A loading and unloading conveyor device and its use in the furniture sector

Abstract

The present application relates to a kind of loading and unloading conveying device and its application in the field of furniture, belong to furniture loading and unloading field.The device includes the chain conveyor of inclined arrangement, the lower section of the machine platform of chain conveyor is provided with window, window is provided with bag, bag is provided with vibration plate below, bag and vibration plate between constitute medium cavity, medium cavity is filled with non-newtonian fluid substance and metal ball;Transmission chain can reverse movement generates resistance, vibration plate can vibrate and excite non-newtonian fluid to occur shear thickening, realize multistage buffering deceleration.Vibration plate upper surface is provided with accommodating groove, and the inner cavity of bag is jointly constituted medium cavity.The present application realizes flexible deceleration to high-speed sliding wooden material piece by the reverse movement of transmission chain of chain conveyor and the hardening of bag synergistic effect, and deceleration effect is good and does not damage material piece.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of furniture loading and unloading technology, specifically a loading and unloading conveying device and its application in the furniture industry. Background Technology

[0002] In furniture production, it is often necessary to transport loose or packaged timber from higher to lower workstations. Traditionally, this involves using inclined chutes, belt conveyors, chain conveyors, or roller conveyors, utilizing the timber's own weight to slide down the inclined surface. However, this gravity-based transport method presents significant safety hazards: the timber's speed increases continuously during its descent, often reaching a considerable kinetic energy at the end, making it prone to violent collisions with equipment or stacked materials, resulting in chipped edges, surface damage, or even overall cracking.

[0003] To address the aforementioned problems, some improvements have been implemented in the existing technology. For example, buffering and blocking mechanisms are used in the conveyor channel to slow down the downward speed of the materials, or multiple conveyor belts are used to sequentially decrease their speed to achieve gradual deceleration. However, most of these solutions employ mechanical blocking or friction-based deceleration, which has the following drawbacks:

[0004] 1. The deceleration process is relatively rigid, which can easily cause scratches or impact damage to the surface of the wood;

[0005] 2. The deceleration effect is not adjustable, making it difficult to adapt to the conveying needs of materials of different weights and sizes;

[0006] 3. For materials sliding down at high speed, a single deceleration method is often insufficient to achieve effective buffering in a short period of time.

[0007] Based on this, the present invention is proposed. Summary of the Invention

[0008] This invention addresses the shortcomings of existing technologies by providing a loading and unloading conveying device and its application in the furniture industry. The technical solution is as follows:

[0009] On one hand, the present invention provides a loading and unloading conveying device, including a chain conveyor for transporting materials. The chain conveyor includes an inclined platform, and transmission chains are provided at both sides of the platform. A bearing part is provided at the upper end of the transmission chain on the platform. A window is provided on the lower section of the platform, and a bag is provided at the window. A vibrating plate is provided below the bag. A medium cavity is formed between the bag and the vibrating plate. The medium cavity is filled with a non-Newtonian fluid substance.

[0010] The drive chain is configured to move from the lower end of the machine to the upper end of the machine to generate upward resistance to the downward-moving material.

[0011] The vibrating plate is configured to generate vibration to excite the non-Newtonian fluid material to undergo shear thickening, causing the bag to decelerate the downward-moving material.

[0012] Furthermore, when the vibrating plate does not vibrate, the non-Newtonian fluid remains in an unthickened state, and the resistance of the bag to the material is less than the resistance when the bag is in a thickened state. In other words, when the vibrating plate does not vibrate, the non-Newtonian fluid is in a soft state, and the bag does not significantly decelerate the downward movement of the material.

[0013] Furthermore, the vibrating plate is driven to vibrate by a vibration motor installed below the vibrating plate, and a base is provided on the machine platform in the area corresponding to the vibrating plate, with an inclined metal plate installed between the vibrating plate and the base.

[0014] Furthermore, the lower half of the bladder is open, and the medium cavity includes a receiving groove on the upper surface of the vibrating plate and an inner cavity of the bladder, the medium cavity being filled with metal spheres; the receiving groove includes an upper groove and a lower groove, the bottom of the upper groove is a sloping structure, the upper end of the sloping structure extends to the upper surface of the vibrating plate, the lower end of the sloping structure extends to the beginning of the lower groove, the bottom cross-section of the lower groove is a quarter-ellipse structure, the major semi-axis of the quarter-ellipse structure is parallel to the length direction of the vibrating plate, and a planar blocking wall is provided between the tail end of the lower groove and the upper surface of the vibrating plate, the plane of the planar blocking wall being perpendicular to the upper surface of the vibrating plate.

