CONSUMABLE-MATERIAL HANDLING DEVICE FOR TRANSPORTING AND/OR HANDLING AT LEAST ONE CONSUMABLE MATERIAL, IN PARTICULAR PACKAGING MATERIAL

Abstract

The invention relates to a consumable-material handling device for transporting and/or handling at least one consumable material (12a; 12b), in particular packaging material, comprising at least one at least partially autonomous handling unit (14a; 14b), which is at least provided for handling the consumable material (12a; 12b). According to the invention, the machine tool comprises at least one, in particular at least partially autonomous, mobility unit (16a; 16b), on which the handling unit (14a; 14b) is arranged and which is at least provided for enabling locomotion, in particular at least partially autonomous locomotion, of the handling unit (14a; 14b).

Claims

1. A consumable-material handling device for transporting and/or handling at least one consumable material (12a; 12b), the handling device comprising at least one at least partially autonomous handling unit (14a; 14b) which is configured at least for handling the consumable material (12a; 12b), and comprising at least one mobility unit (16a; 16b) on which the handling unit (14a; 14b) is arranged and which is configured at least for permitting locomotion of the handling unit (14a; 14b).

2. The consumable-material handling device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one provision and/or storage unit (18a; 18b), which has at least one holding element (20a, 22a; 20b, 22b) on which at least the consumable material (12a; 12b) for handling by means of the handling unit (14a; 14b) can be arranged.

3. The consumable-material handling device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one provision and/or storage unit (18a; 18b) and at least one measuring unit (24a; 24b), which is arranged on the provision and/or storage unit (18a; 18b) and which is configured for determining a mass of the at least one consumable material (12a; 12b).

4. The consumable-material handling device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one detection unit (26a; 26b) for detecting at least one material-specific parameter of the at least one consumable material (12a; 12b).

5. The consumable-material handling device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one connecting-means application unit (28a; 28b) which is configured for applying at least one connecting means to the at least one consumable material (12a; 12b).

6. The consumable-material handling device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one communication unit (30a; 30b) for exchanging electronic data with an external unit (32a; 32b), wherein at least one operation of handling and/or transporting the at least one consumable material (12a; 12b) is performed in a manner dependent on an exchange of electronic data.

7. The consumable-material handling device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one outer-packaging opening unit (34a; 34b) which is configured for opening at least one outer packaging, which at least partially surrounds the at least one consumable material (12a; 12b).

8. The consumable-material handling device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one access opening unit (36a; 36b) which is configured for detecting a position of an access opening (38a; 38b) to a production and/or packaging machine (40a; 40b) and actuating at least one access closure element (42a; 42b) which closes the access opening (38a; 38b) of the production and/or packaging machine (40a; 40b).

9. A production and/or packaging system having at least one production and/or packaging machine (40a; 40b) and having at least one consumable-material handling device as claimed in claim 1 for stocking and/or loading the production and/or packaging machine (40a; 40b) with at least one consumable material (12a; 12b).

10. The production and/or packaging system as claimed in claim 9, further comprising at least one charging station (46b) which is configured for supplying energy to an energy store unit (48b) of the consumable-material handling device.

11. A method for changing and/or replenishing at least one consumable material (12a; 12b) on a production and/or packaging machine (40a; 40b), wherein, in at least one method step, by means of a consumable-material handling device, autonomous transport of the at least one consumable material (12a; 12b) to the production and/or packaging machine (40a; 40b) and/or an autonomous process of changing the at least one consumable material (12a; 12b) are/is performed.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein, in at least one method step, an access closure element (42a; 42b) of the production and/or packaging machine (40a; 40b) is autonomously opened by means of the consumable-material handling device.

13. A consumable-material handling device for transporting and/or handling at least one consumable packaging material, the handling device comprising at least one at least partially autonomous handling unit (14a; 14b) which is configured at least for handling the consumable material (12a; 12b), and comprising at least one at least partially autonomous mobility unit (16a; 16b) on which the handling unit (14a; 14b) is arranged and which is configured at least for permitting at least partially autonomous locomotion of the handling unit (14a; 14b).

14. The consumable-material handling device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one provision and/or storage unit (18a; 18b), which has at least one holding element (20a, 22a; 20b, 22b) on which at least the consumable material (12a; 12b) for handling by means of the handling unit (14a; 14b) can be provided and/or stored.

15. The consumable-material handling device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one connecting-means application unit (28a; 28b) which is configured for applying at least one connecting means to the at least one consumable material (12a; 12b) in order to permit a connection of the at least one consumable material (12a; 12b) to a further consumable material.

