GRIPPER ASSEMBLY FOR LIFTING A FLEXIBLE SEMI-FINISHED PRODUCT FROM A SUPPORT, AND A CORRESPONDING METHOD

Abstract

A gripper arrangement for lifting a flexible semi-finished product from a support, wherein the gripper arrangement comprises a flexible semi-finished product resting on a support and at least one pair of grippers with a suction gripper or needle gripper and with at least one clamping gripper, wherein the suction or needle gripper is pivotable around an axis between a pick-up position for picking up an edge of the flexible semi-finished product and a transfer position for transferring the edge of the flexible semi-finished product to the clamping gripper. Furthermore, a corresponding method is described.

Claims

1. Gripper arrangement for lifting a flexible semi-finished product from a support, wherein the gripper arrangement comprises a flexible semi-finished product resting on a support and at least one pair of grippers with a suction gripper or needle gripper and with at least one clamping gripper, wherein the suction or needle gripper is pivotable around an axis between a pick-up position for picking up an edge of the flexible semi-finished product and a transfer position for transferring the edge of the flexible semi-finished product to the clamping gripper.

2. The gripper arrangement according to claim 1, in which the clamping gripper is displaceable at least perpendicularly to the support so that a distance between the clamping gripper and the support is adjustable.

3. The gripper arrangement according to claim 1, in which the clamping gripper is displaceable parallel to the support, the clamping gripper preferably being displaceable in two perpendicular directions extending parallel to a pivot plane of the suction gripper or needle gripper perpendicular to the axis around which the suction gripper or needle gripper is pivotable between the pick-up position and the transfer position.

4. The gripper arrangement according to claim 1, in which suction gripper or needle gripper is pivoted from the pick-up position to the transfer position by 45 to 90.

5. The gripper arrangement according to claim 1, in which the suction gripper or needle gripper and the clamping gripper align in the transfer position of the suction gripper or needle gripper in a direction parallel to the axis around which the suction gripper or needle gripper is pivotable.

6. The gripper arrangement according to claim 1, which comprises at least one gripper bar along which multiple pairs of grippers are arranged, the gripper bar with the pairs of grippers extending along the edge of the flexible semi-finished product.

7. The gripper arrangement according to claim 6, which comprises a first and a second gripper bar, the first gripper bar engaging a first of two opposite edges of the flexible semi-finished product and the second gripper bar engaging the second of the opposite edges.

8. The gripper arrangement according to claim 7, in which a distance between the gripper bars is adjustable, wherein the gripper bars assume a first distance from each other when the suction grippers or needle grippers are in the pick-up position, and wherein the gripper bars assume a second distance which is greater than the first distance when the flexible semi-finished product is held by the clamping grippers.

9. The gripper arrangement according to claim 7, in which the gripper bars are fixed to a linear guide via respectively one of two opposite faces, wherein the respective other face is a free end of the respective gripper bar, and wherein a distance between the gripper bars is adjustable by moving at least one of the gripper bars along the linear guide.

10. A method for lifting a flexible semi-finished product from a support, comprising the steps: providing a flexible semi-finished product arranged on a support and a gripper arrangement which has at least one pair of grippers with at least one suction gripper or needle gripper and at least one clamping gripper; picking up an edge of the flexible semi-finished product arranged on the support with the at least one suction gripper or needle gripper in a pick-up position of the suction gripper or needle gripper; pivoting the at least one suction gripper or needle gripper from the pick-up position into a transfer position, wherein the edge is lifted from the support, and transferring the edge of the flexible semi-finished product to the at least one clamping gripper and holding the edge of the flexible semi-finished product with the at least one clamping gripper.

11. The method according to claim 10, in which, after transferring the flexible semi-finished product to the at least one clamping gripper, the at least one suction gripper or needle gripper continues to engage with the edge or is out of engagement with the edge.

12. The method according to claim 10, which comprises the complete lifting of the flexible semi-finished product from the support when the edge of the flexible semi-finished product is held by the at least one clamping gripper.

13. The method according to claim 10, in which the lifting the flexible semi-finished product from the support comprises tensioning of the flexible semi-finished product by lifting the respective edge at opposite edges of the flexible semi-finished product with respectively at least one pair of grippers and increasing the distance between opposite pairs of grippers.

14. The method according to claim 10, in which pivoting the at least one suction or needle gripper from the pick-up position to the transfer position comprises pivoting the suction gripper or needle gripper by 45 to 90.

15. The method according to claim 10, in which a gripper arrangement according to claim 1 is used as the gripper arrangement.

Description

DRAWINGS

[0032] The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0033] Further details of the invention are explained using the figures below. These show:

[0034] FIGS. 1 to 4 show schematically and step by step the lifting procedure of a flexible semi-finished product by means of a gripper arrangement according to the invention;

[0035] FIG. 5 shows in perspective view, an exemplary embodiments of a gripper arrangement according to the invention; and

[0036] FIG. 6 shows a detailed perspective view of the gripper arrangement according to FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0038] FIGS. 1 to 4 show schematically the lifting procedure of a flexible piece 100 using a gripper arrangement according to the invention. The gripper arrangement according to the invention has two functionally different gripper systems, namely at least one suction gripper or needle gripper 1 for lifting an edge area 101 of the flexible semi-finished product 100 and at least one clamping gripper 2 for firmly connecting the flexible piece to the gripper arrangement in order to lift the flexible semi-finished product 100 from the support 200, on which the flexible semi-finished product 100 is placed.