[0015] The bag has an annular frame glued to its four perimeter, and the annular frame is bolted to the vibrating plate. A sealing ring is also provided between the four perimeter of the bag and the vibrating plate.

[0016] Furthermore, the tilt angle of the machine platform is greater than 12°, the diameter of the metal ball is r, 2mm≤r≤3.6mm; the length of the planar blocking wall is x, the maximum depth of the receiving groove is y, 2.5≤y / x≤3; x / r=3 or 4.

[0017] On the other hand, the present invention provides the application of the loading and unloading conveying device in the furniture industry, wherein the material is furniture wood, and includes the following steps:

[0018] The furniture wood slides downwards from the support part along the table surface of the machine.

[0019] Obtain the average sliding speed of the furniture wood on the machine platform;

[0020] A first rate threshold, a second rate threshold, and a third rate threshold are preset, and the first rate threshold, the second rate threshold, and the third rate threshold increase sequentially.

[0021] Based on the comparison results of the average sliding rate with the first rate threshold, the second rate threshold, and the third rate threshold, the furniture wood is selectively decelerated.

[0022] Furthermore, the machine is equipped with a sensor for detecting the time difference of the material passing through a predetermined speed measurement interval to obtain the average sliding rate, which is the average speed at which the material passes through the predetermined speed measurement interval.

[0023] Furthermore, when the average sliding rate is greater than the first rate threshold and less than or equal to the second rate threshold, the drive transmission chain moves from the lower end of the machine platform to the upper end, applying upward resistance to the furniture wood.

[0024] Furthermore, when the average sliding rate is greater than the second rate threshold and less than or equal to the third rate threshold, the driving plate vibrates, stimulating the non-Newtonian fluid to undergo shear thickening, causing the bag to decelerate the furniture wood.

[0025] Furthermore, when the average sliding rate is greater than the third rate threshold, the drive chain is simultaneously driven to move from the lower end of the machine platform to the upper end, and the vibrating plate is driven to vibrate.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0027] 1. This invention achieves multi-stage buffering and deceleration of high-speed sliding materials by using the reverse motion of the transmission chain and the excitation of non-Newtonian fluid substances by a vibrating plate to induce shear thickening. For materials with different speed levels, reverse chain deceleration, bag thickening deceleration, or a combination of both can be used, which is highly adaptable and the deceleration effect is controllable.

[0028] 2. This invention uses a rubber bag as the direct contact component, which, combined with the shear-thickening fluid, maintains low viscosity fluid characteristics in a vibration-free state. This ensures that the bag generates almost no additional resistance to the material during normal transport. Even when deceleration is required, the elasticity of the bag and the shear-thickening properties of the fluid provide a flexible buffering effect, effectively preventing the wooden material from tipping over or being damaged by sudden deceleration.

[0029] 3. This invention incorporates a receiving groove on the upper surface of the vibrating plate, comprising an inclined structure, a quarter-ellipse structure, and a planar barrier wall. This groove's structure guides the metal balls to distribute evenly along their long axis under inclined and vibrating conditions, preventing the metal balls from accumulating locally at the lower end and forming a rigid barrier layer. The groove's unique structure allows high-speed sliding materials to gradually ascend rather than violently impact, effectively suppressing tumbling and flying of the materials.

[0030] 4. This invention is a partial modification of the existing chain conveyor, mainly adding components such as bags, vibrating plates, vibrating motors and receiving tanks. It does not require large-scale modification of the original conveyor line, has a compact structure, is easy to implement, has low modification cost, and has good prospects for industrial promotion and application. Attached Figure Description

[0031] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the loading and unloading conveying device of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 2 This is a top view of the loading and unloading conveying device described in this invention;

[0033] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the installation of the bag, vibrating plate, and vibrating motor described in this invention;

[0034] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the vibrating plate described in this invention;

[0035] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the vibrating plate being installed backwards in experiment group 8. Detailed Implementation

[0036] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments. These embodiments are merely some, not all, implementations of the present invention. All other implementations obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0037] Example 1

[0038] like Figures 1-3 As shown, a loading and unloading conveying device includes a chain conveyor for transporting materials; the chain conveyor includes an inclined platform 10, and a drive chain 11 is provided at both sides of the platform 10. The platform 10 is provided with a bearing part 12 at the upper end of the drive chain 11; in this invention, the platform 10, the drive chain 11 and the bearing part 12 are all conventional components of existing chain conveyors.

[0039] This invention is achieved by modifying the structure of an existing chain conveyor, specifically as follows:

[0040] The lower section of the machine platform 10 is provided with a window 101, a bag 20 is provided at the window 101, a vibrating plate 31 is provided below the bag 20, and a medium cavity is formed between the bag 20 and the vibrating plate 31. The medium cavity is filled with a non-Newtonian fluid substance.

