HOPPER, SLURRY LAYING DEVICE, AND FLOOR TILE LAYING ROBOT

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of construction device technologies, in particular to a hopper, a slurry laying device in which the hopper is applied and a floor tile laying

BACKGROUND

When laying floor tiles, a layer of tile adhesive needs to be applied to a laying surface, so as to effectively bond the tiles with the laying surface. Currently, the tile adhesive is manually spread on the laying surface, and a notched scraper is used to scrape the tile adhesive into a straight, toothed pattern. This manual method of evenly scraping the tile adhesive requires high skill from workers and involves significant labor intensity. Moreover, since the tile adhesive is manually applied to the ground, factors such as uneven ground height and the tile adhesive's fluidity make it difficult to ensure that the tile adhesive maintains a uniform thickness across all positions on the ground. This may result in some regions having insufficient tile adhesive, leading to depressions where the tile adhesive is lacking. Consequently, when the tiles are laid, quality issues such as hollowing may occur.

SUMMARY

The hopper in this application includes a hopper body, a slurry mixing chamber is formed in the hopper body, a feeding port is arranged at the top of the slurry mixing chamber, a slurry outlet is arranged at the bottom of the slurry mixing chamber, the hopper body is further connected to at least two window structures that communicate with the slurry mixing chamber, and an upper end opening of each window structure is arranged higher than a top wall of the slurry mixing chamber.

In one embodiment of this application, an opening direction of the feeding port is arranged opposite to an opening direction of the slurry outlet.

In one embodiment of this application, the slurry mixing chamber is configured as an elongated chamber, and the window structures are arranged on the top wall of the slurry mixing chamber and respectively arranged at both ends of the top wall of the slurry mixing chamber.

In one embodiment of this application, in a traveling direction of laying, the feeding port is located between the window structure and the slurry outlet.

In one embodiment of this application, a compression chamber is further formed in the slurry mixing chamber, and in a traveling direction of laying, the compression chamber is located in front of the slurry outlet, and vertical cross-sectional areas of the compression chamber decrease in a direction toward the slurry outlet.

In one embodiment of this application, the top wall of the slurry mixing chamber comprises a horizontal section and a second inclined section, in the traveling direction of laying, the horizontal section is located in front of the second inclined section, the second inclined section extends toward the slurry outlet and is inclined downward, and the slurry mixing chamber is located in a region defined by the second inclined section to form the compression chamber.

In one embodiment of this application, an angle between the second inclined section and a horizontal plane ranges from 5 degrees to 15 degrees.

In one embodiment of this application, an expansion chamber communicating with the compression chamber and the slurry outlet is further formed in the slurry mixing chamber, and in a flow direction from the compression chamber to the slurry outlet, vertical cross-sectional areas of the expansion chamber increase.

In one embodiment of this application, a top wall of the expansion chamber is at least 15 millimeters higher than the slurry outlet; and/or, the top wall of the expansion chamber is 5 millimeters to 20 millimeters higher than the horizontal section.

In one embodiment of this application, a slurry distribution chamber and a slurry storage chamber communicating with the slurry distribution chamber and the slurry mixing chamber are further formed in the hopper body, the slurry distribution chamber is located above the slurry storage chamber, a slurry inlet that communicates with the slurry distribution chamber is arranged at an upper part of the hopper body forms, the feeding port that communicates with the slurry mixing chamber is provided at the bottom of the slurry storage chamber, a plurality of slurry distribution holes spaced apart from each other is arranged at the bottom of the slurry distribution chamber, the bottom of the slurry distribution chamber is sequentially divided into zones from a first zone to an nth zone in a direction away from a blanking point corresponding to the slurry inlet, and from the first zone to the nth zone, the quantities of slurry distribution holes gradually increase.

In one embodiment of this application, the slurry distribution chamber is an elongated chamber, and slurry distribution openings communicating with the slurry storage chamber are formed in zones at two ends of the bottom of the slurry distribution chamber.

In one embodiment of this application, the hopper further includes a slurry scraping member mounted outside the hopper body and located on one side of the slurry outlet, and the slurry scraping member forms an angle of 60 degrees to 80 degrees with a laying surface.

In one embodiment of this application, the feeding port and the slurry outlet are each an elongated opening, and opening widths of the feeding port in a vertical direction increase from the middle towards both ends.

In one embodiment of this application, in a traveling direction of laying, a distance between the feeding port and a front side wall of the slurry mixing chamber is greater than a distance between the feeding port and the slurry outlet.

In one embodiment of this application, the feeding port is arranged adjacent to the top wall of the slurry mixing chamber in a height direction.

In one embodiment of this application, the slurry storage chamber is formed with at least one pressurization chamber, cross-sectional areas of which decrease from top to bottom.

In one embodiment of this application, the slurry storage chamber includes a slurry storage bottom wall, as well as a slurry storage front side wall and a slurry storage rear side wall spaced apart from each other in the traveling direction of laying of the hopper; the bottom of the slurry storage front side wall is lower than the bottom of the slurry storage rear side wall and extends into the slurry mixing chamber, one side of the slurry storage bottom wall is connected to the slurry storage rear side wall, and the other side of the slurry storage bottom wall extends inclined towards the bottom of the slurry storage front side wall and is connected to the bottom of the slurry storage front side wall; and the bottom of the slurry storage front side wall and the slurry storage bottom wall together form the feeding port.

