Automatic filling machine

Abstract

The utility model discloses an automatic filling machine, and aims to provide an automatic steel cylinder filling machine which can automatically and accurately position the orientation of a valve nozzle of a steel cylinder angle valve and a gun nozzle of a filling gun and can realize automatic gun feeding. Comprising a rack, an executing mechanism, a freely rotating steel cylinder tray mounted on a base, a first cylinder clamping device for fixing a steel cylinder, a second cylinder clamping device for aligning the position of the steel cylinder and assisting in adjusting the direction of a valve nozzle of an angle valve, and a control system, the executing mechanism comprises a buffering air cylinder, a lifting air cylinder, an angle valve automatic opening and closing unit, a guiding pressing head, a guiding pressing head driving air cylinder, a filling gun and a filling gun driving air cylinder. The buffering air cylinder is connected with the angle valve automatic opening and closing unit, and the control system controls the executing mechanism, the first bottle clamping device and the second bottle clamping device to act cooperatively. The filling machine can automatically and accurately position the orientation of a valve nozzle of a steel cylinder angle valve and a gun nozzle of a filling gun, so that filling automation is realized, the labor intensity is reduced, and the filling efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the technical field of cylinder filling equipment, and more specifically, to an automatic cylinder filling machine. Background Technology

[0002] During the filling process, the nozzle of the filling gun needs to be aligned and connected with the valve of the cylinder angle valve before liquefied gas is injected into the cylinder through the filling gun.

[0003] To improve filling efficiency, automated filling has become a major research direction. However, due to the inconsistent height and valve orientation of each cylinder's angle valve, automating the alignment of the filling gun with the valve is challenging. Currently, only semi-automated filling equipment is available. This equipment transports cylinders to the filling station via a conveyor (including conveyor belts, rollers, or robots), where a manual operator inserts the filling gun nozzle into the cylinder's angle valve. An automatic valve opening / closing unit then opens the valve for filling. After filling, the automatic valve opening / closing unit closes the valve. Therefore, before connecting the cylinder's angle valve nozzle to the filling gun, the operator must rotate the cylinder with one hand to align the valve nozzle with the filling gun nozzle in their other hand. This method is inefficient, unsafe, and does not meet the needs of modern production. Therefore, achieving fully automated filling with automatic and precise positioning of the cylinder's angle valve nozzle is a pressing problem that needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to address the technical deficiencies in the existing technology by providing an automatic cylinder filling machine that can automatically and accurately position the cylinder valve nozzle and the filling gun nozzle, thereby enabling automatic gun loading.

[0005] The technical solution adopted to achieve the purpose of this utility model is:

[0006] An automatic filling machine includes a frame, an actuator, a freely rotating cylinder tray mounted on a base, a first bottle clamping device for fixing the cylinders, a second bottle clamping device for aligning the cylinders and assisting in adjusting the orientation of the angle valve nozzle, and a control system. The actuator includes a buffer cylinder, a lifting cylinder, an automatic angle valve opening and closing unit, a guide pressure head, a guide pressure head drive cylinder, a filling gun, and a filling gun drive cylinder. The lifting cylinder is mounted on the frame, and the buffer cylinder, guide pressure head drive cylinder, and filling gun drive cylinder are connected to the lifting cylinder via a connecting frame to form a complete system. The body includes a buffer cylinder connected to the automatic angle valve opening and closing unit, which flexibly adjusts the force between the angle valve sleeve and the cylinder angle valve handwheel in the automatic angle valve opening and closing unit; the lowering action of the lifting cylinder is a free fall, thereby driving the entire actuator to fall freely; the lowering position of the filling gun corresponds to the valve nozzle of the cylinder angle valve; the guide pressure head drive cylinder drives the guide pressure head to rise and fall; the filling gun drive cylinder drives the filling gun to move; and the control system controls the actuator, the first bottle clamping device, and the second bottle clamping device to work together.

[0007] The actuator also includes an elastic fine-tuning mechanism for adaptive soft adjustment of the position of the filling gun and the valve nozzle of the cylinder angle valve.

[0008] The first bottle clamping device includes two first clamping jaws and a first bottle clamping drive cylinder for driving the two first clamping jaws. Each first clamping jaw is provided with a friction pad, or each first clamping jaw is provided with a friction pad and a first guide wheel that can rotate freely.

[0009] The second bottle clamping device includes two second clamping jaws and a second bottle clamping drive cylinder that drives the two second clamping jaws. Each second clamping jaw is provided with a freely rotating second guide wheel.

[0010] The side of the cylinder tray is equipped with an adjusting spring and a stop block for adjusting the rotation resistance of the cylinder tray.

