A raw material conveying and feeding device for a production line

Abstract

The utility model provides a kind of production line raw material transport and feeding device, it can optimize the transfer of roll, so that roll storage mechanism and material rack area are not limited by the range of motion of manipulator, simultaneously can also reduce the time of manipulator transfer roll, to reduce the possibility of manipulator damage. Its structure includes material rack, roll storage mechanism, mechanical arm mechanism and feeding trolley, first gas expansion shaft and second gas expansion shaft are installed on material rack by rotating arm, rotating arm can rotate and make first gas expansion shaft and second gas expansion shaft switch between material discharge position and standby position, roll storage mechanism is used to store roll, and feeding trolley can obtain roll from roll storage mechanism, and roll is transferred from roll storage mechanism to material rack area.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of hygiene product manufacturing technology, specifically to a raw material transportation and feeding device for a production line. Background Technology

[0002] Disposable hygiene products such as sanitary napkins and diapers are made of many strips of material. Raw material suppliers wind these strips into rolls. To achieve material roll replacement without stopping the machine, disposable hygiene product equipment manufacturers generally use a solution: two rolls of raw material are placed simultaneously. One roll is released in real time as the release roll, and the other is kept as a spare roll. When the release roll is detected to be running out of material, it stops unwinding. The splicer glues the end of the spare roll to the release roll, and then the splicer cuts off the tail of the release roll. The two rolls of material are then successfully replaced and connected. During the operation of the splicer, the material required by the production line comes from the storage bin. After the splicing action is completed, the spare roll is converted into the release roll to release material. At this time, the core of the exhausted roll needs to be removed, the next spare roll needs to be installed, and the end of the spare roll needs to be taped and placed into the splicer.

[0003] To facilitate the above operations, the applicant filed a patent application with publication number CN212245436U, which disclosed a raw material feeding and switching device, which includes a frame and a robot arm. The frame is equipped with a splicer and a rotary unwinding mechanism. The rotary unwinding mechanism includes a rotating arm, and a first air shaft and a second air shaft are installed at both ends of the rotating arm for placing the unwinding roll and the spare roll. The roll is switched by rotating the rotating arm.

[0004] The robotic arm is equipped with a working head, which includes an unloading mechanism for removing the waste core of the used roll material, a feeding mechanism for loading new material rolls onto the air shaft located in the preparation position, and a traction mechanism for pulling the joints of spare roll materials to the splicer.

[0005] It also includes a material roll storage mechanism, which is used to store material rolls. After the robot removes the waste core, it needs to pick up a new material roll from the material roll storage mechanism and place it on the air shaft on the frame.

[0006] With the above structure, since a robotic arm is needed to transfer the material roll between the frame area and the roll storage mechanism, each mechanism is restricted to the range of motion of the robotic arm, making it impossible to flexibly plan and arrange the production line. At the same time, if the distance between the roll storage mechanism and the frame area is long, the time for the robotic arm to transfer the material roll will also be extended, and holding a heavy material roll for a long time is more likely to damage the robotic arm. Utility Model Content

[0007] To address the aforementioned problems, this utility model provides a raw material transportation and feeding device for a production line, which can optimize the transfer of material rolls, thereby freeing the material roll storage mechanism and material rack area from the limitations of the robot's range of motion. It can also reduce the time for the robot to transfer material rolls, thereby reducing the possibility of robot damage.

[0008] The technical solution is as follows: a raw material transportation and feeding device for a production line, comprising a material rack, a material roll storage mechanism, and a robotic arm mechanism. The material rack is equipped with a first air shaft and a second air shaft via a rotating arm. The rotating arm is capable of rotating and switching the first air shaft and the second air shaft between a material feeding position and a material preparation position. The material roll storage mechanism is used to store material rolls. The device is characterized in that it further includes a feeding trolley, which is capable of acquiring material rolls from the material roll storage mechanism and transferring the material rolls from the material roll storage mechanism to the material rack area.

[0009] Furthermore, the feeding trolley includes a mobile trolley and a V-shaped base, the V-shaped base being mounted on the mobile trolley, and a robotic arm being installed at the material roll storage mechanism for placing the material rolls on the material roll storage mechanism onto the V-shaped base.

