Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
  • B65G47/74—Feeding, transfer, or discharging devices of particular kinds or types
  • B65G47/90—Devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials
  • B65G47/91—Devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials incorporating pneumatic, e.g. suction, grippers
  • B65G47/918—Devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials incorporating pneumatic, e.g. suction, grippers with at least two picking-up heads
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
  • B25J—MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES
  • B25J15/00—Gripping heads and other end effectors
  • B25J15/0052—Gripping heads and other end effectors multiple gripper units or multiple end effectors
  • B25J15/0061—Gripping heads and other end effectors multiple gripper units or multiple end effectors mounted on a modular gripping structure
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
  • B25J—MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES
  • B25J9/00—Programme-controlled manipulators
  • B25J9/0093—Programme-controlled manipulators co-operating with conveyor means
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B35/00—Supplying, feeding, arranging or orientating articles to be packaged
  • B65B35/30—Arranging and feeding articles in groups
  • B65B35/36—Arranging and feeding articles in groups by grippers
  • B65B35/38—Arranging and feeding articles in groups by grippers by suction-operated grippers
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B35/00—Supplying, feeding, arranging or orientating articles to be packaged
  • B65B35/30—Arranging and feeding articles in groups
  • B65B35/50—Stacking one article, or group of articles, upon another before packaging
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B35/00—Supplying, feeding, arranging or orientating articles to be packaged
  • B65B35/30—Arranging and feeding articles in groups
  • B65B35/54—Feeding articles along multiple paths to a single packaging position
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B35/00—Supplying, feeding, arranging or orientating articles to be packaged
  • B65B35/56—Orientating, i.e. changing the attitude of, articles, e.g. of non-uniform cross-section
  • B65B35/58—Turning articles by positively-acting means, e.g. to present labelled portions in uppermost position
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
  • B65G47/22—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors
  • B65G47/26—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors arranging the articles, e.g. varying spacing between individual articles
  • B65G47/30—Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors arranging the articles, e.g. varying spacing between individual articles during transit by a series of conveyors
  • B65G47/32—Applications of transfer devices

Definitions

• the present invention concerns an apparatus and a method to handle articles, in particular flexible articles such as sachets, envelopes or bags for example.
• the invention also concerns an automatic machine, in particular for packaging articles, comprising said apparatus to handle articles.
• Known apparatuses and methods comprise a line to feed the articles and a line to deliver them.
• the feed line and the delivery line are typically conformed as transport belts or chains of a known type. They can, for example, extend parallel or perpendicular to each other.
• the feed line transports on it the articles exiting from a work machine or station located upstream, for example a filling station in which the articles to be handled are filled.
• the delivery line transports the articles to a work machine or station located downstream, for example a packaging station in which a bagging machine or boxing machine disposes the articles in an ordered manner inside boxes or cartons.
• the apparatuses and methods known in the state of the art comprise a manipulator which removes the articles from the feed line and disposes them on the delivery line.
• the manipulator can be conformed as a robotized articulated arm with several working axes, for example a robot commonly used in the industrial automation sector and known as a“Delta” robot.
• the manipulator can be provided with suckers which are able to hold the articles by depression during their movement from the feed line to the delivery line.
• the delivery line can comprise a plurality of drawers, delimited by a pair of opposite lateral sides, each configured to receive a pile of articles.
• piles of articles are generally formed which have on one side all the first ends overlapping each other, at a first vertical height, and on the other side all the second ends overlapping each other, at a second vertical height which is much higher than the first vertical height.
• One purpose of the present invention is to make available an apparatus and a method to handle articles that are perfected with respect to those known in the state of the art.
• Another purpose of the present invention is to make available an apparatus and a method able to optimize the disposition of the articles to be handled on a line for conveying the articles to a work station downstream.
• Another purpose of the present invention is to make available an apparatus and a method able to form stable piles of articles on the conveying line.
• Another purpose is to make available an apparatus and a method able to prevent, or significantly limit, the working waste due to the accidental fall of articles from the piles of articles formed on the conveying line.
• Another purpose is to make available a flexible apparatus and method able to form piles of articles on the conveying line which can also differ from one another, for example in the number of articles piled up, or in their disposition in the respective drawer.
