CN221017438U - Article piece sorting system - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model discloses a material block sorting system. The block sorting system includes: feed mechanism, detection mechanism, control mechanism and at least two-stage separation actuating mechanism, wherein: the feeding mechanism is used for guiding the object blocks to be sorted to the material falling position for carrying out unsupported falling movement; the detection mechanism is arranged on a falling track of the unsupported falling motion and is used for scanning the object blocks to be sorted; the control mechanism is used for identifying the object blocks to be separated in the object blocks to be separated based on the scanning of the detection mechanism, determining a separation executing mechanism for executing separation on the object blocks to be separated, and sending an instruction to the determined separation executing mechanism; and at least two stages of separation executing mechanisms are arranged on the falling track at different heights below the detecting mechanism, and each stage of separation executing mechanism is suitable for different processing granularity ranges and is used for executing separation on the object blocks to be separated according to the indication of the control mechanism. The scheme of the utility model can increase the granularity processing range of the block sorting.

Description

Article piece sorting system

Technical Field

The present utility model relates generally to the field of material sorters, and in particular to mining machinery. More particularly, the present utility model relates to a mass sorting system.

Background

In mining machinery, a lump sorting system for sorting lump materials such as ores is involved. The material block sorting system is generally composed of a feeding mechanism, a transmission mechanism, a detection mechanism, a signal processing system, a separation executing mechanism and the like. The existing common material block sorting machines can only sort the material blocks with a certain granularity range, and each sorting machine usually has strict limitation on the granularity range of the fed material, and is generally 5-6 times, such as 8-40 mm, 10-60 mm and 50-300 mm.

When the particle size range is too large, the same separation actuating mechanism has insufficient separation force on the object blocks with larger particle size in the particle size range or has low separation precision on the object blocks with smaller particle size.

In view of this, it is desirable to provide a block sorting scheme that meets the block sorting requirements of a wide particle size range while ensuring separation accuracy.

Disclosure of utility model

In order to solve one or more of the technical problems mentioned above, the present application proposes a block sorting system capable of increasing the particle size range of the blocks to be sorted and ensuring the accuracy of separation at a large particle size range.

According to a first aspect of the present utility model, there is provided a block sorting system, comprising: feed mechanism, detection mechanism, control mechanism and at least two-stage separation actuating mechanism, wherein: the feeding mechanism is used for guiding the object blocks to be sorted to a material falling position for carrying out unsupported falling movement; the detection mechanism is arranged on the falling track of the unsupported falling motion and is used for scanning the object blocks to be sorted; the control mechanism is used for identifying the object blocks to be separated in the object blocks to be separated based on the scanning of the detection mechanism, determining a separation executing mechanism for executing separation on the object blocks to be separated, and sending an instruction to the determined separation executing mechanism; and the at least two-stage separation executing mechanisms are arranged on the falling track at different heights below the detecting mechanism, each stage of separation executing mechanism is suitable for different processing granularity ranges, and is used for executing separation on the object blocks to be separated according to the instruction of the control mechanism.

In an alternative embodiment, the at least two stages of separation actuators are arranged from high to low on the drop trajectory in order of decreasing granularity of the treatment.

In an alternative embodiment, the vertical distance of each stage of the separation actuator from the point where the material falls is determined by the upper particle size limit of the particle size range it deals with, the greater the upper particle size limit the greater the vertical distance.

In an alternative embodiment, the mass sorting system further comprises: and the height adjusting mechanism is used for adjusting the height of the at least one stage of separation actuating mechanism.

In an alternative embodiment, the height adjustment mechanism includes a lift mechanism mounted on a lowest level of the at least two levels of separation actuators in height for adjusting the height of the lowest level of separation actuators.

In an alternative embodiment, the lifting mechanism is an electric push rod or a cylinder.

In an alternative embodiment, the height adjusting mechanism comprises a mounting bracket and a plurality of horizontal supporting plates, wherein the horizontal supporting plates are mounted on the mounting bracket and used for placing the separation actuating mechanism, and the height of the horizontal supporting plates on the mounting bracket is adjustable.

In an alternative embodiment, the mounting bracket includes at least one pair of longitudinal rails for sliding at least one horizontal pallet along a longitudinal direction of the mounting bracket to adjust a height of the at least one horizontal pallet on the mounting bracket.

In an alternative embodiment, the mounting bracket includes a plurality of sets of mounting locations spaced apart in a longitudinal direction thereof for selectively mounting the horizontal pallet to adjust the height of the horizontal pallet.

In an alternative embodiment, the disengagement force of the disengagement actuator is adjustable.

In an alternative embodiment, the at least two stage separation actuator is selected from any one or a combination of the following: a blowing mechanism or a push plate mechanism.

In an alternative embodiment, the control means is further adapted to determine a separation actuator suitable for the mass to be separated as the determined separation actuator based on the particle size of the mass to be separated.

In an alternative embodiment, the control means is further adapted to determine whether a separating operation can be performed when the piece to be separated falls to the suitable separating actuator; and in response to determining that a separation operation cannot be performed when the piece to be separated falls to the suitable separation actuator, taking a next stage separation actuator of the suitable separation actuator as the determined separation actuator.

By providing a mass sorting system as provided above, embodiments of the present disclosure may increase the particle size processing range of mass sorting by arranging at least two stages of separation actuators at different heights below the scanning area on the falling trajectory of the mass, each stage of separation actuator being adapted to a different processing particle size range. Thus greatly reducing the granularity range of the object blocks to be separated in the process of sorting the object blocks.