[0041] The first usage mode of the loading and unloading conveying device is the conventional usage mode of the chain conveyor. For example, the drive sprocket is driven by a servo motor to drive the transmission chain 11 for conveying. The upper surface of the transmission chain 11 is slightly higher than the table surface of the machine platform 10, for example, 3-5 mm higher, which can be finely adjusted according to the actual tension of the transmission chain 11. When the material is on the table surface of the machine platform 10, the friction between the material and the transmission chain 11 drives the material to be conveyed from bottom to top. This method can be used to convey small parts with relatively small mass. For larger parts, a pallet can be placed under the upwardly conveyed part. The two ends of the pallet are equipped with teeth that are compatible with the transmission chain 11, which can solve the slippage problem between the material and the transmission chain 11 and improve the conveying effect. When the material is transported to the carrying unit 12, a robot can be used to transfer the material to the carrying unit 12 for temporary storage. In addition, the pallet can also be removed.

[0042] The second way of using the loading and unloading conveying device, which is also the core way of using the present invention:

[0043] When the material from the previous process is transported to the bearing section 12, after the material is pushed so that it falls onto the transmission chain 11, it slides down along the inclined platform of the machine table 10. During the sliding process, the servo motor is not started, the drive sprocket is not driven by power, and the drive sprocket performs a reverse motion under the drive of the transmission chain 11.

[0044] In this usage, there are two deceleration methods:

[0045] Method 1: By installing a sensor 13 on the machine tool 10, the sensor 13 is used to detect the time difference of the material passing through a predetermined speed measurement interval to obtain its average sliding speed. In this embodiment, the sensor 13 is preferably installed on the upper and lower sections of the machine tool 10 to form two speed measurement points with known intervals on the material's sliding path. The sensor 13 is at least one of the following: infrared photoelectric sensor, laser sensor, safety light curtain sensor, ultrasonic sensor, millimeter-wave radar sensor, inductive proximity sensor, capacitive proximity sensor, inductive loop sensor, fiber optic sensor, visual image sensor, magnetoresistive sensor, and micro-motion contact switch. In this example, an infrared photoelectric sensor is preferred. By using the time difference between two infrared photoelectric sensors with a fixed distance, the average sliding rate of the material moving downward can be calculated. Therefore, by measuring the average sliding rate of the material at a specified position, if the average sliding rate of the material at the specified position is greater than the first rate threshold and less than or equal to the second rate threshold, the servo motor can be started to make the drive sprocket rotate forward, driving the transmission chain 11 on the table of the machine 10 to move upward. At this time, the transmission chain 11 generates an upward driving force on the downward moving material, thereby slowing down the movement speed of the downward moving material and achieving the purpose of deceleration.

[0046] It should be noted that in the embodiment of Method 1, the sensor 13 is not limited to being located on the upper or lower section of the machine tool 10. In this example, since the distance between the two sensors 13 is relatively large, greater than 50cm, but the distance between the two sensors 13 is known, the average sliding rate can be obtained by measuring the time difference between the material passing through the two sensors. The average sliding rate mentioned in this example refers to the average speed of the material passing through the speed measurement interval between the two sensors with a known distance, and its calculation formula is: Where s is the known distance between the two sensors, This is the time difference between the material passing through the two sensors sequentially. This calculation does not require the initial speed. Although the initial speed physically affects the actual speed of the material's descent, the first, second, and third speed thresholds used in this invention are all thresholds calibrated based on practical working conditions and experience. The comparison is made with the average sliding speed obtained using the same speed measurement method. Therefore, even without obtaining the initial speed, simply measuring the average sliding speed directly from the two sensors and comparing it with the thresholds calibrated based on practical working conditions allows for the determination of the material's current descent speed level and the selection of the appropriate deceleration method.

[0047] As a supplement to Method 1, in some other embodiments, if the distance between the two sensors is small, for example, 3-5 cm, the speed measurement interval is very short, and the speed change of the material as it passes through this interval is very small. Therefore, according to the limiting principle, the measured average sliding speed is approximately equal to the instantaneous sliding speed of the material as it passes through this speed measurement interval. This method can be used as a supplement for applications requiring higher speed measurement accuracy. For example, the average landing speed and the average initial speed mentioned later are measured using this method.

[0048] All of the above modifications fall within the protection scope of this invention.

