Abstract
A gripping device for gripping, holding and guiding containers, in particular bottle-like containers. The gripping device including at least one gripper arm pair having a first gripper arm as well as an oppositely designed second gripper arm, wherein both gripper arms have a respective bearing bore via which they can be pivotably mounted, and a closing means (or opening means) for the gripper arm pair. With the objective of providing a reliable opening mechanism, the first gripper arm has a contour lever and the second gripper arm has a follower lever in operative engagement with one another and serving as opening means (or closing means) for the gripper arm pair.
Claims
1-15. (canceled)
16. A gripping device for gripping, holding and guiding containers, comprising: at least one gripper arm pair having a first gripper arm as well as an oppositely designed second gripper arm, wherein both of the first gripper arm and the second gripper arm have a respective bearing bore via which the first gripper arm and the second gripper arm can be pivotably mounted; and a closing means or an opening means for the gripper arm pair; wherein the first gripper arm has a contour lever and the second gripper arm has a follower lever in operative engagement with one another and serving as the opening means or the closing means for the gripper arm pair.
17. The gripping device according to claim 16, wherein the contour lever and the follower lever are formed such that there is a maximum contact surface between the contour lever and the follower lever at a specific pivot angle of the first gripper arm and the second gripper arm.
18. The gripping device according to claim 16, wherein the contour lever has an effective section and the follower lever has a first follower section, whereby in particular the effective section is convex in shape and the first follower section is convex in shape.
19. The gripping device according to claim 17, wherein the contour lever has an abutment section which enters into active engagement with or butts against a braking section of the second gripper arm at the specific pivot angle, thereby stopping a further pivoting.
20. The gripping device according to claim 19, wherein the abutment section of the contour lever is shaped in complementary form to the braking section of the second gripper arm, in particular concavely.
21. The gripping device according to claim 18, wherein the contour lever comprises an actuating section oppositely disposed from the effective section and able to absorb a force for pivoting the first gripper arm.
22. The gripping device according to claim 21, wherein the actuating section is convex in shape in order to absorb forces acting on the actuating section in a direction from a certain angular range a and leading to the pivoting of the first gripper arm.
23. The gripping device according to claim 16, wherein the first and the second gripper arm each have a respective toothed section in operative engagement with each other for movement synchronization or positioning of the first gripper arm and the second gripper arm.
24. The gripping device according to claim 23, wherein the toothed sections are formed along an exterior side of a hollow cylinder of the first gripper arm and the second gripper arm and below or above the contour lever or the follower lever respectively.
25. The gripping device according to claim 23, wherein one or more teeth of the toothed sections is/are formed thinner than the contour lever and the follower lever.
26. The gripping device according to claim 16, wherein the closing means or the opening means is configured as a leaf spring, another type of spring, and/or as a pair of magnet elements.
27. The gripping device according to claim 16, wherein the gripping device in each case comprises a bearing pin for pivotably securing a respective one of the first gripper arm and the second gripper arm.
28. A transport device for transporting the containers which has one or more of the gripping devices according to claim 16, wherein an annular carrier plate is designed so as to enable a positioning and a securing of the one or more of the gripping devices on the carrier plate.
29. The transport device according to claim 28, wherein a bolt-shaped and pivotable actuating element is non-rotatably connected to the first gripper arm, in particular in the bearing bore of the first gripper arm, as a bearing element and having an actuating roller for pivoting the actuating element.
30. The transport device according to claim 28, wherein an arc-shaped actuating element activates the contour lever of the first gripper arm of the one or more of the gripping devices and thus for opening or closing the at least one gripper arm pair.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0037] The figures described in the following relate to a preferential exemplary embodiment of the inventive gripping device, whereby these figures serve not as a limitation but rather as substantially exemplifying the invention. Elements from different figures but having the same reference numerals are identical; therefore, the description of an element from one figure also applies to identically named and/or identically numbered elements in other figures.
[0038] Shown are:
[0039] FIG. 1 a view from above of a gripping device according to a first preferential exemplary embodiment;
[0040] FIG. 2 a side view of the gripping device from FIG. 1;
[0041] FIG. 3 a view from below of the gripping device from FIG. 1;
[0042] FIG. 4 a view from above of a gripping device according to a second preferential embodiment;
[0043] FIG. 5 an enlarged view from above of an opening means of a gripping device according to a further preferential embodiment;
[0044] FIG. 6 a view from above of a gripping device according to a third preferential embodiment; and
[0045] FIG. 7 a side view of the gripping device from FIG. 6.
DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT
[0046] FIG. 1 shows a view from above of a gripping device according to a preferential exemplary embodiment which comprises a gripper arm pair 1 having two gripper arms 2, 2′. Both gripper arms 2, 2′ are each of one piece and characterized by a gripping section 5, 5′, a hollow cylinder 10, 10′ (with bearing bore 4, 4′), a toothed section 11, 11′ as part of a positioning device 9, and an active engagement lever 3, 3′ as part of an opening mechanism of the gripper arm pair 1. In particular, the contour lever 3 of the first gripper arm 2 and the follower lever 3′ of the second gripper arm 21 are in active engagement with one another as the active engagement lever. The same applies to the first toothed section 11 and the second toothed section 11′. Except for the toothed section 11, 11′ and the active engagement lever 3, 3′, the first gripper arm 2 is thereby of essentially opposite form from the second gripper arm 2′. The gripping section 5, 5′ is designed to grip and hold the neck of a bottle and is arranged at a distance from the hollow cylinder. The hollow cylinder 10, 10′, or bearing bore 4, 41 respectively, serves to accommodate a bearing pin (not shown) which, depending on the opening mechanism, is non-rotatably or rotatably inserted into the hollow cylinder 10, 10′. The toothed section 11, 11′ and the active engagement lever 3, 3′ are formed on an exterior side of the hollow cylinder. The gripping section 5, 5′ is also connected to the hollow cylinder 10, 10′. The gripper arm pair 1 additionally has a closing means in the form of a leaf spring 13 which wraps around the gripper arm pair 1 like a clasp. The leaf spring 13 thereby exerts a force on the external sides of the gripper arm pair 1 such that the gripper arm pair 1 is closed or respectively guided into a gripping position. The toothed portion 11, 11′ is arranged below the active engagement lever 3, 3′. The levers 3, 31 primarily serve in transmitting force from the first gripper arm 2 to the second gripper arm 21 and are therefore of wider configuration than the teeth of toothed sections 11, 11′. An enlargement of an area between the two hollow cylinders 10, 10′ is shown to the right of the gripping device depicted in FIG. 1, particularly for better identification of the specifics of contour lever 3 and follower lever 3′. The contour lever 3 exhibits a convex effective section 6, a concave abutment section 7 and a convex actuating section 8 at the edge and in succession. The follower lever 31 is formed with a first convex follower section 61 and a second concave follower section 611 which are or can enter into active engagement with the effective section 6. A maximum contacting or contact surface is thereby formed between the effective section 6 and the second follower section 6″ at a specific first pivot angle of gripper arms 2, 2′. During a pivoting movement, the effective section 6 and the first follower section 6′ roll off each other. At the same or at a second pivot angle, the abutment section 7 butts against an external side or a braking section 7′ respectively of the second hollow cylinder 10′ and thereby stops a further movement of the contour lever 3 and thus also of the follower lever 31. The actuating section 8 enables an arc-shaped actuating element (not shown) to press against section 8 and thus initiate a pivoting or opening movement of the gripper arm pair 1. By virtue of the convex shape to the actuating section 8, the compressive force of the actuating element can come from different directions, which is why the actuating element for initiating the movement can come into contact with section 8 first within this angle.
[0047] FIG. 2 shows a side view of the gripping device from FIG. 1, particularly an external side of the second gripper arm 2′ of the gripper arm pair 1. As described, the leaf spring 13 wraps around the gripper arm pair 1 and each end engages in a recess or slot 12 of the first or second gripper arm respectively. So that the gripper arm pair 1 can be opened by an actuating element (not shown), the contour lever 3 is arranged above the leaf spring 13. As a result, the contour lever 3 at the rear of the gripper arm pair 1—opposite gripping sections 5, 5′—is not obscured.
[0048] FIG. 3 shows a view from below of the gripping device from FIG. 1, particularly of the gripper arm pair 1 with the first and second gripper arms 2, 2′. In addition to the features previously described in relation to FIG. 1, the positioning device 9 in particular is clearly visible. The positioning device 9 comprises a first toothed section 11 on the exterior of the hollow cylinder 10 of the first gripper arm 2 and a second toothed section 11′ on the exterior of the hollow cylinder 10′ of the second gripper arm 2′. The first toothed section 11 is configured with three teeth while the second toothed section 11′ is furnished with two teeth. They are in (interlocking) engagement with one another and primarily serve in synchronizing the pivoting movement or sequence of motion respectively of the first and second gripper arm 2, 2′.
