This application claims priority to Chinese Application No. 201610176559.9 filed Mar. 25, 2016, and Chinese Application No. 201610088991.2 filed Feb. 17, 2016, the disclosure of each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the manufacture of cleaning sheets (such as sheet products for laundry washing, hand washing, cookware and tableware cleaning, showering, bathing, disinfecting, and pesticide removal from fruits and vegetables). More particularly, the present invention relates to an intelligent manufacturing system for making cleaning sheets.
2. Description of Related Art
Cleaning sheet products, such as laundry detergent sheets, are gaining popularity among consumers because they are compact, portable, easy to store, and easy to use with precise amount control.
However, there is only one kind of cleaning sheet product, i.e., laundry detergent sheets, currently available in the domestic market. Furthermore, the existing laundry detergent sheet products often fall short in terms of their cleaning power. Such issue is not only related to the composition or formula of the detergent sheets, but also to the manufacturing process.
To address such issue, the present inventor has invented an intelligent manufacturing system for making cleaning sheets. The manufacturing system has improved productivity, and the manufactured sheets has greater cleaning power.
The present invention provides an intelligent manufacturing system for making cleaning sheets. The system is designed to significantly improve the cleaning power of the cleaning sheets over the prior art. The solution for solving the technical problem of the prior art includes the following.
The intelligent manufacturing system for making cleaning sheets is characterized in that it comprises a drying apparatus and a continuous track provided with a non-stick coating.
Wherein, the drying apparatus includes at least two stages and a lifting roller is arranged between the two stages of the drying apparatus.
The drying apparatus includes an intelligent microwave heating system equipped with a vapor-extraction mechanism, or includes an oven, or includes a fan heater, or includes a fin-type heater, or includes a tube-type heater.
Preferably, the intelligent microwave heating system of the present invention includes a plurality of modularized microwave heating devices that are configured to be combined freely to form the two stages of the drying apparatus. Each said stage formed by the microwave heating devices has two ends thereof provided with microwave hoods. The lifting roller is disposed between two adjacent said microwave hoods.
Each said microwave heating device includes a material sensor. The material sensor is in communicatory connection with an intelligent controller that controls the overall operation of the system. The intelligent controller is installed on a track frame that supports the continuous track, or is separated from the track frame, or is installed on the drying apparatus. The intelligent controller is in the form of a handheld intelligent terminal, such as a handset, or is in the form of a personal computer (PC).
The continuous track passes through the drying apparatus, or travels below the drying apparatus, or travels above the drying apparatus, or travels along one side of the drying apparatus. Preferably, the continuous track passes through the two-stage, modularized microwave heating device.
The non-stick coating is preferably made of Teflon so as to effectively prevent the material of the cleaning sheet from sticking on the continuous track. The non-stick coating and the continuous track are integrated as a unity, or the non-stick coating is applied to the exterior surface of the continuous track, or the non-stick coating is applied to a medium that is fixed to the exterior surface of the continuous track. Preferably, the medium is heat-resistant non-woven cloth.
The continuous track has one end thereof provided with a material-feeding apparatus for feeding a material for making the cleaning sheet onto the continuous track. The material-feeding apparatus is freely separated from the track frame or is fixedly installed on the track frame.
A thickness adjustor is provided above the continuous track for adjusting the thickness of the raw material for making the cleaning sheet on the continuous track. The thickness adjustor is fixedly installed on the track frame, or is suspended over the continuous track, or is in the form of a handheld device.
A rolling-up apparatus is also provided at one side of the continuous track or above the continuous track for rolling the cleaning sheet that has been dried. The rolling-up apparatus is freely separated from the track frame, or is fixedly installed on the track frame, so as to roll the dried cleaning sheet into rolls for easy storage and transportation.
There is further an enzyme-adding apparatus that is provided at one side of the continuous track or above the continuous track for adding active ingredients to the cleaning sheet blank that has been dried. The enzyme-adding apparatus is installed on the track frame, or is suspended over the continuous track, or is arranged at one side of the track frame and is freely separated from it.
