Automatic flexible arrangement and positioning device for sheet materials

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of automatic flexible arrangement positioning device and method of plate-shaped material, belong to the field of automated conveying and material processing equipment.The device includes storehouse mechanism (1) and arrangement positioning mechanism (2).Storehouse mechanism (1) includes storehouse body (13), mobile bearing assembly (14), lifting drive mechanism (15), layer detection sensor (16) and servo pusher device (12).Arrangement positioning mechanism (2) includes baffle support assembly (26), material receiving assembly (23), material blocking assembly (24) of switchable station, Y-axis drive assembly (22), X-axis servo both ends clamping assembly (21), material jacking mechanism (27) and fixed height photoelectric sensor (28).The application is presented by overcharge lifting and super drop to make partition board present fixed small inclination, and random inclination is corrected to known inclination;Using material blocking assembly pre-arrangement, difference continues to push back material receiving assembly, material blocking assembly resets, realizes row interval isolation;X / Y axis force interlocking is used, and positioning is realized after decoupling positioning of alternative peristalsis, and constraint is released after back-off after positioning, and then jacking is fixed height.The application can effectively eliminate multi-axis static interference, thickness cumulative tolerance and continuous feeding interference, realize flexible and accurate arrangement positioning to plate-shaped material with size tolerance or warping deformation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of automated conveying and material processing equipment, specifically relating to an automatic flexible sorting and positioning device and method for plate-shaped materials. It is applicable to production lines that require automatic sorting and positioning of plate-shaped materials with dimensional tolerances or warping deformation, such as those used in wooden pallet manufacturing, panel furniture manufacturing, and building board processing. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, in the field of wooden pallet and furniture manufacturing production lines, the feeding process of board materials (such as wood boards and panels) still largely relies on manual feeding, which is labor-intensive, has low production efficiency, and is difficult to match with automated production lines.

[0003] Several automated feeding devices have emerged in the industry, the most common of which are as follows: First, the suction cup feeder: This method uses vacuum suction cups to pick up materials one sheet at a time from the top of the material pile. This method is mostly used in material feeding scenarios with large areas and low requirements for placement accuracy. However, the material picked up directly by the suction cup has a random posture, which is difficult to meet the requirements of high-precision processing.

[0004] Secondly, push-plate feeders: These are commonly found on wooden pallet production lines. They use a cylinder or motor-driven push plate to push the material out of the bottom of the hopper one by one. They have two major drawbacks: First, the hopper capacity is small, typically only able to hold a few dozen boards at a time, requiring frequent manual replenishment, making them difficult to classify as automated feeding devices. Second, they have high requirements for the thickness tolerance and warping degree of the material itself; when the material consistency is poor, jamming or pushing out multiple boards at once can easily occur.

[0005] Third, conveyor belt feeding machines: These use conveyor belts to feed materials into the next process. This method is rarely used in wooden pallet production lines and cannot handle stacked materials, thus failing to solve the problem of batch material supply.

[0006] In summary, the existing technology has the following shortcomings: (1) the silo capacity is limited and batch automated feeding cannot be realized; (2) it cannot adapt to the thickness tolerance and warping deformation of the material; (3) it lacks high-precision planar positioning capability; (4) it lacks effective correction of the initial skew of the material; (5) there is inter-row interference when feeding continuously.

[0007] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a device and method that can solve the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0008] Technical problems to be solved The present invention aims to solve the following problems existing in the prior art: (1) limited silo capacity and frequent manual intervention; (2) inability to adapt to material thickness tolerance and warping deformation; (3) lack of high-precision planar positioning capability; (4) lack of material initial skew correction; (5) inter-row interference in continuous feeding.

[0009] Technical solution An automatic flexible sorting and positioning device for plate-shaped materials includes a hopper mechanism (1) and a sorting and positioning mechanism (2).

