Tobacco leaf feeding apparatus
By using a needle-piercing gripper and baffle design, the problem of feeding failure caused by surface wrinkles and damage to tobacco leaves is solved, achieving stable transfer of tobacco leaves and improving the reliability and efficiency of automated feeding.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- SHANGHAI BOWOO AUTOMATION SYST
- Filing Date
- 2025-06-19
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-21
Smart Images
Figure CN224529934U_ABST
Abstract
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The utility model relates to material's removal technical field especially relates to a tobacco leaf feeding equipment. BACKGROUND
[0002] In the processing and manufacturing of tobacco leaves, the feeding operation of tobacco leaves is a key link to ensure production continuity, improve efficiency and guarantee product quality. Especially in an automated system, the fine design of the feeding operation is directly related to the stability and consistency of subsequent processes (such as moisture recovery, cutting, baking, etc.).
[0003] There are two kinds of manual feeding and automatic feeding in the prior art. Manual feeding has low requirements for equipment, but undoubtedly increases the labor intensity of workers. Therefore, automatic feeding has gradually become the mainstream. In the prior art, a suction cup is often used to suck tobacco leaves to transfer the material. For example, a Chinese utility model patent application with the application publication date of January 21, 2025 and the application publication number of CN119330073A discloses an automatic grabbing and feeding device for tobacco re-drying, which includes a suction cup for grabbing and transferring tobacco leaves. The suction cup can reciprocate up and down and is adsorbed on the surface of the tobacco leaves. The tobacco leaves are adsorbed on the suction cup by vacuum suction, and are transferred with the movement of the device.
[0004] However, tobacco leaves are naturally planted, and even after certain treatment, their surfaces cannot be absolutely smooth. Wrinkled surfaces will reduce the adsorption force of the suction cup on them. When the tobacco leaves are damaged or the wrinkles on the surface of the tobacco leaves are too large, the suction cup may not be able to effectively adsorb the tobacco leaves. SUMMARY
[0005] Therefore, the utility model provides a tobacco leaf feeding equipment to solve the problem that the tobacco leaves may fail to be fed due to the wrinkles and damage on the surface of the tobacco leaves after being adsorbed and transferred by the suction cup in the prior art.
[0006] A tobacco leaf feeding equipment includes a rack and a transfer mechanism arranged on the rack for transferring tobacco leaves. The transfer mechanism includes a chuck for clamping tobacco leaves and a moving unit for controlling the transfer of the chuck between different stations. The chuck includes a needle for piercing the tobacco leaves to be transferred and a first driving mechanism for driving the needle to extend and retract. The chuck also includes a material blocking plate fixed relative to the housing of the first driving mechanism and arranged at intervals. The material blocking plate is arranged perpendicular to the movement direction of the needle. The needle has an extended state moving towards the material blocking plate or passing through the material blocking plate and a retracted state moving towards the housing of the first driving mechanism in the stroke of movement.
[0007] Further, the shell of the first driving mechanism and the material blocking plate are further provided with a material stripping plate arranged in parallel with the material blocking plate, the needle passes through the material stripping plate when the needle is in the extended state, and the needle is between the material stripping plate and the shell of the first driving mechanism when the needle is in the retracted state, the material stripping plate is provided with a first avoiding structure for avoiding the needle.
[0008] Further, the material blocking plate is provided with a second avoiding structure for avoiding the needle, and the first avoiding structure and the second avoiding structure are both U-shaped cavities.
[0009] Further, the chuck further comprises a first base, the first driving mechanism is fixed on the first base, and the moving unit is provided with a mounting bracket for mounting the first base.
[0010] Further, the mounting bracket is provided with an arc-shaped groove and a first mounting hole located at the center of the arc-shaped groove, the first base is provided with a second mounting hole and a third mounting hole, and the distance between the second mounting hole and the third mounting hole is the same as the distance between the first mounting hole and the arc-shaped groove, so that the first base has different mounting positions relative to the mounting bracket.
[0011] Further, the moving unit further comprises a second driving mechanism arranged on the mounting bracket for controlling the lifting movement of the mounting bracket.
[0012] Further, the rack is further provided with a material table for placing tobacco leaves, and the material table is located below the chuck.
[0013] Further, the material table is guided to be arranged on the rack, the rack is provided with a third driving mechanism for driving the material table to lift, and the material table is further fixedly provided with a guide rod penetrating the rack.
