Modular packaging production line for canned products

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of canned product production, and discloses a canned product modular packaging production line which comprises a first conveying belt, visual detection equipment and a material distribution mechanism, the first conveying belt is provided with interval screws, the interval screws are driven by a first motor to rotate, and the visual detection equipment is installed on the first conveying belt; the discharging end of the first conveying belt is provided with discharging sections communicated with each other, the front ends of the discharging sections are provided with a second conveying belt, the rear ends of the discharging sections are provided with a third conveying belt, the first conveying belt is provided with an arc-shaped guide plate at the feeding end of the second conveying belt, and the side wall of the first conveying belt is provided with a first cylinder body for driving the arc-shaped guide plate to translate; the discharging end of the third conveying belt is provided with an interval conveying mechanism, the feeding end of the material distributing mechanism is connected with the discharging end of the second conveying belt, and the discharging end of the material distributing mechanism is connected with the feeding end of the third conveying belt. Continuous operation of visual inspection equipment can be guaranteed, and the vicious circle of conveying blockage and detection interruption is broken through.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of canned food production technology, specifically to a modular packaging production line for canned food products. Background Technology

[0002] As a type of food with a long shelf life and convenient consumption, the appearance quality of canned products directly affects their market acceptance and food safety during the production process. Defects such as dents, damaged welds, misaligned labels, and blurry coding all require strict screening. Currently, most canned food manufacturers in China still rely on manual labor for appearance inspection. Inspectors visually examine each canned product on the conveyor belt, judging for defects and sorting them based on experience. This inspection method has significant inherent drawbacks: First, manual inspection is inefficient, failing to meet the production capacity of thousands of cans per hour on modern production lines, making the inspection process a bottleneck for overall production efficiency. Second, inspection accuracy is unstable; inspectors' judgment is easily affected by subjective factors such as fatigue, emotional state, and visual fatigue, leading to missed detections of minor scratches or slight label misalignments, while excessive focus on details can result in false positives, wasting qualified products. Third, labor costs are continuously rising. With increasing labor costs in the market, companies need to invest heavily in manpower to maintain the inspection process, and additional costs such as personnel training and management further compress profit margins. Furthermore, manual inspection has low standardization, making it difficult to maintain consistent inspection standards across different batches, hindering stable product quality control. Fourth, canned products are generally transported via conveyor belts. During transport, due to packaging speed, canned products may become stuck on the conveyor belt, slowing down the conveyor speed and affecting the efficiency of visual inspection.

[0003] In view of this, the applicant conducted in-depth research on the above-mentioned issues, which led to this case. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides a modular packaging production line for canned food products, which can effectively solve the aforementioned technical problems.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution:

[0006] A modular packaging production line for canned goods includes a first conveyor belt, a vision inspection device, and a material distribution mechanism. The first conveyor belt has a spacer screw at its inlet end, driven to rotate by a first motor. The vision inspection device is mounted on the first conveyor belt and positioned behind the spacer screw. The first conveyor belt has interconnected outlet sections at its outlet end. A second conveyor belt is located at the front end of the outlet section, and a third conveyor belt is located at the rear end of the outlet section. The first conveyor belt has an arc-shaped guide plate at its inlet end, and a first cylinder is located on the side wall of the first conveyor belt to drive the arc-shaped guide plate to move horizontally. The third conveyor belt has a spacer conveying mechanism at its outlet end. The inlet end of the material distribution mechanism is connected to the outlet end of the second conveyor belt, and the outlet end of the material distribution mechanism is connected to the inlet end of the third conveyor belt.

[0007] Furthermore, the material distribution mechanism includes a material loading device, a fourth conveyor belt, and a fifth conveyor belt. The material loading device includes a material loading frame, a second cylinder, a material loading plate, and a pushing mechanism. Several material loading plates are slidably connected to the material loading frame. The second cylinder is installed on the upper end of the material loading frame, and the piston rod of the second cylinder is fixedly connected to the material loading plate. The material loading plate has an inlet on one side near the second conveyor belt, and an outlet on the other side wall of the material loading plate. The pushing mechanism is installed on the material loading plate and pushes the material from the inlet to the outlet. The fourth conveyor belt is located on the side of the outlet. The inlet end of the fifth conveyor belt is connected to the outlet end of the fourth conveyor belt, and the outlet end of the fifth conveyor belt is connected to the inlet end of the third conveyor belt.

