GB2293870A

GB2293870A - Apparatus for the loading and unloading of a firing table

Info

Publication number: GB2293870A
Application number: GB9515776A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Friedherz Becker; Ralf Binninger; Andreas Boettcher; Johannes Figel; Volker Rieck; Bernd Stender
Original assignee: Riedhammer GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Riedhammer GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 1994-10-08
Filing date: 1995-08-01
Publication date: 1996-04-10
Anticipated expiration: 2015-08-01
Also published as: ES2126437A1; GB9515776D0; GB2293870B; DE4435993C2; PT101763A; ES2126437B1; ITMI952029A0; FR2725506A1; FR2725506B1; PT101763B; ITMI952029A1; IT1276820B1; DE4435993A1

Description

1 2293870 Apparatus for the Loading and Unloading of a Firing Table

Arrangement with Product for Firing

Description

The invention relates to an apparatus for the loading and unloading of a firing table arrangement with product for firing.

By the term "firing table,, there is meant according to the invention first and foremost quite generally a base on which the product for firing can be placed before, during or after the firing process.

Conventionally a kiln car, a plate (so-called kiln furniture) or a "surface,, formed of a plurality of spaced rollers is involved here. The product for firing is placed on the firing table directly or with the interposing of a plate.

The term "product for firing" embraces according to the invention in particular ceramic parts, such as porcelain, sanitary ware etc.. The product for firing can be fired in various types of kiln. Of particular importance are tunnel kilns and roller kilns as representatives of continuously operating kilns and hood-type kilns or shuttle kilns as representatives of discontinuously operating kilns.

A firing table for accommodating products for firing can be arranged in various ways.

2 Various novel arrangements for a firing table have been developed by the applicant's firm recently.

In one form of embodiment the firing table arrangement has the following appearance:

from a rest, for example the firing table, at least four supports extend at a distance from one another upwards, at least two supports are connected to one another by at least one rail in each case, at least two rails disposed along a common horizontal plane run parallel at a distance from one another and serve for receiving products for firing or for receiving plates on which the product for firing is placed.

The object on which the invention is based consists in offering an apparatus for the loading and unloading of a firing table arrangement, in particular of the aforementioned kind, which permits the greatest possible automation and is adaptable to the local conditions of the firing table arrangement in a flexible manner.

In concrete terms the apparatus for the loading and unloading of a firing table arrangement comprises the following features:

a supporting structure with at least one, horizontally projecting supporting arm which is accommodated on the supporting structure so as to be adjustable in height, at least one conveyor belt hinged to each supporting arm, which is movable in alternating fashion in the longitudinal direction of the supporting arm.

3 In this form of embodiment the supporting arms are always moved horizontally below the level to be loaded or unloaded of the firing table arrangement from a region outside the firing table arrangement. For the unloading the supporting arms or conveyor belts are then lifted to a distance such that - depending on the orientation of the bars for accommodating the kiln furniture and the product for firing - they raise slightly the (at least two) bars on which the product for firing and/or the kiln furniture are supported, or the kiln furniture together with the product for firing directly. Thereafter the conveyor belt or belts are actuated, in order in this way to move the bars (together with the product for firing or the kiln furniture) or kiln furniture (together with product for firing) out of the firing table arrangement. The reverse procedure is observed for the loading. In the last-mentioned case there takes place subsequently for the positioning of the bars or kiln furniture a lowering of the supporting arms or conveyor belts, so that the bars/kiln furniture come to rest on matching holding devices of the firing table arrangement.

In these forms of embodiment it is even possible to work with only one supporting arm, which receives and guides one or more conveyor belts.

It is true for all the forms of embodiment that the supporting arms, together with their vertical adjustability, can in addition be moveable along a horizontal plane, for example in order to guide the supporting arms between or close to a horizontal plane of the firing table arrangement.

If various supporting arms can be moved towards and away from one another, they can easily be adjusted to the respective local spatial conditions.

