Recovery system for recovering liner wrappage

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a recovery system for recovering a liner wrap, characterized in that the recovery system comprises: a robot having a robotic arm, the robotic arm being movable in a three-dimensional space; the supporting plate is connected with the robotic arm; the grabbing mechanism is installed and supported on the supporting plate and used for grabbing the lining wrappage, and the grabbing mechanism comprises a telescopic device and a needle type grabbing hand connected with the telescopic end of the telescopic device. Through the robot and the grabbing mechanism connected with the robot through the supporting plate, the recovery system can mechanically grab and recover lining wrappage such as leatheroid, a base plate and a plastic tape on the surface of the cigarette packet, so that the labor cost can be reduced, and the production efficiency can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a recovery system for recovering an inner liner wrapper, in particular to a recovery system for recovering an inner liner wrapper on the surface of a cigarette package. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the manufacturing industry has actively promoted intelligent and digital transformation, so the research and development and application of intelligent equipment have begun to appear widely in various workshop assembly lines. Its main purpose is to improve the accuracy of operation movements, reduce operation intensity, and improve process assurance capabilities. To this end, various intelligent auxiliary mechanisms have been developed, such as intelligent manipulators, robotic arms, collaborative robots, etc.

[0003] Collaborative robots (in simple terms, robots that can work with people on the production line) can replace the mechanical operations of people on the production line with the automated operations of robots. This type of robot is not only cost-effective, but also safe and convenient, which can greatly promote the development of manufacturing companies. On some product production lines, the use of collaborative robots has greatly reduced the cost of labor and simplified the operation process of people on the production line.

[0004] In the tobacco industry, in the unpacking process of the tobacco leaf production line, mechanical equipment can be used to remove the outer cartons of the cigarette packs after the tobacco leaves are re-roasted and threshed. However, after the outer cartons of the cigarette packs are removed, the inner lining wrapping materials such as paper skin, pads and / or plastic belts are still left on the surface of the cigarette packs. At present, the inner lining wrapping materials such as paper skin, pads and plastic belts on the surface of the cigarette packs are manually grabbed and recycled. For this operation process, manual grabbing and recycling is undoubtedly time-consuming and laborious.

[0005] Therefore, a collaborative robot that can be used in the tobacco industry can be developed to help mechanically and automatically grasp and recover lining wrappings such as paper skins, pads, and plastic bands on the surface of cigarette packs. Utility Model Content

[0006] In view of this, the purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a recovery system for recovering liner wrappings, which can mechanically and automatically grasp and recover liner wrappings such as paper skins, pads and plastic belts on the surface of cigarette packs and can be used in the unpacking process of a silk production line in tobacco leaf production, thereby reducing labor costs and improving production efficiency.

[0007] One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a recycling system for recycling liner packages, characterized in that the recycling system includes: a robot with a robotic arm, which can move in three-dimensional space; a pallet connected to the robotic arm; and a grasping mechanism installed and supported on the pallet for grasping the liner packages, wherein the grasping mechanism includes a telescopic device and a needle gripper connected to the telescopic end of the telescopic device.

[0008] Through the robot and the grasping mechanism connected to the robot through the pallet, the recycling system according to the present invention can mechanically grasp and recycle the lining wrapping materials such as paper skin, pads and plastic belts on the surface of the cigarette package, thereby reducing labor costs and improving production efficiency.

[0009] In some embodiments, the robot is controlled by its own or external control device, so that the recycling system can automatically grasp and recycle the liner wrapping, thereby reducing labor costs and improving production efficiency.

[0010] In some embodiments, the support plate is connected to the robot arm via a connecting pipe, thereby making it easy to connect the support plate to the robot arm.

[0011] In some embodiments, the support plate includes a horizontally extending connecting plate and at least one sub-support plate extending downwardly obliquely from the periphery of the connecting plate, wherein the support plate is connected to the robot arm by its connecting plate, and a gripping mechanism is respectively installed on the at least one sub-support plate, thereby facilitating the gripping mechanism to grip the liner wrapping.