[0010] The silo mechanism (1) includes: a silo body (13) having a receiving cavity; a movable bearing assembly (14) that can move independently and be pushed into the receiving cavity as a whole for pre-stacking multi-layer plate-shaped materials; a lifting drive mechanism (15) for driving the movable bearing assembly (14) to step up and down; a layer detection sensor (16) for detecting the position signal of the partition plate (5); and a servo pushing device (12) located on the top of the silo body (13) for pushing out the current uppermost layer of materials in rows.

[0011] The sorting and positioning mechanism (2) is located on the discharge side of the hopper mechanism (1) and includes: a partition support assembly (26) which can be horizontally extended and retracted; a receiving assembly (23) which can be horizontally extended and retracted; a blocking assembly (24) which can switch between a work station that blocks materials and a work station that avoids materials; a Y-axis drive assembly (22) which is used to drive along the material conveying direction; an X-axis servo clamping assembly (21) which is used to clamp perpendicular to the conveying direction; a material lifting mechanism (27) which can be vertically lifted and lowered; and a fixed-height photoelectric sensor (28) which is used to detect the absolute height of the uppermost material.

[0012] The device performs the following sequence of actions: (A) Partition plate tilt angle correction: The lifting drive mechanism rises, and the layer detection sensor continues to overshoot the safety distance after being triggered by the partition plate; the partition plate support assembly extends in; the lifting drive mechanism reverses and over-descends, so that the partition plate is separated from the material below in the support area and presents a fixed slight tilt angle.

[0013] (B) Differential push and inter-row isolation: When the material blocking component is in the working position, the servo pusher pushes the material to the correct position and records the coordinate Y1; the material blocking component switches to the avoidance position, drives the material to move the differential stroke to the target position and maintains it; after the receiving component is reset, the material blocking component switches back to the working position.

[0014] (C) X / Y axis decoupled creep positioning: The timing of the force application actions of the Y axis and the X axis is interlocked. Before the force is applied to one axis, the other axis is unloaded first; the Y axis is pushed forward and then unloaded, and the X axis is centered and clamped and then released. This alternation is repeated at least once.

[0015] (D) Surrounding clearance and vertical height setting: The Y-axis retracts and the X-axis retracts to clear the clearance; the lifting mechanism lifts until the uppermost material touches the set height photoelectric sensor and then locks.

[0016] The present invention also provides a sorting and positioning method based on the above-mentioned device, including steps S0 to S6.

[0017] Beneficial effects Large-capacity batch feeding: The mobile load-bearing component stacks multiple layers of materials offline, and with the stepping lifting, the hopper capacity reaches hundreds of pieces, greatly reducing the frequency of manual material replenishment.

[0018] Adaptive tolerance and warpage: Through overshoot lifting and overdrop correction, the random tilt of the partition plate caused by the cumulative tolerance of the thickness of the block material is corrected to a fixed known small tilt angle, so that the height difference between the partition plate and the receiving component becomes a known constant. This can be compensated through debugging, thereby eliminating the risk of jamming or tipping during pushing.

[0019] Correcting initial material skew: The material stop component with hard limit and torque feedback corrects the initial angle skew caused by manual material stacking during the pushing process.

[0020] Interference-free inter-row isolation: The material blocking component avoids and resets, and the material receiving component retracts in sequence, achieving physical isolation.

[0021] High-precision planar positioning: It adopts X / Y axis force application timing interlock and alternating creep decoupling positioning to eliminate static friction interference and stress lock-up.

[0022] Scratch-free vertical height setting: After positioning, the clamping component retracts to release the constraint, allowing for smooth lifting. Combined with the height-setting photoelectric sensor, it accurately eliminates the cumulative thickness tolerance. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the overall structure of an automatic flexible sorting and positioning device for plate-shaped materials provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the silo mechanism in an example of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the positioning mechanism in an example of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a partially enlarged structural diagram of the suction cup assembly in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] 1-Hopper mechanism; 12-Servo pushing device; 13-Hopper body; 14-Moving load-bearing component; 15-Lifting drive mechanism; 16-Layer inspection sensor; 2-Organizing and positioning mechanism; 21-X-axis servo clamping component at both ends; 22-Y-axis drive component; 23-Receiving component; 24-Blocking component; 26-Baffle support component; 27-Material lifting mechanism; 28-Height-fixing photoelectric sensor; 3-Truss transfer mechanism; 32-Suction cup component; 321-Vacuum sponge suction cup; 322-Buffer spring; 4-Plate-shaped material; 5-Separator plate. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] like Figure 1 As shown, this device mainly includes a hopper mechanism (1) and a sorting and positioning mechanism (2).

