Medicament vial transfer device

Abstract

The application relates to a medicament bottle conveying device, which comprises a bottle separating mechanism, a first gripper assembly and a second gripper assembly. The bottle separating mechanism receives medicament bottles conveyed from an upstream and arranges the medicament bottles into a bottle column with a predetermined spacing. The first gripper assembly grabs and places the bottle column to a first station. The second gripper assembly grabs the bottle column from the first station and places the bottle column to a second station. The bottle separating mechanism comprises a bottle separating plate, a plurality of recesses for accommodating medicament bottles are arranged on the bottle separating plate, and a bottle separating tooth extending along the moving direction of the bottle separating plate is arranged between two adjacent recesses. The medicament bottle conveying device is designed to separate and position the closely arranged medicament bottles from the upstream into a bottle column with uniform spacing through the cooperation of the bottle separating mechanism and the first and second gripper assemblies, and the recesses on the bottle separating mechanism have a guiding function. The bottle column with a completely fixed position can be stably and reliably grabbed and conveyed by the gripper assembly, so that the damage of the medicament bottles caused by hard pushing and collision is effectively avoided, the product quality is ensured, and the equipment structure is simple.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of automated conveying equipment technology, and in particular to a medicine bottle conveying device. Background Technology

[0002] In automated pharmaceutical production lines, common medicine bottles such as vials require multiple continuous process steps, including filling, capping, and coring. To achieve efficient and sterile automated production, stable and precise transfer of medicine bottles between different workstations is crucial.

[0003] Currently, after upstream processing, medicine bottles are typically transported to downstream stations in a densely packed, closely aligned queue. However, existing conveying technologies struggle to handle such tightly packed bottles due to the lack of fixed gaps between them and potential slight deviations in their incoming position. This makes it difficult for downstream multi-head robotic arms to achieve precise, reliable, and simultaneous grasping in a single operation. Furthermore, to separate the tightly packed bottles, some simple mechanical devices use push rods or baffles for forced separation. This rigid contact and pushing method easily causes collisions and friction between the glass medicine bottles, leading to scratches, cracks, or even breakage, affecting drug quality and production line yield. Utility Model Content

[0004] To address the aforementioned problems, this application provides a medicine bottle conveying device that improves the efficiency and stability of medicine bottle conveying.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the medicine bottle conveying device designed in this application includes:

[0006] The bottle sorting mechanism receives the medicine bottles conveyed from upstream and arranges them into rows with a predetermined spacing.

[0007] The first gripper assembly grips the bottle array and places it at the first workstation;

[0008] The second gripper assembly grips the bottle array from the first station and places it into the second station;

[0009] The bottle-separating mechanism includes a bottle-cutting plate with multiple grooves for accommodating medicine bottles, and bottle-separating teeth extending along the moving direction of the bottle-cutting plate between two adjacent grooves.

[0010] Preferably, the groove of the bottle-cutting plate has a guide inlet and a positioning part, wherein the opening width of the guide inlet is greater than the diameter of the medicine bottle, and is used to guide the medicine bottle into the positioning part.

[0011] Preferably, the positioning portion of the groove has an arc-shaped contact surface that is adapted to the outer peripheral wall of the medicine bottle.

[0012] Preferably, the bottle-separating mechanism further includes a linear actuator, to which the bottle-cutting plate is connected, and the linear actuator is used to drive the bottle-cutting plate to move so that the groove engages with the medicine bottle.

[0013] Preferably, the linear actuator is, but is not limited to, a drive actuator in the form of a synchronous belt.

[0014] Preferably, when the medicine bottle is received in the groove, its upper part protrudes from the bottle-cutting plate; the first gripper assembly is configured to grip the protruding upper part.

[0015] Preferably, both the first gripper assembly and the second gripper assembly are mounted on a conveying robotic arm, which includes a drive mechanism for driving the first gripper assembly and the second gripper assembly to move in the XYZ axis direction and synchronously perform their gripping and placing actions.

[0016] Preferably, the first gripper assembly includes a plurality of gripping units arranged in an array for simultaneously gripping or releasing a plurality of the medicine bottles; the structure of the second gripper assembly is the same as that of the first gripper assembly.

[0017] Preferably, the clamping unit is a pneumatic suction nozzle.

