Automatic straw feeding device

Abstract

The utility model discloses an automatic straw feeding device which comprises an adjustable stock bin used for stacking straws. The material supporting assembly is arranged on one side of the adjustable stock bin and used for supporting the suction pipe conveyed out of the adjustable stock bin; the material pushing assembly is arranged on one side of the adjustable stock bin and below the material supporting assembly, and the material pushing assembly is used for pushing the first-stage suction pipe in the adjustable stock bin out to the material supporting assembly and pushing the second-stage material supporting assembly out to the swing angle type bracket; and the detection assembly is arranged below the swing angle type bracket and is used for detecting the suction pipe on the swing angle type bracket. The material distribution device has the advantages that two-stage material distribution is achieved through the arranged feeding unit, and successful material distribution is guaranteed; and secondly, a swing angle type bracket is arranged, so that the suction pipes which are bent to be unqualified are subjected to material removing operation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of intelligent and automated production of thermos cups, in particular to an automatic straw feeding device. Background Art

[0002] In the production process of thermos cups, some of the thermos cup accessories include cup lids, which are equipped with a plastic straw. Because the cup lids are mostly fashionable and strange in appearance, and for the sake of appearance, there are no chamfers or arcs to guide the assembly at the assembly of the straw and the cup lid. It is difficult to press and insert, and it is not easy to make a mold to guide the insertion and pressing. Therefore, manual insertion and pressing with simple tooling is currently widely used. The simple tooling does not have a pressing force surface that fits the shape of the cup lid. It will tilt during insertion and needs to be manually straightened. The work intensity is high and the movements are complicated. Hold the cup lid in one hand and the straw in the other hand, align them visually, and put them into the tooling. Use the foot pedal to control the downward pressure of the cylinder. Both hands need to be used to straighten the cup lid and straw during the whole process. If you are not careful, you may not be able to press it in or it may be bent and fail. Long straws are more obvious, and the foot switch is unsafe. Only for the loading link in the above-mentioned entire process, it is urgent to design loading equipment to improve working conditions and use automation to replace manual loading. Utility Model Content

[0003] The purpose of this section is to summarize some aspects of the embodiments of the present invention and briefly introduce some preferred embodiments. Some simplifications or omissions may be made in this section and in the abstract and title of the utility model to avoid obscuring the purpose of this section, the abstract and the title of the utility model, and such simplifications or omissions shall not be used to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0004] In view of the above existing problems, the present utility model is proposed.

[0005] Therefore, the technical problem solved by the present invention is to provide an automatic straw feeding device.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides the following technical solutions: an automatic straw loading device, comprising an adjustable hopper, which is used to stack straws; a supporting assembly, which is arranged on one side of the adjustable hopper, and is used to support the straws transported out of the adjustable hopper; a pushing assembly, which is arranged on one side of the adjustable hopper and below the supporting assembly, and is respectively used to push the straws in the adjustable hopper onto the supporting assembly at the first level and to push the supporting assembly onto the swing bracket at the second level; a detection assembly, which is arranged below the swing bracket, and is used to detect the straws on the swing bracket.

[0007] Preferably, the adjustable silo includes an inclined plate, a baffle and a gap; the baffle is arranged at a low position of the inclined plate, the straws are stacked on the inclined plate, and the baffle is used to prevent the straws from sliding down due to gravity, and the baffles are arranged at intervals on the left and right to form the gap.

[0008] Preferably, the material supporting assembly includes a material supporting plate, a rolling surface, a blocking portion and a swing-angle bracket; the material supporting plate is arranged behind the baffle, the rolling surface is an inclined surface and is located at the top of the material supporting plate, the blocking portion is arranged at the inclined low position of the rolling surface, and is used to prevent the straw from sliding down the rolling surface, and the swing-angle bracket is rotatably arranged with the outer axis of the blocking portion.

[0009] Preferably, the pushing assembly is arranged on the inner side of the two supporting plates, and it also includes a primary push plate, a secondary push plate and a support plate; the primary push plate and the secondary push plate are vertically arranged front to back, and the two are connected by the horizontal support plate, and the primary push plate is located on the baffle side, and the secondary push plate is located on the blocking part side.