[0011] The guide head includes a head body, the cross-section of which is an arc shape corresponding to the handwheel of the angle valve; the head body is provided with a downward-facing guide opening, the guide opening has an inclination that is larger at the bottom and smaller at the top, the top of the guide opening is a semi-circular arc, and the semi-circular arc at the top of the guide opening fits and presses against the outer cylinder of the valve nozzle of the cylinder angle valve.

[0012] The elastic fine-tuning mechanism includes an upper connecting plate fixedly connected to the connecting frame, a plurality of springs installed between the upper connecting plate and the lower connecting plate, and the filling gun drive cylinder fixedly installed on the lower connecting plate.

[0013] A weighing sensor is installed at the position corresponding to the cylinder tray, and the output end of the weighing sensor is connected to the control system.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this utility model are:

[0015] 1. The automatic filling machine of this utility model, through the coordinated action of the actuator, the first bottle clamping device and the second bottle clamping device, and its reasonable structural design, can automatically and accurately position the valve nozzle of the steel cylinder angle valve and the nozzle of the filling gun, realize fully automated gun loading, realize filling automation, reduce labor intensity, improve filling efficiency, and make production safer.

[0016] 2. The automatic filling machine of this utility model is equipped with a buffer cylinder. When the angle valve sleeve cannot fit tightly with the cylinder angle valve handwheel, the position of the angle valve sleeve and the cylinder angle valve handwheel can be flexibly adjusted, so as to smoothly open or close the angle valve, ensure smooth operation, improve the reliability of automatic filling, and improve production efficiency.

[0017] 3. The automatic filling machine of this utility model has an elastic micro-adjustment mechanism with adaptive soft adjustment function, which can adaptively adjust the docking between the filling gun and the angle valve nozzle, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of automatic gun loading, making production safer and improving production efficiency.

[0018] 4. In the automatic filling machine of this utility model, the guide pressure head can accurately position the direction of the angle valve nozzle, improving the accuracy of automatic nozzle loading and thus increasing filling efficiency. Furthermore, the cross-section of the guide pressure head is arc-shaped, which adapts to the angle valve handwheel, avoiding interference and ensuring smooth operation.

[0019] 5. In the filling machine of this utility model, the lowering action of the lifting cylinder is a free fall, which drives the entire actuator to fall freely, ensuring the accurate positioning of the filling gun and the angle valve nozzle, improving the accuracy and reliability of automatic gun loading, and increasing filling efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 The diagram shown is a schematic of the automatic filling machine of this utility model;

[0021] Figure 2 As shown Figure 1 View from direction A;

[0022] Figure 3 As shown Figure 1 Remove the B-direction view of the gas cylinder;

[0023] Figure 4 As shown Figure 1 Remove the K-direction view of the gas cylinder;

[0024] Figure 5 The diagram shown is a schematic of the guide head;

[0025] Figure 6 The diagram shows the guide head, the angle valve handwheel, and the valve nozzle. Detailed Implementation

[0026] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0027] A schematic diagram of the automatic filling machine of this utility model is shown below. Figure 1-6 As shown, the system includes a frame 3, an actuator, a freely rotating cylinder tray 1 mounted on a base 10, a first cylinder clamping device 4 for fixing the cylinders, a second cylinder clamping device 5 for aligning the position of the cylinders 20 and assisting in adjusting the orientation of the angle valve nozzle 23, and a control system. The actuator includes a buffer cylinder 6, a lifting cylinder 2, an automatic angle valve opening and closing unit 7, a guide pressure head 9, a guide pressure head drive cylinder 21, a filling gun 19, and a filling gun drive cylinder 17. The lifting cylinder 2 is mounted on the frame 3. The buffer cylinder 6, guide pressure head drive cylinder 21, and filling gun drive cylinder 17 are connected to the lifting cylinder 2 as a whole via a connecting frame 12. The buffer cylinder 6 is connected to the automatic angle valve opening and closing unit 7, and the force between the angle valve sleeve 7-2 and the cylinder angle valve handwheel 22 in the automatic angle valve opening and closing unit is flexibly adjusted by the buffer cylinder 6. The lowering action of the lifting cylinder 2 is a free fall, thereby causing the entire actuator to fall freely. The position where the filling gun 19 descends corresponds to the valve nozzle 23 of the cylinder angle valve. The guide pressure head drive cylinder 21 drives the guide pressure head 9 to rise and fall; the filling gun drive cylinder 17 drives the filling gun 19 to shift; the control system controls the actuator and the first bottle clamping device 4 and the second bottle clamping device 5 to work together. The automatic opening and closing unit 7 of the angle valve adopts a solution from the prior art.