[0012] In some embodiments, the at least one sub-support plate includes a first sub-support plate extending downwardly from one side of the connecting plate and a second sub-support plate extending downwardly from an opposite side of the connecting plate opposite to the one side, thereby making it easier for the grasping mechanism to grasp the liner wrapping.

[0013] In some embodiments, the needle gripper is connected to the telescopic end of the telescopic device via a connecting block, thereby facilitating the connection between the needle gripper and the telescopic device.

[0014] In some embodiments, the connecting block is constructed in an inverted T shape, the long side of the lower elongated section thereof is perpendicular to the telescopic direction of the telescopic device, and the lower elongated section thereof is connected to the needle gripper, thereby facilitating the arrangement of multiple needles of the needle gripper.

[0015] In some embodiments, the telescopic device is configured as a cylinder-piston unit. Thus, the telescopic device can be realized simply.

[0016] In some embodiments, the needle gripper comprises at least one needle, and the at least one needle extends in the telescopic direction of the telescopic device. Thus, the needle gripper can be realized simply.

[0017] In some embodiments, the needle gripper includes a plurality of needles, and the plurality of needles are located in a plane, thereby facilitating the needle gripper to grasp the liner wrapping.

[0018] In some embodiments, the needle gripper includes at least one needle, the at least one needle includes a needle tail section and a needle handle section, the needle handle section extends in the telescopic direction of the telescopic device, and the needle tail section extends upwardly inclined relative to the needle handle section, thereby facilitating the needle gripper to grasp the liner package.

[0019] In some embodiments, the needle gripper includes a plurality of needles, the needle handle sections of the plurality of needles are located in one plane, and the needle tail sections of the plurality of needles are located in another plane, and the other plane where the needle tail sections are located is inclined upward relative to the plane where the needle handle sections are located. This can make it easier for the needle gripper to grasp the liner package.

[0020] In some embodiments, the support plate further comprises a needle support plate extending upward from the sub-support plate, wherein the needle support plate can support the needle gripper at the intersection with the needle gripper, thereby facilitating the installation stability of the needle gripper.

[0021] In some embodiments, the pallet further comprises a stripper plate extending obliquely upward from the sub-support plate, and the needle gripper extends through an opening in the stripper plate, thereby facilitating the recovery of the liner wrapping.

[0022] In some embodiments, when a needle support plate is provided, the support plate further comprises a stripper plate extending upwardly from the needle support plate, and the needle gripper extends through an opening in the stripper plate, thereby facilitating not only the installation stability of the needle gripper but also the recovery of the liner wrapping. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] In order to make the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the present disclosure more obvious and easy to understand, the specific embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are only used for the purpose of illustrating preferred embodiments and are not considered to be limitations of the present disclosure. Moreover, in all the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to represent the same components. In the drawings:

[0024] Figure 1 A schematic perspective view showing an exemplary cigarette package and its liner wrapper and a recycling system for recycling the liner wrapper according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0025] Figure 2 Show Figure 1 Schematic stereogram of the gripping mechanism of the recovery system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The following description sets forth specific details to facilitate a full understanding of the present disclosure. However, the present disclosure can be implemented in a variety of other ways than those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar generalizations without violating the connotation of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0027] The expression "and / or" is used in this article to mean that at least one of the components listed before and after the expression is included. Moreover, the expression "connected / coupled" is used to mean that it includes direct connection with another component or indirect connection through another component. The singular form in this article also includes the plural form unless specifically mentioned in the wording. Moreover, the components, steps, operations and elements involved in "including" or "comprising" used in this article mean that at least one other component, step, operation and element exists or is added.

[0028] In the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the orientations or positional relationships indicated by technical terms such as "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", and "circumferential" are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing the embodiments of the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the embodiments of the present application.