16. The consumable-material handling device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one wireless communication unit (30a; 30b) for exchanging electronic data with an external unit (32a; 32b), wherein at least one operation of handling and/or transporting the at least one consumable material (12a; 12b) is performed in a manner dependent on an exchange of electronic data.

17. The consumable-material handling device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one outer-packaging opening unit (34a; 34b), which includes a cutting and/or torch unit, which is configured for opening at least one outer packaging including a protective film, which at least partially surrounds the at least one consumable material (12a; 12b).

18. A method for changing and/or replenishing at least one consumable material (12a; 12b) on a production and/or packaging machine (40a; 40b) by means of a consumable-material handling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in at least one method step, by means of a consumable-material handling device, autonomous transport of the at least one consumable material (12a; 12b) to the production and/or packaging machine (40a; 40b) and/or an autonomous process of changing the at least one consumable material (12a; 12b) are/is performed.

19. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein, in at least one method step, an access closure element (42a; 42b) of the production and/or packaging machine (40a; 40b) is autonomously opened by means of the consumable-material handling device.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Further advantages will emerge from the following description of the drawing. The drawing illustrates exemplary embodiments of the invention. The drawing, the description and the claims contain numerous features in combination. A person skilled in the art will expediently also consider the features individually and combine them to form meaningful further combinations.

[0022] In the drawing:

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a production and/or packaging system according to the invention having at least one production and/or packaging machine and having at least one consumable-material handling device according to the invention, in a schematic illustration,

[0024] FIG. 2 shows the production and/or packaging system according to the invention during a process of changing consumable material by means of the consumable-material handling device according to the invention, in a schematic illustration,

[0025] FIG. 3 shows a detail view of a provision and/or storage unit of the consumable-material handling device according to the invention, in a schematic illustration,

[0026] FIG. 4 shows an alternative production and/or packaging system according to the invention having at least one production and/or packaging machine and having at least one consumable-material handling device according to the invention, in a schematic illustration,

[0027] FIG. 5 shows a storage region for consumable material of the alternative production and/or packaging system according to the invention, in a schematic illustration, and

[0028] FIG. 6 shows design variants of a handling unit of a consumable-material handling device according to the invention in a schematic illustration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] FIG. 1 shows a production and/or packaging system 44a having at least one production and/or packaging machine 40a and having at least one consumable-material handling device 10a for stocking and/or loading the production and/or packaging machine 40a with at least one consumable material 12a. The consumable material 12a is preferably formed as roll goods, in particular as packaging film roll goods. Products (not illustrated in any more detail here), such as for example foods, in particular chocolate bars, or the like, can preferably be packaged by means of the consumable material 12a during a production and/or packaging process of the production and/or packaging machine 40a. The production and/or packaging machine 40a may preferably have a tubular-bag packaging unit which is provided for packaging products by means of the consumable material 12a. It is however also conceivable for the production and/or packaging machine 40a to have some other packaging unit which appears expedient to a person skilled in the art and which is provided for packaging products by means of the consumable material 12a during a production and/or packaging process of the production and/or packaging machine 40a. The consumable material 12a is preferably formed as roll goods which can be arranged on the production and/or packaging machine 40a for the purposes of packaging products. The consumable material 12a can, in a manner already known to a person skilled in the art, be processed by means of the production and/or packaging machine 40a, in particular the tubular-bag packaging unit, to form a packaging of products.