[0018] The medicine bottle conveying device designed in this application, through the coordinated work of a bottle-separating mechanism and first and second gripper assemblies, utilizes the guide grooves on the bottle-separating mechanism to actively separate and position the closely arranged medicine bottles upstream into a uniformly spaced column. This allows the gripper assembly to stably and reliably grasp and convey the column of bottles whose positions are completely fixed, effectively avoiding damage to the medicine bottles caused by hard pushing and collisions, ensuring product quality, and the equipment has a simple structure. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of the medicine bottle conveying device provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0020] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the planar structure of the medicine bottle conveying device provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0021] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first gripper component provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0022] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the bottle cutting plate provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0023] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the conveying robotic arm provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0024] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the bottle-separating mechanism provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0025] The components include: first station 100, second station 200, loading station 300, medicine bottle 400, bottle separating mechanism 10, bottle cutting plate 11, groove 111, guide inlet 1111, positioning part 1112, arc-shaped contact surface 1113, bottle separating teeth 112, linear actuator 12, first gripper assembly 20, second gripper assembly 30, conveying robotic arm 40, drive mechanism 41, X-axis drive mechanism 411, Y-axis drive mechanism 412, Z-axis drive mechanism 413, and clamping unit 50. Detailed Implementation

[0026] 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.

[0027] like Figures 1 to 6 As shown, the medicine bottle conveying device described in this embodiment mainly includes a bottle separating mechanism 10, a first gripper assembly 20, and a second gripper assembly 30.

[0028] Specifically, such as Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, the bottle sorting mechanism 10 is used to receive closely arranged medicine bottles 400 conveyed from upstream, such as a conveyor belt (not shown), and through its own structure and movement, arranges the disordered medicine bottles 400 into a bottle column with a precise predetermined spacing.

[0029] like Figure 5 As shown, both the first gripper assembly 20 and the second gripper assembly 30 are mounted on a conveying robotic arm 40. The conveying robotic arm 40 is capable of driving the two gripper assemblies to move in three-dimensional space. In this embodiment, the first gripper assembly 20 is configured to grip and place the bottle array arranged by the bottle-separating mechanism 10 to a first station 100, such as a capping station. At the same time, the second gripper assembly 30 is configured to grip the processed bottle array from the first station 100 and place it to a second station 200, such as a discharge or rejection station, thereby achieving efficient continuous operation.

[0030] like Figure 2 , Figure 4 As shown, the structure of the bottle-separating mechanism 10 will be described in detail below.

[0031] The bottle-separating mechanism 10 includes a bottle-cutting plate 11, on which multiple grooves 111 are formed to accommodate medicine bottles 400. A separating tooth 112 extending along the moving direction of the bottle-cutting plate 11 is provided between two adjacent grooves 111. In specific implementations, the front end of the separating tooth 112 can be designed as a wedge to facilitate smooth insertion between two adjacent medicine bottles 400, achieving forced physical separation. Figure 2 As shown, the arranged bottles are transported to the loading station 300 by the bottle cutting plate 11 so that the first gripper assembly 20 can grab them.

[0032] In some embodiments, to improve the stability and success rate of the bottle-separation process, such as Figure 4 As shown, the groove 111 of the bottle-cutting plate 11 has a guide inlet 1111 and a positioning part 1112. The opening width of the guide inlet 1111 is larger than the diameter of the medicine bottle 400, thus forming a wide, guiding inlet for guiding the medicine bottle 400 into the positioning part 1112. In this way, even if the medicine bottle 400 conveyed from upstream has a slight positional deviation, it can be smoothly captured by the guide inlet 1111, effectively avoiding hard collisions and jamming caused by misalignment; while the positioning part 1112 is used to accurately position the medicine bottle 400 after it has been fully guided in.

[0033] In specific implementation, such as Figure 4 As shown, the positioning part 1112 of the groove 111 has an arc-shaped contact surface 1113 that is adapted to the outer peripheral wall of the medicine bottle 400. The curvature of the arc-shaped contact surface 1113 matches the cylindrical body of the medicine bottle 400, which can achieve better surface contact and more stably position the medicine bottle 400, preventing it from shaking during subsequent gripping.

[0034] In some embodiments, such as Figure 6 As shown, the bottle-separating mechanism 10 further includes a linear actuator 12, and the bottle-cutting plate 11 is connected to the linear actuator 12. The linear actuator 12 is used to drive the bottle-cutting plate 11 to move so that the groove 111 engages with the medicine bottle 400. In specific implementations, such as... Figure 6 As shown, the linear actuator 12 is a drive actuator including but not limited to the form of a synchronous belt. The bottle cutting plate 11 is fixedly connected to the moving part (e.g., slider) of the linear actuator 12 to drive the bottle cutting plate 11 to move back and forth precisely along a preset linear path, so that the bottle cutting plate 11 can be controlled and positioned when it engages with the medicine bottle 400 queue, thereby improving the reliability of the entire bottle-separating process.

[0035] In some embodiments, when the medicine bottle 400 is accommodated within the groove 111, its upper portion protrudes beyond the bottle-cutting plate 11; the first gripper assembly 20 is configured to grip this protruding upper portion. Specifically, the depth of the groove 111 is less than the overall height of the medicine bottle 400, allowing the upper part of the medicine bottle 400 to clearly protrude beyond the upper surface of the bottle-cutting plate 11. Accordingly, the first gripper assembly 20 is configured to grip this protruding upper portion so that when the first gripper assembly 20 performs the gripping action, it does not need to penetrate deep into the groove 111, avoiding the risk of collision and interference with the bottle-cutting plate 11.