In some embodiments, the multi-stage separation executing mechanism is arranged from high to low on the falling track of the object blocks to be sorted according to the order of the processed granularity from small to large, and the arrangement mode can shorten the distance from identification to separation execution as much as possible, so that the error of separation executing action is reduced, and separation accuracy is provided.

Further, by adjusting the height of at least one of the primary separation actuators via the height adjustment mechanism, a greater variety of treatment particle size ranges can be accommodated. Therefore, the particle size range of the object blocks to be separated is greatly reduced in the process of sorting the object blocks.

Drawings

The above, as well as additional purposes, features, and advantages of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will become readily apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Several embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar or corresponding parts and in which:

FIG. 1a shows a schematic diagram of a belt-type mass sorting system;

FIG. 1b shows a schematic diagram of a quasi-free-fall bulk sorting system;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of a block sorting system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

3 a-3 b are exemplary schematic illustrations of distance design from detection identification to separation performance in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary flow chart of a method of mass sorting according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a block sorting system according to further embodiments of the present disclosure; and

Fig. 6 illustrates a schematic view of a height adjustment mechanism according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The following description of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be made clearly and fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which it is evident that the embodiments described are some, but not all embodiments of the disclosure. Based on the embodiments in this disclosure, all other embodiments that may be made by those skilled in the art without the inventive effort are within the scope of the present disclosure.

It should be understood that the terms "comprises" and "comprising," when used in this specification and the claims, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description of the present disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used in the specification and claims of this disclosure, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should be further understood that the term "and/or" as used in the present disclosure and claims refers to any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items, and includes such combinations.

As used in this specification and the claims, the term "if" may be interpreted as "when..once" or "in response to a determination" or "in response to detection" depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase "if a determination" or "if a [ described condition or event ] is detected" may be interpreted in the context of meaning "upon determination" or "in response to determination" or "upon detection of a [ described condition or event ]" or "in response to detection of a [ described condition or event ]".

Specific embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1a shows a belt-type block sorting system known to the applicant. As shown, the mass sorting system 100 includes a feed mechanism 110, a transport mechanism 120, a detection mechanism 130, a control mechanism 140, and a separation actuator 150.

The feeding mechanism 110 is used to feed the pieces to be sorted into the conveying mechanism 120. The material blocks to be sorted can be ores or other materials. The feed mechanism 110 may include, for example, a vibratory distributor having vibratory and screening functions to disperse material into the conveyor mechanism 120.

The conveying mechanism 120 is used for conveying the objects to be sorted fed by the feeding mechanism 110. The transfer mechanism 120 may be, for example, a conveyor belt or a chute. As shown, the conveying mechanism 120 may be disposed below the feeding mechanism 110, and the objects to be sorted fall from the discharge port of the feeding mechanism 110 to the left end of the conveying mechanism 120 and are conveyed to the right, and finally the objects to be sorted can be thrown from the output end (i.e., the right end) of the conveying mechanism 120 at an initial speed. The friction force between the conveying mechanism 120 and the object blocks to be sorted gradually enables the movement speed and the direction of the object blocks to be sorted to be consistent with those of the conveying mechanism 120, so that a stable state is achieved, the object blocks are scattered and spread on a belt or a chute, are separated from the conveying mechanism at the right end of the conveying mechanism 120, are thrown out at an initial speed, and move in a parabolic movement track.

The detecting mechanism 130 is used for detecting the to-be-sorted object blocks conveyed on the conveying mechanism 120 to detect that the to-be-sorted object blocks are to-be-separated object blocks or no to-be-separated object blocks are needed. The object to be separated is an object to be separated by the separation actuator. The mass to be separated may be a desired mass or an undesired mass as long as sorting of the mass is enabled. Specifically, as shown in the figure, the detecting mechanism 130 may be disposed above the conveying mechanism 120, and collect an image of the object to be sorted, so as to detect that the object to be sorted is the object to be rejected or does not need to be rejected. For example, the detection mechanism 130 may image the object to be sorted by different spectroscopic techniques, such as X-ray, infrared, etc., to obtain an analytical image of the object. Further, the detecting mechanism 130 may collect images of the pieces to be sorted conveyed on the conveying mechanism 120 to acquire physical information of the pieces to be removed therein, such as size, position, weight, and the like.

The control mechanism 140 is configured to control the separation executing mechanism 150 to execute the separation action based on the detection result of the detecting mechanism 130. Specifically, the control mechanism 140 may determine the mass to be separated based on the image acquired by the detection mechanism 130, and further acquire physical information of the mass to be separated. Next, based on the physical information of the piece to be separated, various parameters are determined for which the separation actuator 150 is to perform a separation operation on the piece to be separated. Finally, the control mechanism 140 instructs the separation actuator to perform separation on the piece to be separated. The control mechanism may generally include a processor (e.g., PLC, MCU, CPU, etc.), a memory, and electronics coupled to the processor, etc., which are well known to those skilled in the art and will not be described in detail herein. The separating actuator 150 may be, for example, a blowing device, which blows the object to be separated off its original movement path, so as to separate the object from other objects not blown.

Fig. 1a shows a belt-type classifier in which ore is transported by a belt to obtain a stable initial velocity and then moved in a parabolic manner from an output, a detection mechanism is arranged above the belt, and a separation actuator is arranged on a parabolic path. However, such belt-type sorting machines require a long conveyor belt, which is disadvantageous in terms of cost and space occupation. In view of this, the applicant has provided another quasi-free-fall classifier.

Fig. 1b shows a schematic diagram of a block sorting system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the mass sorting system includes a feed mechanism 3, a detection mechanism 4, a control mechanism 5, a separation actuator 6, and a receiving mechanism 7.

