EP2111974A2 - Device for incremental simultaneous execution of multiple handling processes, in particular for withdrawing and opening foldable boxes - Google Patents

Abstract

The device has a rotation drive i.e. stepper motor, for a handling head (10), and another rotation drive for changing a rotational position of a control disk (24) relative to the head, during idle or rotating condition of the head. A handling element (18) e.g. suction cup, is arranged on a retaining arm (12) for performing a handling process. A controller is provided for synchronized operation of the drives and the handling element. The disk is rotatably mounted about a rotational axis (8). The disk has a control surface (22) for cooperation with a control roller (20) of the arm.

Description

The invention relates to a device for the cyclic simultaneous execution of multiple handling operations, as used for example in the form of a device for separating and erecting folding boxes.

Such a device is for example from the DE 40 29 520 A1 known and has several on a self-contained cycloid orbital suction cups, wherein a discharge station and a receiving station are arranged at reverse portions of the cycloid trajectory. A rotor carries the suction heads, which are moved by a control mechanism cooperating with the rotor, so that in each case a suction head is moved when passing through a station in a radially outer position.

In this device, there is the disadvantage that the suction cups are only in a single point of their circumferential movement in relative standstill with respect to a folding box to be removed and always have a deviating movement of a linear movement during their gripping or depositing movement.

From the DE 28 11 159 a device is known for taking flat cartons out of a magazine in which each carton is gripped by a pair of suction cups, which are caused by a complex control mechanism with multiple cams and in these guided actuation rollers for levers to a coupled movement in which each carton is opened (erected) during its transfer movement from the magazine to a transport device.

From the DE 15 86 338 B2 is a running over a Maltese Weller 14 intermittently operated device for simultaneous execution of several handling operations (lid removal, lid placement on a cup) with a drivable about a rotation axis handling head on which two retaining arms in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation back and forth reciprocally, each Holding arm has a suction member for performing a handling operation. The reciprocating movement of the support arms takes place at standstill of the handling head by tooth segments, which move the two holding arms in opposite directions, the movement of the tooth segments via a cam-controlled drive of an outer wheel.

US 4,065,909 A shows a similar device with a cyclically rotatable handling head and radially projecting support arms, whose reciprocating motion takes place via a lever linkage.

US 3,633,470 A shows a device with a rotatably driven handling head, are moved to the support arms directly mounted on them cam follower rollers, which roll on a fixed cam.

The object of the invention is to provide a structurally simplified device in which the individual handling operations, namely, for example, removing and dropping a carton on the one hand and opening the carton on the other hand, without significant structural changes can be performed separately (successively) or superimposed.

This object is achieved by a device for cyclically simultaneous execution of multiple handling operations, with a rotatably driven about a rotation axis handling head to which a plurality of retaining arms in different equiangularly spaced directions in a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation back and forth are held, one to the Rotary axis rotatably mounted control disc, the for each support arm has a control surface for cooperation with a control roller of the support arm, or vice versa, wherein upon rotation of the control disc relative to the handling head all the support arms are reciprocated simultaneously and in the same direction, a first rotary drive for the handling head, a second rotary drive for the Control disc with which a rotational position of the control disc relative to the handling head is variable with a stationary or rotating handling head, a handling element on each support arm for performing a handling operation, and a controller for the cyclic operation of the first and second rotary drive and the handling elements.

It can be provided that the first and / or the second rotary drive is a stepper motor.

In the case of the second rotary drive, it may alternatively be a superposition or phase difference transmission driven by the first rotary drive, with which an angular movement between the control disk and the handling head can be achieved in a range of 30 ° to 180 °, in particular 90 °.

The phase difference gear may have a pivotally mounted about a drive shaft pivotally mounted rocker with planetary gears mounted thereon.

The handling elements can be designed as gripping elements, in particular suction cups.

Around the handling head around several handling stations can be arranged, with which the holding arms interact in order.

A first handling station may be a feeding device for feeding articles to be processed, such as a magazine.

A second handling station may be a processing station for acting on an object. In particular, the second handling station can be a box erecting device with a gripping head which can be driven synchronously with the reciprocating movement of a respective holding arm in order to grasp a folding box held by a holding arm, to break it up and to transfer it to an erected position.

A third handling station may be a transport means for receiving erected cartons.

