Waste removal device

Abstract

This application relates to a rejection device, comprising: a buffer rack configured to rotate intermittently about a central axis and having multiple stations for holding items to be processed; a suction array having multiple independently controllable vacuum nozzles; a drive assembly for driving the suction array to move relative to the buffer rack, so that the suction array can selectively position itself to a target station on the buffer rack; and a controller for acquiring the position information of the non-conforming items among the items to be processed at the target station. The rejection device designed in this application, through the intermittent rotation of the buffer rack and the coordinated movement of the suction array, precisely positions and brings the non-conforming items to be rejected to a stationary state, and then vertically sucks them up and removes them by independently controlled vacuum nozzles. This effectively avoids the problem of adjacent conforming items being affected by impact or airflow interference due to traditional push rod or blowing methods. Furthermore, the vacuum suction method is gentle and causes no mechanical damage.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of automated production equipment technology, and in particular to a rejection device for removing defective products on a production line. Background Technology

[0002] In modern pharmaceutical filling and packaging production lines, multiple online inspection stations are typically integrated to ensure the quality of the final product. These stations can detect defective products in real time, such as products that are underweight, have loose caps, are missing inner plugs, have crooked labels, or have cosmetic defects. Once a defective product is detected, the production line must be equipped with appropriate rejection devices to quickly and accurately separate and remove it from the qualified product stream.

[0003] Currently, the commonly used rejection devices on production lines mainly employ a cylinder or mechanical linkage to drive a pusher or lever, which extends instantaneously to push the defective product laterally off the conveyor belt when a defective product is detected passing by. While this method is simple in structure, it has significant drawbacks:

[0004] First, the rejection action is relatively rigid and has a large impact force, which can easily damage or scratch the bottle or cap, and may even cause the product to tip over. Second, on high-speed or high-density production lines, the rigid lateral pushing force can easily interfere with adjacent qualified products, which may cause qualified products to be pushed or knocked over by mistake, affecting the stability of the production line. Furthermore, the trajectory of rejected products is uncontrollable, and they usually fall into the collection box on the side of the conveyor belt, making the process rather chaotic. Utility Model Content

[0005] To address the aforementioned issues, this application provides a waste rejection device that offers high stability and good product protection.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the waste rejection device designed in this application includes:

[0007] The buffer rack is configured to rotate intermittently about a central axis and has multiple workstations for holding items to be processed;

[0008] The suction array is equipped with multiple independently controllable vacuum nozzles;

[0009] A driving component is used to drive the suction array to move relative to the buffer rack, so that the suction array can selectively position itself to a target station on the buffer rack;

[0010] The controller is used to acquire the location information of the non-conforming products in the process at the target workstation.

[0011] The controller controls the drive component to move the suction array to the target station based on the location information of the defective product, and activates the vacuum nozzle corresponding to the location information of the defective product to remove the defective product.

[0012] Preferably, the buffer rack has a polygonal frame structure, and the multiple workstations are arranged at circumferential intervals along the polygonal frame structure; the multiple vacuum nozzles are arranged in a straight line direction, which is parallel to the side of the target workstation on the polygonal frame structure.

[0013] Preferably, the work station is a U-shaped slot that opens towards the outside of the buffer rack; the inner wall of the U-shaped slot is provided with a limiting groove for positioning the product to be processed; a retaining member is movably provided in the U-shaped slot for pushing the product to be processed along the straight direction and pressing it against the limiting groove.

[0014] Preferably, it also includes a waste collection box; after rejecting defective products, the controller controls the drive assembly to drive the suction array to transport the defective products to the waste collection box and release them.

[0015] Preferably, a guide cover is provided above the waste collection box, the bottom opening of the guide cover is connected to the waste collection box, the top opening of the guide cover is located directly below the suction array and extends along the length direction of the suction array; the radial cross section of the guide cover gradually decreases from its top opening to its bottom opening.

[0016] Preferably, a pair of photoelectric sensors are provided on opposite sidewalls of the material guide cover, and the photoelectric sensors are used to detect the material height inside the waste collection box.

[0017] Preferably, the driving component includes a first linear driving module, which is used to drive the suction array to reciprocate in the horizontal direction relative to the target station.

