Automatic unstacking and feeding device for thermoforming sheets

Abstract

The present application relates to automatic feeding technology field, especially for hot forming material board automatic unstacking feeding device, including: base, lifting assembly and feeding assembly, feeding assembly symmetrically distributed at the top surface side of base, lifting assembly is arranged between feeding assembly, lifting assembly is used for lifting the stacked material board to the predetermined height, feeding assembly is used for grabbing the material board at the predetermined height, after being transferred to the processing station, it is tensioned to cooperate with processing, in the scheme, both ends of the transfer frame are drivingly connected with the horizontal slide rail, so as to move along the horizontal slide rail. The telescopic frame can adjust the position of the suction cup assembly on one side, which is used for tensioning the material sheet. When the material sheet needs to be tensioned, the adjusting slide moves to the both ends of the through slot, which is used for moving the suction cup assembly to the position of the horizontal slide rail. With the adjustment of the position of the opposite suction cup assembly, the material sheet is tensioned in the length and width directions by the suction cup assembly, so as to realize the tensioning of the material sheet.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of automatic feeding technology, and more particularly to an automatic destacking and feeding device for thermoformed slabs. Background Technology

[0002] Thermoforming sheet refers to a plastic sheet used in thermoforming processes. The plastic sheet is heated to a softened state and then bonded to a mold using vacuum, air pressure, or mechanical force.

[0003] Due to the thinness of the sheet material, it is difficult to achieve the desired result using conventional suction cup lifting methods. The main reason is that the thermoformed sheet material is too thin to be suctioned and lifted. Because it is too thin, the edges cannot fully fit with the suction cup. Furthermore, when placed into the mold cavity, the wrinkled sheet material needs to be straightened again before the mold closing operation can be performed. The overall material loading still requires manual assistance, and the efficiency improvement is limited. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention addresses the shortcomings of the prior art by providing the following technical solution: An automatic destacking and loading device for thermoformed sheets includes: Base, lifting assembly, and feeding assembly; The feeding components are symmetrically distributed on the top side of the base, and the lifting components are arranged between the feeding components; The lifting assembly is used to lift the stacked material plates to a predetermined height, and the feeding assembly is used to grab the material plates located at the predetermined height, and after transferring them to the processing station, tension them to cooperate with processing.

[0005] As an improvement to the above technical solution: The lifting assembly includes at least: Lifting plate, folding frame, drive assembly; The folding frames are symmetrically distributed between the lifting plate and the base, and the ends of the folding frames are connected to the lifting plate and the base through a drive assembly.

[0006] As an improvement to the above technical solution: The driving component includes at least: Bidirectional drive motor, transmission lead screw, and sliding connecting block; The lifting plate and the base are provided with corresponding grooves that cooperate with the sliding connecting blocks. The sliding connecting blocks are rotatably connected to the ends of the corresponding folding frames. The bidirectional drive motor is fixed in the middle of the grooves on the corresponding surfaces of the lifting plate and the base. The middle part of the transmission screw is connected to the bidirectional drive motor. The two ends of the transmission screw are connected to the corresponding sliding connecting blocks to achieve synchronous movement of the corresponding sliding connecting blocks.

[0007] As an improvement to the above technical solution: The feeding assembly includes at least: Fixed support frame, horizontal slide rail, transfer assembly; The fixed support frame has a U-shaped structure, and the opening on one side of the fixed support frame constitutes the loading port of the lifting assembly; The horizontal slide rails are symmetrically arranged on the top of the fixed support frame, and the transfer assembly is arranged on the opposite side of the horizontal slide rails and is connected to the horizontal slide rails in a transmission manner.

[0008] As an improvement to the above technical solution: The horizontal slide rail extends outward from the opening side of the fixed support frame away from the fixed support frame and extends to the processing station.

[0009] As an improvement to the above technical solution: The transfer component includes at least: Transfer frame, telescopic frame, suction cup assembly, adjustment slider; The transfer frame has a U-shaped structure, and the middle part of the transfer frame has a through slot; One side of the telescopic frame is located inside the through slot and is slidably connected to the inner wall of the through slot. The adjusting sliders located in the through slot are located at both ends of the telescopic frame, and the suction cup assemblies are evenly distributed on the other side of the telescopic frame.

