Tube rod distribution method

Abstract

A pipe rod distribution system method comprises the following steps that S1, pipe rods are placed in a storage frame based on preset distribution load quantity parameters; s2, according to the first monitoring signal, the material state of the feeding area and the material storage area is judged, the material storage frame is controlled to turn over to the feeding area, and part of the pipe rods are discharged and stacked in the feeding area; meanwhile, the first-stage material shifting arm is controlled to shift and convey the pipe rods in the feeding area to the material storage area with the higher position for tiling; s3, on the basis of the second monitoring signal and quantitative parameters determined according to the preset load number, a second-stage material stirring arm is controlled to execute cyclic action; s4, the alignment wheel groove is controlled to rotate, so that the pipe rods located in the alignment wheel groove are axially aligned; s5, the step S3 and the step S4 are executed repeatedly till the number of the pipe rods transferred to the material distribution rod reaches the preset single-time material distribution number; and S6, the material distributing rod is controlled to move, and the tube bars accumulated on the material distributing rod are integrally connected to a feeding roller. And the whole-course intelligent treatment from bundle stacking to neat, quantitative and on-demand material distribution of the pipe rods is realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the technical field of heat treatment tube and bar feeding equipment, and in particular relates to a method for batch feeding of tubes and bars suitable for heat treatment or other processing equipment. Background Technology

[0002] In heat treatment equipment and other tube and bar processing equipment, bundles of tubes and bars often need to be dispersed, laid flat, and fed into the feeding device batch by batch or one by one to meet the load requirements set by the process. Traditional feeding methods mostly rely on manual operation, which has problems such as high labor intensity, low material distribution efficiency, poor position accuracy, large counting errors, and prominent safety hazards.

[0003] With the development of automation technology, although some semi-automatic or fully automatic feeding systems have emerged, they still have significant shortcomings in practical applications. For example, Chinese patent CN214655131U proposes a tube and bar feeding system. Although it achieves automated feeding, it lacks an alignment control mechanism during the feeding process, which leads to uneven arrangement of tubes and bars during feeding, thus affecting the accuracy of subsequent processing. In addition, the feeding arm and the stepping movement of the transmission chain used in this system limit the feeding efficiency and cannot flexibly set the feeding quantity according to process requirements, resulting in poor adaptability.

[0004] Furthermore, existing automated systems are mostly designed for specific specifications of tubular materials, with limited ability to adapt to materials of different diameters and lengths, and lack versatility. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a fully automated tubular material distribution system that can achieve fast, accurate, and load-settable operation with a wide range of adaptability. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a tube and bar feeding method, which aims to solve the technical problems of low feeding efficiency, insufficient alignment accuracy and inflexible adjustment of feeding quantity in the existing tube and bar feeding system, and realize an automated tube and bar feeding process with settable load.

[0006] To solve at least one of the above-mentioned technical problems, the technical solution adopted in this application is:

[0007] A method for fabricating tubular rods includes the following steps:

[0008] S1: Based on the preset fabric load quantity parameters, place the tubular rod into the storage box;

[0009] S2: Based on the first monitoring signal, determine the material status of the feeding area and the storage area, control the storage frame to flip up to the feeding area, unload some of the tubes and stack them in the feeding area; at the same time, control the first-level material feeding arm to push the tubes in the feeding area to the storage area at a higher position for flattening.

[0010] S3: Based on the second monitoring signal and the quantitative parameters determined according to the preset load quantity, control the secondary material feeding arm to perform a cyclic action; the cyclic action includes: quantitatively peeling the tube bar from the storage area and conveying it to the alignment wheel groove, and simultaneously taking out the tube bar that is located in the alignment wheel groove and transferring it to the material feeding rod;

[0011] S4: Control the rotation of the alignment wheel groove to axially align the tubes located therein;

[0012] S5: Repeat steps S3 and S4 until the number of tubes transferred to the fabric rod reaches the preset single fabric quantity;

[0013] S6: Control the movement of the fabric rod to transfer the accumulated tubular rods on it to the feeding roller.

[0014] Further, in step S2, the first monitoring signal includes monitoring the material status of the feeding area and / or the storage area to control the flipping of the storage frame and the feeding operation of the first-stage feeding arm.

[0015] Furthermore, when there are tubes to be processed in the feeding area, the first-stage feeding arm is controlled to perform a reciprocating feeding action; when the tube storage in the storage area is lower than the threshold, the storage frame is controlled to perform a flipping feeding action.

[0016] Furthermore, controlling the first-stage material feeding arm to perform reciprocating feeding actions includes: controlling the second hydraulic cylinder to drive the first-stage material feeding arm to rotate reciprocally at a preset speed and angle, continuously lifting the tube bar from the feeding area and laying it flat in the storage area.

[0017] Further, in step S3, controlling the secondary feeding arm to perform the cyclic action specifically includes:

[0018] S31: Control the third hydraulic cylinder to drive the secondary material feeding arm to rotate, so that its first inclined surface cuts into the pile of tubes and bars in the storage area, uses its sharp corner structure to quantitatively peel off the tubes and bars, and makes the tubes and bars slide along its inclined surface into the placement groove located between the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface;

[0019] S32: While the material is being picked up from the first inclined surface, the second inclined surface of the secondary feeding arm moves to below the alignment wheel groove, lifting the alignment tube rod in the groove and supporting it in the retaining groove at the tail of the second inclined surface;

[0020] S33: Control the secondary material feeding arm to rotate in the opposite direction, so that the tube in the placement groove rolls into the alignment wheel groove, and at the same time, the tube in the blocking groove is transferred to the material feeding rod.

[0021] Furthermore, the quantitative parameter is achieved by adjusting the rotation angle of the limiting block located beside the tail of the storage area; the number of stripped tubes in a single operation is determined based on the preset load quantity, the quantity of material laid in a single operation, and the feeding time, and a control command is output to the limiting motor accordingly to drive the limiting block to rotate to adjust the intersection position of the limiting block and the storage area, thereby adjusting the stopping position of the lowermost tubes of different diameters, so that the cutting point of the first inclined plane's sharp corner corresponds exactly to the position of the lowermost single or multiple tubes; then the stroke of the secondary feeding arm is controlled to achieve a single quantitative stripping of one or more tubes.

[0022] Further, in step S4, controlling the rotation of the alignment wheel groove includes:

[0023] After the secondary feeding arm places the new tube into the alignment wheel groove, the feeding motor is started, driving the alignment wheel groove and the feeding roller to rotate synchronously toward an alignment baffle.

[0024] When the sensor located at the alignment baffle detects that all tube ends have contacted the baffle, it generates an alignment completion signal and stops rotating, while recording the number of tubes aligned this time.

[0025] Further, in step S6, controlling the movement of the fabric bar includes: controlling the fourth hydraulic cylinder to move the active beam horizontally, and the active beam driving the rotating shaft fixedly connected to the fabric bar to rotate through the connecting piece, so that the rotating shaft drives the fabric bar to transfer the tube bar on it to the surface of the feeding roller while rotating and descending.

[0026] Furthermore, after step S6, the following steps are also included:

[0027] S7: After the fabric bar is handed over, control the feeding motor to drive the feeding roller to rotate and transport the tube bar to the next process;

[0028] S8: Control the fourth hydraulic cylinder to reverse its movement, driving the material bar to rise back to its initial high position, ready for the next material feeding cycle.

[0029] Furthermore, in step S5, the tubes transferred to the fabric rod are counted and checked in real time by a detection grating set next to the fabric rod to ensure that the preset number of fabrics per batch is achieved. Attached Figure Description

[0030] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of the fabric system;

[0031] Figure 2 This is a top view of the fabric system.

[0032] Figure 3yes Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the viewpoint in the AA direction;

[0033] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the two-stage material feeding arm;

[0034] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the aligned wheel groove structure;

[0035] Figure 6 This is a diagram showing the working status of the first-level material feeding arm when it starts feeding material;

[0036] Figure 7 This is a diagram showing the working state of the tubes and bars when they are laid flat after being fed by the first-level feeding arm.

[0037] Figure 8 This is a diagram showing the working status of the secondary feeding arm when it starts feeding material;

[0038] Figure 9 This is a diagram showing the working state of the material being fed by the secondary feeding arm after the placement groove and alignment wheel groove are connected to the connecting rod.

