Automatic loading device for plastic boxes

Abstract

The utility model relates to a kind of plastic box automatic feeding device, comprising: support frame;Feeding bin assembly, including multiple parallel arrangement in the feeding bin body of support frame;Lifting mechanism, set in the side of feeding bin assembly, including liftable row of push block, the row of push block is equipped with multiple push claw corresponding with feeding bin body, push claw can extend into the feeding bin body;Pushing mechanism, set in the discharge end of the feeding bin assembly, for the single-layer plastic box that is lifted by lifting mechanism is synchronously pushed out;Turnover mechanism, set in the pushing direction of the pushing mechanism, for receiving the plastic box, and drive its overturning set angle.The utility model is equipped with the feeding bin assembly and synchronous pushing mechanism of multiple cavities parallel, so that it has material batch storage capacity and high-efficiency feeding capacity, accurate layering is carried out by lifting mechanism, and combined with the flexible clamping, adjusting module of turnover mechanism, effectively ensure the conveying precision and appearance quality of plastic box.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of packaging automation technology, specifically to an automatic feeding device for plastic boxes. Background Technology

[0002] In automated packaging production lines in industries such as food, pharmaceuticals, and electronic components, plastic boxes serve as the core packaging carrier, and the efficiency and reliability of their automated feeding process directly determine the overall production capacity of the line.

[0003] The traditional feeding method relies on manual assistance. Operators place plastic boxes one by one onto the conveyor platform, and then the conveyor belt transports them to the next process. This method requires a continuous investment of personnel to replenish the materials. Not only is it inefficient, but human fatigue inevitably leads to the plastic boxes being placed crookedly or in the wrong direction, which in turn causes the subsequent processes to be blocked or the packaging to be substandard.

[0004] To reduce reliance on manual labor, the industry has introduced single-cavity layered feeding equipment, which uses cylinders or suction cups to grasp individual plastic boxes at a time. While this achieves basic automation, production capacity is limited by the single-cavity operation mode. To further increase production capacity, multi-cavity disordered feeding systems have been developed, which utilize vibratory feeders combined with visual recognition and robotic grasping to attempt synchronous feeding across multiple cavities. However, the high-frequency vibration of the vibratory feeder easily causes wear and scratches on the edges of the plastic boxes. At the same time, the positioning accuracy of the vision system is easily affected by factors such as the color of the plastic box and surface reflection, resulting in large fluctuations in positioning accuracy (often with errors of 2-3mm). The system has poor stability, requires frequent shutdowns for calibration, has high maintenance costs, and affects continuous production.

[0005] Therefore, there is an urgent need in this field for an automated feeding solution that can balance production speed, operational accuracy, and appearance quality in order to overcome the efficiency and quality problems faced by current packaging production lines. Utility Model Content

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide an automatic plastic box feeding device that can solve the technical problems mentioned in the background section.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model provides the following technical solution: an automatic plastic box feeding device, comprising a support frame, a feeding bin assembly, a lifting mechanism, a pushing mechanism, and a flipping mechanism. The feeding bin assembly includes multiple feeding bin bodies arranged side-by-side on the support frame; the lifting mechanism, located on the side of the feeding bin assembly, includes a row of liftable push blocks, each row of push blocks having multiple push claws corresponding one-to-one with the feeding bin bodies, the push claws extending into the feeding bin bodies; the pushing mechanism, located at the discharge end of the feeding bin assembly, is used to simultaneously push out single-layer plastic boxes lifted by the lifting mechanism; the flipping mechanism, located in the pushing direction of the pushing mechanism, is used to receive the plastic boxes and drive them to flip over at a set angle.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, the feeding hopper assembly is slidably disposed on the support frame and has a first station for loading materials and a second station for conveying materials.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment, the device further includes a limiter for locking the feeding hopper assembly at the second station.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the feeding mechanism includes a linear drive and a push plate driven by the linear drive, the length of the push plate covering the overall discharge width of the feeding bin assembly.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment, the flipping mechanism includes a clamping plate assembly and a rotary cylinder for driving the clamping plate assembly to rotate; the clamping plate assembly includes a receiving plate and a clamping plate disposed opposite each other, and also includes a control cylinder for controlling the clamping plate to clamp.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, the control cylinder includes a slide cylinder and a three-axis cylinder connected to its output end. The slide cylinder is fixedly connected to the output end of the rotary cylinder, and the clamping plate is connected to the output end of the three-axis cylinder. The driving directions of the slide cylinder and the three-axis cylinder are parallel.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the inner sides of the receiving plate and the clamping plate are attached with flexible anti-slip pads.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the top edge of the feeding hopper body is provided with an outwardly extending guide flange.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this utility model are:

[0016] 1. The automatic feeding device for plastic boxes provided by this utility model has the ability to store materials in batches and provide high-efficiency feeding by setting up a multi-cavity parallel feeding bin assembly and a synchronous pushing mechanism, thereby realizing the batch and continuous feeding of plastic boxes, greatly improving production efficiency, and breaking through the limitations of traditional single-cavity or disordered material storage.