4 The drive of the supporting structures, supporting arms and conveyor belts preferably takes place by motor. It can be so constructed that the supporting arms and conveyor belts are driven individually, in groups or in common.

In order to ensure a reliable picking up or transfer of the kiln furniture (plates) or the product for firing onto the conveyor belts or from the conveyor belts, at least the top run of the conveyor belts should project beyond the associated supporting arm in an upward direction.

In the simplest form of embodiment a conveyor belt is for this purpose hinged to the associated supporting arm. It is also possible, however, to construct the supporting arm with a recess for picking up the associated conveyor belt, in which case the top run of the conveyor belt for example then runs above the supporting arm and the bottom run of the conveyor belt runs below the supporting arm.

Instead of a single, relatively wide conveyor belt, several conveyor belts spaced from one another can also be provided. The guiding and driving of the conveyor belts is carried out by suitable friction rollers, gear wheels or similar.

A further form of embodiment of the invention provides that the conveyor belts extend over only one part of the length of the associated supporting arm, that is to say for example with a gap before the free end of the supporting arm.

In this way catching means can be provided on the front, free end of the support arms, which serve for non-positive engagement with a further supporting structure which is suitably disposed on the side of the firing table arrangement that lies opposite the first supporting structure. The object of this further supporting structure is to ensure an absolutely horizontal alignment of the supporting arms or conveyor belts, in particular when the supporting arms (conveyor belts) are raised or lowered for loading or unloading. In this form of embodiment the supporting arms are therefore guided frontally by the two supporting structures, wherein the drive organs of the two supporting structures are preferably synchronisable.

The catching of the free ends of the supporting arms in the further supporting structure can take place in any manner; it simply has to be ensured that the supporting arms are guided vertically in precisely horizontal alignment.

In principle the apparatus fulfils its object with a single supporting arm and a conveyor belt hinged thereto. It is also possible to provide for example two supporting arms disposed at a distance from one another with corresponding conveyor belts, which are moved synchronised into the respective position. In addition the two conveyor belts can be used to accommodate one or more plates or one or more parts to be fired. It also comes within the scope of the invention to provide three, four or more supporting arms or supporting structures, in order that large quantities of kiln furniture (plates) or parts for firing, disposed next to or behind one another, may be picked up or fed together. In this form of embodiment, in particular, synchronisation of the individual drives is of great importance.

In order to automate also the feeding to the firing table arrangement or the collection of the product for firing out of the firing table arrangement, a further form of embodiment provides the assignment to the supporting structure of a store for picking up the product for firing in a plurality of horizontal planes. According to a further optimization it is proposed to connect to the apparatus a height-adjustable feeding and removal device for the product for firing, which runs away from the end of the 6 supporting arms, so that a direct delivery of product can take place. In this form of embodiment the delivery end is therefore always connected to the supporting arms, while the other end region of the feeding and removal device can be constructed adjustable in height. For the charging of the uppermost level of the firing table arrangement the device can then run for example obliquely upwards, while in the case of a central level of the firing table arrangement a horizontal feeding or removal takes place and in the case of the lowest level of the firing table arrangement the device is inclined downwards. In the simplest case the feeding and removal device consists of a conveyor belt or a roller conveyor.

A particular advantage consists in the fact that the apparatus can be retro-fitted to existing plants and requires only a small amount of mechanical work.

Whereas a firing table or firing table arrangement has been charged mainly by hand to date, in particular if parts with complicated shapes such as cutlery are involved, the apparatus according to the invention permits a fully automatic loading and unloading of a kiln car.

Further features of the invention follow from the features of the subclaims and also from the other application documents.

The invention will be explained in detail below by means of an embodiment. There is shown - diagrammatically in each case - in Figure 1: a side view of an apparatus according to the invention in the lower loading/unloading position, 7 Figure 2: a side view of an apparatus according to the invention in a central loading/unloading position, Figure 3: a side view of an apparatus according to the invention in an upper loading/unloading position, Figures 4, 5: views of the firing table arrangement according to Figures 1 to 3 and Figure 6: a perspective view of a supporting structure according to Figures 1 to 3.