[0010] Preferably, the swing bracket has a hook, the straw can be placed on the hook and supported, the swing bracket is connected to the swing arm through a shaft column, and the swing cylinder can drive the hook to swing by driving the swing arm to move forward and backward.

[0011] Preferably, the adjustable silo also includes an adjustment bracket and a base; a groove is provided on the base, the adjustment bracket is movably installed on the base through the groove, the inclined plate is provided above the adjustment bracket, and the space size of the gap is adjusted by moving the adjustment bracket.

[0012] Preferably, the pushing assembly further includes a base plate and a pushing cylinder, wherein the base plate is arranged above the pushing cylinder, and the pushing cylinder is used to push the base plate up and down.

[0013] Preferably, two of the first-level push plates and two of the second-level push plates are respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the inner side of the material supporting plate, and the bottoms of the first-level push plates and the second-level push plates are installed on the bottom plate. The upper part is horizontally connected by the support plate to form a frame structure, and the extended part is used to resist and push out the straw.

[0014] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: first, the feeding unit is provided to realize secondary material separation and ensure successful material separation; second, the swing-angle bracket is provided to realize the support and drop of the straws on the swing-angle bracket by swinging, and the straws with unqualified bending are removed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for describing the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without inventive work. Among them:

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the automatic straw feeding device of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of the automatic straw loading device of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 3 This is a structural diagram of the cup mold unit of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] To make the above-mentioned purposes, features, and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the following detailed description of the specific embodiments of the present invention is given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is obvious that the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary persons in this field without creative work should fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0020] In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention may also be implemented in other ways different from those described herein. Those skilled in the art may make similar generalizations without violating the connotation of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0021] Secondly, the term "one embodiment" or "embodiment" herein refers to a specific feature, structure, or characteristic that may be included in at least one implementation of the present invention. The phrase "in one embodiment" appearing in various places throughout this specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor does it refer to a separate or selective embodiment that is mutually exclusive with other embodiments.

[0022] This invention is described in detail with reference to schematic diagrams. For ease of illustration, cross-sectional views of device structures may be partially enlarged and not to scale when describing embodiments of the invention. Furthermore, these schematic diagrams are merely illustrative and should not limit the scope of protection of this invention. Furthermore, in actual production, three-dimensional dimensions, including length, width, and depth, should be included.

[0023] It should also be noted that in the description of this utility model, the terms "upper, lower, inner, and outer" and other references to orientations or positional relationships are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are intended solely to facilitate the description of this utility model and simplify the description. They do not indicate or imply that the devices or components referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed, or operate in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this utility model. Furthermore, the terms "first, second, or third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0024] Unless otherwise specified or limited, the terms "mounted, connected, and connected" in this utility model should be understood broadly. For example, they can refer to fixed connection, detachable connection, or integral connection. They can also refer to mechanical connection, electrical connection, direct connection, indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or internal communication between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in this utility model based on the specific circumstances.

[0025] Example 1

[0026] Reference Figure 1-2 As shown in the illustration, in the thermos cup manufacturing industry, with the maturity of technologies such as robots, cost reduction has created conditions for popularization, which has greatly improved the degree of automation in the thermos cup manufacturing industry, achieved efficiency improvement through reduction in manpower, reduced labor costs, and safeguarded the sustainable development of the enterprise. In order to solve the loading link that requires human operation in the existing production process, automation is used to replace manual labor and eliminate the bending of cup straws during the loading process.

[0027] Refer again Figure 1 As shown in the figure, the loading equipment proposed in this embodiment includes an adjustable hopper 100, a supporting assembly 200, a pushing assembly 300 and a detection assembly 400. The straws s are stacked in the adjustable hopper 100. The pushing assembly 300 is used to push the straws s from the adjustable hopper 100 to the supporting assembly 200. The detection assembly 400 is used to detect the straws s on the supporting assembly 200.

