comprises a conveying module used for conveying material boxes along a preset path; the detection module is arranged on the conveying module and used for detecting the closing state of the material box turning cover; the posture correction module is arranged at a downstream station of the detection module and used for adjusting the material box with the abnormal flip posture; and the packaging module is arranged at a downstream station of the posture correction module and is used for orderly closing the adjusted turnover cover of the material box and carrying out adhesive tape packaging. Through cooperation of the control module, the posture correction module and the detection module, the full-automatic intelligent material box processing system is constructed, and accurate detection and automatic correction of the turnover state of the material box are achieved. The defects of a traditional pure mechanical packaging machine are overcome, automation and intellectualization of the whole process of conveying, detecting and the like are achieved, the production line efficiency, reliability and packaging material adaptability are improved, and the downtime caused by manual intervention and poor packaging is shortened.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of conveying device technology, and more specifically, to a material box conveying and stacking device. Background Technology

[0002] In modern logistics warehousing and production systems, the automated conveying, packaging, and palletizing of material boxes are key steps in improving operational efficiency and reducing labor costs. Currently, this process is typically completed by an automated system consisting of conveyors, packaging machines, and palletizing robots. Material boxes are transported to the packaging station by conveyors, where mechanical mechanisms close their lids and secure them with tape. After packaging, the palletizing robot picks up the boxes and stacks them in designated locations, thus initially achieving continuous operation from conveying to final stacking.

[0003] However, existing material box conveying and stacking devices still have certain shortcomings in practical applications. For example, the flip-tops of the material boxes are prone to abnormal postures such as tilting, misalignment, and bending due to collisions, vibrations, or their own deformation during the conveying process. Most existing packaging equipment consists of fixed mechanical guide rails or pressing mechanisms, which can only handle flip-tops with standard postures. When encountering the above-mentioned abnormal states, it often leads to packaging failure, such as loose tape, inadequate packaging, or even equipment jamming or damage to the material boxes, forcing the production line to stop and requiring manual intervention, which affects the operating efficiency, reliability, and automation level of the entire system. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a material box conveying and stacking device to solve the above-mentioned technical problems.

[0005] The present invention solves the above-mentioned technical problems through the following technical solutions: This invention provides a material box conveying and stacking device, comprising: The conveying module is used to transport material boxes along a preset path; The detection module, installed on the conveying module, is used to detect the closed state of the material box lid; The posture correction module is located downstream of the detection module and is used to adjust the material box with abnormal flip-top posture. The packaging module, located downstream of the attitude correction module, is used to close the adjusted material box lid in an orderly manner and seal it with tape. The palletizing module is located at the discharge end of the packaging module and is used to grab and orderly palletize the packaged material boxes. The control module is connected to the conveying module, detection module, attitude correction module, packaging module, and palletizing module via signals, and is configured as follows: Receive detection signals uploaded by the detection module, which include information about the flip-up status; Determine whether the opening posture of the material box is abnormal based on the detection signal; If the posture is abnormal, a corresponding correction control command is generated and sent to the posture correction module to drive it to perform targeted correction actions.

[0006] Preferably, the detection module is a machine vision detection unit, which includes at least one industrial camera and a matching light source, used to acquire high-resolution images of the material box lid and perform image processing to identify the lifting, misalignment and bending states of the lid.

[0007] Preferably, the industrial camera is a 3D line laser scanning camera, used to acquire point cloud data of the flip-top of the material box, so as to quantify the tilt height and angle of the flip-top.

[0008] Preferably, the attitude correction module includes a linear telescopic source, a rotary driver fixed to the end of the linear telescopic source, and an actuator connected to the rotating end of the rotary driver, wherein the end of the actuator is provided with a flexible contact head.

[0009] Preferably, the rotary driver is a servo motor, and the actuator is two electric push rods with opposite extension directions.