[0027] The silo mechanism (1) includes a silo body (13) fixed to the ground and a movable carrier component (14) that can be moved independently (either a wheeled loading trolley or a standard wooden pallet can be selected). The lifting drive mechanism (15) is symmetrically arranged on both sides of the silo body (13), and is driven synchronously by a screw or double chain. Space is left at the bottom of the silo body to accommodate the wheels of the movable carrier component, and the symmetrical force applied on both sides makes the lifting more stable. The mechanism can be a hydraulic lifting platform, an electric screw, or a chain lifting machine. The movable carrier component (14) holds multi-layered stacked materials (4) separated by partition plates (5). A servo pushing device (12) is fixed on the top of the silo body (13), and the silo body is also equipped with a through-beam layer inspection sensor (16).

[0028] The sorting and positioning mechanism (2) is set up adjacent to the discharge side of the bin (13), including the sorting trough table, the horizontally retractable partition support assembly (26), the horizontally retractable receiving assembly (23), and the switchable workstation blocking assembly (24). The blocking assembly (24) can be a lifting baffle under the table (driven by a cylinder to raise and expose the workstation or retract to hide the workstation), or a suspended flip gate or other alternative structure.

[0029] The sides of the sorting tank are equipped with an X-axis servo clamping assembly (21) (servo motor driven bidirectional lead screw) and a Y-axis drive assembly (22) (cylinder, electric cylinder or linear motor). A material lifting mechanism (27) (cylinder, servo lead screw or scissor lift) is provided below the sorting tank, and a fixed height photoelectric sensor (28) is provided on one side above.

[0030] like Figure 3As shown, the device can also be equipped with a truss transfer mechanism (3), which spans above the sorting and positioning mechanism (2). Its manipulator is connected to a suction cup assembly (32), which includes multiple vacuum sponge suction cups (321). Each suction cup connecting rod is fitted with a buffer spring (322) to adapt to materials with rough surfaces and warping deformation.

[0031] Take, for example, a wooden pallet made of wood panels with dimensions of 1200mm×100mm×19mm, stacked in layers of 5.

[0032] Workers offline stack 5 layers of materials on the mobile load-bearing component (14), with a partition plate (5) placed between each layer, with a spacing of about 200mm. After completion, the entire assembly is pushed into the warehouse (13).

[0033] The lifting drive mechanism (15) rises. Due to the accumulation of the thickness tolerance of the material below, the partition plate (5) tilts. When the lowest edge of the partition plate first triggers the layer inspection sensor (16), the lifting drive mechanism continues to overshoot a safe distance (5-10mm) to ensure that the partition plate is higher than the working height of the partition support assembly (26). The partition support assembly (26) extends horizontally under the partition plate. Subsequently, the lifting drive mechanism reverses and overshoots (3-8mm, greater than the upper limit of the material accumulation tolerance), causing the partition plate to disengage from the material below within the support area of ​​the support assembly. The left end of the partition plate (near the support side) is supported, while the right end remains resting on the material, presenting a fixed slight tilt angle (1°~3°).

[0034] Random tilting can lead to unpredictable height differences between the partition and the horizontal receiving assembly: if the material is below the receiving assembly, the front end will hit the edge and get stuck; if it is above, it will fall and overturn. After over-sinking correction, the tilt angle is fixed at a known small angle, and the randomness risk can be eliminated through adjustment and compensation.

