Patent Publication Number: US-2022219868-A1

Title: Material loading device

Description:
FIELD 
     The subject matter herein generally relates to material transporting mechanisms, and more particularly to a material loading devices. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In production processes, raw materials are generally transported in a loading box. The loading box generally uses a mechanical buckle. However, when the raw material is loaded into the loading box, the buckle may not easily be located by an operator when the buckle is not engaged. If the operator forgets to engage the buckle, the raw materials in the loading box may fall out during transportation. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Implementations of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of embodiments, with reference to the attached figures. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective diagram of an embodiment of a material loading device. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of a structure of a connecting seat in the material loading device. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of a structure of a foolproof mechanism when the material loading device is not buckled. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of a structure of a display member in the material loading device. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of a structure of the foolproof mechanism when the material loading device is buckled. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the different figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. Additionally, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and the proportions of certain parts may be exaggerated to better illustrate details and features. The description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein. 
     Several definitions that apply throughout this disclosure will now be presented. 
     The term “coupled” is defined as connected, whether directly or indirectly through intervening components, and is not necessarily limited to physical connections. The connection can be such that the objects are permanently connected or releasably connected. The term “substantially” is defined to be essentially conforming to the particular dimension, shape, or another word that “substantially” modifies, such that the component need not be exact. For example, “substantially cylindrical” means that the object resembles a cylinder, but can have one or more deviations from a true cylinder. The term “comprising” means “including, but not necessarily limited to”; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in a so-described combination, group, series, and the like. 
       FIG. 1  shows an embodiment of a material loading device. The material loading device  100  is used to hold and fix materials in place, and the materials are transported in the material loading device  100 . 
     The material loading device  100  includes a main body  10  and a buckle rod  20 . The main body  10  is provided with a receiving cavity  11  and at least one opening  12  communicating with the receiving cavity  11 . The receiving cavity  11  receives the materials. The buckle rod  20  is movably coupled to the main body  10  at the opening  12 . The main body  10  further defines a buckle groove  121  at the opening  12 . The buckle rod  20  is configured to buckle into the buckle groove  121  to prevent the material in the receiving cavity  11  from falling out of the opening  12 . In one embodiment, each buckle rod  20  corresponds to two buckle grooves  121 . Two ends of the buckle rod  20  are respectively buckled into two buckle grooves  121 , so that the buckle rod  20  is buckled stably, thereby improving the effect of the buckle rod  20  preventing the materials in the receiving cavity  11  from falling out. 
     The material loading device  100  further includes a plurality of loading plates  30 , which are used to carry materials. Two opposite inner walls of the main body  10  define a plurality of slots  13 . Two sides of each of the loading plates  30  are respectively inserted into the corresponding slots  13  on the two opposite inner walls, and the buckle rod  20  is used to resist against the loading plates  30  inserted into the slots  13 . The loading plates  30  received in the slots  13  facilitate fixed parallel arrangement of the materials on the loading plates  30  in the receiving cavity  11 . 
     In one embodiment, the main body  10  is substantially a rectangular parallelepiped structure formed by four walls  14 . The main body  10  defines two oppositely arranged rectangular openings  12 , and the loading plates  30  can be inserted or removed through the two openings  12 . The main body  10  includes four buckle rods  20 , and two buckle rods  20  are provided at each opening  12 . Correspondingly, four buckle grooves  121  are defined at each opening  12 , and two buckle grooves  121  correspond to one buckle rod  20 . 
     The material loading device  100  further includes a handle mechanism  40 . The handle mechanism  40  includes a handle  41  and two connecting rods  42  respectively coupled to two ends of the handle  41 . An outer side of one wall  14  of the main body  10  is provided with at least two connecting seats  15  facing each other. An end of each connecting rod  42  away from the handle  41  is rotationally coupled to the corresponding connecting seat  15 . The handle  41  is rotationally coupled to the main body  10  through the connecting rods  42  to facilitate lifting the main body  10 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , each connecting seat  15  includes two clamping plates  151  arranged at an angle, and a distance between the two clamping plates  151  gradually decreases along a direction from a surface of the main body  10  to away from the main body  10 . A force on the connecting rod  42  rotationally coupled between the two clamping plates  151  gradually increases from the surface of the main body  10  to away from the main body  10 , so that when an external force is not applied to the handle  41 , the handle  41  falls to the surface of the main body  10 . When the handle  41  falls to the surface of the main body  10 , a buckle portion  411  of the handle  41  is received into a groove  142  defined in the surface of the corresponding wall  14 . 
     In one embodiment, each connecting rod  42  is provided with a shaft, each clamping plate  151  is provided with a rotating hole, and the shaft of the connecting rod  42  passes through the rotating holes, so that the connecting rod  42  is rotationally coupled between the two clamping plates  151 . In one embodiment, an angle between each clamping plate  151  and the surface of the main body  10  is 85°. 
     The material loading device  100  further includes a foolproof mechanism  50 . The foolproof mechanism  50  is provided on the main body  10  to indicate a buckling state of the buckle rods  20 . When the buckle rods  20  are not buckled into the buckle grooves  121 , the foolproof mechanism  50  latches the handle  41  so that the handle  41  cannot be lifted, which prevents an operator from forgetting to buckle the buckle rods  20 , thereby preventing the carrier plates  30  from falling out during transportation. In one embodiment, the foolproof mechanism  50  is located in the corresponding wall  14  of the main body  10 . In another embodiment, the foolproof mechanism  50  may be provided on a side of a corresponding wall  14  facing the receiving cavity  11  through the loading plate  30 . 