[0028] Specifically, the adjustable silo 100 also includes an inclined plate 101, a baffle 102, a gap 103, an adjustment bracket 104 and a base 105; wherein the inclined plate 101 is set at an inclination angle, and the straws s are stacked on the inclined plate 101. Due to the action of gravity, they tend to move downward and are stacked, and the baffle 102 is set at a low position of the inclined plate 101. The straws s are stacked on the inclined plate 101 and are prevented from sliding down due to gravity by the baffle 102. The inclined plate 101 and the baffle 102 are spaced apart on both sides to form a gap 103.

[0029] The adjustable silo 100 uses an adjustable width silo to hold straws to accommodate straws of different lengths. Specifically, a groove 105a is set on the base 105, and the adjustment bracket 104 is moved and installed on the base 105 through the groove 105a. The adjustment bracket 104 is installed with bolts and the groove 105a, and can be moved in the groove 105a and then fixed. The inclined plate 101 is set above the adjustment bracket 104. The size of the space of the gap 103 is adjusted by moving the adjustment bracket 104, so as to realize the distance between the inclined plates 101 to adapt to straws of different lengths. In this embodiment, the detection component 400 can be a detection sensor, and the vertical and horizontal rotation, up and down movement, etc. can be achieved by a cylinder plus a screw structure.

[0030] Furthermore, the support assembly 200 includes a support plate 201, a rolling surface 202, a blocking portion 203, and a swing-angle bracket 204. The support plate 201 is positioned behind the baffle 102. The rolling surface 202 is an inclined surface located at the top of the support plate 201. The blocking portion 203 is positioned at the lower, inclined position of the rolling surface 202 to prevent the straws from sliding down the rolling surface 202. The swing-angle bracket 204 is rotatably arranged about the outer axis of the blocking portion 203. After being ejected from the adjustable hopper 100, the straws first contact the top surface of the baffle 102. Then, due to gravity, they roll down the rolling surface 202 to the blocking portion 203, where they contact the stop. After the secondary ejection is initiated, the straws are ejected above the blocking portion 203 and fall onto the swing-angle bracket 204. The swing-angle bracket 204 in this embodiment also has an inclined surface, also for gravity-induced drop.

[0031] In order to support the straw s, the swing bracket 204 has a hook 204a, and the straw s can be placed on the hook 204a for support. The swing bracket 204 is connected to the swing arm 206 through the shaft column 205. The swing cylinder 207 can drive the hook 204a to swing by driving the swing arm 206 to move back and forth. The hook 204a is an arc, and the arc is in contact with the outer surface of the straw s. More specifically, the hook 204a is located on the outside of the support plate 201 and is rotatably connected to the support plate 201 through the shaft column 205. The hook 204a and the support plate 201 can rotate relative to each other, but the hook 204a and the shaft column 205 are fixed and cannot rotate relative to each other, and the swing arm 206 and the shaft column 205 cannot rotate relative to each other. The swing arm 206 and the hook 204a have a certain angle, and the swing arm 206 is hinged to the output shaft of the swing angle cylinder 207. The forward and backward movement of the swing angle cylinder 207 drives the rotation of the swing arm 206, thereby driving the rotation of the shaft column 205, and then driving the hook 204a to swing in the vertical direction.

[0032] Furthermore, because the straws s are made of plastic and are lightweight, when the cylinder lifts up to discharge the material, if the speed is slightly faster, multiple straws may be discharged, resulting in a failure in material distribution. For this reason, this embodiment adopts a two-stage mechanism for material distribution controlled by a cylinder, which can ensure successful material distribution. Specifically, the pushing assembly 300 is located as a whole in the gap between the two supporting plates 201, and the pushing assembly 300 also includes a primary pushing plate 301, a secondary pushing plate 302 and a support plate 303. The primary pushing plate 301 and the secondary pushing plate 302 are arranged vertically front and back, and the two are connected by a horizontal support plate 303, and the primary pushing plate 301 is located on the baffle 102 side, and the secondary pushing plate 302 is located on the blocking portion 203 side. It should be noted that a mounting plate is provided at the bottom of the pushing assembly 300, and two first-level push plates 301 and two second-level push plates 302 are respectively vertically installed on the left and right plates, with a total of 4 columns. The upper part is horizontally connected by a support plate 303 to form a frame. A cylinder is provided at the bottom of the mounting plate, which drives the mounting plate to move up and down, thereby driving the first-level push plate 301 and the second-level push plate 302 to move up and down, realizing the pushing of the straw s on the side of the baffle 102 and the pushing of the straw s on the side of the blocking part 203, to ensure successful material distribution.