[0010] As an improvement to the above technical solution: Both ends of the transfer frame are T-shaped structures, and both ends of the transfer frame are connected to the horizontal slide rail. The telescopic frame is composed of struts with hinged ends, and the hinge points at intervals are slidably connected to the inner wall of the through slot. The remaining hinge points are connected to the suction cup assembly. The corresponding ends of the struts at both ends are hinged to the adjusting slider.

[0011] As an improvement to the above technical solution: The suction cup assembly includes at least: Suction cup, hollow telescopic rod, and exhaust port; The suction cup is located at the bottom of the telescopic rod, the exhaust port is located at the top of the telescopic rod, and a portion of the telescopic rod forms a hinge at the joint of adjacent support rods.

[0012] As an improvement to the above technical solution: The bottom of the suction cup is at the same horizontal height, and the telescopic rod is in the fully extended state in normal operation.

[0013] The beneficial effects of this invention are: The lifting plate and the base are provided with grooves that cooperate with the sliding connecting blocks. The sliding connecting blocks are rotatably connected to the ends of the corresponding folding frames. The bidirectional drive motor is fixed in the middle of the grooves on the corresponding surfaces of the lifting plate and the base. The middle of the transmission screw is connected to the bidirectional drive motor, and the two ends of the transmission screw are connected to the corresponding sliding connecting blocks to achieve synchronous movement of the corresponding sliding connecting blocks.

[0014] The two ends of the transfer frame are connected to horizontal slide rails for movement along them. The telescopic frame allows adjustment of the suction cup assembly position for tensioning the material sheet. When tensioning is required, the adjusting slider moves towards both ends of the through-hole, moving the suction cup assembly towards the horizontal slide rail. With this adjustment of the relative suction cup assembly positions, the material sheet is tensioned in both length and width directions, thus achieving tensioning. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of the overall structure of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a top view of the present invention; Figure 3 for Figure 2 Sectional view at point AA; Figure 4 for Figure 2 Sectional view at point BB; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the transfer component in this invention; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the telescopic frame in this invention.

[0016] In the picture: 100. Base; 200. Lifting assembly; 210. Lifting plate; 220. Folding frame; 230. Drive assembly; 231. Bidirectional drive motor; 232. Transmission screw; 233. Sliding connecting block; 240. Slide groove; 300. Feeding assembly; 310. Fixed support frame; 320. Horizontal slide rail; 330. Transfer assembly; 331. Transfer frame; 332. Telescopic frame; 333. Suction cup assembly; 3331. Suction cup; 3332. Telescopic rod; 3333. Exhaust port; 334. Adjusting slider; 335. Through slot. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The following specific examples illustrate the implementation of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and various details in this specification can also be modified or changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0018] Due to the thinness of the sheet material, it is difficult to achieve the desired result using conventional suction cup lifting methods. The main reason is that the thermoformed sheet material is too thin to be suctioned and lifted. Because it is too thin, the edges cannot fully fit with the suction cup. Furthermore, when placed into the mold cavity, the wrinkled sheet material needs to be straightened again before the mold closing operation can be performed. The overall material loading still requires manual assistance, and the efficiency improvement is limited.

[0019] See appendix Figures 1-6 As shown, in order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, an automatic destacking and feeding device for thermoforming material plates includes: a base 100, a lifting component 200 and a feeding component 300.

[0020] The feeding components 300 are symmetrically distributed on the top side of the base 100, and the lifting components 200 are arranged between the feeding components 300. The lifting components 200 are used to lift the stacked material plates to a predetermined height, and the feeding components 300 are used to grab the material plates located at the predetermined height, and after transferring them to the processing station, they are tensioned to cooperate with processing.

[0021] See appendix Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, to facilitate understanding of the technical solution of this application, a preferred embodiment of the lifting component 200 is provided. The lifting component 200 is used to lift the stacked material plates to a predetermined height so that the feeding component 300 can better grasp the material plates. Specifically: The lifting assembly 200 includes: a lifting plate 210, a folding frame 220, and a drive assembly 230.

