Sheet processing device and method with automatic feeding and discharging functions

Abstract

The invention discloses an automatic feeding and discharging sheet processing device and method, and relates to the technical field of sheet processing. The device comprises an automatic blank feeding and aligning unit, a visual inspection and process planning unit, a fixed saw cutting thickness pushing and returning sawtooth avoiding unit and a sheet discharging and picking and waste collecting unit. Blank blocks are automatically fed and aligned from a stock bin, a technological parameter package containing a sawing path and a flaw cutting area is generated through blank image processing, cutting thickness pushing is achieved through a fixed pushing mechanism, and flaw cutting avoiding and cutting thickness limiting are achieved through a lifting backer. And the blank excess material return stroke tooth avoiding is conducted, the discharging picking mechanical claw clamps the sheets on the discharging bearing table and transfers the sheets to the rotating arm mechanical claw, quality inspection is conducted through the side face quality inspection camera, and sorting and orderly stacking are completed. The full-process automation of feeding, aligning, planning, sawing, sawtooth avoiding, discharging and sorting in sheet machining is achieved, and efficient utilization of flawed blanks is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of processing technology for sawing thin sheets from plate-shaped blanks, and specifically relates to a fully automatic sheet processing device and method with automatic loading and unloading. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, the method for sawing thin slices (such as wooden fan ribs) from a rectangular block of material (such as a wooden board) with even ends mostly relies on manual operation. The block is held tightly against a fixed support, pushed back and forth for sawing, and the slices are manually picked out. On the one hand, this method presents a harsh working environment with dust and noise, and the repeated sawing of the block next to a high-speed rotating saw blade is dangerous and makes it difficult to ensure safe and sustained work. On the other hand, if the block of material (such as a wooden board) has defects (such as bark, scars, cracks, etc.), it is necessary to manually identify and transfer it to another sawing machine without a support to remove the defective parts, which is inefficient and wastes equipment and space.

[0003] Reviewing woodworking machinery videos revealed that some two-axis CNC woodworking machines require manual fixing of the entire wood block to the front end of the cutting feed axis. The sawing and cutting feed, as well as the return stroke, are driven by the feed axis reciprocating the workpiece. However, during the sawing reciprocating process, the cutting feed axis moves as a whole with the wood block, resulting in large reciprocating inertia, slow acceleration and deceleration, and low efficiency. Furthermore, fixing the wood block to the worktable is unsuitable for processing scenarios where long, flat wood planks are rapidly and continuously sawn along the small end face to separate fan-shaped long, thin slices until the usable portion of the long, flat wood plank is completely sawn off and utilized.

[0004] No reports have been found on equipment technology for automatically sawing thin slices from slab-shaped blanks. For example, the patent document with announcement number CN222741693U discloses a rotary cutting device for processing thin wood slices, which achieves the purpose of rotary cutting thin wood slices from logs. However, this rotary cutting device is designed to process continuous thin slices from circular rotary cutting devices, but it cannot process long, thin slices of a certain size from rectangular slab-shaped blanks, nor does it have the function of controlling and orderly feeding and stacking the processed thin slices, making it difficult to adapt to the needs of automated production lines.

[0005] In summary, existing sheet processing technology has the following drawbacks: First, the blank loading and alignment rely on manual assistance, resulting in low efficiency and difficulty in automating production. Second, there is a lack of accurate detection of blank defects and online automatic process planning, leading to low utilization of defective blanks and significant waste. Third, during the sawing return stroke, the thickness-cutting drive system follows, resulting in large reciprocating inertia, slow speed, and low efficiency. Furthermore, the saw blade teeth easily scratch the blank end face, affecting subsequent processing quality. Fourth, after sheet cutting, most of the material is picked up manually, and it is prone to collision with the saw blade, causing damage, and the sorting efficiency is low. Fifth, the processing flow has a low degree of automation, requiring numerous manual intervention steps, thus limiting production efficiency.

[0006] Existing thin-slab sawing technology does not take into account the need for lightweighting of the reciprocating sawing motion parts required for high-speed processing, the need for automatic avoidance of saw teeth during the return stroke of the billet in the reciprocating sawing process, the need for automatic feeding of billet blocks and automatic and orderly unloading of finished thin-slab products, and the need for automatic separation of defective areas and qualified products in the billet. Therefore, it cannot be matched with automated production lines.

[0007] Therefore, there is an urgent need to design a fully automated sheet processing device and method based on visual inspection and process planning to solve the above-mentioned technical pain points. Summary of the Invention

[0008] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, such as the inability to automatically identify and remove defects (bark, cracks, scars, etc.) during the sawing process of rectangular plate-shaped blanks (such as thin wood boards) with uniform ends and irregular and variable lengths at the other ends into thin sheets (such as fan ribs), the need for lightweight design of the reciprocating sawing motion unit required for high-speed processing, the need for automatic saw blade avoidance during the return stroke of the blank block in the reciprocating sawing process, the need for automatic loading of blank blocks, the need for automatic control of sawing amount, and the need for automatic and orderly unloading of finished thin sheets, this invention provides an automated equipment and method for the entire process of automatic loading and unloading of thin sheet processing. This equipment and method enables automatic loading and alignment of rectangular plate-shaped blanks with uniform ends, automatic defect identification and removal, and high-precision automatic sawing and orderly unloading of thin sheets. It achieves integrated operation of "loading-alignment-detection-planning-sawing-saw blade avoidance-unloading-sorting," thereby improving the production environment, increasing efficiency and blank utilization, and facilitating compatibility with automated production lines.

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: the device includes components arranged sequentially along the processing flow direction and interconnected by signals, mounted on a platform:

[0010] The automatic billet feeding and alignment clamping unit (1, 2) is used to push the bottommost billet blocks in the hopper (101) one by one to the top of the alignment clamping unit (2). When the feed tray (1022) is pushed back, the lifting stop pin (104) extends into the check groove (1026) between the bottom support platform (1021) and the feed tray (1022), preventing the billet on the feed tray (1022) from retreating with the feed tray (1022) and causing the billet to fall vertically. The material enters the alignment and pressing unit (2), and is then squeezed by the left and right alignment baffles (201, 202) with a roller-block composite structure, and the billet is pressed from above by the vertical pressing (203), completing the alignment and pressing of the billet block in five degrees of freedom of position except the cutting thickness direction, and outputting the "alignment completed" trigger signal; thereby realizing the pushing of the billet blocks in the hopper (101) out of the hopper (101) one by one and placing them in the alignment and pressing state, preparing for subsequent visual inspection and process planning.

[0011] The visual inspection and process planning unit (10) acquires a top-view image of the billet block by means of a top-view camera (1001) fixed above the feeding station near the silo, calculates the actual size and coordinates of the billet block and the coordinates of the defect location in real time, and generates an online process parameter package containing "saw blade number path planning and defect area removal", which is applied to the dynamic positioning and sawing of the current billet. Based on the obtained process parameter package, when sawing defective areas, the backrest is lowered to avoid interference. Depending on the size of the defective area, it can be cut off in one or multiple feeds. When sawing thin slices, the backrest is raised. According to the sawing path planning, the blank is squeezed against the backrest one by one before the sawing feed is started to ensure that thin slices of stable thickness are sawn. The sawn thin slices are subjected to secondary quality inspection by the side quality inspection camera (1002). Unqualified thin slices are thrown into the waste collection mechanism (8) by opening the mechanical claw two (704) during the rotation of the swing arm unloading mechanism (703). Qualified thin slices are placed into the thin slice material box (706) directly below when the swing arm unloading mechanism (703) is rotated to the horizontal position by opening the mechanical claw two (704). Visual inspection and process planning enable the identification and removal planning of defective areas and the dynamic planning of the number of saw blades in qualified areas, ensuring the coordinated operation of the fixed saw cutting thickness advance, lifting and lowering backrest (6) and return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5).

[0012] The fixed sawing thickness-cutting feed and return saw tooth avoidance unit (3, 5) includes a thickness-cutting open-loop feed mechanism (301), a swing pusher (3022), a lifting support (6), and a return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5). The thickness-cutting open-loop feed mechanism (301) is only used to feed the billet block in the thickness-cutting direction. When the billet is being sawn, the swing pusher (3022) mounted on the slider of the thickness-cutting open-loop feed mechanism (301) rotates to a position higher than the upper surface of the billet and disengages from the billet, not moving with the billet, thus ensuring the lightweight nature of the rapid reciprocating sawing process. The lifting support (6) can be selectively raised to adapt to the cutting of thin slices as a limiting reference or lowered to avoid defective areas of uncertain size.

[0013] After the positive clamping unit (2) and the billet block reach the thickness cutting feed station where the lifting backrest (6) is located, the swing push block (3022) on the slider of the thickness cutting open-loop feed mechanism (301) rotates down and begins to push the billet block along the thickness cutting direction. When sawing the defect area, the lifting backrest (6) and the return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5) are lowered to below the table height, and the thickness cutting open-loop feed mechanism (301) pushes the billet block quantitatively according to the defect area size in the online process parameter package to realize the feed of the defect area sawing removal amount; when sawing thin slices, the lifting backrest (6) and the return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5) are raised, so that the billet is close to the lifting backrest (6), and the lifting backrest clamping detection probe three (603) stops feeding after sending a signal. The blank is pressed against the lifting support (6) and the pressing detection probe (603) feedback control achieves stable control of the sawing thickness of non-rigid materials such as wood while realizing rapid reciprocating sawing.