[0017] 2. The lifting mechanism enables precise layered lifting, which, combined with the flexible clamping and adjustment module of the flipping mechanism, ensures accurate positioning and uniform force distribution of the plastic box throughout the lifting, pushing, clamping, and flipping process, effectively guaranteeing the conveying accuracy and appearance quality of the plastic box. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the automatic plastic box feeding device of this utility model;

[0019] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the automatic plastic box feeding device of this utility model from another angle;

[0020] Figure 3 This is a left view of the automatic plastic box feeding device of this utility model;

[0021] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the feeding hopper assembly in this utility model;

[0022] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the lifting mechanism in this utility model;

[0023] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the material pushing mechanism in this utility model;

[0024] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the flipping mechanism in this utility model.

[0025] The meanings of the labels in the diagram are as follows:

[0026] 1. Support frame; 11. Feeding panel; 2. Loading bin assembly; 21. Loading bin body; 22. Enclosure plate; 23. Handle; 24. Flanged edge; 3. Lifting mechanism; 31. Linear module; 32. Linked push blocks; 33. Push claw; 4. Pushing mechanism; 41. Linear drive component; 42. Push plate; 5. Tilting mechanism; 51. Rotary cylinder; 52. Receiving plate; 53. Clamping plate; 54. Bearing seat; 55. Slide cylinder; 56. Three-axis cylinder; 6. Limiter. Detailed Implementation

[0027] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of the present utility model.

[0028] In the description of this utility model, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", and "outer" indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this utility model.

[0029] See Figures 1-3 This embodiment discloses an automatic feeding device for plastic boxes, including a support frame 1, a feeding bin assembly 2, a lifting mechanism 3, a pushing mechanism 4, and a flipping mechanism 5.

[0030] The support frame 1 is the basic load-bearing structure of the entire device. It is made of aluminum profiles welded or bolted together, and has good rigidity and stability, providing an installation foundation for other functional components.

[0031] The feeding bin assembly 2 adopts a multi-bin parallel structure for bulk storage of plastic boxes. The lifting mechanism 3 works in conjunction with the feeding bin assembly 2 to assist in the orderly conveying of materials within the feeding bin assembly 2. The pushing mechanism 4 pushes the materials conveyed by the lifting mechanism 3 to the tilting mechanism 5. The tilting mechanism 5 receives the materials and adjusts their state to facilitate connection with downstream processes.

[0032] Specifically, the support frame 1 is equipped with a horizontal feed panel 11, combined with Figure 4 The feeding hopper assembly 2 is erected on the feeding panel 11 and includes multiple independent and parallel feeding hopper bodies 21, and a baffle plate 22 that partially encloses the lower end of each feeding hopper body 21. Handles 23 are installed on the outer side of the baffle plate 22 to facilitate handling by operators. In this embodiment, the baffle plate 22 not only ensures the integrity of the feeding hopper assembly 2 but also improves its structural stability during transport and positioning. In this embodiment, the feeding hopper body 21 has a predetermined height, and the plastic boxes are stacked vertically within the inner cavity of the feeding hopper body 21.

[0033] Preferably, the sidewalls of the feeding hopper body 21 are designed with a hollow structure, which effectively reduces weight while ensuring structural strength, making it convenient for operators to handle and replace. Furthermore, the feeding hopper body 21 has vertically distributed openings on the side facing the lifting mechanism 3, allowing the lifting mechanism 3 to perform lifting actions. More preferably, the top edge of the feeding hopper body 21 has an outwardly extending flange 24 structure, with the flange 24 preferably having an angle of 20°. This design guides the plastic box to smoothly fall into the chamber during the loading process, significantly reducing alignment difficulty and improving filling efficiency.

[0034] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the feeding bin assembly 2 is provided with a first station for loading materials and a second station for conveying materials. The two stations correspond to the two ends of the feeding panel 11, and the feeding bin assembly 2 is slidable. When loading materials, the handle 23 is pulled to move the feeding bin assembly 2 to a position close to the edge of the feeding panel 11, i.e., the first station. The worker or robot fills the cavity of the feeding bin body 21 with plastic boxes. After the materials are loaded, the feeding bin assembly 2 is pushed to the second station close to the other end of the feeding panel 11, ready to execute the automatic feeding process.

