Feeding system

Abstract

The utility model discloses a feeding system, and relates to the technical field of material conveying, and the feeding system comprises a robot body, a material grabbing device and a visual device; a material taking station and a feeding station are arranged on the periphery of the robot body. A weighing device is arranged in the feeding station; the weighing device is used for weighing equipment to be fed; the grabbing device is connected to the tail end of the robot body and used for grabbing the to-be-fed parts on the taking station. The visual device is connected to the robot body; the robot body is used for driving the material grabbing device to move between the material taking station and the feeding station so as to feed the to-be-fed materials grabbed from the material taking station to the to-be-fed equipment in the feeding station. The labor intensity of personnel is reduced, the labor cost is saved, the treatment efficiency is higher, and the safety is better.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the technical field of material transportation, and particularly to a feeding system. Background Art

[0002] In traditional smelting production operations, operators need to be in the environment where the smelting equipment is located and perform tasks such as feeding and material placement by operating the equipment. However, the environment where the smelting equipment is located has a relatively high temperature. When operators are in a high-temperature environment, they will consume a large amount of physical strength, and the flue gas during the production process will also damage the health of the operators. At the same time, during the feeding process, the solution is likely to splash and cause production accidents. Moreover, the materials required for smelting production (such as ingots) have a high weight density. When personnel perform operations such as handling and stacking, it is not only laborious but also risky. Although there are automated manipulator devices in the prior art, they cannot comprehensively solve the above-mentioned technical problems. Therefore, there is an urgent need to propose a new solution. Summary of the Utility Model

[0003] In view of this, the purpose of this application is to provide a feeding system to solve the technical problems that traditional operators not only consume a lot of effort but also face certain operation risks when performing operations such as feeding, handling, and stacking in smelting production.

[0004] To achieve the above technical purpose, this application provides a feeding system, including a robot body, a material grasping device, and a vision device;

[0005] A material taking station and a feeding station are arranged around the robot body;

[0006] A weighing device is arranged in the feeding station;

[0007] The weighing device is used to weigh the equipment to be fed;

[0008] The material grasping device is connected to the end of the robot body and is used to grasp the workpiece to be fed at the material taking station;

[0009] The vision device is connected to the robot body;

[0010] The robot body is used to drive the material grasping device to move between the material taking station and the feeding station, so as to feed the workpiece to be fed grabbed from the material taking station to the equipment to be fed in the feeding station.

[0011] Furthermore, a material guiding groove corresponding to and connected to the equipment to be fed is arranged on the feeding station.

[0012] Furthermore, the material grasping device includes a material grasping main body and a suction cup assembly;

[0013] The suction cup assembly includes a suction cup seat and at least one suction cup head;

[0014] The sucker base is mounted on the material grabbing main body;

[0015] The sucker head is mounted on the sucker base and is connected to a sucker air supply device;

[0016] The sucker air supply device is used to supply positive pressure gas or negative pressure gas to the sucker.

[0017] Further, there are two sucker heads which are arranged at intervals.

[0018] Further, the material grabbing device further includes a clamping assembly;

[0019] The clamping assembly includes two clamping jaws and a driving mechanism;

[0020] The two clamping jaws are hinged to both sides of the material grabbing main body and are symmetrically arranged;

[0021] The driving mechanism is mounted on the material grabbing main body and is connected to the two clamping jaws, and is used to drive the two clamping jaws to move so as to clamp the workpiece to be loaded adsorbed by the sucker head.

[0022] Further, the driving mechanism includes two telescopic cylinders;

[0023] The two telescopic cylinders are mounted on the material grabbing main body, and the telescopic ends are respectively connected to the clamping jaws through transmission components one by one, and are used to drive the clamping jaws to turn over and move respectively.

[0024] Further, a buffer pad capable of contacting the workpiece to be loaded is arranged on the inner side surface of the clamping jaw.

[0025] Further, the vision device is connected to the end of the robot body;

[0026] The material grabbing device is connected to the vision device through a connecting piece.

[0027] Further, it further includes a safety guardrail;

[0028] The safety guardrail is provided with a maintenance door;

[0029] The robot body, the loading station and the material picking station are arranged in the safety guardrail.

[0030] Further, it further includes a control device;

[0031] The control device is communicatively connected to the robot body, the material grabbing device, the vision device and the weighing device.

