CN110775348A

CN110775348A - Packaging system for shell-like dental instruments

Info

Publication number: CN110775348A
Application number: CN201810859562.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 徐希羊; 黄雷; 梁晓辉
Original assignee: WUXI TIME ANGEL MEDICAL DEVICES TECHNOLOGY CO LTD
Current assignee: WUXI TIME ANGEL MEDICAL DEVICES TECHNOLOGY CO LTD; Wuxi Ea Medical Instruments Technologies Ltd
Priority date: 2018-07-31
Filing date: 2018-07-31
Publication date: 2020-02-11

Abstract

One aspect of the present application provides a shell-like dental instrument packaging system comprising: a closed conveyor system comprising separate first and second conveyors for conveying trays between stations along the closed conveyor system, wherein one of the trays is used for loading a batch of shell-like dental instruments; the feeding station is positioned along the first conveyor belt and used for loading shell-shaped dental instruments to the empty tray; the identity recognition device is arranged at the downstream of the feeding station along the closed conveyor belt system and is used for recognizing the identity of the shell-shaped dental instruments loaded on the tray; and the packaging module is positioned along the second conveyor belt and at the downstream of the identity recognition device and used for packaging the shell-shaped dental instruments loaded on the tray according to the identity recognition result obtained by the identity recognition device.

Description

Packaging system for shell-like dental instruments

Technical Field

The present application relates generally to packaging systems for shell-like dental instruments.

Background

Shell-like dental instruments (e.g., shell appliances and retainers) based on polymeric materials are becoming increasingly popular because of their aesthetic, convenience, and cleaning benefits. In the case of shell appliances, repositioning a patient's teeth from an original arrangement to a desired arrangement typically requires a number of successive shell appliances, e.g., tens or even hundreds of shell appliances. This creates a large demand for shell-like dental instruments and also presents a great challenge to the production of shell-like dental instruments.

In the past, the pairing of shell dental appliances (i.e. pairing of corresponding upper and lower jaw shell dental appliances) and packaging was done manually, however, this solution has the following disadvantages: secondary contamination may be introduced, resulting in contamination of the cleaned shell-like dental instruments with other contaminants; (II) manual pairing and low packaging efficiency; and thirdly, the manual pairing error rate is high.

In view of the above, there is a need to provide a new shell-like dental instrument packaging system.

Disclosure of Invention

In some embodiments, the shell-like dental instruments are batched by user, one said tray for loading shell-like dental instruments of one user.

In some embodiments, the packaging module performs matched packaging on the corresponding upper and lower jaw shell-shaped dental instruments according to the identification result obtained by the identification device.

In some embodiments, the shell-shaped dental instrument packaging system further includes a first information reading and writing device, disposed at the loading station, for writing batch information of the loaded shell-shaped dental instruments to the information storage device of the tray, where the identification result includes a mapping between identification information of each shell-shaped dental instrument of the corresponding batch and a loading position of the shell-shaped dental instrument on the tray, and the identification information of each shell-shaped dental instrument of the corresponding batch is obtained from the database based on the batch information.

In some embodiments, the shell-like dental instrument packaging system further comprises a tray transfer device for transferring trays from one segment of the conveyor belt to another segment of the downstream conveyor belt adjacent thereto to join the segments of the conveyor belt to form the closed conveyor belt system.

In some embodiments, the tray transferring device is a tray lifting device, the first conveyor belt is a lower layer conveyor belt, the second conveyor belt is an upper layer conveyor belt, and the first conveyor belt and the second conveyor belt are connected end to end by the tray lifting device to form the closed conveyor belt system.

In some embodiments, the shell-like dental instrument packaging system further comprises a tray holding device for taking the tray off the conveyor belt and holding the tray when the tray is operated to allow the conveyor belt to continue conveying other trays, the tray holding device being provided at least one of the loading station, the identification device and the packaging module.

In some embodiments, the pallet holding means is a pallet jacking means for jacking a pallet off of the conveyor belt.

In some embodiments, the identification device is one of: image acquisition device and sweep a yard device.