[0028] When opening and closing the cylinder angle valve, sometimes the angle valve sleeve 7-2 cannot fit tightly with the cylinder angle valve handwheel 22. In order to avoid damage to the cylinder angle valve or the angle valve sleeve due to hard connection, a buffer cylinder 6 is provided in this application. The connection of the buffer cylinder 6 will not cause back-to-back and left-to-right shaking, and can also have a certain amount of vertical floating play to prevent misalignment and damage between the angle valve sleeve and the angle valve. When the opening and closing angle valve motor 7-1 in the automatic opening and closing unit of the angle valve rotates, the buffer cylinder 6 can flexibly adjust the position of the angle valve sleeve and the cylinder angle valve handwheel to ensure normal opening and closing of the cylinder angle valve.

[0029] To enhance the alignment accuracy of the filling gun, the actuator also includes an elastic fine-tuning mechanism for adaptive soft fine-tuning of the positions of the filling gun 19 and the valve nozzle of the cylinder angle valve. In this embodiment, a preferred embodiment is as follows: the elastic fine-tuning mechanism includes an upper connecting plate 13 fixedly connected to the connecting frame 12, and multiple springs 15 are installed between the upper connecting plate 13 and the lower connecting plate 16 via spring positioning members 14. The filling gun drive cylinder 17 is fixedly installed on the lower connecting plate 16. The filling gun 19 is connected to the filling gun drive cylinder 17 via a filling gun connector 18.

[0030] In this embodiment, a preferred solution is that the first bottle clamping device 4 includes two first clamping jaws 4-1 and a first bottle clamping drive cylinder 4-2 for driving the two first clamping jaws. Depending on the application, each first clamping jaw 4-1 is provided with a friction pad 4-3, or each first clamping jaw 4-1 is provided with a friction pad 4-3 and a freely rotatable first guide wheel 4-4. Preferably, a rotatable first guide wheel 4-4 is provided at the inner front end of the first clamping jaw 4-1, and a friction pad 4-3 is provided at the rear end. The first guide wheel 4-4 can reduce the resistance during the centering and positioning of the gas cylinder.

[0031] The second bottle clamping device 5 includes two second clamping jaws 5-1 and a second bottle clamping drive cylinder 5-2 that drives the two second clamping jaws. Each second clamping jaw is provided with a freely rotating second guide wheel 5-3. The second guide wheel 5-3 can reduce the resistance during the centering and positioning of the cylinder, and at the same time prevent friction between the cylinder 20 and the second clamping jaw 5-1. During the downward pressing of the guide pressure head 9, the cylinder 20 rotates concentrically with the force of the guide pressure head 9, which is used to assist in adjusting the angle of the cylinder. The preferred embodiment is that there are two sets of freely rotating second guide wheels 5-3 on each second clamping jaw.

[0032] To prevent the cylinders from rotating too much when the conveying device places them on the cylinder tray 1 due to excessive flexibility, thus exceeding the adjustable angle range of the guide head, the side of the cylinder tray 1 is provided with an adjusting spring 8 and a stop block 24 for adjusting the rotation resistance of the cylinder tray. Since the adjusting spring and the stop block increase the resistance when the cylinder tray rotates, the flexibility of the cylinder tray can be adjusted to meet the needs of production operations.

[0033] A roller 11 is provided at the front end of the cylinder tray 1 to reduce the resistance when the cylinder is conveyed by the cylinder conveying mechanism.

[0034] In this embodiment, a schematic diagram of the guide head 9 is shown in Figure 5- Figure 6As shown, the preferred embodiment is as follows: the guide head 9 includes a head body 9-1, the cross-section of which is an arc shape corresponding to the angle valve handwheel 22 to avoid interference with the angle valve handwheel 22. The head body 9-1 is provided with a downward-facing guide opening 9-2, the guide opening 9-2 having an inclination that is larger at the bottom and smaller at the top. The top of the guide opening 9-2 is a semi-circular arc shape, which can fit and press against the outer cylinder of the cylinder angle valve nozzle 23.

[0035] In this preferred embodiment, a weighing sensor is provided at the position corresponding to the cylinder tray 1. The output end of the weighing sensor is connected to the control system, and the signal from the weighing sensor is used to determine whether to load or unload a cylinder.