[0039] Figure 10 This is a diagram showing the working state of the secondary material-pulling arm during a single stripping operation after the tubes and bars are aligned.

[0040] Figure 11 This is a diagram showing the working state of the secondary material feeding arm during a single double-bar peeling operation after the tubes and bars are aligned.

[0041] Figure 12 This is a diagram showing the working status of the secondary feeding arm when it has completed feeding.

[0042] Figure 13 This is a side view of the fabric unit.

[0043] Figure 14 It is a 3D diagram showing the connection between the limit motor and the limit block;

[0044] Figure 15 yes Figure 14 Enlarged view of B in the middle;

[0045] Figure 16 This is a top view of the limit block, limit motor, and limit assembly;

[0046] Figure 17 It is the rotation angle of the limiting connecting piece;

[0047] Figure 18 It is the included angle between the limiting block and the limiting connecting piece;

[0048] Figure 19 The flowchart of the fabric application method is shown in this application.

[0049] In the diagram: 10. Storage unit; 11. Storage frame; 12. First hydraulic cylinder; 13. Frame; 14. Feeding area; 15. Storage area; 20. Multi-stage feeding unit; 21. First-stage feeding arm; 22. Second hydraulic cylinder; 23. Second-stage feeding arm; 231. First inclined plane; 232. Second inclined plane; 233. Placement slot; 234. Baffle slot; 24. Third hydraulic cylinder; 25. Limit block; 26. Limit motor; 261. Push rod; 27. Connecting assembly; 271. Limiting connection 2711, Mounting Hole 1; 2712, Mounting Hole 2; 2713, Mounting Hole 3; 272, Limiting Link; 273, Limiting Rotary Shaft; 274, Fixing Plate; 30, Alignment Unit; 31, Alignment Wheel Groove; 32, Alignment Baffle; 40, Fabric Plating Unit; 41, Fabric Plating Rod; 42, Feeding Roller; 43, Mounting Frame; 44, Fourth Hydraulic Cylinder; 45, Active Beam; 46, Rotating Shaft; 47, Feeding Motor; 48, Detection Grating; 50, Tube Rod; 60, Control Unit. Detailed Implementation

[0050] The present application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0051] This embodiment proposes a tubular bar fabric distribution system, such as... Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, the system includes a storage unit 10, a multi-stage material feeding unit 20, an alignment unit 30, a material distribution unit 40, and a control unit 60. These units are arranged sequentially to form a complete automated process from receiving the tubular rods, temporary storage, graded feeding, axial alignment, to final distribution to the conveyor rollers. The storage unit 10 includes a feeding area 14, a storage area 15, and a storage frame 11 for receiving and temporarily storing bundled tubular rods 50. The alignment unit 30 is located downstream of the storage unit 10 and includes an alignment wheel groove 31 and an alignment baffle 32 for axially aligning the tubular rods 50. The material distribution unit 40 is located after and connects to the alignment unit 30. The control unit 60 is located at the tail of the material distribution unit 40. The multi-stage feeding unit 20 is located between the storage unit 10 and the alignment unit 30. It includes a primary feeding arm 21 and a secondary feeding arm 23 independently set on the frame 13. The frame 13 is provided with a feeding area 14 for placing the tube rod 50 and a storage area 15 for laying the tube rod 50 flat. The drive storage box 11 is flipped from bottom to top towards the feeding area 14 and docks with the feeding area 14, so that the tubes 50 are unloaded from the storage box 11 and temporarily stored in the feeding area 14 to form a tube stack; then the first-stage feeding arm 21 is driven to rotate to push the tubes 50 that have just been unloaded from the storage box 11 and temporarily stored in the feeding area 14 to the storage area 15 and spread them flat; then the second-stage feeding arm 23 is driven to rotate to quantitatively push the tubes 50 from the storage area 15 and transport the pushed tubes 50 in batches to the alignment unit 30 for alignment. While the second-stage feeding arm 23 is rotating, it can also transport the aligned tubes 50 to the spreading rod 41 for flat spreading, and the flat spreading tubes are transferred to the feeding roller 42 through the spreading rod 41.

[0052] Specifically, such as Figure 6 As shown, the storage unit 10 also includes a frame 13 for fixing the storage frame 11 and a first hydraulic cylinder 12 for driving the storage frame 11 to rotate. The storage frame 11 has a C-shaped structure, with one end connected to the frame 13 via a pivot, and the other end suspended in the air, facilitating the reception and temporary storage of bundled tubing. The top end of the first hydraulic cylinder 12 is connected to the back of the storage frame 11 near the pivot end, and its lower end is fixed to the bottom of the frame 13, located on the side of the frame 13 near the alignment unit 30, thus providing sufficient space for the extension and retraction of the hydraulic cylinder, ensuring that the storage frame is stable and controllable during rotation. The first hydraulic cylinder 12 provides a stable and powerful support to the storage frame 11, allowing the storage frame 11 to rotate smoothly. Figure 1 As shown in the initial state, it flips towards the side closer to the loading area 14, and as... Figure 6 The material storage frame 11 smoothly and seamlessly connects with the feeding area 14. This connection continues until the temporary storage tubes in the feeding area 14 are transferred to the storage area 15 by the first-stage material feeding arm 21. Then, the first hydraulic cylinder 12 controls the storage frame 11 to return to its original position. Figure 1 In the initial state shown, after replenishment, it will continue to flip until it docks with the feeding area 14.

[0053] like Figure 1 As shown, a support bracket is provided on the frame 13 to support the horizontal placement of the storage frame 11. This support bracket is located at the end of the frame 13 furthest from the alignment unit 30. The height of the support bracket is lower than the height of the loading area 14, and it contacts the bottom surface of the storage frame 11 when it is horizontally placed, facilitating the stable placement of bundled tubes 50 by a crane into the storage frame 11. The C-shaped structure of the storage frame 11 facilitates the stacking and unloading of tubes 50. It can accommodate tubes 50 of different diameters and lengths, and it is separately installed from the frame 13 and the first hydraulic cylinder 12, resulting in a reasonable stress distribution. The first hydraulic cylinder 12 can provide a sufficiently large torque to the storage frame 11 to adapt to different loads, ensuring a smooth and controllable tilting process.

[0054] like Figure 2 As shown, the frame 13 includes several horizontal frames arranged along the conveying direction of the tubular rods 50. All horizontal frames are connected by connecting frames parallel to the direction in which the tubular rods 50 are placed, and are fixed to the ground by vertically arranged uprights, forming a hollowed-out skeleton platform. The uprights have two layers. The top layer is connected by horizontal frames, and a feeding area 14 and a storage area 15 for placing the circulating tubular rods are provided on the top horizontal frame. The lower layers of the uprights are connected to each other by fixed frames, and the first hydraulic cylinder 12, the second hydraulic cylinder 22, and the third hydraulic cylinder 24 are all fixed on the fixed frames of the second layer. Of course, these hydraulic cylinders can also be fixed to the ground, depending on the actual situation. The hollowed-out frame 13 structure not only reduces the overall weight and material costs, but also facilitates observation of the internal material status, making inspection and maintenance convenient. At the same time, it provides sufficient space for the wiring and piping design of different functional areas, which helps to achieve zoned control.

[0055] like Figure 6 As shown, in the frame 13, its top crossbeam is constructed as an inclined stepped surface structure, with the upper section higher than the lower section. Both sections are inclined downwards from one end of the storage frame 11 towards the alignment unit, facilitating the rolling and downward movement of materials. The upper section is positioned closer to the alignment unit 30, and the lower section is positioned closer to the storage frame 11. The lower section serves as a receiving and temporary storage area, and the loading area 14 is located on the lower section, near one end of the storage frame 11. The upper section serves as a sorting and preparation area, and the storage area 15 is located on it, near the alignment unit 30. The higher-positioned storage area 15 facilitates the first-stage feeding arm 21 in moving materials from a lower position to a higher position for flattening, and also provides a suitable working height for the second-stage feeding arm 23 to quantitatively pick up materials.

[0056] The stepped structure can divide the feeding and temporary storage areas based on different functions, raising the material from the lower feeding area 14 to the higher storage area 15, providing an ideal workbench for the quantitative picking of the secondary feeding arm 23, and also establishing the spatial positioning and flow direction of the material in the system, making the whole process more orderly.