[0010] Preferably, the packaging module includes a flip-top pressing mechanism, a tape pasting mechanism, and a height adjustment mechanism. The flip-top pressing mechanism and the tape pasting mechanism are both mounted on the height adjustment mechanism, and the distance between the two mechanisms and the conveying end face of the conveying module is adjusted by the height adjustment mechanism.

[0011] Preferably, the height adjustment mechanism includes a support frame fixed to the conveying module, a lifting plate slidably disposed on the support frame, a lead screw rotatably disposed on the support frame, and a drive motor for driving the lead screw to rotate, wherein the sliding end of the lifting plate is threadedly connected to the lead screw.

[0012] Preferably, the flip-top pressing mechanism includes a base fixedly installed on the lifting plate, a short-side extrusion body fixed to the bottom of the base, two long-side extrusion bodies symmetrically fixed to the bottom of the lifting plate, and a short-side roller pressing component provided on the base. The short-side extrusion body and the short-side roller pressing component respectively extrude and roll-close the two short-side flip-tops of the material box.

[0013] Preferably, the short-side roller includes a swing arm hinged to the base, a roller rotatably disposed at the end of the swing arm, and a drive source for driving the swing arm to swing.

[0014] Preferably, the palletizing module is a multi-joint industrial robot with an adaptive gripper at its end for gripping material boxes of different sizes.

[0015] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: This invention constructs a fully automated intelligent material box handling system through the coordinated operation of control, posture correction, and detection modules, achieving precise detection and automatic correction of the material box's flip-top status. The system can automatically identify anomalies such as flip-top tilting or misalignment, driving the posture correction module to perform actions such as pressing and pushing to adjust the flip-top to the standard closed position. Then, the packaging module presses and applies tape, and finally, a palletizing robot stacks the boxes. This solution overcomes the drawbacks of traditional purely mechanical packaging machines, achieving full automation and intelligence in the conveying and detection processes, improving production line efficiency, reliability, and packaging material adaptability, and reducing downtime caused by manual intervention and poor packaging. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a structural schematic diagram of the overall appearance of the material box conveying and stacking device of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure between the conveying module, detection module, packaging module and attitude correction module in the material box conveying and stacking device of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the packaging module in the material box conveying and stacking device of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the posture correction module in the material box conveying and stacking device of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a front view of the attitude correction module in the material box conveying and stacking device of the present invention; Figure 6 This is a logic block diagram of the modules in the material box conveying and stacking device of the present invention; Figure 7 This is a flowchart of the material box conveying and stacking device of the present invention.

[0017] In the diagram: 100, conveying module; 200, detection module; 300, posture correction module; 301, linear telescopic source; 302, rotary driver; 303, actuator; 304, flexible contact head; 400, encapsulation module; 401, support frame; 402, lifting plate; 403, lead screw; 404, drive motor; 405, base; 406, short-side extrusion body; 407, long-side extrusion body; 408, swing arm; 409, roller; 410, drive source; 500, palletizing module. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The subject matter described herein will now be discussed with reference to exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are discussed only to enable those skilled in the art to better understand and implement the subject matter described herein, and changes may be made to the function and arrangement of the elements discussed without departing from the scope of this specification. Various processes or components may be omitted, substituted, or added as needed in the examples. Furthermore, features described in some examples may be combined in other examples.

[0019] Please refer to the following: Figure 1 and Figure 2 A material box conveying and stacking device includes: a conveying module 100, a detection module 200, a posture correction module 300, a packaging module 400, a palletizing module 500, and a control module. The conveying module 100 can be a traditional belt conveyor, primarily used for conveying material boxes along a preset path. The detection module 200 is located above or to the side of the conveying module 100, primarily used to detect the closed state of the material box lids. The detection module 200 is a machine vision inspection unit, including at least one industrial camera and a matching light source. It is mainly used to acquire high-resolution images of the material box lids and perform image processing to identify the tilting, misalignment, and bending states of the lids. The industrial camera can be a 3D line laser scanning camera, which acquires point cloud data of the material box lids to quantify the tilting height and angle of the lids.

