A flexible organizer box device

Abstract

This application discloses a flexible sorting box device, comprising a feeding conveyor, a robot device and grippers, and a sorting robot arm arranged sequentially. The feeding conveyor separates materials at equal intervals via a turntable and then conveys them sequentially to the working areas of the robot device and grippers, and the sorting robot arm area via a small conveyor belt. The robot tracks the materials at a synchronous speed and completes Z-axis descent and ascent, grasping the materials through the opening and closing of the grippers to obtain grouped materials. The sorting robot arm uses a flipping gripper to pick up a group of materials from the robot grippers, flips them, places them in the sorting box, and then conveys them out for subsequent bagging and wrapping in a packaging machine. This flexible sorting box device is used to complete the grouping and sorting of boxed meals before bagging and wrapping, and relates to the field of food packaging equipment. It features automation, integration, speed, efficiency, and consistent quality assurance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the field of food processing equipment, and more specifically, relates to a flexible sorting box device. Background Technology

[0002] Current carton handling machine technology has achieved automated sorting, gripping, and conveying through modular design, but optimization is still needed in terms of high-speed operation stability, equipment flexibility, long-term reliability, and energy consumption control. Future development should focus on breakthroughs in dynamic tracking algorithms, lightweight gripper design, intelligent detection technology (such as vision systems replacing photoelectric switches), and low-noise drive solutions to improve the overall performance and applicability of the equipment. Utility Model Content

[0003] To address the aforementioned technical issues, this application aims to provide a flexible sorting box device that links the various electrically controlled moving mechanisms with the pneumatic grippers, and combines this with a solenoid valve to control compressed air, thereby improving sorting efficiency.

[0004] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this application provides a flexible sorting box device. The sorting box device includes a feeding conveyor, a robot device and grippers, and a sorting robot arm device arranged sequentially. The feeding conveyor separates the materials at equal intervals via a turntable and then conveys the materials sequentially to the working area of ​​the robot device and grippers, and the sorting robot arm device area via a small conveyor belt. The robot tracks the materials at a synchronous speed and completes Z-axis descent and ascent. It grasps the materials by opening and closing the grippers to obtain grouped materials. The sorting robot arm device uses a flipping gripper to pick up a group of materials from the robot grippers, flips them, places them in the sorting box, and then conveys them out for subsequent bagging and wrapping by the packaging machine.

[0005] Furthermore, the feeding and conveying device includes a turntable assembly, a small conveyor belt, and a first detection element;

[0006] The turntable assembly is based on a combination of a rotary motor, a reducer, and a turntable to achieve the rotation of the separation unit at the edge of the turntable. Materials are placed on the small conveyor belt, and the separation unit is located next to the small conveyor belt. The separation unit separates the materials at equal intervals.

[0007] The first detection element is located at the edge of the small conveyor belt and is used to detect whether the material has reached the set position.

[0008] Furthermore, the turntable separates the materials at equal intervals, and the lunch boxes are transported to the robot device and gripper working area via a small conveyor belt.

[0009] Furthermore, the sorting robot includes several electric cylinders, a tilting gripper, a turntable, and a first support; the first support is mounted on the frame, wherein...

[0010] The first electric cylinder is mounted on the first support and is used to move in the y-axis direction; the second electric cylinder is mounted on the first electric cylinder perpendicularly and is used to move in the x-axis direction, forming a horizontal and vertical movement coordinate axis; the end of the second electric cylinder is connected to a turntable drive and a turntable in sequence, the turntable drive is connected to a third electric cylinder, and the rotation of the third electric cylinder drives the turntable drive to rotate; the flip clamp is mounted on the turntable, and the output end of the third electric cylinder drives the flip clamp to flip around the axis of the third electric cylinder.

[0011] Furthermore, the third electric cylinder is used to open, close, and flip the tilting table, thereby grabbing a group of materials, placing them on the subsequent conveyor belt, and conveying them out in groups.

[0012] Furthermore, the robot device and gripper assembly include a second support, a robot, and a gripper, with the robot mounted entirely on the second support;

[0013] The gripper includes a lower plate, a middle plate, a shaft, an upper plate, a claw seat plate, a guide shaft support, a cylinder, a slide rail, and a baffle; wherein...

[0014] The guide shaft support is connected to the claw base plate and is mounted on the end of the robot's vertical shaft. The upper plate and the lower plate are arranged in pairs, and the upper plate and the lower plate are provided with several parallel shafts. The upper plate is arranged at both ends below the claw base plate and is connected together to form a claw, forming a material-accommodating area in the middle.