The feeding mechanism 3 may be a vibratory feeder comprising a feeding portion 31 and a vibration source portion 32 connected to the feeding portion 31. The vibration source portion 32 may be a vibration motor or an electromagnetic vibrator. In operation, mineral aggregate is fed from the bin to be inspected to the feed mechanism 3 by a belt conveyor (not shown). After the mineral aggregate falls onto the feeding portion 31, the vibration source portion 32 vibrates and drives the feeding portion 31 to vibrate, so that the mineral aggregate on the feeding portion 31 is forced to uniformly and stably jump forward until reaching the discharge port at the front end of the feeding portion 31. Mineral aggregate is evenly blanked at the discharge hole (namely the material falling position) along the sorting identification area below the discharge hole in a quasi-free falling state.

The detection mechanism 4 is provided below the feeding portion 31. The detection mechanism 4 may be a camera or an X-ray detection mechanism. In the example of fig. 1, the detection mechanism 4 is an X-ray detection mechanism comprising an emitter 41 and a receiver 42. The space between the emitter 41 and the receiver 42 is located below the discharge opening, forming a scanning zone for scanning material falling from the discharge opening. The transmitter 41 may include at least one transmitting source and the receiver 42 may include a plurality of receiving units. As the ore falling from the discharge opening passes through the scanning zone, the emitter 41 emits fan-shaped distribution of X-rays that pass through the ore to the receiver 42. The receiver 42 generates information for detecting the type or quality, contour/grain size, etc. of the ore based on the received X-rays.

The control means 5 is adapted to identify the type/quality, contour/granularity etc. of the ore based on the information obtained by the scanning of the detection means 4 to determine whether a separation operation of the ore needs to be performed. It will be appreciated that the ore to be separated may be the desired mass or the undesired mass, provided that sorting of the mass is achieved. When it is determined that the separation operation needs to be performed, a separation execution instruction is issued to the separation actuator 6. The control means 5 may comprise a processing unit which is communicatively connected to the detection means 4 and the separation actuator 6 for transmitting information. The control mechanism 5 may be provided at an appropriate location of the object block sorting system as required.

The separation executing mechanism 6 is arranged on the ore falling route and below the scanning area and is used for executing separation operation on the ore to be separated according to the instruction of the control mechanism 5. The separation actuator 6 may be a blowing mechanism or a pushing plate mechanism, or any actuator that satisfies a separation function, and may specifically be determined according to the volume, weight, etc. of the object to be separated. For example, when the ore to be separated is a large-sized, heavy-weight ore, a push plate mechanism may be employed as the separation actuator, whereas if the ore to be separated is a small-sized, light-weight ore, a blowing mechanism may be employed as the separation actuator. In the example of fig. 1, a blowing mechanism is shown as a separation actuator, which selectively blows the routed ore according to the instruction of the control mechanism 5, so that the blown ore deviates from the original falling trajectory, and is separated from other ores which are not blown and continue to move along the original falling trajectory.

A receiving means 7 is provided below the separation actuator 6 for receiving and storing or releasing two breeds/quality of ore in blocks. In the example of fig. 1, the receiving means 7 may comprise a barrier, dividing the receiving space into two spaces, one for receiving ore that has not been acted upon by the separating actuator 6 and the other for receiving ore that has been acted upon (e.g. blown or hit) by the separating actuator 6.

Fig. 1b shows a quasi-free-falling classifier in which ore is brought to an unsupported falling motion from a blanking point by means of a vibratory feeder, which may be provided with an initial velocity and is therefore also referred to herein as quasi-free-falling motion. In the quasi-free falling type sorting machine, a transmission belt is omitted, equipment space can be saved, and the detection mechanism and the separation executing mechanism are arranged on a motion track of the unsupported falling motion.

As mentioned in the background, existing sorters typically have a strict limitation on the size range of the feed. When the particle size range is too large, the same separation actuating mechanism has insufficient separation force on the object blocks with larger particle size in the particle size range or has low separation precision on the object blocks with smaller particle size.

In view of this, the presently disclosed embodiments are improved upon the quasi-free-fall type mass sorting system of the type shown in fig. 1b, by configuring at least two separation actuators to increase the particle size processing range of the mass sorting system, in view of the advantages and disadvantages of both of the above-described configurations of the sorters. Further, in view of the structural characteristics of the quasi-free-falling type sorting machine, for example, the initial speed of falling of the object may not be stable, the falling posture may not be stable, and both the detecting mechanism and the separation executing mechanism are arranged on the motion track of the unsupported falling motion, and these factors may affect the selection of the separation executing mechanism. Thus, in some embodiments, the mounting location of the separation actuator is also carefully designed to ensure accuracy of separation over a large range of granularities.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of a block sorting system 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the mass sorting system 20 includes a feed mechanism 21, a detection mechanism 22, a control mechanism 23, and a separation actuator 24.

The feeding mechanism 21 is used for guiding the object to be sorted to the material falling position for carrying out the unsupported falling motion, namely, falling in a quasi-free falling state, and possibly having a certain initial speed. A detection mechanism 22 is arranged on the falling trajectory of the unsupported falling motion for scanning the falling piece to be sorted. The structure, function and function of the feeding mechanism 21 and the detecting mechanism 22 are similar to those of the feeding mechanism 3 and the detecting mechanism 4 in fig. 1b, and the above description is equally applicable, and the description is not repeated here.

