GRIPPER FOR A HANDLING DEVICE

Abstract

A handling system, gripper device and a gripper for forming and handling slugs of flat baked products such as biscuits and cookies, said gripper being arranged for a mechanical type gripper as end-effector and being arranged to load a group of staggered products, form a slug from said group, and unload said slug into said outfeed transport device, said gripper comprising a longitudinal retainer comprising elongated wall elements extending along a longitudinal direction of said gripper and configured for an open position for loading said group of staggered products, and a closed position for unloading said slug into a tray transported by a transport device, a holding element for open and closed positions for loading and unloading said group of staggered products; and a pushing element for displacement of said pushing element in longitudinal direction into said retainer for compacting said group of staggered products into a slug.

Claims

1. A handling system for forming and handling slugs of flat baked products such as biscuits and cookies from a feed of said flat baked products, said system comprising: an infeed transport device, such as a conveyor belt, arranged for infeed of said flat baked products; a slug gripper device, comprising at least one industrial robot having a mechanical type gripper as end-effector, arranged for loading a group of products in a staggered orientation from said infeed transport device, and unloading said loaded group on to; an outfeed transport device, comprising a conveyor belt, chain conveyor or a flight bar, said outfeed transport device being arranged for outfeed of trays loaded with said slugs; wherein said gripper of said slug gripper device is arranged to load said group of staggered products, form a slug from said group, and unload said slug into said outfeed transport device, said gripper comprising: a longitudinal retainer comprising elongated wall elements extending along a longitudinal direction of said gripper and configured for an open position for loading said group of staggered products, and a closed position for unloading said slug into a tray transported by said outfeed transport device, wherein said wall elements can be displaced as a jaw type gripper, moving in transverse direction, away from each other into said open position and towards each other into said closed position; a holding element, disposed at a longitudinal end of said retainer, and configured for an open position for loading said group of staggered products, and a closed position for unloading said slug; a pushing element, disposed at a longitudinal end of said retainer, and configured for displacement of said pushing element in longitudinal direction into said retainer for compacting said group of staggered products into a slug.

2. The handling system according to claim 1, wherein said products are infeed in a random disorderly pattern, and said system comprising: a formation device, comprising at least one industrial robot having a suction cup type vacuum gripper as end-effector, and a vision system, arranged for picking products in a random disorderly pattern from said infeed transport device, and placing said picked products on further products on said infeed transport device in a staggered manner, forming a group of staggered products.

3. The handling system according to claim 1, wherein said products are infeed in a random disorderly pattern, and said system comprising: a formation device, comprising a mechanical formation unit arranged for receiving products from said infeed transport device in a random disorderly pattern, and outputting said products on said infeed transport device in a staggered manner, forming a group of staggered products.

4. The handling system according to claim 1, wherein said holding element is disposed at a longitudinal end of said retainer, and configured for an open position for loading said group of staggered products, and a closed position for unloading said slug, and configured to pivot around a pivot axis perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the wall elements.

5. The handling system according to claim 1, wherein said holding element is configured as a scoop, and wherein said scoop is disposed at said longitudinal end of the retainer.

6. The handling system according to claim 1, wherein said holding element comprises a flat or tapered free end which is arranged to be scooped under a leading or trailing product of said group of staggered products upon loading said group into said retainer for at least partly lifting said leading or trailing product and brings it from a horizontal orientation towards an at least substantial vertical orientation.

7. The handling system according to claim 1, wherein said at least one industrial robot of said slug gripper device comprises a delta robot.

8. The handling system according to claim 1, wherein said at least one industrial robot of said formation device comprises a delta robot.

9. The handling system according to claim 1, wherein said system comprises a controller, wherein said control is electrically connected said slug gripper device, and comprising a memory for storing a group loading program, wherein said program is arranged for controlling said gripper of said slug gripper device to perform the steps of 1) manipulate said gripper towards an a loading position 2) load a group of staggered products, 3) form a slug from said group, 4) manipulate said gripper towards an uploading position, and 5) unload said slug into said outfeed transport device.