[0032] It can be seen from the above technical solutions that the loading system designed in this application has the following beneficial effects:

[0033] 1. Workers can remotely operate the robot body and the material grasping device outside the high-temperature environment where the smelting equipment is located to complete the feeding of workpieces, reducing the labor intensity of personnel, saving labor costs, and having higher processing efficiency and better safety.

[0034] 2. By setting up a vision device, workers can more accurately operate the robot body and the material grasping device to complete the grasping, feeding, stacking, etc. of workpieces, improving efficiency. Moreover, in cooperation with the weighing device to monitor the weight of the equipment to be fed, the feeding requirements of the equipment to be fed can be accurately obtained to facilitate timely feeding.

[0035] 3. It is easy to achieve automated control, further reducing labor costs and improving production efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings.

[0037] Figure 1 It is a top view of a feeding system provided in the present application;

[0038] Figure 2 It is a partial structural schematic diagram of a feeding system provided in the present application;

[0039] Figure 3 It is a partial structural schematic diagram of the material grasping device of a feeding system provided in the present application;

[0040] In the figure: 100, robot body; 200, weighing device; 300, equipment to be fed; 400, loading device; 500, safety guardrail; 501, maintenance door; 502, raw material inlet and outlet; 600, workpiece to be fed; 700, control device; 1, material grasping device; 11, material grasping main body; 111, slide rail; 12, suction cup assembly; 121, suction cup seat; 122, suction cup head; 13, clamping assembly; 131, clamping jaw; 132, telescopic cylinder; 133, connecting shaft; 134, rack; 14, buffer pad; 2, vision device; 3, guide chute; 4, connecting piece. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0041] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are some, but not all, of the embodiments of the present application. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments in the present application without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0042] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, it should be noted that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. It is only for the convenience of describing the embodiments of the present application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation to the embodiments of the present application. In addition, the terms "first", "second", "third" are only used for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0043] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, it should be noted that unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, the terms "installation", "connection", "connection" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a replaceable connection, or an integral connection. It can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection. It can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium. It can be the communication inside two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the embodiments of the present application can be understood according to specific situations.

[0044] The embodiments of the present application disclose a feeding system.

[0045] Please refer to Figures 1 to 3 , an embodiment of a feeding system provided in the embodiments of the present application includes:

[0046] A robot body 100, a material grasping device 1, and a vision device 2.

[0047] There are a material taking station and a feeding station around the robot body 100; multiple material taking stations can be set, and they are divided into three groups. The material taking stations of the first group are set at the first side position of the robot body 100, the material taking stations of the second group are set at the second side position of the robot body 100, and the material taking stations of the third group are set at the third side position of the robot body 100. Also, multiple feeding stations can be set, and they are set at the fourth side position of the robot body 100, where the first side position is opposite to the second side position, and the third side position is opposite to the fourth side position. This layout method can maximize the utilization rate of the robot body 100, realizing multi-purpose use of one machine. At the same time, multiple material taking stations can also make the feeding more flexible, with a larger raw material inventory, which can greatly reduce the material transfer time and improve efficiency; the compact layout also reduces the travel and corresponding distance of the robot body 100, making the execution efficiency greatly increased.

[0048] This distribution structure is compact and helps to improve production efficiency. A loading device 400 can be set on each material taking station for carrying the workpiece to be fed 600. The loading device 400 can be, for example, a loading box, and there is no specific limitation.

[0049] A weighing device 200 is provided in the feeding station. The weighing device 200 is used to weigh the equipment to be fed 300. The weighing device 200 can be an existing platform scale, which is communicatively connected to the robot body 100. By monitoring the weight of the equipment to be fed 300, the material shortage requirement of the equipment to be fed 300 can be known, so as to facilitate timely feeding and replenishment. The equipment to be fed 300 and the feeding production line / equipment that needs to feed materials, etc., will not be elaborated.

[0050] The material grasping device 1 is connected to the end of the robot body 100 and is used to grasp the workpiece to be fed 600 on the loading device 400 at the material taking station.

[0051] The vision device 2 is connected to the robot body 100. The vision device 2 can be an existing 3D camera of the Mech-eye Pro-M series, which can scan and obtain spatial position data and form an image. Then, based on the image analysis, the height and stacking condition of the workpiece to be fed 600 (such as ingots) in the loading device 400 can be analyzed. (Due to reasons such as space, many ingots are stacked regularly in multiple layers when packed in boxes, but due to transportation or external forces, the ingots will displace or stack in the gaps in the box, thus becoming an irregular stack, and in severe cases, fractures may occur). After that, the ingot position of the first layer is determined, and the grasping coordinates are calculated to guide the robot body 100 to drive the material grasping device 1 to perform obstacle avoidance grasping or guide the operator to operate the robot body 100 to drive the material grasping device 1 to perform obstacle avoidance grasping. (Using a 3D vision sensor can effectively solve the problem of deep frame grasping obstacles).

