A lancing device

Abstract

The application relates to a piercing device applied in the field of material production, which comprises a mounting frame, a piercing unit arranged on the mounting frame, the piercing unit taking materials from fruit halves respectively by piercing the fruit halves, and a driving unit arranged on the mounting frame and driving the piercing unit to move and separate the fruit halves. The application has the technical effect that when it is needed to separately clamp fruit halves in a closely adhering state, the piercing unit pierces into the fruit halves respectively to take materials from the fruit halves, and then the driving unit is started to drive the piercing unit to move and simultaneously separate the fruit halves from each other, so that the originally closely adhering fruit halves are separately clamped, the adhering fruit halves are separated and carried, the automation level of picking high-adhesion fruit halves is improved, and the production efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of material production technology, and in particular to a piercing device. Background Technology

[0002] Materials refer to all kinds of raw materials required in the production, manufacturing, or service process. In the production of food materials, robotic arms are usually used to grip and transport materials, and some types of materials also need to be cut.

[0003] After the whole fruit is cut into two halves by the cutting process, the halves are often tightly stuck together because they are still sticky. This makes it difficult for the grippers of a conventional robotic arm to pick up the halves separately. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To help solve the problem that conventional robotic grippers in related technologies have difficulty in separately gripping closely fitted fruit halves, this application provides an insertion device with the following technical solution: it includes a mounting frame, on which an insertion unit is provided. The insertion unit extracts the fruit halves separately by inserting into the fruit halves. The mounting frame is also provided with a drive unit that drives the insertion unit to move and causes the fruit halves to separate.

[0005] In one specific implementation, the piercing unit includes a mounting plate disposed on the mounting frame, the mounting plate being provided with piercing needles, the piercing needles piercing the half of the fruit to extract the material.

[0006] In one specific implementation, the needle includes a handle, a connecting handle, and a needle tip. The handle is disposed on the mounting plate and the needle tip is inserted into the fruit half. The needle tip is provided with an anti-detachment component to increase the frictional resistance between the needle tip and the fruit half.

[0007] In one specific implementation, the mounting plate has a limiting groove that mates with the needle handle, and the mounting plate has a connecting component that connects to the needle handle.

[0008] In one specific implementation, the connecting assembly includes a mounting groove formed at the bottom of the limiting groove, and a mounting bolt is provided on the needle shank, the mounting bolt being connected to the mounting groove.

[0009] In one specific implementation, the anti-detachment component includes an anti-detachment groove formed on the needle tip.

[0010] In one specific implementation, the anti-detachment component includes an anti-detachment block disposed on the needle tip.

[0011] In one specific implementation, the needle tip is provided with an inclined guide surface.

[0012] In one specific implementation, the drive unit includes a bidirectional lead screw rotatably connected to a mounting bracket, with nuts threaded to both ends of the bidirectional lead screw, the insertion unit being disposed on the nuts, and the mounting bracket having a drive part for driving the bidirectional lead screw to rotate.

[0013] In one specific implementation, the mounting frame is further provided with a detection unit for detecting whether the needle is intact. The detection unit includes an image acquisition component and a data processing component. The image acquisition component acquires image information of the needle after it has detached from the material and transmits the image information to the data processing component. The data processing component processes the image information and determines whether the needle is intact.

[0014] In summary, this application has the following beneficial technical effects: when it is necessary to separately pick up the fruit halves that are in a tightly attached state, the piercing unit pierces into the fruit halves to pick up the fruit halves, and then the drive unit is activated to move the piercing unit while separating the fruit halves from each other, thereby realizing the separate picking of the originally tightly attached fruit halves, making the attached fruit halves separate and transported, improving the automation level of sorting high-viscosity fruit halves, and improving production efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an embodiment of this application.

[0016] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Enlarged diagram of point A in the middle.

[0017] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the anti-detachment structure used in the implementation of this application.

[0018] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure used in the implementation of this application to demonstrate the anti-detachment block.

[0019] Reference numerals: 1. Mounting bracket; 2. Insertion unit; 3. Drive unit; 4. Mounting plate; 5. Needle handle; 6. Connecting handle; 7. Needle tip; 8. Limiting groove; 9. Mounting groove; 10. Anti-detachment groove; 11. Anti-detachment block; 12. Inclined guide surface; 13. Two-way lead screw; 14. Nut; 15. Guide rail; 16. Guide block; 17. Drive unit. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The following is in conjunction with the appendix Figure 1-4 This application will be described in further detail.