[0014] The return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5) is used because the swingable push block (3022) has lost contact with the blank during the sawing process. Therefore, the return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5) is needed to push the remaining blank block laterally outward by a preset small distance during the sawing completion stage, so as to avoid the blank block from the saw blade (902) teeth and protect the surface quality of the unsawed cut surface.

[0015] The online process parameter package, along with the lifting support (6) and the return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5), works in coordination to ensure that the defective area and the qualified area can be separated online, thus ensuring the continuity and efficiency of the reciprocating sawing process.

[0016] The sheet feeding and waste collection units (7, 8) include a linear motion mechanism (701) and its upper mechanical claw one (702), a swing arm unloading mechanism (703) and its upper mechanical claw two (704), and a sheet feeding receiving platform (705). The waste collection unit (8) includes a scraper saw blade avoidance mechanism (801), a recycling moving device (802), and waste chute one (803) and waste chute two (804). When the sawing feed assembly (4) pushes the blank to saw out thin slices, the guide plate (7051) of the thin slice discharge receiving table (705) guides the thin slice into the guide channel. The side of the end of the guide channel is equipped with an elastic floating pressure block (7052). After the thin slice is sawn, the lateral elastic floating pressure block squeezes the thin slice, so that it can stay on the thin slice discharge receiving table (705) and maintain the posture when entering the receiving table (705). At this time, the mechanical claw one (702) can clamp and pick up the thin slice and move it to the subsequent swing arm unloading mechanism (703). The mechanical claw two (7052) can then pick up the thin slice and move it to the subsequent swing arm unloading mechanism (703). In step 04), the mechanical claw 1 (702) retracts, and the sheet is in a brief static state. Then, based on the detection results of the side inspection camera (1002), the unqualified sheet is thrown into the waste collection mechanism (8) by opening the mechanical claw 2 (704) during the rotation of the swing arm unloading mechanism (703). The qualified sheet is then placed into the sheet material box (706) directly below when the swing arm unloading mechanism (703) is rotated to a horizontal position. This completes the stacking of qualified sheets and the identification and classification of defective sheets.

[0017] The defective scrap strips cut off are collected by the two-degree-of-freedom scrap collection mechanism (8). When scrap is cut off, the scraper blade avoidance mechanism (801) moves the scraper blade (805) closer to the saw blade (902), and the scraper blade moving device (802) pushes the scraper blade (805) back, pushing the scrap strip into the first slide rail (803). After the scrap is pushed, the scraper blade avoidance mechanism (801) drives the scraper blade (805) away from the saw blade (902), and the scraper blade moving device (802) pushes the scraper blade (805) back to the original point to wait. Through the sheet material picking and scrap collection unit (7, 8), the orderly picking and stacking of the sawn sheets, as well as the separation and collection of defective products and scrap, are realized.

[0018] Preferably, the automatic feeding and alignment clamping unit (1, 2) for the billet blocks includes:

[0019] The hopper (101) has an opening at the top for loading billets and can hold multiple layers of billet blocks. The hopper (101) has a notch on the side to facilitate the operator to stack the billet blocks one by one into the hopper (101). The hopper outlet height is set as follows: 1.5 times the billet thickness > hopper outlet height > billet thickness, allowing only one billet block to be pushed out at a time. When the push rod returns to its original position, the bottom layer of billet in the hopper (101) falls onto the feeding tray (1022). When feeding is required, the push rod pushes the feeding tray (1022) and the bottom layer of billet on it to the top of the alignment and pressing unit (2). Then, the lifting stop pin (104) extends into the check groove (1026), preventing the billet on the feeding tray (1022) from retracting with the feeding tray (1022) and causing it to fall vertically between the left and right alignment baffles (201, 202). The side-moving alignment baffle (202) pushes the billet block against the fixed alignment baffle (201) to achieve billet alignment; the height distance between the feeding tray and the bottom plate (204) of the alignment unit is slightly greater than the height of the side-moving alignment baffle (202), and the small drop difference ensures the stability of the billet falling.

[0020] Preferably, the front end of the push rod of the hopper (101) is provided with a bottom support platform (1021) and a feeding tray (1022) in sequence, forming a linked integral structure, which is installed on the slider of the bottom linear guide rail (1023):

[0021] The bottom support platform (1021) is used to push the bottom blank of the feed tray (1022) to the top of the alignment mechanism and return to the initial position. During this process, the remaining blank blocks in the hopper (101) slide relative to each other on the bottom support platform (1021) and do not fall.

[0022] The feeding tray (1022) is used to push the billet to the top of the alignment and pressing unit (2). During the return trip, the lifting stop pin (104) blocks the billet block and makes it fall vertically into the alignment and pressing unit (2). When the feeding tray (1022) returns to the bottom of the silo (101), the bottom support platform (1021) has left the bottom of the silo (101), and the billet pile falls on the feeding tray (1022) again.

[0023] A step with a height difference Δh is formed between the bottom support platform (1021) and the feeding tray (1022), where Δh = billet thickness - Δ. The value of Δ should be greater than the maximum deviation of the billet thickness. This ensures that the height difference Δh is slightly lower than the height of the billet block, that is, the upper surface of the bottom support platform (1021) is lower than the bottom of the second-to-last layer of billet. This avoids the bottom support platform (1021) hitting the second-to-last layer of billet when the billet is pushed, ensuring that the bottom layer is pushed out smoothly one by one. The design of the step height difference Δh between the bottom support platform (1021) and the feeding tray (1022) and the height of the hopper outlet only allows one billet block to be pushed out. This achieves the goal of pushing out the bottommost billet in the hopper (101) along with the feeding tray (1022), while ensuring that the second-to-last layer of billet remains in the hopper (101) and is supported at the bottom by the bottom support platform (1021) to prevent the billets above it from falling.

[0024] When the billet is pushed in, the push rod of the billet block pushing assembly (102) extends, and the aforementioned step pushes the bottommost billet out of the hopper (101) along with the feeding tray (1022). The middle support platform (1021) enters the bottom of the hopper (101) and replaces the bottommost billet block that has been pushed out by the aforementioned step. Before the feeding tray (1022) returns to the bottom of the hopper, the billet is piled up on the support platform (1021) and slides, keeping the upper layers of billet blocks from falling. When the feeding tray (1022) returns to the hopper (101) again, the current bottommost billet falls on the feeding tray (1022), ready to complete the next push of the bottommost billet. In addition, a check groove (1026) is provided at the tray step, which is used to engage with the lifting stop pin (104) to block the billet blocks that have been pushed out when the feeding tray (1022) returns and fall vertically into the billet alignment and pressing unit (2).

[0025] Several sets of small rollers are installed on the upper part of the bottom support platform (1021), so that the bottom of the billet and the upper part of the bottom support platform are subject to rolling friction during the reciprocating process of the bottom support platform (1021). At the lower part of the bottom support platform (1021) and the feeding tray (1022), at the vertical position of the hopper (101), several support rods are designed, which play an auxiliary support role during the reciprocating discharge process of the bottom support platform (1021) and the feeding tray (1022) driven by the push rod of the billet block pushing assembly (102).

[0026] The lifting stop pin (104) can move linearly. When it rises, it clears the passage, allowing the feed tray (1022) to transport the billet above the positive clamping mechanism. When it descends, it inserts into the check groove (1026) to prevent the billet block from retracting with the feed tray (1022) and to ensure that it falls vertically. The size of the check groove (1026) is slightly larger than that of the lifting stop pin (104) to facilitate insertion and blocking. Considering that the dimensions of the billet are not fixed in the sawing direction, three or four linked and spaced lifting stop pins (104) are used to ensure that the billet falls into the alignment unit (2) in the correct posture.

[0027] The alignment and clamping unit (2) includes a fixed alignment baffle (201) and a side-moving alignment baffle (202). After the billet falls in, the side-moving alignment baffle (202) squeezes the billet against the fixed alignment baffle (201) to complete the five-degree-of-freedom alignment and clamping of the billet. The side alignment baffle limit switch (2023) outputs a trigger switch signal DI to start the vision inspection and process planning unit (10) to take pictures. In order to reduce the friction during the cutting thickness feed and return avoidance, rollers are installed on both the left and right alignment baffles (201, 202), and the rollers are more densely arranged closer to the saw blade (902). The alignment and clamping unit (2) platform has a gate-shaped frame near the front end of the saw blade (902), which contains a vertical clamping block (203) for clamping the billet block during sawing feed. The vertical clamping block (203) is equipped with a vertical clamping probe (2032) for judging the clamping state.

[0028] The alignment unit base plate (204) of the alignment unit (2) has a recessed platform in the middle for the rotation space of the swing push block (3022). When the feed propulsion module (401) starts or ends the cutting feed, it avoids interference between the swing push block (3022) and the alignment unit base plate (204).

