Pressure self-adaptive floating heat sealing device

Abstract

The utility model relates to the field of laboratory automatic detection, in particular to a pressure self-adaptive floating heat sealing device which comprises a base for fixing the device, a heating block, a heat sealing connecting assembly for connecting the base with the heating block and a driving device for driving the heat sealing connecting assembly and the heating block to move. The heat-seal connecting assembly comprises a plurality of floating connectors, and the floating connectors are jointly connected with a heating block. The floating joint is introduced between the guide mechanism and the heating block, so that the heating block which can only move along the guide direction of the guide mechanism originally can have a floating inclination angle of several degrees relative to all directions of the horizontal plane, and the heat sealing surface is tightly attached to the heat sealing surface all the time. Parallelism errors of a heat sealing surface and a heat-sealed surface due to various conditions are completely covered, and the dimensional tolerance requirement of materials needing heat sealing packaging is greatly reduced. And meanwhile, the debugging requirement of the hot-pressing sealing assembly is completely cancelled, so that the hot-pressing sealing assembly achieves a debugging-free state that the hot-pressing sealing assembly can be used after being assembled.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of laboratory automation detection, and in particular to a pressure-adaptive floating heat sealing device. Background Art

[0002] Heat-press sealing involves heating the material at the seal point in some way until it reaches a viscous state, then applying pressure to seal it. This is typically accomplished using a heat-press sealing device or machine. Common heat-press sealing methods include flat plate heat sealing, disc heat sealing, belt heat sealing, and sliding clamp sealing. Flat plate heat sealing is the most popular.

[0003] Typically, flatbed heat sealing uses a pneumatic cylinder or motor to provide the sealing pressure, a linear guide or guide shaft with linear bearings for guidance, a heating rod as the heat source for the heating block, and a temperature sensor that monitors the temperature and transmits it to a controller to activate and deactivate the heating rod. When the set temperature is reached, the control motor drives the heating block along the guide direction to heat-seal the surface of the heat-sealed sheet. This is the principle and workflow of the most classic flatbed heat sealing system.

[0004] Although this structure is classic and applicable to most scenarios, it also has many problems. Especially when the heat-sealing surface is composed of several independent heat-sealing surfaces, each heat-sealing surface has different heights and angles, resulting in a different combination of heights and angles each time the heat is pressed and sealed. Therefore, if the parallelism error between the heat-sealing surface of the heating block and the heat-sealing surface is too large, it will make debugging more difficult. If the debugging is not in place, uneven heat sealing pressure will occur. Uneven heat sealing pressure will lead to poor consistency in the heat sealing effect. At the same time, difficult debugging will also lead to unnecessary increases in heat sealing pressure, heat sealing time, and heat sealing temperature during the debugging process.

[0005] For example, the packaging of single-dose reagent strips used in in vitro diagnostics requires heat sealing 4 to 8 reagent strips at a time. The size of the reagent strips varies between batches and even within the same batch due to the influence of the production process. In this case, the parallelism between the heat-sealed surface of the heating block and the heat-sealed surface is difficult to debug, which also places higher requirements on the dimensional stability of the heat-sealed object and the process stability of the production batch, thereby increasing R&D and production costs in disguise. If the production line is a flexible production line, then each disassembly and replacement of the heating block requires parallelism debugging, which will increase equipment costs and production time costs.

[0006] Similar patents in the prior art include the Chinese utility model patent for a PE bag heat-sealing heating device, published as publication number CN212951412U. This patent addresses the difficulty in adjusting the gap between heating blocks. Its floating structure refers to a floating and adjustable mounting device, facilitating adjustment of the parallelism and spacing between the two heating blocks. However, once secured, the two heating surfaces remain relatively fixed, unable to adapt to irregularities in the heat-sealed objects, requiring manual adjustment as needed, which is rather cumbersome. Another example is the Chinese utility model patent for a self-adjusting heat-sealing mechanism for soft-pack batteries, published as publication number CN 218039334U. The floating seal in this patent primarily utilizes a spring to achieve unidirectional compression, ensuring that the seal adapts to the uneven surface of the soft-pack battery. This floating structure can only achieve axial floating in specific regions, and due to the influence of independent floating springs, pressures between regions with different floating amounts are inconsistent, resulting in low pressure uniformity. Summary of the Invention

[0007] In response to the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, the present application provides a pressure-adaptive floating heat sealing device that can adaptively adjust the inclination angle of the heat sealing surface of the heating block according to the inclination angle of the heat sealing surface during the pressurized heat sealing process, and ensure that the pressure is evenly distributed on all parts of the heat sealing surface at all times.

