A hopper and assemblies thereof
By introducing a counterweight structure and a rotating connection structure into the hopper, the problems of stability and inertial impact during hopper tipping are solved, achieving low-energy, high-efficiency material pouring and resetting, and expanding the applicability of the hopper.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- GUANGDONG BOFITECH INTELLIGENT TECH CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2025-05-26
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-14
AI Technical Summary
The existing hopper is not stable enough when tipping over and dumping materials, and the inertial impact is large, resulting in high energy consumption of the drive device.
Design a hopper comprising a material holding structure, a counterweight structure, and a rotating connection structure. The counterweight structure balances the forces, reduces inertial impact, and utilizes gravity for resetting, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the drive device.
Improve the stability and adaptability of the hopper, reduce the power requirements of the drive unit, expand the application range of the hopper, and reduce energy consumption during the flipping and resetting process.
Smart Images
Figure CN224492234U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the field of container equipment, and more specifically, to a hopper and its components. Background Technology
[0002] Hoppers are commonly used equipment in material handling, and are frequently found in automated production lines that handle various materials (such as granules, powders, and lumps) in the fields of storage, conveying, metering, distribution, and packaging. For example, in automated production lines involving material sorting, hoppers can be used to separate and meter materials, helping to ensure the quantitative use of materials in subsequent production processes, making them an important part of automated quantitative material use.
[0003] Existing hoppers are generally divided into fixed hoppers and movable hoppers.
[0004] Movable hoppers are mostly suitable for large production lines. The hopper is loaded with material, then moves to a designated position. A flipping mechanism flips the continuously moving hopper one by one to empty the material, thus achieving material transport in a cyclical manner. However, this type of hopper suffers from insufficient stability during loading due to changes in the hopper's center of gravity. Furthermore, it experiences significant inertial impact during flipping and emptying, as well as during resetting after emptying. Frequent and rapid flipping and resetting require high power from the drive unit, leading to increased energy consumption. Utility Model Content
[0005] The present invention aims to overcome at least one of the defects of the prior art and provide a hopper and its components to solve the problem of insufficient stability of the hopper and large inertial impact during material pouring and resetting, which leads to high energy consumption of the drive device required for the hopper.
[0006] The technical solution adopted by this utility model is to provide a hopper, which includes: a material holding structure with a material holding cavity inside; a counterweight structure disposed on one side of the material holding structure; the opening of the material holding cavity is disposed on the side of the material holding structure away from the counterweight structure; and a rotatable connection structure disposed between the counterweight structure and the material holding cavity.
[0007] The material-containing chamber achieves tipping unloading via a rotating connection structure. Compared to existing fixed hopper designs, it eliminates the need for sealing the opening, making it suitable for both powdered and liquid materials, offering wider applicability and lower cost. The counterweight structure addresses the force imbalance on both sides of the rotating connection structure, increasing stability and reducing the power required for external drive devices to load and tip the hopper. The counterweight structure also reduces inertia and minimizes the energy consumption for resetting through gravity, further reducing the energy consumption and power required by the external drive device. The relative position of the counterweight structure and the material-containing chamber facilitates self-resetting after tipping and increases the overall stability of the hopper during material discharge. The material-containing chamber includes at least one pair of unloading channels extending from one side of the opening towards the rotating connection structure and positioned on either side of the rotating central axis of the structure.
[0008] The unloading channels in the material-containing cavity allow material to be discharged from both sides, enhancing the functionality and adaptability of the hopper. The unloading channels located on both sides of the rotation center axis can cooperate with the forward and reverse motion of the drive device, thus enabling the hopper to unload in both directions on its own, meeting the sorting requirements and achieving its functional versatility.
[0009] The rotating connection structure is a connecting hole.
[0010] The polygonal design of the connecting hole allows the material cavity to be directly matched and connected to the motor shaft, enabling quick installation of the hopper and the motor; at the same time, it improves the ease of disassembly and assembly of the hopper and the production line; the cross-sectional shape of the connecting hole directly matches the polygonal shaft of the motor, and even small-capacity hoppers do not require additional fixing.
[0011] By placing the counterweight structure at the bottom of the material-containing structure, the material-containing structure can quickly return to its original position after being overturned and tilted to unload the material, thus overcoming the inertial impact of the material-containing structure and reducing the power consumption of the drive device located at the bottom of the material-containing structure.