[0029] The working principle of the automatic billet feeding and alignment clamping unit (1, 2) is as follows:

[0030] S1. Stack the rectangular blanks (with the two end faces of the feeding direction pre-processed and aligned) layer by layer into the hopper (101) until the hopper (101) is filled with a maximum of 15 pieces.

[0031] S2. The push rod of the automatic feeding billet block pushing assembly (102) returns to the original position. The middle support platform (1021) is located outside the hopper (101). The front end of the push rod feed tray (1022) is located at the bottom of the hopper (101). There are three sets of support rods under the tray. The bottommost billet block contained in the hopper (101) is above the tray.

[0032] S3. Upon receiving the billet feeding signal, the billet pushing component (102) extends its push rod. The stepped surface between the aforementioned bottom support platform (1021) and the pallet pushes the bottommost billet along with the feeding pallet (1022) out of the hopper (101). The bottom support platform (1021) enters the bottom layer of the hopper (101) and replaces the position of the bottommost billet that has been pushed out. The feeding pallet (1022) pushes the billet to a stop above the alignment and pressing unit (2), and the lifting stop pin (104) falls.

[0033] S4. When the feed tray (1022) returns, the lifting stop pin (104) blocks the billet block and makes it fall vertically into the alignment and pressing unit (2). The linear cylinder (2021) drives the side-moving alignment baffle (202) to squeeze the billet block against the alignment baffle (201) and complete the alignment of the billet block.

[0034] S5. Before the push rod of the billet block pushing assembly (102) returns to the initial position, the billet blocks slide on the bearing rollers on the bottom support platform (1021) to keep the upper layers of billet blocks in the hopper (101) from falling. The push rod of the automatic feeding billet block pushing assembly (102) returns to the origin, the bottom support platform (1021) exits the hopper (101), and the billet blocks in the hopper (101) fall onto the upper surface of the feeding tray (1022).

[0035] Preferably, the visual inspection and process planning unit (10) includes:

[0036] A top-view camera (1001) is fixedly installed above the feeding station near the hopper, at the front end of the saw blade (902). It preprocesses the billet image acquired from the top-view direction to enhance features. Defect contours are extracted through edge detection and image transformation. Cluster analysis is used to determine the location and geometric parameters of the defects. After coordinate transformation and mapping to the world coordinate system, the size, location information, defect detection, and location area information of the aligned billet block are obtained. The sawing process path planning is completed, generating an online process parameter package containing "saw blade number path planning and defect area removal." The defect area is set as a waste rejection area, and the qualified area generates a continuous sawing path according to preset segmentation units. The total number of thin slices that can be sawn from each segment is planned. Where L i For each sawable area size, ΔL = target sheet thickness + saw kerf width, to maximize the utilization of the blank; when sawing defective areas, the lifting support (6) is lowered to below the table to avoid defective areas of different sizes. According to the process parameter package parameters, the stepper motor of the cutting thickness open-loop feed mechanism (301) controls the cutting thickness advance amount.

[0037] A side-mounted quality inspection camera (1002) is fixedly installed on the side of the mechanical claw 2 (704) of the swing arm unloading mechanism (703). The acquired image data is processed by grayscale, cropped, and edge calculation. The surface quality of the sheet is judged by the histogram peak. For unqualified sheets, the mechanical claw 2 (704) opens during the rotation of the swing arm unloading mechanism (703) and throws the defective sheet into the waste collection mechanism (8). For qualified sheets, the swing arm unloading mechanism (703) continues to rotate to a horizontal position and then opens the mechanical claw 2 (704) to stack the sheets in sequence to the subsequent buffer stage.

[0038] The working principle of the visual defect identification and process planning unit is as follows:

[0039] S1. Perform grayscale processing on the acquired RGB three-channel color image data, and crop the image to obtain image one;

[0040] S2. Rotate image 1 clockwise by 180 degrees to obtain image 2. Perform edge detection on both image 1 and image 2 simultaneously, and perform first-order difference along the horizontal direction to obtain image 3 and image 4.

[0041] S3. Rotate image four counterclockwise by 180 degrees to obtain image five. Overlay image four and image five to obtain the outline of bark, scars and cracks.

[0042] S4. Connected component analysis yields the pixel coordinates of tree scars; clustering yields the pixel coordinates of bark and crack contours, and then the length, width, and center coordinates of the circumscribed moment are obtained.

[0043] S5. Obtain the location and range of scars and cracks in the world coordinate system through coordinate transformation, and at the same time obtain the billet block size information;

[0044] S6. Along the thickness feed direction, areas containing bark, scars, and cracks within the blank block size range are designated as waste removal zones. Other qualified areas are divided into sawing process paths based on the sum of the saw blade (902) and the thickness of the thin slice.

[0045] The working principle of the side inspection unit is as follows:

[0046] S1. Perform grayscale processing and cropping on the acquired RGB three-channel color image data;

[0047] S2. Calculate the edge of the thin slice and crop it to obtain the image of the thin slice;

[0048] S3. Obtain the histogram. If there is only a single peak in the histogram, the thin film product is qualified. If there are multiple peaks, the thin film product is defective.

[0049] S4. For unqualified sheets, the swing arm unloading mechanism (703) rotates to the middle position (about 40 degrees) and releases the mechanical claw (704) to discard them.

[0050] S5; Rotate the qualified sheet to a horizontal position (about 90 degrees), release the mechanical claw two (704) and place the sheet into the sheet material box (706) in sequence.

[0051] Preferably, the fixed sawing thickness advance and return saw tooth avoidance unit (3, 5) includes:

[0052] The fixed sawing thickness advance unit (3) is installed at the front end of the lifting support (6) and is used to push the blank close to the lifting support (6) in the cutting thickness direction of the front edge of each sawing thin slice or to feed the sawing amount of the defective area.

[0053] Preferably, the fixed sawing and thickness-cutting propulsion unit (3) includes:

[0054] The fixedly installed open-loop cutting feed mechanism (301) is used to drive the swing pusher (3022) to push the billet block close to the lifting backrest (6) or to push the billet block to feed precisely in order to control the removal of defective areas.

[0055] The swing pusher (3022) is driven by the rotary clamping device (3021) and can swing up and down. The rotary clamping device (3021) is located on the slider of the open-ring thickness cutting feed mechanism (301). When the rotary clamping device (3021) rotates downward, the swing pusher (3022) swings down to the height of the billet to push the billet to feed in the thickness cutting direction; when it rotates upward, the swing pusher (3022) swings up to a height above the upper surface of the billet, disengages from the billet, and does not follow the billet sawing feed, so that the billet sawing feed can be lightly loaded and quickly reciprocate.

[0056] The lifting backrest (6) is located at the cutting front end of the saw blade (902). A contact-type pressing detection probe (603) is installed on the reference surface (606) of the lifting backrest (6). When the blank is not pressed tightly, the pressing detection probe (603) protrudes from the reference surface (606). After the blank is pressed tightly, the pressing detection probe (603) is pressed to be flush with the reference surface (606). The pressing movement of the pressing detection probe (603) is used to detect whether the blank has been pressed tightly against the backrest and serves as the start signal for the next sawing feed.

[0057] The lifting support (6) has a lifting function that can be raised and lowered to adapt to two working conditions: sawing thin slices and avoiding defects. When avoiding defect areas, it is lowered to the table surface to avoid interference. When sawing thin slices, the blank is pressed against the lifting support (6) to ensure the thickness of the thin slice and the stability benchmark. There is a thin slice thickness adjustment mechanism (602) on the rear side of the lifting support (6) to adapt to the sawing positioning benchmark of thin slices of different thicknesses.

[0058] The open-loop cutting feed mechanism (301) is used to drive the material, which can accurately control the amount of material removed from the defective area. At the same time, considering the rigidity of non-metallic materials such as wood, the blank is pressed against the lifting backrest (6) when sawing thin slices. The open-loop stepper motor can skip steps to ensure the pressure between the blank and the lifting backrest (6) reference. This well adapts the contradiction between using the lifting backrest (6) as the thin slice cutting feed reference and controlling the motor to accurately control the feed amount when removing defective areas. This allows the system to complete the preset functional requirements in both working conditions with and without the backrest as the reference.

[0059] Preferably, the lifting billet return sawtooth avoidance mechanism (5) includes:

[0060] After sawing is completed and the blank is loosened, it is driven by an external push motor or cylinder to drive the external push plate (504) to push the remaining blank laterally outward by 1 to 2 times the outward deviation distance of the saw teeth, so as to avoid the saw teeth and protect the teeth from damaging the quality of the blank end face.

[0061] The working principle of the fixed sawing thickness advance and return saw tooth avoidance unit (3, 5) is as follows:

[0062] S1. For the first sawing of the bark and other defective areas, the lifting support (6) is lowered below the worktable, and the rotating clamping device (3021) drives the swing pusher (3022) to rotate downward to a vertical state, at the same height as the billet block. Based on the billet block positioning information obtained by the overhead camera (1001), the fixed sawing thickness cutting open-loop propulsion mechanism (301) is driven by stepper motor (3011), which drives the swing pusher (3022) to push the billet block along the cutting thickness direction to control the sawing amount.