[0052] The robot body 100 is used to drive the material grabbing device 1 to move between the material picking station and the feeding station, so as to feed the workpiece 600 grabbed from the material picking station to the feeding device 300 in the feeding station. The robot body 100 can be a multi-axis collaborative robot, such as a six-axis collaborative robot, and there is no specific limitation.

[0053] The feeding system designed in this application has the following beneficial effects:

[0054] 1. Operators can remotely operate the robot body 100 and the material grabbing device 1 outside the high-temperature environment where the smelting equipment is located to complete workpiece feeding, reducing the labor intensity of personnel, saving labor costs, and having higher processing efficiency and better safety.

[0055] 2. By setting the vision device 2, operators can more accurately operate the robot body 100 and the material grabbing device 1 to complete workpiece grabbing, feeding, stacking, etc., improving efficiency. Moreover, in cooperation with the weighing device to monitor the weight of the feeding device 300, the feeding requirements of the feeding device 300 can be accurately obtained to facilitate timely feeding.

[0056] 3. It is easy to realize automatic control, further reducing labor costs and improving production efficiency.

[0057] The above is the first embodiment of a feeding system provided by this application. The following is the second embodiment of a feeding system provided by this application. For details, please refer to Figures 1 to 3 .

[0058] Based on the solution of the first embodiment:

[0059] Further, as Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown, in order to prevent the solution from splashing onto the material grabbing device 1, the vision device 2 or the robot body 100 during feeding, a guide trough 3 that is connected and communicated with the feeding device 300 in a one-to-one correspondence is provided at the feeding station. The grabbed workpiece 600 is placed in the guide trough 3 and slides into the feeding device 300 by its own gravity to complete feeding. In this application, the guide trough 3 is inclined so that the workpiece can smoothly slide into the feeding device 300.

[0060] Further, as Figure 3 shown, for the design of the material grabbing device 1, it includes a material grabbing main body 11 and a suction cup assembly 12. The material grabbing main body 11 is a load-bearing main body, which plays the role of fixedly installing the suction cup assembly 12 and connecting with the robot body 100, and there is no specific limitation on its specific structure.

[0061] The suction cup assembly 12 includes a suction cup base 121 and at least one suction cup head 122. The suction cup base 121 is installed on the material grasping body 11, and the suction cup head 122 is installed on the suction cup base 121 and connected to a suction cup air supply device (not shown in the figure). The suction cup air supply device is an air pump or other air supply device for providing positive pressure gas or negative pressure gas to the suction cup. When providing positive pressure gas, it can purge the surface of the workpiece to be loaded 600, and when providing negative pressure gas, it can suck the workpiece to be loaded 600.

[0062] Further, the suction cup head 122 can be designed to have two and be spaced apart. The design of the double suction cup heads 122 can provide a more stable suction force to more firmly adsorb the workpiece to be loaded 600.

[0063] Further, as Figure 3 shown, the material grasping device 1 further includes a clamping assembly 13.

[0064] The clamping assembly 13 includes two clamping jaws 131 and a driving mechanism. The two clamping jaws 131 are hinged on both sides of the material grasping body 11 and are symmetrically arranged. The driving mechanism is installed on the material grasping body 11 and connected to the two clamping jaws 131 for driving the two clamping jaws 131 to move to clamp the workpiece to be loaded 600 adsorbed by the suction cup head 122. The design of the clamping assembly 13 can prevent the workpiece to be loaded 600 from falling during transportation.

[0065] Further, as Figure 3 shown, the driving mechanism can be designed to include two telescopic cylinders 132. The two telescopic cylinders 132 are installed on the material grasping body 11, and the telescopic ends are respectively connected to the clamping jaws 131 through transmission components to drive the clamping jaws 131 to flip and move respectively.

