DEVICE FOR TAKING OVER, TEMPORARILY STORING AND PASSING ON ELONGATED, HOLLOW CYLINDRICAL PRODUCT UNITS AND A METHOD FOR THE OPERATION OF SUCH A DEVICE

• US 20100138041A1
• Filed: 12/01/2009
• Published: 06/03/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Texa AG
• Original Assignee: Texa AG
• Inventors: Benz, Gottlieb, Robbertson, Albertus
• Granted Patent: US 8,590,690 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/247
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/5104 for articles

Abstract

A device for taking over, temporarily storing and passing on elongated, hollow-cylindrical product units, preferably tubes, sleeves or cans, which come from a production line, has a first supplying conveyor belt and a continuously delivering second conveyor belt. The first and the second conveyor belts are disposed horizontally lying one above the other in a transfer zone. An intermediate storage arrangement is designed as a high-rack storage arrangement or as a paternoster storage arrangement. At least one handling robot is also located in the region of the transfer zone between the conveyor belts and the intermediate storage arrangement. This handling robot is designed either (a) to take a number of product units from the first conveyor belt and to feed them to the second conveyor belt or the intermediate storage arrangement, or (b) to remove a number of product units from the intermediate storage arrangement and to feed them to the second conveyor belt.

Claims

1. A device for taking over, temporarily storing and passing on elongated, hollow-cylindrical product units which come from a production line, the device comprising;

(i) a supplying conveyor arrangement in the form of a first conveyor belt;

(ii) a continuously delivering conveyor arrangement in the form of a second conveyor belt, the first and the second conveyor belts being disposed horizontally lying one above the other in a transfer zone; and

(iii) an intermediate storage arrangement disposed in the transfer zone,

wherein the intermediate storage arrangement is a high-rack storage arrangement or a paternoster storage arrangement, and at least one handling robot is disposed in the region of the transfer zone between the conveyor arrangements and the high-rack storage arrangement, the handling robot being designed either (a) to take a number of product units from the first conveyor belt and to feed them to the second conveyor belt or the intermediate storage arrangement, or (b) to remove a number of product units from the intermediate storage arrangement and to feed them to the second conveyor belt.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the handling robot comprises an engaging device with a number of engaging spikes lying beside one another with equal spacing.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the engaging spikes can be introduced into and retracted from the elongated, hollow-cylindrical product units in order to engage and convey the product units.

4. The device according to claim 2, wherein the handling robot is designed at least for linear movements in the X-, Y- and Z-direction, wherein the X-direction runs parallel to the conveying direction of the first and the second conveyor belt and has the largest conveying path compared to the Y- and Z-direction.

5. The device according to claim 1 wherein a first control device for the intermediate storage arrangement is connected together with a second control device for the handling robot, or these two control devices are combined in a single common control device.

6. A method for the operation of a device for taking over, temporarily storing and passing on elongated, hollow-cylindrical product units which come from a production line;

the device comprising (i) a supplying conveyor arrangement in the form of a first conveyor belt;

(ii) a continuously delivering conveyor arrangement in the form of a second conveyor belt, the first and the second conveyor belt being disposed horizontally lying one above the other in a transfer zone;

(iii) an intermediate storage arrangement in the form of a high-rack storage arrangement or a paternoster storage arrangement is disposed in the transfer zone; and

(iv) a handling robot disposed in the region of the transfer zone between the conveyor arrangements and the high-rack storage arrangement,

wherein the handling robot either (a) takes a number of product units from the first conveyor belt after adaptation of the position and speed to the first conveyor belt and thereafter feeds the product units removed from the first conveyor belt to the second conveyor belt after adaptation of the position and speed to the second conveyor belt, or feeds the product units removed from the first conveyor belt to the intermediate storage arrangement, or (b) feeds the product units removed from the intermediate storage arrangement to the second conveyor belt after adaptation of the position and speed to the second conveyor belt.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the handling robot, in the case of feeding product units to the second conveyor belt, feeds the product units to the second conveyor belt in such a way that the product units are disposed gap-free on the second conveyor belt.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein, in the case of feeding product units from the first conveyor belt to the second conveyor belt, only linear movements are performed.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein, in the case of feeding product units from the first conveyor belt to the intermediate storage arrangement or from the intermediate storage arrangement to the second conveyor belt, only linear movements are performed.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein the intermediate storage arrangement is a high-rack storage arrangement and, in the case of feeding product units from the first conveyor belt to the high-rack storage arrangement or in the case of feeding product units from the high-rack storage arrangement to the second conveyor belt, a swiveling movement about an axis running parallel to the conveying direction of the first and the second conveyor belt is performed apart from linear movements.

11. The method according to claim 6, wherein the intermediate storage arrangement is a paternoster storage arrangement and, in the case of feeding product units from the first conveyor belt to the paternoster storage arrangement or in the case of feeding product units from the paternoster storage arrangement to the second conveyor belt, only linear movements are performed.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the paternoster storage arrangement comprises at least one independently moveable, paternoster units and a control device for the at least one paternoster unit cooperates with a second control device for the handling robot, in such a way that rapid taking-over, temporary storage and passing-on of product units can be performed whilst minimizing the paternoster movements.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein rapid taking-over, temporary storage and passing-on of product units are achieved, in that empty and/or full paternoster storage containers of the paternoster units are continuously made available in the vicinity of the first and the second conveyor belt.