[0057] like Figure 14 , Figure 15 As shown, guide rods are provided along the length of the guide surface of the storage area 15 to form linear contact with the transversely arranged tubular bars. This not only reduces rolling friction but also facilitates the flat laying of the tubular bars. Furthermore, both the storage area 15 and the feeding area 14 have inclined slope structures from top to bottom along the tubular bar conveying direction. Relying on the gravity of the tubular bars, they can automatically roll along the slope in the conveying direction, reducing jamming and accumulation. This also reduces dependence on external power, simplifies the structure, and saves energy.

[0058] The storage frame 11 is pivotally connected to one side of the outer end of the lower section, facilitating the natural accumulation of the tubular rod 50 in the loading area 14 after it is tumbled out of the storage frame 11, reducing obstruction. The pivot ends of the primary feeding arm 21 and the secondary feeding arm 23 are adjacent to each other below the upper section, with the feeding end of the primary feeding arm 21 facing the loading area 14 and the feeding end of the secondary feeding arm 23 facing the aligned wheel groove 31. The height difference facilitates the primary feeding arm 21 to lift the tubular rod 50 from a lower position to the higher, flat storage area 15, achieving initial lifting and flattening.

[0059] Preferably, position sensors (not shown in the attached figures) are installed in both the feeding area 14 and the storage area 15 to monitor whether there are tubes 50 placed and to feed the signals back to the control unit 60. This is a conventional operation in the art and is omitted here. The sensors can be used for system monitoring: when there are tubes to be processed in the feeding area 14, the first-level feeding arm 21 is controlled to perform a reciprocating feeding action; the tubes in the lower feeding area 14 are orderly raised to the higher storage area 15 and the tubes are laid flat. When the tube storage in the storage area 15 is lower than the threshold, the storage frame 11 is controlled to perform a flipping feeding action.

[0060] The storage unit 10 drives the storage frame 11 to flip toward the loading area 14 via the first hydraulic cylinder 12, so that the bundle of tubes 50 stacked in the storage frame 11 is dispersed and partially peeled off and moved to the loading area 14 for placement.

[0061] like Figure 8 As shown, the multi-stage material feeding unit 20 includes a primary feeding arm 21, a secondary feeding arm 23, a second hydraulic cylinder 22 that drives the primary feeding arm 21 to rotate, and a third hydraulic cylinder 24 that drives the secondary feeding arm 23 to rotate, all mounted on the frame 13. In this embodiment, the second hydraulic cylinder 22 and the third hydraulic cylinder 24 are arranged crosswise and fixed on the lower part of the frame 13, i.e., on the lower layer of the fixed frame. This avoids interference between the two hydraulic cylinders when they are in operation. In particular, when the primary and secondary feeding arms move alternately, the cylinder body and the piston of the hydraulic cylinder will not collide.

[0062] like Figure 4 and Figure 2As shown, a limiting block 25 is provided at the top of the frame 13, i.e., the upper section, away from the storage frame 11, and a limiting block 25 is provided next to the tail end of each storage area 15. Its function is to limit the end position of the secondary feeding arm 23 to ensure that the secondary feeding arm 23 stops at the same position each time, so as to ensure that the tube bar 50 can be accurately fed into the entrance of the alignment wheel groove 31, and reduce the position deviation caused by hydraulic cylinder drift or sensor error.

[0063] like Figure 14 , Figure 16 As shown, a limiting block 25 is provided on the side of each storage area 15. In order to accommodate the feeding of tubes and bars of different diameters, the rotation angle of the limiting block 25 is adjusted by the limiting motor 26 so that the intersection point of the limiting block 25 with the inclined surface of the storage area 15 is different, so that the height of the lowest stopping point of tubes and bars of different diameters is different. When the center position of a single tube or multiple tubes at the lowest stopping point is lower than the tip cutting point of the first inclined surface 231, the secondary feeding arm 23 can be controlled to feed the tubes and bars quantitatively.

[0064] Specifically, the limit motor 26 is located next to the outermost storage area 15, and is fixedly mounted on the frame 13. Its output end is tilted outwards via a push rod 261 (e.g., Figure 18 (As shown by the solid arrow in the middle), and then connected to several limit blocks 25 via connecting component 27.

[0065] like Figure 16 and Figure 18 As shown, the connecting assembly 27 includes a limiting shaft 273 connected to each limiting block 25, a limiting connecting piece 271 connected to the limiting shaft 273, and a limiting connecting rod 272 connected to the limiting connecting piece 271. The limiting block 25 is fixedly connected to the top of the limiting shaft 273, and the bottom of the limiting shaft 273 is directly connected to the limiting connecting piece 271. The limiting connecting piece 271 and the limiting motor 26 are at the same fixed horizontal height. The limiting shaft 273 passes through the limiting connecting piece 271 vertically upwards and is fixedly connected to the limiting block 25.

[0066] like Figure 17 , Figure 18As shown, the limiting connecting piece 271 has a pointer-type structure, with a mounting hole 2711 in the middle for connection to the limiting rotating shaft 273, and mounting holes 2712 at both ends for connection to the push rod 261 and a mounting hole 2713 for connection to the limiting connecting rod 272; all three mounting holes are on the same straight line. The length between mounting hole 2711 and mounting hole 2712 is greater than the length between mounting hole 2711 and mounting hole 2713; that is, with the connection point between the limiting connecting piece 271 and the limiting rotating shaft 273 as the center, the length of the connecting push rod 261 is greater than the length of the connecting limit connecting rod 272. With this structural design, the push rod can drive the limiting connecting piece 271 to rotate with a smaller force. The linear motion of the push rod 261 is converted into the rotational motion of the limiting block 25 through this pointer structure (e.g., ...). Figure 18 The black rotating arrow in the middle serves to adjust direction and transmit force.

[0067] like Figure 15 As shown, a bushing is provided outside the limiting rotating shaft 273, and the limiting rotating shaft 273 is connected to the fixing plate 274 set on the frame 13 through the bushing. The fixing plate 274 is fixed to the side of the frame 13 and the side near the storage area 15 by bolts. In order to improve the stability and strength of the limiting block 25, several reinforcing ribs are provided between the fixing plate 274 and the bushing, and all reinforcing ribs are welded to the bushing.

[0068] like Figure 17 As shown, each limiting link 271 is connected to a limiting link 272 via a limiting link 272. The limiting motor 26 pushes the limiting link 271 to rotate around the limiting shaft 273 via a push rod 261. The rotation angle range is 0-90°, including but not limited to 0°, 10°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°, and 90°. Correspondingly, the initial rotation angle position of the limiting link 271 is point M, with an angle of 45° relative to the vertical direction. The final rotation angle position of the limiting link 271 is point N, where the angle between point M and point N is 90°. That is, the push rod 261 drives the limiting link 271 to rotate from the initial position M to the final position N, thereby driving the limiting block 25 to rotate within the range of 0-90°.

[0069] like Figure 15 and Figure 16 As shown, the side of the limiting block 25 used to block the tube bar has a sloping arc structure, and its sloping arc is set near the sharp corner of the first sloping surface 231, which facilitates material removal from the sharp corner of the first sloping surface. The axis of the sloping arc of the limiting block 25 is at an angle of 30° relative to the axis of the limiting connecting piece 271 (e.g., Figure 18 As shown in the figure, rotating its angle adjusts the intersection point with the inclined surface of the storage area 15, thereby controlling the stopping position of the tube rod.

[0070] The control unit 60 sends commands to the limit motor 26 to adjust the angle of the limit block 25 to control the stopping position of the tubing in the storage area 15, thus adapting to the material feeding requirements of tubing of different diameters. The working process is as follows: the limit motor 26 drives the push rod 261 to move, which in turn drives the connecting assembly 27 (including the limit connecting piece 271, the limit connecting rod 272, and the limit rotating shaft 273) to rotate the limit block around the axis within a range of 0-90°. The limit block 25 has a sloping arc structure; when rotated, it changes the position of its intersection point with the sloping surface of the storage area 15, thereby adjusting the center height of the lowest stopping point of the tubing. By controlling the stopping height, quantitative stripping of single or multiple tubing can be achieved, which, in conjunction with the secondary feeding arm 23, completes a set number of feeding operations.