[0030] For transport and/or handling of the at least one consumable material 12a, the production and/or packaging system 44a preferably comprises the at least one consumable-material handling device 10a. It is also conceivable for the production and/or packaging system 44a to have a number, which differs from one, of consumable-material handling devices 10a for the purposes of transporting and/or handling the at least one consumable material 12a. The consumable-material handling device 10a is preferably provided for changing and/or replenishing consumable material 12a on the production and/or packaging machine 40a. The consumable-material handling device 10a for transporting and/or handling the at least one consumable material 12a, in particular a packaging material, comprises at least one at least partially autonomous handling unit 14a, which is provided at least for handling the consumable material 12a. The consumable-material handling device 10a furthermore comprises at least one mobility unit 16a, on which the handling unit 14a is arranged and which is provided at least for permitting locomotion of the handling unit 14a. The handling unit 14a preferably comprises at least one robot arm 50a, in particular a multi-axis robot arm 50a. The robot arm 50a is preferably arranged by means of a base plate 52a of the handling unit 14a on the mobility unit 16a, in particular on a rack or on a frame of the mobility unit 16a. The robot arm 50a preferably has more than one movement axis. The robot arm 50a preferably has more than two, in particular more than four and preferably more than six movement axes. The handling unit 14a preferably comprises at least one handling element 54a arranged on the robot arm 50a. The handling element 54a may for example be formed as a gripper arranged on the robot arm 50a, a holding fork arranged on the robot arm 50a, a holding mandrel arranged on the robot arm 50a, or the like (see for example also FIG. 6). The handling element 54a is preferably mounted so as to be movable, in particular by means of the robot arm 50a. The handling unit 14a is preferably provided for handling consumable material 12a, in particular packaging material, in particular at least partially autonomously feeding said material to the production and/or packaging machine 40a. The handling unit 14a is preferably provided for handling packaging film rolls, in particular at least partially autonomously feeding said rolls to, or removing said rolls from, the production and/or packaging machine 40a. The handling unit 14a is preferably provided for at least partially autonomously feeding full packaging film rolls to the production and/or packaging machine 40a and/or removing empty packaging film rolls from the production and/or packaging machine 40a. It is however also conceivable for the handling unit 14a to be provided for handling some other consumable material 12a that appears expedient to a person skilled in the art, for example for handling a consumable material 12a formed as glue, as adhesive, as a cardboard blank, as a film roll, as a paper blank, as a cardboard roll, as a paper leaflet or the like.

[0031] The mobility unit 16a preferably comprises at least one rolling element 56a formed as a roller or wheel, by means of which locomotion of the handling unit 14a relative to an underlying surface can be effected. The rolling element 56a may be formed as a smart wheel, which has an integrated drive unit and an integrated sensor unit in order to assist an operator in a process of pushing or pulling the mobility unit 16a and/or the handling unit 14a, in a manner already known to a person skilled in the art. The mobility unit 16a preferably comprises at least the rack or the frame on which the handling unit 14a is arranged, in particular is at least partially fixed. The mobility unit 16a preferably comprises at least four rolling elements 56a, which are arranged on the rack or on the frame of the mobility unit 16. It is however also conceivable for the mobility unit 16a to have a number of rolling elements 56a other than four. Locomotion of the mobility unit 16a can be effected by means of a force exerted by an operator, in particular in a manner decoupled from assistance by a drive unit, such as for example an electric motor unit or the like. A supply of energy to the handling unit 14a and/or to further units of the consumable-material handling device 10a can be realized by means of a wired energy connection and/or by means of an energy storage unit, in particular battery pack unit, arranged on the handling unit 14a and/or on the mobility unit 16a. The handling unit 14a preferably comprises at least one operator control unit 58a. The operator control unit 58a is preferably arranged on the mobility unit 16a. The operator control unit 58a is preferably formed as a touch-sensitive display. It is however also conceivable for the operator control unit 58a to be of some other form that appears expedient to a person skilled in the art.

[0032] The consumable-material handling device 10a comprises at least one provision and/or storage unit 18a, which has at least one holding element 20a, 22a on which at least the consumable material 12a for handling by means of the handling unit 14a can be arranged, in particular provided and/or stored. In particular, the provision and/or storage unit 18a has a multiplicity of holding elements 20a, 22a on which at least the consumable material 12a for handling by means of the handling unit 14a can be arranged. At least one of the holding elements 20a, 22a is provided for provision and/or storage of new consumable material 12a that is to be introduced into the production and/or packaging machine 40a. At least one of the holding elements 20a, 22a is provided for providing and/or storing empty rolls that have been removed from the production and/or packaging machine 40a (FIGS. 2 and 3). The empty rolls are preferably carrier elements on which consumable material 12a is arranged for the purposes of being provided. After the consumable material 12a has been consumed by the production and/or packaging machine 40a, the empty rolls are left behind, which empty rolls can, by means of the handling unit 14a, be removed from the production and/or packaging machine 40a and exchanged for new consumable material 12a, as is already known to a person skilled in the art.

[0033] The provision and/or storage unit 18a is preferably arranged on a further mobility unit 60a of the consumable-material handling device 10a. The further mobility unit 60a preferably comprises at least one further rolling element 62a which is formed as a roller or wheel and by means of which locomotion of the provision and/or storage unit 18a relative to an underlying surface can be effected. The further rolling element 62a may be formed as a smart wheel, which has an integrated drive unit and an integrated sensor unit in order to assist an operator in a process of pushing or pulling the further mobility unit 60a, in a manner already known to a person skilled in the art. The further mobility unit 60a preferably comprises at least the rack or the frame on which the provision and/or storage unit 18a is arranged, in particular is at least partially fixed. Preferably, the further mobility unit 60a comprises at least four further rolling elements 62a, which are arranged on the rack or on the frame of the further mobility unit 60a. It is however also conceivable for the further mobility unit 60a to have a number of further rolling elements 62a other than four. Locomotion of the further mobility unit 60a can be effected by means of a force exerted by an operator, in particular in a manner decoupled from assistance by a drive unit, such as for example an electric motor unit or the like. It is however also conceivable for the further mobility unit 60a to be formed as a mobility unit with autonomous locomotion capability. The further mobility unit 60a is preferably connectable to the mobility unit 16a, in particular for joint locomotion of the mobility unit 16a and of the further mobility unit 60a.