In one embodiment of this application, the slurry storage bottom wall includes a first straight section connected to the slurry storage rear side wall, a second straight section connected to the slurry storage front side wall, a first inclined section connected between the first straight section and the second straight section, and the feeding port is formed between the second straight section and the bottom of the slurry storage front side wall.

In one embodiment of this application, a plurality of dividing ribs spaced apart from each other are further connected between the second straight section and the bottom of the slurry storage front side wall, the feeding port is divided into a plurality of sub-feed ports through the plurality of dividing ribs, and in an arrangement direction from the middle towards both ends of the feeding port, vertical opening widths of at least one sub-feed port increase.

The slurry laying device in this application includes a hopper, where the hopper includes a hopper body, a slurry mixing chamber is formed in the hopper body, a feeding port is arranged at the top of the slurry mixing chamber, a slurry outlet is arranged at the bottom of the slurry mixing chamber, the hopper body is further connected to at least two window structures that communicate with the slurry mixing chamber, and an upper end opening of each window structure is arranged higher than a top wall of the slurry mixing chamber; a liquid level sensor, configured to send a detection signal to the slurry mixing chamber from the window structure; a pumping mechanism, configured to supply laying slurry to the hopper; and a traveling mechanism, configured to carry the hopper and the pumping mechanism.

The floor tile laying robot in this application includes a slurry laying device and a floor tile laying device that cooperates with the slurry laying device. The slurry laying device includes a hopper, where the hopper includes a hopper body, a slurry mixing chamber is formed in the hopper body, a feeding port is arranged at the top of the slurry mixing chamber, a slurry outlet is arranged at the bottom of the slurry mixing chamber, the hopper body is further connected to at least two window structures that communicate with the slurry mixing chamber, and an upper end opening of each window structure is arranged higher than a top wall of the slurry mixing chamber; a liquid level sensor, configured to emit a detection signal to the slurry mixing chamber from the window structure; a pumping mechanism, configured to supply laying slurry to the hopper; and a traveling mechanism, configured to carry the hopper and the pumping mechanism.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application or in the prior art in a clearer manner, the drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be described hereinafter briefly. Apparently, the following drawings merely relate to some embodiments of this application, and based on these drawings, a person of ordinary skill in the art may obtain other drawings without any creative effort. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an assembly structure of a hopper according to the embodiments of this application;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the assembly structure in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view and front view of the assembly structure in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the assembly structure in FIG. 3 along line A-A;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the structure in FIG. 4 along line B-B;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion C in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a portion D in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a slurry mixing chamber of the hopper according to the embodiments of this application;

FIG. 9 is a solid view of a slurry distribution chamber of the hopper according to the embodiments of this application;

FIG. 10 is another view of the slurry distribution chamber in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a solid view of a slurry laying device according to the embodiments of this application;

FIG. 12 is a rear view of the slurry laying device in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a side view of the slurry laying device in FIG. 11; and

FIG. 14 is a top view of the slurry laying device in FIG. 11.

The realization of the purpose, functional characteristics, and advantages of this application will be further described in conjunction with the embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In order to make the objects, the technical solutions and the advantages of this application more apparent, this application will be described hereinafter in a clear and complete manner in conjunction with the drawings and embodiments. Apparently, the following embodiments merely relate to a part of, rather than all of, the embodiments of this application, and based on these embodiments, a person skilled in the art may, without any creative effort, obtain the other embodiments, which also fall within the scope of this application.

Unless otherwise specified, such words as “install” and “connect” may have a general meaning, e.g., fixed connection, detachable connection or integral connection, or direct connection or indirect connection via an intermediate component, or communication between two components. The meanings of these words may be understood by a person skilled in the art according to the practical need.

In the descriptions of this application, it should be understood that the terms such as “first” and “second” are merely used for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. Therefore, a feature defined with “first” or “second” may explicitly or implicitly includes at least one of the feature. In additional, the technical solutions of various embodiments can be combined with each other; however, this must be based on the premise that a person skilled in the art can implement such combinations. When the combination of technical solutions results in contradictions or cannot be implemented, it should be considered that such a combination does not exist and is not within the scope of this application.

This application provides a hopper 100.

The hopper 100 is applied to a slurry laying device 600, which can evenly lay the slurry on a working surface through the hopper 100. The slurry may be a flowable fluid such as mortar, tile adhesive, which will not be particularly defined herein. When laying slurry using the hopper 100 of this application, for example during tile adhesive laying construction, it can significantly mitigate such issues as unevenness, hollowing, and depressions in the manually laid tile adhesive.

To achieve the above objective, referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, in one embodiment, the hopper 100 includes a hopper body 110 and a slurry scraping member 160 installed on the hopper body 110. A slurry distribution chamber 120, a slurry storage chamber 130 and a slurry mixing chamber 140 are formed in the hopper body 110 and arranged from top to bottom. The slurry storage chamber 130 communicates with the slurry distribution chamber 120 and the slurry mixing chamber 140. A slurry inlet 124 that communicates with the slurry distribution chamber 120 is arranged at an upper part of the hopper body 110. A plurality of slurry distribution holes 125 spaced apart from each other is arranged at the bottom of the slurry distribution chamber 120, and the slurry distribution chamber 120 communicates with the slurry storage chamber 130 through the slurry distribution holes 125. A lower part of the hopper body 110 forms a slurry outlet 146 that communicates with the slurry mixing chamber 140. The slurry scraping member 160 is mounted outside the hopper body 110 and located on one side of the slurry outlet 146. A feeding port 137 that communicates with the slurry mixing chamber 140 is arranged at the bottom of the slurry storage chamber 130, where an opening direction of the feeding port 137 is arranged opposite to an opening direction of the slurry outlet 146.