[0071] like Figure 10 As shown, if the limiting block 25 protrudes too low from the storage area 15 and can only block a single layer of tubing, then when the secondary feeding arm 23 feeds material from the storage area 15, it can only peel off one piece at a time. Figure 11 As shown, if double-layer material distribution is required in the storage area 15, the limit block 25 needs to be protruded from the storage area 15 at a height suitable for double-layer material distribution via the limit motor 26. Then, when the secondary feeding arm 23 feeds material, it can feed two materials at a time from the storage area 15. Of course, in the case of double-layer material distribution, there will also be single-layer material distribution of the tubing. In this case, the first inclined surface 231 will feed one material at a time, but the main method is to peel off two materials at a time.

[0072] Based on the process parameters, the quantity of material to be fed at one time is preset in the control unit 60 in advance, and the tilt angle and position height of the limit block 25 are adjusted so as to distribute the material in the storage area 15.

[0073] The angle of the limit block 25 is used to adjust the position height of the lowest stopping point of tubes and bars of different diameters. This adjustment method is applicable to the adjustment of tubes and bars of different diameters. It can only be automatically adjusted by the cooperation of the limit motor 26 and the limit component 27, thereby adjusting the center height of the lowest stopping point of the tube and bar to adjust the number of tubes and bars stored below the cutting point of the secondary feeding arm 23 when picking up materials.

[0074] The height of the limiting block 25 is used to adjust the number of layers of fabric. The height of the limiting block 25 protruding from the surface of the storage area 15 can be adjusted by automatically replacing the limiting block 25 of different heights with a robotic arm or by adjusting the height of the limiting shaft 273. Moreover, this method is suitable for adjusting tubes and bars of the same diameter.

[0075] Once the process is determined, the rotation angle and position height of the limit block 25 are adjusted and confirmed. They will not be changed during subsequent feeding, feeding and laying processes until the laying of this batch of tubes and bars is completed.

[0076] like Figure 7 As shown, the second hydraulic cylinder 22 drives the first-stage material feeding arm 21 to rotate from bottom to top along the right side of the loading area 14 with the left end of the first-stage material feeding arm 21 as the rotation axis. This continuously and intermittently picks up the material from the loading area 14 and rotates it upwards while simultaneously feeding the material to the storage area 15 to lay it flat.

[0077] like Figure 8 As shown, the third hydraulic cylinder 24 drives the secondary feeding arm 23 to rotate reciprocally from bottom to top or from top to bottom on the left side of the storage area 15, with its right end as the rotation axis. In one cycle, the secondary feeding arm 23 first removes the aligned tubes from the alignment groove 31, and at the same time, its first inclined surface 231 quantitatively peels off new tubes 50 from the storage area 15. By adjusting the limit block 25, it is ensured that the number and position of the peeled tubes meet the preset requirements, realizing the synchronous alternating conveying of new and old tubes. The primary feeding arm 21 and the secondary feeding arm 23 are installed in adjacent positions with their feeding ends pointing in opposite directions, and they reciprocate asynchronously in opposite directions of rotation. This ensures the continuity of the material flow while preventing material congestion or mechanical collisions caused by simultaneous actions, and also facilitates the precise management of each link by the sensor and control unit 60.

[0078] from Figure 6 As can be seen, the feeding surface of the primary feeding arm 21 has a V-shaped structure with an obtuse angle, allowing it to contact multiple tubes in a single feeding motion and gradually spread them out using the inclined surface, which helps to achieve flat laying. The second hydraulic cylinder 22 is pivotally connected to the connecting ring on its back. To improve the flipping accuracy of the primary feeding arm 21 from bottom to top, the second hydraulic cylinder 22 is positioned close to the side of the secondary feeding arm 23. The second hydraulic cylinder 22 has sufficient space and length to extend and retract to support the flipping movement of the primary feeding arm 21. The obtuse-angled V-shaped feeding surface has a wide opening, which can simultaneously accommodate multiple tubes 50 or tubes 50 of different diameters, avoiding jamming due to a narrow slot. The right-side feeding surface of the primary feeding arm 21 can unload the tubes 50 that have accumulated in the loading area 14. These tubes 50 can slide smoothly along the inclined surface on the left side into the storage area 15 for flat laying during the upward flipping process.

[0079] like Figure 4 As shown, the feeding surface of the secondary feeding arm 23 has two spaced-apart first inclined surfaces 231 and second inclined surfaces 232. The first inclined surfaces 231 and second inclined surfaces 232 have the same inclination angle, both sloping downwards from the pivot end (rotation axis) of the secondary feeding arm 23 towards the feeding end on the outside. The position of the first inclined surface 231 near the pivot end is higher than the position near the feeding end of the second inclined surface 232, and the inclined surfaces are in an inward-high-outward-low inclination state, which facilitates the tube bar 50 to slide naturally to the outside of the secondary feeding arm 23 under the action of gravity.

[0080] The first inclined surface 231 is located near the pivot end, and the second inclined surface 232 is located near the feeding end. A certain distance exists between the first inclined surface 231 and the second inclined surface 232, with a recessed placement groove 233 at the interval for temporarily storing the feeding tubes 50. The top of the first inclined surface 231 is a sharp angle, allowing it to cut into the tube stack in the storage area 15 and quantitatively separate one or more tubes based on the preset lowest point of the tube peeling position. The peeled tubes 50 slide along the first inclined surface 231 into the placement groove 233, and the lower position of the placement groove 233 corresponds precisely to the entrance of the alignment wheel groove 31 in the next process, facilitating the smooth entry of the tubes into the alignment process.

[0081] like Figure 8 As shown, in this process, the secondary feeding arm 23 is controlled to rotate upward, and the sharp corner of the first inclined surface 231 is inserted into the stack of tubes and bars in the flat storage area 15. Utilizing its sharp corner structure and inclined surface slope, only one or more tubes and bars 50 are picked out at a time. The stripped tubes and bars slide along the first inclined surface 231 into the middle placement groove 233 for temporary storage. The secondary feeding arm 23 continues to swing and rotate downward with its pivot end as the axis, directly transporting the tubes and bars 50 in the placement groove 233 to the entrance of the alignment wheel groove 31. Since the position of the placement groove 233 corresponds to the entrance of the alignment wheel groove 31, the tubes and bars can smoothly roll into the alignment wheel groove 31. Through this method of picking up material first and then conveying it, combined with the structure of sharp corner picking, inclined surface guidance and groove positioning, quantitative control of single or multiple tubes and bars can be achieved, thus realizing the adjustability and accuracy of the feeding quantity.

[0082] like Figure 4 As shown, the lower end of the second inclined surface 232 is provided with a retaining groove 234, that is, the retaining groove 234 is located at the end of the second inclined surface 232. The second inclined surface 232 corresponds to the lowest position of the alignment wheel groove 31, and the retaining groove 234 corresponds to the entrance of the material distribution rod 41. During the process of the secondary feeding arm 23 flipping from bottom to top and towards the storage area 15, when the secondary feeding arm 23 rotates to a specific angle, when the first inclined surface 231 picks up the material with its sharp corner, the second inclined surface 232 is still below the alignment wheel groove 31; after the first inclined surface 231 finishes feeding the material, the tube can slide into the placement groove 233, which corresponds exactly to the bottom of the alignment wheel groove 31. At this point, if there are already aligned tubes in the alignment wheel groove 31, the second inclined plane 232 can directly lift and place the aligned tubes in the alignment wheel groove 31, accurately taking the tubes from the alignment wheel groove 31. The tubes roll down the second inclined plane 232 into the retaining groove 234 without falling off. The tubes detached from the alignment wheel groove 31 move upward with the secondary feeding arm 23 as it rotates, and are raised above the material distribution rod 41 and roll down the second inclined plane 232 into the retaining groove 234. When the secondary feeding arm 23 is controlled to flip downward and retract, the tubes in the retaining groove 234 are directly transferred to the material distribution rod 41 for rolling and flattening.