[0029] As mentioned at the beginning of this article, currently, in the unpacking process of the tobacco leaf production line, the paper skin, pads, plastic belts and other lining wrapping materials on the surface of the cigarette pack are manually grabbed and recycled. After taking out the outer carton of the cigarette pack and after the cigarette pack has passed the static weighing, the operator will remove the lining wrapping materials on the surface of the cigarette pack and recycle them into the designated carton.

[0030] In view of this, the technical concept of the present disclosure is to use collaborative robots to replace manual work. When the cigarette pack moves to the designated workstation, the image detection device identifies whether there is a liner on the upper surface of the cigarette pack, and then issues a command to the collaborative robot to move the gripping mechanism to the top of the cigarette pack and use the gripping mechanism to grip the liner on the cigarette pack and recycle it into the recycling device.

[0031] First refer to Figure 1 , which exemplarily shows a cigarette pack 10 with a carton removed at a station 30. An inner liner wrapper 11 (such as paper skin, pad, and plastic belt, etc.) is present on the upper surface of the cigarette pack 10. The recovery system 20 for recovering the inner liner wrapper 11 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can automatically and mechanically grab the inner liner wrapper 11 on the upper surface of the cigarette pack 10 and recover it into a recovery device (not shown).

[0032] Refer to the following Figure 1 and Figure 2 A recycling system 20 for recycling the liner wrap 11 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is described.

[0033] The recycling system 20 may include a robot 100 having a robot arm. The robot 100 may be any robot whose range of action, in particular the range of action of the robot arm, can cover a cigarette pack and a recycling device. The robot arm of the robot 100 can move in three-dimensional space. In the illustrated embodiment, the robot 100 is configured as a six-axis robot.

[0034] Preferably, the robot can determine the connection mode between different action primitives based on the extraction rule of action primitives and establish the mapping relationship between action primitives and the anthropomorphic arm inverse solution algorithm, and can establish the anthropomorphic arm posture prediction index under different action primitive models according to the motion characteristics of the action primitives and realize the solution of the anthropomorphic arm inverse kinematics. The robot can adopt a new algorithm that considers joint acceleration constraints through the gradient projection method and the extreme value method and verify the effectiveness of the algorithm through simulation comparison. Therefore, the robot arm can move accurately. In addition, in terms of mobile trajectory planning, a kinematic mathematical model of the mobile robot arm can be constructed for the trajectory tracking control problem of the mobile robot arm and a gradient neural network controller with fast convergence characteristics can be designed. By taking the path position value generated by the robot arm as the control object, the single neuron PID can be used to construct the path control. By simulating the motion process of the robot arm and arranging all output functions in a reasonable order, the intelligent control of the mobile path can be achieved.

[0035] The recycling system 20 may further include a support plate 200 connected to the robot arm of the robot 100 and a gripping mechanism 300 mounted and supported on the support plate 200 for gripping the liner wrap 11. The support plate 200 may be particularly configured to support an iron sheet. The gripping mechanism 300 may include a telescopic device 310 and a needle gripper 320 connected to the telescopic end of the telescopic device 310.

[0036] When the cigarette pack moves to the workstation 30 and the image detection device identifies the presence of the liner wrapping material 11 on the upper surface of the cigarette pack, the robot arm can be used to move the support plate 200 downward from the top of the cigarette pack to an appropriate position, and then the needle gripper 320 of the grasping mechanism 300 is extended to grasp the liner wrapping material 11. After grasping the liner wrapping material 11, the support plate 200 is raised and moved to the recycling device, and then the liner wrapping material 11 is placed in the recycling device, thereby completing the recycling of the liner wrapping material 11. In this way, the recycling system 20 can mechanically and automatically grasp and recycle the liner wrapping materials such as paper skin, pads, and plastic belts on the surface of the cigarette pack, thereby reducing labor costs and improving production efficiency.