Unlike the mass sorting system of fig. 1b, in the presently disclosed embodiment, the separation actuator 24 comprises at least two stages of separation actuators arranged at different heights below the detection mechanism 22 on the falling trajectory of the mass to be sorted. 2 separate actuators 241 and 242 are shown by way of example in fig. 2. In these embodiments, the control mechanism 23 is configured to identify a piece to be separated among pieces to be sorted based on scanning by the detection mechanism 22, determine a separation actuator that will perform separation of the piece to be separated, and issue an instruction to the determined separation actuator. The corresponding separation executing mechanism is used for executing separation on the object blocks to be separated in response to the instruction of the control mechanism.

Each stage of separation actuator may be adapted to a different range of process granularities. The processing grain size ranges of the various stages of separation actuators collectively comprise the processing grain size range of block sorting system 20. Thus, by providing a multi-stage separation actuator, the range of particle sizes that can be handled by the mass sorting system can be increased.

In some embodiments, the number of stages of the separation actuator may be determined based on the range of particle sizes that the block sorting system is required to handle. Further, the processing granularity range of each stage of separation actuator can be determined according to the configuration of the separation actuator. For example, when the particle size ranges from 30mm to 300mm, i.e., 10 times, a two-stage separation actuator may be used to treat the pieces having particle sizes ranging from 30mm to 150mm and 150mm to 300mm, respectively. For another example, when the particle size ranges from 10mm to 600mm, i.e., 60 times, three stages of separation actuators may be used to treat the pieces having particle sizes ranging from 10mm to 50mm, 50mm to 300mm, and 300mm to 600mm, respectively.

In some embodiments, the various stages of separation actuators may be of the same type or of different types. For example, the multistage separation actuating mechanisms can be all blowing mechanisms, all pushing plate mechanisms or a combination of the blowing mechanisms and the pushing plate mechanisms, and any combination of the separation actuating mechanisms can also meet the separation function. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the particular number of stages and the range of processing granularity and types of mechanisms desired for the separation actuator may be adapted and configured by those skilled in the art based on actual needs and experience, and the embodiments of the disclosure are not limited in this respect. In addition, there may be a small overlap between the suitable process granularity ranges for each stage of the separation actuator.

In some embodiments, the control mechanism 23 is further configured to determine a separation actuator suitable for the mass to be separated as the separation actuator determined previously, based on the size of the particle size of the mass to be separated. Specifically, according to the particle size of the object to be separated, a separation executing mechanism corresponding to the processing particle size range in which the object to be separated falls is selected. For example, assuming that two stages of separation actuators are provided, and the blocks having particle sizes ranging from 30mm to 150mm and from 150mm to 300mm are processed, respectively, when the particle size of the block to be separated is 200mm, it falls into the particle size range from 150mm to 300mm, the separation actuator corresponding to the particle size range is selected, and the separation operation is performed on the block to be separated. By determining the separation actuating mechanism suitable for the object to be separated based on the particle size of the object to be separated, namely selecting the separation actuating mechanism falling into the processing particle size range to execute the separation action, more accurate separation can be performed, and the use of the unmatched separation actuating mechanism to execute the separation is avoided, so that the separation precision is improved.

The applicant has also noted that for a quasi-free-fall sorting system, the mass is normally fed directly by a vibratory feeder, the initial speed of which may be unstable, and therefore the determination of the moment of execution of the separation and/or the position of the falling mass is also prone to error. Moreover, the mass will be at a greater and greater speed during the fall, the greater the speed, the lower the accuracy of the separation performed. Therefore, in designing the object block sorting system, it is required that the distance from detection and recognition to separation execution is as short as possible. If the distance is large, the error of the object block passing through the separation executing mechanism is large, the accuracy of separation executing is reduced, and the performance of the equipment is affected. In contrast, in the belt sorter, since the detection mechanism is provided above the conveyor belt and the belt conveyor has a certain horizontal length distance, it is generally sufficient time to perform identification and judgment of the sorted pieces. In addition, in the belt type sorting machine, the object moves in a parabolic manner at a relatively stable initial speed, the movement locus thereof is longer than that of the quasi-free falling type, and the separation actuator can be arranged on a parabolic movement locus which is relatively long in the horizontal direction and relatively short in the vertical direction, so that the above-mentioned factors in the quasi-free falling type sorting system are not considered.

3 A-3 b are exemplary schematic illustrations of distance design from detection identification to separation performance in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 3a, the piece to be sorted is guided by the feed mechanism to a material drop 301 for an unsupported drop movement, which may have an initial velocity v ₀ and thus may also be referred to as a quasi-free-fall movement. In the falling process, the object blocks to be sorted can sequentially pass through the detection mechanism and the separation executing mechanism.

As shown, the vertical distance from the material drop 301 to the detection mechanism 302 is set to be h ₁, and the vertical distance from the material drop to the separation actuator 303 is set to be h ₂; the falling time from the falling position of the object to be sorted to the detecting mechanism 302 and the falling time from the falling position of the object to the separating actuator 303 are t ₁ and t ₂, respectively, and then the following formula represents the relationship between the falling time and the falling distance:

Assuming that the time difference between the object block from the detection mechanism and the separation actuator is Δt, the solution of the time difference Δt has the following formula:

As can be seen from the above formula 3, for a specific or specific sorting apparatus, the vertical distance h ₁ from the material drop to the detection mechanism and the vertical distance h ₂ from the material drop to the separation actuator are fixed values, and h ₂>h₁.v₀ is the initial velocity caused by the feeding mechanism (e.g. vibration feeder), and has an uncontrollable fluctuation, and the relation of the influence of the fluctuation on the accuracy of the separation of the objects is as shown in the above formula 3. That is, the smaller the fluctuation of v ₀, the smaller the error of the estimated time difference Δt in which the separation is detected. The volatility of v ₀ can be reduced by selecting a suitable vibratory feeder.