[0083] As the new tube bar 50 is just peeled off from the first inclined surface 231, the second inclined surface 232 lifts the old tube bar 50 that has been aligned in the alignment wheel groove 31. The old tube bar 50 slides along the second inclined surface 232 into the retaining groove 234, thus reserving an alignment position for the new tube bar. When the secondary feeding arm 23 continues to flip downward, the old tube bar in the retaining groove 234 is directly placed on the feeding rod 41 and directly transferred to the feeding roller 42 that runs parallel to the feeding rod 41. At the same time, the new tube bar that has just been taken out from the placement groove 233 is directly placed into the alignment wheel groove 31, ready to start alignment.

[0084] During this process, when taking materials, such as Figure 8 As shown, the secondary feeding arm 23 rotates upward, and the sharp corner of its first inclined surface 231 inserts into the stack of tubes in the storage area 15. Only one tube is separated at a time, and the tube slides along the first inclined surface 231 into the middle placement groove 233 for temporary storage. Figure 9 As shown. Figure 10 As shown, the secondary feeding arm 23 continues to rotate, transporting the tubing in the placement groove 233 to the entrance of the alignment wheel groove 31, where the tubing smoothly rolls into the alignment wheel groove 31 for alignment. Figure 11 As shown, while taking new material, if there are already aligned tubes in the alignment groove 31, the second inclined surface 232 will lift these tubes during rotation, causing them to detach from the alignment groove 31 and roll along the second inclined surface 232 into the stop groove 234 at their end. Figure 12 As shown, when the secondary feeding arm 23 flips and retracts downward, the tube bar in the baffle 234 is directly transferred to the feeding rod 41, and then the feeding rod 41 conveys the tube bar to the feeding roller 42 to complete a single feeding process.

[0085] The alignment unit 30 and the fabric unit 40 are fixed together on another mounting bracket 43 arranged side by side with the frame 13. The structure of the mounting bracket 43 is similar to that of the frame 13, and will not be described in detail here.

[0086] like Figure 2 As shown, the alignment unit 30 includes several alignment grooves 31 and an alignment baffle 32. The alignment grooves 31 are arranged side by side on the side of the mounting frame 43 near the storage unit 10 and extend horizontally towards the storage area 15, with at least one set of alignment grooves 31 corresponding to each storage area 15. The alignment grooves 31 are coaxially connected to the feeding roller 42 via a coupling, and the end of the feeding roller 42 away from the alignment grooves 31 and the coupling are both fixedly mounted on the mounting frame 43.

[0087] Alignment baffle 32 is located on one side of alignment unit 30, outside the outermost alignment wheel groove 31, and fixed to mounting bracket 43, corresponding to the position of alignment wheel groove 31. Alignment baffle 32 is a vertical plate structure with sensors on its surface for real-time monitoring of whether the tube bars are in position. An alignment completion signal is immediately triggered when all tube bar ends contact alignment baffle 32, ensuring consistent axial alignment of the tube bars. The sensors then directly upload the monitoring data to control unit 60, facilitating the subsequent material handling operation of the aligned tube bars.

[0088] like Figure 5 As shown, the two ends of the alignment groove 31 are conical surfaces, meaning its surface consists of two conical surfaces. The smaller diameter ends of the two conical surfaces meet at the two ends of a short cylinder, forming a flat-bottomed, wide-mouthed, obtuse-angled V-shaped groove. This not only facilitates the insertion and stable contact of the tube, but also ensures that the axis of the tube remains parallel to the rotation axis of the groove when it is in the groove. The two conical surfaces serve as guide transition sections, while the short cylinder forms the waist of the alignment groove 31; consequently, the short cylinder provides a stable, constant-diameter support and rolling track for the tube.

[0089] At the two ends of the alignment groove 31, the diameter of the larger end of the conical surface near the secondary feeding arm 23 is larger than that of the conical surface away from the secondary feeding arm 23, and the horizontal length of the conical surface near the secondary feeding arm 23 is also greater than that of the conical surface away from the secondary feeding arm 23. That is, the slopes of the two conical surfaces are different. Because the slope of the side near the secondary feeding arm 23 is longer and the diameter is larger, the tubing rolls out from the feeding arm and directly enters this large and gently sloping groove, smoothly reaching the bottom plane. The side away from the secondary feeding arm 23 is the outlet end, with a shorter slope and a smaller diameter, which facilitates guiding the tubing 50 against the alignment baffle 32 for alignment.

[0090] At the rear of the mounting frame 43, a feeding motor 47 is provided to drive the feeding rollers 42 to rotate. A single feeding motor 47 drives all feeding rollers 42 to rotate together, and synchronously drives the alignment wheel groove 31 to rotate via a coupling. When alignment of the tube bar is required, the fabric bar 41 has not yet transferred the fabric onto the tube bar to the feeding roller 42; that is, the feeding roller 42 is still located below the fabric bar 41. The feeding motor 47 drives the feeding rollers 42 to synchronously rotate the alignment wheel groove 31 towards the alignment baffle 32. Figure 2 From the perspective of AA, the alignment groove 31 rotates counterclockwise, which can drive the tube rod on it to move along its axis toward the alignment baffle 32 and roll and align synchronously.

[0091] like Figure 9 , Figure 10 and Figure 11As shown, during the initial feeding of material by the secondary feeding arm 23, there are no tubes in the alignment groove 31. Each time the first inclined plane 231 feeds a single or double tube, when it first intersects with the alignment groove 31, the second inclined plane 232 moves upwards while suspended, leaving no tube to intersect with the placing rod 41. During the second feeding, one or two aligned tubes are already in the alignment groove 31. When the first inclined plane 231 feeds another tube into the alignment groove 31, the second inclined plane 232 simultaneously removes the tube that was first fed into the alignment groove 31. The first inclined plane 231 then transfers the second stripped tube into the alignment groove 31. After complete alignment, the second inclined plane 232 removes the aligned tube and transfers it to the placing rod 41, freeing up space in the alignment groove 31 for the next batch of tubes. Repeat the above steps, and use the first inclined plane 231 and the second inclined plane 232 to perform quantitative (single, double or multiple) feeding in a cyclical alternation. The material is continuously peeled from the storage area 15, aligned in the alignment wheel groove 31, and then conveyed to the cloth bar 41 for single-layer cloth feeding.

[0092] like Figure 3 and Figure 13 As shown, the fabric feeding unit 40 is mainly used to convey the aligned tubular rods 50 onto the feeding roller 42. It includes several fabric feeding rods 41 arranged side-by-side, a rotating shaft 46 located below and fixedly connected to the fabric feeding rods 41, an active beam 45 perpendicular to the length direction of the fabric feeding rods 41 and hinged to the rotating shaft 46 via a connector, and a fourth hydraulic cylinder 44 driving the active beam 45 to move. The two ends of the rotating shaft 46 are fixedly mounted on the mounting frame 43 via vertical bearing seats. Figure 13 It can be seen that the length of the rotating shaft 46 is less than the length of the fabric rod 41. The rotating shaft 46 is fixedly installed in the middle position of the mounting frame 43, while the length of the fabric rod 41 is matched with that of the feeding roller 42.

[0093] The lower end wall of the fabric bar 41 is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the rotating shaft 46 via a short column. The fourth hydraulic cylinder 44 extends and retracts to drive the active beam 45 to move horizontally. The active beam 45 drives the rotating shaft 46 to rotate through the connecting piece hinged to it, thereby driving the fabric bar 41 to rotate around the rotating shaft 46 as the axis and adjust the position of the fabric bar 41 to adjust the height position of the fabric bar 41 relative to the feeding roller 42, so as to transfer the tube bar laid flat on the fabric bar 41 to the feeding roller 42, or drive the fabric bar 41 back to its initial fabric position.

[0094] Specifically, the rotating shaft 46 and the feeding roller 42 are both arranged horizontally in parallel along the direction of the tube bar conveying. The material distribution rod 41 is inclined upward relative to the rotating shaft 46, that is, its position near the alignment unit 30 is higher than its position away from the alignment unit 30, and the included angle is θ. Preferably, the included angle θ is in the range of 1-5°, including but not limited to 1°, 2°, 3°, 4°, and 5°. A stop block is provided at the tail of the material distribution rod 41 for positioning and flattening the tube bar; the inclined material distribution rod 41 facilitates the sliding downward distribution of material on the tube bar.