[0049] Method 2: The deceleration effect of Method 1 is limited because the friction between the transmission chain 11 and the material is limited. Therefore, if the table length of the machine platform 10 is too long, or the pushing force on the material is too large at the beginning, or the tilt angle of the machine platform 10 is too large, etc., causing the downward movement speed of the material to be too high, and even reverse movement of the transmission chain 11 cannot effectively decelerate the material, then when the average sliding speed of the material at the specified position is greater than the second speed threshold (the second speed threshold is greater than the first speed threshold) and less than or equal to the third speed threshold (the third speed threshold is greater than the second speed threshold), the vibrating plate 31 can be activated to generate vibration, which can make the non- When a Newtonian fluid hardens, the upper surface of the bag 20 is slightly higher than the height of the nearby platform, for example, 2-5 mm higher, which can be adjusted according to the actual situation. When a non-Newtonian fluid hardens, the part of the bag 20 protruding from the platform can effectively hinder the downward movement of the material, thus effectively slowing down the downward-moving material. The bag 20 is preferably made of wear-resistant rubber, which has a certain degree of elasticity. Compared with obstacles made of wood or metal, even hardened non-Newtonian fluids and the bag 20 only play the role of slowing down the downward flow rate, but cannot stop the material, thereby preventing the material from tumbling or rushing out of the platform and causing a conveying accident.

[0050] In this example, the non-Newtonian fluid material has a shear thickening (commonly known as shear hardening) effect. For example, it can be made from starch and water in a mass ratio of 2:1. In a vibration-free environment (no shear), it exhibits fluid properties similar to water. The bag 20 exhibits soft characteristics. Even when the material rushing down passes through the bag 20, it only slows down slightly, and the deceleration effect is negligible, so it does not affect the normal downward conveying effect of the material. However, once deceleration is required, the non-Newtonian fluid material inside the bag 20 hardens and exerts an excellent deceleration effect.

[0051] The rubber bag 20 is less likely to damage wooden parts in the furniture industry; and preferably, the transmission chain 11 can be made of wear-resistant engineering plastic, thereby reducing damage to wooden parts.

[0052] Method 3: When the average sliding speed of the material at the specified position is greater than the third speed threshold, the reverse deceleration of the transmission chain 11 in Method 1 and the hardening deceleration of the bag 20 under the excitation of the vibrating plate 31 in Method 2 are both adopted to decelerate the downward moving material together.

[0053] In some embodiments, the vibrating plate 31 is driven to vibrate by a vibration motor 33 installed below the vibrating plate 31. A base 32 is provided on the machine base 10 in the area corresponding to the vibrating plate 31, and an inclined metal plate 34 is installed between the vibrating plate 31 and the base 32. Under the action of the vibration motor 33, a left-right swaying vibration that can be generated along the length direction of the machine base 10 can be generated.

[0054] In some embodiments, to better transmit vibration to the bag 20, the lower half of the bag 20 is designed to be open, and annular frames 21 are glued to the four periphery of the bag 20. The annular frames 21 are bolted to the vibrating plate 31. Furthermore, sealing rings 22 are provided between the four periphery of the bag 20 and the vibrating plate 31. The sealing rings 22 improve the sealing effect. This design also facilitates periodic replacement of the bag 20.

[0055] In other embodiments, to facilitate the loading of non-Newtonian fluid substances, the lower surface of the vibrating plate 31 is provided with a feed hole, which communicates with the receiving groove 311, and a plug is provided at the feed hole. During loading, the vibrating plate 31 is inverted, and the non-Newtonian fluid substance is injected into the receiving groove 311 through the feed hole. The plug is preferably threadedly connected to the feed hole. By controlling the degree of insertion of the plug into the feed hole, the initial pressure inside the bag 20 filled with non-Newtonian fluid substance can be initially adjusted.

[0056] In practical use, it was found that due to the limited length of the table surface of some machine tools 10, once the material being punched exceeds the speed, the time window left for the vibrating plate 31 to generate excitation and vibration of the non-Newtonian fluid material is very narrow. In the application system of this invention, since the machine tool 10 is set at an angle, the non-Newtonian fluid material in the bag 20 will inevitably stratify after a certain period of rest. The stratified starch and water also require a certain amount of time to harden back into a hardened state after being stimulated by external forces. In experiments, it was found that the non-Newtonian fluid material composed only of starch and water can barely meet the usage requirements when the tilt angle (the angle between the length direction of the machine tool 10 and the horizontal plane) does not exceed 12°. The application environment of this invention is that the tilt angle of the machine tool 10 is usually greater than 12°, otherwise it has no application value. Because the tilt angle is too small, the downward movement speed of the material sliding down the tilted machine tool 10 will not become particularly large. The reverse movement of the transmission chain 11 to decelerate is basically sufficient to meet the use requirements, and there is no need to design an additional bag 20.

