Cap screwing device

Abstract

The utility model provides a cap screwing device. The cap screwing device comprises a pipe body feeding mechanism, a cap screwing mechanism and a cap screwing mechanism, and a cap screwing mechanism. The pipe body feeding mechanism comprises clamping pieces used for clamping pipe bodies and a driving piece used for driving the clamping pieces to get close to each other or get away from each other. A clamping space for accommodating a pipe body is formed between the clamping pieces; the clamping piece comprises at least two cambered surfaces which are arranged side by side; and the clamping pieces are configured to be capable of clamping the pipe body between the two adjacent cambered surfaces of the same clamping piece under the driving of the driving piece. The cap screwing device can be compatible with consumables of various specifications, the application range is widened, manual operation is not needed, and the working efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of product screw capping, and more specifically, to a screw capping device. Background Art

[0002] The application of uncapping and capping equipment in the fields of medical treatment, food, etc. is very extensive. In the daily preparation of liquid samples in the laboratory, it is often necessary for the experimenter to uncap and cap the sample tube. At the same time, the experimenter's physical health is also affected during the long process of uncapping and capping, and the torque of the tube cover cannot be controlled. Therefore, an uncapping and capping equipment is also needed. However, although the existing uncapping and capping equipment can meet the needs of uncapping and capping of laboratory sample tubes and free the experimenter from the tedious process of uncapping and capping, the capping machines currently used in biochemical laboratories are mainly manual loading capping machines, which need to be manually operated. However, when processing a large number of samples, manual operation is time-consuming and laborious, and the torque needs to be controlled to ensure airtightness during the uncapping and capping process. It is also necessary to facilitate the movement of the equipment, be compatible with consumables of various specifications, and have a convenient table for operation, etc. Utility Model Content

[0003] In view of the above problems, the utility model provides a capping device which is compatible with consumables of various specifications, thus expanding the scope of application and eliminating the need for manual operation, thereby improving work efficiency.

[0004] In order to achieve the above purpose, the utility model adopts the following technical solutions:

[0005] The utility model provides a capping device, comprising:

[0006] A tube feeding mechanism for feeding the tube;

[0007] and a capping mechanism;

[0008] The tube feeding mechanism includes a clamping member for clamping the tube body and a driving member for driving the clamping members to move closer to or away from each other; a clamping space for accommodating the tube body is formed between the clamping members; the clamping member includes at least two arc surfaces arranged side by side; the clamping member is configured to clamp the tube body between two adjacent arc surfaces of the same clamping member under the drive of the driving member.

[0009] A preferred solution is that the number of the clamping members is two; the clamping member comprises a connecting member arranged on the driving end of the driving member and two clamping structures arranged side by side on the connecting member; and the clamping structure comprises an arc surface.

[0010] A preferred solution is that the capping device also includes a tube cap feeding mechanism for feeding the tube caps, and the tube cap feeding mechanism includes a feeding vibration plate and a flexible vibration plate arranged in sequence; the feeding vibration plate is used to transport the tube caps to the flexible vibration plate; the flexible vibration plate is used to flip the tube caps through vibration so that the tube cap opening faces downward.

[0011] A preferred solution is that the tube feeding mechanism further comprises a horizontally arranged linear module; the driving member is arranged on a moving part of the linear module; the linear module can drive the driving member and the clamping member to reciprocate in a horizontal direction.

[0012] The preferred embodiment is that the capping mechanism includes a driving assembly and a capping assembly configured on the driving assembly; the capping mechanism includes a material picking station and a capping station; the driving assembly can drive the capping assembly to move from the material picking station to the capping station; the capping assembly is used to pick up the tube cap at the material picking station and screw the tube cap onto the tube body at the capping station or screw the tube cap off the tube body at the capping station.

[0013] The preferred solution is that the rotary cover assembly includes a rotating jaw configured on the driving assembly, a guide connection seat configured on the rotating jaw, a clamping toe connection block floatingly connected to the guide connection seat via a floating assembly, and a clamping toe fixed on the clamping toe connection block;

[0014] The rotating clamping jaws are configured to drive the clamping toes to move closer to or farther from each other so as to clamp the tube cover and drive the tube cover to rotate so that the tube cover is screwed onto the tube body or is screwed away from the tube body.

[0015] A preferred solution is that the floating assembly includes a guide shaft passing through the guide connecting seat and two elastic members sleeved on the guide shaft; one end of the guide shaft is fixed to the clamp toe connecting block and the guide shaft can move along its own axial direction on the guide connecting seat; an abutment portion is formed at the end of the guide shaft away from the clamp toe connecting block; one of the two elastic members is located between the abutment portion and the guide connecting seat, and the other is located between the guide connecting seat and the clamp toe connecting block.