[0012] The counterweight structure includes an extension arm, which is connected to the material holding structure.
[0013] The center of gravity of the counterweight structure can be adjusted by extending the arm, so that a certain distance is maintained between the material holding structure and the rotating connection structure, thereby increasing the effect of the counterweight, reducing the weight required for the counterweight, and concentrating the center of gravity of the counterweight structure in the central position.
[0014] It also includes: a mounting cavity and a counterweight; the mounting cavity is located on the bottom of the material-containing structure or on the extension arm; the counterweight is installed in the mounting cavity.
[0015] The combination of the installation cavity and the counterweight facilitates the quick replacement of the counterweight according to different materials to improve adaptability. The counterweight is disposed in the installation cavity, which not only allows the counterweight to be flexibly placed at the bottom of the material-containing structure or on the extension arm to adjust the center of gravity of the material-containing structure, but also protects the counterweight from being affected by the outside world and affecting the accuracy of its weight.
[0016] Both sides of the extension arm are concave, so that the width of the extension arm is smaller than the width of the material-containing structure.
[0017] Through the concave design of the extension arm, the overall weight of the hopper is reduced. In the one-time forming structure of the hopper, not only the material cost is saved, but also the volume of the counterweight structure is reduced, the space occupied by the counterweight structure is reduced, and the center of gravity of the counterweight structure is concentrated at the center position; it avoids the influence of scraping during the flipping process of the material-containing cavity.
[0018] The center of gravity of the counterweight structure, the rotation center of the rotation connection structure, and the center of gravity of the material-containing structure are located on the same straight line. Let: the gravity of the counterweight structure be G1, the distance between the center of gravity of the counterweight structure and the rotation center of the rotation connection structure be l1; the gravity of the material-containing structure when it is empty be G2, the distance between the current center of gravity of the material-containing structure and the rotation center of the rotation connection structure be l2; the gravity of the material-containing structure when it is full be G3, the distance between the current center of gravity of the material-containing structure and the rotation center of the rotation connection structure be l3; then: G2×l2 < G1×l1 and / or G1×l1 < G3×l3.
[0019] By having the center of gravity of the counterweight structure, the rotation center of gravity of the rotation connection structure, and the center of gravity of the material-containing structure located on the same straight line, it helps to improve the stability during blanking and makes the center of gravity of the counterweight structure located directly below the material-containing structure after resetting; through the limitation of the distance, when the material-containing structure is empty, the counterweight structure provides a sufficient large force, so that even relying only on the gravity of the counterweight structure, the material-containing structure can be completely reset to form a state with the opening facing upward; through the limitation of the distance, when the material-containing structure is full, the counterweight structure is smaller than the material-containing structure, which helps the material-containing structure to be more easily dumped after being full, thereby reducing the load of the external driving device.
[0020] l2 is 1 to 5 times of l1.
[0021] By further optimizing the length dimension through a specific distance ratio, the material capacity of the material-containing structure is expanded, and the moving space of the counterweight structure is controlled.
[0022] A hopper assembly is also provided, including: a driving device. Among them, it also includes the above-mentioned hopper; the rotating shaft of the motor is connected to the rotation connection structure, so that before injection, the opening of the material-containing structure is upward, and after the injection is completed, it rotates to make the material-containing cavity tilt for discharging, and after discharging, the material-containing structure is reset to the state before injection.
[0023] By coordinating the motor and the hopper, precise control can be achieved over the tilting speed and effect of the hopper.
[0024] Compared with existing technologies, the beneficial effects of this utility model are as follows: the counterweight structure design improves the stability control of the hopper itself during material discharge, reduces the power required for the self-locking fixation of the drive device, and improves the adaptability to materials and expands the application range of the hopper through the tilting unloading of the material chamber; it solves the problem of force imbalance that easily occurs in the tilting unloading process of existing hoppers, as well as the high power requirement of the drive device. Utilizing the tendency of gravity reset reduces the energy consumption of the drive device in the process of driving the hopper to tilt and reset; it can even achieve the self-resetting function after unloading under full gravity through the adjustment of the drive device, improving the instability during the tilting process. Attached Figure Description
[0025] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the first embodiment of the hopper in this utility model.