[0066] A connecting shaft 133 is fixed on the clamping jaw 131, and the connecting shaft 133 is rotatably connected to the material grasping body 11 to achieve the rotational connection between the clamping jaw 131 and the material grasping body 11. The transmission component can be designed to include a gear (not shown in the figure) and a rack 134. The gear is sleeved on the connecting shaft 133, and the rack 134 is fixed on the telescopic end of the telescopic cylinder 132 and meshes with the gear. When the telescopic cylinder 132 drives the rack 134 to move, it can drive the gear to rotate, and then drive the clamping jaw 131 to rotate to realize the opening and closing control of the two clamping jaws 131. To improve the smoothness of the movement of the rack 134, a slide rail 111 that slidably cooperates with the rack 11 can also be provided on the material grasping body 11 to guide the movement of the rack 134. Of course, the transmission component can also be a link assembly, and those skilled in the art can make appropriate design changes based on this.

[0067] The driving mechanism may further include two rotating motors, which are directly connected to the connecting shaft 133. By driving the connecting shaft 133 to rotate, the clamping jaws 131 are driven to rotate, so as to realize the opening and closing control of the two clamping jaws 131.

[0068] Further, in order to avoid damaging the workpiece 600 to be loaded, a buffer pad 14 capable of contacting the workpiece 600 to be loaded is provided on the inner side of the clamping jaw 131. The buffer pad 14 is made of rubber or silica gel material, and there is no limitation.

[0069] Further, as Figure 2 shown, the vision device 2 is connected to the end of the robot body 100, and the material grasping device 1 is connected to the vision device 2 through the connecting member 4, so as to integrate the vision device 2 and the material grasping device 1 together, and the overall structure is more compact.

[0070] Further, as Figure 1 shown, a safety guardrail 500 is further included, and a maintenance door 501 is provided on the safety guardrail 500; the robot body 100, the loading station and the material taking station are arranged in the safety guardrail 500; a raw material inlet / outlet 502 for adding raw materials is further provided on the safety guardrail 500. The robot body 100 is a device that needs to move in space, and there are often accidents of hitting people during space movement. Designing the safety guardrail 500 helps to truly separate people from the device. During the production process of materials, people are always outside the safety guardrail 500. Even when adding raw materials, a forklift can directly enter through the raw material inlet / outlet 502 for processing, and there is no need to enter the activity space of the robot body 100 at all; in addition, safety light curtains can be configured for both the raw material inlet / outlet 502 and the maintenance door 501. Once an illegal intrusion is detected, the robot body 100 can be triggered to stop, thus fundamentally preventing accidents of hurting people.

[0071] Further, in order to achieve automatic control, a control device 700 is further included. The control device 700 is communicatively connected to the robot body 100, the material grasping device 1, the vision device 2 and the weighing device 200; the control device 700 can be a PLC control device 700, which has a high degree of automation, high safety, reduces the labor intensity of personnel, saves labor costs, has a high processing efficiency, and is more flexible and convenient to operate; based on the vision device 2, full-automatic positioning can be realized, materials can be automatically identified, and process batching can also be realized according to the production formula of the control device 700. There is no need for excessive manual control, and it can run continuously by itself, greatly improving the production efficiency and safety, and the later maintenance is simple.

[0072] Taking the configuration of the control device 700 as an example, the working principle of the loading system designed in the present application is as follows:

[0073] Manually push the material loading device 400 from the raw material inlet and outlet 502 into the designated material taking station (each material taking station is provided with a guide rail to facilitate the positioning of the material loading device 400). Then turn on the robot body 100. The mechanical body communicates with the weighing device 200, senses the material weight of each feeding device 300 through the weighing device 200, and respectively obtains the material shortage requirements of each feeding device 300. The robot body 100 feeds materials according to the feeding formula of the control device 700, and can also allocate the feeding priority according to the actual material capacity of each feeding device 300 to ensure the supply of raw materials.

[0074] After the robot body 100 obtains the calling signal of the feeding device 300, the robot body 100 will move above the material loading device 400 at the designated material taking station according to the set formula of the control device 700. The vision device 2 is turned on during the process. The 3D scanning module of the vision device 2 performs 3D scanning on the ingots in the material loading device 400 to obtain spatial position data and at the same time the vision module forms an image, and then feeds it back to the control device 700. The control device 700 analyzes the height and stacking situation of the ingot materials in the material loading device 400, then analyzes the first-layer ingot positions based on the spatial position data, calculates the grasping coordinates, and then controls the robot body 100 and the material grasping device 1 to perform obstacle avoidance grasping. After the robot body 100 drives the material grasping device 1 to reach the designated position, the suction cup air supply device detects the circuit for supplying air to the suction cup head 122. When the two detection circuits (in the case of configuring two suction cup heads 122) are connected, it means that the grasping angle is correct. Turn on the positive pressure air function of the suction cup air supply device to blow the fine particles on the surface of the suction cup head 122 and the ingot clean to reduce suction errors. After the blowing is completed, turn on the air negative pressure function of the suction cup air supply device. When the negative pressure reaches the specified value, the robot body 100 drives the material grasping device 1 to lift, and at the same time controls the jaws 131 of the clamping assembly 13 in it to form a clamping on the ingot to prevent it from falling off during transportation. After reaching the designated feeding position, control the jaws 131 to open and turn off the gas negative pressure function, and the ingot can fall into the feeding device 300.