[0036] The method for filling using the automatic filling machine of this utility model includes the following steps:

[0037] (1) Setting the initial state: Setting the initial state is the preparation for the start of filling a new bottle. It mainly involves resetting the actuators and bottle clamping devices. In this embodiment, it includes: releasing the first bottle clamping device 4, releasing the second bottle clamping device 5, turning off the motor 7-1 in the angle valve automatic opening and closing unit 7, putting the lifting cylinder 2 in the lifting state, turning off the guide pressure head drive cylinder 21 to return to its original position, turning off the buffer cylinder 6, turning off the filling gun drive cylinder 17, releasing the filling gun 19, turning off the filling valve in the filling pipeline, and turning off the recovery pump in the residual gas recovery pipeline; and clearing the weight data cache and barcode data cache used in subsequent processes.

[0038] (2) Placing the cylinder: The cylinder 20 is placed on the freely rotating cylinder tray 1, and the first cylinder clamping device 4 and the second cylinder clamping device 5 move to align the cylinder position and fix the cylinder.

[0039] (3) Automatic loading: The buffer cylinder 6 extends, and the guide pressure head drive cylinder 21 moves to lower the guide pressure head; then, the first bottle clamping device 4 is released, and the second bottle clamping device 5 continues to hold the bottle, allowing the cylinder 20 to rotate concentrically with the cylinder tray 1; then, the lifting cylinder 2 moves from the lifting state to a free fall, causing the entire actuator to fall freely, and the angle valve sleeve 7-2 of the automatic angle valve opening and closing unit in the actuator descends to the angle valve position. The guide pressure head 9 in the actuator rotates the cylinder as the actuator descends, adjusting the angle valve nozzle 23 so that the center line of the nozzle is basically on a straight line with the center line of the filling gun nozzle. Then, the guide pressure head drive cylinder 21 resets and rises, the filling gun drive cylinder 17 moves to drive the filling gun 19 to extend, and the position of the filling gun and the cylinder valve nozzle is adaptively and softly adjusted by the elastic fine adjustment mechanism. The filling gun head extends into the cylinder valve nozzle, the gun head clamps and connects with the cylinder valve nozzle. At the same time, the first bottle clamping device 4 moves to fix the cylinder, preventing the cylinder and the automatic opening and closing unit of the angle valve from rotating together when the angle valve is opened.

[0040] (4) When the angle valve automatic opening and closing unit is activated, the angle valve handwheel 22 is rotated under the action of the buffer cylinder 6 to automatically open the angle valve.

[0041] Whether the angle valve is fully open is determined by the torque sensor in the automatic angle valve opening and closing unit 7. Since the motor 7-1 has a large torque at the beginning of startup (counterclockwise rotation), a torque signal shielding delay is set in the equipment. During this time, the torque signal is not detected. After the motor starts rotating and the torque stabilizes, the torque signal is monitored. If the motor rotates for more than the set maximum angle valve opening time and no torque signal is detected, it means that the angle valve is damaged or the equipment has failed to open the angle valve. At this time, the equipment alarms and waits for manual handling. The weighing sensor detects whether the bottle has been lowered. If the bottle has been lowered, the initial startup process is returned, the initial state is set, and the process restarts. If the torque signal is detected within the maximum angle valve opening time, it means that the angle valve has opened successfully.

[0042] (5) After the angle valve is successfully opened, the motor 7-1 of the automatic opening and closing unit of the angle valve stops, the first bottle clamping device 4 is released so that the cylinder can rotate on its own. The angle can be finely adjusted by the force of the cylinder extended by the filling gun, and the filling process begins.

[0043] (6) After filling is completed, the first bottle clamping device 4 clamps the steel bottle to prevent the steel bottle and the automatic opening and closing unit of the angle valve from rotating together when the angle valve is closed. The automatic opening and closing unit of the angle valve is activated and rotates the angle valve handwheel 22 under the action of the buffer cylinder 6 to automatically close the angle valve.

[0044] Whether the angle valve is fully closed is determined by a torque sensor. Because the motor has a large torque when it starts up (clockwise rotation), a torque signal shielding delay is set in the equipment. During this time, the torque signal is not detected. Once the motor is running and the torque is stable, the torque signal is monitored. If no torque signal is detected after the set maximum angle valve closing time, it means that the angle valve is damaged or the equipment has failed to close the angle valve. At this time, the equipment alarms and waits for manual intervention. The weighing sensor is used to check whether the bottle has been unloaded. If the bottle has been unloaded, the filling record is saved and the initial state is reset and restarted. If a torque signal is detected within the maximum angle valve closing time, it means that the angle valve has closed successfully.

[0045] (7) After the angle valve is successfully closed, the filling gun is disengaged and the filling is completed.

[0046] After removing the gun, release the filling gun 19 in sequence, close the filling gun drive cylinder 17, raise the lifting cylinder 2, close the buffer cylinder 6, release the first bottle clamping device 4, release the second bottle clamping device 5, determine whether to lower the bottle, and wait for the next cylinder to start filling.