[0015] The cylinder is mounted on the claw base plate, and a connecting plate is connected to the claw base plate. The cylinder pushes the upper plate mounted below the connecting plate through the connecting plate. A linear slide rail is installed between the upper plate and the claw base plate to guide the extension and retraction of the cylinder, causing the upper plate to move in the opposite direction. The extension and retraction of the cylinder completes the opening and closing action of the claws on both sides, thus completing the material gripping.

[0016] Furthermore, a sliding intermediate plate is installed between the upper plate and the lower plate for placing multiple materials side by side, so that the materials are placed in groups.

[0017] Furthermore, the gripper is also equipped with a baffle, one side of which is connected to the gripper base plate and extends downward to organize the material so that it is positioned in a set position in the middle of the gripper.

[0018] Furthermore, the sorting box device is equipped with a rear conveying device, which includes a main conveyor belt, side conveyor belts, a screw device, and detection elements. The main conveyor belt is mounted on the frame, and side conveyor belts are symmetrically arranged at the upper edge of the main conveyor belt. The spacing of the side conveyor belts is adjusted by the screw device to ensure that the material on the main conveyor belt is clamped by the side conveyor belts.

[0019] In a preferred embodiment of this application, the rear conveying device further includes a second detection element, which is disposed at a set position on the side of the large conveyor belt to detect whether the box is tilted during the conveying process, so as to facilitate the rear wrapping process.

[0020] This application has the following advantages compared with the prior art:

[0021] This application employs intelligent control and sensing technology, integrating PLC and servo system for collaborative control: by integrating modules such as speed calculation, servo synchronous control, and fault alarm into the PLC, the servo motor operating curve is optimized, and high-precision motion control is achieved by combining encoder feedback; the flexible sorting box device provided by this application has high-efficiency mechanical performance, combining electric and pneumatic: dynamic collaborative control logic and multi-axis flip clamp design, linkage between each part of the electrically controlled moving mechanism and the pneumatic gripper, combined with solenoid valve control of compressed air, improves sorting efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a flexible sorting box device according to this application;

[0023] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a flexible sorting box device according to this application;

[0024] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the feeding and conveying device provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0025] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the robot device and gripper provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0026] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the gripper assembly provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0027] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the box-sorting robot provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0028] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the rear conveying device provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0029] In the diagram, 1-frame, 2-feeding conveyor, 3-robot device and gripper, 4-gripper assembly, 5-box sorting robot, 6-rear conveyor, 7-cabinet, 8-large conveyor belt;

[0030] 21-Rotary motor, 22-First reducer, 23-First turntable, 24-Detection switch, 25-Baffle, 26-Material, 27-Second turntable, 28-Coupling, 29-Second reducer;

[0031] 31-Support, 32-Robot, 33-Gripper;

[0032] 41-Lower plate, 42-Intermediate plate, 43-Shaft, 44-Upper plate, 45-Claw seat plate, 46-Guide shaft support, 47-Buffer, 48-Connecting plate, 49-Cylinder, 410-Slide rail, 411-Baffle;

[0033] 51-Third electric cylinder, 52-Tilting clamp, 53-Turntable, 54-First electric cylinder, 55-First support, 56-Second electric cylinder;

[0034] 61-Main conveyor belt, 62-Side conveyor belt, 63-Screw assembly, 64-Detection element. Detailed Implementation

[0035] To facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art, the present application will be further described below in conjunction with embodiments and accompanying drawings. The content mentioned in the embodiments is not intended to limit the present application.

[0036] The overall structure of the flexible sorting box device provided in this embodiment is as follows: Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, the sorting box device of this application is used in rice production, mainly to sort and stack boxes containing rice. The sorting box device includes a feeding conveyor, a robot device and grippers, a sorting robot arm device, and an outer cover arranged in sequence. The feeding conveyor separates the materials at equal intervals through a turntable and conveys the materials sequentially to the working area of ​​the robot device and grippers and the sorting robot arm device area via a small conveyor belt. The robot tracks the materials at a synchronous speed and completes the Z-axis descent and ascent. It grasps the materials by opening and closing the grippers to obtain grouped materials. The sorting robot arm device uses a flipping gripper to pick up a group of materials from the robot grippers, flips them, places them in the sorting box, and then conveys them out for subsequent packaging by a packaging machine for bagging.

[0037] The robot device and actuators such as manipulators in this application are all controlled collaboratively by a PLC and a servo system: by integrating modules such as speed calculation, servo synchronization control, and fault alarm into the PLC, the operating curve of the servo motor is optimized, and high-precision motion control is achieved by combining encoder feedback.

[0038] The frame serves as the mounting platform for the feeding conveyor, discharge roller conveyor, robot device, box sorting robot, and rear conveyor.