[0037] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the robot 100 can be controlled by its own or external control device 120. The control device 120 can be configured to receive signals from various components and control the robot 100, especially its robot arm, according to these signals. The control device 120 can be particularly configured to control the movement trajectory of the robot arm.

[0038] The control device may be implemented as any type of computing device, computing circuit or any type of processor or processing circuit capable of executing a series of instructions stored in a memory. The control device may include multiple processors and / or multi-core central processing units (CPUs) and may include any type of processor, such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor, a microcontroller, etc. The control device may also include a memory to store data and / or algorithms to execute a series of instructions. The control device may also be implemented as a computer program product or a software product.

[0039] In addition, if Figure 1 As shown, the robot 100 and its control device 120 may be placed on a fixed table 110. It is also possible that the robot 100 includes the fixed table 110.

[0040] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the support plate 200 can be connected to the robot arm via a connecting pipe 210. The connecting pipe 210 can be detachably connected to the robot arm at its upper end, for example, by a threaded connection. The connecting pipe 210 can be connected to the support plate 200 at its lower end, for example, by welding. In this way, the connection between the support plate 200 and the robot arm can be easily achieved.

[0041] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the pallet 200 may include a horizontally extending connecting plate 201 and at least one sub-support plate extending downwardly from the periphery of the connecting plate 201. The pallet 200 may be connected to the robot arm by its connecting plate 201. A gripping mechanism 300 may be installed on each of the at least one sub-support plates. The downward tilt angle of at least one sub-support plate relative to the connecting plate 201 may be selected as required, preferably between 130 degrees and 170 degrees, and more preferably 150 degrees. In this way, the gripping mechanism 300, especially its telescopic device 310 and the needle gripper 320, may be tilted relative to the horizontal direction, which may facilitate the gripping of the liner wrapping 11 by the gripping mechanism 300.

[0042] In an advantageous embodiment, the at least one sub-support plate may include a first sub-support plate 202 extending downwardly obliquely from one side of the connecting plate 201 and a second sub-support plate 203 extending downwardly obliquely from an opposite side of the connecting plate 201 opposite to the one side. Therefore, two gripping mechanisms 300 may be symmetrically arranged with respect to the connecting plate 201. The two symmetrical gripping mechanisms 300 may be more conducive to the gripping of the liner wrapping 11 by the gripping mechanisms 300. In addition, as Figure 2As shown, the connecting plate 201 is configured as a rectangle. Therefore, it is also conceivable that four sub-support plates are provided which extend downwardly and obliquely from the four sides of the connecting plate 201, respectively, wherein every two opposing sub-support plates are symmetrically arranged. Of course, it is also conceivable that the shape of the connecting plate 201 and the number and position of the sub-support plates extending therefrom can be selected according to needs.

[0043] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the needle gripper 320 may be connected to the telescopic end of the telescopic device 310 via a connecting block 330. This may facilitate the connection between the needle gripper 320 and the telescopic device 310.

[0044] In an advantageous embodiment, the connection block 330 may be configured as an inverted T-shape, the elongated side of the lower elongated section thereof is perpendicular to the telescopic direction of the telescopic device 310, and the lower elongated section thereof is connected to the needle gripper 320. This facilitates the arrangement of multiple needles of the needle gripper 320 (to be described below).

[0045] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the telescopic device 310 may be configured as a cylinder-piston unit, so that the telescopic device 310 may be simply implemented.

[0046] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the needle gripper 320 may include at least one needle. The at least one needle extends in the telescopic direction of the telescopic device 310. In this way, the needle gripper 320 can be simply implemented.

[0047] In an advantageous embodiment, the needle gripper 320 may include a plurality of needles (in Figure 2 The plurality of needles may be located in one plane.