The hopper body 110 of this application may be made of metal, such as stainless steel, aluminum alloy or other metal alloys. The metal sheet metal parts are fixed by splicing and welding to form the hopper body 110 with a box structure, and the hopper body 110 is divided to form the slurry distribution chamber 120, the slurry storage chamber 130 and the slurry mixing chamber 140. This manner has low manufacturing cost and a relatively stable structure. The box parts of the slurry distribution chamber 120, the slurry storage chamber 130 and the slurry mixing chamber 140 may also be made individually through die casting, and then spliced through welding or other means of connection. This manner can achieve higher production efficiency. When the hopper body 110 is made of metal, it has the characteristics of stable structure and easy cleaning during use. As can be appreciated, the material of the hopper body 110 may also be plastic or other materials with greater strength, which will not be particularly defined herein. To achieve optimal laying efficiency with a minimal structure, the hopper body 110 is overall elongated and extends in a width or length direction of a laid tile. The slurry distribution chamber 120, slurry storage chamber 130, and slurry mixing chamber 140 are also each configured as an elongated cavity extending in a lengthwise direction of the hopper body 110. In addition, the feeding port 137 and the slurry outlet 146 are each an elongated opening extending in the lengthwise direction of the hopper body 110. As a result, during the traveling of the slurry laying device 600, a plurality of tile adhesive surfaces may be consecutively laid when traveling in one direction. As can be appreciated, regarding the shape of the hopper body 110, when its installation environment or other factors are considered during practical application, it may be cylindrical or another irregular shape. In such cases, a long axis direction of the hopper body 110 aligns with the width or length direction of the tile to be laid. Furthermore, the shape and extending direction of each of the slurry storage chamber 130, the slurry mixing chamber 140, the feeding port 137, and the slurry outlet 146 are optimally matched with the long axis direction of the hopper body 110.

The hopper body 110, serving as a terminal device in the slurry laying device 600, receives a tile adhesive provided by an upstream mechanism of the slurry laying device 600. Under a specific pressure, the tile adhesive flows out to the slurry mixing chamber 140 through the slurry distribution chamber 120 and the feeding port 137 at the bottom of the slurry storage chamber 130, and is laid on the working surface through the slurry outlet 146. In one embodiment, the slurry scraping member 160 is a scraper. In some implementations, one side of the scraper facing the working surface may have a toothed structure, so that, when applying pressure at the scraper, it makes the tile adhesive adhere more firmly to the working surface, and the tile to be attached has a larger adhesive area with the adhesive surface of the tile adhesive through a groove structure, thereby to provide a more secure adhesive structure. To enhance the laying quality, in this embodiment, the slurry scraping member 160 forms an angle of 60 degrees to 80 degrees with the working surface to be laid. With this arrangement, the slurry scraping member 160 squeezes the tile adhesive flowing out of the slurry outlet 146 again, thereby making the tile adhesive adhere more firmly to the working surface and minimizing the hollowing phenomenon in the laid adhesive surface.

Referring to FIGS. 9 to 10, in order to form the slurry distribution chamber 120 more conveniently in this embodiment, the hopper body 110 further includes a slurry distribution member 120a. The hopper body 110 is formed with an upper opening at an upper part of chamber walls of the slurry storage chamber 130, and the slurry distribution member 120a covers the upper opening. In some implementations, the slurry distribution member 120a is detachably connected to the upper opening. Specifically, the slurry distribution member 120a may be detachably connected to the cavity walls of the slurry storage chamber 130, where the detachable connection manner may be a snap-fit connection, a screw connection, etc. For example, in FIGS. 1 to 4, mutually matching elastic buckle structures 150 are respectively provided on the outside of the slurry distribution member 120a and outer walls of the slurry storage chamber 130. With such arrangement, it facilitates the disassembly of the slurry distribution member 120a, and thus facilitates the cleaning of the inside of the hopper 100 during use.

The bottom of the slurry distribution chamber 120 is sequentially divided into zones from a first zone to an nth zone in a direction away from a blanking point corresponding to the slurry inlet, and from the first zone to the nth zone, the quantities of slurry distribution holes 125 gradually increase, where n is an integer greater than 1. Specifically, referring to FIG. 10, the quantity of zones at the bottom of the slurry distribution chamber 120 is not particularly defined in this application. Optionally, the bottom of the slurry distribution chamber 120 is divided into the first zone R1, the second zone R2, and the third zone R3 from the middle of the bottom of the slurry distribution chamber 120 to either end in the left and right directions, and the quantity of slurry distribution holes 125 in the first zone, the second zone, and the third zone are 0, 2, and 3, respectively. In this way, for the entire bottom of the slurry separation chamber 120, by reasonably arranging the quantities of slurry distribution holes 125 therein, it is able to achieve the uniform slurry discharge from the slurry distribution chamber 120.