• Another purpose is to make available an apparatus and a method which allow to handle a large number of articles in the unit of time, compatible with the high productivity of the work stations disposed upstream and downstream of the handling apparatus according to the present invention.
• the Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages.
• an apparatus to handle articles comprising feed means to feed the articles toward a removal zone of the articles, handling means to handle the articles configured to remove the articles from the removal zone in order to deposit them on conveying means that comprise one or more groups of reception elements each configured to receive one article or a pile of articles from the handling means and mobile along the conveying means to move the articles toward at least one work station disposed downstream.
• the handling means comprise a plurality of gripping means to grip the articles, which gripping means are configured to rotate the articles around a vertical axis in order to selectively deposit the articles in the reception elements according to a different orientation from the orientation of the articles in the removal zone; wherein the plurality of gripping means are attached to a support element so as to be distanced from each other by a reciprocal distance that is equal to a whole multiple of the interaxis between two adjacent reception elements, the whole multiple being greater than or equal to three.
• This disposition advantageously supplies the gripping means with the space necessary to rotate around their own vertical axis so as to be able to modify the orientation of the articles without knocking them or causing collisions between the articles during the rotation.
• the apparatus according to the present invention allows to modify the orientation of the articles, advantageously keeping the overall sizes compact, with a simpler and more economic structure compared with known apparatuses.
• the whole multiple is equal to four.
• the gripping means are configured to rotate the articles by about 180° so as to remove them from the removal zone in a“straight” configuration and deposit them in the reception elements in an “upended” configuration.
• the reciprocal distance between the gripping means is correlated to the length of the articles to be handled, measured according to a main direction of development of the articles. In a preferred embodiment, the reciprocal distance between the gripping means is greater than a half of the length of the articles.
• the feed means comprise a plurality of feed lines, equal, for example, to the number of gripping means, and having a configuration such that in the removal zone of the articles by the gripping means, the feed lines are distanced from each other by a distance substantially equal to the reciprocal distance between the gripping means.
• the apparatus comprises actuator means configured to command the rotation of the plurality of gripping means.
• the actuator means comprise a linear piston and respective pinion-rack connections between the gripping means and the support element.
• the rack is associated with the support element, while a pinion cooperating with the rack is associated with each gripping mean.
• the actuator means allow to drive the rotation of all the gripping means with a single drive, so as to guarantee a coordinated and simultaneous movement of rotation of the different gripping means.
• the actuator means comprise a couple of linear pistons, each of them being configured to command a respective group of gripping means, for example comprising a number of gripping means equal to a half of the plurality of gripping means comprised in the apparatus.
• This configuration is advantageous because it allows to use less cumbersome and powerful linear pistons, which consequently consume less energy and are less expensive.
• the apparatus comprises a plurality of drive means, which can be associated with respective gripping means, configured to move the latter along the vertical axis so as to vertically offset in an alternate manner adjacent gripping means in such a way that the rotation of the articles takes place on different planes disposed at different vertical heights.
• the drive means can be associated with all the“odd” gripping means, or alternatively with the“even” gripping means, or possibly both with the“odd” ones, and also with the“even” ones, respectively to allow translation along the vertical axis of only the“odd” gripping means, or only the “even” gripping means, or all the gripping means.
• each of the gripping means comprises one or more suckers operatively connected to a vacuum system and configured to contact the articles and to hold them by depression.
• each gripping mean comprises two suckers.
• the gripping means are rigidly constrained to the support element.
• the support element of the gripping means is rigidly connected to an articulated arm having at least two working axes configured to move the support element, and with it the gripping means, between the removal zone and the conveying means in a transverse direction, which is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of development.
• the conveying means comprise two groups of reception elements, each moved by a respective movement member driven in movement by a respective motor.
• each of the two groups of reception elements comprises a high number of reception elements, for example twenty or forty.
• the work station disposed downstream of the handling apparatus comprises a transfer member configured to remove the articles, or the piles of articles from the reception elements.
• the transfer member is configured so as to simultaneously remove the articles, or the piles of articles, present in several contiguous elements.
• the transfer member is configured to simultaneously remove the articles from a number of reception elements equal to a sub-multiple of the number of total reception elements of the group of reception elements.
