A blank supply device
By designing a billet feeding device, a flipping drive mechanism and a robotic arm are used to achieve stable feeding of gallon barrel plastic preforms with a wall thickness greater than 10mm, which solves the shortcomings of the traditional billet feeding method and improves production efficiency and product quality.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- JIANGSU NEWAMSTAR PACKAGING MACHINERY
- Filing Date
- 2025-07-04
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-28
AI Technical Summary
Existing technologies struggle to provide stable, reliable, and efficient preform feeding for gallon barrels with wall thicknesses greater than 10 mm, especially for special plastic preforms without support rings at the bottle neck, where traditional hanging preform feeding methods cannot be used.
A blank feeding device was designed, including a plastic blank carrier, upper and lower conveyor belts and movable pallets. Combined with a flipping drive mechanism and a plastic blank transfer robot, it realizes continuous and stable blank feeding of plastic blanks. Stable conveying and transfer of plastic blanks are achieved by a flipping cylinder and a gripper driven by a servo motor.
It enables continuous, stable, and orderly feeding of plastic preforms, improves production efficiency, prevents preforms from being damaged by collisions during transportation, and increases product yield.
Smart Images
Figure CN224561872U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the technical field of blow molding plastic preforms into plastic containers, and more specifically to a preform feeding device that is matched with a heating furnace for heating plastic preforms. Background Technology
[0002] The common production method for plastic containers (such as bottles) involves first sending the plastic preform to the preform feeding area of the preform feeding station. Then, an intermediate conveyor transports the preform from the feeding area to a heating furnace for heating. Finally, the heated preform is sent to a blow molding unit, where it is blow molded to produce the plastic container. Currently, for special preforms such as gallon barrel preforms with a wall thickness greater than 10mm, the traditional hanging conveyor method cannot be used for feeding them because these preforms lack support rings at the bottle neck. Therefore, there is an urgent need to design equipment that can stably, reliably, and efficiently feed special plastic preforms without support rings at the bottle neck. Utility Model Content
[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide a billet feeding device that is stable, reliable, and highly efficient.
[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: a billet feeding device, comprising: a plastic billet carrier, an upper conveyor belt, and a lower conveyor belt; the plastic billet carrier is provided with a plurality of placement portions for placing plastic billets at equal intervals; the lower conveyor belt is located below the upper conveyor belt, and a movable pallet located in the billet feeding area is provided on the output end side of the upper conveyor belt. The movable pallet is mounted on a support, and the end of the movable pallet closer to the output end of the upper conveyor belt is defined as the front end, and the end of the movable pallet farther from the output end of the upper conveyor belt is defined as the rear end. The rear end of the movable pallet is hinged to the support through a rotating shaft. A flipping drive mechanism is provided between the front end of the movable pallet and the support, which can push the movable pallet to flip up and down around the rotating shaft. Under the drive of the flipping drive mechanism, the movable pallet can flip upward to connect with the output end of the upper conveyor belt, or can flip downward to connect with the input end of the lower conveyor belt.
[0005] Furthermore, in the aforementioned billet feeding device, the structure of the flipping drive mechanism includes: a flipping cylinder, the cylinder body of which is hinged to the bracket, and the piston rod of which is hinged to the bottom front end of the movable support plate.
[0006] Furthermore, in the aforementioned billet feeding device, a plastic billet transfer robot is also provided at the billet feeding station.
[0007] Furthermore, in the aforementioned billet feeding device, the structure of the plastic billet transfer robot includes: a mounting frame, a horizontal moving module in the mounting frame, a translation bracket mounted on the horizontal moving module, the horizontal moving module driving the translation bracket to translate, a lifting bracket mounted on the translation bracket, the lifting bracket being mounted on the translation bracket via a lifting drive mechanism, the lifting drive mechanism being able to drive the lifting bracket to rise or fall, and a plurality of grippers for clamping the plastic billet mounted on the lifting bracket.
[0008] Furthermore, in the aforementioned billet feeding device, the lifting drive mechanism includes a lifting cylinder, the cylinder body of which is connected to a translation bracket, and the piston rod of which is connected downward to the lifting bracket.
[0009] Furthermore, in the aforementioned billet feeding device, the structure of the horizontal moving module includes: a horizontal slide rail group consisting of several horizontal slide rails is provided on the mounting frame; a translation slider for mounting a translation bracket is slidably arranged on the horizontal slide rail group; a lead screw placed horizontally and rotatable about its own axis is supported on the mounting frame; the lead screw passes through the translation slider and is threadedly connected to the translation slider; a servo motor is installed on one side of the mounting frame; the output shaft of the servo motor is coaxially connected to the lead screw.