[0008] Furthermore, the pushing mechanism includes a pneumatic slide, a guide rail, and a push plate. The side wall of the material carrier plate corresponding to the feed inlet is provided with a guide hole. The guide rail is horizontally connected to the side wall of the material carrier plate. The pneumatic slide is slidably connected to the guide rail. The push plate is slidably connected to the guide hole. The rear end of the push plate is fixedly installed on the pneumatic slide, and the front end of the push plate extends into the material carrier plate.

[0009] Furthermore, the fifth conveyor belt is spiral-shaped, and the feed end of the fifth conveyor belt gradually spirals downward toward the discharge end.

[0010] Furthermore, the interval conveying mechanism includes a feeding disc and a second motor. The feeding disc is rotatably connected to the third conveyor belt. The feeding disc is provided with a plurality of feeding slots. The second motor is installed at the lower end of the third conveyor belt and drives the feeding disc to rotate.

[0011] Furthermore, the material carrier frame is provided with a guide rod, and the material carrier plate is slidably connected to the guide rod.

[0012] Furthermore, the two side walls of the first conveyor belt are respectively provided with a third cylinder and a waste chute at the discharge end of the visual inspection equipment, and the piston rod of the third cylinder is provided with a discharge plate.

[0013] Furthermore, the discharge end of the waste chute is equipped with a waste conveyor belt.

[0014] This invention provides a modular packaging production line for canned food products. It has the following advantages:

[0015] 1. This invention replaces traditional manual visual inspection with a visual inspection device. Combined with the continuous conveying capacity of the first conveyor belt, the inspection rate can fully match the production capacity requirements of modern production lines, which can handle thousands of cans per hour. This completely solves the problem of low manual inspection speed and slowing down the overall production pace. Furthermore, this invention's automated inspection requires no manual intervention and can operate continuously for 24 hours, improving inspection efficiency by at least 10 times.

[0016] 2. The present invention designs an arc-shaped guide plate and a first cylinder structure. When the discharge section is blocked, the first cylinder can drive the arc-shaped guide plate to move horizontally, smoothly guiding the canned food from the first conveyor belt to the second conveyor belt, realizing the rapid switching of the canned product conveying track, completely avoiding the accumulation of canned food on the first conveyor belt and in the inspection area, ensuring the continuous operation of the visual inspection equipment, and breaking the vicious cycle of conveying blockage and inspection interruption.

[0017] 3. This invention enables modular temporary storage and replenishment, balancing supply and demand differences. The material loading device of the material distribution mechanism, through the cooperation of the loading plate, the second cylinder, and the pushing mechanism, can achieve batch temporary storage of canned goods. When the discharge section is blocked, the second conveyor belt transports the canned goods to the loading plate for layered storage, avoiding secondary accumulation of canned goods after diversion; when the discharge section resumes packaging capacity, the temporarily stored canned goods are orderly replenished to the third conveyor belt through the pushing mechanism, the fourth conveyor belt, and the fifth conveyor belt, and then returned to the discharge section through the interval conveying mechanism. This achieves a dynamic balance between temporary storage during blockages and replenishment during idle periods, solving the problem of production fluctuations caused by the mismatch between conveying and packaging rhythms in the prior art.

[0018] 4. This invention features a modular structure, facilitating maintenance and expansion. It not only adapts to various canning packaging processes but also allows each module to operate independently yet collaboratively. If a module malfunctions, it can be repaired individually without affecting the overall production line. Furthermore, companies can flexibly add or remove modules based on production capacity requirements, enhancing the equipment's adaptability. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of the external structure of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 2 This is another perspective view of the external structure of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the material distribution mechanism.

