Delivery of articles to and from a mechanical treating machine served by an industrial robot

• US 4,557,655 A
• Filed: 05/04/1983
• Issued: 12/10/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/1982
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ASEA AB Vasteras Sweden
• Original Assignee: Asea Aktiebolag (ABB Limited)
• Inventors: Berg, Arne
• Primary Examiner(s): Paperner, Leslie J.
• Application Number:
  US06/491,554
• Time in Patent Office: 951 Days
• Field of Search: 414/27, 414/32, 414/33, 414/69, 414/101, 414/102, 414/110, 414/117, 414/118, 414/120, 414/121, 414/122, 414/222, 414/225, 414/226, 414/286, 414/276, 414/786, 901/6, 901/7, 198/339, 198/472
• US Class Current: 414/788.7
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/08 the articles being fed by gravity braking arrangements for roller-ways B65G13/075; separating or stopping elements B65G47/88
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 37/02 Flow-sheets for conveyor combinations in warehouses, magazines or workshops
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 414/107 Recirculates emptied pallet or separator

Abstract

A method of and a magazine for serving machines for mechanical treatment with a robot. Articles to be machined are supplied on pallets on a first conveyor. A robot collects an article from a pallet on said conveyor, places it in the machine and collects a machined article and places it on a pallet on a second conveyor belt. The robot is connected to or grips an empty pallet and moves this from the first to the second conveyor belt.

Claims

1. A method of supplying articles to, and transporting articles away from, an article-treatment machine, wherein the articles to be treated are:

supplied to the article-treatment machine on pallets on a first roller conveyor,

taken from a pallet and inserted into the article-treatment machine, and

placed on a pallet on a second roller conveyor; and

a pallet, when emptied of articles, is transferred from the first roller conveyor to the second roller conveyor by the robot serving the article-treatment machine.

2. A method of delivering articles to be treated to an article-treatment machine and for transporting the treated articles away from the article-treatment machine, the method including the steps of

(a) providing a robot adjacent said article-treatment machine which is capable of conveying articles to be treated to the article-treatment machine and conveying treated articles away therefrom,

(b) providing a first conveyor which has an operative end adjacent said robot,

(c) providing a second conveyor which has an operative end adjacent said robot,

(d) providing a plurality of pallets which can be positioned to move along either of said first and second conveyors, each pallet being capable of supporting at least one article to be treated or at least one treated article,

(e) positioning one of said pallets which has no articles mounted thereon on said second conveyor at said operative end thereof,

(f) causing at least one of said pallets which supports at least one article to be treated to move along said first conveyor to its operative end,

(g) causing said robot to sequentially remove each article to be treated from the pallet at said operative end of said first conveyor and place it in said article-treatment machine and sequentially remove each treated article from said article-treatment machine and place it on said pallet at said operative end of said second conveyor, and

(h) subsequent to step (g), causing said robot to pick up said pallet at said operative end of said first conveyor and place it at said operative end of said second conveyor, the pallet at said operative end of said second conveyor being concurrently moved along said second conveyor away from its operative end.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first and second conveyors provided in steps (b) amd (c) are roller conveyors.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein in step (c) said second conveyor is positioned above said first conveyor.

5. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein in step (f) a plurality of pallets, each of which supports at least one article to be treated, are caused to move in sequence along said first conveyor towards its operative end.

6. A robot installation for conveying articles to be treated to an article-treatment machine and for conveying the treated articles away from the article-treatment machine, the robot installation including

a robot adjacent said article-treatment device, said robot being capable of conveying articles to be treated to the article-treatment machine and conveying treated articles away therefrom,

a first conveyor which has an operative end adjacent said robot and which can sequentially move pallets positioned thereof towards its operative end,

a second conveyor which has an operative end adjacent said robot and which can move pallets positioned thereon away from its operative end, and

a plurality of pallets which can be positioned on either of said first and second conveyors to be moved therealong, each of said pallets including supporting means for removably supporting at least one article to be treated or one treated article thereon and gripping means for enabling the robot to grip the pallet and move it from the operative end of the first conveyor to the operative end of the second conveyor.

7. A robot installation;

according to claim 6, wherein the gripping means of each pallet comprises a dummy fixed thereto, said dummy having the same shape as the articles to be treated.

8. A robot installation according to claim 6, including support legs, said support legs supporting each of said first and second conveyors such that said second conveyor is positioned vertically above said first conveyor.

9. A robot installation according to claim 6, wherein each of said first and second conveyors includes a locking means for fixedly positioning a pallet at the operative end thereof.