[0039] Furthermore, such as Figure 3 The feeding and conveying device shown includes a turntable assembly, a small conveyor belt, and a first detection element;

[0040] The turntable assembly is based on a combination of a rotary motor, a reducer, and a turntable to achieve the rotation of the separation unit at the edge of the turntable. Materials are placed on the small conveyor belt, and the separation unit is located next to the small conveyor belt. The separation unit separates the materials at equal intervals.

[0041] The first detection element is located at the edge of the small conveyor belt and is used to detect whether the material has reached the set position.

[0042] Specific operation instructions: The boxes to be sorted on the conveyor belt are fed from the front end and arrive at the corresponding position, arranged in a close-to-close state. The detection switch detects that the lunch box is in place, and the turntable motor drives the two turntables to rotate synchronously for one revolution, pushing one box forward a certain distance. Then the box continues to move forward with the belt. This cycle repeats, and the boxes are pushed out by the continuous rotation of the turntable, so that the lunch boxes to be sorted that are close to each other in front of the turntable are separated at equal intervals and sent out for the robot to pick up in the next process.

[0043] Furthermore, the turntable separates the materials at equal intervals, and the lunch boxes are transported to the robot device and gripper working area via a small conveyor belt.

[0044] The feeding conveyor is a combination of a rotary motor and a reducer. The edge separation unit rotates periodically to separate adjacent lunch boxes one by one. The separation unit is synchronized with the small conveyor belt to ensure that the lunch boxes enter the next station at a fixed interval (e.g., 50mm).

[0045] Detection and positioning: The first detection element (such as a photoelectric switch) detects whether the food box has reached the robot's grasping starting position and triggers the robot's start signal.

[0046] Furthermore, such as Figure 4 As shown, the robot device and gripper assembly include a second support, a robot, and a gripper, with the robot mounted entirely on the second support;

[0047] Specific action description: After the robot synchronously tracks the lunch box fed by the feeder and travels a certain distance, it drives the gripper mounted on it to rise and fall via the Z-axis, and the opening and closing action of the gripper itself completes the grabbing of the lunch box.

[0048] The robot moves synchronously with the small conveyor belt at the same linear speed via encoder feedback and PLC control, ensuring that the gripper and the lunchbox remain relatively stationary during the gripping process. Z-axis lifting: The robot's end gripper descends vertically above the lunchbox and contacts the top of the lunchbox for positioning via a buffer (such as part 47 in the document).

[0049] Cylinder-driven opening and closing: Cylinder 49 pushes the connecting plate 48, causing the upper plate 44 to slide along the linear slide rail 410, realizing the synchronous opening and closing of the claws on both sides.

[0050] The middle plate has a 42-slid adjustment mechanism to accommodate the gripping of different numbers of lunch boxes in groups, such as a 2x3 arrangement. The cylinder + slide rail structure provides a fast gripping speed (single action ≤0.5s), suitable for high-frequency operations.

[0051] Baffle 411 assists in correcting the position of the lunchboxes to prevent them from shifting. Group gripping: After the grippers close, the robot lifts and moves to the handover station of the lunchbox sorting robot.

[0052] like Figure 5 As shown, the gripper includes a lower plate, a middle plate, a shaft, an upper plate, a claw seat plate, a guide shaft support, a cylinder, a slide rail, and a baffle; wherein,

[0053] The guide shaft support is connected to the claw base plate and is mounted on the end of the robot's vertical shaft. The upper plate and the lower plate are arranged in pairs, and the upper plate and the lower plate are provided with several parallel shafts. The upper plate is arranged at both ends below the claw base plate and is connected together to form a claw, forming a material-accommodating area in the middle.

[0054] The cylinder is mounted on the claw base plate, and a connecting plate is connected to the claw base plate. The cylinder pushes the upper plate mounted below the connecting plate through the connecting plate. A linear slide rail is installed between the upper plate and the claw base plate to guide the extension and retraction of the cylinder, causing the upper plate to move in the opposite direction. The extension and retraction of the cylinder completes the opening and closing action of the claws on both sides, thus completing the material gripping.

[0055] Furthermore, a sliding intermediate plate is installed between the upper plate and the lower plate for placing multiple materials side by side, so that the materials are placed in groups.

[0056] Furthermore, the gripper is also equipped with a baffle, one side of which is connected to the gripper base plate and extends downward to organize the material so that it is positioned in a set position in the middle of the gripper.