[0095] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the feeding rod 41 and the feeding roller 42 are arranged in parallel with a gap, and a feeding rod 41 is provided between each adjacent feeding roller 42. Two sets of detection gratings 48 for monitoring the number of tubes are provided on the side of the alignment baffle 32 and on the side of the feeding roller 42 to ensure that the preset number of tubes is achieved in a single feeding. The detection gratings 48 are located on the side near the alignment wheel groove 31. When the secondary feeding arm 23 delivers the aligned tubes to the feeding rod 41, all tubes will roll along the end of the feeding rod 41 and be monitored by the detection gratings 48. The two sets of detection gratings 48 monitor the number of tubes simultaneously to avoid missed detection by a single detection grating 48, thereby accurately confirming the number of tubes.

[0096] There is a certain gap between the right end of the material placing rod 41 and the left end of the alignment wheel groove 31. This is to prevent interference with the right end of the material placing rod 41 when the second inclined surface 232 rotates upward and lifts the tube bar in the alignment wheel groove 31, thus affecting the material taking.

[0097] like Figure 3 As shown, the active beam 45 is suspended below the mounting frame 43 via a connector, located at the midpoint of the length of the rotating shaft 46; and the active beam 45 is pivotally connected to the rotating shaft 46 via the connector. The fourth hydraulic cylinder 44 is arranged parallel to the active beam 45 and is fixedly mounted on the mounting frame 43. The piston of the fourth hydraulic cylinder 44 is directly pivotally connected to the active beam 45, which drives the active beam 45 to slide left and right in the horizontal direction (perpendicular to the length direction of the fabric rod 41).

[0098] The initial position of the placing bar 41 is directly above the rotating shaft 46 and slightly higher than the height of the feeding roller 42. At this time, the tubing is still laid flat in a single layer on the placing bar 41. When all the tubing is fully placed on the placing bar 41, the piston of the fourth hydraulic cylinder 44 needs to be controlled to retract, that is, to move horizontally to the right away from the alignment baffle 32 (e.g., Figure 3(As shown by the solid arrow in the middle), the fourth hydraulic cylinder 44 drives the active beam 45 to move horizontally to the right. Correspondingly, the active beam 45 drives the rotating shaft 46 to rotate counterclockwise through the movable parts. Then, the rotating shaft 46 drives the feeding rod 41 to also rotate counterclockwise and descend (similar to a fan blade), thereby driving the tube bar to descend, that is, the tube bar falls onto the horizontally set feeding roller 42, completing the transfer of the tube bar. Figure 12 As shown. At this time, the fabric rod 41 is kept stationary at its lower limit position. Then, the control unit 60 notifies the feeding motor 47 to start, driving all feeding rollers 42 to rotate clockwise synchronously, thereby moving all the tubes horizontally to the right to the next station and removing all the fabric tubes.

[0099] The feeding motor 47 stops working, and the feeding roller 42 stops rotating. Then, the piston of the fourth hydraulic cylinder 44 is extended, moving horizontally to the left towards the alignment baffle 32. At this time, the fourth hydraulic cylinder 44 can also drive the drive beam 45 to move to the left (e.g., Figure 3 (As shown by the dashed arrow), the active beam 45 drives the rotating shaft 46 to rotate clockwise with its axis as the center, gradually rising from its lower limit position until it stops at its initial position, ready to start the fabric distribution of the next set of tube bars.

[0100] In this embodiment, the control unit 60 is electrically connected to the storage unit 10, the multi-stage feeding unit 20, the alignment unit 30, and the material distribution unit 40. It controls the coordinated actions of each unit to achieve material distribution of the tube bar 50 according to the preset load quantity. The control unit 60 is an industrial computer or a programmable logic controller (PLC). It stores a control program and receives signals from various sensors and outputs control commands to the execution components in each drive unit. This coordinates the timing and logic of the actions of the storage frame 11, the first-stage feeding arm 21, the second-stage feeding arm 23, the alignment wheel groove 31, the material distribution rod 41, and the limit motor 26, achieving a fully automatic tube bar material distribution process with adjustable load quantity.

[0101] A method for fabricating tubular rods, such as Figure 19 As shown, it includes the following steps:

[0102] S1: Based on the preset fabric load quantity parameters, place the tube rod into the storage frame 11.

[0103] According to the process requirements of heat treatment, the control unit 60 presets the required fabric load N for the entire batch production task, which is the total number of tubes N to be processed, and the number of tubes M in a single batch that are transferred from the fabric bar 41 to the loading roller 42 each time. The total number of cycles = N / M, rounded up; in the last cycle, if N is not divisible by M, the actual number of tubes transferred will be less than M, but the total number completed will still be N. By using M as the small target for cyclical processing and N as the total target for accumulation, a task is decomposed into multiple stable and controllable standardized operation cycles, thereby ensuring that the total target N of the task is completed while achieving efficient, flexible and precise control of the fabric application process.

[0104] like Figure 1 As shown, based on the preset workload, a corresponding number of bundled tubes are hoisted and placed in the storage frame 11 of the storage unit 10. After the tubes are placed, the storage frame 11 is in a horizontal initial position, and all units of the entire system are reset, waiting for the start command from the control unit 60.

[0105] S2: Based on the first monitoring signal, determine the material status of the feeding area 14 and the storage area 15, control the storage frame 11 to flip up to the feeding area 14, unload some of the tubes and stack them in the feeding area 14; at the same time, control the first-level material feeding arm 21 to push the tubes in the feeding area 14 to the higher storage area 15 for flat laying.

[0106] In this step, the first monitoring signal includes monitoring the material status of the feeding area 14 and / or the storage area 15 to control the flipping of the storage box 11 and the feeding operation of the first-stage feeding arm 21. Batch feeding and continuous spreading are divided into two sub-tasks triggered by different signals, coordinated by the control unit 60; this allows the slower feeding action and the faster spreading action to proceed at different rhythms, avoiding waiting for each other and optimizing work efficiency.

[0107] like Figure 6 , Figure 7 As shown, when there are tubes to be processed in the feeding area 14, the first-level feeding arm 21 is controlled to perform a reciprocating feeding action; the tubes in the lower feeding area 14 are orderly raised to the higher storage area 15, and the tubes are laid flat. When the tube storage in the storage area 15 is lower than the threshold, the storage frame 11 is controlled to perform a flipping feeding action to replenish the raw materials and ensure the material supply for continuous production.

[0108] The control of the first-stage material feeding arm 21 to perform reciprocating feeding action includes: controlling the second hydraulic cylinder 22 to drive the first-stage material feeding arm 21, so that the first-stage material feeding arm 21 reciprocates at a set speed and angle, continuously feeding the tube bar from the feeding area 14 and spreading it flat to the storage area 15.

[0109] S3: Based on the second monitoring signal and the quantitative parameters determined according to the preset load quantity, control the secondary feeding arm 23 to perform cyclic actions.

[0110] like Figure 8 , Figure 9 , Figure 10 and Figure 11 As shown, the cyclic action includes: quantitatively stripping the tube bar from the storage area 15 and conveying it to the alignment wheel groove 31, and simultaneously removing the tube bar that is already in the alignment wheel groove 31 and transferring it to the fabric bar 41.

[0111] Specifically, controlling the secondary feeding arm 23 to perform cyclic actions includes:

[0112] S31: Control the third hydraulic cylinder 24 to drive the secondary material feeding arm 23 to rotate, so that its first inclined surface 231 cuts into the tube and rod stack in the storage area 15, uses its sharp corner structure to quantitatively peel off the tube and rod, and makes the tube and rod slide along its inclined surface into the placement groove 233 located between the first inclined surface 231 and the second inclined surface 232.

[0113] S32: While the first inclined surface 231 picks up material, the second inclined surface 232 of the secondary feeding arm 23 moves to below the alignment wheel groove 31. If there is a tube rod in the groove, it is lifted and supported in the retaining groove 234 at the tail of the second inclined surface 232. The aligned tube rod continues to rise and rotate with the secondary feeding arm 23 in the retaining groove 234, and it leaves the alignment wheel groove 31 and is located above the feeding rod 41.