[0016] A preferred solution is that the driving assembly includes a lifting structure that can be lifted and lowered in a vertical direction, a first steering member arranged on a moving part of the lifting structure, a second steering member rotatably connected to the first steering member, and a third steering member rotatably connected to the second steering member; the rotating clamp is arranged on the third steering member.

[0017] A preferred solution is that the capping device also includes a carrying platform and a flip plate arranged on the carrying platform; the flip plate includes a first structural plate that is flippably arranged on the side of the carrying platform and a second structural plate that is flippably arranged on the first structural plate; the second structural plate is arranged on the adjacent side of the first structural plate that is connected to the carrying platform; the tube body feeding mechanism and the capping mechanism are both arranged on the carrying platform.

[0018] Preferably, the capping device further comprises an identification mechanism for identifying the tube cap with the opening facing downward on the flexible vibration disk.

[0019] The beneficial effects of the utility model are:

[0020] The utility model can complete the whole process from product loading, transportation, capping to unloading through the cooperation of the tube cover feeding mechanism, the tube body feeding mechanism and the capping mechanism, replacing the method of the prior art which requires manual participation, without manual operation, which is conducive to improving work efficiency; and the adjacent double-arc surfaces on the clamping member are used as clamping surfaces to cooperate with the driving member to clamp and fix the tube body between the adjacent double-arc surfaces of the clamping member, so that the clamping space can accommodate more tubes with different diameters, thereby expanding the application range of the device; and the overall structure of the device is simple, the operation is convenient, it is easy to integrate and realize automation, and the capping operation is fast and accurate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The specific implementation of the utility model is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the utility model.

[0023] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the rotary cover assembly of the utility model.

[0024] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of the tube body feeding mechanism of the utility model.

[0025] Figure 4 It is an assembly schematic diagram of the bearing platform of the utility model. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] Various exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangements of components and steps, numerical expressions and numerical values ​​set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present invention.

[0027] The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the present invention, its application, or uses.

[0028] Techniques and equipment known to ordinary technicians in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, the techniques and equipment should be considered part of the specification.

[0029] In all examples shown and discussed herein, any specific values ​​should be interpreted as merely exemplary and not limiting. Therefore, other examples of the exemplary embodiments may have different values.

[0030] It should be noted that like reference numerals and letters refer to similar items in the following figures, and therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it need not be further discussed in subsequent figures.

[0031] In order to be compatible with consumables of various specifications and expand the scope of application. The utility model provides a capping device, taking a sample tube 20 as an example, the sample tube 20 includes a tube cap and a tube body, both of which are cylindrical. Figures 1 to 4 As shown, specifically, the capping device comprises: a cap feeding mechanism for feeding the caps; a body feeding mechanism 6 for feeding the tube bodies; and a capping mechanism for picking up the caps and screwing the caps onto the tube bodies or screwing the caps off the tube bodies; the body feeding mechanism 6 comprises a clamping member for clamping the tube bodies and a driving member 19 for driving the clamping members to move closer to or away from each other so as to achieve clamping of the tube bodies by the clamping members; a clamping space for accommodating the tube bodies is formed between the clamping members; the clamping member comprises at least two arc surfaces arranged side by side; at least two arc surfaces can form the clamping surface of the clamping member, and the clamping member is configured to clamp the tube bodies at the same Between two adjacent arc surfaces of the clamping piece, the number of the clamping pieces is two. When the tube body is located between the two clamping pieces, the two clamping pieces are driven by the driving piece 19 to approach each other to perform a clamping operation on the tube body, so that the tube body is clamped and fixed between the two clamping pieces and the tube body is located between two adjacent arc surfaces on the same clamping piece, thereby fixing the tube body in the clamping space. The design of adjacent double arc surface clamping can better accommodate tube bodies of different diameters and expand the scope of application. In addition, when the matching space between the screw cap structure and the tube body feeding mechanism 6 is sufficient, more than two arc surfaces can be set on the same clamping piece according to actual needs so that a group of clamping pieces can clamp multiple tube bodies at the same time.