[0063] S2. After the fixed sawing thickness feed assembly (3) completes the sawing amount feed, the vertical clamping block (203) presses down on the blank, and the rotating clamping device (3021) drives the swing push block (3022) to rotate upward and disengage from the blank block. The feed propulsion module (401) drives the blank to feed for sawing, while the blank return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5) and the thin sheet discharge receiving platform (705) descend to avoid it.

[0064] S3. After the defective area is sawn, the vertical clamping (203) is lifted, the lifting blank return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5) and the thin sheet discharge receiving platform (705) are raised, and the outward push cylinder (503) pushes the outward push plate (504) to move laterally outward by a distance of 1-2 times the outward deviation of the saw tooth, so that the remaining blank on the clamping unit (2) is pushed outward by 1-2 times the outward deviation of the saw tooth, so as to realize the avoidance of the return blank block and the saw tooth of the saw blade (902).

[0065] S4. When sawing thin slices, the lifting support (6) is raised as the reference for limiting the advance of the billet. For different slice thickness requirements, fine adjustments are made through the thickness adjustment mechanism (602).

[0066] S5. The rotary pressing device (3021) drives the swing push block (3022) to rotate down to the same height as the billet block. The swing push block (3022) is driven down by the thickness cutting and pushing mechanism (301) to push the billet block along the thickness cutting direction and stick to the raised lifting backrest (6).

[0067] S6. After the pressing detection probe three (603) senses that the billet is close to the pressing backing, the linear guide cylinder three (2033) drives the vertical pressing block (203) to press the billet block. The rotating pressing device (3021) drives the swing push block (3022) to rotate upward and disengage from the billet block. The feed propulsion module (401) drives the billet to feed and saw.

[0068] Preferably, the sheet feeding mechanism and waste collection unit (7, 8) include:

[0069] The thin-sheet feeding mechanism (7) is used to receive and pick up the finished thin sheets cut by the saw. The thin sheets during sawing are often attached to the saw blade and are separated from the remaining blank by only one saw kerf distance, which is not convenient for automatic picking and feeding. One of the functions of the thin sheet discharge receiving platform (705) is to guide the thin sheets during sawing away from the saw blade (902) by a certain distance so that they can be clamped by the mechanical claw (702). A guide arc plate (7051) is fixedly installed in the thin sheet discharge receiving platform (705) against the groove wall; and the front end of the guide arc plate (7051) is in the same plane as the saw blade (902) to ensure that the thin sheets during sawing can smoothly enter the guide channel. Meanwhile, an elastic floating pressure block (7052) is installed on the side of the end of the guide channel. The pressure of the pressure block should be set so that it does not affect the entry of the thin sheet into the channel during sawing. After the thin sheet is sawed, the thin sheet loses external thrust, and the lateral elastic pressure block can squeeze and stabilize the thin sheet so that it can stay on the thin sheet discharge receiving table (705) and maintain its posture when entering the discharge receiving table (705).

[0070] The discharge receiving table (705) guides the sawing sheet away from the saw blade (902) and into the guide channel, so that the subsequent mechanical claw (702) has working space and will not interfere with the remaining blank end face; and after the sheet is sawn, it stays in the position at the outlet end of the discharge receiving table (705), ensuring stable conditions for the subsequent mechanical claw (702) to hold and transfer the sheet.

[0071] The cut sheet remains on the discharge receiving table (705) and extends a certain length beyond the outlet end. At this time, the mechanical claw one (702) clamps the sheet from below; away from the saw blade (902) and transfers the sheet to the mechanical claw two (704) on the swing arm unloading mechanism (703). The side quality inspection camera (1002) collects the side image of the sheet. When defects such as scars and cracks are identified, the unqualified sheet is thrown into the waste collection mechanism (8) by the mechanical claw two (704) while the swing arm unloading mechanism (703) is rotating. The qualified sheet is rotated to the horizontal position by the swing arm unloading mechanism (703), and the mechanical claw (704) opens and is stacked in the sheet material box (706) in sequence.

[0072] When sawing defective areas, both the sheet discharge receiving platform (705) and the return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5) need to be lowered to avoid them. The two are designed on the same base as a whole and are pushed up and down together by the lifting cylinder (501).

[0073] Thin sheet unloading and picking steps:

[0074] S1. The thin sheet discharge receiving table (705) guides the thin sheet away from the saw blade (902). When the thin sheet is finished being sawn, it is pressed and left on the receiving table (705) by the side elastic floating pressure block (7052).

[0075] S2. Mechanical gripper one (702) clamps the sheet from below and transfers it to mechanical gripper two (704) on the swing arm unloading mechanism (703). Mechanical gripper one (702) retracts;

[0076] S3. The side inspection camera (1002) collects side images of the sheet. For sheets that fail the quality inspection, the swing arm unloading mechanism (703) rotates to the middle position (about 40 degrees), releases the mechanical claw (704), and throws the defective sheet into the waste collection mechanism (8).

[0077] S4; The qualified sheet is rotated to a horizontal position (about 90 degrees), and the mechanical claw 2 (704) is released to place the sheet into the sheet material box (706) in sequence.

[0078] Waste collection facilities (8) include:

[0079] The system includes a scraper saw blade avoidance mechanism (801), a recycling moving device (802), a waste chute 1 (803), a waste chute 2 (804), and a scraper (805). The scraper saw blade avoidance mechanism (801) and the recycling moving device (802) are both driven by Airtac MU12X35 linear cylinders with guide rails.

[0080] Waste collection unit (8) working steps:

[0081] S1. When sawing waste material, the lifting blank return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5) and the thin sheet discharge receiving table (705) are lowered to below the table surface.

[0082] S2, The scraper saw blade avoidance mechanism (801) moves the scraper (805) away from the saw blade (902) and puts it in the extended state;

[0083] S3. After the sawing waste material is discharged, the scraper saw blade avoidance mechanism (801) moves the scraper (805) closer to the saw blade (902);

[0084] S4. The recycling mobile device (802) retracts, pushing the waste strip into the second waste chute (804);

[0085] S5. The remaining part of the billet with defects is directly pushed into the waste chute (803) by the fixed sawing and thickness-cutting pushing mechanism (301);

[0086] The second objective of this invention is to provide an operating method for an automatic loading and unloading sheet processing device, the operating method comprising:

[0087] S1. Preparation stage: Stack the pre-processed blank blocks with neatly aligned end faces along the feeding direction into the hopper (101) layer by layer until the hopper (101) is full. The push rod of the automatic feeding blank block pushing assembly (102) returns to its original position;

[0088] S2, Feeding and Alignment: Each time a new billet is fed, the feeding module moves the alignment and pressing unit (2) platform to the front cutting feed station near the hopper (101) to wait. The push rod of the automatic feeding billet block pushing component (102) extends and pushes the bottommost billet block on the feeding tray (1022) out of the hopper (101) until it is directly above the alignment and pressing unit (2). The lifting stop pin (104) descends into the check groove (1026), blocking the billet block from retracting with the feeding tray (1022) and causing it to fall vertically into the space between the two alignment baffles of the billet alignment and pressing unit (2). The side-moving alignment baffle (202) pushes out and squeezes the billet against the fixed alignment baffle (201). The side alignment baffle limit switch (2023) outputs an alignment trigger signal.

[0089] S3. Visual Inspection and Process Planning: The top-view camera (1001) acquires a top-view image of the billet block. The controller calculates the billet size and position, identifies the defect location area and coordinates, and generates a process parameter package containing the sawing path and defect removal area; including the number of sawable pieces. Li represents the dimensions of each sawable area, and ΔL = target sheet thickness + kerf width;

[0090] S4. The feed propulsion module (401) moves the alignment pressing unit (2) and the entire billet to the cutting thickness feed station in front of the lifting backrest (6). At this time, the swing push block (3022) rotates down to the height of the billet and waits to push the billet block to feed along the cutting thickness direction.