[0075] In addition, in the case of multiple feeding parts 600 (multiple raw materials), formula processing can be carried out through the control device 700, and formula batching distribution can be carried out during the feeding process to meet different production requirements; the control device 700 can record the specifications and quantities of each feeding, and the vision device 2 can also monitor the sizes of the feeding parts 600 to prevent incorrect material placement.

[0076] In this application, the use of a 3D vision module in the vision device 2 mainly solves problems such as disordered ingots, stacking, and deep frame obstacles. It greatly reduces the manual maintenance cost (compared with the previous situation where positioning was used for smooth grasping, the grasping often failed due to the offset of the ingot position, and there was even a situation where the robot body 100 or the material grabbing device 1 collided with the workpiece 600 to be loaded due to the stacking of ingots; once a failure occurred, it would greatly affect the production rhythm and cause a sharp reduction in output).

[0077] The above provides a detailed introduction to a feeding system provided by this application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, according to the idea of the embodiments of this application, there will be changes in the specific implementation manner and application scope. In summary, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation to this application.

Claims

1. A feeding system, characterized in that, It includes a robot body (100), a material grasping device (1) and a vision device (2); A material taking station and a feeding station are arranged around the robot body (100); A weighing device (200) is arranged in the feeding station; The weighing device (200) is used to weigh the equipment to be fed (300); The material grasping device (1) is connected to the end of the robot body (100) and is used to grasp the workpiece to be fed (600) at the material taking station; The vision device (2) is connected to the robot body (100); The robot body (100) is used to drive the material grasping device (1) to move between the material taking station and the feeding station, so as to feed the workpiece to be fed (600) grabbed from the material taking station to the equipment to be fed (300) in the feeding station.

2. The feeding system according to claim 1, wherein, A material guiding groove (3) that is in one-to-one correspondence and connected and conducted with the equipment to be fed (300) is arranged at the feeding station; 3. The feeding system according to claim 1, wherein The material grasping device (1) includes a material grasping main body (11) and a suction cup assembly (12); The suction cup assembly (12) includes a suction cup seat (121) and at least one suction cup head (122); The suction cup seat (121) is installed on the material grasping main body (11); The suction cup head (122) is installed on the suction cup seat (121) and is connected to a suction cup air supply device; The suction cup air supply device is used to provide positive pressure gas or negative pressure gas for the suction cup; 4. The feeding system according to claim 3, characterized in that, There are two suction cup heads (122), and they are arranged at intervals; 5. The feeding system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The material grasping device (1) further includes a clamping assembly (13); The clamping assembly (13) includes two clamping jaws (131) and a driving mechanism; The two clamping jaws (131) are hinged to both sides of the material grasping main body (11) and are symmetrically arranged; The driving mechanism is installed on the material grasping main body (11) and is connected to the two clamping jaws (131), and is used to drive the two clamping jaws (131) to move, so as to clamp the workpiece to be fed (600) adsorbed by the suction cup head (122).

6. The feeding system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The driving mechanism includes two telescopic cylinders (132); The two telescopic cylinders (132) are installed on the material grasping main body (11), and the telescopic ends are respectively connected to the clamping jaws (131) through a transmission assembly, and are used to drive the clamping jaws (131) to flip and move respectively.

7. The feeding system according to claim 5, wherein A buffer pad (14) that can contact the workpiece to be fed (600) is arranged on the inner side surface of the clamping jaw (131).

8. The feeding system according to claim 1, wherein, The vision device (2) is connected to the end of the robot body (100); The material grasping device (1) is connected to the vision device (2) through a connecting piece (4).

9. The feeding system according to claim 1, characterized in that, It further includes a safety guardrail (500); The safety guardrail (500) is provided with a maintenance door (501); The robot body (100), the feeding station and the material taking station are arranged in the safety guardrail (500); 10. A feeding system according to claim 1, characterized in that, It further includes a control device (700); The control device (700) is communicatively connected to the robot body (100), the material grasping device (1), the vision device (2) and the weighing device (200).

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