On the other hand, when v ₀ is constant, the closer the vertical distance h ₁ from the material falling position to the detection mechanism and the vertical distance h ₂ from the material falling position to the separation actuator are, the smaller the speed change is, and the smaller the error of the separation actuator in performing the separation operation is.

The distance between h ₁ and h ₂ is not possible to approach infinitely, because the object is only scanned after it has been scanned, and the separation action can be recognized analytically and performed. That is, the upper limit of the processing granularity determines the lower limit of the distance between detection and separation execution. For example, assuming that the minimum processing granularity is a and the maximum processing granularity is b, the lower limit of the distance between detection of separation execution depends on b. In some implementations, the lower limit of the distance between detection of split execution may be set to b.

Based on the above principle, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the vertical distance between each stage of the multi-stage separation actuator and the material drop point may be determined according to the upper particle size limit of the particle size range that it handles, and the larger the upper particle size limit, the further the vertical distance.

It will be appreciated that when the height of the separation actuator is determined according to the upper particle size limit of the respective particle size range, the separation actuator having a smaller particle size is closer to the detection mechanism, and the separation actuator having a larger particle size is farther from the detection mechanism. Therefore, in some embodiments, the multi-stage separation executing mechanisms provided in the object block sorting system are arranged from high to low on the falling track of the object blocks according to the order of the processed granularity from small to large, so that the distance between each stage of separation executing mechanism and the detecting mechanism is shortened as much as possible, and the separation executing accuracy is improved.

In fig. 3b, a two-stage separation actuator is schematically shown, the vertical distance from the first stage separation actuator 3031 to the material drop being h ₂₁, the vertical distance from the second stage separation actuator 3032 to the material drop being h ₂₂.h₂₁ being determined on the basis of the upper particle size limit of the particle size range suitable for processing by the first stage separation actuator, and h ₂₂ being determined on the basis of the upper particle size limit of the particle size range suitable for processing by the second stage separation actuator. It is apparent that h ₂₁<h₂₂, i.e. the first stage separation actuator is adapted to handle smaller particle size pieces and the second stage separation actuator is adapted to handle larger particle size pieces. By providing a multi-stage separation actuator and by providing the distance between each stage of separation actuator and the detection mechanism as close as possible, the accuracy of separation can still be maintained with an increased process granularity range.

For example, in fig. 3b, the uppermost points of the falling small oval blocks and the uppermost points of the large hexagonal blocks are substantially flush, indicating the actual falling state of each block when the block information reaches the first stage separation actuator 3031 and the second stage separation actuator 3032 after a substantially fixed data processing time has elapsed. As can be seen intuitively, the first stage separation actuator 3031 is adapted to perform a separation operation on small elliptical blocks; the second separation actuator 3032 is then adapted to perform a separation operation on the large hexagonal block.

As mentioned previously, there may also be a small overlap between the suitable process particle size ranges for the various stage separation actuators. In these embodiments, the pieces to be separated may fall into both treatment particle size ranges at the same time, when there is a small overlap between the treatment particle size ranges for which the respective separation actuators are suitable. At this time, the separation actuator closer in height to the detection mechanism can be selected, so that the distance between detection and separation execution can be shortened as much as possible, and the separation accuracy can be improved.

In addition, considering the situation that missing separation occurs because data is not processed when a block reaches a proper separation executing mechanism due to the fact that the identification operation amount of a control mechanism is large, the load is high and the like possibly occurs, in the embodiment of the disclosure, the next stage separation executing mechanism can be subjected to supplementary operation, and therefore the overall efficiency of the device is improved.

Specifically, the control mechanism may determine whether or not the separating operation can be performed when the piece to be separated falls to its appropriate separating actuator; and in response to determining that the separating operation cannot be performed when the piece to be separated falls to its suitable separating actuator, determining a next stage separating actuator of the suitable separating actuator as a separating actuator that is actually to perform the separating action.

For example, it is assumed that a two-stage separation actuator is provided, and that the first stage processes a block having a particle size in the range of 30mm to 150mm and the second stage processes a block having a particle size in the range of 150mm to 300 mm. When the particle size of the mass to be separated is 40mm, it falls into the particle size range of the first stage separation actuator, i.e. the first stage separation actuator is a separation actuator suitable for the current mass to be separated. However, when the control mechanism processes the object block, it finds that the first stage separation executing mechanism cannot execute the separation operation on the object block in time due to a larger processing load, for example, the control mechanism cannot send an instruction to the first stage separation executing mechanism in time, and the control mechanism can adjust the control mechanism to send an instruction to the next stage separation executing mechanism, namely, to the second stage separation executing mechanism, so as to perform the compensation operation on the missed object block.

The control means may determine whether the separating operation can be performed when the piece to be separated falls to its suitable separating actuator in a number of ways.