[0022] The folding frame 220 is symmetrically distributed between the lifting plate 210 and the base 100, and the ends of the folding frame 220 are connected to the lifting plate 210 and the base 100 through the drive assembly 230.

[0023] Initially, the lifting plate 210 is at its lowest position, and the stacked materials are first transferred to the lifting plate 210. Then, the drive assembly 230 drives the folding frame 220 to move, causing the lifting plate 210 to rise to a predetermined height. The predetermined height can be achieved by setting the action time of the drive assembly 230, or by adding a position sensor to detect the height position of the lifting plate 210 or the topmost material, so it will not be described in detail here.

[0024] The folding frame 220 works in conjunction with the drive assembly 230 to achieve lifting and lowering. In this design, the folding frame 220 is constructed using a multi-layered hinged scissor linkage mechanism. The symmetrically arranged folding frame 220 provides better load-bearing capacity and lifting stability.

[0025] To facilitate understanding of the driver component 230, a preferred embodiment of the driver component 230 is provided, specifically: The drive assembly 230 includes: a bidirectional drive motor 231, a transmission lead screw 232, and a sliding connecting block 233.

[0026] The lifting plate 210 and the base 100 are provided with corresponding grooves 240 that cooperate with the sliding connecting blocks 233. The sliding connecting blocks 233 are rotatably connected to the ends of the corresponding folding frames 220. The bidirectional drive motor 231 is fixed in the middle of the grooves 240 on the corresponding surfaces of the lifting plate 210 and the base 100. The middle part of the transmission screw 232 is connected to the bidirectional drive motor 231. The two ends of the transmission screw 232 are connected to the corresponding sliding connecting blocks 233 to achieve synchronous movement of the corresponding sliding connecting blocks 233.

[0027] To facilitate the adjustment of the movement of the folding frame 220, a slide groove 240 is provided on the lifting plate 210 and the base 100. In order to further limit the movement distance of the sliding connecting block 233, both ends of the slide groove 240 are closed, thus limiting the maximum movement distance of the sliding connecting block 233.

[0028] The movement of the sliding connecting block 233 is achieved by the bidirectional drive motor 231 driving the transmission screw 232. When the bidirectional drive motor 231 drives the transmission screw 232 to rotate, the transmission screw 232 can drive the movement of the sliding connecting block 233, and realize the synchronous approach or distance of the sliding connecting blocks 233 at both ends of the same transmission screw 232, thus realizing the raising or lowering of the folding frame 220.

[0029] To alleviate the workload of a single drive assembly 230, a drive assembly 230 is provided at the connection between the folding frame 220 and the lifting plate 210 and the base 100. Therefore, four sets of drive assemblies are required for the two symmetrically arranged folding frames 220.

[0030] See appendix Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, to facilitate understanding of the technical solution of this application, a preferred embodiment of the feeding assembly 300 is provided. The feeding assembly 300 is used to grip the material plate located at a predetermined height, and after transferring it to the processing station, it is tensioned to cooperate with processing. Specifically: The feeding assembly 300 includes: a fixed support frame 310, a horizontal slide rail 320, and a transfer assembly 330.

[0031] The fixed support frame 310 has a U-shaped structure, and the opening on one side of the fixed support frame 310 forms the loading port of the lifting assembly 200; the horizontal slide rail 320 is symmetrically arranged on the top of the fixed support frame 310, and the transfer assembly 330 is arranged on the opposite side of the horizontal slide rail 320 and is connected to the horizontal slide rail 320 in a transmission manner.

[0032] The fixed support frame 310 is used to fix and support the horizontal slide rail 320. The opening design on one side of the fixed support frame 310 facilitates the transfer of the material sheet onto the lifting plate 210. The horizontal slide rail 320 is an electric track. The transfer assembly 330 is electrically driven to move on the horizontal slide rail 320. The transfer assemblies 330 located on different horizontal slide rails 320 move synchronously to ensure that the gripped material sheet is transferred flatly to the processing station.