[0008] In order to achieve the above technical effects, the present invention is implemented through the following technical solutions:

[0009] A pressure-adaptive floating heat sealing device includes a base for fixing the device, a heating block, a heat sealing connection component for connecting the base and the heating block, and a driving device for moving the hot pressing connection component and the heating block; the heat sealing connection component includes multiple floating joints, and the multiple floating joints are commonly connected to the heating block.

[0010] Furthermore, the base includes a lower bottom plate, a left support plate, a right support plate, a front support plate and an upper top plate. The left support plate and the right support plate are both fixed on the upper surface of the lower bottom plate, and the left support plate is fixed on the left side of the upper top plate, and the right support plate is fixed on the right side of the upper top plate. The front support plate is fixed to the front ends of the left and right support plates.

[0011] Furthermore, two linear guide rails arranged in parallel along the vertical direction are fixed on the front support plate, each linear guide rail is connected to a slider, and an optical coupler mounting plate is installed on the front support plate, and an optical coupler is installed on the optical coupler mounting plate.

[0012] Furthermore, the heating block includes a connecting plate, a heat insulation plate and a heating plate arranged in sequence from top to bottom, and the heating plate is equipped with a heating rod and a temperature sensor.

[0013] Furthermore, the heat-sealing connection assembly includes an upper connecting plate, a rear connecting plate, a left connecting plate, a right connecting plate and a lower connecting plate, the bottoms of the left connecting plate and the right connecting plate are fixed on the lower connecting plate, the rears of the left connecting plate and the right connecting plate are connected to the rear connecting plate, the uppers of the left connecting plate and the right connecting plate are connected to the upper connecting plate, and the rear connecting plate is fixedly connected to the slider.

[0014] Furthermore, four flange linear bearings are respectively installed at the four corners of the lower connecting plate, and guide shafts are installed in the four flange linear bearings. The upper end of the guide shaft is equipped with a shaft elastic ring, and the lower end of each guide shaft is equipped with a floating joint.

[0015] Furthermore, an optical coupler shielding piece for triggering the optical coupler is installed on the left connecting plate.

[0016] Furthermore, the lower connecting plate of the heat-sealing connection assembly is mounted with a flanged linear bearing, within which a guide shaft is mounted. Each guide shaft is fitted with a shaft-mounted elastic retaining ring at the upper end of the flanged linear bearing to limit the shaft's axial position. The lower end of each guide shaft is connected to the heating block by a floating joint, which allows for eccentricity and angle adjustment between the guide shaft and the heating block. A spring is connected between the floating joint and the lower connecting plate, sleeved around the outer side of the corresponding guide shaft. The lower end of each floating joint is connected to the heating block.

[0017] Furthermore, the driving device is a motor installed on the upper top plate, and a transmission screw is provided at the output end of the motor, and the transmission screw is threadedly connected to the screw nut on the upper connecting plate.

[0018] Furthermore, the floating joint can simultaneously tolerate eccentricity and allowable deviation angle.

[0019] The advantages of the present invention are:

[0020] 1. Ensure the heat-sealing surface fits tightly against the heat-sealed surface. By introducing a floating joint between the guide mechanism and the heating block, the heating block, which previously could only move along the guide mechanism's direction, can now float at several degrees in all directions relative to the horizontal plane. This completely eliminates any parallelism errors that may occur between the heat-sealing surface and the heat-sealed surface, significantly reducing the dimensional tolerance requirements for materials requiring heat sealing.