[0021] This application discloses an insertion device.

[0022] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The piercing device includes a mounting frame 1, on which a piercing unit 2 is mounted. The piercing unit 2 extracts material from the fruit halves by piercing them. In this embodiment, the piercing device can be applied to food materials, such as yellow peaches and areca nuts. This embodiment uses areca nuts cut into two pieces by a cutting process as an example. The mounting frame 1 is also equipped with a drive unit 3 that drives the piercing unit 2 to move and separates the fruit halves.

[0023] In related technologies, the conventional method of material handling using grippers involves mounting the grippers on a slide of a vertical linear module, which in turn is mounted on a slide of a horizontal linear module. The horizontal linear module drives the vertical linear module to slide horizontally, while the vertical linear module drives the grippers to rise and fall, thereby achieving the picking of the fruit's half. The solution in this application essentially replaces the grippers in the aforementioned material handling method with the insertion unit of this application. It should be understood that the insertion unit can be connected to the vertical linear module via the mounting bracket 1, or it can be directly mounted on the moving end of a power component such as a four-axis robotic arm; further details will not be elaborated here.

[0024] In this embodiment, the mounting frame 1 is installed on the slide of the vertical linear module. The horizontal linear module is activated, which moves the vertical linear module on the slide of the horizontal linear module, thus enabling the mounting frame 1 to slide horizontally. The vertical linear module is then activated, which raises and lowers the mounting frame 1 on the slide of the vertical linear module. When the vertical linear module drives the mounting frame 1 to rise and fall, it pierces into the half of the fruit. Subsequently, the mounting frame 1 rises and moves horizontally under the drive of the horizontal linear module, thereby enabling the fruit half to be extracted separately by piercing into the half of the fruit.

[0025] Therefore, when it is necessary to separate the tightly attached fruit halves, the insertion unit 2 inserts into the fruit halves to pick up the material. Then, the drive unit 3 is activated to move the insertion unit 2 while separating the fruit halves from each other, thereby realizing the separate picking of the originally tightly attached fruit halves. This improves the automation level of sorting highly viscous fruit halves and increases production efficiency.

[0026] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The piercing unit 2 includes a mounting plate 4 mounted on the mounting frame 1, on which a piercing needle is mounted. The piercing needle pierces the half of the fruit to extract the material. The piercing needle can directly penetrate the sticky surface of the areca nut slices, overcoming surface tension or the adsorption force of sticky substances, and solving the problem of material extraction failure or slippage caused by the inability of traditional mechanical grippers to insert into the bonding surface.

[0027] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The needle includes a needle handle 5, a connecting handle 6, and a needle tip 7 arranged sequentially. The needle handle 5, connecting handle 6, and needle tip 7 can be separately arranged or integrally formed. In this embodiment, the needle handle 5, connecting handle 6, and needle tip 7 are integrally formed as an example. The mounting plate 4 has a limiting groove 8 that mates with the needle handle 5. The needle handle 5 is mounted in the limiting groove 8. The limiting groove 8 limits the position of the needle handle 5, reducing the possibility of the needle handle 5 shifting position and improving the stability of the needle mounted on the mounting plate 4.

[0028] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The mounting plate 4 is equipped with a connecting assembly for connection to the needle handle 5. This assembly includes a mounting groove 9 formed at the bottom of the limiting groove 8. A mounting bolt passes through the needle handle 5 and is connected within the mounting groove 9. Therefore, the operator can remove the needle handle 5 from the limiting groove 8 by unscrewing the bolt, achieving a detachable connection between the needle handle 5 and the mounting plate 4. Furthermore, multiple mounting grooves 9 can be provided, allowing the operator to select the appropriate groove based on the actual site conditions, facilitating adjustment of the needle's position on the mounting plate 4 and providing greater flexibility.