In a specific arranging form, the slurry distribution member 120a includes a slurry distribution cover plate 121 capable of covering the upper opening, slurry distribution side plates 122 respectively connected to the opposite sides of the slurry distribution cover plate 121, and a slurry distribution bottom plate 123 connected to two slurry distribution side plates 122. Thus, the slurry distribution cover plate 121, the slurry distribution side plates 122 and the slurry distribution bottom plate 123 enclose to form the slurry distribution chamber 120. A slurry inlet 124 connected to the slurry distribution chamber 120 is provided in the slurry distribution cover plate 121, and the slurry distribution holes 125 are provided in the slurry distribution bottom plate 123, where the slurry inlet 124 may be arranged in the middle of the slurry distribution cover plate 121, and of course a position thereof may be adjusted. In order to achieve uniform material discharge into the slurry storage chamber 130, in this application, the slurry inlet 124 is preferably arranged in the middle of the slurry distribution cover plate 121. Thus, in the case of free fall, a blanking point on the slurry distribution bottom plate 123 is also in the middle of the slurry distribution bottom plate 123. The slurry distribution bottom plate 123 is divided into zones according to similar lengths from the middle of the slurry distribution bottom plate 123 to both ends. Because the quantities of slurry distribution holes 125 gradually increase from the first zone to the nth zone, and the quantity of slurry distribution holes 125 in the zone adjacent to the blanking point is relatively small, the tile adhesive is blocked by the slurry distribution bottom plate 123 and flows toward both ends of the slurry distribution bottom plate 123. During this process, the flow rate slows down, however, because the quantities of slurry distribution holes 125 increase, the flow rate of the tile adhesive flowing out of each zone of the slurry distribution bottom plate 123 is similar, thereby improving the uniformity of the slurry laying surface.

In addition, it can quickly disperse the slurry entering the hopper 100 through the slurry distribution chamber 120 in this application, without the need for the hopper to have a certain height and rely on gravity factors to disperse the slurry to various positions in the hopper through the fluidity of the slurry itself, as in the existing hopper structure. In this way, the overall height of the hopper 100 of this application can be reduced, the size can be reduced, the overall cost can be reduced, and the slurry is saved during use.

In order to further improve the uniformity of the tile adhesive when it enters the slurry storage chamber 130, slurry distribution openings 126 communicating with the slurry storage chamber 130 are formed in the zones at two ends of the bottom of the slurry distribution chamber 120 in this application. In this embodiment, in the structure of the slurry distribution member 120a, a length of the slurry distribution bottom plate 123 is smaller than a length of the slurry distribution cover plate 121. Hence, the slurry distribution openings 126 are formed at two ends of the bottom of the slurry distribution chamber 120. Since the flow rate of the tile adhesive flowing from the blanking point on the slurry distribution bottom plate 12 to the end of the slurry distribution bottom plate 12 is already at a relatively low state, the flow resistance is reduced to a minimum through the slurry distribution openings 126. This ensures that the flow rate of the tile adhesive is roughly equivalent to the flow rate thereof in any other zones, thereby further improving the uniformity of the tile adhesive in the process of flowing to the slurry storage chamber 130.

In this application, the opening direction of the feeding port 137 is arranged opposite to the opening direction of the slurry outlet 146. This can be understood as the opening direction of the slurry outlet 146 facing rearward in the traveling direction during the laying process, meaning that the slurry outlet 146 is arranged on the rear bottom side wall of the hopper body 110 in the traveling direction of laying. The opening direction of the feeding port 137 is arranged facing forward in the traveling direction of the laying process, which is opposite to that of the slurry outlet 146. As a result, during the process in which the tile adhesive flows out from the slurry outlet 146 through the slurry mixing chamber 140, the tile adhesive swirls and changes its flow direction in the slurry mixing chamber 140, eventually flowing out from the slurry outlet 146. Specifically, refer to FIG. 4, which illustrates a schematic view of the tile adhesive flow direction indicated by arrows. When the opening direction of the feeding port 137 is arranged opposite to the opening direction of the slurry outlet 146, it forces the slurry to overturn and flow in the slurry mixing chamber 140. This results in a relatively long flow path for the slurry within a limited space of the slurry mixing chamber 140, allowing the impact force to be fully dissipated to reach an equilibrium state. Consequently, the size of the slurry mixing chamber 140 along the traveling direction may be reduced, thereby further decreasing the volume of the hopper 100.

That is, in the technical solution of this application, the opening direction of the feeding port 137 of the hopper 100 at the bottom of the slurry storage chamber 130 is arranged opposite to the opening direction of the slurry outlet 146, so that the feeding port 137 is arranged as far away from the slurry outlet 146 as possible. The tile adhesive flowing from the slurry storage chamber 130 into the slurry mixing chamber 140 overturns and changes its direction in the slurry mixing chamber 140. During this process, the impact force brought by the flow from the slurry storage chamber 130 is dissipated, and the pressure of the tile adhesive is balanced throughout. As a result, when the tile adhesive flows out from the slurry outlet 146, the pressure across the slurry outlet 146 is uniform. This helps prevent the slurry outlet 146 from being adversely affected by the impact force when the tile adhesive flowing from the slurry storage chamber 130 to the slurry mixing chamber 140. Thus, it allows the tile adhesive to be uniformly laid onto the working surface, minimizing potential issues such as depressions, uneven thickness, or air pockets in the laid tile adhesive layer, and thereby improving laying quality.