[0039] The support 200 can, for example, be the underside of a heating press, within which the flexible semi-finished product, which is provided, for example, as a fibre-reinforced plastic component, is preheated and pre-compacted, so that it can be shaped and cooled in a subsequent processing step in a forming press, so that a fibre-reinforced shaped component is obtained, as it is used, for example, in the car body sector as a parcel shelf, door interior trim, or as an insulating element.

[0040] Accordingly, in the first step shown in FIG. 1, the gripper arrangement is first lowered in the direction of the support 200 in such a way that the suction gripper or needle gripper 1 rests on an upper side of the flexible semi-finished product 100 facing away from the support 200. As can be seen in the combination of FIGS. 1 and 2, when the gripper arrangement is placed on the flexible semi-finished product 100 via the suction gripper or needle gripper 1, it can be brought into engagement with the flexible semi-finished product, for example by inserting the gripper needles of the needle gripper 1 into the semi-finished product 100. However, the clamping gripper 2 is still out of engagement with the edge 101 of the flexible semi-finished product 100 in the position of the gripper arrangement shown in FIG. 2.

[0041] In order to be able to engage the edge 101 of the flexible semi-finished product 100 with the clamping gripper 2, the suction gripper or needle gripper 1, after being engaged with the flexible semi-finished product 100, is pivoted around its pivot axis 3, here by about 90, while the suction gripper or needle gripper 1 remains engaged with the semi-finished product 100, so that the edge 101 of the flexible semi-finished product 100 is inserted into the open clamping gripper 2, as shown in FIG. 3.

[0042] The pick-up position of the suction gripper or needle gripper 1 shown in FIG. 2 and the transfer position of the suction gripper or needle gripper 1 shown in FIG. 3 are offset by 90 to each other. However, it is conceivable that even a pivoting of the suction gripper and needle grippers by 45 is sufficient to insert the edge 101 of the flexible semi-finished product 100 sufficiently deep into the clamping gripper 2 so that the clamping gripper 2 can grip and hold the edge 101 reliably.

[0043] As can be seen from the combination of FIGS. 2 and 3, the suction gripper or needle gripper 1 and the clamping gripper 2 are arranged one behind the other in the direction perpendicular to the drawing plane, wherein at least the engagement regions of suction gripper or needle gripper 1 and clamping gripper 2, with which the two types of gripper 1, 2 can be brought into engagement with the edge 101 of the flexible semi-finished product 100, are arranged one behind the other, thus aligned with one another. This enables the edge 101 of the flexible semi-finished product 100 to be automatically brought into the engagement area of the clamping gripper 2 in the course of the pivoting movement of the suction gripper and needle gripper 1, without the clamping gripper 2 having to move towards the edge 101 of the semi-finished product 100 by a further translational or rotational movement in order to grip it.

[0044] FIG. 4 shows that, after the edge 101 of the flexible semi-finished product 100 is securely held by the clamping gripper 2, the gripper assembly is lifted from the support 200, whereby the edge area of the flexible semi-finished product 100 detached from the support 200 is further extended. This stroke movement can essentially be carried out perpendicular to the support 200. In order to achieve complete detachment of the flexible semi-finished product 100 from the support 200, the gripper arrangement can also perform a movement parallel to the support 200, whereby the semi-finished product 100 is subjected to a tension which detaches it from the support 200. Tensioning the semi-finished product 100 by moving the gripper arrangement parallel to the support 200 not only serves to gently detach the flexible semi-finished product 100 from the support 200, but also has the advantage that the stroke by which the gripper arrangement is moved perpendicular to the support may be limited, for example because there is only limited space between the two pressing tool halves of the heating press in the direction perpendicular to the heating tool halves.

[0045] FIG. 5 shows an exemplary embodiment of a gripper arrangement as it can be used for carrying out the method described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. This arrangement essentially consists of a first and a second gripper bar 4, which are attached to a linear guide via one of their two opposite faces 5, 6. The respective opposite face 5, 6 of the gripper bars 4 forms a free end of the gripper bars, via which the gripper bars 4 can be inserted e.g. between the two tool halves of a heating press to be able to be placed on the semi-finished product which is still located in the heating press.

[0046] The two gripper bars 4 extend essentially parallel to each other and are adjustable along the linear guide 7, i.e. in the direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the gripper bars 4 towards and away from each other. This adjustment option allows the tensioning movement of the gripper arrangement described in FIG. 4 to detach the flexible semi-finished product 100 from the support 200. Furthermore, a flexible adaptation of the gripper arrangement to the respective dimensions of the semi-finished product to be lifted is possible.

[0047] Along each of the gripper bars 4, a plurality of gripper pairs is arranged, each consisting of a suction gripper or needle gripper 1 and a clamping gripper 2, as can be seen more clearly in detail in FIG. 6. Accordingly, the gripper bar 4 has a multitude of gripper pairs 1, 2, which are arranged at a regular distance in the longitudinal extension direction of the gripper bar 4. A pivot drive 8 is provided for the synchronous drive of the suction grippers or needle grippers and a pivot drive 10 for the drive of the clamping grippers. The suction or needle grippers 1 are synchronised via a first drive shaft 9, to which all suction or needle grippers 1 of the gripper bar 4 are connected in a rotationally fixed and positionally true manner. A second pivot drive 10 for the drive of the clamping grippers again has a drive shaft 11 for the synchronous drive of the clamping grippers 2, in particular their clamping jaws, to which all the clamping grippers 2 of the gripper bar 4 are coupled in a rotationally fixed and positionally true manner. The gripper system shown in FIG. 6 can, for example, be maneuvered using a multi-axis robot.

[0048] The features of the invention disclosed in the above description, in the drawings and in the claims may be essential to the realisation of the invention, either individually or in any combination.

[0049] The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.