[0032] In the above embodiment, the clamping member includes a connecting member 61 configured on the driving end of the driving member 19 and two clamping structures 62 arranged side by side on the connecting member 61. The driving member 19 can be an electric clamp, and the two connecting members 61 are respectively arranged on the two driving ends of the electric clamp 19; the clamping structure 62 includes an arc surface. In the same horizontal plane, the arrangement direction of the two clamping structures 62 is perpendicular to the clamping direction. It can be understood that the two clamping structures 62 can be an integrated structure or a split structure. When the two clamping structures 62 are split structures, the clamping structure 62 can be a cylindrical structure and arranged in the vertical direction, one end of which is fixed on the connecting member 61, and the circumferential side walls of the two cylindrical clamping structures 62 on the same connecting member 61 are abutted against each other, and a concave arc groove can also be formed on the circumferential side walls of the cylindrical clamping structure 62; the clamping structure 62 can also be a rectangular block with a side wall surface as an arc surface or other irregularly shaped blocks with an arc surface, as long as the wall surface used to enclose the clamping space is an arc surface, the utility model does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0033] Regarding the structure of the tube cap feeding mechanism, specifically, the tube cap feeding mechanism includes a feeding vibration plate 11 and a flexible vibration plate 5 which are arranged in sequence; the feeding vibration plate 11 is used to transport the tube caps to the flexible vibration plate 5; the flexible vibration plate 5 is used to flip the tube caps to a state where the tube cap openings face downwards by vibrating; the feeding vibration plate 11 can feed the flexible vibration plate 5 in an orderly manner, and the flexible vibration plate 5 can flip the tube caps to a state where the openings face downwards so that the subsequent screwing cap mechanism can directly take them away, so that the entire feeding process does not require manual feeding and flipping operations of the tube caps, saving time and effort.

[0034] Regarding the structure of the tube body feeding mechanism 6, specifically, the tube body feeding mechanism 6 also includes two linear modules 23 arranged horizontally; in the same horizontal plane, the arrangement direction of the two linear modules 23 is perpendicular to the setting direction of the linear module 23; the driving member 19 is arranged on the moving part of the linear module 23; the linear module 23 can drive the driving member 19 and the clamping member to reciprocate in the horizontal direction to realize the loading of the tube body and the unloading of the sample tube after the tube cover is screwed on, and a tank chain 22 is arranged on one side of the linear module 23 to follow the movement of the driving member 19; the two linear modules 23 are respectively equipped with two driving members 19, and each driving member 19 is equipped with two clamping members. The two linear modules 23 can simultaneously load the tube body and transport the tube body to the matching position with the tube cover, so as to avoid the situation that the screw cap mechanism waits for the tube body to be loaded after picking up the tube cover, thereby improving the screw capping efficiency; an in-position sensor 21 is also arranged on the moving part of the linear module 23 to ensure the accuracy of the tube body loading position.

[0035] In a specific embodiment, the capping mechanism includes a driving component and a capping component configured on the driving component; the capping mechanism includes a material picking station and a capping station; the driving component can drive the capping component to move from the material picking station to the capping station; the capping component is used to pick up the tube cap at the material picking station and screw the tube cap onto the tube body at the capping station or screw the tube cap off the tube body at the capping station, that is, the capping component has the functions of clamping the tube cap and screwing the tube cap, when the capping component moves to the material picking station, the capping component can take away the tube cap with the opening facing downward on the flexible vibration disk 5, and after picking up the tube cap, it can be moved to the capping station driven by the driving component to complete screwing the tube cap onto the tube body. It can be understood that the present capping mechanism can screw the tube cap onto the tube body, and can also screw the tube cap off the tube body.

[0036] Furthermore, the cap screwing assembly includes a rotating jaw 25 configured on the driving assembly, a guide connection seat 28 configured on the rotating jaw 25, a clamping toe connection block 29 floatingly connected to the guide connection seat 28 through a floating assembly, and a clamping toe 31 fixed on the clamping toe connection block 29; the rotating jaw 25 is configured to drive the two clamping toes 31 to move closer to or away from each other to clamp the tube cover and drive the tube cover to rotate so that the tube cover is screwed onto the tube body or the tube cover is screwed off the tube body. The rotating jaw 25 has a torque feedback function. , the tightness of the cap screwing can be controlled, the torque accuracy of the cap screwing can be improved, and the floating connection can ensure that the clamping toe 31 can avoid damage caused by rigid contact when clamping the tube cover; polyurethane pads 32 are arranged on the opposite sides of the two clamping toes 31, which can increase the friction when clamping the tube cover and can play a certain buffering and protective role on the tube cover when clamping; an upper limit block 30 is also arranged on the clamping toe 31, which can limit the clamping position of the tube cover on the clamping toe 31, and ensure that the tube cover is stably clamped between the two clamping toes 31.