Yet another aspect of the present application provides a method of packaging a shell-like dental instrument, comprising: acquiring a first information packet which comprises a plurality of pieces of information which are respectively in one-to-one correspondence with a plurality of shell-shaped dental instruments of a first batch; identity recognition, wherein an identity recognition device is controlled to perform identity recognition on the first batch of shell-shaped dental instruments loaded on the first tray, and mapping is established between shell-shaped dental instrument loading positions of the first tray and a plurality of pieces of information in the first information packet according to the identity recognition; and packaging, wherein the packaging module is controlled to package the first batch of shell-shaped dental instruments according to the mapping.

In some embodiments, packaging the first batch of shell-shaped dental appliances is a matched pair of packaging for corresponding upper and lower jaw shell-shaped dental appliances.

In some embodiments, the method of packaging a shell-like dental instrument further comprises: and loading the first batch of shell-shaped dental instruments onto the first tray, wherein the loading is performed on a first conveyor belt, the packaging is performed on a second conveyor belt, and the first conveyor belt and the second conveyor belt are independent from each other and belong to the same closed conveyor belt system.

In some embodiments, the method of packaging a shell-like dental instrument further comprises: writing batch information of the first batch of shell-shaped dental instruments into an information storage device of the first tray, wherein the first information packet is obtained from a database based on the batch information.

In some embodiments, the feeding, identification and packaging operations are performed while the first tray is leaving the conveyor belt to allow the conveyor belt to simultaneously convey other trays, and the first tray is returned to the conveyor belt to continue circulation after the feeding, identification and packaging operations are completed.

In some embodiments, the first batch of shell-like dental instruments belongs to a first user.

Drawings

The above and other features of the present application will be further explained with reference to the accompanying drawings and detailed description thereof. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only several exemplary embodiments in accordance with the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts, unless otherwise specified.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a shell-like dental instrument packaging system in one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a closed conveyor belt system in one embodiment of the present application; and

fig. 3 schematically illustrates a tray in one embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification. The exemplary embodiments mentioned in the description and the drawings are only for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application. Those skilled in the art, having benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate that many other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present application. It should be understood that the aspects of the present application, as described and illustrated herein, may be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are within the scope of the present application.

Currently, the more common shell-like dental instrument manufacturing process is a hot-press film forming process. In the process, a film is pressed on a dental model by a heated high polymer material film to form a corresponding female die, and then the dental appliance is cut and polished to obtain a shell-shaped finished product.

The purpose of the grinding is to passivate the edges of the shell-like dental instrument so that it is less prone to cause trauma to the user. Currently, a more common shell-shaped dental instrument grinding mode is three-dimensional vibration polishing, and in order to improve efficiency, hundreds of shell-shaped dental instruments can be ground in one batch. Many users' shell appliances and holders may be included in the hundreds of shell dental appliances. Therefore, it is necessary to sort these shell-like dental instruments by user before packaging and delivery.

For a user with upper and lower jaws needing to wear the shell-shaped orthodontic appliances, after the user is sorted, the shell-shaped orthodontic appliances of the user need to be paired and subpackaged, and the corresponding shell-shaped orthodontic appliances of the upper and lower jaws are packaged in a single small package with related information, so that the user can use the appliances conveniently.

The shell appliance is a one-piece shell that forms a cavity that receives a plurality of teeth and has a geometry that repositions the teeth from a current configuration to a next configuration.

The shell-like retainer is an integral shell that defines a cavity for receiving a plurality of teeth, typically having a geometry that substantially conforms to the configuration of the teeth to be retained.

In order to solve the problems of manual pairing and subpackaging, the inventor of the application develops a new packaging system for shell-shaped dental instruments through a great deal of research and development work.

Referring to FIG. 1, a shell-like dental instrument packaging system 100 in one embodiment of the present application is schematically illustrated.

Shell-like dental instrument packaging system 100 includes a computer (not shown), a dual-layer conveyor system 110, a shell-like dental instrument identification device 130, and

packaging modules

150a, 150b, and 150 c.