[0021] 2. The floating structure ensures that the heat-sealing surface and the heat-sealed surface are always in close contact. At this time, the pressure applied to the heating block can be evenly distributed on the heat-sealed surface at all times, ensuring that the temperature, pressure, and heat sealing time are consistent at all locations on the heat-sealed surface, thereby ensuring the consistency of the heat-sealing effect to the greatest extent possible. At the same time, each heat-sealing operation can ensure that the above parameters are not affected by the inclination of the heat-sealed surface, thus ensuring the consistency of the heat-sealing effect to the greatest extent possible.

[0022] 3. This device requires no commissioning, accommodating a wide range of parallelism errors, eliminating the need for parallelism adjustments between the heat-sealing and heat-sealing surfaces. This device balances pressure, using a floating structure to first securely align the heat-sealing and heat-sealing surfaces before applying pressure. This maximizes pressure balance across the entire contact surface, ensuring consistent heat sealing. It also requires low dimensional tolerances for the heat-sealed object, accelerating R&D and reducing production costs.

[0023] 4. The parallelism between the working surface and the heat-sealed surface is adaptively adjusted in real time based on pressure. Not only can the angle be adjusted to accommodate irregular protrusions during the initial heat-sealing process, but as the irregular protrusions are flattened, the parallelism with the entire heat-sealed surface is gradually adjusted, preventing unbalanced pressure loads. The heat-sealed surface maintains excellent flatness. Furthermore, this device eliminates the need for frequent manual adjustments based on the specific heat-sealed object, saving time and effort.

[0024] 5. The floating heat-sealing device of this patent allows for the angle between the heat-sealing and heat-sealed surfaces to float, and maintains consistent pressure across the entire heat-sealing surface during floating heat sealing. Furthermore, the floating heat-sealing device of this patent flattens any bumps that may occur on the working surface, ensuring the flatness of the working surface after heat sealing, thus eliminating irregular bumps. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of a pressure-adaptive floating heat sealing device.

[0026] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the heating block.

[0027] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the floating joint.

[0028] Among them, 1-base, 11-lower bottom plate, 12-left support plate, 13-right support plate, 14-upper top plate, 15-front support plate, 16-linear guide, 17-slider, 18-optical coupler mounting plate, 19-optical coupler, 2-heating block, 21-connecting plate, 22-thermal insulation plate, 23-heating plate, 24-heating rod, 25-temperature sensor, 3-heat sealing connection assembly, 31-rear connecting plate, 32-left connecting plate, 33-right connecting plate, 34-upper connecting plate, 35-lower connecting plate, 36-flange linear bearing, 37-guide shaft, 38-floating joint, 39-spring, 310-screw nut, 311-optical coupler baffle, 4-drive device, 41-motor, 42-transmission screw. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The following is a detailed description of an embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is implemented based on the technical solution of the present invention, and provides a detailed implementation method and specific operation process. However, the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment.

[0030] It should be pointed out that all directional indications in the embodiments of the present invention (such as two sides, edges, up, down, left, right, front, back, middle, top, bottom, tail, axial, radial...) are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement state, etc. between the various components under a certain specific posture (as shown in the accompanying drawings). If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0031] Example 1

[0032] like Figure 1 As shown, a pressure-adaptive floating heat sealing device includes a base 1 for fixing the device, a heating block 2, a heat sealing connection component 3 for connecting the base 1 and the heating block 2, and a driving device 4 for driving the hot pressing connection component and the heating block 2 to move; the heat sealing connection component 3 includes a plurality of floating joints 38, and the plurality of floating joints 38 are commonly connected to the heating block 2.

[0033] The base 1 includes a lower bottom plate 11, a left support plate 12, a right support plate 13, a front support plate 15 and an upper top plate 14. The left support plate 12 and the right support plate 13 are both fixed to the upper surface of the lower bottom plate 11, and the left support plate 12 is fixed to the left side of the upper top plate 14, and the right support plate 13 is fixed to the right side of the upper top plate 14. The front support plate 15 is fixed to the front ends of the left support plate 12 and the right support plate 13.

[0034] Two linear guide rails 16 arranged in parallel along the vertical direction are fixed on the front support plate 15 , and each linear guide rail 16 is connected to a slider 17 . An optical coupler mounting plate 18 is mounted on the front support plate 15 , and an optical coupler 19 is mounted on the optical coupler mounting plate 18 .