[0018] Preferably, the first linear drive module includes a drive rod, a housing, and a drive motor; the housing is provided with a linear guide rail extending along the movement direction of the suction array, and a slide block is slidably mounted on the linear guide rail; one end of the drive rod is fixedly connected to the suction array, and the other end extends into the housing and is fixedly connected to the slide block; one side of the slide block is provided with a straight toothed portion; the output shaft of the drive motor extends into the housing and meshes with the straight toothed portion through a gear.

[0019] Preferably, the driving component further includes a second linear driving module, which is used to drive the suction array to move up and down along the central axis.

[0020] The rejection device designed in this application precisely positions and keeps the defective products to be rejected in a stationary state by the intermittent rotation of the buffer rack and the coordinated movement of the suction array. Then, the independently controlled vacuum nozzle vertically sucks them up and removes them. This effectively avoids the problem of adjacent qualified products being affected by impact or airflow interference due to traditional push rod or blowing methods. At the same time, the vacuum suction method is gentle and does not cause mechanical damage. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the waste removal device provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0022] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Enlarged diagram of point A in the middle.

[0023] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the waste removal device provided in the embodiments of this application from another perspective.

[0024] Figure 4 yes Figure 1 Rear view.

[0025] Figure 5 This is an exploded perspective view of the driving component provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0026] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the workstation provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0027] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the material guide cover provided in the embodiment of this application.

[0028] The components include: a buffer rack 10, a workstation 11, a limiting groove 111, a supporting member 112, a target workstation 11a, a suction array 20, a vacuum nozzle 21, a drive assembly 30, a first linear drive module 31, a drive rod 311, a cover 312, a drive motor 313, a linear guide rail 314, a slide 315, a straight tooth section 316, a second linear drive module 32, a waste collection box 40, a guide cover 50, and a through-beam sensor 60. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The preferred embodiments of this application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the preferred embodiments described herein are for illustration and explanation only and are not intended to limit this application.

[0030] Please see Figures 1 to 7This application provides a rejection device, mainly used for the flow and rejection of packaging materials such as cartridge bottles on an automated production line. The rejection device mainly includes a buffer rack 10, a suction array 20, a drive assembly 30, and a controller. The controller can be a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), an industrial computer, or a dedicated embedded system, which controls the coordinated operation of various parts of the device through electrical connections.

[0031] The buffer rack 10 is configured to rotate intermittently around a central axis. Multiple workstations 11 for holding items to be processed (such as cartridge bottles) are evenly distributed or grouped on the buffer rack 10.

[0032] The suction array 20 is positioned on one side of the buffer rack 10. The suction array 20 includes a support beam and multiple vacuum nozzles 21 mounted on the support beam. The vacuum nozzles 21 are arranged in a straight line, their number and spacing corresponding to a specific station 11 of the buffer rack 10. In this embodiment, each vacuum nozzle 21 is connected to a vacuum source (not shown) via an independent vacuum line, and each line is equipped with a solenoid valve (not shown) that can be independently controlled by a controller. This ensures that the controller can activate any one or more vacuum nozzles 21 to generate suction as needed, while the remaining nozzles remain in normal operation.

[0033] The drive component 30 is used to drive the suction array 20 to move relative to the buffer rack 10 so that the suction array 20 can be selectively positioned to a target station 11a on the buffer rack 10.

[0034] The working process of this waste rejection device is as follows:

[0035] First, the controller obtains the location information of the non-conforming products in the target station 11a from the upstream detection equipment, such as a weighing station or vision inspection system. When the buffer rack 10 carrying the non-conforming products transfers a row of products at the target station 11a to the rejection area, i.e., the working range of the suction array 20, through its intermittent rotational movement, the rotation stops. At this time, according to the location information of the non-conforming products, the controller first controls the drive component 30 to drive the suction array 20 to move to the target station 11a, and then activates the vacuum nozzle 21 corresponding to the location information of the non-conforming products to generate vacuum suction and firmly suck up the non-conforming products. Finally, the controller controls the drive component 30 again to drive the suction array 20 to reset, and removes the sucked non-conforming products from its station 11 to reject the non-conforming products. The remaining qualified products continue to stay at the target station 11a without any interference, waiting to enter the next process with the buffer rack 10.

[0036] In this embodiment, as Figure 1 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 As shown, the drive assembly 30 is a multi-axis motion system, specifically including a first linear drive module 31 for horizontal movement and a second linear drive module 32 for vertical movement. The first linear drive module 31 drives the suction array 20 to reciprocate horizontally relative to the target station 11a to align with the column where the target station 11a is located; the second linear drive module 32 drives the suction array 20 to move up and down along the central axis to align with the height of the target station 11a. This multi-axis drive method ensures the flexibility and accuracy of the waste removal operation.