[0010] Furthermore, the robotic arm mechanism includes an unloading assembly for removing the waste core of the used material roll, a pulling assembly for pulling the joint of the material roll at the preparation position to the splicer, and a loading assembly for transferring the material roll on the V-shaped base to the first air shaft or the second air shaft at the preparation position.

[0011] Furthermore, the material roll storage mechanism includes a base, on which multiple material rolls are placed and arranged along the axial direction of the base, and the base is capable of conveying the material rolls along its axial direction.

[0012] Furthermore, the feeding trolley includes a mobile trolley and a roll loading / unloading mechanism. The roll loading / unloading mechanism is mounted on the mobile trolley and includes a third air shaft and a pusher. When loading the roll, the third air shaft can approach the roll center hole on the roll storage mechanism and align it with the same axis. When unloading the roll, the third air shaft can approach the first air shaft or the second air shaft in the preparation position and align it with the same axis. The pusher is used to push the roll onto the first air shaft or the second air shaft.

[0013] Furthermore, the robotic arm mechanism includes an unloading assembly for removing the waste core of the used material roll and a pulling assembly for pulling the joint of the material roll at the preparation position to the splicer.

[0014] Furthermore, the robotic arm mechanism includes an X-axis motion unit and a robotic arm body, wherein the robotic arm body is mounted on the X-axis motion unit and can move along the X-axis motion unit.

[0015] Furthermore, the raw material conveying and feeding device for the production line includes two oppositely arranged material racks, with the X-axis motion unit spanning the two material racks.

[0016] Main benefits: 1. This solution uses a material delivery vehicle to transfer material rolls from the material roll storage mechanism to the material rack area, which greatly reduces the space occupied by spare material rolls in the production workshop, and also avoids personnel carrying spare material rolls into the production area, reducing the risk of manual handling.

[0017] 2. Using a feeding cart for material handling can also reduce the time that the robotic arm takes to grab the material rolls. In one solution, the robotic arm only needs to place the material rolls from the feeding cart in the material rack area onto the material rack. In another solution, the use of a robotic arm for material handling can be completely eliminated. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the installation structure of the material rack and robotic arm mechanism in Example 1;

[0019] Figure 2 This is a top view of Embodiment 1;

[0020] Figure 3 This is a side view of Embodiment 1;

[0021] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the robotic arm mechanism during unloading in Example 1;

[0022] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the feeding cart when picking up materials in Example 1;

[0023] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the feeding car during material loading in Example 1;

[0024] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the production line structure using Example 1;

[0025] Figure 8 This is a top view of Embodiment 2;

[0026] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the material feeding vehicle picking up materials in Example 2;

[0027] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the robotic arm mechanism in Example 2 when it picks up materials from the feeding cart;

[0028] Figure 11This is a schematic diagram of the robotic arm mechanism during material loading in Example 2.

[0029] Reference numerals: 1. Material rack; 11. Rotary winding mechanism; 111. Rotating arm; 112. Second air shaft; 113. Guide wheel; 114. First air shaft; 12. Storage device; 13. Splicer; 2. Robotic arm mechanism; 21. X-axis motion unit; 22. Robotic arm body; 221. Working arm; 222. Working head; 223. Unloading assembly; 224. Material pulling assembly; 225. Loading assembly; 3. Feeding trolley; 31. Moving trolley; 32. Material roll loading and unloading mechanism; 33. Pusher; 34. Third air shaft; 35. V-shaped base; 41. Spare material roll; 42. Working material roll; 5. Strip material; 6. Material roll to be replaced; 7. Material roll storage mechanism; 8. Reserve material roll. Detailed Implementation

[0030] Example 1:

[0031] like Figure 7 The diagram shows a raw material transportation and feeding device for a production line, comprising a material rack 1, a material roll storage mechanism 7, a robotic arm mechanism 2, and a feeding cart 3. Combined with... Figures 1-3 For the material rack 1, its main mechanism is similar to the existing ones, mainly including a rotary winding mechanism 11, a storage device 12, and a splicer 13. The rotary winding mechanism 11 includes a rotating arm 111, a first air shaft 114 in the feeding position, a second air shaft 112 in the preparation position, and a guide wheel 113. The rotating arm 111 can rotate and switch the first air shaft 114 and the second air shaft 112 between the feeding position and the preparation position. The storage device 12 is used to provide the strip material 5 required by the production line during the operation of the splicer 13. The splicer 13 is used to splice the spare material roll 41 and the working material roll 42.