[0091] S5, Sawing Thickness Feed: When sawing the edge bark or defective areas, the lifting support (6) descends below the aligned unit table, and at the same time, the lifting return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5) descends to avoid it. Based on the visually acquired blank block positioning information, the fixed sawing thickness propulsion assembly (3) is driven by the open-ring thickness feed mechanism (301) to move the rotary clamping device (3021) in the loosened state, and the downward-spinning oscillating push block (3022) pushes the blank block to feed along the thickness direction to control the sawing amount;

[0092] S6. After the fixed sawing thickness feed assembly (3) completes the sawing amount feed, the vertical clamping block (203) presses down on the blank, and the rotary clamping device (3021), which is in the loose state, drives the swing push block (3022) to rotate upward 90 degrees, retract and avoid contact with the blank block. The feed propulsion module (401) drives the blank to be fed for sawing;

[0093] S7. After the edge bark or defective area is sawn off, the lifting blank return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5) is raised, and the outer push plate (504) pushes the remaining blank outward by 1 to 2 times the deviation distance of the saw tooth, so as to avoid the saw tooth part of the saw blade (902) and the remaining blank block on the return trip; the recovery scraper saw blade avoidance mechanism (801) moves the recovery scraper (805) close to the saw blade, and the recovery moving device (802) drives the recovery scraper (805) to retract, pushing the waste into the waste slide channel one (803);

[0094] S8. When sawing thin slices, the lifting backrest (6) is raised as a reference, the lifting blank return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5) is kept in the raised position, the fixed sawing thickness propulsion component (3) pushes the blank block to stick to the lifting backrest (6), after the pressure detection probe outputs a signal to confirm that it is sticking, the vertical pressure block (203) and the side moving alignment baffle (202) are started to press, the swing push block (3022) rotates up and disengages from the blank, and the sawing feed component (4) starts sawing feed;

[0095] S9 Sheet feeding and sorting: When the sheet is cut and remains at the outlet of the discharge receiving table (705) and maintains its posture, the mechanical claw one (702) clamps the sheet from below and moves it; and transfers the sheet to the mechanical claw two (704). The side quality inspection camera (1002) collects side images of the sheet and identifies defects such as scars and cracks. When the swing arm feeding mechanism (703) flips halfway, the mechanical claw two (704) releases and throws the defective sheet into the waste collection mechanism (8). The qualified sheets are then stacked in sequence into the sheet material box (706).

[0096] S10 loop execution: Return to step S3. Based on visual inspection and online process planning, if it is determined that the thickness of the remaining usable blank is greater than or equal to the thickness of the target sheet, continue to step S4. When the thickness of the remaining usable blank is less than the thickness of the target sheet, the lifting support (6) descends and pushes the remaining blank block into the lower slide (803) of the waste collection mechanism (8) by swinging the pusher block (3022). Return to step S2 to feed and process the next blank.

[0097] The beneficial effects of this invention are: This invention discloses a fully automated sheet processing device and method based on visual inspection and process planning. Compared with the prior art, the improvement of this invention lies in:

[0098] (1) This invention designs an automatic billet feeding and alignment / pressing unit (1, 2). By integrating a bottom support platform (1021), a feeding tray (1022), and a stepped structure and upper and lower rollers between the two at the front end of the push rod, the bottommost billet in the hopper (101) is pushed one by one to the top of the alignment / pressing unit (2). The lifting stop pin (104) makes the billet fall vertically into the alignment / pressing unit (2). Then, the left and right alignment baffles squeeze to complete the alignment and pressing of the billet in five degrees of freedom except the cutting thickness direction. This realizes the requirement of a fully automated production line that continuously pushes the billet in the hopper (101) out of the hopper (101) and places it in an alignment and pressing state, and prepares for subsequent visual inspection and process planning.

[0099] (2) The present invention designs a fixed sawing thickness propulsion mechanism (301) to realize the lightweight design of the reciprocating sawing worktable. Given the material conditions of wood blanks, it is difficult to ensure a stable positioning relationship between the wood blank and the feeding mechanism. It is difficult to ensure the accurate reciprocating feed amount of the blank by relying solely on the feeding mechanism. Therefore, the blank is pressed against the backrest before sawing as the cutting thickness reference. Before each sawing, the fixed sawing thickness propulsion mechanism (301) fixed above the front end of the lifting backrest (6) and the downward rotating swing push block (3022) push the blank against the lifting backrest (6) to ensure a stable and accurate slice thickness after sawing. At the same time, before sawing begins, the swing push block (3022) retracts and rotates upward, and quickly separates from the blank block, realizing the lightweight and low inertia design of the reciprocating sawing worktable, so that the processing efficiency of a single slice can be improved to about 4 seconds per slice.

[0100] (3) This invention designs a lifting backrest (6) with a pressing detection sensor, which ensures the stability of the thickness of the sawn sheet while achieving compatibility between sheet processing and sawing and separation of defective parts on the same equipment. When sawing defective parts, the lifting backrest (6) mechanism descends below the table surface. Since the thickness of the defective part is variable and much larger than the thickness of the sheet, the lifting backrest (6) mechanism avoids spatial interference. When sawing the sheet, the lifting backrest (6) mechanism rises in advance. After the blank is pressed, the pressing detection probe three (603) is pressed to be flush with the reference surface (606), triggering the blank pressing signal to ensure the stability of the sheet thickness.

[0101] (4) The present invention designs an integrated lifting structure of return blade avoidance mechanism (5) and sheet discharge receiving platform (705). When sawing the defective part, the return blade avoidance mechanism (5) is lowered below the platform. Since the thickness of the defective part is uncertain and much larger than the thickness of the sheet, the space interference is avoided by lowering the return blade avoidance mechanism (5). After sawing is completed, the return blade avoidance mechanism (5) is raised again. On the one hand, the guard plate above the sheet discharge receiving platform (705) pushes the sawn defective waste to the waste platform. On the other hand, the external push motor or cylinder is started to push the remaining blank to complete the lateral set deviation distance, realizing the return blade avoidance function. When sawing the sheet, the return blade avoidance mechanism (5) is raised in advance, and the sheet being sawed passes through the guide groove of the discharge receiving platform (705) that is raised together. When sawing is completed, start the external push motor or cylinder, and the external push plate (504) pushes the remaining blank block laterally outward by a set deviation amount, which is used to avoid the return blank block from the saw blade (902) teeth.

[0102] (5) The present invention designs a vision-based process planning and thin sheet quality inspection strategy. By obtaining the size and position of the aligned blank block from the top view direction through the blank top view camera (1001), and identifying the size range and position information of the defective part, an online process parameter package containing "saw blade number path planning and defective area removal" is generated. This realizes the division between defective area and qualified area, and serves as the control basis for subsequent sawing allowance feeding, lifting and lowering backing (6) mechanism and return blade avoidance mechanism and other functional actions.

[0103] The present invention designs a thin sheet quality inspection strategy. When the sawn thin sheet is fed from the end into the mechanical claw 2 (704) on the swing arm unloading mechanism (703), the thin sheet is in a brief static state. Based on the detection results of the side quality inspection camera (1002), the qualified thin sheets are stacked and the defective thin sheets are identified and classified.

[0104] (6) This invention designs an orderly feeding and picking mechanism for finished thin sheets. A discharge receiving platform (705) with adjustable lateral clamping force is designed, which guides the cut thin sheets away from the saw blade and places them on the discharge receiving platform, maintaining their posture to await picking and clamping by the mechanical claw (702). Through the sequential movement and flipping stacking of the two mechanical claws, the cut thin sheets are stably and controllably moved away from the saw blade (902) working area, enabling subsequent visual quality inspection, separation and collection of defective parts, and orderly stacking of qualified parts. The separation of transmission and stacking actions allows for the matching of rapid feeding rhythm, ensuring the need for rapid feeding and picking of high-frequency processed thin sheets.

[0105] (7) This invention designs an integrated fully automated operation process of "feeding-alignment-inspection-planning-sawing-tooth avoidance-unloading-sorting". Compared with the existing manual processing, the operator only needs to periodically load the blank blocks into the silo (101), complete the recycling of finished thin slices and the removal of waste. One operator can complete the operation and management of 3-5 sets of equipment, and the production efficiency is increased by more than 300%. Since the operator does not need to be close to the saw blade (902), each blank can produce 3-4 more finished thin slices, and the thickness tolerance of the thin slices is stably controlled within ±0.05mm. Attached Figure Description

[0106] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the fully automatic sheet processing device with automatic loading and unloading according to the present invention. Figure 1 ;

[0107] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the fully automatic sheet processing device with automatic loading and unloading according to the present invention. Figure 2 ;

[0108] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the blanks and finished products used in the examples;

[0109] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the blank block propulsion assembly structure of the automatic feeding unit of the present invention;

[0110] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the bottom structure of the blank block pushing assembly of the automatic feeding unit of the present invention;

[0111] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the blank alignment and pressing unit structure of the present invention;

[0112] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the fixed sawing and thickness-cutting propulsion assembly structure of the present invention;

[0113] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the lifting and lowering support structure of the present invention;

[0114] Figure 9This is a schematic diagram of the lifting return blade avoidance and thin sheet discharge receiving platform structure of the present invention;

[0115] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the sheet feeding mechanism of the present invention;

[0116] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the waste collection mechanism of the present invention;

[0117] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram showing the position of the side inspection camera and the thin film in this invention;

[0118] Figure 13 This is a flowchart of the method of the present invention;