There is further an embossing apparatus that is provided at one side of the continuous track or above the continuous track for embossing the cleaning sheet blank with patterns. The embossing apparatus is installed on the track frame, or is suspended over the continuous track, or is arranged at one side of the track frame and freely separated from it.
There is further a cutting apparatus that is provided at one side of the continuous track or above the continuous track for cutting the cleaning sheet that has been dried into smaller pieces with predetermined shapes. The cutting apparatus is installed on the track frame, or is suspended over the continuous track, or is freely separated from the track frame, so as to cut the large cleaning sheet or roll into small pieces with various desired shapes for convenient packaging.
There is further a collecting apparatus that is provided at one end or one side of the continuous track for collecting the pieces of cleaning sheets that have been cut by the cutting apparatus. The collecting apparatus is freely separated from the track frame, or is fixedly installed at one end of the track frame.
The present invention provides the following beneficial effects. The continuous track is at its exterior surface coated with non-stick coating or covered by a medium having non-stick coating, so that the manufactured cleaning sheet can have active cleaning ingredients therein protected, and can be easily taken off from the continuous track after being dried.
In addition, the lifting roller between the two stages of the drying apparatus prevents adhesion between successive layers of the rolled cleaning sheets. Also, the enzyme-adding apparatus that sprays active enzyme onto the dried cleaning sheet effectively retains the activity of the enzyme.
To more clearly describe the illustrative embodiments of the present invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which obviously only serve to illustrate certain embodiments of the invention and do not limit the invention.
The following specific embodiments are to further illustrate the technical design, features, objects and effects of the present invention.
The first embodiment of the present invention is illustrated below with reference to
The intelligent manufacturing system includes a cleaning sheet production line 1 (referring to
Therein, the continuous track 2 is provided with non-stick coating 22 (as shown in
The material-feeding apparatus 3 is freely separated from the track frame 21, or is fixedly installed on the track frame 21. The material-feeding apparatus 3 (as shown in
The thickness adjustor 4 is fixedly installed on the track frame 21. The thickness adjustor 4 (as shown in
The drying apparatus 5 includes an intelligent microwave heating system 51 equipped with a vapor-extraction mechanism 501 (as shown in
Where the drying apparatus 5 is the intelligent microwave heating system 51, or the intelligent oven 52, or the tube-type heater 55, the continuous track 2 passes through drying apparatus 5. Where the drying apparatus 5 is the fin-type heater 54, the continuous track 2 is arranged below, above or through the drying apparatus 5. Where the drying apparatus 5 is the fan heater 53, the continuous track 2 is arranged along either or both sides of the drying apparatus 5.
In the present embodiment, the drying apparatus 5 is preferably the intelligent microwave heating system 51 (as shown in
The lifting roller 6 (as shown in
The rolling-up apparatus 7 (as the enlarged view C shown in
The intelligent controller 8 is freely separated from the track frame 21, or is installed on the track frame 21, or is installed on the drying apparatus 5. Alternatively, the intelligent controller 8 is a handheld intelligent terminal such as a handset, or the intelligent controller 8 is a PC such as a computer.
The operations and work flow of the intelligent manufacturing system for making cleaning sheet according to the first embodiment is described below.
The values of output power for the motors M1, M2 and M3 in the intelligent controller 8 are first set such that the three motors will rotate at the same speed, thereby preventing differential rotation that would cause the dried cleaning sheet to break and unable to form rolls. The temperature for the drying apparatus 5 is also set.
The material-feeding apparatus 3 is then moved to one end of the continuous track 2 and the feeding hopper 32 is positioned to contact the continuous track 2. The source material of the cleaning sheet is poured into the feeding hopper 32, and the continuous track 2 is started.
