Universal Automated Stacking Device

Abstract

The object of the invention refers to a universal automated stacking device comprising a pre-stacking table (1) and a claw (2) such that the pre-stacking table (1) comprises at least one support assembly (13) and at least one side centering device (14) attached to a chassis (12), and the claw (2) comprising at least one pair of pliers (3) attached to a frame (7), the at least one support assembly (13) being attached to at least one chassis guide (12) with capacity of displacing over the guides (20, 21), and the at least one pair of pliers (3) being fixed to the frame (7) via an arm (4) which is attached to a crossbar (5) with capacity of displacing over a rail (6) of the frame (7), and each arm (4) being attached to a slide (8) of the crossbar (5) with capacity of displacing through the slide (8).

Claims

1. A universal automated stacking device comprising: a pre-stacking table comprising at least one support assembly attached to a chassis and at least one side centering device, and a claw comprising at least one pair of pliers attached to a frame, wherein the at least one support assembly is attached to at least one guide to be selected among a lead guide and a rear guide of the chassis, and the at least one pair of pliers is fixed to the frame via an arm which is attached to a crossbar that is in turn attached to a rail located in the lower part of the frame, and each arm is attached to a slide of the crossbar, such that each support assembly has capacity of displacement on the guide of the chassis, each crossbar has capacity of displacement along the rail displacing the pairs of pliers, and the arms have capacity of displacement along the slide displacing the pliers of each pair.

2. A universal automated stacking device according to claim 1, wherein each pair of pliers comprise a lower abutment and an upper abutment attached by a pneumatic cylinder to modify the distance between the lower abutment and the upper abutment.

3. A universal automated stacking device according to claim 1, wherein each support assembly comprises: a conveyor belt which comprises at least one belt, a support arm, and a lower beam onto which both the conveyor belt and the support arm are supported, such that the support assemblies are attached to the guides via the lower beam.

4. A universal automated stacking device according to claim 3, wherein the support arm comprises at least one support abutment configured to be positioned throughout said support arms to adapt to different widths of the pieces and contribute to the centering of each piece on the support arm.

5. A universal automated stacking device according to claim 4, further comprising engines to displace the support assemblies throughout the guides.

6. A universal automated stacking device according to the claim 1, wherein the side centering devices comprise an attachment piece attached to a lead guide of the chassis, a thrust head and a lifting mechanism of the thrust head relative to the attachment piece.

7. A universal automated stacking device according to claim 6, wherein each side centering device is displaced throughout the lead guide via an engine and a transmission system, to adapt the side centering devices to different lengths of the pieces.

8. A universal automated stacking device according to the claim 1, wherein the pre-stacking table and the claw are connected to an automated control device, which stores the different positions of the pliers of the claw, of the support assemblies and of the side centering devices of the pre-stacking table.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0023] To complete the description and in order to give a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, this descriptive report is accompanied by a series of drawings that are an integral part of the report, wherein, for illustration purposes and without limitation, the following has been represented:

[0024] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bottom of the claw of the stacking device which is the object of the invention.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the upper part of the claw of the stacking device which is the object of the invention.

[0026] FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the pre-stacking table of the stacking device which is the object of the invention.

[0027] FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of the pre-stacking table of the stacking device which is the object of the invention.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a detailed view of part of a support assembly, highlighting the support arm.

[0029] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the stacking device which is the object of the invention with the claw carrying a package of pieces collected from the pre-stacking table towards a pallet.

[0030] The different numerical references featured in the figures correspond to the following elements: [0031] 1.pre-stacking table, [0032] 2.claw, [0033] 3.pliers, [0034] 4.arm, [0035] 5.crossbar, [0036] 6.rail, [0037] 7.frame, [0038] 8.slide, [0039] 9.lower abutment, [0040] 10.upper abutment, [0041] 11.pneumatic cylinder, [0042] 12.chassis, [0043] 13.support assembly, [0044] 14.side centering device, [0045] 15.conveyor belt, [0046] 16.belt, [0047] 17.support arm, [0048] 18.lower beam, [0049] 19.support abutment, [0050] 20.front guide, [0051] 21.rear guide, [0052] 22.engine to displace the support assemblies, [0053] 23.attachment piece, [0054] 24.lead guide, [0055] 25.thrust head, [0056] 26.lifting mechanism, [0057] 27.engine to displace the side centering devices, [0058] 28.transmission system, [0059] 29.engine for the support abutments,

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0060] As indicated, and as it may be appreciated in the figures, the object of the invention is a universal and automated stacking device that allows it to adapt to the different geometries of the pieces without requiring any change in the elements of the device.