[0037] In the above embodiment, the floating assembly includes a guide shaft 26 that passes through the guide connecting seat 28 and two elastic members 27 that are sleeved on the guide shaft 26, and the elastic member 27 is a spring; one end of the guide shaft 26 is fixed to the clamping toe connecting block 29 and the guide shaft 26 can move along its own axial direction on the guide connecting seat 28; an abutment portion is formed at the end of the guide shaft 26 away from the clamping toe connecting block 29; one of the two elastic members 27 is located between the abutment portion and the guide connecting seat 28, and the other is located between the guide connecting seat 28 and the clamping toe connecting block 29. Through the cooperation of the two elastic members 27, a contact buffering effect can be played when picking up the tube cover and screwing the tube cover.

[0038] Regarding the specific structure of the driving component, the driving component can be a flexible four-axis robotic arm, and the driving component includes a lifting structure 51 that can be lifted and lowered in the vertical direction, a first steering member 52 arranged on the moving part of the lifting structure 51, a second steering member 53 rotatably connected to the first steering member 52, and a third steering member 54 rotatably connected to the second steering member 53; the rotating clamp is arranged on the third steering member 54; the second steering member 53 and the third steering member 54 can both rotate in the vertical direction as the axis and cooperate with the lifting function of the lifting structure 51 to achieve position adjustment of the screw cap assembly to assist the screw cap assembly to realize the picking up of the tube cap and screw capping operations.

[0039] In a specific embodiment, the screw capping device also includes a carrier platform 3 and a flip plate arranged on two opposite sides of the carrier platform 3; the flip plate includes a first structural plate 35 arranged on the side of the carrier platform 3 and can be flipped by a hinge, and a second structural plate 36 arranged on the first structural plate 35 and can be flipped by a hinge; the second structural plate 36 is arranged on the adjacent side of the first structural plate 35 connected to the carrier platform 3; the tube cover feeding mechanism, the tube body feeding mechanism 6 and the screw capping mechanism are all arranged on the carrier platform 3; the above-mentioned flip plate can be flipped to be in the same plane with the table surface of the carrier platform 3, so as to facilitate the arrangement of other related equipment on the flip plate, thereby expanding the usable area of ​​the table surface of the carrier platform, and the flippable first structural plate 35 and the second structural plate 36 can be flipped and stored in a position that fits the side wall of the carrier platform 3 when not in use, so as not to occupy too much extra space, which is convenient for the transportation of the entire device.

[0040] Further, the above-mentioned carrier 3 includes an internal frame 33 and a welding shell 37 fixed on the internal frame 33, the welding shell 37 includes a door panel 40 and a door lock 39, a lithium battery 34 for powering each functional component is arranged inside, and a universal wheel 42 and a driving wheel 41 for facilitating the movement of the carrier 3 and a foot 43 for supporting the entire device are arranged on the bottom wall of the welding shell 37, and the foot 43 can be supported on the ground, so that the entire device is more stable when in use; the capping device can realize automatic loading and convenient mobile operation. The operator can control the capping device accordingly through the coordinated use of the control interface 12, the button control box 38 and the foot switch 17. In the daily liquid sample preparation in the laboratory, it often occurs that the experimenter needs to open the cover and screw the cover of the sample tube. At the same time, the health of the experimenter is also affected during the long-term opening and screwing process, and the torque of the bottle cap cannot be controlled. The capping device of the utility model can free the experimental operator from the cumbersome process of opening and screwing the cover.

[0041] In addition, in order to ensure that the tube caps picked up by the screw cap assembly are all with their openings facing downward, the screw cap device also includes an identification mechanism for identifying the tube caps with their openings facing downward on the flexible vibration disk 5, and the identification mechanism includes an identification camera 1 and an auxiliary light source 2, both of which are fixed on the support platform 3 through a bracket 10. Before the screw cap assembly picks up the tube cap, taking a photo with the identification camera 1 for identification can avoid picking up tube caps that do not meet the requirements.

[0042] The specific working principle of the utility model is as follows:

[0043] When it is necessary to screw the tube caps onto the tube bodies, a batch of tube caps are manually poured into the feeding vibration plate 11, the tube caps vibrate into the flexible vibration plate 5 and turn over, the recognition camera 1 takes pictures to identify the tube caps with the opening facing downward, and the driving component drives the rotating jaws 25 to grab the tube caps that meet the requirements; the tube body is manually placed on the tube body feeding mechanism 6, and the tube body is transported to the matching position with the tube cap by the linear module 23, the driving component transports the grabbed tube cap to the capping station to align with the tube body, the rotating jaws 25 rotate to screw the cap, and the linear module 23 sends out the sample tube after the tube cap is screwed, and the material is manually taken away; when it is necessary to screw the tube cap off the tube body, the linear module 23 sends the sample tube to the position corresponding to the capping station, the driving component drives the rotating jaws 25 to move to the capping station, the rotating jaws 25 clamp the tube cap and rotate to screw the cap off the tube body.