In some embodiments, determining whether a separation operation can be performed when a piece of material to be separated falls to a suitable separation actuator may include: determining whether a time difference between a time at which the appropriate separation actuator receives information of the piece of object to be separated and a scanning start time for the piece of object to be separated is greater than a predetermined time difference Δt ', wherein the predetermined time difference Δt' is a falling time of the piece of object to be separated from a scanning area to the appropriate separation actuator; and if the time difference is larger than a preset time difference delta t', determining that the separation operation can not be performed when the object to be separated falls to a proper separation executing mechanism. In these embodiments, the control mechanism may be distributed, and may include several controllers or control units distributed at each separate actuator, in addition to the processing unit for identification. The controller or control unit at the separation actuator may compare the time at which the information of the mass to be separated is received with the start time of the scanning of the mass to be separated, and if the time difference between the two is greater than a predetermined time difference Δt', it is indicated that the mass to be separated has passed through the suitable separation actuator, and the operation thereof is omitted. At this time, the current separation executing mechanism can inform the next separation executing mechanism to perform the compensation operation on the missing object blocks. It will be appreciated that when the sorting system is configured, the positions of the detection means and the respective separation actuators are fixed, so that the above-mentioned predetermined time difference Δt' can be estimated, for example using the above formula 3. The initial velocity v ₀ in equation 3 may take various values when estimating the predetermined time difference Δt'. In one implementation, the feeding mechanism (e.g., vibratory feeder) is controlled as much as possible to bring the initial velocity of the mass towards 0, so v ₀ = 0 can be set to calculate the predetermined time difference Δt'. In another implementation, the initial velocity given to the object block by the feeding mechanism may be statistically analyzed, and a value or average value thereof is taken to calculate the predetermined time difference Δt'.

In other embodiments, determining whether a separation operation can be performed when a piece of material to be separated falls to a suitable separation actuator may include: it is determined whether the difference between the time at which the mass to be separated reaches its suitable separation actuator and the current time exceeds a set threshold. The current time is the time when the piece of material to be separated is processed. The set threshold may be determined, for example, based on the indicated travel time and the response time of the decoupling actuator. If the set threshold is exceeded, it is indicated that there is sufficient time for the appropriate disengagement actuator to perform the disengagement operation. If the set threshold value is not exceeded, the instruction that the separation executing mechanism executes the separation operation cannot be timely indicated, and the separation executing mechanism needs to be adjusted to the next stage of separation executing mechanism. In these embodiments, the control means may be centralized, for example by a processing unit therein centrally executing the identification of the mass to be separated, the determination of the final separation actuator. At this time, if the control mechanism judges that the proper separation executing mechanism is not in the process of executing the separation operation, the control mechanism can directly inform the next stage of separation executing mechanism to perform the compensation operation on the missing object blocks.

The time t ₂ at which the mass to be separated reaches its suitable separation actuator can be determined, for example, by adding the time t ₁ at which the detection means is reached to the estimated time difference Δt at which the separation is detected. For a specific block sorting apparatus, the distance from the detection mechanism to the separation actuator of each stage is fixed, and the initial feeding speed of the vibratory feeder can be controlled within a certain range, so that the time difference of detecting the separation of each stage can be estimated according to the above formula 3.

It can be understood that when more than two stages of separation executing mechanisms exist, if it is determined that an instruction cannot be sent before the to-be-separated object block falls to the proper separation executing mechanism, the separation executing mechanism capable of timely supplementing the to-be-separated object block can be determined directly according to the time when the to-be-separated object block arrives at the detecting mechanism, so that the situation that the next stage of separation executing mechanism cannot timely supplement the to-be-separated object block is avoided. For example, it is assumed that a three-stage separation actuator is provided, the first stage treatment particle size range is 10mm to 50mm, the second stage treatment particle size range is 50mm to 300mm, and the third stage treatment particle size range is 300mm to 600mm. When the particle size of the mass to be separated is 40mm, it falls into the particle size range of the first stage separation actuator, i.e. the first stage separation actuator is a separation actuator suitable for the current mass to be separated. However, when the control mechanism processes the object block, it is found that the control mechanism cannot timely send an instruction to the first-stage separation executing mechanism due to a large processing load, and further judges the next-stage separation executing mechanism according to the time when the object block to be separated reaches the detection mechanism, that is, the second-stage separation executing mechanism cannot timely perform the compensation operation, but the third-stage separation executing mechanism can timely process the object block. At this time, an instruction may be directly sent to the third-stage separation actuator to perform a separation operation on the piece to be separated.

The above describes a block sorting system provided by embodiments of the present disclosure. Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a corresponding method of mass sorting.

Fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary flow chart of a block sorting method 400 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown, at step S410, a block to be sorted is guided to a material drop for unsupported drop movement. In one implementation scenario, the above-described object block sorting method is applied in a chute-type sorting apparatus. The chute type sorting equipment comprises a feeding hole and a vibration feeder, the material blocks to be sorted enter a receiving flat plate of the vibration feeder from the feeding hole of the chute type sorting equipment, and the vibration feeder guides the material blocks to be sorted to the falling positions of the material blocks through vibration to perform unsupported falling motion.

Next, at step S420, the falling object pieces to be sorted are scanned at a scanning area on the falling trajectory of the unsupported falling motion of the object pieces. In one implementation, the scanning action is performed by an X-ray identification device at a scanning region. The X-ray identification device may comprise one X-ray emitter and a plurality of X-ray receivers. The X-ray emitter and the X-ray receiver are respectively arranged at two opposite sides of the falling track of the object block.

Next, at step S430, based on the foregoing scan, a block to be separated among the blocks to be sorted is identified and a separation actuator that will perform separation on the block to be separated is determined. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the separation actuator comprises at least two stages of separation actuators arranged on the falling trajectory of the object mass at different heights below the scanning area, each stage of separation actuator being adapted to a different treatment particle size range. Thus, the separation actuator that is to perform the separation may be determined according to different conditions.

In some embodiments, determining a separation actuator that will perform separation of a piece of material to be separated may include: based on the particle size of the mass to be separated, a separation actuator suitable for the mass to be separated is determined as the separation actuator determined previously. For example, according to the particle size of the object to be separated, a separation actuator corresponding to the processing particle size range is selected. By the mode, more accurate separation can be performed, and separation is performed by using a non-matched separation executing mechanism, so that the separation precision is improved.