• Fig. 1 eine Seitenansicht einer erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung zum Vereinzeln und Aufrichten von Faltschachteln zeigt,
• Fig. 2 eine Schnittansicht in Richtung II - II in Fig. 1 zeigt,
• Fig. 3 eine Ausschnittsvergrößerung III aus Fig. 1 zeigt,
• Fig. 4 eine Rückansicht der Vorrichtung nach Fig. 1 zeigt,
• Fig. 5 eine Ansicht in Richtung V in Fig. 1 zeigt,
• Fig. 6 eine perspektivische Vorderansicht der Vorrichtung nach Fig. 1 zeigt,
• Fig. 7 eine Ausschnittsvergrößerung VII aus Fig. 6 zeigt, und
• Fig. 8 eine perspektivische Rückansicht der Vorrichtung nach Fig. 1 zeigt.

The invention will be further explained with reference to an embodiment, reference being made to a drawing in which

• Fig. 1 shows a side view of a device according to the invention for separating and erecting folding boxes,
• Fig. 2 a sectional view in the direction II - II in Fig. 1 shows,
• Fig. 3 a detail enlargement III from Fig. 1 shows,
• Fig. 4 a rear view of the device according to Fig. 1 shows,
• Fig. 5 a view towards V in Fig. 1 shows,
• Fig. 6 a front perspective view of the device according to Fig. 1 shows,
• Fig. 7 an enlarged detail VII Fig. 6 shows, and
• Fig. 8 a perspective rear view of the device according to Fig. 1 shows.

The drawing shows an embodiment of the invention, which is a device for separating and erecting folding boxes, wherein three different handling operations are performed in cycles at the same time, namely the removal of flat folded cartons from a magazine, the erection of a removed carton and the Placing an erected carton in a transport device.

Flat folded cartons 2 are stored on a belt magazine 4, which opens into a vertically arranged magazine shaft 6. Below the magazine shaft 6 is a about a horizontal axis of rotation 8 rotatably drivable handling head 10, on which several - in this embodiment four - retaining arms 12 which are spaced 90 ° from each other, in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation 8 plane (parallel to the plane of Fig. 1 ) are held in the direction of arrow 14 in linear guides 16 of the handling head 10 back and forth and guided.

Each support arm 12 carries at its free end a suction cup or a suction plate 18 for detecting cartons. At the opposite end of each support arm, a control roller 20 is arranged, which is guided by control surfaces 22 of a rotatably mounted about the rotation axis 8 control disk 24.

Fig. 2 shows the structure more in detail. The device has two rotating units, which are mounted coaxially with each other in a receiving flange 26, which in turn to a machine frame 28 is attached. An outer rotation system is designed as a hollow shaft 30, at one end of the end support plates 32 are fixed, between which the control disk 24 and the linear guides 16 are arranged.

Inside the hollow shaft 30, a second rotation system is concentrically mounted, which consists of a control shaft 34 with the front-flanged control disk 24 and a fixedly connected to the control shaft 34 Zahnriemenrad 36, via which the control shaft 34 is driven in a manner to be explained.

Without initially entering into the drive of the relative to the handling head 10 rotatable control disk 24 in detail, the movement sequence of the device will be described below. In an initial position, both the hollow shaft 30 and the control shaft 34 are stationary, and the support arms 12 are in a retracted position. Based on this, the control shaft 34 rotates with control disk 24 by a certain angle relative to the stationary handling head 10 and the likewise stationary hollow shaft 30, in this case by approximately 80 ° counterclockwise ( Fig. 1, 3rd ).

Due to the interaction of the respective obliquely arranged to the longitudinal axis of the support arms 12 control surfaces 22 with the fixedly connected to the support arms 12 control rollers 20 all stop arms 12 simultaneously and at the same speed and reach their outer end position, the in Fig. 1 is shown. In this outer end position or in an area around it, a simultaneous execution of several handling operations, as will be described below, after which there is a rotation of the control disk 24 in the reverse direction, whereby the retaining arms 12 are retracted again.

Subsequently, the handling head 10 with hollow shaft 30 and the control disk 24 with control shaft 34 at the same time by a clock angle, this 90 °, continue counterclockwise and reach a next working position in which each arm 12 by 90 ° or a workstation has moved on. In this position, the control disc 24 again rotates back and forth as described above, and the retaining arms in turn turn off and on. A superimposed (difference) movement of both shafts 30, 34 already / during the rotational movement of the handling head 10 and thus a superposition of the rotational movement of the handling head 10 and the movement of the support arms 12 is also possible.

This sequence of alternating or superimposed extension and retraction operations of the retaining arms and further movement of all retaining arms by 90 ° is repeated continuously, wherein the handling operations described below take place at the individual handling stations.