10. The handling system according to claim 9, wherein steps 3) and 4) are performed at least partly simultaneously.

11. The handling system according to claim 9, wherein step 2) comprises 2a) aligning gripper with the group of products to be loaded, 2b) manipulating said wall elements into an open position, 2c) lowering said retainer over said group. 2d) manipulating said holding element to a closed position, thereby scooping under a leading or trailing products of said group, 2e) manipulating said wall elements into a partially closed position to limit lateral movement of the products of said group. 2f) manipulate said pushing element in longitudinal direction into said retainer for compacting said group of staggered products into a slug, and 2g) manipulating said wall elements into a fully closed position to limit lateral movement of the products of said group.

12. The handling system according to claim 1, wherein said formation device, comprises an industrial robot having a suction cup type vacuum gripper as end-effector, a vision system, and a conveyor means, said conveyor means being arranged for transporting said groups of staggered products, and wherein said conveyor means are comprised of cam elements, said cam elements being arranged to receive a leading or trailing product of said group of staggered products for maintaining said leading or trailing product in an inclined manner, and wherein said cam elements are preferably placed in groups of two elements, having a spacing in between configured for receiving said holding element of said gripper upon loading said group by said gripper and scooping said holding element under said leading or trailing product of said group.

13. The handling system according to claim 1, wherein said formation device, comprises an industrial robot having a suction cup type vacuum gripper as end-effector, a vision system, and a conveyor means, said conveyor means being arranged for transporting said groups of staggered products, and wherein said conveyor means are configured for transporting cartridges, each being arranged to receive a group of staggered products, and wherein cartridges are preferably configured for receiving said holding element of said gripper upon loading said group by said gripper and scooping said holding element under said leading or trailing product of said group in a respective cartridge.

14. A slug gripper device, arranged for a handling system according to claim 1, for forming and handling slugs of flat baked products such as biscuits and cookies, said slug gripper device comprising at least one industrial robot having a mechanical type gripper as end-effector, wherein said gripper of said slug gripper device is arranged to load a group of staggered products, form a slug from said group, and unload said slug into said outfeed transport device, said gripper comprising: a longitudinal retainer comprising elongated wall elements extending along a longitudinal direction of said gripper and configured for an open position for loading said group of staggered products, and a closed position for unloading said slug into a tray transported by a transport device, wherein said wall elements can be displaced as a jaw type gripper, moving in transverse direction, away from each other into said open position and towards each other into said closed position; a holding element, disposed at a longitudinal end of said retainer, and configured for an open position for loading said group of staggered products, and a closed position for unloading said slug; and a pushing element, disposed at a longitudinal end of said retainer, and configured for displacement of said pushing element in longitudinal direction into said retainer for compacting said group of staggered products into a slug.

15. A gripper for a device according to claim 14, for forming and handling slugs of flat baked products such as biscuits and cookies, said gripper being arranged for a mechanical type gripper as end-effector and being arranged to load a group of staggered products, form a slug from said group, and unload said slug into said outfeed transport device, said gripper comprising: a longitudinal retainer comprising elongated wall elements extending along a longitudinal direction of said gripper and configured for an open position for loading said group of staggered products, and a closed position for unloading said slug into a tray transported by a transport device, wherein said wall elements can be displaced as a jaw type gripper, moving in transverse direction, away from each other into said open position and towards each other into said closed position; a holding element, disposed at a longitudinal end of said retainer, and configured for an open position for loading said group of staggered products, and a closed position for unloading said slug; and a pushing element, disposed at a longitudinal end of said retainer, and configured for displacement of said pushing element in longitudinal direction into said retainer for compacting said group of staggered products into a slug.