It will be appreciated that, in the context of this application, a computer may be any suitable computing device, including but not limited to personal computers, notebook computers, programmable logic circuits, single-chip computers, programmable gate arrays-centric computing devices, microprocessor-centric computing devices, microcontroller-centric computing devices, and the like, or a combination of more than one computing device, each for controlling a different appliance.

Referring again to fig. 2, a schematic side view of the double-deck conveyor belt system 110 is shown.

The double-deck conveyor system 110 includes an upper-deck conveyor 111, a lower-deck conveyor 113,

tray lifting devices

115 and 117,

loading stations

119a and 119b, and tray lifting devices 121a to 121b and 123a to 123 c.

In one embodiment, the upper conveyor 111 moves in a direction A and the lower conveyor 113 moves in an opposite direction B. The two ends of the double-layered conveyor system 110 are provided with

tray lifting devices

115 and 117, respectively, for transferring the tray 140 between the upper layer conveyor 111 and the lower layer conveyor 113. The upper layer conveyor belt 111, the lower layer conveyor belt 113 and the

tray lifting devices

115 and 117 form a closed conveying path, and the circulating circulation of a plurality of trays 140 in the double-layer conveyor belt system 110 can be realized, so that the overall efficiency of the system is improved. This arrangement of the upper and lower conveyors effectively reduces the footprint of the packaging system 100.

In one embodiment, the double-deck conveyor system 110 is provided with two

loading stations

119a and 119b, each located on the lower conveyor 113. It will be appreciated in the light of the present application that the number and location of the loading stations may be determined according to the particular situation and needs and is not limited to the case of this embodiment.

In one embodiment, the tray 140 is provided with an information storage device, such as an rfid (radio frequency identification) chip, for storing information about the tray 140, such as whether the tray is empty and the number of the user of the shell-like dental instrument loaded on the tray.

When a tray is transferred to the

loading station

119a or 119b, the information reading/writing device (not shown) of the

loading station

119a or 119b reads the information stored in the information storage device of the tray, and if the tray is an empty tray, the

loading station

119a or 119b raises the tray away from the lower conveyor belt 113, which does not affect the lower conveyor belt 113 to continue transferring other trays. After the tray is raised, a manual or automatic feeding device may place the shell-like dental instruments sorted by the user on the tray. When a shell-like dental instrument of a user is assigned to a tray, the corresponding information reading and writing device writes the identification number of the user into the information storage device of the tray.

Referring to fig. 3, a tray 140 in one embodiment of the present application is schematically illustrated.

The tray 140 includes a base plate 141 and a plurality of U-shaped recesses 143 formed therein, each U-shaped recess 143 for receiving one shell-like dental instrument. Further details and embodiments of the tray 140 may be found in the utility model patent application No. 201821119751.5, filed by the applicant on 2018, month 07, day 13, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

After the loading is completed, the tray is transferred to the shell-shaped dental instrument identification device 130 to identify and pair the shell-shaped dental instruments loaded on the tray. In one embodiment, the shell-like dental instrument identification device 130 includes a first identification device 131 and a second identification device 133 corresponding to the upper and

lower conveyors

111 and 113, respectively. It will be appreciated that the number and arrangement of the identification means may be varied according to specific requirements, given the benefit of the present application. For example, as the number of packaging modules increases, the number of identification devices may be increased.

The

lifting devices

121a and 121b are provided corresponding to the first recognition device 131 and the second recognition device 133, respectively, and when a tray loaded with shell-shaped dental instruments to be mated is transferred below the second recognition device 133, the tray is lifted away from the lower conveyor belt 113 by the lifting device 121b to allow the lower conveyor belt 113 to continue transferring other trays. Under the control of the computer, the second recognition device 133 scans the shell-shaped dental instruments in the U-shaped grooves on the tray lifted by the lifting device 121b to recognize the identities thereof.