[0020] Please refer to the following: Figure 2 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 The posture correction module 300 is located downstream of the detection module 200 and is mainly used to adjust material boxes with abnormal flip-top postures. The posture correction module 300 includes a linear telescopic source 301, a rotary driver 302 fixed to the end of the linear telescopic source 301, and an actuator 303 connected to the rotating end of the rotary driver 302. The actuator 303 has a flexible contact head 304 at its end. The linear telescopic source 301 can be a vertically mounted electric push rod, which is fixed above the conveying module 100 by a mounting bracket. The rotary driver 302 is a servo motor, and the actuator 303 consists of two electric push rods with opposite telescopic directions, integrated on a connecting base. The rotating end of the servo motor is fixed to the connecting base. A force sensor is provided on the flexible contact head 304 to obtain the pressure value of the flexible contact head 304 in real time, preventing excessive pressure from the flexible contact head 304 from damaging the flip-top of the material box.

[0021] When the aforementioned posture correction module 300 is in use, if one short-side flip cover is outside the long-side flip cover, or both short-side flip covers are outside the long-side flip covers, the linear telescopic source 301 extends, driving the rotary driver 302 and the actuator 303 to move downwards as a whole, causing the flexible contact head 304 to extend to a position where the material box is below the short-side flip cover. Then, the rotary driver 302 drives the actuator 303 to rotate, aligning the two flexible contact heads 304 with the two long-side flip covers. The two electric push rods extend synchronously, causing the two flexible contact heads 304 to extend and push the two long-side flip covers outwards respectively. After the two long-side flip covers separate from the two short-side flip covers, the abnormal short-side flip cover moves inwards under its own elastic force. If not... If there is elastic force, the device remains stationary. Then, the two electric push rods retract, causing the two long-side flaps to gradually move towards the short-side flaps under their own elastic force. Next, by rotating the linear telescopic source 301, the actuator 303 is driven upwards, separating the flexible contact heads 304 from the long-side flaps. Then, the linear telescopic source 301 continues to move downwards, causing the two flexible contact heads 304 to contact the outer sides of the two long-side flaps again. Then, by retracting the two electric push rods in the actuator 303, the two flexible contact heads 304 exert an inward pushing force on the two long-side flaps, ensuring that the two long-side flaps fit snugly against the two short-side flaps. Thus, the flap posture correction operation of the material box is completed. The linear telescopic source 301 retracts, resetting the entire posture correction module 300. If the posture of the two short-side and long-side flaps is too vertical, they can also be adjusted by the above method to bend them to a suitable angle.

[0022] Please refer to the following: Figures 2 to 3 The packaging module 400 is located downstream of the attitude correction module 300. Its main function is to orderly close the adjusted material box flaps and seal them with tape. The packaging module 400 includes a flap pressing mechanism, a tape pasting mechanism, and a height adjustment mechanism. Both the flap pressing mechanism and the tape pasting mechanism are mounted on the height adjustment mechanism. The height adjustment mechanism adjusts the distance between these two mechanisms and the conveying end face of the conveying module 100 to accommodate material boxes of different heights.

[0023] The height adjustment mechanism includes a support frame 401 fixed to the conveying module 100, a lifting plate 402 slidably mounted on the support frame 401, a lead screw 403 rotatably mounted on the support frame 401, and a drive motor 404 for driving the lead screw 403 to rotate. The sliding end of the lifting plate 402 is threadedly connected to the lead screw 403. When adjusting the height of the flip-top pressing mechanism and the tape-applying mechanism, the drive motor 404 drives the lead screw 403 to rotate, which in turn drives the lifting plate 402 to rise and fall on the support frame 401, causing the flip-top pressing mechanism and the tape-applying mechanism to rise and fall together. After reaching the desired height, the drive motor 404 stops rotating, and the lifting plate 402 stops rising and falling under the locking action of the lead screw 403. The tape-applying mechanism is mainly used to simultaneously apply tape to the gap of the long side flip-top after the long and short sides of the material box are closed. It has automatic application and cutting functions. Since the tape-applying mechanism is a conventional technology in this field, the specific structural details and working process are not disclosed here.