[0014] Further, the rack is further provided with a detection probe for detecting the height of the tobacco leaves, and the tobacco leaf feeding device further comprises a controller for controlling the extension position of the third driving mechanism, the controller receives the signal of the detection probe and controls the extension height of the third driving mechanism.
[0015] Further, one side of the material table is provided with a pressing plate extending towards the upper side of the material table for compacting the tobacco leaves.
[0016] The tobacco leaf feeding equipment has the beneficial effects that: the tobacco leaf feeding equipment transfers the tobacco leaf conveniently through the rack and the transfer mechanism, clamps the tobacco leaf conveniently through the clamping head, moves the clamping head conveniently through the moving unit, and then transfers the tobacco leaf clamped by the clamping head to different work stations; the clamping head includes a needle and a first driving mechanism, so that the needle can pierce the main vein or other positions of the tobacco leaf under the driving of the first driving mechanism, and the tobacco leaf is conveniently fixed on the clamping head; the material blocking plate arranged at the housing of the first driving mechanism in a relative interval manner can block the tobacco leaf when the needle pierces the tobacco leaf, that is, the tobacco leaf is pierced by the needle between the housing of the first driving mechanism and the material blocking plate; since the needle piercing form is adopted instead of the vacuum adsorption form, the tobacco leaf can be pierced and transferred regardless of whether the surface of the tobacco leaf is smooth, and the problem that the tobacco leaf may fail to be fed due to the wrinkles and damage on the surface of the tobacco leaf after the tobacco leaf is adsorbed by the suction cup and then transferred in the prior art is solved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical scheme of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced as follows. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor on the basis of these drawings.
[0018] Figure 1 is a front view of the tobacco leaf feeding equipment in the present application;
[0019] Figure 2 is a cooperation schematic view of the material table and the clamping head of the tobacco leaf feeding equipment in the present application;
[0020] Figure 3 is a structure schematic view of the material table of the tobacco leaf feeding equipment in the present application;
[0021] Figure 4 is a structure schematic view of the clamping head of the tobacco leaf feeding equipment in the present application;
[0022] Figure 5 is a front view of the clamping head of the tobacco leaf feeding equipment in the present application.
[0023] The meaning of the reference signs in the figure is: 11, gate frame; 12, crossbar; 13, base; 2, moving unit; 21, moving block; 22, second driving mechanism; 23, second base; 24, mounting bracket; 241, arc-shaped groove; 3, chuck; 31, first base; 311, second mounting hole; 312, third mounting hole; 32, first driving mechanism; 33, needle; 34, material stripping plate; 35, material blocking plate; 4, material table; 41, third driving mechanism; 42, guide rod; 43, stand; 44, spring piece; 45, detection probe mounting bracket. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the present application clearer and more comprehensible, the present application will be described below through specific embodiments shown in the drawings. However, it should be understood that these descriptions are only exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application. In addition, in the following description, the description of known structures and technologies is omitted to avoid unnecessary confusion of the concept of the present application.
[0025] The terms used in the present disclosure are merely for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The singular forms "a", "said" and "the" used in the present disclosure and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and / or" used herein means and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items.
[0026] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be employed in the present disclosure to describe various information, these information should not be limited to these terms and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance. These terms are only used to distinguish one type of information from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, first information can also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information can also be referred to as first information. Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein can be interpreted as "when" or "upon" or "in response to determining".
[0027] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "longitudinal", "transverse", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and therefore cannot be understood as indicating or implying that the devices or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present application.
[0028] In the description of the utility model, unless otherwise specified and limited, it needs to be explained that the terms "mounting", "connecting" and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be mechanical connection or electrical connection, it can also be the communication inside two elements, it can be direct connection or indirect connection through intermediate medium, and those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms according to the specific circumstances.
[0029] In the subsequent description, the suffix such as "module", "component" or "unit" used for indicating elements is only for the convenience of the description of the utility model, and it does not have specific meaning itself. Therefore, "module" and "component" can be used mixedly.
[0030] In order to better understand the technical scheme of the utility model, the utility model will be described in detail below in combination with the drawings.
[0031] In the embodiment of the tobacco leaf feeding equipment in the utility model,
[0032] As shown in the figure, Figure 1 The tobacco leaf feeding equipment in the embodiment includes a rack and a transfer mechanism arranged on the rack for transferring tobacco leaves, the transfer mechanism includes a chuck 3 for clamping tobacco leaves and a moving unit 2 for controlling the transfer of the chuck 3 between different stations. The chuck 3 is provided with a needle 33 for puncturing and fixing the tobacco leaves. After the chuck 3 completes the fixation of the tobacco leaves, the moving unit 2 is used to move the chuck 3, and the tobacco leaves on the chuck 3 are transferred to other stations at the same time.