     In the material loading device  100 , the buckle rods  20  are buckled into the buckle grooves  121  to resist against the material loading plates  30  inserted into the slots  13 , thereby stably holding the materials on the loading plates  30 . The two clamping plates  151  drive the connecting rod  42  rotationally coupled between the two clamping plates  151  to drive the handle  41  to fall to the surface of the main body  10  without external force, so as to facilitate the foolproof mechanism  50  latching the handle  41 . The foolproof mechanism  50  is used to indicate the buckling state of the buckle rods  20 . When the buckle rods  20  are not buckled into the buckle grooves  121 , the foolproof mechanism  50  latches the handle  41  so that the handle  41  cannot be lifted, which prevents an operator from forgetting to buckle the buckle rods  20 , thereby preventing the carrier plates  30  from falling out during transportation. 
       FIG. 3  shows a structure of the foolproof mechanism  50  when the material loading device  100  is not buckled. The foolproof mechanism  50  includes a thimble  51  and a display member  52 . The thimble  51  is slidably coupled to the main body  10 . One end of the thimble  51  is located in the buckle groove  121 . When the buckle rod  20  is buckled into the buckle groove  121 , the buckle rod  20  drives the thimble  51  to slide relative to the main body  10 . In one embodiment, a sliding channel  141  communicating with the buckle groove  121  is defined in the corresponding wall  14 , and the thimble  51  is slidably received in the sliding channel  141  to improve a sliding stability of the thimble  51 . 
     In one embodiment, the end of the thimble  51  located in the buckle groove  121  includes a limiting portion  511 . The limiting portion  511  protrudes radially outward to limit a sliding distance of the thimble  51  in the sliding channel  141 . 
       FIG. 4  shows a structure of the display member  52 . The display member  52  is coupled to the thimble  51 . The display member  52  is provided with different colored areas. The main body  10  defines a plurality of recesses  16  in the wall  14  corresponding to the display member  52 . The display member  52  is driven by the thimble  51  to slide relative to the recesses  16  to switch the colored areas displayed in the recesses  16 . In one embodiment, the display member  52  includes first colored areas  521  and second colored areas  522 . The first colored areas  521  and the second colored areas  522  are arranged at intervals on a surface of the display member  52 . When the buckle rod  20  is not buckled into the buckle groove  121 , one of the first colored areas  521  and the second colored areas  522  is displayed through the recesses  16 . When the buckle rod  20  is buckled into the buckle groove  121 , the buckle rod  20  pushes the thimble  51 , and the thimble  51  drives the display member  52  to slide, so that the other one of the first colored areas  521  and the second colored areas  522  is displayed through the recesses  16 . 
     The foolproof mechanism  50  further includes a linkage mechanism  53 , which includes a lever  531  and a push rod  532 . The lever  531  is rotationally coupled to the main body  10 . One end of the lever  531  is movably coupled to the thimble  51 , and another end of the lever  531  is movably coupled to the push rod  532 . The thimble  51  drives the lever  531  to drive the push rod  532  into or away from the handle  41  of the handle mechanism  40  to hold or release the handle  41 . In one embodiment, one end of the lever  531  is hinged to the thimble  51  through a connecting rod  533 , and another end of the lever  531  is hinged to the push rod  532 . In one embodiment, the buckle portion  411  of the handle  41  defines a buckle hole  412 . When the handle  41  falls to the surface of the main body  10 , the buckle portion  411  extends into the wall  14  through the groove  142  (shown in  FIG. 1 ), and the buckle hole  412  faces the push rod  532 . The lever  531  is driven by the thimble  51  to drive the push rod  532  into or away from the buckle hole  412 . 
     The foolproof mechanism  50  further includes a reset member  54 . One end of the reset member  54  is fixed to the main body  10 , and another end of the reset member  54  resists against the thimble  51  toward an outer side of the buckle groove  121 , so that when the thimble  51  is not subject to an external force, that is, when the buckle rod  20  is not buckled into the buckle groove  121 , the push rod  532  is inserted into the buckle hole  412  under a driving force of the lever  531 , so that the handle  41  cannot be lifted, thereby preventing an operator from forgetting to buckle the buckle rods  20 . In one embodiment, the reset member  54  is arranged at an end of the sliding channel  141  away from the buckle groove  121 . In one embodiment, the reset member  54  is a spring. 
       FIG. 5  shows a structure of the foolproof mechanism  50  when the material loading device  100  is buckled. When the buckle rod  20  is not buckled into the buckle groove  121 , the reset member  54  resists the thimble  51  toward the outer side of the buckle groove  121 , the display member  52  displays one of the two colored areas through the recesses  16 , and the push rod  532  is inserted into the buckle hole  412  under the driving force of the lever  531  so that the handle  41  cannot be lifted. When the buckle rod  20  is buckled into the buckle groove  121 , the buckle rod  20  drives the thimble  51  to slide relative to the main body  10  through the limiting portion  511 , the display member  52  slides relative to the recesses  16  under the driving force of the thimble  51  to display the other one of the two colored areas through the recesses  16 , and the push rod  532  is moved away from the buckle hole  412  under the driving force of the lever  531 , so that the handle  41  can be lifted. The colored area displayed through the recesses  16  and the locking state of the handle  41  remind the operator to buckle the buckle rods  20 , thereby preventing the loading plates  30  in the main body  10  from falling out. 
     Compared with the related art, a transportation efficiency and stability of the material loading device  100  is improved. 
     The embodiments shown and described above are only examples. Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present technology have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the present disclosure, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in the detail, including in matters of shape, size and arrangement of the parts within the principles of the present disclosure up to, and including, the full extent established by the broad general meaning of the terms used in the claims.