Before the second recognition device 133 recognizes the shell-shaped dental instruments on the tray lifted by the lifting device 121b, the computer may control an information reading and writing device (not shown) provided in the shell-shaped dental instrument recognition device 130 to read the information storage device of the tray, so as to obtain batch information of the shell-shaped dental instruments loaded on the tray, for example, user information to which the batch of shell-shaped dental instruments belongs, and more specifically, user codes, for example. The computer may then retrieve from the database an information package for the batch of shell-shaped dental instruments based on the batch information, which includes information specific to each of the batch of shell-shaped dental instruments.

The computer may map the specific information of each shell-like dental instrument in the information package with the location of each U-shaped recess on the tray based on the identified identity of the shell-like dental instrument. In one embodiment, the specific information of the shell-like dental instruments may include the order of use and whether it is a maxillary or a mandibular shell-like dental instrument. In this way, the packaging module can pair-wise package the upper and lower jaw shell dental instruments designed for simultaneous use according to the mapping.

If the identity of a shell-like dental instrument on a tray cannot be recognized by the recognition device, the system can issue a reminder for manual intervention for recognition and data entry. If the identity of the shell-shaped dental instrument cannot be identified after manual intervention, the information reading and writing device arranged at the position writes corresponding information in the information storage device of the tray, which indicates that the tray has errors and needs to be reprocessed/loaded. The computer controls the jacking device to put the tray back to the conveyor belt so that the tray can continue to circulate. Similar treatment can be performed if a shell-like dental instrument is missing from a tray after scanning/identification.

If the identities of all shell-shaped dental instruments carried by one tray are recognized, the information reading and writing device arranged at the position writes corresponding information in the information storage device of the tray, and the tray can be processed in the next step. The computer can store the information packet corresponding to the tray and the mapping relation between each piece of information in the information packet and each U-shaped groove of the tray for further processing. In yet another embodiment, the packet and the mapping relationship may also be written to the information storage device of the tray.

If the second recognition device 133 is in operation, i.e. recognizing a shell-like dental instrument loaded by a tray, the computer may control the lower conveyor 113 to continue to convey a subsequent unscanned tray to the tray lifting device 115, which transfers the tray to the upper conveyor 111. If the first recognition device 131 is in the idle state, the computer controls the upper conveyor 111 to convey the tray to the position below the first recognition device 131, controls the lifting device 121a to lift the tray away from the upper conveyor 111, and the first recognition device 131 identifies the shell-shaped dental instruments on the tray.

In one embodiment, the first and

second identification devices

131 and 133 may be bar code or two-dimensional code scanners that identify the shell-like dental implement by scanning the bar code or two-dimensional code thereon. In yet another embodiment, the first and second identification means 131, 133 may be image capturing means, e.g. a digital camera, for capturing an image of the shell-like dental instrument, which is sent to a computer, which identifies the identity of the shell-like dental instrument based on the captured image.

When the identities of the shell-shaped dental instruments on a tray are identified and the mapping between the U-shaped grooves on the tray and the information in the corresponding information packet is completed, the computer controls the corresponding jacking device to put the tray back to the conveyor belt and controls the conveyor belt to convey the tray to a packaging module for subpackaging.

In one embodiment, the shell-like dental instrument packaging system 100 may include three packaging modules 150 a-150 c, each provided with a manipulator 151 a-151 c. It will be appreciated that the number and arrangement of packaging modules may be tailored to specific needs in light of the present application.

Jacking devices 123a to 123c are respectively arranged along the upper layer conveying belt 111 corresponding to the packaging modules 150a to 150 c. When a tray is transferred to the lifting device 123a, if the lifting device 123a does not lift any tray, the computer controls an information reading device (not shown) disposed at the position to read information stored in the information storage device of the tray. If the tray is in a to-be-packaged state, the computer controls the jacking device 123a to jack the tray, and controls the packaging module 150a to package the shell-shaped dental appliance on the tray. If the tray has errors, the computer control system makes the tray continuously circulate. If the tray has been lifted by the lifting device 123a, the computer control system moves the tray to the next station.