[0010] Furthermore, in the aforementioned billet feeding device, the mounting portion of the plastic billet carrier is either a slot recessed downwards on the upper surface of the plastic billet carrier or a protrusion protruding upwards from the upper surface of the plastic billet carrier.
[0011] Furthermore, in the aforementioned blank feeding device, the outer peripheral surface of the protrusion is a conical surface with a diameter that gradually increases from top to bottom.
[0012] Through the implementation of the above technical solutions, the beneficial effects of this utility model are: (1) It can realize continuous, stable and orderly supply of plastic blanks, and the flow and transportation of plastic blanks is stable, reliable and efficient, which improves production efficiency; (2) During the blank supply process, the plastic blanks do not come into contact with each other, which effectively prevents the plastic blanks from being damaged by collision during transportation and improves the yield of products in the production process. Attached Figure Description
[0013] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the billet feeding device described in this utility model.
[0014] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram showing the working state when the movable pallet is connected to the upper conveyor belt.
[0015] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram showing the working state when the movable pallet is connected to the lower conveyor belt.
[0016] Figure 4This is a schematic diagram of the plastic preform carrier.
[0017] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the working state of a plastic preform transfer robot gripping a plastic preform at the preform supply station.
[0018] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the working state of a plastic preform transfer robot when it transports the plastic preform from the preform supply station to the intermediate transfer equipment. Detailed Implementation
[0019] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this utility model clearer, the present utility model will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.
[0020] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6As shown, a blank feeding device includes: a plastic blank carrier 1, an upper conveyor belt 2, and a lower conveyor belt 3; the plastic blank carrier 1 has a plurality of placement portions 4 evenly distributed at intervals for placing plastic blanks 100; in practical applications, the placement portions 4 of the plastic blank carrier 1 can be slots recessed downwards into the upper surface of the plastic blank carrier or protrusions protruding upwards from the upper surface of the plastic blank carrier; in this embodiment, the placement portion 4 of the plastic blank carrier 1 is a protrusion protruding upwards from the upper surface of the plastic blank carrier, and the outer peripheral surface of the protrusion is a conical surface with a diameter gradually increasing from top to bottom, which facilitates the quick, accurate, and stable placement of the plastic blank into the protrusion, and prevents it from tipping over during the conveying process, thus improving stability and work efficiency; the lower conveyor belt 3 is located below the upper conveyor belt 2, and a movable pallet 5 is provided on the output end side of the upper conveyor belt 2 in the blank feeding area of the blank feeding station, the movable pallet 5 is mounted on a bracket 6, and is defined as close to the upper... The movable pallet end at the output end of the upper conveyor belt is the front end, and the movable pallet end away from the output end of the upper conveyor belt is the rear end. The rear end of the movable pallet 5 is hinged to the bracket 6 via a rotating shaft 7. A flipping drive mechanism is provided between the front end of the movable pallet 5 and the bracket 6, which can push the movable pallet 5 to flip up and down around the rotating shaft 7. Under the drive of the flipping drive mechanism, the movable pallet 5 can flip upward to connect with the output end of the upper conveyor belt 2, or flip downward to connect with the input end of the lower conveyor belt 3. In this embodiment, the structure of the flipping drive mechanism includes: a flipping cylinder 8, the cylinder body of the flipping cylinder 8 is hinged to the bracket 6, and the piston rod of the flipping cylinder 8 is hinged to the bottom of the front end of the movable pallet 5. When the piston rod of the flipping cylinder 8 extends outward, it can drive the movable pallet 5 to flip upward around the rotating shaft 7 to connect with the output end of the upper conveyor belt 2. When the piston rod of the flipping cylinder 8 retracts inward, it can drive the movable pallet 5 to flip downward around the rotating shaft 7 to connect with the input end of the lower conveyor belt 3.