[0035] The receiving component (23) extends, and the blocking component (24) cuts to the working position. The servo pushing device (12) pushes the material to press against the blocking component until the motor torque reaches the threshold or the position signal is triggered, completing the pre-sorting and alignment.

[0036] Record coordinate Y1, and the material stop component switches to the avoidance position. Calculate the differential stroke ΔY = Y target - Y1, drive the material to the target position and keep it pressed tightly by the pusher. After the receiving component is fully reset, the material stop component switches back to the working position and is stuck between the current row and the subsequent row to achieve physical isolation (this order must be strictly followed, otherwise interference and material jamming will occur).

[0037] S41: After the Y-axis advances and aligns the plates, the load is unloaded.

[0038] S42: After centering and clamping the X-axis, release it; after advancing the Y-axis again, unload it; repeat the X / Y alternation 2-3 times, and before applying force, completely release the other axis (timing interlock), guiding the material to the center of the plane in a peristaltic manner.

[0039] S43: The Y-axis retracts, and the X-axis retracts to avoid clearance (preferably 2mm, adjustable from 1-5mm), releasing the rigid constraints on the periphery.

[0040] The material lifting mechanism (27) lifts vertically, and because a gap has been reserved on the periphery, there is no scraping or jamming. The material at the top touches the set height photoelectric sensor (28) and locks, calibrating the absolute height of the material to a uniform working surface.

[0041] The truss robot arm descends, and the sponge suction cup, with spring-loaded floating compensation, picks up and transfers the current material. The lifting mechanism steps up and lifts the next material, cycling until the row is empty. Then, the material stop assembly moves to the avoidance position, the lifting mechanism resets, and jumps to S3 to process the next row. After the current layer is empty, the robot arm picks up the empty partition plate, the partition support assembly retracts, and jumps to S0 to proceed to the next layer.

[0042] The servo pushing device (12) of the present invention is not limited to being fixed on the top of the bin, but can also be integrated into the gantry transfer mechanism (3), with the gantry robot serving as the pushing execution unit, working in shifts with the suction cup assembly to sequentially perform pushing and picking up / placing. This solution still falls within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0043] The lifting drive mechanism (15) of the present invention is not limited to being symmetrically arranged on both sides, but can also be located at the center of the bottom of the compartment (13) and driven by a single lead screw or a single hydraulic cylinder. This solution will take up space at the bottom of the compartment, but can still achieve the lifting function, and is an equivalent alternative of the present invention.

[0044] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. 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.