[0037] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, the buffer rack 10 has a polygonal frame structure, and multiple workstations 11 are arranged at circumferential intervals along the polygonal frame structure. In a specific implementation, the buffer rack 10 has a square frame structure, with workstations 11 arranged along its four sides. Correspondingly, multiple vacuum nozzles 21 are arranged in a straight line, parallel to the side of the target workstation 11a on the polygonal frame structure. When the controller needs to remove defective products located at the target workstation 11a, the corresponding vacuum nozzle 21 on the suction array 20 can accurately move to the side of the target workstation 11a to perform the task. In this way, by integrating multiple workstations 11 onto a rotating frame, compared to a long-distance linear conveyor belt requiring the same capacity, the space occupied by the equipment in the length direction of the production line is effectively shortened, making the overall layout more compact.

[0038] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 , Figure 6As shown, the workstation 11 is a U-shaped slot opening towards the outside of the buffer rack 10, facilitating the entry of the product to be processed from the side or its removal by the vacuum nozzle 21 of the suction array 20. Specifically, the inner walls of the U-shaped slot are provided with limiting grooves 111 for positioning the product to be processed. The shape of the limiting grooves 111 is adapted to the arc shape of the product to be processed, such as a cartridge bottle. When the product to be processed is partially pushed into the limiting grooves 111, it can provide support at least two tangent points or one arc surface, achieving initial positioning. At the same time, a retaining member 112 is movably provided in the U-shaped slot for pushing the product to be processed along the straight direction and pressing it against the limiting grooves 111. The retaining member 112 can be driven by a spring mechanism; when a product to be processed is placed into the limiting grooves 111, the spring mechanism causes the retaining member 112 to generate a horizontal thrust, gently pushing the product to be processed into and pressing it against the limiting grooves 111 on the opposite side. This prevents the product from falling off when the buffer rack 10 rotates. Moreover, this clamping force mainly acts on the entire length of the workstation 11. When the vacuum nozzle 21 applies suction and moves outward, the product can easily and without interference break free from the constraint of the U-shaped slot in a direction perpendicular to the length of the workstation 11.

[0039] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3 , Figure 4 As shown, it also includes a waste collection box 40; after rejecting defective products, the controller controls the drive assembly 30 to drive the suction array 20 to transport the defective products to above the waste collection box 40 and release them. In specific implementation, the waste collection box 40 is located directly below the suction array 20 and outside the rotation path of the buffer frame 10 to avoid interference, and its top collection port is open to receive falling defective products.

[0040] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 7 As shown, a guide cover 50 is provided above the waste collection box 40. The bottom opening of the guide cover 50 is connected to the waste collection box 40, and the top opening of the guide cover 50 is located directly below the suction array 20 and extends along the length of the suction array 20. This means that no matter which vacuum nozzle 21 on the suction array 20 releases a defective product, the defective product will fall within the receiving range of the guide cover 50. The radial cross-section of the guide cover 50 gradually decreases from its top opening to its bottom opening to effectively reduce the tumbling and bouncing of defective products during the falling process, so that they can eventually fall smoothly into the waste collection box 40, avoiding the chaos caused by accidental bouncing out of the collection box.

[0041] In some embodiments, such as Figure 7As shown, a pair of photoelectric sensors 60 are provided on opposite side walls of the guide hood 50. The photoelectric sensors 60 are used to detect the material accumulation height inside the waste collection box 40. In this way, the guide hood 50 is connected to the waste collection box 40. When defective products falling from the guide hood 50 into the waste collection box 40 accumulate to a certain height until they occupy a certain space at the bottom of the guide hood 50, the photoelectric sensors 60 can detect that the waste collection box 40 is full, so as to remind the staff to deal with it in time.