[0057] Therefore, in other embodiments, such as Figure 4As shown, the upper surface of the vibrating plate 31 is provided with a receiving groove 311, which includes an upper half groove 3111 and a lower half groove 3112. The bottom of the upper half groove 3111 is a sloping structure, the upper end of which extends to the upper surface of the vibrating plate 31, and the lower end of which extends to the beginning of the lower half groove 3112. The bottom cross-section of the lower half groove 3112 is a quarter-ellipse structure, and the major semi-axis of the quarter-ellipse structure is parallel to the length direction of the vibrating plate 31. A planar blocking wall 3113 is provided between the tail end of the lower half groove 3112 and the upper surface of the vibrating plate 31, and the plane of the planar blocking wall 3113 is perpendicular to the upper surface of the vibrating plate 31.

[0058] It should be noted that the wall of the receiving tank 311 and the upper surface of the vibrating plate 31 constitute the lower wall of the medium cavity, and the inner surface of the bag 20 constitutes the upper and side walls of the medium cavity. The non-Newtonian fluid material fills the medium cavity, and the metal ball fills the medium cavity, directly contacting the vibrating plate 31 under the wetting and enveloping effect of the non-Newtonian fluid material.

[0059] The metal sphere is preferably made of stainless steel, and the diameter of the metal sphere is r, where 2mm ≤ r ≤ 3.6mm; the total volume of the metal sphere occupies 30% to 41% of the volume of the receiving groove 311, preferably 36% of the volume of the receiving groove 311; the length of the planar blocking wall 3113 is x, and the maximum groove depth of the receiving groove 311 is y; 2.5 ≤ y / x ≤ 3; preferably, y / x = 3; x / r = 3 or 4.

[0060] A quarter-ellipse structure refers to an ellipse that is cut along its major and minor axes, resulting in four quarter-ellipse structures. In this invention, the ratio of the major axis to the minor axis of the quarter-ellipse structure is z, where 8 ≤ z ≤ 8.5; preferably, z = 8.2.

[0061] To verify the rationality of the structure and parameter design of the above-mentioned receiving tank, a series of experiments were conducted. The experiments used birch strips cut from the same piece of wood, each 80cm long, 7cm wide, and 6cm high. The birch strips were placed horizontally on the transmission chain 11. The inclination angle of the machine platform 10 was 26°, and the length of the machine platform 10 (that is, the length of the inclined plane) was 4.3m. The speed at which the birch strips finally fell to the horizontal ground through the inclined machine platform 10 was called the landing speed.

[0062] Landing speed can be approximated as the average landing speed, and the method for measuring the average landing speed is as follows:

[0063] Two infrared photoelectric sensors are installed at the lower end of the machine tool 10. The distance between the infrared beams emitted by the two sensors is 50mm. A birch strip slides across the machine, sequentially cutting off the time difference between the two infrared beams. For example, the timing is started when the leading edge of the birch strip blocks the infrared beam of the first sensor, and stopped when it blocks the second sensor. The time difference is measured, and the average landing speed can be calculated in this way. Through field tests and analysis of a large amount of test data, it has been found that when the average landing speed is ≤8dm / s, it will not cause significant damage to wooden parts in the furniture industry. During the experiment, deceleration was carried out using method 3, where the birch strip was pushed by an external force on the bearing part 12. The initial average speed of the birch strip upon entering the upper part of the machine 10 (measured using two infrared photoelectric sensors, 5 cm apart) was controlled at 20 ± 3 dm / s to simulate the worker's pushing action during actual use. As the birch strip slides downwards, the drive chain 11 needs to move accordingly, requiring overcoming the resistance of its motion. Therefore, its speed is relatively lower compared to sliding on a smooth inclined plane. Most importantly, the experiment simultaneously used the bag 20 for deceleration and the reverse movement of the drive chain 11 for deceleration. The speed of the drive chain 11 during reverse movement was 0.7 dm / s. The relevant experimental results are shown in Table 1.

[0064] Table 1

[0065]

[0066] In Table 1, group 0 is the reference group. In this group, the vibrating plate 31 is never activated, and the bag 20 hardly exerts any significant deceleration effect.

[0067] Group 1 is this embodiment, wherein the non-Newtonian fluid substance is made of starch and water in a mass ratio of 2:1; r=3mm; y / x=3; x / r=3; z=8.2.