[0049] FIG. 4 shows a view from above of a gripping device with a gripper arm pair 1′ according to a further preferential exemplary embodiment. With the exception of the blind holes 15, 15′ having magnet elements 14, 14′ as closing means, this gripping device exhibits the same features as the gripping device from FIG. 1. The blind hole 15, 15′ extends from the external side of a gripper arm 2, 2′ and is formed perpendicular to the bearing axis of a gripper arm. A magnet element 14, 14′, particularly in the form of a permanent magnet, is integrated into the blind hole 15, 15′ and secured by way of e.g. force fit or a fixing element. The two magnet elements 14, 14′ have opposite polarity so as to attract each other and thus form the closing means of the gripping device. The attractive strength can be defined as a function of the strength and distance of the magnet elements 14, 14′ from one another, wherein the distance is also determined by, among other things, the shape, in particular the depth, of the blind hole.
[0050] FIG. 5 shows an enlarged view from above of an opening means of a gripping device according to a preferential exemplary embodiment. The elements in this view are identical to the elements of the enlargement of the opening means from FIG. 1 as depicted to the right of the gripping device 1. In addition, the contour lever 3 on actuating section 8 has a reinforcing element 16 of partially cylindrical configuration on the actuating section 8; i.e. the reinforcing element 16 has a lateral surface which corresponds to a cylinder partially protruding from the actuating section 8. The reinforcing element 16 can be formed from the same material as the gripper arm and/or can be part of the one-piece gripper arm. Alternatively, the reinforcing element 16 can be formed as a cylinder and inserted and secured in a cavity or recess in the region of the actuating section 8 of the contour lever 3. The reinforcing element 8 has the advantage of additionally reducing wear on the actuating section and providing a more defined or faster reactive control.
[0051] FIG. 6 shows a view from above of a gripping device with a gripper arm pair 1″ according to a further preferential exemplary embodiment. The gripper arm pair 1″ has a first gripper arm 2 and a second gripper arm 2′ which are pivotable to each other. So that the movement can run synchronously; i.e. the first gripper arm 2 and the second gripper arm 2′ each executing an equal pivoting movement toward or away from each other, each gripper arm 2 and 2′ has a toothed section 11 and 11′ formed around the rotational axis or on the exterior of the hollow cylinder of a gripper arm 2 and 2′ respectively. Compared to the gripper arm pair 1′ from FIG. 4, the gripper arm pair 1″ depicted here differs in the fully semicircular gripping sections 5 and 5′, a wider arm extension between the hollow cylinder/bore and the gripping section, as well as more closely arranged blind holes for the magnets as closing means or blind hole exteriors 17 and 17′ respectively. Moreover, the contour lever 3 and the follower lever (not visible) are formed below the toothed sections 11 and 11′.
[0052] FIG. 7 shows a side view of the gripping device having a gripper arm pair 1″ from FIG. 6. Primarily visible here is the first gripper arm 2 with contour lever 3. The contour lever 3 comprises the cylindrical reinforcing segment 16 which, in terms of volume, is mostly inserted or respectively arranged in the contour lever 3. The opening of the blind hole 15 is formed on the exterior of the gripper arm 2 not facing the other gripper arm. A preferably cylindrical magnet which acts as a closing means with the other magnet of the other gripper arm is inserted through the opening.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0053] 1 gripper arm pair (1st embodiment) [0054] 1′ gripper arm pair (2nd embodiment) [0055] 1″ gripper arm pair (3rd embodiment) [0056] 2 first gripper arm [0057] 2′ second gripper arm [0058] 3 contour lever (as opening means) [0059] 3′ follower lever (as opening means) [0060] 4 first bearing bore [0061] 4′ second bearing bore [0062] 5 gripping section (of first gripper arm) [0063] 5′ gripping section (of second gripper arm) [0064] 6 effective section [0065] 6′ first follower section (convex) [0066] 6″ second follower section (concave) [0067] 7 abutment section [0068] 7′ braking section [0069] 8 actuating section [0070] 9 positioning/synchronizing device [0071] 10 hollow cylinder (of first gripper arm)/bore [0072] 10′ hollow cylinder (of second gripper arm)/bore [0073] 11 first toothed/geared section [0074] 11′ second toothed/geared section [0075] 12 recess/slot (for leaf spring) [0076] 13 leaf spring (as closing means) [0077] 14 magnet element (as closing means) of first gripper arm [0078] 14′ magnet element (as closing means) of second gripper arm [0079] 15 blind hole of first gripper arm [0080] 15′ blind hole of second gripper arm [0081] 16 reinforcing segment/element [0082] 17 exterior side of first gripper arm blind hole [0083] 17′ exterior side of second gripper arm blind hole