[0021] In this embodiment, a plastic preform transfer robot 9 is also provided at the preform feeding station; the structure of the plastic preform transfer robot 9 includes: a mounting frame 10, in which a horizontal moving module is provided, and a translation bracket 11 is mounted on the horizontal moving module. The horizontal moving module drives the translation bracket 11 to translate. A lifting bracket 12 is provided on the translation bracket 11. The lifting bracket 12 is mounted on the translation bracket 11 through a lifting drive mechanism. The lifting drive mechanism can drive the lifting bracket 12 to rise or fall. Several grippers 13 for clamping plastic preforms are mounted on the lifting bracket 12; the structure of the lifting drive mechanism includes: a lifting cylinder 14, the cylinder body of the lifting cylinder 14 is connected to the translation bracket 11, and the piston rod of the lifting cylinder 14 is connected downward to the lifting bracket 12; in this embodiment, the structure of the horizontal moving module includes: The mounting frame 10 is equipped with a horizontal slide rail group consisting of several horizontal slide rails 15. A translation slider 16 for mounting the translation bracket 11 is slidably mounted on the horizontal slide rail group. A lead screw 17, which is horizontally placed and can rotate around its own axis, is supported on the mounting frame 10. The lead screw 17 passes through the translation slider 16 and is threadedly connected to the translation slider 16. A servo motor 18 is mounted on one side of the mounting frame 10. The output shaft of the servo motor 18 is coaxially connected to the lead screw 17. The servo motor 18 drives the lead screw 17 to rotate forward or reverse through the output shaft, thereby driving the translation slider 16 to move left or right along the horizontal slide rail. This synchronously drives the translation bracket 11, the lifting bracket 12, and the gripper 13 to move left or right together, so that the gripper 13 can move to a position that is convenient for gripping the plastic blank 100 at the blank feeding station and conveying the plastic blank 100 to the intermediate transfer device 19.
[0022] The working principle of this utility model is as follows:
[0023] First, the plastic preform is placed in an inverted position with the bottle mouth facing down on the placement part 4 of the plastic preform carrier 1. A plastic preform carrier in which an inverted plastic preform 100 is placed on each placement part 4 is defined as a full-bottle plastic preform carrier, and a plastic preform carrier in which no plastic preform 100 is placed on each placement part 4 is defined as an empty-bottle plastic preform carrier. In the initial state, the piston rod of the flipping cylinder 8 is in the extended state, and at this time the movable pallet 5 is connected to the upper conveyor belt 2.
[0024] Then, the full-bottle plastic preform carrier 1 is placed on the upper conveyor belt 2, and the upper conveyor belt 2 moves the full-bottle plastic preform carrier 1 toward the preform feeding area of the preform feeding station until the full-bottle plastic preform carrier is located on the movable pallet 5. At this time, the full-bottle plastic preform carrier 1 is located in the preform feeding area of the preform feeding station, thereby realizing the plastic preforms being arranged at intervals and transported to the preform feeding area of the preform feeding station in an inverted posture with the bottle mouth facing down.
[0025] As the plastic preforms 100 in the full-bottle plastic preform carrier 1 are continuously transferred and transported to the intermediate transmission equipment 19 by the plastic preform transfer robot 9, when all the plastic preforms 100 on the full-bottle plastic preform carrier 1 are removed and it becomes an empty-bottle plastic preform carrier, the piston rod of the tilting cylinder 8 is retracted inward, causing the movable pallet 5 to rotate downward around the rotating shaft 7 to connect with the input end of the lower conveyor belt 3. At this time, the empty-bottle plastic preform carrier will slide down along the tilted movable pallet 5 into the lower conveyor belt 3 and be output by the lower conveyor belt 3.
[0026] Next, the piston rod of the tilting cylinder 8 is extended outward to reset, so that the movable pallet 5 continues to be connected with the upper conveyor belt 2 to receive the full bottle plastic preform carrier 1 output by the upper conveyor belt 2.
[0027] Because the plastic preforms are always arranged at intervals and transported in an inverted position with the bottle mouth facing down during the preform feeding process, collision damage to the plastic preforms can be effectively prevented during transportation, thus improving product quality.
[0028] The specific process by which the plastic preform transfer robot 9 transfers the plastic preforms 100 in the preform supply area in an inverted position to the intermediate transfer equipment 19 is as follows:
[0029] First, each gripper 13 opens and aligns with the plastic preform 100 in the full-bottle plastic preform carrier 1 located in the preform supply area. Then, the servo motor 18 of the horizontal moving module drives the lead screw 17 to rotate, so as to synchronously drive the translation bracket 11 and each gripper 13 to move towards the plastic preform 100 in the full-bottle plastic preform carrier 11 located in the preform supply area, until each gripper 13 moves into place and grabs the plastic preform 100.
[0030] Then the lifting cylinder 14 is activated, which drives each gripper 13 to lift, and simultaneously drives the plastic preform 100 held by the gripper 13 to lift, so that the plastic preform 100 is detached from the plastic preform carrier 1.