Further, in some embodiments, determining a separation actuator that will separate a piece of material to be separated may further comprise: determining whether a separation operation can be performed when the piece to be separated falls to a proper separation executing mechanism thereof; and in response to determining that the separation operation cannot be performed when the piece to be separated falls to the proper separation actuator, taking the next stage separation actuator of the proper separation actuator as the separation actuator determined in the foregoing. By adopting the mode of the next-stage separation executing mechanism for the complementary operation, the situation that the missing separation occurs because the data is not processed when the object blocks reach the proper separation executing mechanism due to the large identification operand of the control mechanism, high load and the like can be avoided. Although the next stage separation actuator may not be suitable for the mass to be separated, the overall efficiency of the apparatus may be improved.

In some embodiments, determining whether a separation operation can be performed when a piece of material to be separated falls to its appropriate separation actuator may include: determining whether a time difference between a time at which the suitable separation actuator receives information of the piece of object to be separated and a scanning start time for the piece of object to be separated is greater than a predetermined time difference Δt ', wherein the predetermined time difference Δt' is a falling time of the piece of object to be separated from a scanning area to the suitable separation actuator thereof; and if the time difference is larger than a preset time difference delta t', determining that the separation operation can not be performed when the object to be separated falls to a proper separation executing mechanism.

In other embodiments, determining whether a separation operation can be performed when the piece of material to be separated falls to its appropriate separation actuator may include: determining whether a difference between a time when the piece to be separated reaches a proper separation executing mechanism and a current time exceeds a set threshold, wherein the current time is the time when the piece to be separated is processed, and the set threshold can be determined according to the indicated transmission time and the response time of the separation executing mechanism; and if the set threshold value is exceeded, determining that the separation operation cannot be performed when the piece to be separated falls to the proper separation executing mechanism.

Finally, at step S440, the determined separation actuator is instructed to perform separation on the piece to be separated. The separation actuators may be of the same or different types, including but not limited to a blowing mechanism and a push plate mechanism. The control mechanism may also instruct the corresponding split execution parameters according to different split execution mechanisms. For example, for a blowing mechanism, the control mechanism may also determine an air-jet coefficient based on the physical information of the piece to be separated, wherein the air-jet coefficient indicates a force for controlling air-jet; and sending an air-jet separation instruction and an air-jet coefficient to the jetting mechanism. Specifically, a ratio can be calculated according to the weight of the object block and the size of the particle size, and the ratio is used for corresponding to a preset air injection coefficient. The air-jet coefficient is generally between 0.5 and 1.5. It can be understood that the larger the ratio is, the larger the air-jet coefficient is, and the larger the air-jet control force is. For another example, with respect to the pusher mechanism, the control mechanism may also determine one or more pusher plates to perform separation based on centroid position information of the mass to be separated and the mass width; and sending a push plate detachment instruction to the determined drive member of the one or more push plates.

In view of the fact that the particle size ranges of the pieces to be sorted may be dynamically variable, some embodiments of the present disclosure also provide an adjustable piece sorting system in order to better accommodate different particle size ranges. Specifically, based on the mass sorting system of fig. 2, a height adjustment mechanism is added for adjusting the height of at least one of the primary separation actuators therein to match the varying particle size range. The height adjustment mechanism may have a variety of implementations, and the following provides just a few exemplary implementations to aid in a better understanding of the present application. However, various modifications and variations may be made by those skilled in the art in light of the teachings of this application, which fall within the spirit of this application.

Considering that the lower and upper particle size limits of the mass to be processed typically do not vary much, in some embodiments the separation actuator to process smaller particle sizes may be set to be fixed while the separation actuator to process larger particle sizes may be set to be highly adjustable. Specifically, a lifting mechanism may be installed on the separation actuator of the lowest stage in height for adjusting the height of the separation actuator of the lowest stage.

Fig. 5 illustrates a block sorting system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown, similar to fig. 2, the mass sorting system 500 includes a feed mechanism 21, a detection mechanism 22, a control mechanism (not shown), and a separation actuator 24. In this example, the separation actuator 24 includes two-stage separation actuators 241 and 242. The first stage separation actuator 241 is adapted to handle smaller sized objects that are closer to the vertical, i.e., higher in height, relative to the detection mechanism 22. The second stage separation actuator 242 is adapted to handle larger sized objects that are further apart, i.e., lower in height, vertically relative to the detection mechanism. In this embodiment, the height of the first stage separation actuator 241 is fixed, and a lifting mechanism 51 is installed below the second stage separation actuator 242 to adjust the height of the second stage separation actuator 242, so as to adapt to different particle size ranges and increase the flexibility of the mass sorting device.

In some embodiments, the lifting mechanism 51 may be an electric push rod or an air cylinder. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the particular type of lift mechanism desired may be adjusted and configured by those skilled in the art based on actual needs and experience, and embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited in this respect.

In other embodiments, a height adjustment device may be provided for each stage of separation actuator to more broadly and flexibly adapt the particle size range of the mass.

Fig. 6 schematically illustrates a height adjustment mechanism. As shown, the height adjustment mechanism 600 includes a mounting bracket 610 and a number of horizontal pallets 620. A horizontal pallet 620 is mounted on the mounting bracket 610 for placement or mounting of the separation actuator. There may be various arrangements on the horizontal pallet for securing the separation actuator, as the embodiments of the disclosure are not limited in this respect. The height of the horizontal supporting plate on the mounting bracket is adjustable. By adjusting the height of the horizontal supporting plate, the height of the separation actuating mechanism placed on the horizontal supporting plate can be adjusted.