For the upstream stage of the intelligent microwave heating system 51 which includes a plurality of microwave heating devices 511, when the sensor 512 in the first microwave heating device 511 detects that the material for making the cleaning sheet on the continuous track 2 is about to enter the first microwave heating device 511, the intelligent controller 8 activates the first microwave heating device 511 to provide heat for drying. When the sensor 512 in the second microwave heating device 511 detects the material on the continuous track 2 is about to enter the second microwave heating device 511, the intelligent controller 8 activates the second microwave heating device 511 to provide heat for drying, and so on.
When the sensor 512 in the last microwave heating device 511 of the upstream stage of the intelligent microwave heating system 51 detects that the cleaning sheet on the continuous track 2 is about to exit the last microwave heating device 511, the intelligent controller 8 immediately starts the motor M2. The lifting roller 6, driven by the motor M2, lifts the dried cleaning sheet that exits the upstream stage of the intelligent microwave heating system 51, so that the surface of the cleaning sheet contacting the continuous track 2 can be dried rapidly by the ambient heat or by a fan. Afterwards, the cleaning sheet is carried by the continuous track 2 to enter the downstream stage of the intelligent microwave heating system 51 to be dried again.
For the downstream stage of the intelligent microwave heating system 51 which includes at least one microwave heating device 511, when the sensor 512 in the microwave heating device 511 detects that the cleaning sheet on the continuous track 2 is about to enter therein, the intelligent controller 8 immediately turns on the microwave heating device 511 in the downstream stage of the intelligent microwave heating system 51 to provide heat for drying.
When the sensor 512 in the microwave heating device 511 of the downstream stage of the intelligent microwave heating system 51 detects that the cleaning sheet on the continuous track 2 is about to exit therefrom, the intelligent controller 8 immediately starts the motor M3, so that the rolling-up roller 72, driven by the motor M3, rolls the dried cleaning sheet on the rolling-up roller 72. When the cleaning sheet on the rolling-up roller 72 reaches a predetermined amount, the intelligent controller 8 suspends the continuous track 2, the drying apparatus 5, the lifting roller 6, and the rolling-up roller 72. After a replacement vacant rolling-up roller 72 is loaded, the manufacturing operations are resumed.
The second embodiment of the present invention is illustrated below with reference to
The system includes a cleaning sheet production line 1 (referring to
Therein, the continuous track 2 is provided with non-stick coating 22 (as shown in
The material-feeding apparatus 3 is freely separated from the track frame 21, or is fixedly installed on the track frame 21. The material-feeding apparatus 3 (as shown in
The thickness adjustor 4 is fixedly installed on the track frame 21. The thickness adjustor 4 (as shown in
The drying apparatus 5 includes an intelligent microwave heating system 51 equipped with a vapor-extraction mechanism 501 (as shown in
Where the drying apparatus 5 is the intelligent microwave heating system 51, or the intelligent oven 52, or the tube-type heater 55, the continuous track 2 passes through drying apparatus 5. Where the drying apparatus 5 is the fin-type heater 54, the continuous track 2 is arranged below, above or through the drying apparatus 5. Where the drying apparatus 5 is the fan heater 53, the continuous track 2 is arranged along either or both sides of the drying apparatus 5.
In the present embodiment, the drying apparatus 5 is also preferably the intelligent microwave heating system 51 (as shown in
The lifting roller 6 (as shown in
The enzyme-adding apparatus 9 (as shown in
The embossing apparatus 10 (as shown in
The cutting apparatus 11 (as shown in
The collecting apparatus 12 (as shown in
The intelligent controller 8 is freely separated from the track frame 21, or is installed on the track frame 21, or is installed on the drying apparatus 5. Alternatively, the intelligent controller 8 is a handheld intelligent terminal such as a handset, or the intelligent controller 8 is a PC unit such as a computer.
The operations and work flow of the intelligent manufacturing system for making cleaning sheet according to the second embodiment is described below.