[0033] The automatic material distribution process of this embodiment is as follows: the straw s is placed in a material storage with adjustable length. When the hook 102e and the hook 204a are extended and are in the tube taking position and there is no straw s detected on the hook 102e and the hook 204a, the three-axis cylinder drives the two-stage mechanism to distribute the materials. The straw s moves from the material storage to the transfer position, and then from the transfer position to the hook 102e and the hook 204a, and the material distribution is cyclical.

[0034] It should be noted that the cylinders mentioned in this embodiment, the control of the lifting of the cylinders, and the installation of the supporting electrical components and circuits for realizing automation, etc., are not difficult to understand. They do not belong to the technical problems to be solved by this embodiment. They are non-essential technical features. The core concept of this embodiment is aimed at the structure of the secondary material distribution and the overall structure of the swing-type bracket, not the control itself. At the same time, those skilled in the art can implement this embodiment based on existing technology. For example, the cylinder can use a screw cylinder to achieve up and down movement, etc. The control program can refer to the chip of the existing control unit. They are all simple and mature existing technical means and non-essential technical features, so they will not be described in detail here. At the same time, the technical effects achieved by this embodiment, such as improving assembly efficiency and improving the original manual operation to automated operation, are obvious improvements. Those skilled in the art can also easily know them without the need for data support for the technical effects.

[0035] Further, refer to Figure 2-3 The present invention is provided to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the application of this embodiment in an automated assembly line.

[0036] It should be noted that the automatic straw feeding device proposed in this embodiment can be applied to the automatic straw insertion and pressing equipment for cup lids, as the feeding link for the automatic installation of cup lid straws. The automatic working process of the device includes automatic material distribution, automatic material collection, and automatic insertion and pressing.

[0037] Specifically, it includes a loading unit (i.e., the automatic straw loading device of this embodiment), a picking unit 500, an inserting and pressing unit 600, and a cup mold unit 700. The operation process is loading, picking, rising of the cup cover m, inserting and pressing, lowering of the cup cover m, and taking out the cup cover m. The above operations are repeated to realize the automatic assembly line installation of the straws s and the cup cover m. The loading unit is used for stacking the straws s. The picking unit 500 is set at the next process of the loading unit and is used to take out the straws s in the loading unit. The inserting and pressing unit 600 is located above the cup mold unit 700. When the straws s When the workstation located in the insertion and pressing unit 600 is taken out and the insertion and pressing work is ready, the cup mold unit 700 is started, and the cup cover m located therein moves upward to a specified position, and the insertion and pressing unit 600 is pressed downward to press the straw s into the cup cover m to complete the installation. Subsequently, the insertion and pressing unit 600 is opened, and the cup mold unit 700 is lowered to take out the cup cover m with the straw s installed. In this embodiment, the cup mold unit 700 includes a cup mold 701 and a cup cover lifting assembly 702. The cup cover m is set to the limit of the cup mold 701, and the cup cover lifting assembly 702 is located below the cup mold 701 for the rise and fall of the cup cover m. It is not difficult to understand that the equipment should also include other auxiliary components required for automation, such as a workbench that provides a workstation, a controller that controls the lifting of the cylinder, and circuits for installing various electrical components, etc. These are not technical problems to be solved by this embodiment and can be implemented with reference to the existing technology. This embodiment will not be described in detail.

[0038] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above, and that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential features of the present invention. The embodiments should be considered as illustrative and non-restrictive, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. It is intended that all variations within the meaning and range of equivalents of the claims be encompassed within the present invention, and any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the claims to which they relate.