[0032] The main structure of the material roll storage mechanism 7 can also be referred to in the patent cited in the background art. It is used to store and reserve material rolls 8. The material roll storage mechanism 7 includes a base, on which multiple material rolls are placed and arranged along the axial direction of the base. The base can transport the material rolls along its axial direction. Specifically, the base has two conveyor belts arranged in a V-shape. The spacing of the conveyor belts is adjustable to accommodate material rolls of different diameters. The two V-shaped conveyor belts cooperate with the material rolls to automatically align the axes of several material rolls and ensure smooth and reliable transport.

[0033] One of the main improvements in this solution is the feeding trolley 3, which can retrieve material rolls from the material roll storage mechanism 7 and transfer the material rolls 6 to be replaced from the material roll storage mechanism 7 to the material rack area. Specifically, in this embodiment, the feeding trolley 3 includes a mobile trolley 31 and a material roll loading and unloading mechanism 32. The material roll loading and unloading mechanism 32 is mounted on the mobile trolley 31 and includes a pusher 33 and a third air shaft 34. When loading material rolls, the third air shaft 34 can approach the center hole of the material roll on the material roll storage mechanism 7 and align it with the same axis. When unloading material rolls, the third air shaft 34 can approach the first air shaft 114 or the second air shaft 112 in the material preparation position and align it with the same axis. The pusher 33 is used to push the material roll onto the first air shaft 114 or the second air shaft 112.

[0034] When the aforementioned feeding trolley 3 is used, the feeding of the material rolls can be entirely handled by the feeding trolley 3. The robotic arm mechanism 2 no longer needs a feeding mechanism; it only needs to include an unloading component 223 for removing the waste core of the used material rolls and a pulling component 224 for pulling the joint of the material roll at the preparation position to the splicer 13. Specifically, the robotic arm mechanism 2 includes an X-axis motion unit 21 and a robotic arm body 22. The robotic arm body 22 is mounted on the X-axis motion unit 21 and can move along the X-axis motion unit 21. A working head 222 is connected to the robotic arm body 22 via a working arm 221. The aforementioned unloading component 223 and pulling component 224 are mounted on the end face of the working head 222. By using the X-axis motion unit 21, the X-axis motion unit 21 can span two material racks 1, allowing one robotic arm body 22 to perform unloading and pulling operations on two oppositely positioned material racks 1, thereby reducing production and processing costs.

[0035] The working process of this embodiment is as follows:

[0036] 1. Roll replacement and splicing:

[0037] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3As shown, the first air shaft 114 and the second air shaft 112 on the rotary winding mechanism 11 correspond to two unwinding and releasing stations (i.e., the unwinding position and the material preparation position). The first air shaft 114 rotates to release the working material roll 42, while the second air shaft 112 remains stationary. When the working material roll 42 is detected to be almost exhausted, the first air shaft 114 that drives the release of the working material roll 42 stops rotating, and the material of the working material roll 42 stops relative to the splicer 13. The splicer 13 splices the spare material roll 41 and the working material roll 42 together. The previously stationary spare material roll 41 is driven to release by the second air shaft 112, providing strip material 5 to the production line. The rotating arm 111 of the rotary winding mechanism 11 rotates counterclockwise around the main shaft, and the spare roll 41 rotates to the position of the original working roll 42 and is converted into a working roll. During the operation of the splicer 13, the material 5 required by the production line comes from the storage tank 12.

[0038] 2. Unload the core tube:

[0039] like Figure 4 As shown, the exhausted material roll, residual tail material, and core tube are fitted onto the first air expansion shaft 114. The first air expansion shaft 114, which fixes the core tube, has now contracted, and the core tube is loosely fitted onto the first air expansion shaft 114. The robot arm mechanism 2 drives the working arm 221 and the working head 222 to move above the first air expansion shaft 114. During the movement, the robot arm mechanism 2 rotates the unloading assembly 223 to the required angle. The robot arm mechanism 2 controls the unloading assembly 223 to grip the core tube and tail material and discard them into the waste bin.