[0036] In this embodiment, as Figure 3 As shown, the first gripper assembly 20 includes multiple clamping units 50 arranged in an array for simultaneously gripping or releasing multiple medicine bottles 400. In specific implementations, the clamping units 50 are pneumatic suction nozzles, arranged in a manner corresponding to the bottle array formed by the bottle separating mechanism 10, thereby enabling the simultaneous gripping or release of all medicine bottles 400 in one go. Simultaneously, the clamping units 21 utilize pneumatic suction nozzles to adsorb the surface of the medicine bottles 400 through vacuum negative pressure, without compressing the bottle body, effectively avoiding damage to the fragile glass bottle. It should be understood that in other embodiments, the clamping unit 21 can also be a pneumatic gripper or other structures capable of stable gripping, and this application does not limit this. In this embodiment, to ensure the synergy of equipment operation and the versatility of components, the structure of the second gripper assembly 30 is the same as that of the first gripper assembly 20.

[0037] In some embodiments, such as Figure 5 As shown, the conveying robotic arm 40 includes a drive mechanism 41, which drives the first gripper assembly 20 and the second gripper assembly 30 to move in the XYZ axis directions and synchronously perform their gripping and placing actions. In specific implementations, the drive mechanism 41 is structurally composed of three independent drive units, including an X-axis drive mechanism 411, a Y-axis drive mechanism 412, and a Z-axis drive mechanism 413. The X-axis drive mechanism 411 and the Y-axis drive mechanism 412 together constitute a horizontal movement mechanism, respectively responsible for driving the gripper assemblies in two orthogonal directions in the horizontal plane, for example... Figure 2 The first gripper assembly 20 and the second gripper assembly 30 can move in the left, right and forward and backward directions. The Z-axis drive mechanism 413 constitutes a lifting mechanism, which is responsible for driving the gripper assembly to perform vertical lifting and lowering movements, so as to give the first gripper assembly 20 and the second gripper assembly 30 the ability to move in three-dimensional space, and can control them to perform their gripping and placing actions synchronously, thereby realizing an efficient continuous transmission process.

[0038] The medicine bottle conveying device provided in this application embodiment, through the coordinated work of a bottle separating mechanism and first and second gripper assemblies, utilizes the guide grooves on the bottle separating mechanism to actively separate and position the closely arranged medicine bottles upstream into a uniformly spaced column. This allows the gripper assembly to stably and reliably grasp and convey the column of bottles whose positions are completely fixed, effectively avoiding damage to the medicine bottles caused by hard pushing and collisions, ensuring product quality, and the equipment has a simple structure.

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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.

[0041] 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 medicine bottle conveying device, characterized in that, include: The bottle sorting mechanism receives the medicine bottles conveyed from upstream and arranges them into rows with a predetermined spacing. The first gripper assembly grips the bottle array and places it at the first workstation; The second gripper assembly grips the bottle array from the first station and places it into the second station; The bottle-separating mechanism includes a bottle-cutting plate with multiple grooves for accommodating medicine bottles, and bottle-separating teeth extending along the moving direction of the bottle-cutting plate between two adjacent grooves.

2. The medicine bottle conveying device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The groove of the bottle cutter plate has a guide inlet and a positioning part. The opening width of the guide inlet is greater than the diameter of the medicine bottle, and is used to guide the medicine bottle into the positioning part.

3. The medicine bottle conveying device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The positioning portion of the groove has an arc-shaped contact surface that is adapted to the outer peripheral wall of the medicine bottle.

4. The medicine bottle conveying device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The bottle-separating mechanism also includes a linear actuator, to which the bottle-cutting plate is connected. The linear actuator is used to drive the bottle-cutting plate to move so that the groove engages with the medicine bottle.

5. The medicine bottle conveying device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The linear actuator is, but is not limited to, a drive actuator in the form of a synchronous belt.

6. The medicine bottle conveying device according to claim 4, characterized in that, When the medicine bottle is accommodated in the groove, its upper part protrudes from the bottle-cutting plate; the first gripper assembly is configured to grip the protruding upper part.

7. The medicine bottle conveying device according to claim 1 or 6, characterized in that, Both the first gripper assembly and the second gripper assembly are mounted on a conveying robotic arm, which includes a drive mechanism for driving the first gripper assembly and the second gripper assembly to move in the XYZ axis direction and synchronously perform their gripping and placing actions.

8. The medicine bottle conveying device according to claim 7, characterized in that, The first gripper assembly includes a plurality of gripping units arranged in an array for simultaneously gripping or releasing a plurality of the medicine bottles; the structure of the second gripper assembly is the same as that of the first gripper assembly.

9. The medicine bottle conveying device according to claim 8, characterized in that, The clamping unit is a pneumatic suction nozzle.

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