[0039] It should also be understood that the present invention is described through implementation methods, and the embodiments are only clear and complete descriptions of the technical solutions proposed in the claims of the present invention, that is, explanations of the claims. Therefore, when judging whether the technical solutions recorded in the description of the present invention are sufficiently disclosed, full consideration should be given to the core essence of the solutions defined by the claims. In the description, there must be other technical problems that are not related to the core technical problems proposed by the embodiments. The corresponding technical features and technical solutions do not belong to the essence of the embodiments and are non-essential technical features. Therefore, they can be referred to as implicit disclosures. Those skilled in the art can fully implement them in combination with existing technologies and common knowledge. Therefore, there is no need to describe them in detail.

[0040] It should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions of the present invention may be modified or replaced by equivalents without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention, and all of these should be included in the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automatic straw feeding device, characterized by: include, An adjustable silo (100), wherein the adjustable silo (100) is used to stack straws; a supporting assembly (200), disposed on one side of the adjustable silo (100), for supporting the straws (s) transported out of the adjustable silo (100); A material pushing assembly (300) is provided on one side of the adjustable material bin (100) and below the material supporting assembly (200), and is used to push the straw (s) in the adjustable material bin (100) onto the material supporting assembly (200) in the first stage, and to push the material supporting assembly (200) onto the swing-angle bracket (204) in the second stage, respectively; A detection component (400) is arranged below the swing-angle bracket (204) and is used to detect the straw (s) on the swing-angle bracket (204).

2. The automatic straw feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The adjustable silo (100) comprises an inclined plate (101), a baffle (102) and a gap (103); The baffle (102) is arranged at a lower position of the inclined plate (101), the straws (s) are stacked on the inclined plate (101), and are prevented from sliding down due to gravity by the baffle (102), and the baffles (102) are arranged at intervals on the left and right to form the gap (103).

3. The automatic straw feeding device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The material supporting assembly (200) comprises a material supporting plate (201), a rolling surface (202), a blocking portion (203) and a swing-angle bracket (204); The supporting plate (201) is arranged behind the baffle (102); the rolling surface (202) is an inclined surface and is located at the top of the supporting plate (201); the blocking portion (203) is arranged at the inclined lower position of the rolling surface (202) and is used to block the straw (s) from sliding down the rolling surface (202); the swing-angle bracket (204) is rotatably arranged with the outer axis of the blocking portion (203).

4. The automatic straw feeding device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The pushing assembly (300) is arranged on the inner side of the two supporting plates (201), and further comprises a primary pushing plate (301), a secondary pushing plate (302) and a support plate (303); The primary push plate (301) and the secondary push plate (302) are arranged vertically in front and behind, and are connected by the horizontal support plate (303). The primary push plate (301) is located on the side of the baffle (102), and the secondary push plate (302) is located on the side of the blocking portion (203).

5. The automatic straw feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The swing-angle bracket (204) has a hook portion (204a), and the straw (s) can be placed on the hook portion (204a) to be supported. The swing-angle bracket (204) is connected to the swing arm (206) through a shaft column (205), and the swing-angle cylinder (207) can drive the hook portion (204a) to swing by driving the swing arm (206) to move forward and backward.

6. The automatic straw feeding device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The adjustable silo (100) further includes an adjustment bracket (104) and a base (105); A groove (105a) is provided on the base (105), and the adjustment bracket (104) is movably installed on the base (105) through the groove (105a). The inclined plate (101) is provided above the adjustment bracket (104), and the size of the gap (103) is adjusted by moving the adjustment bracket (104).

7. The automatic straw feeding device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The pushing assembly (300) further comprises a bottom plate (304) and a pushing cylinder (305), wherein the bottom plate (304) is arranged above the pushing cylinder (305), and the pushing cylinder (305) is used to push the bottom plate (304) up and down.

8. The automatic straw feeding device according to claim 7, characterized in that: Two of the first-stage push plates (301) and two of the second-stage push plates (302) are respectively arranged on the inner side of the supporting plate (201), and the bottoms of the first-stage push plates (301) and the second-stage push plates (302) are installed on the bottom plate (304). The upper parts are horizontally connected by the support plate (303) to form a frame structure, and the extended parts are used to resist and push out the straw (s).

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