[0026] Figure 2 This is a front view of the first embodiment of the hopper in this utility model.
[0027] Figure 3 This is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the hopper in this utility model.
[0028] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the hopper assembly under the hopper of the first scheme in this utility model.
[0029] Figure 5 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the second embodiment of the hopper in this utility model.
[0030] Figure 6 This is a front view of the second embodiment of the hopper in this utility model.
[0031] Figure 7 This is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the hopper in this utility model.
[0032] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the hopper assembly under the hopper of the second scheme in this utility model.
[0033] Figure 9 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the third embodiment of the hopper in this utility model.
[0034] Figure 10 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the fourth embodiment of the hopper in this utility model.
[0035] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached diagram: Material holding structure 100, material holding cavity 110, unloading channel 111, arc-shaped guide surface 112, counterweight structure 200, extension arm 210, mounting cavity 220, counterweight block 230, rotating connection structure 300, motor 400. Detailed Implementation
[0036] The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as limiting the scope of this invention. To better illustrate the following embodiments, some components in the drawings may be omitted, enlarged, or reduced, and do not represent the actual dimensions of the product. It is understandable to those skilled in the art that some well-known structures and their descriptions may be omitted in the drawings.
[0037] Example 1
[0038] like Figure 1-3 ,like Figure 5-7 As shown, the technical solution adopted in this embodiment is to provide a hopper, which includes: a material holding structure 100, which has a material holding cavity 110 inside; a counterweight structure 200, which is disposed on one side of the material holding structure 100; the opening of the material holding cavity 110 is disposed on the side of the material holding structure 100 away from the counterweight structure 200; and a rotatable connection structure, which is disposed between the counterweight structure and the material holding cavity.
[0039] In this embodiment, the material-containing structure 100 includes a triangular bucket-shaped material-containing cavity 110 with uniform wall thickness. When the opening of the material-containing cavity 110 faces upwards, it is used for feeding; when the opening of the material-containing cavity 110 tilts to the left or right, it is used for unloading. The counterweight structure 200 is disposed on the bottom side of the material-containing structure 100, which can increase the torque of the counterweight structure, further improving the stability of the hopper during loading, and further reducing the inertial impact force of the hopper during unloading and resetting. The rotating connection structure 300 is used to connect the counterweight structure 200 and the material-containing cavity 110, forming a coaxial movable connection between them. The function of the rotating connection structure is to form a boundary between the hopper structure torque and the counterweight torque between the counterweight structure and the material-containing cavity. By setting the counterweight structure and distributing it and the material-containing cavity on opposite sides of the rotating connection structure, according to the torque balance principle, the stability of the hopper during loading is improved, and the inertial impact force of the hopper during unloading and resetting is reduced. In this embodiment, the counterweight structure can also be located on the left or right side of the material-containing structure, as needed.
[0040] The material receiving cavity 110 includes at least a pair of unloading channels 111, which extend from one side of the opening toward the rotating connection structure 300 and are respectively disposed on both sides of the rotation center axis of the rotating connection structure 300.
[0041] In this embodiment, the unloading channels 111 on both sides have the same area and are symmetrically distributed with respect to the rotating connection structure 300. The two unloading channels 111 are equidistant from the rotation center axis of the rotating connection structure 300, so that the torque required for the material receiving cavity 110 and the rotating connection structure 300 to flip again after self-resetting after double-sided flipping is the same, thereby controlling the double-sided flipping of the hopper to maintain balance.
[0042] In this embodiment, the arc-shaped guide surface 112 allows the material remaining at the bottom of the material chamber 110 to be completely discharged without the opening of the chamber completely flipping downwards during the unloading process. This reduces the flipping torque and lowers the energy consumption of the motor 400 controlling the flipping. Simultaneously, the arc-shaped guide surface 112 and the unloading channel 111 have a smooth transition connection, preventing fine particles or powder from adhering to the joint and reducing unloading efficiency. The rotating connection structure 300 is a connecting hole. The cross-section of the connecting hole is polygonal.
[0043] In this embodiment, the cross-section of the connecting hole is a square hole or a regular hexagonal hole. The polygonal connecting hole directly matches the motor shaft, which facilitates the disassembly and installation of the two.