[0033] Specifically, as shown in the figures, Figure 4 And Figure 5 The chuck 3 includes a needle 33 for puncturing the tobacco leaves to be transferred and a first driving mechanism 32 for driving the needle 33 to perform extension and retraction movement. The needle 33 can be driven by the first driving mechanism 32 to perform extension and retraction movement. When it is extended, it can be inserted into the main vein of the tobacco leaves, thereby facilitating the fixation of the tobacco leaves by the chuck 3. The needle 33 is composed of a plurality of parallel and spaced needle sharp parts. The first driving mechanism 32 is an electric push rod in this embodiment. When the tobacco leaves are punctured, if the needle 33 is not sharp enough or the tobacco leaves are dry, it may not be able to penetrate directly. Therefore, a baffle plate 35 is arranged opposite to the housing of the first driving mechanism 32. The baffle plate 35 is perpendicular to the movement direction of the needle 33. If the tobacco leaves cannot be penetrated directly during the extension of the needle 33, the tobacco leaves will be stopped on the baffle plate 35, which facilitates the puncture of the needle 33. Correspondingly, the stroke of the needle 33 movement has an extension state of moving towards the baffle plate 35 or penetrating through the baffle plate 35 and a retraction state of moving towards the housing of the first driving mechanism 32. Of course, in other embodiments, the first driving mechanism can also be a pneumatic cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder.
[0034] After the needle 33 pierces the tobacco leaf, the clamping of the tobacco leaf is completed, and the moving unit 2 can control the clamp head 3 to move to a specific station, and then the clamp head 3 needs to release the tobacco leaf so that the tobacco leaf falls on another station. If the main vein of the tobacco leaf is combined with the needle 33 tightly, the tobacco leaf may move with the needle 33 during the retreat of the needle 33, and therefore a stripping plate 34 is arranged in parallel and spaced apart from the blocking plate 35 between the housing of the first driving mechanism 32 and the blocking plate 35. During the retreat of the needle 33, the tobacco leaf will abut against the stripping plate 34 and will not move backward with the needle 33, facilitating the tobacco leaf to be separated from the needle 33. Of course, in other embodiments, if the needle can always retreat into the housing of the first driving mechanism, the housing of the first driving mechanism can also play the role of blocking, and at this time, it is not necessary to additionally arrange the blocking plate.
[0035] During the movement of the needle 33, the needle 33 will inevitably pass through the stripping plate 34, and therefore a first avoiding structure for avoiding the needle 33 is arranged on the stripping plate 34. In addition, a second avoiding structure for avoiding the needle 33 is also arranged on the blocking plate 35, so as to avoid the needle 33 abutting against the plate surface during the movement, thereby causing the needle 33 to be broken or other damages. Since the needle 33 is composed of a plurality of needles, the needle 33 has a certain coverage area, and the first avoiding structure and the second avoiding structure are both U-shaped cavities, which can be passed through by the needle 33.
[0036] In order to facilitate the movement of the clamp head 3 between different stations, a moving unit 2 is further arranged on the rack. The rack includes a base 13 at the bottom and a portal frame 11 above the base 13, and a cross bar 12 is arranged on the portal frame 11, and the moving unit 2 is arranged on the cross bar 12. The moving unit 2 includes a moving block 21 movably arranged on the cross bar 12 in a guided manner, and the moving block 21 moves along the cross bar 12 in a guided manner and can cross different stations, thereby realizing the transfer of the tobacco leaf. A second base 23 is fixedly arranged on the moving block 21, and a second driving mechanism 22 is fixedly arranged on the second base 23, and in this embodiment, the second driving mechanism 22 is a pneumatic cylinder, which has a housing and a telescopic rod, and a mounting bracket 24 for mounting the clamp head 3 is further fixedly arranged on the end of the telescopic rod. The telescopic rod of the second driving mechanism 22 is arranged vertically, and when the telescopic rod is extended or retracted, the mounting bracket 24 can move up and down, thereby driving the clamp head 3 to move up and down. Of course, in other embodiments, the second driving mechanism can also be an electric push rod or a hydraulic cylinder or other forms, or the second driving mechanism can not be arranged, and at this time, the mounting bracket can also not be arranged, and the clamp head can be fixedly arranged on the second base, and of course, at this time, the clamp head only has a translational movement and cannot be lifted.