[0022] The components include: a first conveyor belt 11, a spacer screw 111, a first motor 112, an arc-shaped guide plate 113, a first cylinder 114, a second conveyor belt 12, a third conveyor belt 13, a fourth conveyor belt 14, a fifth conveyor belt 15, a vision inspection device 2, a material distribution mechanism 3, a material carrier frame 31, a second cylinder 32, a material carrier plate 33, a feed inlet 331, a discharge outlet 332, a guide hole 333, a guide rod 34, a pneumatic slide table 35, a guide rail 36, a push plate 37, a discharge section 4, a feeding circular plate 51, a second motor 52, a third cylinder 61, a waste material chute 62, a discharge plate 63, and a waste material conveyor belt 64. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0024] Please see the appendix Figure 1 - Appendix Figure 3This invention provides a modular packaging production line for canned goods, including a first conveyor belt 11, a vision inspection device 2, and a material distribution mechanism 3. The feed end of the first conveyor belt 11 is equipped with a rotatably connected spacer screw 111. A first motor 112 is fixedly connected to the side wall of the first conveyor belt 11. The output shaft of the first motor 112 is connected to the spacer screw 111 via a transmission belt, and the spacer screw 111 is driven to rotate by the first motor 112. The vision inspection device 2 is installed on the first conveyor belt 11 and is located behind the spacer screw 111. The vision inspection device 2 uses a commercially available vision inspection machine. Based on preset parameters, the vision inspection device 2 objectively judges the appearance of the canned goods, accurately identifying minor defects such as can dents, weld damage, label misalignment, and blurred coding, effectively avoiding missed or false detections caused by fatigue, emotional state, and visual fatigue in manual inspection. Simultaneously, the inspection standards are uniformly set through a program, ensuring a high degree of consistency in the inspection standards across different batches of products. This solves the shortcomings of low standardization and unstable quality control in manual inspection, providing a reliable guarantee for product quality consistency. The discharge end of the first conveyor belt 11 is equipped with an interconnected discharge section 4, where canned goods are packed and packaged manually or by a robotic arm. A connected second conveyor belt 12 is located at the front end of the discharge section 4, and a connected third conveyor belt 13 is located at the rear end. The first conveyor belt 11 has an arc-shaped guide plate 113 at the feed end of the second conveyor belt 12. A first cylinder 114 is located on the side wall of the first conveyor belt 11 to drive the arc-shaped guide plate 113 to move horizontally. When the arc-shaped guide plate 113 moves into the first conveyor belt 11, it guides the canned goods on the first conveyor belt 11 to the discharge section 4. When the first cylinder 114 drives the arc-shaped guide plate 113 away from the first conveyor belt 11, the canned goods on the first conveyor belt 11 are conveyed to the second conveyor belt 12. The discharge end of the third conveyor belt 13 is equipped with an interval conveying mechanism, which sequentially conveys the canned goods on the third conveyor belt 13 to the discharge section 4. The feeding end of the material distribution mechanism 3 is connected to the discharging end of the second conveyor belt 12, and the discharging end of the material distribution mechanism 3 is connected to the feeding end of the third conveyor belt 13. The material distribution mechanism 3 can store canned products.

[0025] In this embodiment, the material distribution mechanism 3 includes a material loading device, a fourth conveyor belt 14, and a fifth conveyor belt 15. The material loading device includes a material loading frame 31, a second cylinder 32, material loading plates 33, and a pushing mechanism. Several material loading plates 33 are slidably connected to the material loading frame 31 and are evenly distributed vertically. The second cylinder 32 is installed at the upper end of the material loading frame 31, and the piston rod of the second cylinder 32 is fixedly connected to the material loading plates 33. Specifically, there are two second cylinders 32, which can drive each material loading plate 33 to move up and down simultaneously. The material loading frame 31 is provided with a guide rod 34, and the material loading plates 33 are slidably connected to the guide rod 34, making the up and down movement of the guide plates more stable. A material carrier plate 33 has a feed inlet 331 on one side near the second conveyor belt 12, and a discharge outlet 332 on the other side wall. A pushing mechanism is installed on the material carrier plate 33 and pushes the material from the feed inlet 331 to the discharge outlet 332. The material carrier plate 33 can be slightly tilted so that when the canned product moves from the feed inlet 331 onto the material carrier plate 33, the canned product can slide backward onto the inner side wall of the material carrier plate 33. A fourth conveyor belt 14 is located on the side of the discharge outlet 332, and the side wall of the fourth conveyor belt 14 has an opening for the canned product to enter. The feed end of the fifth conveyor belt 15 is connected to the discharge end of the fourth conveyor belt 14, and the discharge end of the fifth conveyor belt 15 is connected to the feed end of the third conveyor belt 13. Specifically, the feeding mechanism includes a pneumatic slide 35, a guide rail 36, and a pusher plate 37. A guide hole 333 is provided on the side wall of the loading plate 33 corresponding to the feed inlet 331. The guide rail 36 is horizontally connected to the side wall of the loading plate 33. The pneumatic slide 35 is slidably connected to the guide rail 36, and the pusher plate 37 is slidably connected to the guide hole 333. The rear end of the pusher plate 37 is fixedly mounted on the pneumatic slide 35, and the front end of the pusher plate 37 extends into the loading plate 33. The pneumatic slide 35 drives the pusher plate 37 to move horizontally along the guide hole 333, thereby pushing the canned goods on the loading plate 33 to move horizontally.