• two or more apparatuses can be provided to handle articles, located in sequence one after the other in order to cooperate in succession on the same conveying means.
• the invention provides a method to handle articles configured to control and coordinate the functioning of the apparatuses so as to saturate the filling of the reception elements.
• a method to handle articles comprising the steps of:
• the method according to the invention provides to move the conveying means so as to feed the reception elements by a pitch equal to said interaxis, for a number of times equal to the multiple whole.
• the method according to the invention also provides to move some gripping means vertically along the vertical axis so as to vertically offset the gripping means so that the rotation of the articles takes place on different planes.
• an automatic machine in particular for packaging articles, comprising an apparatus to handle articles as described above and operating according to the method to handle articles.
• FIG. 1 is a partial and schematic plan view of an apparatus to handle articles according to the present invention
• - fig. 2 is a view in lateral elevation, partial and schematic, of the apparatus in fig.
• - fig. 3 is a view in front elevation, partial and schematic, of the apparatus in fig. l ;
• figs. 4a, 4b, 4c and 4d are schematic plan views of a sequence of successive operating steps of the apparatus in fig. 1.
• the apparatus 10 is particularly suitable to handle articles having a flexible conformation, such as bags, envelopes or sachets.
• articles to be handled are indicated by the reference number 100.
• Each article 100 has its own length, intended as an extension along a main direction of extension of the articles, which is indicated by“L” in the attached drawings.
• the apparatus and the method according to the invention are advantageously able to handle both single articles and piles of articles.
• the articles 100 are overlapped to form a pile 101, visible in fig. 2.
• the apparatus 10 comprises a plurality of feed lines 11 along which the articles 100 are fed.
• the apparatus 10 comprises ten feed lines 11.
• the feed lines 11 are conformed as suitably sized channels so as to allow the articles to slide.
• each feed line 11 comprises a transporter belt 12 which defines a sliding plane of the articles 100.
• the transporter belts 12 are driven by one or more motorized rollers 12a (fig. 2).
• the feed lines 11 have rectilinear segments 11a, l ib in which the different feed lines 11 develop parallel to one another and at least a curved segment 11c to connect the rectilinear segments 11a, l ib.
• the curved segment l ie confers a divergent development on the feed lines 11, which allows to reciprocally distance the feed lines 11 by the desired distance.
• the articles 100 can reach the feed lines 11 after leaving a first work machine or station located upstream, such as for example a filling station or a welding station for the articles.
• the apparatus 10 also comprises a removal zone 13 to remove the articles 100.
• the removal zone 13 is defined in correspondence with the rectilinear segments l ib. In other words, the removal zone 13 is a terminal end portion of the feed lines 11.
• the apparatus 10 comprises abutment means, not shown, for example shaped like one or more barriers disposed at the end of the feed lines 11, adjacent to them, to prevent the articles 100 from accidentally falling from the feed lines 11.
• the apparatus 10 also comprises a conveying member 14 configured to move the articles 100 toward a second work machine or station (not shown) located downstream.
• the conveying member 14 comprises a first transporter belt 14a and a second transporter belt 14b.
• each transporter belt 14a, 14b is driven in movement independently of the other transporter belt 14b, 14a.
• the apparatus comprises a first motor 15 and a second motor 16 (schematically shown in the operating sequences of figs. 4a-4c), configured respectively to drive the first transporter belt 14a and the second transporter belt 14b.
• the conveying member 14 develops in a direction of longitudinal development X.
• the conveying member 14 comprises a plurality of reception elements 17, each configured to receive one article 100 or a pile of articles 101.
• Each reception element 17 comprises at least a pair of opposite separation walls 18 which delimit the compartment in which the articles 100, or the piles of articles 101 are received resting on it.
• the reception elements 17 are disposed on the conveying member 14 so as to form different groups of reception elements 17.
• a first group 19 of reception elements 17 and a second group 20 of reception elements 17 is provided.
• the reception elements 17 comprised in the first group 19 are attached to the first transporter belt 14a and are mobile together with it.
• the reception elements 17 comprised in the second group 20 are attached to the second transporter belt 14b and are mobile together with it.