[0057] Specific operation description: The guide shaft support is connected to the claw base plate, and the guide shaft support is installed at the end of the robot's vertical shaft; the upper plate and the lower plate are connected together by a shaft to form the claw, and a sliding middle plate is installed in the middle. The cylinder installed on the claw base plate pushes the upper plate installed below the connecting plate through the connecting plate. A linear slide rail is installed between the upper plate and the claw base plate to guide the extension and retraction of the cylinder. The extension and retraction of the cylinder completes the opening and closing action of the two claws, thereby completing the grabbing of the lunch box.

[0058] After the gripper picks up a set of lunchboxes, the robotic arm needs to remove the entire set from the gripper. Furthermore, such as... Figure 6 As shown, the sorting robot includes several electric cylinders, a tilting gripper, a turntable, and a first support; the first support is mounted on the frame, wherein...

[0059] The first electric cylinder is mounted on the first support and is used to move in the y-axis direction; the second electric cylinder is mounted on the first electric cylinder perpendicularly and is used to move in the x-axis direction, forming a horizontal and vertical movement coordinate axis; the end of the second electric cylinder is connected to a turntable drive and a turntable in sequence, the turntable drive is connected to a third electric cylinder, and the rotation of the third electric cylinder drives the turntable drive to rotate; the flip clamp is mounted on the turntable, and the output end of the third electric cylinder drives the flip clamp to flip around the axis of the third electric cylinder.

[0060] At the workstation of the box-sorting robot, when the robot grabs the material and reaches a certain position, the first electric cylinder of the box-sorting robot rises from the origin to a certain position, the second electric cylinder moves forward from the origin to a certain position, and the third electric cylinder remains horizontal, causing the flipping clamp to move to a set position next to the gripper. At this time, the third electric cylinder controls the flipping clamp to clamp the lunch box. After receiving the material, the robot returns to the origin position, the second electric cylinder returns to the origin position, the third electric cylinder rotates downward 90 degrees, the first electric cylinder descends to a position above the rear conveyor, the flipping clamp opens, and the material is sent out with the conveyor belt.

[0061] Furthermore, the third electric cylinder is used to open, close, and rotate the tilting table, thereby gripping a group of materials, placing them on the subsequent conveyor belt, and conveying them out in groups. Multiple electric cylinders work together to achieve high-precision spatial positioning (repeatability ±0.1mm).

[0062] Furthermore, the sorting box device is equipped with a rear conveying device, which includes a main conveyor belt, side conveyor belts, a screw mechanism, and detection elements. The main conveyor belt is mounted on the frame, and side conveyor belts are symmetrically arranged at the upper edge of the main conveyor belt. The spacing of the side conveyor belts is adjusted by the screw mechanism to ensure that the material on the main conveyor belt is clamped by the side conveyor belts. The screw adjustment enables flexible adaptation (e.g., food box width 80-150mm).

[0063] Specific operation instructions: The large conveyor belt is mounted on the frame, and the spacing of the two smaller conveyor belts on both sides above is adjusted by a screw device to ensure that the boxes placed horizontally in groups are just clamped together. The three conveyor belts form the conveying channel for the boxes, which are then transported out to the subsequent wrapping and packaging. The detection element detects whether the boxes are tilted during the conveying process, so that they can be processed before the final wrapping.

[0064] In a preferred embodiment of this application, the rear conveying device further includes a second detection element, which is disposed at a set position on the side of the large conveyor belt to detect whether the box is tilted during the conveying process, so as to facilitate the rear wrapping process.

[0065] This application provides a method for grouping and sorting boxed meals before bagging, relating to the field of food packaging equipment. It features automation, integration, speed, efficiency, and consistent quality assurance. The equipment includes a frame, feeding conveyor, discharge roller conveyor, robotic device and gripper assembly, box-sorting robot, post-sorting conveyor, and outer casing. The feeding conveyor system includes a turntable assembly, a small conveyor belt, and detection elements. The turntable separates the incoming lunch boxes at equal intervals, and the small conveyor belt transports the lunch boxes to the robot's working area. The detection elements detect the arrival status of the lunch boxes. The robot device and grippers include a support frame, a robot body, and a gripper assembly. Based on the signal from the detection elements indicating that a box has arrived, the robot begins to track the box at a synchronous speed and completes its Z-axis descent and ascent, grasping the box by opening and closing the gripper. The box-sorting robot device includes a support frame, a first electric cylinder, a second electric cylinder, a third electric cylinder, a turntable, and a flipping gripper. The flipping gripper picks up a group of boxes from the robot's grippers, flips them 90 degrees, and places them on the rear conveyor belt. The rear conveyor system includes a large conveyor belt, a side conveyor belt, and detection elements. The conveyor belts transport the sorted groups of boxes out for subsequent packaging by the packaging machine. At the end of the feeding conveyor system, the discharge roller conveyor removes lunch boxes that are misaligned or not grasped.