[0114] S33: Control the secondary material feeding arm 23 to rotate in the opposite direction, so that the new tube bar in the placement groove 233 rolls into the alignment wheel groove 31, and at the same time, the aligned old tube bar in the blocking groove 234 is transferred and placed on the material feeding rod 41 to complete the handover.

[0115] Furthermore, the quantitative parameter is achieved by adjusting the rotation angle and height of the limiting block 25 located beside the tail of the storage area 15, and its specific value is the number of stripping rods in a single operation. This parameter is not fixed, but is determined by the control unit 60 based on the preset load quantity N, the single material feeding quantity M, and the feeding time, to determine the number of stripping rods (single or multiple) in a single operation, and outputs control commands accordingly.

[0116] The angle of the limiting block 25 is used to adjust the position height of the lowest stopping point of tubes of different diameters. It can only be automatically adjusted through the cooperation of the limiting motor 26 and the limiting assembly 27, thereby adjusting the center height of the lowest stopping point of the tube to adjust the number of tubes stored below the cutting point of the secondary feeding arm 23 during material handling. This adjustment method is suitable for adjusting tubes of different diameters. The height of the limiting block 25 is used to adjust the number of layers of material. This is achieved by automatically replacing the limiting block 25 with one of different heights using a robotic arm or by adjusting the height of the limiting shaft 273 to adjust the height of the limiting block 25 protruding from the surface of the storage area 15. This method can only adjust tubes of the same diameter. Then, by controlling the stroke of the secondary feeding arm 23, a single quantitative stripping of one, two, or multiple tubes can be achieved.

[0117] like Figure 8 , Figure 9 As shown, if the height of the limiting block 25 protruding from the platform of the storage area 15 is low, and only one layer of tubes is allowed to be laid flat, then the secondary material feeding arm 23 can only peel off one tube at a time.

[0118] like Figure 11 As shown, if the height of the height limit block 25 protrudes from the platform of the storage area 15, allowing two layers of tubing to be laid flat, then the secondary feeding arm 23 can peel off two tubing at a time (one from the upper layer and one from the lower layer). Of course, there are also cases where a single tubing can be peeled off at a time, but the two-tubing peeling method is the main one. Since the number of tubing layers is physically limited, the sharp corner of the first inclined surface 231 of the secondary feeding arm 23 can stably peel off a predetermined number of tubing (single or double) within a predetermined stroke.

[0119] In this step, instead of using complex speed control or torque sensing for counting, the digital quantity command is converted into a physically measurable spatial position by adjusting the rotation angle or height of a simple mechanical stop. This position is then used to constrain the lowest point of the material, ultimately achieving quantitative multi-batch stripping. This adjustment method can adapt to the process requirements of different diameter tubes or different feeding speeds (single / double tubes), greatly enhancing the flexibility and adaptability of the fabric.

[0120] S4: Control the rotation of the alignment wheel groove 31 to axially align the tube rod located therein.

[0121] After the secondary feeding arm 23 places the new tube into the alignment wheel groove 31, an alignment signal is immediately triggered, and the control unit 60 sends a start command to the feeding motor 47. The feeding motor 47 simultaneously drives all feeding rollers 42 to rotate synchronously, and through a coupling, the alignment wheel grooves 31 corresponding to the feeding rollers 42 rotate synchronously towards the alignment baffle 32. Because the V-shaped groove surface of the alignment wheel groove 32 is inclined, its rotation generates an axial component force. Under the action of this force, all the tubes in the V-shaped groove begin to roll axially until their ends all abut against the unique reference surface of the alignment baffle 32.

[0122] When the sensor located at the alignment baffle 32 detects that all tube ends have contacted the baffle, the sensor is triggered and generates an alignment completion signal, which is sent to the control unit 60. The control unit 60 then notifies the feeding motor 47 to stop, the alignment wheel groove 31 to stop rotating, and the sensor records the number of tubes aligned this time and reports it to the control unit for system verification.

[0123] By using forced rotation and rolling, and limiting the movement with a fixed baffle on one side, the end faces of each batch of tubing entering the fabric feeding process are ensured to be strictly flush with the same plane. During the alignment process, although the feeding roller 41 is rotating, its main function is to drive the alignment wheel groove 31. At this time, the fabric feeding rod 41 has not yet descended, and the tubing on the fabric feeding rod 41 is not in contact with the feeding roller 42. This separates the precise positioning of the tubing and the batch conveying of the tubing in time. The system can wait until the tubing is completely aligned before performing the conveying action, ensuring that the starting point of each conveying is consistent and avoiding the chaos of misalignment during conveying.

[0124] Furthermore, the sensor at the alignment baffle 32 not only monitors the status of the tube rod but also performs counting. Its cross-validation with the predetermined number of actions of the secondary feeding arm 23 and the count by the detection grating 48 at the feeding rod 41 forms a complete counting and verification system, greatly improving the reliability of quantity control and eliminating problems of excess or insufficient material. Moreover, the alignment action is linked to the existing drive shaft of the feeding roller 42, eliminating the need for a separate rotary drive mechanism for the alignment function, directly simplifying the structure, reducing costs, and improving system reliability.

[0125] S5: Repeat steps S3 and S4 until the number of tubes transferred to the fabric bar 41 reaches the preset single fabric quantity M.

[0126] After each execution of steps S3 and S4, a detection grating 48 positioned beside the fabric bar 41 is used for scanning and counting to obtain the current cumulative number of tubular bars on the fabric bar 41 in real time. The tubular bars transferred to the fabric bar 41 are counted and verified in real time, and the real-time cumulative number is compared with the preset single-batch fabric quantity M to ensure that the preset single-batch fabric quantity M is achieved.

[0127] When the cumulative quantity of the judgment condition is greater than or equal to M, the loop terminates immediately; it exits the repeated loops of S3 and S4 and proceeds to the next step S6 to hand over the material bar 41. When the cumulative quantity is greater than M, that is, if M is not an integer multiple of the number of material bars in a single delivery (1 or 2), the last loop may cause the cumulative quantity to slightly exceed M; however, the control unit still uses reaching or exceeding M as the trigger condition to ensure that at least the minimum material quantity is met to end the accumulation.

[0128] In this process, through cyclic control, the continuous and discrete supply of tubes and bars from the front end is accumulated and aggregated into a specific batch (M tubes) required by the back end. This ensures that the material conveyed by the feeding roller 42 is always a neat and definite collection of tubes and bars, meeting the equipment requirements for batch heat treatment or processing. Moreover, by decomposing the total workload N into several sub-cycles in units of M, it is no longer limited to a fixed capacity. Changing the quantity M of material placed in a single batch changes the scale of each batch, thus flexibly adapting to the load requirements of different furnace types and processes without changing any hardware. The entire method is fully automated in counting, judging, and processing, eliminating waiting and human judgment time, making the production rhythm compact and predictable, and significantly improving overall production efficiency.

[0129] S6: Control the movement of the fabric rod 41 to transfer the accumulated tubular rods on it to the feeding roller 42.

[0130] As can be seen from step S5, when the number of tubes accumulated on the fabric rod 41 reaches the preset value M and the alignment unit is in an idle state, the control unit triggers the material transfer step.

[0131] like Figure 3 As shown, controlling the movement of the fabric rod 41 includes: controlling the retraction of the piston rod of the fourth hydraulic cylinder 44, which can pull the connected drive beam 45 to move horizontally. Figure 3 (Solid arrow pointing to the right) The active beam 45 then drives the rotating shaft 46, which is fixedly connected to the fabric rod 41, to rotate counterclockwise through the movable connector. Since the fabric rod 41 is fixed at an angle to the rotating shaft 46, the rotation of the rotating shaft 46 will be converted into a synchronous, fan-blade-like motion of all fabric rods 41 rotating and descending. As the fabric rod 41 descends, its inclined upper surface gradually becomes lower than the top surface of the parallel feeding rollers 42; under the action of gravity, all the tubes (M rods) laid flat on the fabric rod 41 are synchronously and smoothly transferred to the surface of the feeding rollers 42, completing the physical transfer.

[0132] The descent of the placing booms achieves zero-relative-slip, low-impact physical transfer of materials, avoiding scratches on the surface of the booms and secondary disorder in their arrangement. Simultaneously, through the combined design of the rotating shaft 56 and the inclined placing booms 41, the linear motion of a single fourth hydraulic cylinder 44 is converted into the synchronous descent / ascent of all placing booms 41. This design not only ensures synchronized movement of all points on the entire row of placing booms 41, but also allows all M booms to be released simultaneously and at the same height, resulting in neat handover and high reliability.