[0026] In this embodiment, the fifth conveyor belt 15 is spiral-shaped, and the feed end of the fifth conveyor belt 15 gradually spirals downwards towards the discharge end. The spirally extending fifth conveyor belt 15 can buffer the impact force during the transport of canned goods through its own structure, avoiding appearance damage caused by can collisions. At the same time, it can also increase the temporary storage and transport area of ​​canned products in the vertical direction, improving space utilization.

[0027] In this embodiment, the interval conveying mechanism includes a feeding disc 51 and a second motor 52. The feeding disc 51 is rotatably connected to the third conveyor belt 13. The feeding disc 51 is provided with several feeding troughs. The second motor 52 is installed at the lower end of the third conveyor belt 13 and drives the feeding disc 51 to rotate. When the canned products enter the feeding troughs, the second motor 52 drives the feeding disc 51 to rotate, conveying the canned products to the discharge section 4. The feeding disc 51 of the interval conveying mechanism sorts the canned products into an equidistant state through the feeding troughs and then sends them into the discharge section 4, ensuring the orderliness of subsequent packaging processes.

[0028] In this embodiment, the two side walls of the first conveyor belt 11 are respectively provided with a third cylinder 61 and a waste chute 62 at the discharge end of the visual inspection device 2. A discharge plate 63 is provided on the piston rod of the third cylinder 61. A waste conveyor belt 64 is provided at the discharge end of the waste chute 62. Through the coordinated design of the third cylinder 61, the discharge plate 63, the waste chute 62, and the waste conveyor belt 64, the automatic rejection and centralized collection of defective products are realized, eliminating the need for manual sorting. This not only reduces the manual input in the inspection process but also avoids secondary damage and efficiency loss during manual sorting. Combined with the uninterrupted operation characteristics of automated inspection, enterprises can significantly reduce labor recruitment, training, and management costs, and greatly improve production efficiency. The conveyor belts designed in this invention all adopt chain plate conveyor belts, the structure of which is existing technology and will not be described in detail here.

[0029] The working principle of this invention is as follows: After the canned products are sealed, the invention performs an appearance integrity inspection and sequential conveying of the canned products before packaging. Each canned product is fed onto the first conveyor belt 11 by a robotic arm or a front-end conveyor belt. The first motor 112 drives the spacer screw 111 to rotate, arranging the canned products at intervals. The first conveyor belt 11 then sends the canned products to the visual inspection device 2 for appearance integrity inspection. The visual inspection device 2 judges the appearance quality of the canned products. If a defective product is found, as it exits the visual inspection device 2, the third cylinder, having received a signal in advance, drives the discharge plate to push the defective product out of the first conveyor belt 11. The defective product falls into the waste conveyor belt via a waste chute and is collected by the waste conveyor belt. Canned products with normal outer tubes are guided to the discharge section 4 by the arc-shaped guide plate 113 on the first conveyor belt 11. At the discharge end of the discharge section 4, the next packaging process is carried out by a robotic arm or manually. When the packaging speed of the discharge section 4 is slow, the canned products on the discharge section 4 may become stuck and blocked. At this time, the first cylinder 114 drives the arc-shaped guide plate 113 to move out of the first conveyor belt 11, so that the canned products enter the second conveyor belt 12 from the first conveyor belt 11. The second conveyor belt 12 transports the canned products in columns to the loading plate 33. When the loading plate 33 is full of a column of canned products, the pushing mechanism moves the column of canned products at the inlet 331 closer to the outlet 332. Then the pushing mechanism resets, and the second conveyor belt 12 continues to transport the canned products. The storage plate repeats the above steps until the storage plate is full of canned products. Then the second cylinder 32 drives the storage plate to rise and replace the storage plate to continue the above conveying steps. After the canned products in the discharge section 4 are packaged, the second cylinder 32 drives the material plate 33 carrying the canned products to move to the side of the fourth conveyor belt 14. The pushing mechanism pushes the canned products to the fourth conveyor belt 14 in sequence. The fourth conveyor belt 14 transports the canned products to the fifth conveyor belt 15 and the third conveyor belt 13 in sequence. Finally, the canned products are transported to the discharge section 4 in sequence through the interval conveying mechanism, and then the canned products are boxed and packaged.