[0031] Then, the servo motor 18 of the horizontal moving module drives the lead screw 17 to reverse, synchronously driving the translation bracket 11 and the gripper 13 holding the plastic preform 100 to move towards the intermediate transfer device 19 until the plastic preform 100 held by the gripper 13 is directly above the insertion head of the intermediate transfer device 19. Then, the lifting cylinder 14 is activated, driving the gripper 13 to descend, and synchronously driving the plastic preform 100 held by the gripper 13 to descend, thereby inserting the plastic preform 100 into the corresponding insertion head of the intermediate transfer device 19, realizing the transfer of the plastic preforms at the blank supply station in an inverted posture one by one or group by group to the intermediate transfer device 19; when the number of grippers 13 of the plastic preform transfer robot is one, the plastic preform is transferred one by one; when the number of grippers 13 of the plastic preform transfer robot is multiple, the plastic preforms are transferred group by group; during group transfer, each plastic preform is always in an inverted posture and adjacent plastic preforms do not contact each other.
[0032] The advantages of this utility model are: (1) It can realize continuous, stable and orderly supply of plastic blanks, and the flow and transportation of plastic blanks is stable, reliable and efficient, which improves production efficiency; (2) During the blank supply process, the plastic blanks do not come into contact with each other, which effectively prevents the plastic blanks from being damaged by collision during transportation and improves the yield of products in the production process.
[0033] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present utility model and is not intended to limit the present utility model in any other way. Any modifications or equivalent changes made based on the technical essence of the present utility model shall still fall within the scope of protection claimed by the present utility model.
Claims
1. A billet feeding device, characterized in that: include: Plastic preform carrier, upper conveyor belt and lower conveyor belt; The plastic preform carrier has several evenly spaced placement parts for placing plastic preforms. The lower conveyor belt is located below the upper conveyor belt. A movable pallet located in the preform supply area is provided on the output end side of the upper conveyor belt. The movable pallet is mounted on a support. The end of the movable pallet closer to the output end of the upper conveyor belt is defined as the front end, and the end of the movable pallet farther from the output end of the upper conveyor belt is defined as the rear end. The rear end of the movable pallet is hinged to the support through a rotating shaft. A flipping drive mechanism is provided between the front end of the movable pallet and the support, which can push the movable pallet to flip up and down around the rotating shaft. Under the drive of the flipping drive mechanism, the movable pallet can flip upward to connect with the output end of the upper conveyor belt, or it can flip downward to connect with the input end of the lower conveyor belt.
2. The billet feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The structure of the tilting drive mechanism includes: a tilting cylinder, the cylinder body of which is hinged to the bracket, and the piston rod of which is hinged to the bottom front end of the movable support plate.
3. The billet feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plastic billet transfer robot is also installed at the billet feeding station.
4. A billet feeding device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The structure of the plastic preform transfer robot includes: a mounting frame, a horizontal moving module in the mounting frame, a translation bracket mounted on the horizontal moving module, the horizontal moving module driving the translation bracket to move, a lifting bracket mounted on the translation bracket, the lifting bracket being mounted on the translation bracket via a lifting drive mechanism, the lifting drive mechanism being able to drive the lifting bracket to rise or fall, and several grippers for holding the plastic preform mounted on the lifting bracket.
5. A billet feeding device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The lifting drive mechanism includes a lifting cylinder, the cylinder body of which is connected to the translation bracket, and the piston rod of which is connected downward to the lifting bracket.
6. A billet feeding device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The structure of the horizontal moving module includes: a horizontal slide rail assembly consisting of several horizontal slide rails is provided on the mounting frame; a translation slider for mounting a translation bracket is slidably arranged on the horizontal slide rail assembly; a lead screw that is horizontally placed and can rotate around its own axis is supported on the mounting frame; the lead screw passes through the translation slider and is threadedly connected to the translation slider; a servo motor is installed on one side of the mounting frame; the output shaft of the servo motor is coaxially connected to the lead screw.
7. A billet feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mounting part of the plastic preform carrier is either a slot that is recessed downwards into the upper surface of the plastic preform carrier or a protrusion that protrudes upwards from the upper surface of the plastic preform carrier.
8. A billet feeding device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The mounting part of the plastic preform carrier is a protrusion that protrudes upward from the upper surface of the plastic preform carrier, and the outer peripheral surface of the protrusion is a conical surface with a diameter that gradually increases from top to bottom.