[0040] 3. Material Retrieval:

[0041] like Figure 5 As shown, the feeding trolley 3 moves to the corresponding area of ​​the spare material and finds the corresponding material roll storage mechanism 7 of the material roll to be taken. Then, the feeding trolley 3 controls the material roll loading and unloading mechanism 32 to move to the output end of the material roll storage mechanism 7, and aligns the third air expansion shaft 34 on the material roll loading and unloading mechanism 32 with the axis of the spare material roll 8. The material roll storage mechanism 7 stores several reserve material rolls 8 with the same rotation direction and can transport the reserve material rolls 8 forward to ensure that the feeding trolley 3 can obtain the reserve material rolls 8 in the accurate position. After obtaining the position of the reserve material roll 8 by the sensor, the feeding trolley 3 controls the third air expansion shaft 34 on the material roll loading and unloading mechanism 32 to remain in the retracted state and insert it into the core of the material roll. Then, the feeding trolley 3 obtains and transports the material roll.

[0042] 4. Loading:

[0043] like Figure 6 As shown, the feeding car 3 transports the material roll 6 to be replaced to the front of the empty air shaft on the material rack 1. The feeding car 3 controls the third air shaft 34 on the material roll loading and unloading mechanism 32 to be coaxial with the empty air shaft. The feeding car 3 controls the pusher 33 of the material roll loading and unloading mechanism 32 to install the material roll onto the air shaft of the material rack 1.

[0044] 5. Pull-out joint:

[0045] like Figure 1 As shown, after the material is loaded, the robotic arm 2 drives the working arm 221 and working head 222 to retract, and switches the material pulling component 224 to the front. The air shaft of the newly loaded material roll drives the roll to rotate. The joint of the roll is attached with color mark tape. The position of the color mark tape is detected by the sensor until the joint with the color mark tape stops at the set position. Then, the robotic arm 2 controls the material pulling component 224 to approach and contact the joint of the roll radially. The edge of the joint is attached to the material pulling component 224. The air shaft cooperates with the material pulling component 224. 4. Rotate together to allow the adhesive side of the material roll joint to wrap around the material pulling component 224 once. Then, the material pulling component 224 pulls the joint onto the adsorption component of the splicer 13. At this time, the negative pressure channel of the adsorption component is connected and sucks the material joint on the material pulling component 224. While the material pulling component 224 releases the joint, the adsorption component adsorbs the released material joint until the material joint is completely detached from the material pulling component 224. Then, the robot arm mechanism 2 drives the working arm 221 and the working head 222 to withdraw, waiting for the next roll change and splicing.

[0046] Example 2:

[0047] The main difference between this embodiment and Embodiment 1 lies in the structure of the feeding cart 3 and the robotic arm mechanism 2. (Combined) Figures 8-11 In this embodiment, the feeding cart 3 includes a mobile cart 31 and a V-shaped base 35. The V-shaped base 35 is mounted on the mobile cart 31. A robotic arm is installed at the material roll storage mechanism 7 to place the material rolls on the material roll storage mechanism 7 onto the V-shaped base 35.

[0048] Since the feeding trolley 3 in this embodiment only has the function of transporting material rolls, the robotic arm mechanism 2 still retains the feeding function and specifically includes a unloading component 223 for removing the waste core of the used material roll, a pulling component 224 for pulling the joint of the material roll at the preparation position to the splicer 13, and a feeding component 225 for transferring the material roll on the V-shaped base 35 to the first air shaft 114 or the second air shaft 112 at the preparation position.

[0049] When using them, the main differences are: 1. Figure 9 As shown, when picking up materials, the feeding car 3 moves to the spare material stacking area and finds the corresponding material roll storage mechanism 7. Then, the robotic arm puts the reserve material roll 8 onto the V-shaped base 35 of the feeding car 3, and the feeding car 3 starts to transport the material roll. Since the robotic arm is used to place the material roll from the material roll storage mechanism 7 onto the feeding car 3, the material roll storage mechanism 7 may not have the ability to transport material rolls.