[0029] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The needle handle 5 is mounted on the mounting plate 4 and the needle tip 7 is inserted into the half of the fruit. The needle tip 7 is provided with an inclined guide surface 12. The inclined guide surface 12 helps to break through the sticky layer on the surface of the material. At the same time, the inclined guide surface 12 forms a wedge structure when the needle tip 7 contacts the areca nut slice, converting the vertical downward pressure into a lateral component force, making it easier for the needle tip 7 to cut the surface of the areca nut slice.

[0030] Reference Figure 3 and Figure 4 The needle tip 7 is equipped with an anti-detachment component to increase the frictional resistance between the needle tip 7 and the fruit half. The anti-detachment component includes several anti-detachment grooves 10 formed on the needle tip 7. The several anti-detachment grooves 10 increase the frictional force between the areca nut piece and the needle tip 7, reduce the possibility of the areca nut piece detaching from the needle tip 7 during movement, and improve the stability when the needle picks up the material. In addition, the anti-detachment component can also be configured as several anti-detachment blocks 11 fixedly connected to the needle tip 7, which increase the frictional force between the needle tip 7 and the areca nut piece.

[0031] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2The drive unit 3 includes a bidirectional lead screw 13 rotatably connected to the mounting frame 1. Nuts 14 are threaded to both ends of the bidirectional lead screw 13. Two mounting plates 4 are respectively mounted on the two nuts 14. The mounting frame 1 is provided with a drive unit 17 for driving the bidirectional lead screw 13 to rotate. In this embodiment, the drive unit 17 can be a drive motor, with one end of the bidirectional lead screw 13 located at the output end of the drive motor. A guide rail 15 parallel to the bidirectional lead screw 13 is mounted on the mounting frame 1. A guide block 16 matching the guide rail 15 is slidably connected to the guide rail 15. Nuts 14 are located on the guide block 16. The guide rail 15 limits the sliding direction of the guide rail 16, further improving the stability of the nut 14 and the movement of the needle on the nut 14.

[0032] Therefore, starting the drive motor causes the bidirectional lead screw 13 at the output end of the drive motor to rotate. The rotation of the bidirectional lead screw 13 causes the two nuts 14 to move relative to or away from each other along the length of the bidirectional lead screw 13. During the movement of the nuts 14, the mounting plate 4 and the needle move, thereby moving the areca nut pieces on the needle tip 7.

[0033] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The mounting frame 1 is also equipped with a detection unit for detecting whether the piercing needle is intact. The detection unit includes an image acquisition component and a data processing component. The image acquisition component acquires image information of the piercing needle after it has detached from the material and transmits the image information to the data processing component. The data processing component processes the image information and determines whether the piercing needle is intact. In this embodiment, the image acquisition component can be a camera, and the data processing component can be a control terminal. The control terminal is pre-set with image information of the intact piercing needle in its initial state. The camera takes a picture of the piercing needle to obtain real-time image information and transmits the real-time image information to the control terminal. The control terminal compares the real-time image information of the piercing needle taken by the camera with the image information of the intact piercing needle. If the real-time image information shows that the piercing needle is missing, it indicates that the piercing needle is in an incomplete state.

[0034] It should be noted that the purpose of checking the integrity of the needle is mainly to reduce the possibility of residual metal in betel nuts. In related technologies, food metal detectors are usually used to detect residual metal. However, the detection accuracy of metal detectors is limited, and there is a possibility of missing metal fragments in a small area. For example, metal fragments smaller than 0.4 mm are not easily detected by metal detectors. Furthermore, metal detectors are easily affected by external environmental interference. For example, aluminum foil packaging can cause signal shielding, making it difficult to effectively monitor for accidental metal residues in betel nuts.

[0035] This application innovatively proposes using image recognition to detect areca nuts. An image acquisition component captures image information of the needle after it has detached from the material, and a data processing component processes the image information to determine the integrity of the needle. High-resolution image acquisition enables non-destructive testing, improving the accuracy of areca nut detection and reducing interference from the external environment, thus broadening its applicability. Furthermore, the detection method in this application significantly differs from metal detectors in related technologies. Metal detectors determine needle integrity by detecting the presence of metal inside the areca nut, while this application uses an image acquisition component and a data processing component to infer the presence of residue inside the areca nut by detecting needle wear. Metal detectors are passive detection methods, only able to detect detached metal fragments, unable to determine whether the needle is about to break or has partially remained in the areca nut. This application's embodiment analyzes needle integrity through high-resolution images, proactively identifying potential problems such as needle wear, deformation, and micro-cracks, allowing for early replacement or adjustment of equipment, reducing the occurrence of metal needle residue, and improving food safety.