[0066] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this application and does not constitute any limitation on this application. Any simple modifications, alterations, or equivalent structural changes made to the above embodiments based on the technical substance of this application shall still fall within the protection scope of the technical solution of this application.

Claims

1. A flexible sorting box device, characterized in that, The sorting box device includes a feeding conveyor, a robot device and grippers, and a sorting robot arm arranged in sequence. The feeding conveyor separates the materials at equal intervals using a turntable and then conveys them sequentially to the working area of ​​the robot device and grippers, and the sorting robot arm area via a small conveyor belt. The robot tracks the materials at a synchronous speed and completes Z-axis descent and ascent. It grasps the materials by opening and closing the grippers to obtain grouped materials. The sorting robot arm uses a flipping gripper to pick up a group of materials from the robot grippers, flips them, places them in the sorting box, and then conveys them out for subsequent bagging and wrapping by the packaging machine.

2. The flexible sorting box device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The feeding and conveying device includes a turntable assembly, a small conveyor belt, and a first detection element; The turntable assembly is based on a combination of a rotary motor, a reducer, and a turntable to achieve the rotation of the separation unit at the edge of the turntable. Materials are placed on the small conveyor belt, and the separation unit is located next to the small conveyor belt. The separation unit separates the materials at equal intervals. The first detection element is located at the edge of the small conveyor belt and is used to detect whether the material has reached the set position.

3. The flexible sorting box device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The turntable separates the materials at equal intervals, and the lunch boxes are transported to the robot device and gripper working area via a small conveyor belt.

4. The flexible sorting box device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sorting robot includes several electric cylinders, a tilting clamp, a turntable, and a first support; the first support is mounted on a frame, wherein... The first electric cylinder is mounted on the first support and is used to move in the y-axis direction; the second electric cylinder is mounted on the first electric cylinder perpendicularly and is used to move in the x-axis direction, forming a horizontal and vertical movement coordinate axis; the end of the second electric cylinder is connected to a turntable drive and a turntable in sequence, the turntable drive is connected to a third electric cylinder, and the rotation of the third electric cylinder drives the turntable drive to rotate; the flip clamp is mounted on the turntable, and the output end of the third electric cylinder drives the flip clamp to flip around the axis of the third electric cylinder.

5. The flexible sorting box device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The third electric cylinder is used to open, close, and flip the flipping clamp to grab a group of materials, which are then placed on the conveyor belt and transported out in groups.

6. The flexible sorting box device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The robot device and gripper assembly include a second support, a robot, and a gripper, with the robot mounted entirely on the second support. The gripper includes a lower plate, a middle plate, a shaft, an upper plate, a claw seat plate, a guide shaft support, a cylinder, a slide rail, and a baffle; wherein... The guide shaft support is connected to the claw base plate and is mounted on the end of the robot's vertical shaft. The upper plate and the lower plate are arranged in pairs, and the upper plate and the lower plate are provided with several parallel shafts. The upper plate is arranged at both ends below the claw base plate and is connected together to form a claw, forming a material-accommodating area in the middle. The cylinder is mounted on the claw base plate, and a connecting plate is connected to the claw base plate. The cylinder pushes the upper plate mounted below the connecting plate through the connecting plate. A linear slide rail is installed between the upper plate and the claw base plate to guide the extension and retraction of the cylinder, causing the upper plate to move in the opposite direction. The extension and retraction of the cylinder completes the opening and closing action of the claws on both sides, thus completing the material gripping.

7. The flexible sorting box device according to claim 6, characterized in that, A sliding intermediate plate is installed between the upper plate and the lower plate for placing multiple materials side by side, so that the materials are placed in groups.

8. The flexible sorting box device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The gripper is also equipped with a baffle, one side of which is connected to the gripper base plate and extends downward to organize the material so that it is positioned in a set position in the middle of the gripper.

9. The flexible sorting box device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sorting box device is equipped with a rear conveying device, which includes a main conveyor belt, side conveyor belts, a screw device, and detection elements. The main conveyor belt is mounted on the frame, and side conveyor belts are symmetrically arranged at the upper edge of the main conveyor belt. The spacing of the side conveyor belts is adjusted by the screw device to ensure that the material on the main conveyor belt is clamped by the side conveyor belts.

10. A flexible sorting box device according to claim 9, characterized in that, The rear conveying device also includes a second detection element, which is set at a predetermined position on the side of the large conveyor belt to detect whether the box is tilted during the conveying process, so as to facilitate the rear wrapping process.

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