[0024] The flip-top pressing mechanism includes a base 405 fixedly mounted on a lifting plate 402, a short-side extrusion body 406 fixed to the bottom of the base 405, two long-side extrusion bodies 407 symmetrically fixed to the bottom of the lifting plate 402, and a short-side roller pressing component mounted on the base 405. The short-side extrusion body 406 has an upward-curving front end and a flat bottom. It is used to slide and press the short-side flip-top located on the right side of the material box to close. The short-side roller pressing component is mainly used to press the short-side flip-top on the left side of the material box to close. The short-side roller pressing component includes a swing arm 408 hinged to the base 405, a roller 409 rotatably mounted at the end of the swing arm 408, and a drive source 410 for driving the swing arm 408 to swing. This drive source 410 can be a servo motor. The long-side extrusion bodies 407 are zigzag-shaped rod structures arranged at an inclined posture, used to slide and press the two long-side flip-tops of the material box to close.

[0025] The working process of the above-mentioned packaging module 400 is as follows: At this time, the long side flap and short side flap of the material box are in the standard state by default, that is, the two long side flaps are located outside the two short side flaps. After the material box enters the station of the packaging module 400 through the conveying module 100, the short side flap on its right end first contacts the short side extrusion body 406 and is gradually pressed downward and flattened. Then, by rotating the drive source 410 in the forward direction, the swing arm 408 can be driven to swing downward, so that the roller 409 begins to contact the short side flap on the left end of the material box and closes the short side flap on the left end. Afterwards, by rotating the drive source 410 in the reverse direction... The movement causes the swing arm 408 and roller 409 to swing upwards and reset. The drive source 410 continues to move with the material box, causing the left-end closed flap to contact the short-side extrusion body 406. At the same time, the two long-side flaps contact the two long-side extrusion bodies 407 respectively, causing the two long-side flaps to be gradually flipped over and finally closed, covering the top surface of the short-side flaps. Simultaneously, the tape pasting mechanism applies tape to the closed long-side flaps and cuts them, completing the sealing operation of the material box. The sealed material box is then moved to the next station by the conveyor module 100.

[0026] Please refer to the following: Figure 1 The palletizing module 500 is located at the discharge end of the packaging module 400 and is used to grasp and orderly palletize the packaged material boxes. The palletizing module 500 is a multi-joint industrial robot with an adaptive gripper at its end for grasping material boxes of different sizes.

[0027] Please refer to the following: Figure 6 The control module is connected to the conveying module 100, the detection module 200, the attitude correction module 300, the packaging module 400, and the palletizing module 500 by signals respectively; and is configured to: receive the detection signal containing the flip-top status information uploaded by the detection module 200; determine whether the flip-top attitude of the material box is abnormal based on the detection signal; if the attitude is abnormal, generate the corresponding correction control command and send it to the attitude correction module 300 to drive it to perform targeted correction actions.

[0028] The process of using the material box conveying and stacking device of the present invention is as follows: Step S100: Initial state and triggering.

[0029] The material box is continuously conveyed by the conveying module 100. When the 3D line laser scanning camera of the detection module 200 detects that a material box has entered its field of view, a high-speed acquisition signal is triggered.

[0030] Step S200: Receive and analyze the detection signal.

[0031] The control module receives point cloud data packets uploaded by the detection module 200, performs real-time analysis of the data packets using its built-in processor, and calculates the precise three-dimensional pose of the two short-side flaps and two long-side flaps of the material box using algorithms. Specifically, this includes: The angle of each flap relative to the top surface of the box, the relative positional relationship between each flap (e.g., whether the short flap is outside the long flap), and the degree of curvature of the flap.

[0032] Step S300: Attitude judgment and decision.