• reception elements 17 comprised in the same group 19, 20 are attached to the respective transporter belt 14a, 14b by means of attachment means of a type known in the state of the art and not shown in the attached drawings.
• reception elements 17 comprised in the same group 19, 20 are attached to the respective transporter belt 14a, 14b so as to be adjacent to each other so that the separation walls 18 of adjacent reception elements 17 are in reciprocal contact.
• each group 19, 20 comprises forty reception elements 17.
• the interaxis IC can be defined as the distance, measured parallel to the direction of longitudinal development X, between homologous points of two adjacent reception elements 17.
• the interaxis IC can be measured as the distance between the centerline axes, that is, the axes of symmetry passing through the center of the compartment receiving the articles and extending perpendicular to the direction of longitudinal development X, or between two left or right separation walls of two adjacent reception elements 17.
• the apparatus 10 also comprises a manipulator member 21 configured to remove the articles 100 from the removal zone 13, and to deposit them on the conveying member 14.
• the manipulator member 21 comprises a support element 22 and a plurality of gripping units 23.
• the support element 22 is configured to support the plurality of gripping units 23.
• the gripping units 23 are rigidly constrained to the support member 22 and are attached to the latter so as to be equidistant in the direction of longitudinal development X.
• the gripping units 23 are distanced from each other by a reciprocal distance D which is equal to a whole multiple of the interaxis IC between two adjacent reception elements 17.
• the whole multiple is greater than or equal to three.
• the whole multiple is equal to four.
• the distance D is greater than half the length L. This ensures that, during rotation, two articles 100 held by two adjacent gripping units 23 do not come into reciprocal contact because the distance D is such that the articles do not hit each other even in the position of maximum interference, that is when - after a rotation of about 90° - the articles are disposed orthogonally with respect to the configurations shown.
• the support element 22 is disposed parallel to the direction of longitudinal development X of the conveying member 14, and therefore extends parallel to the latter.
• the manipulator member 21 comprises ten gripping units 23.
• the number of gripping units 23 is equal to the number of feed lines 11, so that each gripping unit 23 can remove one article 100 fed along a respective feed line 11.
• Each gripping unit 23 comprises at least one sucker 24 configured to contact and hold the articles 100 by depression.
• each gripping unit 23 comprises a pair of suckers 24.
• the suckers 24 are connected, by means of suitable air ducts, to a vacuum pump, not shown.
• the manipulator member 21 comprises a first linear actuator 25 and a second linear actuator 26, for example configured as double-effect oil-dynamic cylinders.
• the first linear actuator 25 is configured to drive a first subset of gripping units 23, for example the first, third, fifth, seventh and ninth gripping unit 23.
• the second linear actuator 26 is configured to drive a second subset of gripping units 23, for example the second, fourth, sixth, eighth and tenth gripping unit 23.
• the manipulator member 21 comprises a single linear actuator configured to drive all the gripping units 23.
• the manipulator member 21 comprises a plurality of linear actuators, one for each gripping unit 23, each configured to drive the gripping unit 23 directly associated therewith.
• the manipulator member 21 provides a system which allows each gripping unit 23 to rotate around its own vertical axis Z (figs. 2 and 3), as schematized by the arrows FI in figs. 1 and 2.
• the system comprises a pinion-rack type connection.
• the manipulator member 21 comprises a transmission element 27, which is configured as an elongated element which extends parallel to the support element 22.
• a transmission element 27 which is configured as an elongated element which extends parallel to the support element 22.
• two transmission elements 27 are provided, each cooperating with a respective linear actuator 25, 26.
• Each transmission element 27 is connected to the stem of the respective piston which slides inside the cylinder of the linear actuator 25, 26.
• Each transmission element 27 comprises one or more toothed portions which define a rack, with which respective pinions 28 associated with each gripping unit 23 can engage (fig. 2).
• the transmission member 27 comprises toothed portions only in correspondence with the gripping units 23.
• the manipulator member 21 comprises a plurality of drive means 29, which are selectively associated with some gripping units 23.
• the drive means comprise five cylinder-piston assemblies 29, each associated with a respective gripping unit 23.
• the cylinder- piston assemblies 29 can be associated with the first, third, fifth, seventh and ninth gripping unit 23.