[0030] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A modular packaging production line for canned food products, characterized in that, The system includes a first conveyor belt, a vision inspection device, and a material distribution mechanism. The feed end of the first conveyor belt is equipped with a spacer screw, which is driven to rotate by a first motor. The vision inspection device is installed on the first conveyor belt and is located behind the spacer screw. The discharge end of the first conveyor belt has interconnected discharge sections. A second conveyor belt is located at the front end of the discharge section, and a third conveyor belt is located at the rear end of the discharge section. The first conveyor belt has an arc-shaped guide plate at the feed end of the second conveyor belt, and a first cylinder is located on the side wall of the first conveyor belt to drive the arc-shaped guide plate to move horizontally. The discharge end of the third conveyor belt has a spacer conveying mechanism. The feed end of the material distribution mechanism is connected to the discharge end of the second conveyor belt, and the discharge end of the material distribution mechanism is connected to the feed end of the third conveyor belt.

2. The modular packaging production line for canned goods according to claim 1, characterized in that, The material distribution mechanism includes a material loading device, a fourth conveyor belt, and a fifth conveyor belt. The material loading device includes a material loading frame, a second cylinder, a material loading plate, and a pushing mechanism. Several material loading plates are slidably connected to the material loading frame. The second cylinder is installed on the upper end of the material loading frame, and the piston rod of the second cylinder is fixedly connected to the material loading plate. The material loading plate has an inlet on the side near the second conveyor belt, and an outlet on the other side wall of the material loading plate. The pushing mechanism is installed on the material loading plate and pushes the material from the inlet to the outlet. The fourth conveyor belt is located on the side of the outlet. The inlet end of the fifth conveyor belt is connected to the outlet end of the fourth conveyor belt, and the outlet end of the fifth conveyor belt is connected to the inlet end of the third conveyor belt.

3. The modular packaging production line for canned goods according to claim 2, characterized in that, The feeding mechanism includes a pneumatic slide, a guide rail, and a push plate. The side wall of the material plate corresponding to the feed inlet is provided with a guide hole. The guide rail is horizontally connected to the side wall of the material plate. The pneumatic slide is slidably connected to the guide rail. The push plate is slidably connected to the guide hole. The rear end of the push plate is fixedly installed on the pneumatic slide, and the front end of the push plate extends into the material plate.

4. The modular packaging production line for canned goods according to claim 3, characterized in that, The fifth conveyor belt is spiral-shaped, and the feed end of the fifth conveyor belt gradually spirals downward toward the discharge end.

5. A modular packaging production line for canned goods according to claim 4, characterized in that, The interval conveying mechanism includes a feeding disc and a second motor. The feeding disc is rotatably connected to the third conveyor belt. The feeding disc is provided with several feeding slots. The second motor is installed at the lower end of the third conveyor belt and drives the feeding disc to rotate.

6. A modular packaging production line for canned goods according to claim 2, characterized in that, The material carrier frame is equipped with a guide rod, and the material carrier plate is slidably connected to the guide rod.

7. A modular packaging production line for canned goods according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first conveyor belt has a third cylinder and a waste chute respectively on the two side walls at the discharge end of the vision inspection equipment, and the piston rod of the third cylinder is equipped with a discharge plate.

8. A modular packaging production line for canned goods according to claim 7, characterized in that, The waste chute is equipped with a waste conveyor belt at its discharge end.

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