First handling station (top)

At this handling station in each case a folding box 2 is removed from the magazine shaft 6. The respectively vertically upwardly extending holding arm 12 extends and sucks in its outer end position in the magazine shaft 6 located at the bottom folding box. When retracting the holding arm 12 down the sucked carton is pulled out of the magazine shaft and remains on the sucker plate 18 of the support arm 12th

Second handling station (left)

Here, the folding box 2 transferred and held by a holding arm 12 from the first handling station is erected and broken by a righting device 40. The holding arm 12 with the sucked-in folding box 2 extends, wherein a wall 2a of the folding box 2, which is opposite to a wall 2b of the folding box 2 held by the holding arm 12 or the suction plate 18, is sucked by a suction plate 42 of the erecting device 40.

The righting device 40 now moves to the left in synchronism with the retaining arm 12, which still extends to the left, in order to compensate for the (remaining) extension movement of the retaining arm 12. At the same time the suction plate 42, which is attached to a parallel crank 44 of the erector 40 as a gripping head, performs a kind of pivotal movement along a semicircle while maintaining its orientation, whereby the carton is set up and broken (end position in FIG Fig. 1 shown). In this case, all folding edges of the folding box connecting the walls are opened by 90 ° (when setting up) and 180 ° (when breaking over).

The parallel crank 44 is in this case held and actuated by two pivot arms 46, which are pivotable about pivot axes 48 and each carry an actuating pinion 48 at their ends opposite the parallel crank 44. Both actuating pinion 48 are engaged with a sector-shaped gear 50, by the rotation of the pivot arms 46 can be pivoted about 180 ° and back. The suction plate 42 performs a pivoting movement about a pivot axis, which essentially coincides with a folded edge 2c of the folding box 2.

After reaching the in Fig. 1 or 2 shown end position of the parallel crank 44 in which the carton is broken, the sucker plate 42 can either release the carton 2, the carton springs back by itself in an approximately erected position, or even back by 90 ° in an erect position transfer (return movement of the swivel arms 46 by approx. 90 ° in the counterclockwise direction).

Subsequently, the holding arm 12 travels with the folding carton held thereon in the direction of the handling head 10.

Third handling station (below)

In this position, the erected folding box 2 is inserted into a transport device 54 between two drivers 56. The respective holding arm 12, with the erected folding box held there, extends downwards and inserts the folding box between the drivers 56. The suction plate 18 lets go of the carton, and the support arm 12 retracts.

A fourth handling station could be located opposite the second handling station, but is not needed in this embodiment, i. each holding arm 12 located there leaves empty and then on again.

All three handling operations at the three handling positions are executed simultaneously as explained, i. in the train a single reciprocating motion of the control disk 24, in which all the retaining arms 12 at the same time and extend.

Since in the embodiment described above, only three handling stations are required, the device could basically be provided with only three support arms with a mutual angular distance of 120 °, wherein the control disk must be provided with three mutually 120 ° to each other arranged guide surfaces or control slots. However, such a design would have the disadvantage that the handling stations would have to be arranged at 120 ° to each other, which is unfavorable in terms of removal directly from above and a delivery immediately down, so that a design with four retaining arms is advantageous.

The handling head 10 with hollow shaft 30 and the control disk 24 with the control shaft 34 can be driven in different ways. For example, could each be provided for both a servo motor.

In the example shown, the drive is effected by a superposition or phase difference gear, which in turn is driven by a servo motor and a cam gear. The servo motor clocks the handling head 10 by 90 ° each, while the cam gear generates the control disk movement relative to the handling head 10 via the overlay gear assembly described below.

A mounted on the machine frame 28 drive shaft 60 carries a fixed thereto sun gear 62 and rotatably mounted on her sun gear 64. The drive shaft 60 is driven by a servomotor, not shown. On the drive shaft 60, a rocker 66 is also rotatably mounted, which can be reciprocated by a cam mechanism, not shown, controlled by a limited pivoting angle. In the rocker 66, a planetary shaft 52 is rotatably mounted, on which a planetary gear 68 and a Planetenenzahnriemenrad 70 are rotatably mounted.

The planetary gear pulley 70 is connected to the sun gear pulley 64 via a first toothed belt 72. The Sonnenzahnriemenrad 64 is still connected via a second toothed belt 74 with the fixedly connected to the control shaft 34 toothed belt 36 in conjunction.

During or for a movement of the handling head 10 with relative to this stationary mitbewegter control disk 24, the following sequence of movements in the superposition gear.