[0034] The consumable-material handling device 10a comprises at least the provision and/or storage unit 18a and at least one measuring unit 24a, which is arranged on the provision and/or storage unit 18a and which is provided for determining a mass of the at least one consumable material 12a. The measuring unit 24a is preferably arranged on at least one of the holding elements 20a, 22a of the provision and/or storage unit 18a. It is however also conceivable for the measuring unit 24a to alternatively or additionally be arranged at least partially on the handling unit 14a. The measuring unit 24a is preferably provided for determining a mass of the at least one consumable material 12a in a state in which the at least one consumable material 12a is arranged in one of the holding elements 20a, 22a. It is however also conceivable for the measuring unit 24a to be provided for determining a mass of the at least one consumable material 12a in a state in which it is arranged on the handling unit 14a.

[0035] The consumable-material handling device 10a has at least one detection unit 26a for detecting at least one material-specific parameter of the at least one consumable material 12a. The detection unit 26a is preferably arranged at least partially on the handling unit 14a. It is however also conceivable for the detection unit 26a to alternatively or additionally be arranged at least partially on the provision and/or storage unit 18a. The detection unit 26a may be provided for detecting, for example, a start of a consumable material 12a formed as a packaging film roll, a position of an adhesive tape on a consumable material 12a formed as a packaging film roll, a position of a connecting point of a consumable material 12a formed as a packaging film roll, a machine-readable code applied to the consumable material 12a, a density of the consumable material 12a, a type of the consumable material 12a, a location of damage to the consumable material 12a, or the like. The detection unit 26a may have a multiplicity of detection elements (not illustrated in any more detail here) which are provided for detecting different material-specific parameters of the at least one consumable material 12a.

[0036] The consumable-material handling device l0a has at least one connecting-means application unit 28a which is provided for applying at least one connecting means to the at least one consumable material 12a, in particular in order to permit a connection of the at least one consumable material 12a to a further consumable material that is already arranged in the production and/or packaging machine 40a. The connecting-means application unit 28a is preferably formed as an adhesive-tape application unit, which is provided for applying a connecting means in the form of an adhesive tape to an end of the at least one consumable material 12a, in particular in order to permit an advantageous process of slicing the consumable material 12a and the further consumable material.

[0037] The consumable-material handling device 10a comprises at least one, in particular wireless, communication unit 30a for exchanging electronic data with an external unit 32a, wherein at least one operation of handling and/or transporting the at least one consumable material 12a is performed in a manner dependent on an exchange of electronic data. The external unit 32a is preferably a part of the production and/or packaging machine 40a. An operation of handling and/or transporting the at least one consumable material 12a by means of the consumable-material handling device 10a can be controlled in open-loop and/or closed-loop fashion in a manner dependent on a transmission of electronic data between the communication unit 30a and the external unit 32a.

[0038] The consumable-material handling device 10a comprises at least one outer-packaging opening unit 34a, in particular a cutting and/or torch unit, which is provided for opening at least one outer packaging, in particular a protective film, which at least partially surrounds the at least one consumable material 12a. The outer-packaging opening unit 34a is preferably arranged at least partially on the handling unit 14a. It is however also conceivable for the outer-packaging opening unit 34a to be arranged at least partially on the mobility unit 16a, in particular mounted movably on the mobility unit 16a. It is preferable for at least one cutting element of the outer-packaging opening unit 34a to be arranged, in particular mounted movably, on the handling unit 14a and/or on the mobility unit 16a.

[0039] The consumable-material handling device 10a comprises at least one access opening unit 36a which is provided for detecting a position of an access opening 38a to a production and/or packaging machine 40a and for actuating at least one access closure element 42a which closes the access opening 38a of the production and/or packaging machine 40a (see FIG. 2). The access opening unit 36a is preferably arranged at least partially on the handling unit 14a.