[0033] The control module compares the analysis results with preset acceptable thresholds, and typical cases that are judged as "abnormal" include: Scenario A: One or two short-side flaps are located outside the long-side flaps; Situation B: Although the long and short sides of the flip cover are not misaligned, the tilt angle is too large (too vertical), making it impossible to smoothly enter the subsequent packaging guide rail; If the posture is normal, the control module sends a signal to the conveying module 100 so that the material box passes directly and uniformly through the station where the posture correction module 300 is located, without any action required. If the condition is determined to be A, the control module generates the first set of correction instruction sequences; if the condition is B, it generates the second set of correction instruction sequences.

[0034] Step S400: Drive the attitude correction module 300 (typical process for case A).

[0035] Step S401 (Descending Positioning): The control module sends a command to the linear telescopic source 301 (electric push rod) to extend at a speed of V1, driving the entire actuator 303 to descend until the flexible contact head 304 descends to a predetermined position (point P1) below the height of the short side flip cover. Step S402 (rotation alignment): The control module sends a command to the rotary driver 302 (servo motor) to rotate it precisely by an angle θ (e.g., 90° or 180°), so that the two opposing electric push rods on the connecting seat and their flexible contact heads 304 at their ends are respectively aligned with the two long side flaps of the material box. Step S403 (Push the long side outward): The control module sends a synchronous command to the two electric push rods of the actuator 303, so that they extend synchronously in force control mode F1, pushing the two long side flaps to flip outward and separate them from the short side flaps. During this process, the force sensor feeds back data to ensure that the pushing force will not damage the material box. Step S404 (Release and Elastic Reset): The control module commands the two electric push rods to retract; the abnormal short side flap, under its own elasticity (or if it has no elasticity, it remains stationary), has the opportunity to fall inward to the correct position; Step S405 (Descend and press the long side again): The control module instructs the linear telescopic source 301 to descend slightly again, so that the flexible contact head 304 lightly touches the outside of the long side flip cover; then, it instructs the two electric push rods to retract in position control mode, generating an inward thrust to smoothly press the two long side flip covers back until they are completely fitted with the short side flip cover. Step S406 (Reset): After confirming that the correction is completed, the control module sends commands in sequence: the electric push rod of the actuator 303 is fully retracted, the rotary driver 302 reverses the angle θ to zero, and the linear telescopic source 301 retracts to the highest point to prepare for the next material box.

[0036] Step S500: Drive the encapsulation module 400.

[0037] Step S501: After the material box enters the packaging module 400 station, the control module first adjusts the lifting plate 402 to the preset height by controlling the motor of the lead screw 403 according to the height of the material box. Step S502: The control module drives the drive source 410 (servo motor) of the short side roller pressing part to rotate in the forward direction, causing the swing arm 408 to swing downward, so that the roller 409 presses the left short side flap closed; then, immediately control the drive source 410 to rotate in the reverse direction, so that the swing arm 408 and the roller 409 are quickly lifted and reset, so as to avoid interfering with the subsequent contact between the right end flap and the short side extrusion body 406; Step S503: This process is a purely mechanical sliding extrusion, without the need for control module intervention; under the drive of the conveyor belt, the short side flap of the material box on the right end naturally enters the lower surface of the short side extrusion body 406 and is flattened, while the two long side flaps naturally enter the inclined guide rod of the long side extrusion body 407 and are closed. Step S504: When the long side flip-cover closing action is about to be completed, the control module sends a start signal to the tape pasting mechanism to make it perform tape pasting and cutting operations simultaneously.

[0038] Step S600: Drive the palletizing module 500.

[0039] When the packaged material box reaches the end of the conveying module 100, the photoelectric sensor triggers a signal; the control module sends a gripping command to the palletizing module 500 (multi-joint industrial robot). The robot grips the material box according to the preset palletizing control adaptive gripper and moves it to the designated stacking position for stacking.

