Loading and unloading apparatus for sheet material and method thereof and pallet used for the apparatus

• US 5,941,673 A
• Filed: 02/20/1998
• Issued: 08/24/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Amada Metrecs Co. Ltd. (Amada Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Amada Metrecs Co. Ltd. (Amada Company Limited)
• Inventors: Takahashi, Toshiro, Hayakawa, Minoru
• Primary Examiner(s): Terrell, William E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BOWER, KENNETH W
• Application Number:
  US09/027,181
• Time in Patent Office: 550 Days
• Field of Search: 414/416, 414/225, 271/157, 271/158
• US Class Current: 414/416.07
• CPC Class Codes: B21D 43/20 Storage arrangements; Piling or unpiling in general B65G, B65H
• CPC Class Codes: B23Q 7/103 for flat material

Abstract

A sheet material loading and unloading apparatus comprises: a frame having a lower frame and an upper frame attached to the lower frame in such a manner as to freely move to a vertical direction; a vertically movable lifter disposed within the frame; a truck going in and out over the lifter; a plurality of pallets supporting a material or a processed product; a plurality of escapable loading positioning members being disposed in the upper frame; a plurality of escapable material supporting members being disposed in the upper frame; and a carriage being disposed within the frame.

Claims

1. A sheet material loading and unloading apparatus comprising:

a frame having a lower frame and an upper frame attached to the lower frame in such a manner as to freely move to a vertical direction, the frame being to be located in one side of a sheet material processing device;

a vertically movable lifter disposed within the frame;

a truck going in and out over the lifter;

a plurality of pallets supporting a material to be processed in the sheet material processing device or a processed product having been processed which are vertically moved by the lifter, the pallets being disposed on the truck;

a plurality of escapable loading positioning members being disposed in the upper frame, the loading positioning member separating and supporting a pallet disposed at a desired position among a plurality of the piled pallets by the lifter;

a plurality of escapable material supporting members being disposed in the upper frame, the material supporting member separating and supporting a pallet disposed immediately above the pallet at the desired position by the lifter; and

a carriage being disposed within the frame, the carriage having a plurality of clamps gripping the material or the processed product mounted on the pallet supported by the loading positioning member, the clamps freely moving in a direction close to or apart from the sheet material processing device.

2. The sheet material loading and unloading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the frame is disposed near a forward movement end of a movable table provided in the sheet material processing device;

and

the movable table supports the sheet material and freely moves to forward and rearward directions.

3. The sheet material loading and unloading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a pin portion having a pallet supporting portion for supporting the pallet, the pin portion being disposed in a front end of the material supporting member and the loading positioning member,

wherein the pin portion is constituted to be moved in forward and rearward directions by a hydraulic cylinder.

4. The sheet material loading and unloading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the carriage is provided with a plurality of sensors for sensing an end surface of the sheet material;

and

the sensors are disposed in the carriage in such a manner as to be adjacent to a plurality of clamps disposed in the carriage.

5. The sheet material loading and unloading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a cover surrounding the upper frame disposed in the frame in such a manner as to freely move to a vertical direction.

6. The sheet material loading and unloading apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

when the upper frame is not operated an upper surface of the cover is positioned below a pass line where the material or the processed product passes.

7. A sheet material loading and unloading method, in a sheet material loading and unloading apparatus comprising a frame having a lower frame and an upper frame attached to the lower frame in such a manner that the upper frame freely moves to a vertical direction, the frame is located in one side of a sheet material processing device, comprising the steps of:

providing a vertically movable lifter within the frame;

providing a truck going in and out over the lifter;

mounting and piling a plurality of pallets which support the material on the truck;

providing a plurality of escapable loading positioning members on the upper frame, the loading positioning members supporting a pallet disposed at a desired position by a vertical motion of the lifter among a plurality of piled pallets;

providing a plurality of escapable material supporting members supporting a pallet disposed immediately above the pallet at the desired position in the upper frame;

providing a plurality of clamps gripping the material to be processed in the sheet material processing device or the processed product which are mounted on the pallet supported by the loading positioning member, the clamps freely moving to a direction close to or apart from the sheet material processing device;

ascending the upper frame by the lifter and descending the lifter after fixing at a predetermined operating height at a time of loading the material mounted on the pallet to the sheet material processing device;

taking the truck supporting a plurality of pallets mounting the material within the frame;

ascending the pallet by the lifter, stopping the ascent of the lifter and supporting the pallet by the material supporting member when the pallet immediately above the pallet disposed at the lowermost step is moved at a position of the material supporting member;

supporting the lowermost pallet by the loading positioning member and gripping the material mounted on the lowermost pallet by the clamp disposed in a carriage so as to load to the sheet material processing device;

gripping the product by the clamp disposed in the carriage so as to unload at a time of unloading the processed product from the processing device side;

receiving the product within an empty pallet disposed at the lowermost step on the lifter; and

successively loading and unloading a plurality of sheet materials in the same manner.