After a tray to be packaged is lifted by the lifting device 123a, the computer controls the packaging module 150a to package the shell-shaped dental instruments on the tray according to the mapping relationship obtained previously. For example, the computer may control the packaging module 150a to print the identity information of a pair of shell-shaped dental instruments on a packaging bag, and then control the manipulator 151a to pick the pair of shell-shaped dental instruments from the corresponding U-shaped grooves of the tray and place the shell-shaped dental instruments into the packaging bag according to the mapping relationship obtained before, and seal the packaging bag and place the shell-shaped dental instruments into the receiving box 160. After the shell-like dental instruments on the tray are packaged, the magazine 160 may be transported to a subsequent station for outer packaging.

In one embodiment,

buffer jacking devices

125a and 125b are further provided before the jacking

devices

123b and 123c for buffering the trays to be packaged. If the packaging modules 150 a-150 c all process the working status and there are other trays to be packaged after completing identification, the computer can control the

lifting devices

125a and 125b to lift the trays and buffer them. After wrapping

modules

150b and 150c complete the current job, the cached trays are processed to improve the overall efficiency of the system.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 1 and 2, the upper conveyor 111 and the lower conveyor 113 form an upper and a lower two-layer structure, which helps to reduce the footprint of the shell-like dental instrument packaging system 100. It will be appreciated that other conveyor configurations may be used, for example, two conveyors on the same level, with the two conveyors connected end-to-end by a pallet transfer device to form a closed conveyor system; the two conveyor belts are at a certain angle (non-parallel), and the heads and the tails of the two conveyor belts are connected by a tray transfer device to form a closed conveying system; three or more conveyor belts are connected end to end with a tray transfer device to form a closed conveyor system. More conveyor configurations are not listed.

The two or more sections of conveyor belts are separated by the tray transfer device, so that the movement of each section of conveyor belt is relatively independent, the processes and the rhythms on each section of conveyor belt are not affected mutually, one section of conveyor belt does not need to stop for waiting for the processes on the other section of conveyor belt, and the overall efficiency of the packaging system is improved.

Two or more than two sections of conveyor belts are connected end to form a closed conveyor belt system, so that the trays can circulate in the conveyor belt system, the trays do not need to be transported back and forth among different systems, and the overall efficiency of the packaging system can be improved.

In one embodiment, a jacking device, such as a loading station, an identification station, a buffer station and a packaging station, may be provided at each station along the conveyor belt, and the tray is jacked away from the conveyor belt before being operated, and is operated in a jacked state, so that the conveyor belt may continue to convey other trays thereon while the tray is being operated, thereby improving the degree of freedom and overall efficiency of the system.

In one embodiment, the interval between the positions on the upper and

lower conveyors

111 and 113 for placing the trays 140 may be fixed for pipelining. In one embodiment, the upper conveyor belt 111 and the lower conveyor belt 113 may run in a stepwise manner, for example, each time the distance of travel may be the interval between two adjacent positions where trays are placed.

In one embodiment, all the conveyor belts run in a stepping mode, and the positions of the trays on the conveyor belts can be fixed, so that the computer can record the positions and the states of all the trays, and information reading and writing devices can be omitted.

While various aspects and embodiments of the disclosure are disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to be limiting. The scope and spirit of the application are to be determined only by the claims appended hereto.

Likewise, the various diagrams may illustrate an exemplary architecture or other configuration of the disclosed methods and systems that is useful for understanding the features and functionality that may be included in the disclosed methods and systems. The claimed subject matter is not limited to the exemplary architectures or configurations shown, but rather, the desired features can be implemented using a variety of alternative architectures and configurations. In addition, to the extent that flow diagrams, functional descriptions, and method claims do not follow, the order in which the blocks are presented should not be limited to the various embodiments which perform the recited functions in the same order, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Unless otherwise expressly stated, the terms and phrases used herein, and variations thereof, are to be construed as open-ended as opposed to limiting. In some instances, the presence of an extensible term or phrases such as "one or more," "at least," "but not limited to," or other similar terms should not be construed as intended or required to imply a narrowing in instances where such extensible terms may not be present.