[0048] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the needle gripper 320 may include at least one needle. The at least one needle may include a needle tail section 321 and a needle handle section 322. The needle handle section 322 may extend in the telescopic direction of the telescopic device 310, and the needle tail section 321 may extend upwardly inclined relative to the needle handle section 322. This may facilitate the needle gripper 320 to grasp the liner wrapping 11. The upward inclination angle of the needle tail section 321 relative to the needle handle section 322 may be selected as required, preferably between 130 degrees and 170 degrees, and more preferably 150 degrees.

[0049] In an advantageous embodiment, the needle gripper 320 may include a plurality of needles. The needle handle sections 322 of the plurality of needles may be located in one plane, and the needle tail sections 321 of the plurality of needles may be located in another plane, and the other plane where the needle tail sections 321 are located may be tilted upward relative to the plane where the needle handle sections 322 are located. This may facilitate the needle gripper 320 to grasp the liner wrapping 11.

[0050] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the support plate 200 may further include a needle support plate extending upward from the sub-support plate. The needle support plate can support the needle gripper 320 at the intersection with the needle gripper 320. Figure 2 In the embodiment of the present invention, a first needle supporting plate 204 and a second needle supporting plate 205 extending upward from the first sub-support plate 202 and the second sub-support plate 203 may be provided, and the first needle supporting plate 204 and the second needle supporting plate 205 may respectively support the needles of the needle gripper 320 at the intersection with the needle gripper 320. This may facilitate the installation stability of the needle gripper 320.

[0051] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the support plate 200 may further include a stripper plate extending obliquely upward from the sub-support plate, and the needle gripper 320 extends through an opening in the stripper plate. Figure 2 In the embodiment of the present invention, a first stripper plate 206 and a second stripper plate 207 extending upward from the first sub-support plate 202 and the second sub-support plate 203 respectively may be provided, and the needles of the needle gripper 320 extend through the openings in the corresponding stripper plates. Thus, when the needle gripper 320 is retracted, the stripper plates may be used as a stopper to prevent the liner wrap 11 from being retracted together with the needle gripper 320, thereby facilitating the recovery of the liner wrap 11.

[0052] In the embodiment with a needle support plate, it is advantageous that the support plate 200 may further include a stripper plate extending upwardly from the needle support plate, and the needle gripper 320 extends through an opening in the stripper plate. This may not only facilitate the installation stability of the needle gripper 320, but also facilitate the recovery of the liner wrap 11.

[0053] In the recycling device according to the present disclosure, the robot can be used in conjunction with the image detection device. The image detection device can identify whether there is an inner lining wrapping on the cigarette pack. The control device of the robot can first transmit a trigger signal to the image detection device to enable it to identify whether the cigarette pack has traveled to the designated station. The image detection device notifies the control device after identifying that the cigarette pack has traveled to the designated station. Then, the control device can instruct the robot to act. After completing the prescribed action, the robot can feedback information to the image detection device for secondary recognition. The image detection device can transmit the recognition result to the control device. If the recognition result is normal, the control device allows the cigarette pack to be transported to the next station; if the recognition result is abnormal (there are still residual items), the control device instructs the robot to perform secondary grasping and recycling operations.

[0054] As a further solution, infrared sensors can be installed on both the front and rear sides of the robot. The infrared sensors can monitor the safety area of ​​the robot's moving trajectory in real time. If a person intrudes, an alarm signal will be output immediately. The recovery system can stop the action immediately, thus effectively avoiding safety accidents.

[0055] As a further solution, the robot may have a touch screen device. The touch screen device may be connected to the control device for communication and may be configured to complete the programming of the robot's motion trajectory path. The control parameters may be directly set via the touch screen device.

[0056] In addition, it is also conceivable that a recovery device can be arranged behind the static scale and beside the workstation 30 to facilitate recovery.

[0057] The recycling device according to the present invention can realize the automation of grabbing and recycling work, replace the manual action process of grabbing and recycling liner packages, reduce the use of human resources, keep up with the trend of digital transformation, apply artificial intelligence more in actual production links, and liberate operators to better focus on the physical quality of products.