[0068] The difference between Group 2 and Group 1 is that Group 2 does not contain stainless steel balls; otherwise, they are identical. Analyzing Table 1, the large difference in average landing speed between Group 2 and Group 1 may be because, without stainless steel balls, the non-Newtonian fluid material within the pouch 20 may not have had time to harden, remaining relatively soft when the birch strip passes through it, thus resulting in a very limited deceleration effect. The system under vibration excitation is only a pure non-Newtonian fluid. In actual working conditions with initial stratification and extremely short vibration time (approximately several seconds to tens of seconds), the fluid is still in the activation process of transitioning from a stratified state to a suspended state, unable to establish a thickening structure sufficient to resist high-speed impacts in time. The deceleration effect mainly relies on the viscous resistance of the unactivated fluid itself, with extremely limited effectiveness. In contrast, Group 1, with the addition of stainless steel balls, can effectively dissipate impact kinetic energy in a very short time under continuous vibration of the vibrating plate. Therefore, the deceleration effect of Group 1 is far superior to that of Group 2. This comparison strongly demonstrates that, under the short-term, high-impact conditions of this invention, the particle damping effect dominated by stainless steel balls is the core of the buffering effect.

[0069] The difference between Group 3 and Group 1 is that the diameter of the stainless steel ball in Group 3 is r=5mm, and the rest are the same. Analyzing Table 1, the average landing speed of Group 3 and Group 1 is not much different, with Group 3 being slightly higher than Group 1. Furthermore, Group 3 also exhibits birch strip tumbling. The reason may be that the stainless steel ball diameter is too large. Due to the spatial structure, the non-Newtonian fluid material in the pouch 20 is not easily thrown when excited by the vibrating plate 31. The non-Newtonian fluid material in the pouch 20 has not had time to harden before the birch strip is pressed on. After being pressed on, the stainless steel balls accumulated near the planar barrier wall 3113 area and the non-Newtonian fluid material that has begun to harden can play a deceleration role. However, the excessive accumulation leads to an extremely uneven distribution of stainless steel balls, which makes the birch strip, which is sliding down at high speed, prone to tumbling when it decelerates violently at an instant. Tumbling can easily cause collisions, especially for some irregularly shaped semi-finished furniture products. In other words, large-diameter steel balls are more likely to form a rigid accumulation layer at the lower end of the receiving tank under vibration excitation. When the front end of the birch strip sliding down at high speed hits this rigid accumulation layer, the force is concentrated at the lower edge of the front end, generating a huge overturning moment, causing the material to roll violently.

[0070] The difference between Group 4 and Group 1 is that the diameter of the stainless steel ball in Group 4 is r=1mm, while all other parameters are the same. Analyzing Table 1, there is a certain difference in the average landing speed between Group 4 and Group 1. This may be because the smaller diameter of the stainless steel ball, limited by the viscous system composed of starch and water, results in less ball agitation within the non-Newtonian fluid material in the capsule 20 when excited by the vibrating plate 31 compared to Group 1. Therefore, the final deceleration effect is not as good as Group 1. Furthermore, the uneven distribution of the stainless steel ball due to the poor agitation effect makes the birch strips sliding down at high speed prone to tail-lifting during sudden and violent deceleration. Tail-lifting is a prelude to rollover; if the lifting is excessive, rollover will occur. The risk of lifting and then falling is even greater for other irregularly shaped and unstable semi-finished furniture products, which are more likely to rollover.

[0071] The difference between Group 5 and Group 1 is that the receiving groove 311 in Group 5 is a rectangular groove with a depth equal to y; all other aspects are the same. Experiments revealed that while Group 5 had a good deceleration effect, its tumbling rate was much higher than that of Group 1. In furniture conveying processes, it is crucial to minimize material tumbling to prevent accidents or damage. This may be because the inclined rectangular groove causes a large number of stainless steel balls to accumulate at the lower end. Consequently, the upper side of the bag 20 remains soft, while the lower side, containing a large number of stainless steel balls, bulges out, becoming more rigid and resulting in more violent tumbling.

[0072] The difference between Group 6 and Group 1 is that the receiving groove 311 in Group 6 is a circular arc groove, and its maximum groove depth is equal to y; the bottom cross-section of the circular arc groove is a circular arc structure; all other aspects are the same. During the experiment, it was found that although Group 6 had a good deceleration effect, the degree of tumbling in Group 6 was much greater than that in Group 1. The reason for this may be similar to that of the rectangular groove.

[0073] The difference between group 7 and group 1 is that the receiving groove 311 of group 7 is a V-shaped groove, and its maximum groove depth is equal to y; the V-shaped groove is composed of two axially symmetrical upper half grooves 3111, and the rest are the same. In the experiment, it was found that the degree of tumbling of group 7 was much greater than that of group 1, and the reason may be similar to that of the rectangular groove.