[0035] To ensure the stability of the feeding hopper assembly 2 during the material conveying process and prevent displacement or shaking, preferably, in this embodiment, the automatic plastic box feeding device further includes a limiter 6 for limiting the position of the feeding hopper assembly 2. The limiter 6 includes a lifting cylinder and a limiting block connected to its output end. Specifically, the feeding panel 11 has a partially open design at the position corresponding to the second work station. The lifting cylinder is fixedly connected to the bottom end of the feeding panel 11, corresponding to the middle part of the baffle plate 22. When the feeding hopper assembly 2 reaches the second work station, the lifting cylinder drives the limiting block upwards and abuts against the baffle plate 22, limiting its position.

[0036] Combination Figure 5 The lifting mechanism 3 is fixedly connected to the support frame 1 and is located on one side of the second workstation. It includes a linear module 31 driven by a servo motor and a row of liftable push blocks 32 fixedly connected to the slider of the linear module 31. The row of push blocks 32 is fixedly equipped with multiple push claws 33 that correspond one-to-one with the loading bin body 21. The push claws 33 extend into the bottom of the chamber through the side opening and push the plastic box upward from the bottom. The linear module 31 can precisely control the height of each rise of the row of push blocks 32, which is matched with the thickness of a single plastic box, thereby gradually pushing the plastic boxes in each loading bin body 21 out of the chamber.

[0037] Combination Figure 6The pushing mechanism 4 corresponds to the discharge end of the feeding hopper body 21. It includes a linear drive 41 and a push plate 42 connected to the output end of the linear drive 41. The linear drive 41 is fixedly connected to the support frame 1. The length of the push plate 42 covers the overall width of the feeding hopper assembly 2. When the lifting mechanism 3 lifts multiple plastic boxes to a predetermined position, the linear drive 41 actuates, driving the push plate 42 to simultaneously push the multiple plastic boxes horizontally out of the chamber outlet and into the receiving area of ​​the flipping mechanism 5. For example, the linear drive 41 can be a rodless cylinder, an electric push rod, etc.

[0038] Combination Figure 7 The flipping mechanism 5 is located in the pushing direction of the pushing mechanism 4 and is used to receive the plastic box and change it from a flat position to an upright position. It mainly includes a clamping plate assembly and a rotary cylinder 51 that drives the clamping plate assembly to rotate. Specifically, the clamping plate assembly includes a receiving plate 52 and a clamping plate 53 spaced apart from it, and also includes a control cylinder that controls the clamping plate 53 to clamp. The receiving plate 52, in a horizontal state, corresponds to the pushing height of the pushing plate 42. The plastic box pushed by the pushing plate 42 enters the receiving plate 52 via a connecting plate fixedly connected to the support frame 1. The clamping plate 53 is fixedly connected to the output end of the control cylinder, which drives it to move closer to or further away from the receiving plate 52. More specifically, the rotary cylinder 51 is fixedly connected to the support frame 1, and the receiving plate 52 is connected to the output end of the rotary cylinder 51. To ensure the smooth rotation of the receiving plate 52, the other end of the receiving plate 52 is connected to the support frame 1 via a bearing seat 54 to accommodate its rotation.

[0039] In this embodiment, two sets of control cylinders are configured, connected to the output end of the rotary cylinder 51 and the rotating end of the bearing seat 54, respectively. The control cylinders further include a slide cylinder 55 and a three-axis cylinder 56 connected to its output end. The slide cylinder 55 is fixedly connected to the output end of the rotary cylinder 51 via a mounting plate, while the clamping plate 53 is connected to the output end of the three-axis cylinder 56. The driving direction of the slide cylinder 55 and the extension / retraction direction of the piston rod of the three-axis cylinder 56 are set to be parallel to each other. The slide cylinder 55 is responsible for coarse adjustment over a large stroke, while the three-axis cylinder 56 is responsible for fine adjustment over a small stroke. Together, they constitute a series mechanism capable of coarse and fine two-stage adjustment.

[0040] After the pushing mechanism 4 pushes the plastic box onto the receiving plate 52, the control cylinder actuates, causing the clamping plate 53 to press the plastic box firmly. Subsequently, the rotary cylinder 51 starts, driving the clamping plate assembly and the plastic box it holds to rotate synchronously by 90°. After the flipping action is completed, the control cylinder releases, and the plastic box falls smoothly onto the conveyor belt below under the action of gravity, and is transported to the next process.