[0033] The horizontal slide rail 320 extends outward from the opening side of the fixed support frame 310 away from the fixed support frame 310 and extends to the processing station.

[0034] During operation, the transfer component 330 located above the lifting plate 210 adsorbs and grabs the material plate. The transfer component 330 moves along the corresponding horizontal slide rail 320 to move the material plate to the processing station. The transfer component 330 tensions the material plate, and the tensioned material plate is clamped between the upper and lower molds for forming. This ensures that the material sheet is centered and that there are no processing defects caused by wrinkles in the material sheet.

[0035] To facilitate understanding of the technical solution of this application, a preferred embodiment of the transfer component 330 is provided, specifically: The transfer assembly 330 includes: a transfer frame 331, a telescopic frame 332, a suction cup assembly 333, and an adjustment slider 334.

[0036] The transfer frame 331 has a U-shaped structure, with a through slot 335 in the middle. One side of the telescopic frame 332 is located inside the through slot 335 and is slidably connected to the inner wall of the through slot 335. The adjusting sliders 334 located in the through slot 335 are located at both ends of the telescopic frame 332. The suction cup assemblies 333 are evenly distributed on the other side of the telescopic frame 332.

[0037] The two ends of the transfer frame 331 are connected to the horizontal slide rail 320 for transmission, so as to move along the horizontal slide rail 320. The telescopic frame 332 can adjust the position of the suction cup assembly 333 for tensioning the material sheet. When the material sheet needs to be tensioned, the adjusting slider 334 moves to both ends of the through slot 335 to move the suction cup assembly 333 to the position of the horizontal slide rail 320. With the adjustment of the relative position of the suction cup assembly 333, the material sheet is tensioned by the suction cup assembly 333 in the length and width directions, thereby achieving tensioning of the material sheet.

[0038] Both ends of the transfer frame 331 are T-shaped structures. Both ends of the transfer frame 331 are connected to the horizontal slide rail 320 for transmission. The telescopic frame 332 is formed by the end hinge of the support rod a, and the hinge points at intervals are slidably connected to the inner wall of the through slot 335. The remaining hinge points are connected to the suction cup assembly 333. The corresponding ends of the support rods at both ends are hinged to the adjusting slider 334.

[0039] Except for the hinge points at both ends, the other hinge points are the connection points of adjacent support rods a. The hinge points at both ends and the hinge points distributed at intervals are all located in the through slot 335 and are slidably connected to the inner wall of the through slot 335 so that the position of the suction cup assembly 333 can be adjusted synchronously when the slider 334 moves.

[0040] To facilitate understanding of the technical solution of this application, a preferred embodiment of the suction cup assembly 333 is provided, specifically: The suction cup assembly 333 includes: a suction cup 3331, a hollow telescopic rod 3332, and an exhaust port 3333.

[0041] The suction cup 3331 is located at the bottom of the telescopic rod 3332, the exhaust port 3333 is located at the top of the telescopic rod 3332, and a part of the telescopic rod 3332 constitutes the hinge at the joint of the adjacent support rods.

[0042] The hollow telescopic rod 3332 is connected to the exhaust port 3333, and an external negative pressure device draws air from between the suction cup 3331 and the material sheet. The resulting negative pressure causes the suction cup 3331 to fit tightly against the material sheet, thus gripping the material sheet. To simplify the structure, the fixed part on the telescopic rod 3332 is used as a hinge to connect the adjacent support rod a.

[0043] In addition, to facilitate the gripping of the material sheets, the bottom ends of the suction cups 3331 are initially set at the same horizontal height, and the telescopic rod 3332 is normally in the fully extended state. When there is a slight error in the height of the material sheets stacked on the lifting plate 210, the telescopic rod 3332 will be used for adjustment to compensate for the height. The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not intended to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or make equivalent substitutions for some of the technical features. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0044] The contents not described in detail in the specification are prior art known to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. An automatic destacking and feeding device for thermoformed sheet metal, characterized in that, include: Base (100), lifting assembly (200) and feeding assembly (300); The feeding components (300) are symmetrically distributed on the top side of the base (100), and the lifting components (200) are arranged between the feeding components (300); The lifting assembly (200) is used to lift the stacked material plates to a predetermined height, and the loading assembly (300) is used to grab the material plates located at the predetermined height, and tension them after transferring them to the processing station to cooperate with processing.