[0074] The difference between group 8 and group 1 is that the structure of the receiving groove 311 in group 8 is completely opposite to that in group 1, see... Figure 5The rest are the same. In Group 8, the vibrating plate 31 was installed backwards during actual use. In the experiment, it was found that the degree of tumbling in Group 8 was much greater than that in Group 1. The reason may be that after the vibrating plate was installed backwards, the inclined surface and elliptical section of the upper half of the groove, which were originally used to guide and disperse the steel balls, lost their function. The planar blocking wall 3113 became the impact surface closest to the material. Under the action of gravity, a large number of steel balls accumulated in the dead corner formed by the planar blocking wall 3113 and the lower half of the groove 3112, forming a highly dense rigid accumulation. The material-facing surface of this accumulation is steep and hard, which causes a violent impact on the material, thus causing violent tumbling.

[0075] The difference between Group 9 and Group 1 is that Group 9 does not have a planar baffle wall 3113 in its receiving groove 311, and the bottom of the lower half of the groove 3112 extends to the upper surface of the vibrating plate 31. The rest are the same. The reason for this difference is likely that without the planar baffle wall 3113, an effective rear support surface cannot be formed at the end of the elliptical arc of the lower half of the groove. When the material impacts the stainless steel balls in the receiving groove at high speed, the stainless steel balls lose the reverse support of the planar baffle wall 3113 and cannot diffuse upwards or outwards at the moment of impact. Most of the impact force is directly transmitted to the stainless steel balls, causing them to escape downwards and backwards (towards the deeper bottom of the groove), resulting in a significant decrease in buffering efficiency. Therefore, the average landing speed is much higher than that of Group 1. Simultaneously, because the impact force is not effectively decomposed and guided, the front end of the material bears excessive concentrated impact force, leading to tumbling.

[0076] The difference between Group 10 and Group 1 is that Group 10 does not have a receiving groove 311, and the vibrating plate 31 is a solid piece of board; otherwise, they are the same. The average landing speed in Group 10 cannot be measured because it deviates from the preset trajectory. Starting at the bag 20, the birch strip flies forward, possibly because all the stainless steel balls are concentrated in the bag 20, causing a large area of ​​the bag 20 near the bottom to bulge and become very hard. When the birch strip, which is sliding downwards rapidly, encounters this type of bag 20, it will fly up instantly, detaching from the transmission chain 11 and the table of the machine 10. This situation is absolutely prohibited during furniture transportation and poses a safety risk. Furthermore, this also confirms the analysis of Group 9 from another perspective: even with the combination of solid plate and stainless steel, due to the lack of any guiding and blocking structure, the stainless steel balls will still all accumulate at the lower end to form a single rigid obstacle, which is similar to a speed bump and will inevitably cause the material to fly up. This further illustrates that the inclined surface, elliptical section and blocking wall of the receiving groove in Group 1 work together to form the key structure that guides the stainless steel balls to gradually consume energy, and none of them can be missing.

[0077] As for the values ​​of y, x, z, etc., they involve the shape and structure of the receiving groove 311, as well as the impact on the throwing effect of the stainless steel ball during vibration. Therefore, after a large number of experiments, the optimal values ​​of parameters such as y, x, z, etc. were finally determined.

[0078] In this invention, the filling rate of the metal balls (i.e., the percentage of the total volume of the metal balls to the volume of the receiving tank 311) has a certain impact on the deceleration effect and the smoothness of the material movement. If the filling rate is too low (e.g., below 30%), the collision frequency between the metal balls is insufficient, and the deceleration effect decreases; if the filling rate is too high (e.g., above 41%), the movement space of the metal balls in the receiving tank is limited, the fluidity is reduced, and local rigid accumulation is more likely to form in the tilted state, which can easily cause the material to roll over. Experiments have verified that when the total volume of the metal balls accounts for 30% to 41% of the volume of the receiving tank 311, it can maintain good fluidity while ensuring sufficient particle collision, thus obtaining the best deceleration effect and smooth movement.

[0079] In this invention, if the material is a metal material, the metal material includes, but is not limited to, metal profiles, metal billets / plates, pipes, stampings, castings, etc. It has been found that, due to the generally smooth surface of metal materials and their large weight, even when using method 3 for deceleration, the deceleration effect is not ideal. However, generally speaking, metal materials have excellent impact resistance and wear resistance, and can be conveyed downwards using the loading and unloading conveying device described in this invention. However, if the appearance requirements of the metal material are high (e.g., the surface has a paint coating), the loading and unloading conveying device described in this invention cannot be used for conveying.