In order to further prevent the slurry outlet 146 from being adversely affected by the impact force from the pulp storage chamber 130, a distance between the feeding port 137 and a front side wall of the slurry mixing chamber 140 is greater than a distance between the feeding port 137 and a rear side wall of the slurry mixing chamber 140. In this way, the slurry mixing chamber 140 provides sufficient swirling and turning space for the tile adhesive flowing in from the slurry storage chamber 130, and balances the impact force from the slurry storage chamber 130, so that when it flows out from the slurry outlet 146, the pressure of the tile adhesive at various locations of the slurry outlet 146 is equivalent, and the laid adhesive surface is uniform. Preferably, the distance between the feeding port 137 and the front side wall of the slurry mixing chamber 140 may be at least twice the distance between the feeding port 137 and the rear side wall of the slurry mixing chamber 140, so that the impact force of the tile adhesive entering from the slurry storage chamber 130 into the slurry mixing chamber 140 can be fully released, thereby to achieve the purpose of pressure balance.

Referring to FIGS. 5 to 7, in order to further improve the uniformity of the laid tile adhesive surface, opening widths of the feeding port 137 in a vertical direction increase from the middle towards both ends. When the opening widths of the feeding port 137 in the vertical direction increase from the middle towards both ends, it may be a process of gradually increasing, or it may be a process of increasing in a stepped manner while having an increasing trend, or a certain part of the feeding inlet 137 may increase gradually while some other parts may increase in a stepped manner. From the characteristics of the fluid, it is noted that when the fluid in a container falls, especially when the tile adhesive with a certain viscosity falls, the fluid in the middle part falls more rapidly, that is, the fluidity of the fluid in the middle part is stronger than that in any other parts. Therefore, in this application, the opening widths of the feeding port 137 in the vertical direction increase from the middle towards both ends. Since the tile adhesive in the middle of the feeding port 137 has a stronger fluidity, but the width of the feeding port 137 is relatively small, the tile adhesive that cannot flow out in time is blocked by the inner wall of the feeding port 137 and flows to both ends, and fully flows out from both ends of the feeding port 137 with relatively large opening widths. In this case, the flow rate of the fluid flowing out of the entire feeding port 137 is equivalent, and the slurry in the slurry storage chamber 130 may be relatively evenly spread in the slurry mixing chamber 140. This eventually achieves a relatively uniform amount of tile adhesive at each position during the process of the tile adhesive being outputted from the slurry outlet 146 of the slurry mixing chamber 140, thereby to provide a relatively uniform thickness of the laid tile adhesive.

It should be noted that in this application, the opening direction of the slurry outlet 146 is horizontal and faces rearward in the traveling direction of the hopper body 110. A discharge process from the slurry outlet 146 involves a horizontal outflow, which differs from a falling process of the tile adhesive from the feeding port 137 into the slurry mixing chamber 140. Therefore, when the slurry outlet 146 is configured in an elongated shape, it may be arranged in a rectangular shape. In a case that there is a need to lay the tile adhesive in a particular shape or height, the opening of the slurry outlet 146 may be adaptively adjusted at the corresponding position.

From the above content, it is noted that the slurry storage chamber 130 and the slurry mixing chamber 140 are arranged vertically, so that the tile adhesive in the slurry storage chamber 130 can fall to a certain extent with the help of gravitational potential energy, thereby accelerating the flow efficiency. Moreover, it also makes the outflowing tile adhesive have a certain pressure, so as to be in better contact with and adhered to the working surface. This results in a more compact tile adhesive layer and enhances the quality of the laying effect. In order to strengthen the above process, referring to FIGS. 4 and 6, in one embodiment, the slurry storage chamber 130 is formed with at least one pressurization chamber 138, and cross-sectional areas of which are set to decrease from top to bottom. Through the pressurization chamber 138, the tile adhesive in the slurry storage chamber 130 is squeezed during the falling process, thereby increasing the pressure of the tile adhesive. Hence, the tile adhesive discharged from the slurry outlet 146 can be effectively adhered to the working surface, thereby reducing the amount of air trapped between the tile adhesive and the working surface, and making it less likely to have hollowing phenomenon after the tiles are installed. In addition, through the pressurization chamber 138, it also increases the flow rate of the tile adhesive, thereby improving the laying efficiency.

Still referring to FIGS. 4 and 6, the slurry storage chamber 130 includes a slurry storage bottom wall 133, a slurry storage front side wall 131 and a slurry storage rear side wall 132 that are relatively spaced apart from each other in the laying direction of the hopper 100, and two slurry storage enclosing plates that are respectively connected to same side edges of the slurry storage front side wall 131, the slurry storage rear side wall 132 and the slurry storage bottom wall 133. The bottom of the slurry storage front side wall 131 in this embodiment is lower than the bottom of the slurry storage rear side wall 132 and extends into the slurry mixing chamber 140, one side of the slurry storage bottom wall 133 is connected to the slurry storage rear side wall 132, and the other side of the slurry storage bottom wall extends inclined towards the bottom of the slurry storage front side wall 131 and is connected to the bottom of the slurry storage front side wall 131. The bottom of the slurry storage front side wall 131 and the slurry storage bottom wall together form the feeding port 137. The part of the slurry storage front side wall 131 extending into the slurry mixing chamber 140, the slurry storage bottom wall 133 and the two slurry storage enclosing plates together define the pressurization chamber 138. Thus, when a part of the slurry storage front side wall 131 extends into the slurry mixing chamber 140, the bottom of the slurry storage front side wall 131 is lower than that of the slurry storage rear side wall 132. The slurry storage bottom wall 133 is in an inclined position, causing distances between the slurry storage front side wall 131 and the slurry storage bottom wall 133 to gradually decrease, thereby achieving the squeezing of the tile adhesive inside to achieve the purpose of pressurization. The opening of the feeding port 137 is slightly lower than the top wall of the slurry mixing chamber 140, allowing the tile adhesive entering from the inlet 137 to nearly spurt out along the top wall of the slurry mixing chamber 140, thereby facilitating the filling of the entire slurry mixing chamber 140 with the tile adhesive.