[0044] In this embodiment, the opening of the material-containing structure 100 faces upward when it is full and downward when it is unloading. When the counterweight structure 200 is placed on the bottom of the material-containing structure 100, it can mitigate the inertial impact of the material-containing structure 100 during vertical rotation. During loading: the counterweight structure 200 at the bottom of the material-containing structure 100 lowers its center of gravity, maintaining stability during loading; during unloading: the counterweight structure 200 at the bottom of the material-containing structure 100 is driven by gravity to return the material-containing structure 100 to its original position, reducing the balancing force required for the drive device to reverse and reset the material-containing structure 100, thereby reducing the power consumption of the drive device.
[0045] The counterweight structure 200 includes an extension arm 210, which is connected to the material holding structure 100.
[0046] In this embodiment, the extension arm 210 can protrude from the side wall of the material-containing structure 100 or be disposed within the inner wall of the material-containing structure 100. The extension arm 210 disposed outside the side wall of the material-containing structure 100 extends the center of gravity of the counterweight structure 200 laterally, while the extension arm 210 disposed within the inner wall of the material-containing structure 100 extends the center of gravity of the counterweight structure 200 vertically. Both are used to adjust the center of gravity offset between the material-containing structure 100 and the configuration structure 200.
[0047] The counterweight structure 200 further includes: an installation cavity 220 and a counterweight block; the installation cavity 220 is provided at the bottom of the material containing structure 100 or on the extension arm 210, and the counterweight block is installed in the installation cavity 220.
[0048] In this embodiment, the installation cavity 220 is provided at the bottom of the material containing structure 100 or the extension arm 210, and is in the shape of a cylindrical cavity or a square cavity. The counterweight block 230 is placed in the installation cavity 220 to adjust the center of gravity of the hopper, so that the bottom of the material containing structure unloads with the counterweight block 230, assisting the reset of the material containing structure after unloading. When the counterweight block 230 is located at the bottom of the material containing structure 100, it is applicable to the structural shape where the height of the material containing structure 100 in the vertical direction is greater than the width in the horizontal direction. Its center of gravity is relatively high, and the counterweight block 230 can adjust the center of gravity of the material containing structure 100 in the vertical direction to be close to the rotational connection structure, reducing the power requirement of the driving device for the material containing structure 100. When the counterweight block 230 is located in the extension arm 210, it is applicable to the shape structure where the cross-sectional curvature of the material containing structure 100 in the horizontal direction changes greatly, resulting in a too narrow width near the bottom of the material containing structure 100. Its center of gravity is relatively high, and the counterweight block 230 can adjust the center of gravity of the material containing structure 100 in the horizontal direction to be close to the rotational connection structure, reducing the power requirement of the driving device for the material containing structure 100.
[0049] Both sides of the extension arm 210 are concave, so that the width of the extension arm 210 is smaller than the width of the material containing structure 100. In this embodiment, both sides of the extension arm 210 are concave, keeping the outer cross-section of the material containing structure 100 flat, avoiding rubbing during the tilting and resetting of the material containing cavity 110, and maintaining the rapid operation of the material containing cavity 110.
[0050] The center of gravity of the counterweight structure 200, the rotation center of the rotational connection structure 300, and the center of gravity of the material containing structure 100 are located on the same straight line;
[0051] Let: the gravity of the counterweight structure 200 be G1, the distance between the center of gravity of the counterweight structure 200 and the rotation center of the rotational connection structure 300 be l1; the gravity of the empty material containing structure 100 be G2, and the distance between the current center of gravity of the material containing structure 100 and the rotation center of the rotational connection structure 300 be l2;
[0052] The gravity of the full material containing structure 100 be G3, and the distance between the current center of gravity of the material containing structure 100 and the rotation center of the rotational connection structure 300 be l3; then: G2×l2 < G1×l1 and / or G1×l1 < G3×l3.
[0053] In this embodiment, the center of gravity of the counterweight structure 200, the rotation center of the rotating connection structure 300, and the center of gravity of the material-containing structure 100 are located on the same straight line, so that the material-containing structure 100 always maintains the initial state with the opening facing upwards. When the material-containing cavity 110 is full, the torque of the material-containing structure 100 is greater than the torque of the counterweight structure 200, which is beneficial for saving effort when the drive device controls the rotating connection structure 300 to tilt to either side in both directions. When all the material in the material-containing cavity 110 is discharged, the drive device disconnects the control. Since the torque of the counterweight structure 200 is greater than the torque of the material-containing structure 100, the material-containing structure 100 automatically returns to the initial state with the opening facing upwards.