There are many ways of adjusting the height of the horizontal pallet. In some implementations, the mounting bracket 610 may include at least one pair of longitudinal slide rails 630 thereon for sliding the at least one horizontal pallet along the longitudinal direction of the mounting bracket to adjust the height of the at least one horizontal pallet on the mounting bracket. This way of sliding track can facilitate continuous height adjustment to exactly match the height setting requirements. It should be understood that the slide rails in the figures are only schematically illustrated and that one skilled in the art can implement the various slide rail structures currently available as desired. In other implementations, the mounting bracket 610 may include multiple sets of mounting locations (not shown) spaced apart in a longitudinal direction thereof for selectively mounting the horizontal pallet to adjust the height of the horizontal pallet. The mounting locations may be implemented in a variety of forms including, but not limited to, receptacles, protrusions, and the like.

In some embodiments, the disengagement force of the disengagement actuator is adjustable. The separation force refers to the strength of performing the separation action. According to different separation executing mechanisms, the separation force can be controlled through different separation executing parameters. For example, for a blowing mechanism, the force of controlling the air jet may be indicated by an air jet coefficient. Specifically, a ratio can be calculated according to the weight of the object block and the size of the particle size, and the ratio is used for corresponding to a preset air injection coefficient. It can be understood that the larger the ratio is, the larger the air-jet coefficient is, and the larger the air-jet control force is. For another example, for a push plate mechanism, the force controlling the pushing may be indicated by the number of push plates. Specifically, the number of pushing plates to perform separation is determined based on centroid position information of the mass to be separated and the mass width. The granularity range of the object blocks which are suitable for being processed by the separation executing mechanism can be adjusted by adjusting the separation force. The way of adjusting the separation force avoids the inconvenience of replacing the separation actuating mechanism when a new granularity range needs to be matched.

By providing such a block sorting apparatus with a height adjustment mechanism, it is possible to adjust the respective separation actuators to the corresponding heights after setting the heights of the respective separation actuators according to the height setting principle described above for a specific processing particle size range, thereby achieving a wide particle size range and accurate sorting.

While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerous modifications, changes, and substitutions will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the disclosure described herein may be employed in practicing the disclosure. The appended claims are intended to define the scope of the disclosure and are therefore to cover all equivalents or alternatives falling within the scope of these claims.

Claims (13)

1. A block sorting system, comprising: feed mechanism, detection mechanism, control mechanism and at least two-stage separation actuating mechanism, wherein:

the feeding mechanism is used for guiding the object blocks to be sorted to the material falling position for carrying out unsupported falling movement;

The detection mechanism is arranged on the falling track of the unsupported falling motion and is used for scanning the object blocks to be sorted;

The control mechanism is used for identifying the object blocks to be separated in the object blocks to be separated based on the scanning of the detection mechanism, determining a separation executing mechanism for executing separation on the object blocks to be separated, and sending an instruction to the determined separation executing mechanism; and

The at least two-stage separation executing mechanisms are arranged on the falling track at different heights below the detecting mechanism, each stage of separation executing mechanism is suitable for different processing granularity ranges, and is used for executing separation on the object blocks to be separated according to the indication of the control mechanism.

2. The mass sorting system of claim 1, wherein the at least two stage separation actuators are arranged from high to low on the drop trajectory in order of decreasing particle size processed.

3. The mass sorting system of claim 2, wherein the vertical distance of each stage of separation actuators from the material drop is determined by the upper particle size limit of the particle size range it deals with, the greater the upper particle size limit, the greater the vertical distance.

4. A mass sorting system according to any of claims 1-3, further comprising:

And the height adjusting mechanism is used for adjusting the height of the at least one stage of separation actuating mechanism.

5. The mass sorting system of claim 4, wherein the height adjustment mechanism includes a lift mechanism mounted on a lowest level of the at least two levels of separation actuators in height for adjusting the height of the lowest level of separation actuators.

6. The object block sorting system of claim 5, wherein the lifting mechanism is an electric push rod or an air cylinder.

7. The mass sorting system of claim 4, wherein the height adjustment mechanism includes a mounting bracket and a plurality of horizontal pallets mounted on the mounting bracket for placement of the separation actuator, the horizontal pallets being height adjustable on the mounting bracket.

8. The object block sorting system of claim 7, wherein the mounting bracket includes at least one pair of longitudinal slide rails for sliding at least one horizontal pallet along a longitudinal direction of the mounting bracket to adjust a height of the at least one horizontal pallet on the mounting bracket.

9. The block sorting system of claim 7, wherein the mounting bracket includes a plurality of sets of mounting locations spaced apart in a longitudinal direction thereof for selectively mounting the horizontal pallet to adjust a height of the horizontal pallet.

10. A mass sorting system according to any of claims 1-3, characterised in that the separation strength of the separation actuator is adjustable.

11. A mass sorting system according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the at least two stage separation actuator is selected from any one or a combination of the following: a blowing mechanism or a push plate mechanism.

12. A mass sorting system according to any of claims 1-3, characterised in that the control means is further adapted to determine a separation actuator suitable for the mass to be separated as the determined separation actuator based on the particle size of the mass to be separated.

13. The mass sorting system of claim 12, wherein the control mechanism is further configured to determine whether a separation operation can be performed when the mass to be separated falls to the appropriate separation actuator; and in response to determining that a separation operation cannot be performed when the piece to be separated falls to the suitable separation actuator, taking a next stage separation actuator of the suitable separation actuator as the determined separation actuator.