[0035] The heating block 2 includes a connecting plate 21, a heat insulating plate 22 and a heating plate 23 arranged in sequence from top to bottom, wherein the heating plate 23 is equipped with a heating rod 24 and a temperature sensor 25. The heating rods 24 can be provided with 2-4, and the number is adjusted according to actual conditions.

[0036] The heat sealing connection assembly 3 includes an upper connecting plate 34, a rear connecting plate 31, a left connecting plate 32, a right connecting plate 33 and a lower connecting plate 35. The bottoms of the left connecting plate 32 and the right connecting plate 33 are fixed on the lower connecting plate 35, the rear parts of the left connecting plate 32 and the right connecting plate 33 are connected to the rear connecting plate 31, and the upper parts of the left connecting plate 32 and the right connecting plate 33 are connected to the upper connecting plate 34. The rear connecting plate 31 is fixedly connected to the slider 17.

[0037] Four flange linear bearings 36 are respectively installed at the four corners of the lower connecting plate 35. A guide shaft 37 is installed in each of the four flange linear bearings 36. The upper end of the guide shaft 37 is equipped with a shaft elastic ring, and the lower end of each guide shaft 37 is equipped with a floating joint 38.

[0038] An optical coupler baffle 311 for triggering the optical coupler 19 is mounted on the left connecting plate 32 .

[0039] The lower connecting plate 35 of the heat-sealing connection assembly 3 is mounted with a flanged linear bearing 36, within which a guide shaft 37 is mounted. Each guide shaft 37 passes through the lower connecting plate 35. Each guide shaft 37 is fitted with a shaft retaining ring at the upper end of the flanged linear bearing 36 to limit the shaft's axial position. The lower end of each guide shaft 37 is connected to the heating block 2 by a floating joint 38, which allows for eccentricity and angle adjustment between the guide shaft 37 and the heating block 2. A spring 39 is connected between the floating joint 38 and the lower connecting plate 35. The spring 39 is sleeved onto the outer side of the corresponding guide shaft 37. The lower end of the floating joint 38 is connected to the heating block 2.

[0040] The driving device 4 is a motor 41 mounted on the upper top plate 14 . A transmission screw 42 is provided at the output end of the motor 41 . The transmission screw 42 is threadedly connected to a screw nut 310 on the upper connecting plate 34 .

[0041] The floating joint 38 can accommodate both eccentricity and angle of deviation.

[0042] The four heating rods 24 on the heating block 2 are powered on and begin heating. The temperature sensor 25 detects that the temperature of the heating plate 23 has reached the set temperature and stabilized for a period of time before the device begins operating. The motor 41 drives the transmission screw 42 to rotate, driving the screw nut 310 downward along the transmission screw 42. The upper connecting plate 34, rear connecting plate 31, left connecting plate 32, right connecting plate 33, and lower connecting plate 35 connected to the screw nut 310 move downward under the guidance of the linear guide 16. At this point, the heating block 2 moves downward together under the action of gravity until it contacts the heated surface. The screw nut 310 and its attached upper connecting plate 34, rear connecting plate 31, left connecting plate 32, right connecting plate 33, and lower connecting plate 35 continue to move downward. The heater block 2 now contacts the heated surface and adjusts its position based on the contact pressure. The floating joints 38 mounted at the four corners of the connecting plate 21 float and connect to the guide shafts 37 according to the position of the heater block 2. The four guide shafts 37 now move upward along the four flanged linear bearings 36, with the actual movement distance determined by the current position of the heater block 2. As the guide shafts 37 move upward, the distance between the lower connecting plate 35 and the heater block 2 decreases, compressing the springs 39 mounted on the outer sides of the guide shafts 37 and exerting a downward force on the heater block 2. As the motor 41 drives the screw nut 310 further downward, the springs 39 are further compressed until they reach the desired compression level. At this point, the heater block 2 is in full contact with the heated surface, the contact pressure is uniform, and the temperature distribution meets the desired requirements. After maintaining this pressure for a certain period, the motor 41 rotates the transmission screw 42 in the opposite direction, driving the screw nut 310 upward. The contact pressure gradually decreases until the heating block 2 separates from the heat-sealed surface. When the optical coupler block 311 triggers the optical coupler 19, the motor 41 stops rotating. At this point, the floating heat sealing device completes the heat sealing process and returns to its initial state.