Furthermore, the slurry storage bottom wall 133 includes a first straight section 134 connected to the slurry storage rear side wall 132, a second straight section 136 connected to the slurry storage front side wall 131, and a first inclined section 135 connected between the first straight section 134 and the second straight section 136, and the feeding port 137 is formed between the second straight section 136 and the bottom of the slurry storage front side wall 131. The first straight section 134 and the second straight section 136 are arranged parallel to or approximately parallel to the horizontal plane. Preferably, the first straight section 134 and the second straight section 136 are connected to the first inclined section 135 in a smooth transition manner. In this embodiment, the slurry storage front side wall 131 and the slurry storage rear side wall 132 extend in the vertical direction and are arranged parallel. Thus, when the tile adhesive enters the slurry storage chamber 130, it freely falls between the slurry storage front side wall 131 and the slurry storage rear side wall 132. During this process, the potential energy and pressure of the tile adhesive gradually increase. When the tile adhesive enters the pressurization chamber 138 between the slurry storage front side wall 131 and the slurry storage bottom wall 133, it comes into contact with the first straight section 134. Under the guiding action of the first straight section 134, the tile adhesive changes direction for the first time and is guided toward the first inclined section 135. As it continues to fall, the flow direction of the tile adhesive further changes, and when it flows to the second straight section 136, it allows the tile adhesive to rush into the slurry mixing chamber 140 in an approximately horizontal or slightly downward-inclined direction. In this process, through the gradual flow guidance provided by the first straight section 134, the first inclined section 135, and the second straight section 136, the impact on the entire slurry storage chamber 130 is reduced as the direction of the tile adhesive gradually changes. In additional, during this process, the tile adhesive is gradually compressed, allowing effective expulsion of air bubbles within it, thereby enhancing the compactness of the tile adhesive, increasing pressure, and consequently improving the quality of the adhesive surface of the tile adhesive laid subsequently.

Due to the presence of a certain impact on the structure of the feeding port 137 when the tile adhesive flows out from the feeding port 137, the stability of this structure may be adversely affected through long-term use. Therefore, referring to FIGS. 5 and 7, this application further includes the following improvements. A plurality of dividing ribs 137b spaced apart from each other are further connected between the second straight section 136 and the bottom of the slurry storage front side wall 131, the feeding port 137 is divided into a plurality of sub-feed ports 137a through the plurality of dividing ribs 137b, and in an arrangement direction from the middle towards both ends of the feeding port 137, vertical opening widths of at least one sub-feed port 137a increase. Two ends of each dividing rib 137b are respectively connected to an end of the second straight section 136 and the bottom of the slurry storage front side wall 131, thereby effectively securing the second straight section 136 and the slurry storage front side wall 131 together. This prevents a wall surface of the feeding port 137 from being deformed by the pressure of the pressurized tile adhesive, thereby maintaining the case where the slurry is evenly laid through the entire hopper 100. It should be noted that, when the vertical opening widths of at least one sub-feed port 137a increase, it may be with respect to a single sub-feed port 137a, where vertical opening widths of this sub-feed port 137a increase in directions extending towards both ends of the feeding port 137, it may also be with respect to two adjacent sub-feed ports 137a, where vertical opening widths of the sub-feed port 137a adjacent to an end of the feeding port 137 are greater than those of the sub-feed port 137a adjacent to the middle of the feeding port 137. In this embodiment, the exemplary number of sub-feed ports 137a in the drawings is four. This makes the number of dividing ribs 137b relatively moderate, so that dividing ribs 137b do not create significant resistance to the flow of tile adhesive, while also meeting structural strength requirements. As can be appreciated, as long as these two requirements are satisfied, the number of sub-feed ports 137a and dividing ribs 137b may be other values as well, which will not be particularly defined herein.

In summary, the feeding port 137 in this application, which enables the bottom of the slurry storage chamber 130 to communicate with the slurry mixing chamber 140, is arranged in a direction facing away from the slurry outlet 146, so that the tile adhesive flowing from the slurry storage chamber 130 into the slurry mixing chamber 140 has a longer flow path. During the process where the tile adhesive swirls and overturns within the slurry mixing chamber 140, the impact force originally brought from the slurry storage chamber 130 is balanced, thereby improving uniformity in the laying process. To further enhance the extrusion effect, the following improvements are provided in this application.