Description

[0098] The present disclosure will be explained in more detail below by means of examples of a device according to the present disclosure shown in the drawings, in which:

[0099] FIG. 1 shows a handling system with a gripper according to the present invention;

[0100] FIG. 2 shows a detail of a gripper according to the present invention;

[0101] FIG. 3A, B, C show different views of a gripper according to the present invention in several operation states of loading products.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0102] In FIG. 1 a handling system 100 is shown. Such a handling system may also be known as a device for volumetric loading. Such devices 100 are arranged for high speed handling of flat baked products 102 such as biscuits, cakes, cookies, sandwich cookies, etc. In the examples shown in the figures, the products are round products 102, already formed in groups, in a staggered or shingled orientation, but the handling system 100 and gripper 110 thereof are also arranged for other shapes of products such as square, rectangular or any polygon shaped baked product as long as the product 102 is at least substantially flat. Meaning that the product has two opposing sides which define a main surface which surface in itself is flat or at least substantially flat. These products arrive upstream the production line and may arrive directly from an oven, oven-line or oven-stage (not shown). As the products arrive directly from the oven, they may be relatively unsorted, randomly arranged on the conveyor without any previous handling being performed to control the position of the products.

[0103] From the oven the products 102 are transported by a conveyor 121 from the conveyor means 121 of the handling system 110. The conveyor may be an integral part of the handling device 110, but may also be a separate conveyor, or form part of a device upstream of the product line such as a outfeed of the backing oven or cooling thereof.

[0104] The products 102 are transported by the conveyer from an input side at the infeed towards an outfeed downstream of the product line, e.g. towards further devices for further handling. A such, the handling system 100 consists of an infeed transport device, such as the conveyor 121, a slug gripper device having the gripper 110 according to the present invention, and an outfeed transport device, such as the conveyor 120. A preferred example is that these products are outfeed directly into the conveyor means 131 of a packing device 120 as shown in the example of FIG. 1. It is however emphasized that these are merely examples and that the products may also be placed into another conveyor means or other type of transport device. Examples thereof are tray devices such as tray de-nesters in which trays are de-nested from a stack of trays and in which individual trays are placed on a conveyor or a flight bar such that the products 102 which are formed into slugs 101 by the handling device 110, may be placed directly into theses trays (not shown).

[0105] As indicated, the handling system 100 and the slug gripper device 110 (also referred to as the handling device) forms slugs 101 from individual flat baked products 102. These slugs 102 are further downstream 120 packed by a foil or a wrapping, which is also known as slug wrapping, which is a typical way of packing biscuits or cookies or similar products on-edge as shown in FIG. 1. Typical for slugs 101 is that these are formed from several, e.g. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 or more individual products 102 which products can have any shape from square to rectangular or other polygon shape, of the round form as shown in FIG. 1.

[0106] Forming slugs 101 from an individual 101 supply of flat baked products 101 may according to the invention be done by several steps. The products may be provided or infeed in a randomly, disorderly pattern, and then by a formation device or station or stage (not shown in the figures, but upstream of the stage shown in FIG. 1), or may be provided already by alternative means or process into a staggered group of products 102 as shown in FIG. 1. The products are thus, after the formation device or station formed into staggered groups 102 as shown in FIG. 1. The slug gripper devices 110, in the example shown there are 4 of these devices, but there may be any number between 1 and 32 or more, e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 or 20 parallel operating slug gripper devices. The slug gripper devices comprise an industrial robot or robotic arm as seen partly in the figures. At the end of the robotic arm, a gripper is attached as an end-effector. The gripper is of a mechanical type. The system 100 also comprises a vision system (not shown) to determine where and at which orientation the groups of staggered products 102 are located on the conveyor 121 of the infeed transport device. The group of staggered products 102 are loaded by the gripper and unloaded into or onto an outfeed transport device 120, which comprises a conveyor belt, chain conveyor belt or flight bar or the like. Once the group of products is in the outfeed device 120, the group is already formed into its final form or orientation as slugs. Hence, the gripper of the slug gripper device 110 thus not only picks up a group of staggered products, but also forms a slug out of the group and unloads the slug into the outfeed device 120.