[0119] The components include: 1. Automatic feeding unit; 101. Hopper; 102. Billet block pushing assembly; 1021. Bottom support platform; 1022. Feeding tray; 1023. Linear guide rail; 1024. Roller assembly on the bottom support platform; 1025. Lower support roller assembly of the feeding tray; 1026. Check groove; 103. Feeding platform; 104. Lifting stop pin; 2. Billet alignment and clamping unit; 201. Fixed alignment baffle; 202. Side moving alignment baffle; 2021. Linear cylinder II; 2022. Side clamping probe II; 2023. 1. Side alignment baffle limit switch; 203. Vertical clamping block; 2031. Clamping block; 2032. Vertical clamping probe one; 2033. Linear guide cylinder three; 204. Alignment unit base plate; 3. Fixed sawing thickness cutting propulsion assembly; 301. Thickness cutting open-loop feed mechanism; 3011. Stepper motor one; 302. Propulsion device; 3021. Rotary clamping device; 3022. Swinging push block; 4. Sawing assembly; 401. Feed propulsion module; 402. Auxiliary support guide mechanism; 5. Lifting return saw tooth avoidance mechanism. 501. Lifting Cylinder 1; 502. Lifting Guide Rail; 503. Outward Push Cylinder; 504. Outward Push Plate; 6. Lifting Backrest; 601. Lifting Guide Rail 1; 602. Thickness Adjustment Mechanism; 603. Lifting Backrest Pressing Detection Probe 3; 604. Lifting Cylinder 2; 605. Backrest Guard Plate; 606. Lifting Backrest Reference Surface; 7. Thin Sheet Unloading Mechanism; 701. Linear Movement Mechanism; 702. Mechanical Claw 1; 703. Swing Arm Unloading Mechanism; 704. Mechanical Claw 2; 705. Thin Sheet Discharge Receiving Platform; 7051. Guide Shape 7052. Arc blade; 7053. Elastic floating pressure block; 706. Thin sheet material box; 8. Waste collection mechanism; 801. Recycling scraper saw blade avoidance mechanism; 802. Recycling moving device; 803. Waste chute one; 804. Waste chute two; 805. Recycling scraper; 9. Sawing unit; 901. Saw blade spindle; 902. Saw blade; 10. Visual inspection and process planning unit; 1001. Top-view camera; 1002. Side-view quality inspection camera; 1003. Top-view lighting; 1004. Side-view lighting; 11. Billet; 12. Thin sheet finished product Detailed Implementation

[0120] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions of the present invention, the technical solutions of the present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. The following embodiments are used to illustrate the present invention, but should not be used to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0121] Example:

[0122] See attached document Figure 1-12 The device shown is a fully automatic wood veneer processing device with automatic loading and unloading. It is installed on a frame with dimensions of 1800mm×800mm×1200mm. The frame is welded from Q235 steel plate and coated with anti-rust paint. The kerf width is 0.8mm and the hopper can hold a maximum of 15 wood veneer blanks at a time.

[0123] See attached document Figure 3 In this embodiment, a rectangular thin wooden board blank with a thickness of 20mm, a length of (150-350)mm, and a width of 250mm is used as the processing blank. Long strip-shaped fan rib thin wood pieces with a thickness of 1mm, a length of 250mm, and a width of 20mm are sawn out as an example.

[0124] The device includes an automatic feeding and alignment clamping unit (1, 2) for wood block blanks, a vision inspection and process planning unit (10), a fixed sawing and thickness-cutting propulsion and return saw tooth avoidance unit (3, 5), and a thin wood veneer discharge and waste collection unit (7, 8). The automatic feeding and alignment clamping unit (1, 2) is used to push the rectangular wood block blanks in the hopper (101) one by one to the top of the alignment clamping unit (2) and drop them; the two alignment blocks-roller composite structures (201, 202) on the left and right sides of the alignment clamping unit (2) complete the compression and alignment of the wood block blanks, and set the posture reference for the next step of visual measurement of the wood block blanks. The vision inspection and process planning unit (10) is used for measuring the size of the wood block blanks, detecting and locating defects such as bark, cracks, and knots, as well as inspecting the quality of the side of the processed wood veneers. The pre-sawing thickness-advancing component (3) pushes the wood blank block close to the lifting backrest (6) to achieve precise feeding of the saw blade thickness. The sawing feed component (4) drives the wood blank block to complete the sawing. The return saw tooth avoidance unit (5) is used to achieve avoidance between the returning wood blank block and the saw blade (902). The wood veneer unloading and picking mechanism and waste collection unit (7, 8) are used to achieve orderly picking and conveying of the sawn wood veneers and to collect sawing waste containing bark or other defects.

[0125] The sawing feed assembly (4) drives the alignment unit (2) and the billet it carries to reciprocate sawing feed between the loading station near the hopper (101) and the cutting feed station opposite the lifting support (6).

[0126] Among them, refer to the appendix Figure 4-5 As shown, the feeding tray (1022) in the automatic feeding and alignment pressing unit (1, 2) of the blank block is used to push the bottom blank blocks in the silo (101) one by one to the top of the alignment pressing unit (2). When the feeding tray (1022) moves backward, the lifting stop pin (104) falls into the check groove (1026) between the bottom support platform (1021) and the feeding tray (1022), preventing the blank from moving backward with the feeding tray (1022) and causing the blank to fall vertically into the alignment pressing unit (2). Then, the left and right alignment baffles (201, 202) complete the alignment and pressing of the blank block in five degrees of freedom except the cutting thickness direction through the roller-stop composite structure, and output the "alignment completed" trigger signal. Thus, the blank blocks in the silo (101) are pushed out one by one and placed in the alignment and pressing state, which prepares for subsequent visual inspection and process planning.

[0127] Specifically, the automatic feeding unit (1) is placed on the feeding platform (103). The hopper (101) is made of wear-resistant stainless steel 304. The bottom support platform (1021) and the feeding tray (1022) adopt a flat bottom integrated molding structure, made of stainless steel 304, and are fixed on the linear guide rail (1023) slide on the feeding platform (103). They are connected to the push rod of the billet block pushing assembly (102) by threads to form an integrated structure, and move back and forth on the linear guide rail (1023) with the push rod. The height difference between the bottom support platform (1021) and the feeding tray (1022) is Δh = 20 - 2 = 18 mm. There are four opening slots at the step, each with a length of 10 mm × width of 10 mm × depth of 18 mm, for interlocking with the lifting stop pin.

[0128] The bottom support platform (1021) is equipped with multiple sets of small bearings on the upper part. During the process of the feeding pallet (1022) pushing the bottom blank to the top of the alignment mechanism and returning to the initial position, the remaining blank blocks in the hopper (101) are piled on the bottom support platform (1021) and roll relative to each other, keeping them from falling.

[0129] The feeding tray (1022) is used to push the billet above the alignment and pressing unit (2). When the billet returns to the bottom of the hopper (101), the bottom support platform (1021) has left the bottom of the hopper (101), and the billet pile falls back onto the feeding tray (1022). In the lower part of the integrated structure of the bottom support platform (1021) and the feeding tray (1022), directly below the location of the hopper (101), there are three sets of support rods. During the reciprocating discharge process of the integrated structure of the bottom support platform (1021) and the feeding tray (1022) driven by the push rod of the billet block pushing component (102), they play an auxiliary support role at the bottom.

[0130] The lifting stop pin (104) is suspended on the edge of the alignment unit (2) and is driven by a cylinder to lift linearly with a stroke of 15mm and an action response time of ≤0.2s. Considering that the dimensions of the blank are not fixed in the sawing direction, four linkage and spaced lifting stop pins (104) are used. The lower part is guided by four linear bearings to ensure that the stop pin is inserted into the slot in a vertical posture.

[0131] See attached document Figure 6 As shown, the alignment clamping unit (2) is fixed with the alignment baffle (201) installed on the alignment unit base plate (204). After the billet falls in, the linear cylinder 2 (2021) pushes the side-moving alignment baffle (202) to squeeze the billet against the fixed alignment baffle (201), completing the five-degree-of-freedom alignment and clamping of the billet. The side alignment baffle limit switch (2023) outputs the trigger switch DI signal to start the vision inspection and process planning unit (10) to take pictures. In order to reduce the friction during the cutting thickness feed and return avoidance, rollers are installed on both the left and right alignment baffles (201, 202). The closer to the saw blade (902), the denser the roller layout. The front end of the platform of the positive clamping unit (2) near the saw blade (902) has a gate-shaped frame welded with square steel, and a vertical clamping block (203) inside, which is used to bear the clamping force of the blank block during sawing; the clamping block is equipped with a vertical clamping probe (2032) to determine the clamping state. The vertical clamping probe (2032) adopts a combination of spring self-resetting probe and inductive sensor. When the clamping block is clamped, when the compression displacement of the spring self-resetting probe reaches 1-2 mm, the inductive sensor sends a clamping signal.

[0132] The alignment unit base plate (204) of the alignment unit (2) has a recessed platform in the middle. The bottom layer is made of lightweight aluminum alloy plate, and the upper side of the recessed platform is made of 2 mm thick wear-resistant stainless steel plate. The width of the recessed platform is 12 cm.

[0133] See attached document Figure 1 As shown, the visual inspection and process planning unit (10) includes a top-view camera (1001), a side-view inspection camera (1002) and lighting. It uses a Hikvision MV-CS200-10GC V5 camera with an MVL-KF1228M-12MP lens, 12mm focal length, and 12 million resolution.