Claims

1. An automatic flexible sorting and positioning device for plate-shaped materials, characterized in that, include: The silo mechanism (1), used for stacking and storing plate-shaped materials separated by partition plates (5), includes: The compartment (13) has a receiving cavity; The movable support assembly (14) can be moved independently and pushed into the accommodating cavity as a whole for pre-stacking multi-layer plate-shaped materials; A lifting drive mechanism (15) is used to drive the mobile load-bearing component (14) to move up and down in steps; Layer inspection sensor (16) is used to detect the position signal of the partition plate (5); A servo pusher (12) is located at the top of the bin (13) and is used to push out the current topmost material in rows. The sorting and positioning mechanism (2), located on the discharge side of the hopper mechanism (1), includes: The partition support assembly (26) is horizontally retractable; The receiving assembly (23) is horizontally retractable; The material blocking assembly (24) can switch between a work station that blocks materials and a work station that avoids materials; Y-axis drive assembly (22) is used for driving along the material conveying direction; X-axis servo clamping assembly (21) is used for centering and clamping perpendicular to the conveying direction; The material lifting mechanism (27) can be lifted vertically. A fixed-height photoelectric sensor (28) is used to detect the absolute height of the uppermost material; The hopper mechanism (1) and the sorting and positioning mechanism (2) are configured to perform the following sequence of actions: (A) Partition plate tilt angle correction: The lifting drive mechanism (15) drives the moving bearing assembly (14) to move upward. When the layer detection sensor (16) is triggered by the partition plate (5) of the current layer, it continues to move upward by a preset safe overshoot distance. The partition plate support assembly (26) extends into the silo (13) to below the partition plate (5). The lifting drive mechanism (15) moves downward by a preset overshoot distance, so that the partition plate (5) disengages from the material below in the area supported by the partition plate support assembly (26) and presents a fixed small tilt angle. (B) Differential push and inter-row isolation: When the material blocking component (24) is in the working position, the servo pusher (12) pushes the current row of materials to the material blocking component (24) and records the coordinate value Y1 at this time; the material blocking component (24) switches to the avoidance position and drives the current row of materials to move relative differential stroke ΔY (ΔY=Y target-Y1) to the target position and is kept in a tight state by the servo pusher (12); then the receiving component (23) retracts horizontally to reset. After the receiving component (23) is fully reset, the material blocking component (24) switches back to the working position to realize the physical isolation between the current row of materials and the subsequent materials; (C) X / Y axis decoupled creeping positioning: After the receiving component (23) is retracted and the blocking component (24) is in the working position, the force application actions of the Y axis drive component (22) and the X axis servo clamping components (21) are interlocked in sequence, that is, before any axis applies force, the other axis is unloaded and retracted first; firstly, the Y axis drive component (22) pushes the material to the blocking component (24) and then unloads and retracts, and then the X axis servo clamping components (21) clamp inward and then releases and unloads; the above alternating force application actions of the X axis and Y axis are repeatedly executed at least once to guide the material to the center of the target plane in a creeping manner; (D) Peripheral avoidance and vertical height fixation: After (C) is completed, the Y-axis drive assembly (22) retracts, and the X-axis servo clamping assemblies (21) move back to the sides by a preset avoidance gap to release the rigid constraint on the periphery of the material; then the material lifting mechanism (27) lifts upward until the uppermost plate material triggers the height fixation photoelectric sensor (28) and remains locked.

2. The automatic flexible sorting and positioning device for plate-shaped materials according to claim 1, characterized in that: A truss transfer mechanism (3) can also be optionally installed, spanning above the sorting and positioning mechanism (2), with its manipulator connected to a suction cup assembly (32) with elastic buffer elements, for picking up and transferring the sorted and positioned plate-shaped material.

3. The automatic flexible sorting and positioning device for plate-shaped materials according to claim 1, characterized in that: The X-axis servo clamping assembly (21) at both ends is driven to move by a servo motor. The servo motor is configured to determine whether the clamping is in place based on whether its real-time feedback torque reaches a preset clamping torque threshold or based on the feedback signal from an external positioning sensor, so as to adaptively accommodate plate-shaped materials with different length tolerances.

4. The automatic flexible sorting and positioning device for plate-shaped materials according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material lifting mechanism (27) and the fixed height photoelectric sensor (28) are located below and above the sorting tank surface of the sorting and positioning mechanism (2); the material lifting mechanism (27) is controlled to lift upward until the top plate material in the current row triggers the fixed height photoelectric sensor (28) and then stops lifting, so as to eliminate the thickness accumulation tolerance in the vertical direction when multiple plate materials are stacked.

5. The automatic flexible sorting and positioning device for plate-shaped materials according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting drive mechanism (15) is symmetrically arranged on both sides of the chamber (13).