[0037] For different batches of tobacco leaves, and the shape may not be the same, when the tobacco leaves are clamped, the main veins of the tobacco leaves may be curled, in order to better clamp, the installation angle of the clamp head 3 needs to be adjusted. The mounting bracket 24 has two parallel and spaced mounting plates, each mounting plate is provided with an arc-shaped groove 241 and a first mounting hole located at the center of the arc-shaped groove 241, and correspondingly, the first base 31 is provided with clamping plates arranged outside the two mounting plates, and the second mounting hole 311 and the third mounting hole 312 are arranged on the two clamping plates of the first base 31 respectively, and the distance between the second mounting hole 311 and the third mounting hole 312 is the same as the distance between the first mounting hole and the arc-shaped groove 241. During installation, the first mounting hole and the second mounting hole 311 are corresponded and fixed by bolts, and the third mounting hole 312 is corresponded with the arc-shaped groove 241 on the mounting bracket 24 and is fixed by bolts, and fixing the third mounting hole 312 at different positions of the arc-shaped groove 241 can change the installation angle of the clamp head 3. Of course, if the quality and shape of the tobacco leaves are relatively constant, the arc-shaped groove can not be provided, but the first base can be directly fixed on the mounting bracket.
[0038] As shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3 In order to transport the tobacco leaves, a feeding material table 4 is further arranged on the rack, and the material table 4 is arranged below the clamp head 3, and the clamp head 3 transfers the tobacco leaves on the material table 4 to the next station. The material table 4 is guided to be arranged on the base 13 of the rack, and specifically, the material table 4 includes a flat table top for placing tobacco leaves, and a third driving mechanism 41 for driving the material table 4 to ascend and descend is arranged below the table top, and the third driving mechanism 41 is a pneumatic cylinder, and the telescopic rod of the third mechanism is fixedly connected with the material table 4. The lifting movement of the third driving mechanism 41 can drive the material table 4 to ascend and descend, and in order to be more stable during movement, a guide rod 42 is further fixedly arranged below the material table 4 and penetrates through the base 13, and the guide rod 42 has two and is arranged on both sides of the third driving mechanism 41. Thus, the movement is kept stable. Of course, in other embodiments, if the third driving mechanism 41 itself is stable and the connection between the telescopic rod of the third driving mechanism 41 and the material table 4 is stable, the guide rod 42 can not be arranged. It is worth noting that the material table 4 described in the embodiment is below the clamp head 3, which does not mean directly below, but is described from the height, because the clamp head 3 can move with the moving block 21, so only when the tobacco leaves are clamped, the material table 4 will be directly below the clamp head 3.
[0039] In the process of loading, with the clamping of tobacco leaves, the tobacco leaves on the material table 4 gradually decrease, and the height thereof also decreases. In order to ensure that the clamp 3 can clamp the tobacco leaves, the material table 4 is arranged to be liftable, and the lifting height thereof can be controlled by a controller. In the process of loading, the tobacco leaves on the material table 4 gradually decrease, and the controller controls the material table 4 to gradually rise, that is, the material table 4 is in an intermittent rising state, and the clamp 3 is in reciprocating motion, and interference and collision with the tobacco leaves should be avoided in the motion. Therefore, not only the material table 4 is accurately controlled, but also the clamp 3 needs to be detected and controlled.
[0040] Specifically, the clamp 3 reciprocates, has a clamping station for clamping the tobacco leaves above the tobacco leaves and a feeding station for clamping the tobacco leaves and feeding the tobacco leaves to the next station, and the lifting of the material table 4 is performed when the clamp 3 is in the feeding station. In order to accurately know the position of the clamp 3, especially when the clamp 3 is in the clamping station, a detection unit is further arranged on the clamping station, and the detection switch in the embodiment is a proximity sensor. The proximity sensor can detect the approach of the clamp 3 and send a signal outward. The controller can receive the signal sent by the proximity sensor and take action.
[0041] On the other hand, the clamp 3 has a limited stroke of up and down motion, and the tobacco leaves on the material table 4 can be fed to the lower side of the clamp 3 by the lifting of the material table 4, so that the clamp 3 can clamp the tobacco leaves directly. Naturally, the lifting height of the material table 4 needs to match the height of the clamp 3. In the embodiment, a stand 43 is further arranged on one side of the material table 4, and a spring piece 44 is arranged on the top end of the stand 43. The spring piece 44 can press the tobacco leaves tightly during the lifting of the material table 4, so as to avoid the tobacco leaves from falling off the material table 4. In addition, a detection probe mounting bracket 45 is further arranged on the side of the material table 4, and a height sensor for detecting the height of the tobacco leaves is arranged on the detection probe mounting bracket 45. In the embodiment, the height sensor is a photoelectric probe. The height of the tobacco leaves can be known in real time by the arrangement of the photoelectric probe. The device further has a controller for controlling the lifting height of the third driving mechanism 41. The photoelectric probe can send the detected data to the controller, and the controller controls the third driving mechanism 41 to lift to a specific height for facilitating the clamping of the clamp 3.