In order to illustrate the method of operation of the apparatus according to the invention, the firing table arrangement will first be described.

The reference symbol 10 represents a firing table as a whole. On the firing table 10 are disposed in all ten supports 12a-k, namely two groups of five supports 12a-e; 12f-k spaced from one another in the longitudinal direction of the firing table 10. The supports 12a-k are inserted in matching bores of the firing table 10.

On each support there are disposed above one another a large number of sleeves 22, between which run rails 18, which are provided for accommodating plates 20a, 20d on which the product for firing can be placed. The rails 18 are constructed as T-rails, wherein the free Tmember 18f runs vertically and the associated base member 18b horizontally. The base member 18b consists of two sections 18bl, 18b11, on each of which a plate 20a, 20d can be placed.

The T-rails disposed vertically above one another are separated from one another by sleeves 22, wherein the base 8 member 18b is supported on a sleeve 22 and the next sleeve is disposed on the free vertically running T-member 18f.

Whereas the car arrangement remains unchanged with respect to the supports 12 and rails 18 even over several firing cycles, the plates 20a, 20d loaded with the product for firing are for the charging of the firing table 10 now according to the invention each placed on the rails 18 in front of the kiln and removed from the firing table 10 again after the firing operation.

Figures 1 to 3 and 5 show the associated apparatus.

According to Figure 6 the apparatus incorporates a first supporting structure 50 to which a supporting arm.52 is hinged in horizontal alignment. The supporting arm 52 is accommodated on the vertical members 50a, b of the supporting structure so as to be adjustable in height (arrow P1). The supporting arm 52 consists of a frame 54. Between the members 54a, 54b running in longitudinal direction (arrow P2) of the frame 54 there run at a distance from one another two spindles 56a, b on which rollers 58 are rotatably accommodated, wherein the drive unit for the rollers 58 is not shown here.

Around the rollers 58 runs a conveyor belt 60, which is driveable in alternating fashion in arrow direction P2.

The top run 60a projects beyond the frame 54 in an upward direction.

There projects from the connecting member 54c at the free end of the supporting arm 52 a catch 62, which fits positively into a matching seat 64 of a tie-bar 66 which is disposed so as to be movable vertically on a second supporting structure 68.

9 The supporting arm 52 is accommodated on the supporting structure 50 so as to be movable not only in arrow direction P1 (namely vertically), but also in arrow direction P2 (namely horizontally), and its maximum extension position in a horizontal direction is achieved when the catch 62 lies in the seat 64 and the connecting member 54c impinges against the tie-bar 66.

The vertical drive for the tie-bar 66 is synchronised with the vertical drive for the supporting arm 52 on the supporting structure 50, so that during the raising and lowering of the supporting arm 52 an exactly horizontal alignment of the supporting arm 52 and hence of the conveyor belt 60 is ensured.

The operation of the apparatus according to Figure 6 is shown by Figures 1 to 3, wherein for reasons of better comprehensibility the second supporting structure 68 is omitted there, particularly as it does not represent a necessary feature of the apparatus according to the invention.

There can be seen in Figure 1 first of all a kiln car 70 with a firing table 10 and a firing table arrangement according to Figures 4, 5. The kiln car 70 is moveable at right angles to the drawing plane. The loading and removal of the firing plates 20a, d takes place from the side (on the right in this case).

For this purpose the supporting structure 50 is disposed spaced from the kiln car 70 on the right. Spaced on the right next to the latter is a further supporting structure 72, which corresponds in its construction to the supporting structure 50. The frame-type supporting structures 50, 72 pick up the supporting arm 52 shown in detail in Figure 6, which is constructed after the manner of a telescope, so that it is moveable not only in arrow direction PI vertically along the supporting structures 50, 72, but also in arrow direction P2 (horizontally) and hence below or into the firing table arrangement 10.