6. A method for automatic flexible sorting and positioning of plate-shaped materials based on the apparatus according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S0: Partition tilt angle correction – The lifting drive mechanism (15) drives the moving load assembly (14) to lift upward. When the layer detection sensor (16) is triggered by the partition plate (5) of the current layer, it continues to move upward by a preset safe overshoot distance; the partition support assembly (26) extends into the silo to below the partition plate; the lifting drive mechanism (15) moves downward in the opposite direction by a preset overshoot distance, so that the partition plate (5) is separated from the material below in the area supported by the partition support assembly (26), presenting a fixed small tilt angle; S1: Pre-sorting reference preparation – Drive the receiving assembly (23) to move forward and extend to the receiving station, while switching the blocking assembly (24) to the working station exposed on the table as the hard limit reference surface; S2: Adaptive pre-push alignment – ​​The servo pusher (12) is activated to push the current row of materials toward the receiving component (23) until the materials are pressed against the blocking component (24) at the working position; when the motor feedback torque of the servo pusher (12) reaches the preset resistance threshold, or the external position sensor outputs a position signal, it is determined that the current row of materials has completed hard limit push alignment pre-arrangement; S3: Coordinate Acquisition and Differential Push Isolation – The control system reads and records the current real-time coordinate value Y1 of the servo pusher (12); then, the blocking component (24) is controlled to switch to the avoidance station to release the material passage; the control system calculates the target transport coordinate value Y target according to the preset width parameter of the current batch of materials in the Y-axis direction, and controls at least one of the servo pusher (12) and the receiving component (23) to move the material that has been aligned in the current row relative to the differential stroke ΔY (ΔY=Y target-Y1) and deliver it to the designated position and keep it in a tight state by the servo pusher (12); then the receiving component (23) is driven to retract horizontally and reset to the sorting trough; after the receiving component (23) is completely reset, the blocking component (24) is driven to switch back to the working station to complete the physical interference isolation between the current row of materials and the subsequent materials to be pushed; S4: Two-dimensional planar decoupling alternating positioning – After the receiving component (23) retracts horizontally to reset and the blocking component (24) switches back to the working position, the multi-axis decoupling alternating positioning stage begins: S41: Y-axis initial pre-alignment: Start the Y-axis drive assembly to elastically push the material towards the stop assembly (24) in the working position for alignment. After alignment is completed, the Y-axis drive assembly reverses and retracts. S42: X / Y dual-axis alternating creeping: Drive the clamping components (21) at both ends of the X-axis servo to move inward to perform centering in the X-axis direction until it is determined that the X-axis clamping is in place. Then control the clamping components (21) at both ends of the X-axis servo to release the load. Restart the Y-axis drive component to advance forward to align and then retract. Control the X-axis and Y-axis drive force application actions to maintain timing interlock and completely release the lateral constraint of the other axis before applying force to a single axis, so that the X-axis and Y-axis alternately repeat the action at least once (preferably 2-3 times in this embodiment) to use mechanical creep to adaptively eliminate multi-axis static interference and guide the material to approach the theoretical two-dimensional center. S43: Multi-dimensional avoidance exit: After the final alternating arrangement is completed, the Y-axis drive component is retracted, and at the same time, the clamping components (21) at both ends of the X-axis servo control the clamping baffle to move back to the sides by a preset avoidance gap (preferably 2mm in this embodiment), completely releasing the rigid clamping lock on the material's periphery; S5: Anti-interference Z-axis fine adjustment height setting – After step S43 is completed, the material lifting mechanism (27) is started to vertically lift the plate material that has been released from the plane clamping lock until the uppermost plate material touches the height setting photoelectric sensor (28). The material lifting mechanism (27) remains locked in place to calibrate the absolute height of the material to be grabbed to a uniform setting working surface. S6: Cyclic Suction and Layer Change – The robotic arm of the truss transfer mechanism (3) descends and uses the suction cup assembly (32) with the Z-axis floating compensation of the elastic buffer element to suck up and transfer the plate-shaped material that is currently at a fixed height and has clearance on the sides. After the material at the current top is transferred, the material lifting mechanism (27) continues to step up until the next piece of material touches the set height photoelectric sensor (28) again. This cycle continues until all the materials in the row are transferred. Then the material blocking assembly (24) is controlled to switch to the clearance position again, the material lifting mechanism (27) is reset to the zero position, and the system jumps to step S3 to process the next row. After all the materials in the current layer are cleared, the robotic arm sucks up the empty partition plate (5), and then the partition plate support assembly (26) retracts and exits the silo. The system jumps back to step S0 to perform the tilt angle correction and feeding of the next layer.

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