[0054] l2 is 1 to 5 times that of l1.
[0055] In this embodiment, l2 is 1 times l1, and l3 is 2 times l1.
[0056] Example 2
[0057] like Figure 4 , 8 As shown, a hopper assembly is also provided, including a drive device 400, which further includes the aforementioned hopper; the drive device 400's rotating shaft is connected to the rotating connection structure 300. This allows the opening of the material-containing structure 100 to be positioned upwards before feeding, and after feeding, the structure rotates to tilt the material-containing cavity 110 to discharge material, and after discharge, the material-containing structure 100 is reset to its pre-feeding state. By configuring structure 200, the stability of the hopper during feeding can be improved, and the inertial impact of the hopper during discharge and reset can be reduced; thereby reducing the energy consumption of the drive device 400.
[0058] In this embodiment, the hopper assembly not only includes the hopper implementation method in Embodiment 1, but also includes a drive device 400, which is a motor. The motor is compact, reducing installation space. The rotating shaft of the motor 400 is coaxially connected to the rotating connection structure 300, precisely controlling the opening of the material receiving structure 100 to remain vertically upward in the initial feeding state; to remain tilted in the full-load tilted state until the material is completely discharged; and to automatically reset to the initial feeding state after the full-load discharge is completed.
[0059] Example 3
[0060] like Figure 9 As shown, in this embodiment, the hopper is inverted conical in shape. While the shape differs from that in embodiments 1 and 2, the remaining connection methods and the installation form with the motor 400 via a rotating connection structure are the same. This design is suitable for powders of different particle diameters and physical states.
[0061] Example 4
[0062] like Figure 10 As shown, in this embodiment, the hopper is arc-shaped. While the shape differs from that in embodiments 1 and 2, the remaining connection methods and the installation method via a rotating connection structure with the motor 400 are the same. This design is suitable for powders of different particle diameters and physical states.
[0063] Obviously, the above embodiments of this utility model are merely examples for clearly illustrating the technical solution of this utility model, and are not intended to limit the specific implementation of this utility model. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the claims of this utility model should be included within the protection scope of the claims of this utility model.
Claims
1. A hopper, characterized in that, include: The material-containing structure has an internal material-containing cavity; A counterweight structure is disposed on one side of the material-containing structure; The opening of the material-containing cavity is located on the side of the material-containing structure away from the counterweight structure; A rotating connection structure is disposed between the counterweight structure and the material cavity; The center of gravity of the counterweight structure, the rotation center of the rotating connection structure, and the center of gravity of the material holding structure are located on the same straight line. set up: The weight of the counterweight structure is The distance between the center of gravity of the counterweight structure and the center of rotation of the rotating connection structure is ; The gravity of the container structure when it is empty is The distance between the center of gravity of the current material-containing structure and the rotation center of the rotating connection structure is ; The weight of the material-containing structure when it is full is The distance between the center of gravity of the current material-containing structure and the rotation center of the rotating connection structure is ; but: and / or .
2. The hopper according to claim 1, characterized in that, The material receiving cavity includes at least a pair of unloading channels, which extend from one side of the opening toward the rotating connection structure and are respectively located on both sides of the rotation center axis of the rotating connection structure.
3. A hopper according to claim 1, characterized in that, The rotating connection structure is a connecting hole.
4. A hopper according to claim 1, characterized in that, The counterweight structure includes an extension arm, which is connected to the material holding structure.
5. A hopper according to claim 4, characterized in that, Also includes: Mounting cavity and counterweight; The mounting cavity is located on the bottom of the material-containing structure or on the extension arm; The counterweight is installed inside the mounting cavity.
6. A hopper according to claim 4, characterized in that, The two sides of the extension arm are concave, so that the width of the extension arm is smaller than the width of the material-containing structure.
7. A hopper according to claim 1, characterized in that, for 1 to 5 times.
8. A hopper assembly, comprising: The driving device is characterized in that it further includes a hopper as described in any one of claims 1-7; the driving device is connected to the rotary connection structure.