The supporting structure 50 also picks up a feeding belt 74, which is accommodated at its opposite end on a supporting structure 76 disposed on the right next to the supporting structure 72. The feeding belt 74 is disposed so as to be movable vertically along the supporting structures 50, 76 in arrow direction Pl.

on the right in the figure next to the supporting structure 76 is located a shelf-type store 78, in which the plates 20a, d are stored (temporarily) together with the product for firing disposed thereon.

During the unloading of the firing product from the firing table 10 the supporting structure 50 and the supporting arm 52 are first of all guided into the desired position outside the firing table. Thereafter the supporting arm 52 is extended after the manner of a telescope below or between the plates 20a, d of the firing table arrangement, until the catch 62 engages with the seat 64 of the supporting structure 68 (not shown in Figures 1 to 3).

Thereafter the supporting arm 52 and hence the conveyor belt 60 are moved vertically upwards along the supporting structures until the corresponding plate is supported on the conveyor belt 60 and is raised a short distance by the corresponding take-up rails.

In the next step the supporting arm 52 travels back again and transfers the plate with the product for firing via the conveyor belt 60 onto the feeding belt 74, which has been suitably lowered between the members 54a, b of the frame 54 by its corresponding end, and the plate with the product for firing is then brought via the feeding belt 74 into the store 78 and deposited there.

The reverse procedure is observed for the loading. The loading is preferably conducted from the uppermost to the lowermost level. A contamination of the goods with foreign substances is simultaneously prevented. The apparatus also, however, permits a flexible (variable) loading/removal of individual charging levels, plates or parts for firing.

Figures 2 and 3 show as examples various positions of the supporting arm 52 (conveyor belt 60) and of the feeding belt 74 during the loading/unloading of the firing table arrangement in various positions (heights).

12

Claims

Claims

1. Apparatus for the loading and unloading of a firing table arrangement with product for firing, wherein the firing table arrangement comprises on at least one horizontal plane a plurality of means disposed at a distance from one another, whether parallel or perpendcular to the loading and unloading direction of the product for firing, for picking up the product for firing or for picking up plates which bear the product for firing, with the following features:

1.1 the apparatus incorporates at least one supporting structure (50) with at last one, horizontally projecting supporting arm (52) which is accommodated on the supporting structure (50) so as to be adjustable in height, 1.2 at least one conveyor belt (60) hinged to each supporting arm (52), which is movable in alternating fashion in the longitudinal direction of the supporting arm (52).

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which the supporting arm(s) (52) is (are) in addition movable along a horizontal plane.

Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, in which the supporting arm(s) (52) is (are) constructed after the manner of a telescope.

4. Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 3, in which at least the top run (60a) of the conveyor belt (60) projects beyond the associated supporting arm (52) in an upward direction.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, in which the conveyor belt (60) is hinged onto the associated supporting arm (52).

Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 5, in which the conveyor belt (60) extends over only one part of the length of the associated supporting arm (52).

Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 6 with a further supporting structure (68) for the non-positive picking up and guiding of the free ends (62) of the supporting arms (52) of the first supporting structure (50).

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, in which the drive organs of the two supporting structures (50, 68) are synchronisable.

9. Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 8, in which the supporting structures (50, 68), supporting arms (52) and conveyor belts (60) are driveable by motor.

10. Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 9, in which a plurality of conveyor belts (60) are driveable in common.

11. Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 10, in which there is assigned to the supporting structure (50) a 14 store (78) for accommodating the product for firing or for accommodating plates which bear the product for firing in a plurality of horizontal planes.

12. Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 11 with a movable feeding and removal device (74) for the feeding or removal of the product for firing or of plates which bear the product for firing from or onto an associated supporting arm (52).

13. Apparatus according to claim 12, in which the feeding and removal device (74) consists of a conveyor belt.