[0043] Example 2

[0044] like Figure 1-Figure 3 As shown, the present invention provides a pressure-adaptive floating heat sealing device, which includes a base 1 for fixing the device, a heating block 2, a heat sealing connection component 3 for connecting the base 1 and the heating block 2, and a driving device 4 for driving the hot pressing connection component 3 and the heating block 2 to move.

[0045] As a specific embodiment of the base 1, the base 1 includes a lower base plate 11, a left support plate 12, a right support plate 13, a front support plate 15, and an upper top plate 14. Two vertically parallel linear guide rails 16 are fixed to the front support plate 15, each of which has two sliders 17. An optical coupler mounting plate 18 is mounted on the front support plate 15, and an optical coupler 19 is mounted on the optical coupler mounting plate 18.

[0046] As a specific embodiment of the heating block 2, the heating block 2 includes a connecting plate 21, a heat insulating plate 22, and a heating plate 23. The heating block 2 is equipped with 2-4 heating rods 24 and a temperature sensor 25.

[0047] As a specific embodiment of the heat sealing connection assembly 3, the heat sealing connection assembly 3 is composed of a rear connection plate 31, a left connection plate 32, a right connection plate 33, an upper connection plate 34, and a lower connection plate 35. The heat sealing connection assembly 3 is connected to the four sliders 17 on the base 1 through the rear connection plate 31.

[0048] To ensure that the heating surface of the heating block 2 floats relative to the heated surface, four flanged linear bearings 36 are mounted at each corner of the lower connecting plate 35. Each flanged linear bearing 36 houses a guide shaft 37. The upper end of each guide shaft 37 is fitted with a shaft retaining ring, and the lower end of each guide shaft 37 is fitted with a floating joint 38. Springs 39 are installed outside the guide shafts 37 and between the floating joints 38 and the lower connecting plate 35. The lower end of the floating joints 38 is connected to the heating block 2. An optical coupler block 311 is mounted on the left connecting plate 32.

[0049] As a specific embodiment of the driving device 4 , the driving device 4 includes a motor 41 mounted on the upper top plate 14 . A transmission screw 42 is provided at the output end of the motor 41 . The transmission screw 42 is threadedly connected to the screw nut 310 .

[0050] The one-step hot pressing sealing process of the pressure adaptive floating heat sealing device is as follows:

[0051] The product to be heat-sealed is covered with a heat-sealing film, and together they form the heat-sealing surface, which is placed directly below the heating block 2. When energized, the motor 41 rotates the transmission screw 42, which in turn drives the screw nut 310 on the transmission screw 42 downward, simultaneously driving the heat-sealing connection assembly 3 connected to the screw nut 310 to move along the guide direction of the linear guide 16.

[0052] When the heating plate 23 contacts the heated surface, the four floating joints 38 automatically adjust their angles and positions according to the pressure changes at various locations between the heating surface of the heating plate 23 and the heated surface, so that the heating surface of the heating plate 23 perfectly fits the heated surface. At this time, the heating block 2 stops moving.

[0053] As the drive mechanism 4 drives the heat-sealing connection assembly 3 downward, the flanged linear bearing 36 continues to move in the direction of the guide shaft 37. This causes the spring 39 to be continuously compressed, generating a spring force on the heating block 2. When the heat-sealing connection assembly 3 reaches its set position, the combined force of gravity and the reaction force generated by the deformation of the spring 39 act on the heat-sealing surface. At this point, the combined effects of temperature and pressure cause the heat-sealing film to become viscous and evenly adhere to the product being heat-sealed.

[0054] After maintaining this state for a certain period of time, the motor 41 rotates in the reverse direction and drives the heat sealing connection assembly 3 to move in the opposite direction until the optical coupler blocking piece 311 blocks the working area of ​​the optical coupler 19 and the driving device 4 stops working.

[0055] The above process means that one heat sealing operation is completed. When the heat sealing surface cools down, the product to be heat sealed is stably and firmly sealed by the heat sealing film.