2. The automatic destacking and feeding device for thermoforming plates according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting assembly (200) includes at least: Lifting plate (210), folding frame (220), drive assembly (230); The folding frame (220) is symmetrically distributed between the lifting plate (210) and the base (100), and the ends of the folding frame (220) are connected to the lifting plate (210) and the base (100) through the drive assembly (230).

3. The automatic destacking and feeding device for thermoforming plates according to claim 2, characterized in that: The drive component (230) includes at least: A bidirectional drive motor (231), a transmission lead screw (232), and a sliding connecting block (233); The lifting plate (210) and the base (100) are provided with corresponding grooves (240) that cooperate with the sliding connecting blocks (233). The sliding connecting blocks (233) are rotatably connected to the ends of the corresponding folding frames (220). The bidirectional drive motor (231) is fixed at the middle position of the grooves (240) on the corresponding surfaces of the lifting plate (210) and the base (100). The middle part of the transmission screw (232) is connected to the bidirectional drive motor (231). The two ends of the transmission screw (232) are connected to the corresponding sliding connecting blocks (233) to achieve synchronous approach or distance of the corresponding sliding connecting blocks (233).

4. The automatic destacking and feeding device for thermoforming plates according to claim 2, characterized in that: The feeding assembly (300) includes at least: Fixed support frame (310), horizontal slide rail (320), transfer assembly (330); The fixed support frame (310) has a U-shaped structure, and the opening on one side of the fixed support frame (310) forms the loading port of the lifting assembly (200); The horizontal slide rail (320) is symmetrically arranged on the top of the fixed support frame (310), and the transfer component (330) is arranged on the opposite side of the horizontal slide rail (320) and is connected to the horizontal slide rail (320) in a transmission manner.

5. The automatic destacking and feeding device for thermoforming plates according to claim 4, characterized in that: The horizontal slide rail (320) extends outward from the opening side of the fixed support frame (310) and extends to the processing station.

6. The automatic destacking and feeding device for thermoforming plates according to claim 4, characterized in that: The transfer component (330) includes at least: Transfer frame (331), telescopic frame (332), suction cup assembly (333), adjustment slider (334); The transfer frame (331) has a U-shaped structure, and the middle part of the transfer frame (331) has a through slot (335). One side of the telescopic frame (332) is located inside the through slot (335) and is slidably connected to the inner wall of the through slot (335). The adjusting slider (334) located in the through slot (335) is located at both ends of the telescopic frame (332). The suction cup assembly (333) is evenly distributed on the other side of the telescopic frame (332).

7. The automatic destacking and feeding device for thermoforming plates according to claim 6, characterized in that: Both ends of the transfer frame (331) are T-shaped structures. Both ends of the transfer frame (331) are connected to the horizontal slide rail (320) for transmission. The telescopic frame (332) is composed of a strut with a hinged end. The hinge points at intervals are slidably connected to the inner wall of the through slot (335). The remaining hinge points are connected to the suction cup assembly (333). The corresponding ends of the struts at both ends are hinged to the adjusting slider (334).

8. The automatic destacking and feeding device for thermoforming plates according to claim 7, characterized in that: The suction cup assembly (333) includes at least: Suction cup (3331), hollow telescopic rod (3332), and exhaust port (3333); The suction cup (3331) is located at the bottom end of the telescopic rod (3332), the exhaust port (3333) is located at the top end of the telescopic rod (3332), and a part of the telescopic rod (3332) constitutes a hinge at the hinge of adjacent support rods.

9. The automatic destacking and feeding device for thermoforming plates according to claim 8, characterized in that: The bottom of the suction cup (3331) is at the same horizontal height, and the telescopic rod (3332) is in a fully extended state in normal operation.

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