Still referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, the hopper body 100 is further connected to at least two window structures 170 that communicate with the slurry mixing chamber 140, and an upper end opening of each window structure 170 is arranged higher than a top wall of the slurry mixing chamber 140. In this embodiment, two communication ports that communicate with the outside are further provided on a wall surface of the slurry mixing chamber 140. The window structure 170 is cylindrical, and a cross-sectional shape thereof may be circular, square or any other shapes, which will not be particularly defined herein. Two ends of each window structure 170 communicate with each other, one end of which is connected to one communication port, and the other end of which is arranged upward and higher than the top wall of the slurry mixing chamber 140. The window structure 170 with a cylindrical structure may be secured to the top wall of the slurry mixing chamber 140 through welding, or it may also be integrally formed with the top wall of the slurry mixing chamber 140. Furthermore, in the traveling direction of laying, the window structures 170 and the slurry outlet 146 are respectively located at the front and rear sides of the slurry mixing chamber 140, and the feeding port 137 is located between the window structure 170 and the slurry outlet 146. Therefore, in combination with the above content, during the laying construction operation, when the tile adhesive spurts from the feeding port 137 of the slurry storage chamber 130 into the slurry mixing chamber 140, and spurts toward a side where the window structures 170 are, because at least two window structures 170 form communicating vessels, the liquid level of the tile adhesive spurting into the slurry mixing chamber 140 quickly maintains a same height to reach a balanced state. Next, the tile adhesive flows to the slurry outlet 146 and is discharged from the slurry outlet 146, thereby achieving the laying of a flat adhesive surface from the slurry outlet 146. In the above structure of this application, it does not require such a driving structure as a screw pump in the slurry mixing chamber 140 to uniformly push the tile adhesive in the slurry mixing chamber 140 toward the slurry outlet 146. This results in a compact and lightweight hopper structure, while also reducing the overall structural cost. In addition, due to the window structures 170, it facilitates easy cleaning of the hopper 100 and allows for convenient observation of the liquid level in the slurry mixing chamber during use.

In this application, the window structures 170 are arranged on the top wall of the slurry mixing chamber 140. When the window structures 170 are arranged on the top wall of the slurry mixing chamber 140, the assembly of the window structures 170 during production and processing is more convenient. As can be appreciated, connection position of the window structures 170 may be on the side wall and the top wall of the slurry mixing chamber 140, or directly connected to the side wall of the slurry mixing chamber 140. In this embodiment, the window structures 170 are respectively arranged at both ends of the top wall of the slurry mixing chamber 140. The two exemplary window structures 170 in the drawings are respectively located at both ends of the slurry mixing chamber 140. This allows for efficient balancing of a liquid level height of a liquid surface portion in the slurry mixing chamber 140 between the two window structures 170 using the principle of communicating vessels.

Referring to FIG. 8, in one embodiment, a compression chamber 145 is further formed in the slurry mixing chamber 140, and in the traveling direction of laying, the compression chamber 145 is located in front of the slurry outlet 146, and vertical cross-sectional areas of the compression chamber 145 decrease in a direction toward the slurry outlet 146. In this embodiment, through the compression chamber 145, before the tile adhesive flows out of the slurry outlet 146, the tile adhesive is squeezed by the compression chamber 145, so that the tile adhesive in the slurry mixing chamber 140 is further pressurized and reshaped. On one hand, this ensures that before flowing out of the slurry outlet 146, the pressure of the tile adhesive is uniform at various locations, resulting in better laying effects. On the other hand, it increases the pressure of the tile adhesive, which helps the tile adhesive adhere firmly to the working surface, resulting in a more secure connection. It should be noted here that since the opening direction of the outlet 146 is horizontal and faces rearward in the traveling direction of laying, the vertical cross-sectional areas of the compression chamber 145 decrease in the direction toward the slurry outlet 146. In other words, distances between the top wall and the bottom wall of the slurry mixing chamber 140 at the compression chamber 145 showing a decreasing trend in the direction toward the slurry outlet 146, where the distances may decrease progressively or in a stepped manner, which will not be particularly defined herein.

To be specific, the top wall of the slurry mixing chamber 140 includes a horizontal section 143 and a second inclined section 144, in the traveling direction of laying, the horizontal section 143 is located in front of the second inclined section 144, the second inclined section 144 extends toward the slurry outlet 146 and is inclined downward, and the slurry mixing chamber 140 is located in a region defined by the second inclined section 144 to form the compression chamber 145. Through the second inclined section 144, the tile adhesive in the slurry mixing chamber 140 may be compressed sequentially, ensuring a smooth pressurization process. Moreover, through the second inclined section 144, it further reduces the overall volume of the hopper 100, which contributes to the simplification of its structure. In this embodiment, an angle between the second inclined section 144 and the horizontal plane ranges from 5 degrees to 15 degrees. A specific angle may be, for example, 5 degrees, 6 degrees, 7 degrees, 8 degrees, 9 degrees, 10 degrees, 11 degrees, 12 degrees, 13 degrees, 14 degrees, or 15 degrees. In a case where the angle is less than 5 degrees, the pressurization on the tile adhesive in the slurry mixing chamber 140 is not very noticeable, with limited effect. In a case where the angle is too large, exceeding 15 degrees, it results in excessive resistance during the extrusion process on one hand, and on the other hand, excessive pressure that causes the slurry flowing out from the slurry outlet 146 to tend to spray out, which is also not conducive to ensuring laying quality. In this embodiment, the angle is between 5 degrees and 15 degrees, it has advantages of good pressure adjustment and ensuring the flow efficiency of the slurry in the slurry mixing chamber 140.