[0042] During the whole feeding process, firstly, the tobacco leaves are placed on the material table 4, the detection probe detects the height of the tobacco leaves and controls the material table 4 to rise to a suitable height, then the second driving mechanism 22 controls the clamp head 3 to descend and contact the tobacco leaves, and the first driving mechanism 32 controls the needle head 33 to extend and pierce on the main vein of the tobacco leaves, then the moving block 21 moves relative to the horizontal rod 12, drives the clamp head 3 and carries the tobacco leaves to the next station, the clamp head 3 is opened, and the transfer of the tobacco leaves in different stations is realized correspondingly. Finally, the second driving mechanism 22 controls the clamp head 3 to rise, and under the control of the moving block 21, the clamp head 3 is moved to above the tobacco leaves again, then the detection unit is triggered, the detection unit sends a signal to the controller, the controller judges whether the material table 4 needs to rise and the rising height according to the height of the tobacco leaves detected by the detection probe, then the clamp head 3 descends for grabbing, and then the next cycle is carried out.
[0043] It should be clear that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor fall within the protection scope of the present application.
Claims
1. A tobacco leaf feeding device, comprising a frame and a transfer mechanism mounted on the frame for transferring tobacco leaves, the transfer mechanism including a gripper for clamping the tobacco leaves and a moving unit for controlling the transfer of the gripper between different workstations, characterized in that: The clamp includes a needle for piercing the tobacco leaf to be transferred and a first drive mechanism for driving the needle to extend and retract. The clamp also includes baffles that are fixed relative to and spaced apart from the housing of the first drive mechanism. The baffles are arranged perpendicular to the direction of movement of the needle. During the stroke of the needle, there are two states: an extended state in which the needle moves toward or through the baffles, and a retracted state in which the needle moves toward the housing of the first drive mechanism.
2. The tobacco leaf feeding equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: A stripping plate is also provided between the housing of the first drive mechanism and the baffle plate, and is arranged parallel to and spaced apart from the baffle plate. When the needle is in the extended state, it passes through the stripping plate. When the needle is in the retracted state, it returns to the space between the stripping plate and the housing of the first drive mechanism. The stripping plate is provided with a first avoidance structure to avoid the needle.
3. The tobacco leaf feeding equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: The baffle plate is provided with a second avoidance structure for avoiding the needle, and both the first avoidance structure and the second avoidance structure are U-shaped cavities.
4. The tobacco leaf feeding device according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that: The clamp also includes a first base, the first drive mechanism is fixed on the first base, and the moving unit is provided with a mounting bracket for mounting the first base.
5. The tobacco leaf feeding device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The mounting bracket is provided with an arc-shaped groove and a first mounting hole located at the center of the arc-shaped groove. The first base is provided with a second mounting hole and a third mounting hole, and the distance between the second mounting hole and the third mounting hole is the same as the distance between the first mounting hole and the arc-shaped groove, so that the first base has different mounting positions relative to the mounting bracket.
6. The tobacco leaf feeding device according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that: The moving unit also includes a second drive mechanism mounted on the mounting bracket for controlling the lifting and lowering movement of the mounting bracket.
7. The tobacco leaf feeding device according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that: The frame is also equipped with a material platform for placing tobacco leaves, which is located below the chuck.
8. The tobacco leaf feeding device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The material platform guide is mounted on the frame, and the frame is equipped with a third drive mechanism that drives the material platform to rise and fall. A guide rod that passes through the frame is also fixedly mounted on the material platform.
9. The tobacco leaf feeding device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The frame is also equipped with a detection probe for detecting the height of the tobacco leaves. The tobacco leaf feeding equipment also includes a controller for controlling the extension position of the third drive mechanism. The controller receives the signal from the detection probe and controls the extension height of the third drive mechanism.
10. The tobacco leaf feeding device according to claim 7, characterized in that: One side of the material platform is provided with a pressing plate that extends upward toward the material platform for compacting tobacco leaves.