[0042] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 As shown, the first linear drive module 31 includes a drive rod 311, a housing 312, and a drive motor 313. The housing 312, as a closed shell, provides support and protection for the internal transmission and guiding components, effectively preventing dust and foreign objects from entering, ensuring smooth movement and service life. Inside the housing 312, a linear guide rail 314 extending along the movement direction of the suction array 20 is fixedly installed, and a slide block 315 is slidably mounted on the linear guide rail 314. One end of the drive rod 311 is fixedly connected to the suction array 20, and the other end extends into the housing 312 and is fixedly connected to the slide block 315; a straight toothed portion 316 is provided on one side of the slide block 315; the output shaft of the drive motor 313 extends into the housing 312 and meshes with the straight toothed portion 316 through gears. When the controller controls the drive motor 313 to rotate, the gear on its output shaft rotates accordingly. Through meshing with the spur gear 316 on the slide 315, the rotational motion of the gear is precisely converted into the linear translational motion of the slide 315 along the linear guide rail 314. Furthermore, through the transmission of the drive rod 311, the entire suction array 20 achieves smooth and precise horizontal reciprocating motion. In a specific implementation, one first linear drive module 31 can be set at each end of the suction array 20.

[0043] In this embodiment, both the first linear drive module 31 and the second linear drive module 32 are mounted on a rack (not shown in the figure). Specifically, as shown in the figure... Figure 1 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 As shown, the second linear drive module 32 can be a lifting structure driven by a belt drive mechanism, and the first linear drive module 31 is installed on the lifting platform of the second linear drive module 32 for overall movement.

[0044] The rejection device provided in this application uses the intermittent rotation of the buffer rack and the coordinated movement of the suction array to accurately position and keep the defective products to be rejected in a stationary state. Then, the independently controlled vacuum nozzle vertically sucks them up and removes them. This effectively avoids the problem of adjacent qualified products being affected by impact or airflow interference due to traditional push rod or blowing methods. At the same time, the vacuum suction method is gentle and does not cause mechanical damage.

[0045] In the description of this application, it should be noted that the terms "vertical", "up", "down", "horizontal", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application.

[0046] In the description of this application, it should also be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "set," "install," "connect," and "link" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application according to the specific circumstances.

[0047] Finally, it should be noted that the above descriptions are merely preferred embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent substitutions for some of the technical features. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A reject device characterized by, include: The buffer rack is configured to rotate intermittently about a central axis and has multiple workstations for holding items to be processed; The suction array is equipped with multiple independently controllable vacuum nozzles; A driving component is used to drive the suction array to move relative to the buffer rack, so that the suction array can selectively position itself to a target station on the buffer rack; The controller is used to acquire the location information of the non-conforming products in the process at the target workstation. The controller controls the drive component to move the suction array to the target station based on the location information of the defective product, and activates the vacuum nozzle corresponding to the location information of the defective product to remove the defective product.

2. The reject device of claim 1, wherein The buffer rack has a polygonal frame structure, and multiple workstations are arranged at circumferential intervals along the polygonal frame structure; multiple vacuum nozzles are arranged in a straight line direction, which is parallel to the side of the target workstation on the polygonal frame structure.

3. The reject apparatus according to claim 2, wherein The workstation is a U-shaped slot that opens towards the outside of the buffer rack; the inner wall of the U-shaped slot is provided with a limiting groove for positioning the product to be processed; a retaining member is movably provided in the U-shaped slot for pushing the product to be processed along the straight direction and pressing it against the limiting groove.

4. The reject apparatus of claim 1 wherein, It also includes a waste collection box; after rejecting defective products, the controller controls the drive assembly to drive the suction array to transport the defective products to the top of the waste collection box and release them.

5. The reject apparatus according to claim 4, wherein A guide cover is provided above the waste collection box. The bottom opening of the guide cover is connected to the waste collection box, and the top opening of the guide cover is located directly below the suction array and extends along the length of the suction array. The radial cross-section of the guide cover gradually decreases from its top opening to its bottom opening.

6. The waste rejection device according to claim 5, characterized in that, A pair of photoelectric sensors are provided on opposite side walls of the material guide cover. The photoelectric sensors are used to detect the material height inside the waste collection box.

7. The waste rejection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The driving component includes a first linear driving module, which is used to drive the suction array to reciprocate in the horizontal direction relative to the target station.

8. The waste rejection device according to claim 7, characterized in that, The first linear drive module includes a drive rod, a housing, and a drive motor; the housing is provided with a linear guide rail extending along the movement direction of the suction array, and a slide block is slidably mounted on the linear guide rail; one end of the drive rod is fixedly connected to the suction array, and the other end extends into the housing and is fixedly connected to the slide block; one side of the slide block is provided with a straight toothed portion; the output shaft of the drive motor extends into the housing and meshes with the straight toothed portion through a gear.

9. The waste rejection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The driving component further includes a second linear driving module, which is used to drive the suction array to move up and down along the central axis.

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