[0061] The device object of the invention comprises a pre-stacking table (1) and a claw (2), and both the pre-stacking table (1) and the claw (2) comprise a plurality of actuations to adapt its components to the different dimensions of the pieces to, in the case of the pre-stacking table (1), make the package of said pieces, and, in the case of the claw (2), fasten said package to be carried to create the stack on a pallet.

[0062] The claw (2) of the device which is the object of the invention comprises three pairs of pliers (3), each pair of pliers (3) being in parallel position to each other and aligned on a frame (7) attaching the pair of pliers (3) to a robot.

[0063] Each pair of pliers (3) is fixed to an arm (4) which is attached to a crossbar (5) that is in turn attached to a rail (6) located in the lower part of the frame (7) such that the crossbar (5) is displaced throughout the rail (6). Likewise, each crossbar (5) is attached to a spindle that in turn is connected to an engine, allowing for the crossbars (5) to approach and move away from each other, and such displacement also making the pairs of pliers (3) displace in parallel, approaching and moving away, to adapt to the different lengths of the pieces.

[0064] Likewise, the pliers (3) that form each pair may approach and move away from each other to adapt to the different widths of the pieces to be displaced, that is the pliers (3) may be displaced throughout the crossbar (5). For the displacement of the pliers (3) throughout the crossbar (5), each arm is attached to a slide (8) of the crossbar (5) and, by means of a spindle and an engine, each arm (4) may be displaced through the crossbar (5) guided by the slide (8).

[0065] Finally to define the claw (2) of the device which is the object of the invention, each pliers (3) is a pneumatic device, which comprises a lower abutment (9) and an upper abutment (10) attached to a pneumatic cylinder (11) that modifies the distance between the lower abutment (9) and the upper abutment (10) to adapt to the different widths of the sheet packages.

[0066] To summarize, the claw (2) of the device which is the object of the invention offers the possibility of adapting to three dimensions (length, width and height) of a sheet package to be stacked, by a relative displacement of all of the components in an automated way.

[0067] The pre-stacking table (1) comprises a chassis (12) onto which three support assemblies (13) are located, which are the ones making the package of pieces and that, later on are stacked in a pallet by means of the claw (2), and two side centering devices (14) which align the package of pieces on the support assemblies (13).

[0068] Each support assembly (13) comprises a conveyor belt (15), formed by two belts (16) parallel to each other, a support arm (17) and lower beam (18) in which both the conveyor belt (15) and the support arm (17) are supported.

[0069] The support arm (17) comprises two groups of support abutments (19) capable of being positioned throughout said support arms (17) to be adapted to different widths of the pieces and contribute to the centering of each piece on the support arm (17).

[0070] The support abutments (19) are moved by an engine (29) and a spindle located in each support assembly (13). The engine (29) may be shared by the support abutments (19) and by the belts (16), this configuration requiring a clutch to make the movement of the two elements independent or that the support abutments (19) include their own engines, and the belts (16), their own.

[0071] The support assemblies (13) are capable of displacing on the chassis (12) to adapt to the different lengths of the pieces, such that the lower beam (18) is supported on a front guide (20) and on a rear guide (21) incorporated on the chassis (12), and the support assemblies (13) are displaced along the guides (20, 21) via engines (22).

[0072] The side centering devices (14) comprise an attachment piece (23) to attach said centering devices (14) to a lead guide (24) located in the chassis (12), a thrust head (25) and a lifting mechanism (26) for the thrust head (25) relative to the attachment piece (23). The side centering devices (14) are displaced along the lead guide (24) via their own engines (27) and their own transmission system (28), such that the side centering devices (14) are adapted to different lengths of the pieces located on the support arms (17).

[0073] The fact that the side centering devices (14) are provided with a lifting mechanism (26) of the thrust head (25) is due to the different configurations offered by the pre-stacking table (1), since it is possible that the side centering devices (14) are found outside the support assemblies (13), but it is also possible that said side centering devices (14) are located between two support assemblies (13), for which it is necessary to lower the thrust head (25) until it travels below the support arms (17) and, afterwards, lift said thrust head (25) to return to its position.

[0074] Both the pre-stacking table (1) and the claw (2) are connected to a computer or numerical control, which stores the different positions of the pliers (3) of the claw (2) of the support assemblies (13) and of the side centering devices (14) of the pre-stacking table (1), such that, based on the dimensions of the different pieces manufactured, the positions of these elements are automatically modified and such that the stacking of the manufactured pieces, whichever this piece be, does not require any manual mechanical changes, but achieving the automation of the change in the positions of the elements of the claw (2) and of the pre-stacking table (1).

[0075] The invention must not be limited to the embodiments described in this document. Those skilled in the art can develop other embodiments in view of the disclosure made herein. In consequence, the scope of the invention is defined by the claims that follow.