[0056] The application of the floating joint 38 of the present application in flat-plate heat-pressing sealing can together form a pressure-adaptive floating heat-sealing device that can balance the pressure of the entire contact surface and adjust the parallelism of the contact surface based on pressure adaptation.

Claims

1. A pressure-adaptive floating heat sealing device, characterized in that: The invention comprises a base (1) for fixing the device, a heating block (2), a heat sealing connection component (3) for connecting the base (1) and the heating block (2), and a driving device (4) for driving the hot pressing connection component and the heating block (2) to move; the heat sealing connection component (3) comprises a plurality of floating joints (38), and the plurality of floating joints (38) are commonly connected to the heating block (2).

2. The pressure-adaptive floating heat sealing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The base (1) comprises a lower base plate (11), a left support plate (12), a right support plate (13), a front support plate (15) and an upper top plate (14); the left support plate (12) and the right support plate (13) are both fixed to the upper surface of the lower base plate (11); the left support plate (12) is fixed to the left side of the upper top plate (14); the right support plate (13) is fixed to the right side of the upper top plate (14); and the front ends of the left support plate (12) and the right support plate (13) are fixed with the front support plate (15).

3. The pressure-adaptive floating heat sealing device according to claim 2, characterized in that: Two linear guide rails (16) arranged in parallel along a vertical direction are fixed on the front support plate (15), and each linear guide rail (16) is connected to a slider (17). An optical coupler mounting plate (18) is mounted on the front support plate (15), and an optical coupler (19) is mounted on the optical coupler mounting plate (18).

4. The pressure-adaptive floating heat sealing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heating block (2) comprises a connecting plate (21), a heat insulating plate (22) and a heating plate (23) which are arranged in sequence from top to bottom. The heating plate (23) is equipped with a heating rod (24) and a temperature sensor (25).

5. The pressure-adaptive floating heat sealing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heat-sealing connection assembly (3) comprises an upper connection plate (34), a rear connection plate (31), a left connection plate (32), a right connection plate (33) and a lower connection plate (35). The bottoms of the left connection plate (32) and the right connection plate (33) are fixed to the lower connection plate (35). The rear portions of the left connection plate (32) and the right connection plate (33) are connected to the rear connection plate (31). The upper portions of the left connection plate (32) and the right connection plate (33) are connected to the upper connection plate (34). The rear connection plate (31) is fixedly connected to the slider (17).

6. The pressure-adaptive floating heat sealing device according to claim 5, characterized in that: Four flange linear bearings (36) are respectively installed at the four corners of the lower connecting plate (35), and a guide shaft (37) is installed in each of the four flange linear bearings (36). The upper end of the guide shaft (37) is equipped with a shaft elastic retaining ring, and the lower end of each guide shaft (37) is equipped with a floating joint (38).

7. The pressure-adaptive floating heat sealing device according to claim 5, characterized in that: An optical coupler baffle (311) for triggering the optical coupler (19) is mounted on the left connecting plate (32).

8. The pressure-adaptive floating heat sealing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lower connecting plate (35) of the heat sealing connecting assembly (3) is provided with a flange linear bearing (36), a guide shaft (37) is provided in the flange linear bearing (36), and the guide shaft (37) passes through the lower connecting plate (35). Each guide shaft (37) is provided with an elastic retaining ring for the shaft at the upper end portion of the flange linear bearing (36) to limit the shaft axially. The lower end of each guide shaft (37) is connected to the heating block (2) by a floating joint (38), and the floating joint (38) can make the guide shaft (37) and the heating block (2) eccentric and angular. A spring (39) is connected between the floating joint (38) and the lower connecting plate (35), and the spring (39) is sleeved on the outer side of the corresponding guide shaft (37). The lower end of the floating joint (38) is connected to the heating block (2).

9. The pressure-adaptive floating heat sealing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving device (4) is a motor (41) mounted on the upper top plate (14). A transmission screw (42) is provided at the output end of the motor (41). The transmission screw (42) is threadedly connected to a screw nut (310) on the upper connecting plate (34).

10. The pressure-adaptive floating heat sealing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The floating joint (38) can simultaneously tolerate eccentricity and allowable deviation angle.

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