[0133] Furthermore, during the transfer of tubes and bars, if the total preset load quantity N does not meet the target, the next batch of tubes and bars continues to be processed through the multi-stage feeding unit 20, passing through the storage unit 10 and the alignment unit 30. That is, when the feeding bar is reset, the feeding roller is already feeding. This timing optimization reduces the cycle waiting time, making the overall operation rhythm more compact and efficient.

[0134] S7: After the material bar 41 is handed over, control the feeding motor 47 to drive the feeding roller 42 to rotate and transport the tube bar to the next process.

[0135] After the tubing has completely fallen onto the feeding roller 42, the control unit 60 instructs the feeding motor 47 to start, driving all the feeding rollers 42 to rotate synchronously in the direction away from the alignment baffle 32 via the transmission mechanism, i.e., clockwise according to the AA direction. Relying on friction, the rotating feeding roller 42 drives the entire batch (M tubes) of tubing placed on it to move smoothly and neatly along the axial direction of the tubing, conveying this batch of tubing out of the fabric system and into the next process.

[0136] In this step, the rotation of the feeding roller 42 also synchronously drives the idling of the alignment wheel groove 31 connected to it via a coupling; since there is no tube bar in the alignment wheel groove 31 at this time, the feeding rod 41 is controlled to return to its initial position through step S8.

[0137] S8: Control the fourth hydraulic cylinder 44 to reverse its movement, drive the material placing rod 41 back to the initial high position, and prepare for the next material placing cycle.

[0138] After the conveyor bar leaves the feeding roller 42, control the fourth hydraulic cylinder 44 to reverse, that is, the piston rod extends ( Figure 3 (As shown by the dashed arrow in the middle), the active beam 45 is pushed to move in the opposite direction, which drives the rotating shaft 46 to rotate clockwise, eventually causing all the fabric rods 41 to rise and stop precisely at the initial inclined high position, ready to receive the next batch of tubular bars.

[0139] This application discloses a tube / bar feeding system that, through the coordination of multi-stage feeding and alignment units, achieves a fully automated process from bundled tubes / bars to flattening, alignment, and counting, significantly improving the feeding rhythm and positional accuracy. By linking limit blocks with the control unit, the number of tubes fed per batch can be flexibly set according to process requirements, achieving adjustable load flexibility. The overall feeding system has a simple structure and precise control, suitable for feeding tubes / bars of different diameters and lengths. This system not only effectively overcomes the problems of low efficiency, inaccurate counting, and poor safety associated with manual feeding, but also compensates for the shortcomings of existing automated systems, such as insufficient alignment and inflexible adjustment, providing an efficient, reliable, and intelligent batch feeding technology solution for heat treatment and similar processes.

[0140] The tubular bar material distribution method designed in this application achieves fully intelligent processing of tubular bars from bundled stacking to neat, quantitative, and on-demand distribution through automated collaborative control of multiple units including material storage, feeding, alignment, and distribution. This effectively solves the problems of high labor intensity, low distribution efficiency, poor alignment accuracy, inaccurate counting, and numerous safety hazards inherent in traditional manual and semi-automatic methods. Through flexible load setting and closed-loop control, it significantly improves distribution rhythm and production continuity while ensuring high positional and quantitative accuracy. The overall process is simple and reasonable, with precise control, strong adaptability and reliability, providing a high-quality and high-efficiency material supply foundation for subsequent processing.

[0141] The embodiments of this application have been described in detail above. These descriptions are merely preferred embodiments and should not be construed as limiting the scope of this application. All equivalent variations and modifications made within the scope of this application should still fall within the patent coverage of this application.

Claims

1. A method for applying tubular or rod-shaped fabric, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1: Based on the preset fabric load quantity parameters, place the tubular rod into the storage box; S2: Based on the first monitoring signal, determine the material status of the feeding area and the storage area, control the storage frame to flip up to the feeding area, unload some of the tubes and stack them in the feeding area; at the same time, control the first-level material feeding arm to push the tubes in the feeding area to the storage area at a higher position for flattening. S3: Based on the second monitoring signal and the quantitative parameters determined according to the preset load quantity, control the secondary feeding arm to perform cyclic actions; The cyclic action includes: quantitatively stripping the tube bar from the storage area and conveying it to the alignment wheel groove, and simultaneously removing the tube bar that is already in the alignment wheel groove and transferring it to the fabric bar; S4: Control the rotation of the alignment wheel groove to axially align the tubes located therein; S5: Repeat steps S3 and S4 until the number of tubes transferred to the fabric rod reaches the preset single fabric quantity; S6: Control the movement of the fabric rod to transfer the accumulated tubular rods on it to the feeding roller.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S2, the first monitoring signal includes monitoring the material status of the feeding area and / or the storage area to control the flipping of the storage frame and the feeding operation of the first-stage feeding arm.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, When there are tubes to be processed in the feeding area, the first-stage feeding arm is controlled to perform a reciprocating feeding action; when the tube storage in the storage area is lower than the threshold, the storage frame is controlled to perform a flipping feeding action.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The control of the first-stage material feeding arm to perform reciprocating feeding action includes: controlling the second hydraulic cylinder to drive the first-stage material feeding arm to rotate reciprocally at a preset speed and angle, continuously feeding the tube bar from the feeding area and laying it flat to the storage area.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S3, controlling the secondary feeding arm to perform the cyclic action specifically includes: S31: Control the third hydraulic cylinder to drive the secondary material feeding arm to rotate, so that its first inclined surface cuts into the pile of tubes and bars in the storage area, uses its sharp corner structure to quantitatively peel off the tubes and bars, and makes the tubes and bars slide along its inclined surface into the placement groove located between the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface; S32: While the material is being picked up from the first inclined surface, the second inclined surface of the secondary feeding arm moves to below the alignment wheel groove, lifting the alignment tube rod in the groove and supporting it in the retaining groove at the tail of the second inclined surface; S33: Control the secondary material feeding arm to rotate in the opposite direction, so that the tube in the placement groove rolls into the alignment wheel groove, and at the same time, the tube in the blocking groove is transferred to the material feeding rod.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The quantitative parameters are achieved by adjusting the rotation angle of the limiting block located beside the tail of the storage area. The number of stripped tubes in a single operation is determined based on the preset load quantity, the quantity of material laid in a single operation, and the feeding time. Control commands are then output to the limiting motor to drive the limiting block to rotate and adjust the intersection position of the limiting block and the storage area. This adjusts the stopping position of the lowermost tubes of different diameters, ensuring that the entry point of the first inclined plane's sharp corner corresponds precisely to the position of one or more lowermost tubes. The stroke of the secondary feeding arm is then controlled to achieve quantitative stripping of one or more tubes in a single operation.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-3 and 5-6, characterized in that, In step S4, controlling the rotation of the alignment wheel groove includes: After the secondary feeding arm places the new tube into the alignment wheel groove, the feeding motor is started, driving the alignment wheel groove and the feeding roller to rotate synchronously toward an alignment baffle. When the sensor located at the alignment baffle detects that all tube ends have contacted the baffle, it generates an alignment completion signal and stops rotating, while recording the number of tubes aligned this time.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S6, controlling the movement of the fabric bar includes: controlling the fourth hydraulic cylinder to drive the active beam to move horizontally. The active beam drives the rotating shaft fixedly connected to the fabric bar to rotate through the connecting piece, so that the rotating shaft drives the fabric bar to transfer the tube bar on it to the surface of the feeding roller while rotating and descending.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, Following step S6, the following is also included: S7: After the fabric bar is handed over, control the feeding motor to drive the feeding roller to rotate and transport the tube bar to the next process; S8: Control the fourth hydraulic cylinder to reverse its movement, driving the material bar to rise back to its initial high position, ready for the next material feeding cycle.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, 5-6, and 8-9, characterized in that, In step S5, the tubes transferred to the fabric rod are counted and checked in real time by a detection grating set next to the fabric rod to ensure that the preset number of fabrics per batch is achieved.

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