[0050] 2. During loading, if Figure 10 , Figure 11As shown, the feeding trolley 3 transports the material roll to a predetermined area next to the material rack 1. The robotic arm 2 locates the position of the material roll on the feeding trolley 3 through vision. The robotic arm 2 controls the feeding component 225 to locate the core cylinder axis of the material roll on the feeding trolley 3 and makes the air shaft on the feeding component 225 coaxial with the core cylinder of the material roll. Then, the robotic arm 2 controls the air shaft on the feeding component 225 to insert into the core cylinder of the material roll to pick up the material roll. Then, the robotic arm 2 sends the material roll to the front of the empty air shaft and controls the air shaft on the feeding component 225 to be coaxial with the empty air shaft. Subsequently, the feeding component 225 installs the material roll onto the empty air shaft.

[0051] The beneficial effects of adopting the above two embodiments are as follows: 1. This solution is conducive to realizing the automatic replacement and connection of raw materials in the production line of disposable hygiene products, which further improves the automation and intelligence of the device and can be used to realize unmanned factories and intelligent workshops.

[0052] 2. This solution uses a robotic arm to pull materials and also uses a robotic arm or a feeding cart to load materials, which reduces the need for labor and lowers the labor intensity of workers.

[0053] 3. This solution uses a robotic arm mechanism to pull and place material joints, avoiding worker contact with rotating and shearing workstations, thus improving equipment safety.

[0054] 4. This solution uses a robotic arm mechanism to place material joints onto the splicer, resulting in high stability, reduced downtime due to malfunctions, and improved equipment uptime and product qualification rate.

[0055] 5. This solution uses a rotary winding mechanism to enable the robotic arm to load and unload materials at the same position, thereby improving the stability and accuracy of the robotic arm's loading and unloading.

[0056] 6. The feeding cart of the present invention can transport material rolls to the production station, which greatly reduces the space occupied by the storage of reserve material rolls in the production workshop, and also avoids the need for personnel to carry spare material rolls into the production area, thus reducing the risk of manual handling.

[0057] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A raw material transportation and feeding device for a production line, comprising a material rack, a material roll storage mechanism, and a robotic arm mechanism, wherein a first air shaft and a second air shaft are mounted on the material rack via a rotating arm, the rotating arm being rotatable and capable of switching the first air shaft and the second air shaft between a material feeding position and a material preparation position, and the material roll storage mechanism being used to store material rolls, characterized in that: It also includes a feeding trolley, which is capable of picking up material rolls from the material roll storage mechanism and transferring the material rolls from the material roll storage mechanism to the material rack area.

2. The production line raw material transportation and feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The feeding trolley includes a mobile trolley and a V-shaped base. The V-shaped base is mounted on the mobile trolley, and a robotic arm is installed at the material roll storage mechanism to place the material rolls on the material roll storage mechanism onto the V-shaped base.

3. The production line raw material transportation and feeding device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The robotic arm mechanism includes an unloading component for removing the waste core of the used material roll, a pulling component for pulling the joint of the material roll at the preparation position to the splicer, and a loading component for transferring the material roll on the V-shaped base to the first air shaft or the second air shaft at the preparation position.

4. The production line raw material transportation and feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material roll storage mechanism includes a base, on which multiple material rolls are placed and arranged along the axial direction of the base, and the base is capable of conveying the material rolls along its axial direction.

5. The production line raw material transportation and feeding device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The feeding trolley includes a mobile trolley and a roll loading / unloading mechanism. The roll loading / unloading mechanism is mounted on the mobile trolley and includes a third air shaft and a pusher. When loading the roll, the third air shaft can approach the center hole of the roll on the roll storage mechanism and align it with the same axis. When unloading the roll, the third air shaft can approach the first air shaft or the second air shaft in the preparation position and align it with the same axis. The pusher is used to push the roll onto the first air shaft or the second air shaft.

6. The production line raw material transportation and feeding device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The robotic arm mechanism includes an unloading assembly for removing the waste core of the used material roll and a pulling assembly for pulling the joint of the material roll at the preparation position to the splicer.

7. A production line raw material transportation and feeding device according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that: The robotic arm mechanism includes an X-axis motion unit and a robotic arm body. The robotic arm body is mounted on the X-axis motion unit and can move along the X-axis motion unit.

8. The production line raw material transportation and feeding device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The raw material conveying and feeding device for the production line includes two oppositely arranged material racks, and the X-axis motion unit spans the two material racks.

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