[0044] To sum up, the utility model can complete the whole process from product loading, transportation, capping to unloading through the cooperation of the tube cover feeding mechanism, the tube body feeding mechanism and the capping mechanism, replacing the method of the prior art that requires manual participation, without manual operation, which is conducive to improving work efficiency; and the adjacent double arc surfaces on the clamping member are used as clamping surfaces to cooperate with the driving member to clamp and fix the tube body between the adjacent double arc surfaces of the clamping member, so that the clamping space can accommodate more tubes of different diameters, thereby expanding the application range of the device, and the overall structure of the device is simple, the operation is convenient, it is easy to integrate and realize automation, and the capping operation is fast and accurate.

[0045] Obviously, the above embodiments of the present invention are merely examples for clearly illustrating the present invention, and are not limitations on the implementation methods of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in the relevant field, other different forms of changes or modifications can be made based on the above description. It is impossible to list all the implementation methods here. All obvious changes or modifications derived from the technical solution of the present invention are still within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A capping device, characterized in that: include: A tube feeding mechanism for feeding the tube; and a capping mechanism; The tube feeding mechanism includes a clamping member for clamping the tube body and a driving member for driving the clamping members to move closer to or away from each other; a clamping space for accommodating the tube body is formed between the clamping members; the clamping member includes at least two arc surfaces arranged side by side; the clamping member is configured to clamp the tube body between two adjacent arc surfaces of the same clamping member under the drive of the driving member.

2. The capping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of the clamping members is two; the clamping member comprises a connecting member arranged on the driving end of the driving member and two clamping structures arranged side by side on the connecting member; the clamping structure comprises an arc surface.

3. The capping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The capping device also includes a tube cap feeding mechanism for feeding the tube caps, and the tube cap feeding mechanism includes a feeding vibration plate and a flexible vibration plate arranged in sequence; the feeding vibration plate is used to transport the tube caps to the flexible vibration plate; the flexible vibration plate is used to flip the tube caps through vibration until the tube cap opening faces downward.

4. The capping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The tube feeding mechanism further comprises a horizontally arranged linear module; the driving member is arranged on the moving part of the linear module; the linear module can drive the driving member and the clamping member to reciprocate in the horizontal direction.

5. The capping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The capping mechanism includes a driving assembly and a capping assembly arranged on the driving assembly; the capping mechanism includes a material picking station and a capping station; the driving assembly can drive the capping assembly to move from the material picking station to the capping station; the capping assembly is used to pick up the tube cap at the material picking station and screw the tube cap onto the tube body at the capping station or screw the tube cap off the tube body at the capping station.

6. The capping device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The capping assembly comprises a rotating jaw configured on the driving assembly, a guide connecting seat configured on the rotating jaw, a clamping toe connecting block floatingly connected to the guide connecting seat via a floating assembly, and a clamping toe fixed on the clamping toe connecting block; The rotating clamping jaws are configured to drive the clamping toes to move closer to or farther from each other so as to clamp the tube cover and drive the tube cover to rotate so that the tube cover is screwed onto the tube body or is screwed away from the tube body.

7. The capping device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The floating assembly includes a guide shaft passing through the guide connection seat and two elastic members sleeved on the guide shaft; one end of the guide shaft is fixed to the clamp toe connection block and the guide shaft can move along its own axial direction on the guide connection seat; an abutment portion is formed at the end of the guide shaft away from the clamp toe connection block; one of the two elastic members is located between the abutment portion and the guide connection seat, and the other is located between the guide connection seat and the clamp toe connection block.

8. The capping device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The driving assembly includes a lifting structure that can be lifted and lowered in a vertical direction, a first steering member disposed on a moving portion of the lifting structure, a second steering member rotatably connected to the first steering member, and a third steering member rotatably connected to the second steering member; The rotating clamp is arranged on the third steering member.

9. The capping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The capping device also includes a carrying platform and a flip plate arranged on the carrying platform; the flip plate includes a first structural plate that can be flipped and arranged on the side of the carrying platform and a second structural plate that can be flipped and arranged on the first structural plate; the second structural plate is arranged on the adjacent side of the first structural plate connected to the carrying platform; the tube feeding mechanism and the capping mechanism are both arranged on the carrying platform.

10. The capping device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The capping device also includes an identification mechanism for identifying the tube cap with the opening facing downward on the flexible vibration disk.

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