[0134] The overhead camera (1001) is mounted 200mm above the feeding station using an L-shaped bracket, covering the entire size of the blank for imaging. Information on the size, position, and defect locations of the aligned wood blanks is obtained from the overhead view, thus enabling the planning of the sawing process for the veneer and waste areas.

[0135] See attached document Figure 12As shown, a side inspection camera (1002) is mounted on a bracket 200mm away from the side of the wood veneer to inspect the side quality of the wood veneer. The swing arm unloading mechanism (703) rotates to the middle position (about 40 degrees), releases the mechanical claw two (704) to discard the unqualified veneer; rotates to the horizontal position (about 90 degrees), at which point the veneer has changed from a vertical to a horizontal position, releases the mechanical claw two (704) to sequentially stack the qualified wood veneer into the wood veneer box (706).

[0136] See attached document Figure 7 As shown, the open-loop cutting mechanism (301) is driven by a stepper motor (3011) to feed a lead screw with a lead of 5mm. The rotary clamping device (3021) adopts a standard rotary clamping cylinder and is installed on the slider of the lead screw feed mechanism. At this time, the rotary clamping device (3021) is in the extended and withdrawn state, which drives the swing push block (3022) to swing downward to a vertical angle and the same height as the blank, pushing the wood blank block to move and feed along the cutting thickness direction to control the sawing amount and withstand a thrust of 50N.

[0137] See attached document Figure 8 As shown, the lifting support (6) is driven by the second lifting cylinder (604), with two working positions: upper and lower. When sawing the defective parts of the blank block with uneven width, the lifting support (6) is lowered to 5mm below the lower surface of the blank to avoid interference. When sawing thin slices, the lifting support (6) is raised to the same height as the upper surface of the blank, serving as the reference for limiting the advance of the wood blank. For different requirements on the cutting thickness of thin wood slices, the cutting thickness is finely adjusted by the cutting thickness adjustment mechanism (602).

[0138] The pressing detection probe three (603) adopts a composite displacement sensor of contact bullseye spring probe and inductive proximity switch with an accuracy of ±0.01mm. When the probe detects that the blank is pressed against the bullseye and the bullseye displacement is equal to the distance of the bullseye protruding from the reference plane in normal condition, the inductive proximity switch sends a signal that it is pressed, or when the sawing feed of the defective part to be sawed is completed, the linear guide cylinder three (2033) drives the vertical pressing block (203) to press the wood blank, the rotary pressing device (3021) is in the contraction pressing state, and drives the swing push block (3022) to rotate 90 degrees to reach the horizontal posture. The swing push block (3022) is higher than the upper surface of the blank and is no longer in contact with the wood blank block. The feed propulsion module (401) only drives the wood blank on the pressing unit (2) to feed and reciprocate sawing.

[0139] See attached document Figure 9 As shown, after this sawing is completed, the outward push cylinder (503) pushes the outward push plate (504) to move laterally outward by 2 mm, and the remaining wood blank in the positive clamping unit (2) is pushed outward by 1-2 mm, so as to avoid the return wood blank block from the saw blade (902). Bullseye ball bearings are installed on the outward push plate (504) to reduce friction.

[0140] See attached document Figure 10 As shown, the veneer feeding mechanism (7) mainly includes: a gear and rack linear motion mechanism (701) and a mechanical claw one (702); a swing arm feeding mechanism (703) and a mechanical claw two (704); a veneer discharge receiving platform (705); and a veneer box (706). The mechanical claw one (702) and mechanical claw two (704) of the veneer discharge picking mechanism are both pneumatic parallel grippers. The gripping surface is fixed with a flat elastic pad with a thickness of 1mm to 2mm and a Shore hardness of 5°. On the one hand, it ensures the stability of the mechanical claw holding the veneer. On the other hand, it ensures that when there is a small dynamic speed deviation between the mechanical claw one (702) and the veneer, the veneer can slide relative to the parallel grippers without falling off. At the same time, the two mechanical claws are connected and act sequentially, realizing orderly feeding while ensuring the feeding rate.

[0141] Considering that both the return saw tooth avoidance unit (5) and the thin sheet discharge receiving table (705) need to be lowered below the table surface to avoid interference when sawing defective areas, and need to be raised when sawing wood chips to achieve the requirements of leaving sawn wood chips and pushing the remaining blanks to avoid saw teeth, the two parts are designed as an integrated structure that lifts and lowers together.

[0142] See attached document Figure 11 As shown, the waste collection mechanism (8) includes:

[0143] A scraper saw blade avoidance mechanism (801); a recycling moving device (802); a waste chute 1 (803); a waste chute 2 (804); and a recycling scraper (805).

[0144] See attached document Figure 13 As shown, the fully automated processing steps for thin sheets with automatic loading and unloading include:

[0145] S1. Preparation stage: Stack the pre-processed blank blocks with neat ends along the feeding direction into the hopper (101) layer by layer until the hopper (101) is full. The push rod of the automatic feeding blank block pushing assembly (102) returns to the original position.

[0146] S2, Feeding and Alignment: Each time a new billet is fed, the feeding and pushing module moves the alignment and pressing unit (2) platform to the feeding station near the hopper (101) to wait. The push rod of the automatic feeding billet block pushing component (102) extends and pushes the bottommost billet block on the feeding tray (1022) out of the hopper (101) until it is directly above the alignment and pressing unit (2). The lifting stop pin (104) descends into the check groove (1026), preventing the billet block from retracting with the feeding tray (1022) and causing it to fall vertically into the space between the two alignment baffles of the alignment unit. The side push plate roller (202) pushes out and squeezes the billet against the fixed alignment baffle (201) to complete the five-degree-of-freedom alignment and pressing. The side alignment baffle limit switch (2023) outputs the alignment trigger signal.

[0147] S3. Visual Inspection and Process Planning: The top-view camera (1001) acquires a top-view image of the billet block. The controller calculates the billet size and position, identifies the defect location area and coordinates, and generates a process parameter package containing the sawing path and defect removal area; including the number of sawable pieces. Li represents the dimensions of each sawable area, and ΔL = target sheet thickness + kerf width;

[0148] S4. The feed propulsion module (401) moves the alignment pressing unit (2) and the billet as a whole to the front of the lifting backrest (6). At this time, the swing push block (3022) rotates down and is at the same height as the billet block.

[0149] S5. Sawing Thickness Feed: When sawing the edge bark or defective areas, the lifting support (6) descends below the worktable, and at the same time, the lifting return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5) descends to avoid it. Based on the wood block positioning information obtained visually, the fixed sawing thickness feed assembly (3) is driven by the thickness open ring feed mechanism (301) to move the rotary clamping device (3021) which is in a loose state, and the downward rotating swing push block (3022) pushes the blank block to feed along the thickness direction to control the sawing amount.

[0150] S6. After the fixed sawing thickness feed assembly (3) completes the sawing amount feed, the vertical clamping block (203) presses down on the blank, and the rotating clamping device (3021) in the loose state drives the swing push block (3022) to rotate upward 90 degrees, retract and avoid contact with the blank block. The feed propulsion module (401) drives the blank to feed for sawing.

[0151] S7. After sawing the edge bark or defective areas, the lifting blank return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5) rises, and the outer push plate (504) pushes the remaining blank outward by 1-2 mm, achieving avoidance between the return blank block and the saw teeth of the saw blade (902). After the recovery scraper saw blade avoidance mechanism (801) moves the recovery scraper (805) close to the saw blade, the recovery moving device (802) drives the recovery scraper (805) to retract, pushing the waste into the waste slide chute one (803).

[0152] S8. When sawing thin slices, the lifting backrest (6) is raised as a reference, the lifting blank return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5) is kept in the raised position, the fixed sawing thickness propulsion component (3) pushes the blank block to stick to the lifting backrest (6), after the pressure detection probe outputs a signal to confirm that it is sticking, the vertical pressure block and the side moving alignment baffle (202) are started to press, the swing push block (3022) rotates up and disengages from the blank, and the sawing feed component (4) starts to reciprocate sawing.

[0153] S9 Sheet feeding and sorting: When the sheet is cut and remains at the outlet of the receiving table (705) and maintains its posture, the linear movement mechanism (701) drives the mechanical claw one (702) to clamp the sheet from below and move it; and transfer the sheet to the mechanical claw two (704). The side quality inspection camera (1002) collects side images of the sheet and identifies defects such as scars and cracks. When the swing arm feeding mechanism (703) is flipping the sheet during feeding, the mechanical claw two (704) is released and the defective sheet is thrown into the waste collection mechanism (8). The qualified sheets are stacked in sequence into the sheet material box (706).

[0154] S10 loop execution: Return to step S3. Based on visual inspection and online process planning, if it is determined that the remaining blank thickness is ≥ the target sheet thickness, continue to step S4. When the remaining blank thickness is < the target sheet thickness, the lifting support (6) descends and pushes the remaining blank block into the lower slide (803) of the waste collection mechanism (8) by swinging the pusher block (3022). Return to step S2 to feed and process the next blank.