[0107] As mentioned, the products are provided in a staggered or shingled orientation as shown in the figure. Hence, the products may be provided upstream in a randomly disoriented pattern, or a partially oriented or structured pattern, and by a formation device formed into staggered groups. The group of products may be formed from individual products by either a mechanical means such as staggered conveyors, structural means such as guide bars, formation plates etc. or by an active means such as a robotic arm with pick and place capabilities, for example an industrial robot such as a delta robot which a mechanical gripper which picks up individual products, and places the product onto another product in a staggered manner, partially overlapping it. This may be repeated until a group of desired size is formed.

[0108] FIG. 2 shows more detail of the gripper 110 and the longitudinal retainer in which the products 102 are collected, retained or kept, and from which they are unloaded. The gripper consists of a longitudinal retainer with elongated wall elements and a holding element and a pushing element. The longitudinal retainer is arranged for loading the products as group, meaning that the retainer defines a retainer space being substantially cylindrically shaped and corresponding to the slug which is to be formed. Thus, in case of round products 102 as shown in the figures, the retainer is cylindrical, whereas if these are square or rectangular, the retainer may have corresponding shapes.

[0109] FIG. 3a, b, c show different operating states of the gripper. The retainer can be operated to be in a loading, retaining, formation and unloading state, which states may be performed sequentially, but more preferably in parallel or partially or fully overlapping manner. In the loading state, the retainer is arranged to open up in a vertical manner, meaning that the longitudinal axis L or direction of the retainer is perpendicular to a supporting surface 122 of the conveyor 121 which supplies the products 102 and thus on which the group of products rest in a vertical orientation or for each product individually at an angle, as shown in FIG. 1.

[0110] The retainer is upon loading open along the longitudinal axis L as the wall elements 112 or longitudinal walls 112 open as in a jaw like manner. As such, the gripper is arranged as a jaw type gripper to move away in a transverse direction, wherein the walls move away from each other.

[0111] The gripper also has a holding element 111 and pushing element 113 or timing belt, the pushing element may be comprised of an pneumatic or air cylinder to displace the holding element 111. The holding element is disposed at a first longitudinal end of the retainer and is configured for an open position (as shown in FIG. 3A) and a closed position (as shown in FIG. 3B). The holding element is not only arranged to hold the group of products in place, e.g. during movement of the group by the slug gripper device 110, but also to compact the group by scoping under the first product of the group in a scope like motion in transition between the open and closed position. This is shown in FIG. 3A wherein the holding element 115 is still open, and in FIG. 3B rotates and scopes under the first product of the group 102 to be able to put the first product in a vertical orientation as shown in FIG. 3C.

[0112] The gripper 110 on the opposite side of the holding element, is also provided with a pushing element 113, which in any disclosed embodiment may alternatively may also be a timing belt, which is arranged to displace the pushing element towards the group 102 and into the gripper along a longitudinal axis L to compact the group of staggered products into a slug as shown in FIG. 3c.

[0113] Now the gripper is loaded, the slug is formed it can be moved towards and above the unloading position of the conveyor means 131 at the output, where the gripper may be operated into an unloading state. In the unloading state, the gripper is controlled in such a way, by a controller thereof, that the elongated wall elements, which may be partly (as shown) or fully encompasses the wall of the retainer, open up or move away from the centre or central axis of the retainer. Hence, one or preferably both of the elongated wall elements may be displaced to open-up in a jaw-like manner. The gripper may thus have one but preferably has two displaceable elongated wall elements, similar to two jaws which open-up and displace relative from each other. Now the slug of products can be unloaded easily into the conveyor or flight bar for further handling, transport, or directly to the packing device for wrapping.

[0114] Based on the above description, a skilled person may provide modifications and additions to the method and arrangement disclosed, which modifications and additions are all comprised by the scope of the appended claims.

[0115] It will be clear that the intention of the above description is to shed light on the working of possible embodiments of the present invention, and not to limit the scope of protection of the invention. Starting from the description, a person skilled in the art is able to conceive of and use various embodiments that fall within the inventive concept and scope of protection of the present invention.