[0036] The implementation principle of this application embodiment is as follows: When it is necessary to separately clamp the fruit halves in a tightly fitted state, the horizontal linear module is activated, which drives the vertical linear module on the slide of the horizontal linear module to move, realizing the horizontal sliding of the mounting frame 1. The vertical linear module is activated, which drives the mounting frame 1 on the slide of the vertical linear module to rise and fall. When the vertical linear module drives the mounting frame 1 to rise and fall, the needle tips 7 of the two needles on the mounting frame 1 are respectively inserted into the areca nut pieces. Then the mounting frame 1 rises and moves horizontally under the drive of the horizontal linear module, thereby realizing the separate removal of the fruit halves by inserting them into the fruit halves. Then the drive motor is activated, which drives the bidirectional lead screw 13 at the output end of the drive motor to rotate. The rotation of the bidirectional lead screw 13 drives the two nuts 14 to move in opposite directions along the length direction of the bidirectional lead screw 13. During the movement of the nuts 14, the mounting plate 4 and the needles move, realizing the movement of the areca nut pieces on the needle tips 7, separating the originally tightly fitted areca nut pieces, realizing the separation and handling of areca nut pieces, improving the automation level of areca nut piece sorting, and improving production efficiency. At the same time, the needle can directly penetrate the sticky surface of the areca nut pieces, overcoming surface tension or the adsorption force of sticky substances, and solving the problem of material picking failure or slippage caused by the inability of traditional mechanical grippers to insert into the bonding surface.

[0037] This specific embodiment is merely an explanation of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention. After reading this specification, those skilled in the art can make modifications to this embodiment without contributing any inventive step, but such modifications are protected by patent law as long as they are within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A lancing device characterized by: The device includes a mounting frame (1), which is equipped with an insertion unit (2). The insertion unit (2) extracts material from the fruit halves by inserting into the fruit halves. The mounting frame (1) is also equipped with a drive unit (3) that drives the insertion unit (2) to move and causes the fruit halves to separate.

2. The lancing device of claim 1, wherein: The piercing unit (2) includes a mounting plate (4) disposed on the mounting frame (1), and the mounting plate (4) is provided with a piercing needle, which pierces the half of the fruit to extract the material.

3. The lancing device of claim 2, wherein: The needle includes a needle handle (5), a connecting handle (6), and a needle tip (7). The needle handle (5) is disposed on the mounting plate (4), and the needle tip (7) is inserted into the half of the fruit. The needle tip (7) is provided with an anti-detachment component to increase the frictional resistance between the needle tip (7) and the half of the fruit.

4. The lancing device of claim 3, wherein: The mounting plate (4) is provided with a limiting groove (8) that cooperates with the needle handle (5), and the mounting plate (4) is provided with a connecting component that connects to the needle handle (5).

5. The lancing device of claim 4, wherein: The connecting assembly includes a mounting groove (9) formed at the bottom of the limiting groove (8), and a mounting bolt is provided on the needle handle (5), which is connected in the mounting groove (9).

6. The lancing device of claim 3, wherein: The anti-detachment component includes an anti-detachment groove (10) formed on the needle tip (7).

7. The lancing device of claim 3, wherein: The anti-detachment component includes an anti-detachment block (11) disposed on the needle tip (7).

8. The lancing device of claim 3, wherein: The needle tip (7) is provided with an inclined guide surface (12).

9. The lancet device of claim 1 wherein: The drive unit (3) includes a bidirectional lead screw (13) rotatably connected to the mounting frame (1). Nuts (14) are threaded to both ends of the bidirectional lead screw (13). The insertion unit (2) is disposed on the nuts (14). The mounting frame (1) is provided with a drive part (17) for driving the bidirectional lead screw (13) to rotate.

10. The lancing device of claim 2, wherein: The mounting bracket (1) is also provided with a detection unit for detecting whether the needle is intact. The detection unit includes an image acquisition component and a data processing component. The image acquisition component acquires image information of the needle after it is detached from the material and transmits the image information to the data processing component. The data processing component processes the image information and determines whether the needle is intact.

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