[0040] As can be seen from the above, the material box conveying and stacking device provided in this invention has the following effects: This invention constructs a fully automated intelligent material box processing system by setting up a control module, a posture correction module 300, and a detection module 200 to work in synergy. This system achieves precise detection and automatic correction of the flip-top state of the material boxes. It can automatically identify abnormal states such as tilting, misalignment, and bending of the flip-top, and drive the dedicated posture correction module 300 to perform precise and targeted pressing, pushing, or combing actions to adjust the abnormal flip-top to the standard closed position. Subsequently, the packaging module 400 completes reliable pressing and tape application, and finally, a palletizing robot performs orderly stacking. This solution overcomes the shortcomings of traditional purely mechanical packaging machines, which cannot handle complex abnormalities, are prone to jamming, and are easily damaged. It achieves full automation and intelligence from conveying, detection, correction, packaging to palletizing, significantly improving the efficiency, reliability, and adaptability of the production line to diverse packaging materials, while greatly reducing the need for manual intervention and downtime caused by poor packaging.

[0041] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other forms under the guidance of the present invention, all of which are within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A material box conveying and stacking device, characterized in that, include: The conveying module is used to transport material boxes along a preset path; The detection module, installed on the conveying module, is used to detect the closed state of the material box lid; The posture correction module is located downstream of the detection module and is used to adjust the material box with abnormal flip-top posture. The packaging module, located downstream of the attitude correction module, is used to close the adjusted material box lid in an orderly manner and seal it with tape. The palletizing module is located at the discharge end of the packaging module and is used to grab and orderly palletize the packaged material boxes. The control module is connected to the conveying module, detection module, attitude correction module, packaging module, and palletizing module via signals, and is configured as follows: Receive detection signals uploaded by the detection module, which include information about the flip-up status; Determine whether the opening posture of the material box is abnormal based on the detection signal; If the posture is abnormal, a corresponding correction control command is generated and sent to the posture correction module to drive it to perform targeted correction actions.

2. The material box conveying and stacking device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The detection module is a machine vision detection unit, which includes at least one industrial camera and a matching light source, used to acquire high-resolution images of the material box lid and perform image processing to identify the lid's tilting, misalignment, and bending states.

3. The material box conveying and stacking device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The industrial camera is a 3D line laser scanning camera, used to acquire point cloud data of the flip-top of the material box in order to quantify the tilt height and angle of the flip-top.

4. The material box conveying and stacking device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The attitude correction module includes a linear telescopic source, a rotary driver fixed to the end of the linear telescopic source, and an actuator connected to the rotating end of the rotary driver. The actuator has a flexible contact head at its end.

5. A material box conveying and stacking device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The rotary driver is a servo motor, and the actuator is two electric push rods with opposite extension and retraction directions.

6. A material box conveying and stacking device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The packaging module includes a flip-top pressing mechanism, a tape pasting mechanism, and a height adjustment mechanism. The flip-top pressing mechanism and the tape pasting mechanism are both located on the height adjustment mechanism, and the distance between the two mechanisms and the conveying end face of the conveying module is adjusted by the height adjustment mechanism.

7. A material box conveying and stacking device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The height adjustment mechanism includes a support frame fixed to the conveying module, a lifting plate slidably mounted on the support frame, a lead screw rotatably mounted on the support frame, and a drive motor for driving the lead screw to rotate. The sliding end of the lifting plate is threadedly connected to the lead screw.

8. A material box conveying and stacking device according to claim 7, characterized in that, The flip-top pressing mechanism includes a base fixedly installed on the lifting plate, a short-side extrusion body fixed to the bottom of the base, two long-side extrusion bodies symmetrically fixed to the bottom of the lifting plate, and a short-side roller pressing component provided on the base. The short-side extrusion body and the short-side roller pressing component respectively extrude and roll-close the two short-side flip-tops of the material box.

9. A material box conveying and stacking device according to claim 8, characterized in that, The short-side roller pressing component includes a swing arm hinged to a base, a roller rotatably located at the end of the swing arm, and a drive source for driving the swing arm to swing.

10. A material box conveying and stacking device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The palletizing module is a multi-joint industrial robot with an adaptive gripper at its end for gripping material boxes of different sizes.

Images