[0058] Although the present disclosure has been disclosed as above in the form of a preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the present disclosure. Any technical personnel in this field can make possible changes and modifications to the technical solution of the present disclosure by using the methods and technical contents disclosed above without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, any simple modifications, equivalent changes and modifications made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present disclosure without departing from the content of the technical solution of the present disclosure shall fall within the protection scope of the technical solution of the present disclosure.

[0059] The features disclosed in this document may be implemented not only individually but also in any combination. It should also be noted that the various drawings of the present disclosure are schematic and may not be shown to scale. In various embodiments, the number, configuration and / or arrangement of components are also not limited to the examples shown. The values ​​listed in the specification are only reference values, and may exceed or be lower than the reference values ​​when the dimensions are appropriately selected.

Claims

1. A recycling system for recycling liner wrapping, characterized in that: The recovery system (20) comprises: A robot (100) having a robotic arm capable of moving in three-dimensional space; a support plate (200) connected to the robot arm; and A gripping mechanism (300) is installed and supported on a support plate (200) and is used to grip a liner wrapping (11), wherein the gripping mechanism (300) comprises a telescopic device (310) and a needle gripper (320) connected to the telescopic end of the telescopic device (310).

2. The recovery system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The robot (100) is controlled by its own or an external control device (120).

3. The recovery system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support plate (200) is connected to the robot arm via a connecting pipe (210).

4. The recovery system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pallet (200) comprises a horizontally extending connecting plate (201) and at least one sub-support plate extending downwardly from the periphery of the connecting plate (201), wherein the pallet (200) is connected to the robot arm via its connecting plate (201), and a gripping mechanism (300) is respectively mounted on the at least one sub-support plate.

5. The recovery system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The at least one sub-support plate comprises a first sub-support plate (202) extending downwardly obliquely from one side of the connecting plate (201) and a second sub-support plate (203) extending downwardly obliquely from an opposite side of the connecting plate (201) opposite to the one side.

6. The recovery system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The needle gripper (320) is connected to the telescopic end of the telescopic device (310) via a connecting block (330).

7. The recovery system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The connecting block (330) is constructed in an inverted T shape, the long side surface of the lower elongated section thereof is perpendicular to the telescopic direction of the telescopic device (310), and the lower elongated section thereof is connected to the needle gripper (320).

8. The recovery system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The telescopic device (310) is designed as a cylinder-piston unit.

9. The recovery system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The needle gripper (320) includes at least one needle, and the at least one needle extends in the telescopic direction of the telescopic device (310).

10. The recovery system according to claim 9, characterized in that: The needle gripper (320) includes a plurality of needles, wherein the plurality of needles are located in one plane.

11. The recovery system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The needle gripper (320) comprises at least one needle, wherein the at least one needle comprises a needle tail section (321) and a needle handle section (322), wherein the needle handle section (322) extends in the telescopic direction of the telescopic device (310), and the needle tail section (321) extends upwardly inclined relative to the needle handle section (322).

12. The recovery system according to claim 11, characterized in that The needle gripper (320) comprises a plurality of needles, wherein the needle handle sections (322) of the plurality of needles are located in one plane, and the needle tail sections (321) of the plurality of needles are located in another plane, and the other plane where the needle tail sections (321) are located is inclined upward relative to the plane where the needle handle sections (322) are located.

13. The recovery system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The support plate (200) further comprises a needle support plate extending upward from the sub-support plate, wherein the needle support plate is capable of supporting the needle gripper (320) at an intersection with the needle gripper (320).

14. The recovery system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The support plate (200) further comprises a stripper plate extending upwardly and obliquely from the sub-support plate, and the needle gripper (320) extends through an opening in the stripper plate.

15. The recovery system according to claim 13, characterized in that The support plate (200) further comprises a stripper plate extending obliquely upward from the needle support plate, and the needle gripper (320) extends through an opening in the stripper plate.

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