[0080] In this invention, the wood materials include, but are not limited to, blanks, roughs, refined materials, profiles, squares, boards, and engineered wood. However, for wood veneer, scraps, etc., they cannot be transported in bags using the loading and unloading conveying device described in this invention. They can only be transported in boxes because boxed wood veneer, scraps, etc., have stable contact with the transmission chain 11, bags 20, etc., which can ensure a stable deceleration effect during the transport process.

[0081] In this invention, for wooden components with high appearance requirements, the vibrating plate 31 can be activated throughout the downward conveying process to maximize the function of the bag 20. In one embodiment of this invention, the vibrating plate 31 is activated only as needed because for some wooden components that do not require the bag 20 to decelerate, constantly activating the vibrating plate 31 to decelerate the bag 20 would actually affect the conveying efficiency.

[0082] Furthermore, it should be understood that those skilled in the art should consider the specification as a whole, and the technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other implementation methods that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A loading and unloading conveying device, comprising a chain conveyor for transporting materials, the chain conveyor including an inclined platform, drive chains provided at both sides of the platform, and a load-bearing part provided at the upper end of the drive chains on the platform, characterized in that: The lower section of the machine platform is provided with a window, a bag is provided at the window, a vibrating plate is provided below the bag, and a medium cavity is formed between the bag and the vibrating plate. The medium cavity is filled with a non-Newtonian fluid substance. The drive chain is configured to move from the lower end of the machine platform to the upper end of the machine platform to generate upward resistance to the downward moving material. The vibrating plate is configured to generate vibration to excite the non-Newtonian fluid material to undergo shear thickening, causing the bag to decelerate the downward-moving material.

2. The loading and unloading conveying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the vibrating plate does not vibrate, the non-Newtonian fluid remains in an unthickened state, and the resistance of the bag to the material is less than the resistance when the bag is in a thickened state.

3. The loading and unloading conveying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vibrating plate is driven to vibrate by a vibration motor installed below the vibrating plate. A base is provided on the machine platform in the area corresponding to the vibrating plate, and an inclined metal plate is installed between the vibrating plate and the base.

4. The loading and unloading conveying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lower half of the bag is open. The medium cavity includes a receiving groove on the upper surface of the vibrating plate and an inner cavity of the bag. The medium cavity is filled with metal balls. The receiving groove includes an upper groove and a lower groove. The bottom of the upper groove is a sloping structure. The upper end of the sloping structure extends to the upper surface of the vibrating plate, and the lower end of the sloping structure extends to the beginning of the lower groove. The bottom cross-section of the lower groove is a quarter-ellipse structure. The major axis of the quarter-ellipse structure is parallel to the length direction of the vibrating plate. A planar barrier wall is provided between the tail end of the lower groove and the upper surface of the vibrating plate. The plane of the planar barrier wall is perpendicular to the upper surface of the vibrating plate.

5. A loading and unloading conveying device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The tilt angle of the machine platform is greater than 12°, the diameter of the metal ball is r, 2mm≤r≤3.6mm; the length of the planar blocking wall is x, the maximum depth of the receiving groove is y, 2.5≤y / x≤3; x / r=3 or 4.

6. The application of the loading and unloading conveying device as described in any one of claims 1 to 5 in the furniture industry, characterized in that: The material is furniture wood, and the process includes the following steps: The furniture wood slides downwards from the support part along the table surface of the machine; Obtain the average sliding speed of the furniture wood on the machine platform; A first rate threshold, a second rate threshold, and a third rate threshold are preset, and the first rate threshold, the second rate threshold, and the third rate threshold increase sequentially. Based on the comparison results of the average sliding rate with the first rate threshold, the second rate threshold, and the third rate threshold, the furniture wood is selectively decelerated.

7. The application according to claim 6, characterized in that: The machine is equipped with a sensor, which is used to detect the time difference of the material passing through a predetermined speed measurement interval to obtain the average sliding speed, which is the average speed of the material passing through the predetermined speed measurement interval.

8. The application according to claim 6, characterized in that: When the average sliding rate is greater than the first rate threshold and less than or equal to the second rate threshold, the drive transmission chain moves from the lower end of the machine platform to the upper end, applying upward resistance to the furniture wood.

9. The application according to claim 6, characterized in that: When the average sliding rate is greater than the second rate threshold and less than or equal to the third rate threshold, the driving plate vibrates, which excites the non-Newtonian fluid to undergo shear thickening, causing the bag to decelerate the furniture wood.

10. The application according to claim 6, characterized in that: When the average sliding rate is greater than the third rate threshold, the drive transmission chain moves from the lower end of the machine platform to the upper end of the machine platform, and the vibrating plate is driven to vibrate.

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