The values of output power for the motors M1 and M2 are first set in the intelligent controller 8 such that the two motors will rotate at the same speed, thereby preventing differential rotation that would cause the dried cleaning sheet to break. Also set is the temperature for the drying apparatus 5.
Then the material-feeding apparatus 3 is moved to one end of the continuous track 2 and the feeding hopper 32 is posed to contact the continuous track 2. The material of the cleaning sheet is poured into the feeding hopper 32, and the continuous track 2 is started.
For the upstream stage of the intelligent microwave heating system 51 that includes a plurality of microwave heating devices 511, when the sensor 512 in the first microwave heating device 511 detects that the material for making the cleaning sheet on the continuous track 2 is about to enter the first microwave heating device 511, the intelligent controller 8 activates the first microwave heating device 511 to provide heat for drying. When the sensor 512 in the second microwave heating device 511 detects the material on the continuous track 2 is about to enter the second microwave heating device 511, the intelligent controller 8 activates the second microwave heating device 511 to provide heat for drying, and so on.
When the sensor 512 in the last microwave heating device 511 of the upstream stage of the intelligent microwave heating system 51 detects that the cleaning sheet on the continuous track 2 is about to exit the last microwave heating device 511, the intelligent controller 8 starts the motor M2. The lifting roller 6, driven by the motor M2, lifts the dried cleaning sheet that passes through the upstream stage of the intelligent microwave heating system 51, so that the surface of the cleaning sheet contacting the continuous track 2 can be dried rapidly by the ambient heat or by a fan. Afterwards, the cleaning sheet is carried by the continuous track 2 to enter the downstream stage of the intelligent microwave heating system 51 to be dried again.
For the downstream stage of the intelligent microwave heating system 51 which includes at least one microwave heating device 511, when the sensor 512 in the microwave heating device 511 detects that the cleaning sheet on the continuous track 2 is about to enter therein, the intelligent controller 8 activates the microwave heating device 511 in the downstream stage of the intelligent microwave heating system 51 to provide heat for drying.
When the cleaning sheet on the continuous track 2 leaves the microwave heating device 511 in the downstream stage of the intelligent microwave heating system 51, the intelligent controller 8 immediately opens the solenoid valve 94 in the enzyme-adding apparatus 9, and makes the sprayer 93 spray the active ingredients stored in the pressure vessel 91, such as enzyme, evenly over the cleaning sheet.
The continuous track 2 carries the enzyme-applied cleaning sheet forward, and the intelligent controller 8 controls the motor M4 in the embossing apparatus 10 to drive the mold 102 to emboss the dried cleaning sheet with various patterns.
The continuous track 2 carries the embossed cleaning sheet forward, and the intelligent controller 8 controls the motor M5 in the cutting apparatus 11 to drive the cutting knife 112 to cut the cleaning sheet into smaller pieces of various shapes.
The continuous track 2 carries the cut pieces of the cleaning sheet forward, and at the same time the shovel 121 of the collecting apparatus 12 collect the cut pieces and put them into the drop hopper 122 for subsequent packaging into boxed or bags.
The second embodiment includes the following improvements. The cleaning sheet production line 1 (referring to
The second module is composed of the embossing apparatus 10 that embosses the cleaning sheet with patterns, the cutting apparatus 11 that cut the dried cleaning sheet into pieces of various shapes, and the collecting apparatus 12 that receives the pieces of the cleaning sheet cut by the cutting apparatus 11.
The two modules can be freely separated by an arbitrary distance therebetween. The working principle and operation of the two modules are similar to those described for the second embodiment, and how they can be connected is apparent to people shilled in the art.
The present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments and it is understood that the embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Moreover, as the contents disclosed herein should be readily understood and can be implemented by a person skilled in the art, all equivalent changes or modifications which do not depart from the concept of the present invention should be encompassed by the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201610088991.2 | Feb 2016 | CN | national |
201610176559.9 | Mar 2016 | CN | national |