[0041] In this embodiment, the clamping surfaces of the receiving plate 52 and the clamping plate 53 are adapted to the corresponding sides of the plastic box. Silicone anti-slip pads are attached to the inner surfaces of both the receiving plate 52 and the clamping surfaces, with a friction coefficient of not less than 0.8. The clamping force is adjusted by a pneumatic system, with a pressure range of 0.2-0.4 MPa, thereby achieving adaptive flexible clamping. This design ensures that the positioning error of the plastic box after clamping is no greater than 0.5 mm, and effectively controls the clamping force, preventing deformation of the plastic box due to excessive clamping force.

[0042] The working process of this embodiment is as follows: The loading bin assembly 2, fully loaded with plastic boxes, is pushed into the preset second work position. The limiting block moves upward and fixes its position. The linear module 31 of the lifting mechanism 3 drives the row of push blocks 32 and push claws 33 to move upward from the bottom, pushing the plastic boxes upward. Each time, it moves the height of one product, so that the lower edge of the top product is slightly higher than the receiving plate 52 of the flipping mechanism 5. Then, the lifting mechanism 3 stops moving, and the rodless cylinder of the pushing mechanism 4 pushes the push plate 42 to push the product to the receiving plate 52 of the flipping mechanism 5. At this time, the control cylinder controls the clamping plate 53 to press the product, and the rotary cylinder 51 controls it to flip. After the flipping is completed, the clamping plate 53 is released, and the product will fall smoothly onto the conveyor belt and be transported to the next process. At the same time, the lifting mechanism 3 resets and prepares to lift the next layer of plastic boxes. The above steps are repeated to achieve continuous automated feeding.

[0043] The automatic plastic box feeding device provided in this embodiment effectively solves the problems of low efficiency, easy product damage and inaccurate positioning in traditional feeding methods through the coordinated design of multi-cavity parallel feeding, precision layered lifting, synchronous pushing and flexible flipping. It is particularly suitable for automated production lines with strict requirements for the integrity of packaging appearance.

[0044] The foregoing has shown and described the basic principles, main features, and advantages of this utility model. Those skilled in the art should understand that this utility model is not limited to the above embodiments. The embodiments and descriptions in the specification are merely preferred examples and are not intended to limit the utility model. Various changes and modifications can be made to this utility model without departing from its spirit and scope, and all such changes and modifications fall within the scope of the claimed utility model. The scope of protection of this utility model is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An automatic feeding device for plastic boxes, characterized in that, include: Supporting framework (1); The feeding hopper assembly (2) includes multiple feeding hopper bodies (21) arranged side by side on the support frame (1); The lifting mechanism (3) is located on the side of the feeding bin assembly (2) and includes a row of lifting push blocks (32). The row of push blocks (32) is provided with multiple push claws (33) that correspond one-to-one with the feeding bin body (21). The push claws (33) can extend into the feeding bin body (21). The pushing mechanism (4) is located at the discharge end of the feeding bin assembly (2) and is used to push out the single-layer plastic box that has been lifted by the lifting mechanism (3) simultaneously. The flipping mechanism (5) is located in the pushing direction of the pushing mechanism (4) and is used to receive the plastic box and drive it to flip at a set angle.

2. The automatic plastic box feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The feeding hopper assembly (2) is slidably mounted on the support frame (1) and has a first station for loading materials and a second station for conveying materials.

3. The automatic plastic box feeding device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The device also includes a limiter (6) for locking the feeding hopper assembly (2) at the second station.

4. The automatic plastic box feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The feeding mechanism (4) includes a linear drive (41) and a push plate (42) driven by the linear drive (41), the length of which covers the overall discharge width of the feeding bin assembly (2).

5. The automatic plastic box feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The flipping mechanism (5) includes a clamping plate assembly and a rotary cylinder (51) for driving the clamping plate assembly to rotate; the clamping plate assembly includes a receiving plate (52) and a clamping plate (53) arranged opposite to each other, and also includes a control cylinder for controlling the clamping plate (53) to clamp.

6. The automatic plastic box feeding device according to claim 5, characterized in that, The control cylinder includes a slide cylinder (55) and a three-axis cylinder (56) connected to its output end. The slide cylinder (55) is fixedly connected to the output end of the rotary cylinder (51), and the clamping plate (53) is connected to the output end of the three-axis cylinder (56). The driving directions of the slide cylinder (55) and the three-axis cylinder (56) are parallel.

7. The automatic plastic box feeding device according to claim 5, characterized in that, Flexible anti-slip pads are attached to the inner sides of the receiving plate (52) and clamping plate (53).

8. The automatic plastic box feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The top edge of the feeding hopper body (21) is provided with an outwardly extending guide flange (24).

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