[0047] To achieve residual gas recovery and ensure operational safety, residual gas recovery is performed after the angle valve is successfully closed, and the filling data is saved before the filling gun is removed. The residual gas recovery circuit and process adopt existing technology.

[0048] To verify the cylinders, a cylinder verification process is also included. This process includes: determining whether a cylinder should be loaded; after determining that a cylinder has been loaded, waiting for the cylinder code information from the host computer; upon obtaining the cylinder code, transmitting the current weight and cylinder code to the host computer and requesting the host computer to verify the validity of the cylinder; if the host computer verifies that the cylinder is qualified, entering the automatic loading process; if the cylinder verification is invalid, the equipment issues an alarm signal, waits for the cylinder to be unloaded, and after unloading, enters the initial setting state to restart the filling preparation for a new cylinder.

[0049] In this automatic filling machine, through the coordinated action of the actuator, the first bottle clamping device, and the second bottle clamping device, and its reasonable structural design, the orientation of the cylinder angle valve nozzle and the filling gun nozzle can be automatically and accurately positioned, achieving fully automated gun loading, realizing automated filling, reducing labor intensity, improving filling efficiency, and making production safer. The cylinder's descent action is a free fall, and the buffer cylinder in the actuator ensures the smooth opening and closing of the angle valve, guaranteeing the reliability of automatic filling and improving filling efficiency.

[0050] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present utility model. It should be noted that, for those skilled in the art, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of the present utility model, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the protection scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. An automatic filling machine, characterized in that, The system includes a frame, an actuator, a freely rotating cylinder tray mounted on a base, a first cylinder clamping device for fixing the cylinders, a second cylinder clamping device for aligning the cylinders and assisting in adjusting the direction of the angle valve nozzle, and a control system. The actuator includes a buffer cylinder, a lifting cylinder, an automatic angle valve opening and closing unit, a guide pressure head, a guide pressure head drive cylinder, a filling gun, and a filling gun drive cylinder. The lifting cylinder is mounted on the frame. The buffer cylinder, guide pressure head drive cylinder, and filling gun drive cylinder are connected to the lifting cylinder as a single unit via a connecting frame. The buffer cylinder is connected to the automatic opening and closing unit of the angle valve, and the force between the angle valve sleeve and the handwheel of the cylinder angle valve in the automatic opening and closing unit is flexibly adjusted by the buffer cylinder; the lowering action of the lifting cylinder is a free fall, thereby driving the entire actuator to fall freely; the lowering position of the filling gun corresponds to the valve nozzle of the cylinder angle valve; the guide pressure head drive cylinder drives the guide pressure head to rise and fall; the filling gun drive cylinder drives the filling gun to move; the control system controls the actuator and the first bottle clamping device and the second bottle clamping device to work together.

2. The automatic filling machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The actuator also includes an elastic fine-tuning mechanism for adaptive soft adjustment of the position of the filling gun and the valve nozzle of the cylinder angle valve.

3. The automatic filling machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first bottle clamping device includes two first clamping jaws and a first bottle clamping drive cylinder for driving the two first clamping jaws. Each first clamping jaw is provided with a friction pad, or each first clamping jaw is provided with a friction pad and a first guide wheel that can rotate freely.

4. The automatic filling machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The second bottle clamping device includes two second clamping jaws and a second bottle clamping drive cylinder that drives the two second clamping jaws. Each second clamping jaw is provided with a freely rotating second guide wheel.

5. The automatic filling machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The side of the cylinder tray is equipped with an adjusting spring and a stop block for adjusting the rotation resistance of the cylinder tray.

6. The automatic filling machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The guide head includes a head body, the cross-section of which is an arc shape corresponding to the handwheel of the angle valve; the head body is provided with a downward-facing guide opening, the guide opening has an inclination that is larger at the bottom and smaller at the top, the top of the guide opening is a semi-circular arc, and the semi-circular arc at the top of the guide opening fits and presses against the outer cylinder of the valve nozzle of the cylinder angle valve.

7. The automatic filling machine according to claim 2, characterized in that, The elastic fine-tuning mechanism includes an upper connecting plate fixedly connected to the connecting frame, a plurality of springs installed between the upper connecting plate and the lower connecting plate, and the filling gun drive cylinder fixedly installed on the lower connecting plate.

8. The automatic filling machine according to claim 2, characterized in that, A weighing sensor is installed at the position corresponding to the cylinder tray, and the output end of the weighing sensor is connected to the control system.

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