[0155] The foregoing has shown and described the basic principles, main features, and advantages of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The embodiments and descriptions in the specification are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. Various changes and modifications can be made to the invention without departing from its spirit and scope, and all such changes and modifications fall within the scope of the present invention as claimed. The scope of protection of this invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An automatic loading and unloading sheet processing device, characterized in that, The device comprises components arranged sequentially and logically interconnected along the processing flow direction: Automatic feeding and alignment clamping units (1, 2) are used to push the bottom blank blocks in the hopper (101) one by one to the top of the alignment clamping unit (2) and drop them vertically. Then, the blank blocks are squeezed by the left and right alignment baffles (201, 202) and clamped vertically (203) from above to complete the alignment of the five degrees of freedom of the blank blocks except for the cutting thickness direction, and output the "alignment completed" trigger signal. The visual inspection and process planning unit (10) includes a top-view camera (1001) and a side-view quality inspection camera (1002) system. The top-view camera (1001) acquires a top-view image of the billet block, realizes defect identification through image processing, obtains the billet block size and defect location coordinates, and generates an online process parameter package containing "saw blade number path planning and defect area removal", which is applied to the sawing and material taking of the current billet; the side-view quality inspection camera (1002) performs quality inspection on the sawn thin slices, and the mechanical claw two (704) throws the unqualified thin slices into the waste collection mechanism (8), and the qualified thin slices are stacked in sequence into the material box (706); The fixed sawing thickness-cutting advance and return saw tooth avoidance unit (3, 5, 6) includes a fixed advance mechanism (3), a lifting backrest (6), and a return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5). The fixed advance mechanism (3) is used to push the billet block along the thickness-cutting direction before sawing, and disengages from the billet during sawing and remains stationary. The lifting backrest (6) can be selectively raised and lowered to adapt to positioning or avoiding defect areas of different specifications when sawing thin slices. The return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5) pushes the remaining billet block laterally outward by a preset distance at the end of sawing to achieve avoidance between the end face of the remaining billet block and the saw blade teeth. The sheet feeding and waste collection units (7, 8) include a linear motion mechanism (701) and a mechanical claw one (702), a swing arm unloading mechanism (703) and a mechanical claw two (704), and a sheet feeding receiving platform (705). The waste collection unit (8) includes a scraper saw blade avoidance mechanism (801), a scraper moving device (802), a waste chute one (803), a waste chute two (804), and a scraper (805).

2. The fully automatic sheet processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The automatic feeding and alignment clamping unit for billet blocks includes a hopper (101), a billet block pushing assembly (102), and a billet alignment clamping unit (2). The front end of the push rod of the billet block pushing assembly (102) is provided with a bottom support platform (1021) and a feeding tray (1022) in sequence, forming a step with a height difference Δh between them. Δh = billet thickness - Δ, and the value of Δ should be greater than the deviation value of the billet thickness. A slot is provided at the step for interlocking with the lifting stop pin (104) to realize the billet block back and vertical drop. The billet alignment clamping unit (2) includes a fixed alignment baffle (201) and a side-moving alignment baffle (202). After the billet falls in, the side-moving alignment baffle (202) squeezes the billet against the fixed alignment baffle (201) to complete the billet alignment clamping. During sawing feed, the vertical clamping (203) clamps the billet from above.

3. The fully automatic sheet processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The fixed propulsion mechanism (3) includes a thickness-cutting open-loop feed mechanism (301) and a swing pusher (3022). Before sawing, the swing pusher (3022) is driven by the rotary clamping device (3021) to swing down to the height of the billet, so as to push the billet to achieve thickness-cutting feed; during the sawing back and forth, the swing pusher (3022) swings up to be higher than the upper surface of the billet and disengages from the billet.

4. The fully automatic sheet processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lifting support (6) reference surface (606) is embedded with a pressing detection probe three (603), which is used to detect whether the billet block is close to the lifting support reference surface (606). After detecting that it is close, the "thickness cutting feed completed" signal is output, and the sawing feed component (4) is started to complete the sawing.

5. The fully automatic sheet processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, After the thin sheet is cut, the return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5) moves the remaining blank block laterally a preset distance by the outer push plate (504).

6. The fully automatic sheet processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sheet discharge receiving platform (705) has a sheet guide arc plate (7051) for guiding the sheet during sawing away from the saw blade (902). The discharge receiving platform (705) has an elastic floating pressure block (7052) on the side of the outlet end for laterally squeezing the sheet when the sheet sawing is completed, so that it is stably placed on the discharge receiving platform (705) and maintains its posture when entering, so as to facilitate the gripping of the mechanical claw (702).

7. The fully automatic sheet processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the waste material is cut off, the waste material collection unit (8) moves the scraper (805) close to the saw blade by the scraper saw blade avoidance mechanism (801), and the scraper moving device (802) drives the scraper (805) to retract and push the waste material into the first waste material slide channel (803); finally, the remaining defective blanks are directly pushed into the second waste material slide channel (804) by the swing pusher block (3022).

8. The operating method of the automatic loading and unloading sheet processing device as described in any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The operation method includes: S1. Preparation stage: Stack the billet blocks layer by layer into the hopper (101) until the hopper (101) is full. The push rod of the automatic feeding billet block pushing assembly (102) returns to the original position. S2, Feeding and Alignment: Each time a new blank is fed, the feeding and pushing module moves the alignment and pressing unit (2) platform to the feeding station near the hopper (101) to wait. The push rod of the automatic feeding blank block pushing component (102) extends and pushes the bottom blank block on the feeding tray (1022) out of the hopper (101) until it is directly above the alignment and pressing unit (2). The lifting stop pin (104) extends into the check groove (1026) to prevent the blank block from retracting with the feeding tray (1022) and make it fall vertically into the left and right alignment baffles (201, 202) of the alignment unit. The side-moving alignment baffle (202) pushes out and squeezes the blank against the fixed alignment baffle (201). The side alignment baffle limit switch (2023) outputs the alignment completion signal. S3. Visual Inspection and Process Planning: The top-view camera (1001) acquires a top-view image of the billet block. The controller calculates the billet size and position, identifies the defect location area and coordinates, and generates a process parameter package containing the sawing path and defect removal area; including the number of sawable pieces. Li represents the dimensions of each sawable area, and ΔL = target sheet thickness + kerf width; S4. The feed propulsion module (401) moves the upright pressing unit (2) and the entire billet to the cutting thickness feed station in front of the lifting backrest (6). At this time, the swing push block (3022) rotates down to the height of the billet and waits to push the billet block to feed along the cutting thickness direction. S5, Sawing Thickness Feed: When sawing defective areas, the lifting support (6) descends below the alignment unit table, and at the same time, the lifting return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5) descends to avoid it. According to the blank block positioning information obtained visually, the fixed sawing thickness propulsion assembly (3) is driven by the thickness open-loop feed mechanism (301) to move the rotary clamping device (3021), and the downward-spinning oscillating push block (3022) pushes the blank block to feed along the cutting thickness direction to control the sawing amount; S6. After the fixed sawing thickness feed assembly (3) completes the sawing amount feed, the vertical clamping block (203) presses down on the blank, and the rotating clamping device (3021) drives the swing push block (3022) to retract and rotate upward, disengaging from the blank block. The feed propulsion module (401) drives the blank to be fed for sawing; S7. After the defective area is sawn, the lifting blank return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5) is raised, and the outer push plate (504) pushes the remaining blank outward by a preset distance of deviation, so as to avoid the saw tooth part of the saw blade (902) on the return trip. The scraper saw blade avoidance mechanism (801) pushes the waste into the waste slide chute (803); S8. When sawing thin slices, the lifting backrest (6) is raised as the sawing thickness reference. The lifting blank return saw tooth avoidance mechanism (5) is kept in the raised position. The fixed sawing thickness propulsion component (3) pushes the blank block to stick to the lifting backrest (6). After the pressure detection probe three (603) outputs a signal to confirm that it is sticking, the vertical pressure block (203) and the side moving alignment baffle (202) are started to press. The swing push block (3022) rotates upward and disengages from the blank. The sawing feed component (4) starts sawing feed. S9. Sheet feeding and sorting: When the sheet is cut and remains at the outlet of the discharge receiving table (705) and maintains its posture, the mechanical claw one (702) clamps the sheet from below and moves it; and transfers the sheet to the mechanical claw two (704). The side quality inspection camera (1002) collects side images of the sheet and identifies defects such as scars and cracks. When the swing arm feeding mechanism (703) swings halfway, the mechanical claw two (704) releases and throws the defective sheet into the waste collection mechanism (8); when the inspection result is a qualified sheet, the swing arm feeding mechanism (703) swings to a horizontal position, the mechanical claw two (704) releases, and the sheets are stacked in sequence into the sheet material box (706); S10, Cyclic execution: Return to step S3. Based on visual inspection and online process planning, if the thickness of the remaining usable blank is greater than or equal to the thickness of the target sheet, continue to step S4. When the thickness of the remaining usable blank is less than the thickness of the target sheet, the lifting support (6) descends, and the swing pusher (3022) pushes the remaining blank block into the lower slide (803) of the waste collection mechanism (8). Return to step S2 to feed and process the next blank.

Images