• the cylinder-piston assemblies 29 are configured to allow the gripping units 23 with which they are associated to move vertically along the vertical axis Z, as indicated by arrow F2 in fig. 2.
• the suckers 24 are rigidly connected to the stem 30 of the cylinder-piston assembly 29 so that when the latter is driven, the suckers 24 also move vertically.
• the gripping units 23 can assume the operating configuration seen better in fig. 3, in which the gripping units 23 are vertically offset in an alternating manner so as to define two distinct planes PI, P2 in correspondence with which the rotation of the gripping units 23 around the vertical axis Z occurs.
• the support element 22 is rigidly constrained to an articulated mechanism 31.
• the articulated mechanism 31 comprises a frame 32 and a first arm 33 which is hinged to the frame 32 so as to oscillate around a first axis of rotation T1 in the direction indicated by arrow R1 in fig. 2.
• a third motor 34 is associated with the first arm 33 which commands its movement.
• the articulated mechanism 31 comprises a second arm 35 which is hinged to the first arm 33 so as to oscillate around a second axis of rotation T2 in the direction indicated by arrow R2 in fig. 2.
• a fourth motor 36 is associated with the second arm 35 which commands its movement.
• the apparatus 10 also comprises a control and command unit, not shown, which coordinates at least the drive of the motors 15, 16, 34, 35, of the linear actuators 25, 26 and of the cylinder-piston assemblies 29.
• feed lines 11 allow to feed the articles 100 in a transverse direction Y, which is substantially perpendicular to the direction of longitudinal development X.
• each feed line 11 feeds the articles 100 disposed according to a first“straight” orientation (in which the letter“A” is shown straight).
• the gripping units 23 then remove the articles 100 from the removal area 13 thanks to the action of the suckers 24.
• the rotation step of the gripping units 23 can be selectively omitted, and consequently also the step which provides to offset them vertically.
• control and management unit can command the apparatus so that these steps are implemented not with each work cycle, but for example alternately once every two work cycles.
• the apparatus 10 and the corresponding method are very flexible because it is possible to command the different linear actuators 25, 26 differently from each other so as to form piles 101 consisting of articles 100 disposed differently depending on whether the articles were removed and deposited by gripping units 23 driven by one or the other linear actuator 25, 26.
• Fig. 4b shows a step of filling the reception elements 17, in which the uppermost articles in the pile are in the straight configuration, unlike the adjacent piles that had previously been formed. To demonstrate the great flexibility of the apparatus 10, the latter therefore allows to form piles 101 disposed in adjacent reception elements 17, having a different configuration from one another.
• the first group 19 of reception elements 17 has been completely filled.
• the complete filling is obtained with four complete work cycles (figs. 4a-4d) because the distance D is equal to four times the interaxis IC.
• the first group 19 of reception elements 17 can be completely filled with a number of complete cycles equal to said whole multiple.
• a transfer member 37 configured to transfer the articles 100, or piles 101, from the conveying member 14 to the work station downstream.
• the transfer member 37 can comprise a plurality of abutment elements 38 intended to engage with respective piles 101 of articles to free up an equal number of reception elements 17.
• the abutment elements 38 are a sub-multiple of the total number of reception elements 17 comprised in each group 19, 20.
• the transfer member 37 comprises four abutment elements 38, while each group 19, 20 comprises forty reception elements 17.
• the second motor 16 can drive the second transporter belt 14b to take the second group 20 near the first group 19 (fig. 4d), in particular while the latter is finishing being filled, so that a second group 20 of reception elements 17 to be filled is ready to replace the first group 19 as soon as the latter has been completely filled with the piles 101 of articles 100.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Robotics (AREA)
• Specific Conveyance Elements (AREA)
• Control And Other Processes For Unpacking Of Materials (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=61873821

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Family Cites Families (7)

• 2018
  • 2018-01-03 IT IT201800000386A patent/IT201800000386A1/it unknown
• 2019
  • 2019-01-02 WO PCT/IT2019/050001 patent/WO2019135262A1/en unknown
  • 2019-01-02 EP EP19702488.8A patent/EP3735386A1/de not_active Withdrawn

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