Claims

1. A shell-like dental instrument packaging system comprising:

a closed conveyor system comprising separate first and second conveyors for conveying trays between stations along the closed conveyor system, wherein one of the trays is used for loading a batch of shell-like dental instruments;

the feeding station is positioned along the first conveyor belt and used for loading shell-shaped dental instruments to the empty tray;

the identity recognition device is arranged at the downstream of the feeding station along the closed conveyor belt system and is used for recognizing the identity of the shell-shaped dental instruments loaded on the tray; and

and the packaging module is positioned along the second conveyor belt and at the downstream of the identity recognition device and used for packaging the shell-shaped dental instruments loaded on the tray according to the identity recognition result obtained by the identity recognition device.

2. A shell-like dental instrument packaging system as in claim 1, wherein shell-like dental instruments are batched by user, one said tray for loading shell-like dental instruments of one user.

3. A shell-type dental instrument packaging system according to claim 1, wherein the packaging module performs matched packaging of the corresponding upper and lower jaw shell-type dental instruments according to the identification result obtained by the identification device.

4. A shell-shaped dental instrument packaging system according to claim 1, further comprising a first information reading and writing device provided at the loading station for writing batch information of the loaded shell-shaped dental instruments to the information storage device of the tray, wherein the identification result includes a mapping between identification information of each of the corresponding batches of shell-shaped dental instruments and a loading position of the shell-shaped dental instruments on the tray, and the identification information of each of the corresponding batches of shell-shaped dental instruments is obtained from the database based on the batch information.

5. A shell-like dental instrument packaging system as in claim 1, further comprising tray transfer means for transferring trays from one segment of the conveyor belt to another segment of the downstream conveyor belt adjacent thereto to join the segments of the conveyor belt to form said closed conveyor belt system.

6. A shell-like dental instrument packaging system according to claim 5, wherein the tray transferring means is a tray lifting means, the first belt is a lower belt, the second belt is an upper belt, and the first belt and the second belt are connected end to end by the tray lifting means to form the closed belt system.

7. A shell-like dental instrument packaging system as in claim 1, further comprising tray holding means for taking a tray off the conveyor and holding it while it is being manipulated to allow the conveyor to continue conveying other trays, said tray holding means being provided at least one of said loading station, said identification means and said packaging module.

8. A shell-like dental instrument packaging system as in claim 7, wherein the tray holding means is a tray lifting means for lifting the tray off the conveyor belt.

9. A shell-like dental instrument packaging system as in claim 1, wherein the identification device is one of: image acquisition device and sweep a yard device.

10. A method of packaging a shell-like dental instrument, comprising:

acquiring a first information packet which comprises a plurality of pieces of information which are respectively in one-to-one correspondence with a plurality of shell-shaped dental instruments of a first batch;

identity recognition, wherein an identity recognition device is controlled to perform identity recognition on the first batch of shell-shaped dental instruments loaded on the first tray, and mapping is established between shell-shaped dental instrument loading positions of the first tray and a plurality of pieces of information in the first information packet according to the identity recognition; and

and packaging, and controlling a packaging module to package the first batch of shell-shaped dental instruments according to the mapping.

11. A method of packaging shell-type dental instruments according to claim 10, wherein the first batch of shell-type dental instruments is packaged by mating corresponding upper and lower jaw shell-type dental instruments.

12. A method of packaging a shell-like dental instrument as in claim 10, further comprising: and loading the first batch of shell-shaped dental instruments onto the first tray, wherein the loading is performed on a first conveyor belt, the packaging is performed on a second conveyor belt, and the first conveyor belt and the second conveyor belt are independent from each other and belong to the same closed conveyor belt system.

13. A method of packaging a shell-like dental instrument as in claim 12, further comprising: writing batch information of the first batch of shell-shaped dental instruments into an information storage device of the first tray, wherein the first information packet is obtained from a database based on the batch information.

14. A method of packaging shell-like dental instruments according to claim 12, wherein the feeding, identification and packaging operations are performed while the first tray is leaving the conveyor to allow the conveyor to simultaneously convey other trays, and when the feeding, identification and packaging operations are completed, the first tray is returned to the conveyor to continue circulation.

15. A method of packaging shell-shaped dental instruments according to claim 10, wherein the first batch of shell-shaped dental instruments belongs to a first user.