The rocker 66 stands still, the retaining arms 12 are retracted and the drive shaft 60 is rotated by the servo motor by 90 °. This rotational movement is transmitted through the gear stage 62, 38 on the hollow shaft 30, whereby the handling head 10 (in the opposite direction) rotates. At the same time, the rotational movement of the drive shaft 60 is transmitted through the gear stage 62, 68 to the planetary shaft 52 and thus to the planetary gear pulley 70. By the timing belt stages 70, 64 and 64, 36 is transmit the rotational movement to the control shaft 34. This thus rotates synchronously with the hollow shaft 30, so that the entire handling head 10 with relatively stationary control disc 24 and retracted retaining arms 12 is further rotated by 90 °.

The sequence of movement in the overlay or phase difference gear when extending the support arms 12 is as follows. The drive shaft 60 is held in position by the stationary servomotor. By the gear stage 62, 38 and thus the hollow shaft 30 and the handling head 10 is held. At the same time, the rocker 66 is pivoted about the drive shaft 60 by the cam gear (not shown). As a result, the planetary gear 68 rolls on the sun gear 62. The resulting rotational movement of the planetary shaft 52 is transmitted through the timing belt stages 70, 64 and 64, 36 to the control shaft 34. As a result, the control disk 24 is rotated relative to the stationary handling head 10, and the support arms 12 depending on the direction of movement of the rocker 66 from or a.

Of course, the two above-described movements can be superimposed, in particular in the region relatively shortly before and after a respective standstill position of the handling head 10, so that the retraction and extension of the support arms 12 partially already or even during the movement towards a standstill position of the handling head started or ended.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

2

folding

2a

wall

2 B

opposite wall

4

belt magazine

6

magazine well

8th

axis of rotation

10

handling head

12

holding arm

14

Float

16

linear guide

18

suction plate

20

control roller

22

control surface

24

control disc

26

receiving flange

28

machine frame

30

hollow shaft

32

support plate

34

control shaft

36

toothed belt

38

gear

40

erector

42

suction plate

44

parallel crank

46

swivel arm

48

actuating pinion

50

gear

52

planetary shaft

54

transport means

56

takeaway

60

drive shaft

62

sun gear

64

Sonnenzahnriemenrad

66

wing

68

planetary gear

70

Planetenzahnriemenrad

72

first toothed belt

74

second toothed belt

Claims (12)

Device for the cyclic simultaneous execution of several handling operations, with a handling head (10) which can be driven in rotation about an axis of rotation (8), on which a plurality of holding arms (12) are held reciprocally movable in different equiangularly spaced directions in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation (8), a control disk (24) rotatably mounted about the rotation axis (8) and comprising, for each support arm (12), a control surface (22) for cooperating with a control roller (20) of the support arm (12) or, conversely, a control roller for cooperating with Having control surface of the support arm, wherein upon rotation of the control disk (24) relative to the handling head (10) all the support arms (12) are simultaneously or in the same direction reciprocally movable, a first rotary drive for the handling head (10), a second rotary drive for the control disk (24), with which a rotational position of the control disk (24) relative to the handling head (10) is variable when the handling head (10) is stationary or rotating, - A handling element (18) on each support arm (12) for performing a handling operation, and - A controller for the cyclical operation of the first and second rotary drive and the handling elements (18). Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the first rotary drive is a stepper motor. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the second rotary drive is a stepper motor. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the second rotary drive is formed by a driven by the first rotary drive phase difference transmission (62-74). Apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that with the phase difference gear (62-74) is an angular movement between the control disc (24) and handling head (10) in a range of 30 ° - 180 °, in particular 90 °, achievable. Apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the phase difference gear (62-74) has a limited pivotally mounted about a drive shaft (60) rocker (66) mounted thereon with planetary gears (68, 70). Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the handling elements (18) are designed as gripping elements, in particular suction cups. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a plurality of handling stations are arranged around the handling head (10) with which the holding arms (12) cooperate in sequence. Apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that a first handling station is a feeding device for feeding objects to be processed, such as a magazine (4, 6). Apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that a second handling station is a processing station (40) for acting on an object. Apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that the second handling station is a righting device (40) with a reciprocating head (44), 42) which can be driven synchronously with the reciprocating movement of a respective holding arm (12) in order to move one of a holding arm (12). held carton (2) to capture and transfer in an upright position. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a third handling station is a transport device (54) for receiving objects, in particular erected folding boxes (2).

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