[0040] In a method for changing and/or replenishing at least one consumable material 12a on the production and/or packaging machine 40a by means of the consumable-material handling device 10a, in at least one method step, autonomous transport of the at least one consumable material 12a to the production and/or packaging machine 40a, in particular from the provision and/or storage unit 18a to the production and/or packaging machine 40a, and/or an autonomous process of changing the at least one consumable material 12a on the production and/or packaging machine 40a, is performed by means of the consumable-material handling device 10a. In at least one method step, the access closure element 42a of the production and/or packaging machine 40a is autonomously opened or closed by means of the consumable-material handling device 10a, in particular by means of the handling unit 14a.

[0041] With regard to further method steps of the method for changing and/or replenishing at least one consumable material 12a on the production and/or packaging machine 40a by means of the consumable-material handling device 10a, reference may be made to the above description of the production and/or packaging system 44a, because said description can also be read analogously onto the method, and thus all features relating to the production and/or packaging system 44a are also to be regarded as being disclosed in relation to the method for changing and/or replenishing at least one consumable material 12a on the production and/or packaging machine 40a by means of the consumable-material handling device 10a, and vice versa.

[0042] FIGS. 4 to 6 show a further exemplary embodiment of the invention. The following descriptions are restricted substantially to the differences between the exemplary embodiments, wherein, with regard to components, features and functions that remain unchanged, reference may be made to the description of the other exemplary embodiments, in particular to FIGS. 1 to 3. For distinction between the exemplary embodiments, the alphabetic character a in the reference designations of the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3 has been replaced by the alphabetic character b in the reference designations of the exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 4 to 6. With regard to components of identical designation, in particular with regard to components with the same reference designations, reference may basically also be made to the drawings and/or to the description of the other exemplary embodiments, in particular to FIGS. 1 to 3.

[0043] FIG. 4 shows a production and/or packaging system 44b having at least one production and/or packaging machine 40b and having at least one consumable-material handling device 10b for stocking and/or loading the production and/or packaging machine 40b with at least one consumable material 12b. The consumable-material handling device 10b for transporting and/or handling at least one consumable material 12b, in particular a packaging material, comprises at least one at least partially autonomous handling unit 14b, which is provided at least for handling the consumable material 12b. Furthermore, the consumable-material handling device 10b comprises at least one, in particular at least partially autonomous, mobility unit 16b, on which the handling unit 14b is arranged and which is provided at least for permitting in particular at least partially autonomous locomotion of the handling unit 14b. The mobility unit 16b is preferably provided, by contrast to the mobility unit 16a from FIGS. 1 to 3, for at least partially autonomous locomotion of the handling unit 14b. The mobility unit 16b preferably comprises at least one drive unit 64b, in particular at least one electric motor unit, for driving at least one roller element 56b of the mobility unit 16b. The consumable-material handling device 10b comprises at least one energy store unit 48b for a supply of energy to units of the consumable-material handling device 10b. The energy store unit 48b is preferably formed as a rechargeable battery unit. The consumable-material handling device 10b preferably comprises at least one sensor unit 68b which is provided for detecting surroundings parameters, which can be processed by a processing unit 66b of the consumable-material handling device 10b at least for open-loop and/or closed-loop control of autonomous travelling operation of the mobility unit 16b.

[0044] The production and/or packaging system 44b comprises at least one charging station 46b which is provided for supplying energy to an energy store unit 48b of the consumable-material handling device 10b (see FIG. 5). The charging station 46b is preferably formed as a static charging station. It is however also conceivable for the charging station 46b to be of mobile form and to be capable of at least partially autonomous locomotion. The charging station 46b may be formed as a contactless charging station, for example as an induction charging station, or as a contact-type charging station, which has in particular at least one charging contact unit. The consumable-material handling device 10b is preferably provided for autonomously travelling to the charging station 46b and initiating a charging process in the event of a low energy capacity of the energy store unit 48b being detected.

[0045] A provision and/or storage unit 18b of the consumable-material handling device 10b is preferably arranged on the mobility unit 16b. It is alternatively or additionally conceivable for the production and/or packaging system 44b to have at least one further provision and/or storage unit 70b on which at least the consumable material 12b for handling by means of the handling unit 14b can be arranged, in particular provided and/or stored (see FIG. 5).

[0046] FIG. 6 illustrates design variants of a handling element 54b of the handling unit 14b. The handling element 54b is, in one design variant, formed as a holding fork (see the upper part of FIG. 6) for handling the consumable material 12b. In a further design variant, handling element 54b is formed as a handling mandrel, in particular as a movable clamping mandrel (see the lower part of FIG. 6).

[0047] With regard to further functions and features of the production and/or packaging system 44b, reference may be made to the description of the production and/or packaging system 44a in FIGS. 1 to 3.