In the actual laying process, the work surface may not necessarily always be strictly flat, and there may be some bumpiness during the laying process. Therefore, in this application, an expansion chamber 147 communicating with the compression chamber 145 and the slurry outlet 146 is further formed in the slurry mixing chamber 140, and in a flow direction from the compression chamber 145 to the slurry outlet 146, vertical cross-sectional areas of the expansion chamber 147 increase. When the vertical cross-sectional areas of the expansion chamber 147 increase, on one hand, it forms a material reservoir in front of the slurry outlet 146 to ensure a certain excess of tile adhesive output, which can prevent the tile adhesive loss due to an uneven ground during the laying process. On the other hand, because the space of the expansion chamber 147 increases, the tile adhesive pressure is released, which can further ensure the stability of the tile adhesive pressure at the slurry scraping member, thereby improving the laying quality.

In this embodiment, a top wall of the expansion chamber 147 is at least 15 millimeters higher than the slurry outlet 146. To be specific, as noted above, the slurry storage bottom wall 133 of the slurry storage chamber includes the first straight section 134 connected to the slurry storage rear side wall 132, the second straight section 136 connected to the slurry storage front side wall 131, and the first inclined section 135 connected between the first straight section 134 and the second straight section 136, where the region covered by the first straight section 134 and the first inclined section 135 is the expansion chamber 147. The first straight section 134 forms the top wall of the expansion chamber 147. In this embodiment, the top wall of the expansion chamber 147 is at least 15 millimeters higher than the slurry outlet 146, thus ensuring sufficient tile adhesive surplus and avoiding any shortage of adhesive. To ensure effective pressure release of the tile adhesive before it flows out from the slurry outlet 146, in one embodiment, a height of the top wall of the expansion chamber 147 is higher than a height of the horizontal section 143, with a height difference of 5 millimeters to 20 millimeters.

Referring to FIGS. 11 to 14, this application further provides a slurry laying device 600, which includes the hopper 100, a pumping mechanism 200 and a traveling mechanism 300. The pumping mechanism 200 is configured to supply laying slurry to the hopper 100, and the traveling mechanism 300 is configured to carry the hopper 100 and the pumping mechanism 200. The specific structure of the hopper 100 refers to the above-mentioned embodiments. Since this slurry laying device 600 adopts all the technical solutions of the above embodiments, it thereby has at least all the beneficial effects brought by the technical solutions of these embodiments, which will not be elaborated again herein. In one embodiment, the pumping mechanism 200 includes a silo 220 and a screw pump 210 installed at the bottom of the silo 220. An outlet of the screw pump 210 communicates with the slurry inlet 124 on the hopper 100 via a delivery pipe 230. The slurry laying device 600 further includes a control module 500, which is electrically connected to the traveling mechanism 300 and the pumping mechanism 200, so as to control the operation of the entire machine, enabling automatic construction

Furthermore, the slurry laying device 600 in this application further includes a liquid level sensor 400. The liquid level sensor 400 is electrically connected to the control module 500 and is used to send a detection signal from the window structure 170 to the slurry mixing chamber 140. The liquid level sensor 400 may be, for example, a photoelectric sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, etc., which will not be particularly defined herein. The quantity of liquid level sensors 400 corresponds to the quantity of window structures 170, i.e., one window structure 170 is equipped with one liquid level sensor 400. In actual operation, different working surfaces require different flow rates of tile adhesive, therefore, this application effectively realizes the detection of the liquid level height within the slurry mixing chamber 140 through the liquid level sensor 400. The liquid level sensor 400 sends the detected liquid level signal to the control module 500, which issues control signals to the pumping mechanism 200 and the traveling mechanism 300 based on this liquid level signal, so as to adjust the pumping speed of the pumping mechanism 200 and the traveling speed of the traveling mechanism 300 according to different working surfaces, thereby achieving a matching adhesive flow rate and highly efficient automatic laying.

This application further provides a floor tile laying robot, including the slurry laying device and the floor tile laying device that work collaboratively. The specific structure of the slurry laying device can refer to the above-mentioned embodiments. Since this floor tile laying robot adopts all the technical solutions of the above embodiments, it has at least all the beneficial effects brought by the technical solutions of these embodiments, which will not be elaborated again herein.

The floor tile laying device includes a mobile chassis, a tile storage mechanism arranged on the mobile chassis, and a tile grabbing mechanism. The tile storage mechanism is used to store floor tiles, and the tile grabbing mechanism includes a robotic arm and a suction cup assembly, so as to grab floor tiles from the tile storage mechanism and perform tile laying operations.

The above are only optional embodiments of this application, and not intended to limit the scope of this application. Under the concept of this application, equivalent structural transformations obtained using the contents of the description and drawings of this application, or the contents of the description and drawings of this application being directly/indirectly applied into other related technical fields are encompassed in the scope of this application.

Number	Date	Country	Kind
202210379707.2	Apr 2022	CN	national
202210382199.3	Apr 2022	CN	national

	Number	Date	Country
Parent	PCT/CN2022/101055	Jun 2022	WO
Child	19030889		US

HOPPER, SLURRY LAYING DEVICE, AND FLOOR TILE LAYING ROBOT

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