Placement device

Abstract

A placing device (1) for transferring eggs (3) stored in tubs (2) to a conveying device (15), comprising a feed station (4) in which at least one stack of tubs (2) containing the eggs can be transported to a transfer station (6) which has a suction head (8) that grasps the eggs (3) stored in the uppermost tub (2) and places them on the conveying device (15), and which has a gripper (9) that secures the uppermost tub (2) in its position during the removal of the eggs (3) from this tub (2) and transports it to an empty container stacking station (10) after the eggs (3) have been removed, and comprising a control unit that controls the movements of the suction head (8) and the gripper (9), characterized in that the gripper (9) and / or the suction head (8) can each be moved by means of a linear drive, which Linear drive / which linear drives are in control connection with the control unit.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a placing device for transferring eggs stored in tubs to a conveying device, comprising a feed station in which at least one stack of tubs containing eggs can be transported to a transfer station, which has a suction head that grasps the eggs stored in the uppermost tub and places them on the conveying device, and a gripper that secures the uppermost tub in its position during the removal of the eggs from it and transports it to an empty container stacking area after the eggs have been removed by means of the suction head, as well as a control unit that controls the movements of the suction head and the gripper.

[0002] US 4,293,272 A discloses a device for destacking a plurality of stacked containers filled with items moving on a conveyor. The device comprises at least two destacking arrangements for removing containers and items from the conveyor and for separately unloading the containers and items. Each destacking arrangement has a first arm that is movable up and down relative to a stationary frame and pivotable in both directions in a horizontal plane and equipped with an item gripping device. Each destacking arrangement has a second arm that is also movable up and down and equipped with a container gripping device.The first and second arms are arranged such that, during the unloading of items from the top container of a first stack by the item gripper on the first arm, the second arm moves towards another stack, and such that, during the unloading of a container, the first arm moves from the other stack towards the first stack. One of the destacker arrangements is configured to remove containers from the upper half of a stack, and the other destacker arrangement is configured to remove containers from the lower half of the same stack.

[0003] DE 10 2010 017 544 A1 discloses a device for transporting open egg cartons containing raw eggs, consisting of several stacked cartons arranged one above the other, a singulating device for the egg cartons, and a stacking device for the emptied egg cartons. The stacks, formed from several stacked egg cartons, are transported to a destacking station on platforms to provide full-surface support for the egg carton at the bottom of each stack. The egg carton at the bottom of each stack rests on support plates equipped with centering elements that engage positively from below into the egg carton at the bottom of the stack. The device is particularly suitable for singulating and subsequently emptying the egg cartons filled with raw eggs.

[0004] DE 29 38 688 A1 discloses a device for destacking a number of pallets filled with items such as eggs, tomatoes, or the like, which are fed by a conveyor. The device is equipped with a lifting table mounted on an axis that is both rotatable and movable up and down, means for gripping the items, and further means for gripping the pallets. The device is characterized in that means, such as a sliding plate, are provided for pushing a stack from the feed conveyor onto the support plate of the lifting table, and means for gripping the items or the aforementioned means for gripping the pallets are located on both sides of the lifting table.

[0005] US 5,112,181 A discloses a feeding device for transferring eggs from a stack of egg cartons to an egg-laying position on a feed conveyor of an egg processing machine. The feeding device comprises at least three units, each including lifting and holding heads for lifting all the eggs from an egg carton and transferring the eggs to the lay position, as well as releasable grippers for transporting the egg cartons. The units move in a closed path between a first operating position, where a stack of egg cartons is located, a second operating position, where the empty egg cartons are picked up, and a third operating position, where the egg-laying position is located. The units are vertically movable between an operating level and a conveyor level in each of these operating positions.In the second working position, the gripper releases the held egg cartons, while the units hold the eggs for transfer to the egg placement position.

[0006] WO 99 / 06 281 A1 discloses a product transfer device for receiving substantially spherical or ellipsoidal products, such as eggs, at a first position and for discharging them at a second position. The product transfer device comprises a number of product group receiving elements movably connected via a first mechanism to a conveying mechanism, the conveying mechanism comprising a drive gear that drives the conveying mechanism at a continuous speed.The mechanism is designed such that during the intake process, the speed and direction of movement of a product group intake element essentially corresponds to the speed and direction of movement of the products being received, and such that during discharge, the speed and direction of movement of a product group intake element essentially corresponds to the speed and direction of movement at which the products continue their paths after being discharged from the product group intake element.

[0007] The eggs produced on a poultry farm are placed on so-called egg trays. These trays are usually cardboard trays or boards without lids, into which nests are molded, each holding one egg. These trays typically have six rows of five nests each, so that each tray can hold 30 eggs. To transport the eggs in the trays to a packing station, several of these egg-filled trays, usually six, are stacked on top of each other. At the packing station, the stacked trays are moved by a conveyor from a feed station to a transfer station of a loading device. This loading device transfers the eggs stored in the trays to the conveyor system.This additional conveying device, usually designed as a roller conveyor, transports the eggs taken from the tubs to an egg sorting machine, where the eggs are sorted according to size and weight and placed into commercial packaging.

[0008] Compact, conventional placement devices are usually semi-automatic and require the assistance and handling of the humps by at least one operator. In contrast, fully automatic placement devices are usually bulky and so powerful that they are generally only practical for large-scale operations.

[0009] The task is therefore to create a placement device of the type mentioned at the beginning, which can be designed to be relatively compact, is characterized by a high degree of automation and has sufficient performance capabilities.

[0010] The solution to this problem according to the invention, in the case of the placement device of the type mentioned at the outset, consists in particular in the fact that the gripper and / or the suction head can each be moved by means of a linear drive, which linear drive(s) are in control connection with the control unit.

[0011] The placing device according to the invention has a feed station in which at least one stack of egg-holding trays is moved to a transfer station. This transfer station has a suction head that removes the eggs stored in the top tray and places them on a roller conveyor or similar conveying device. This transfer station also has a gripper or similar gripping tool that secures the top tray in its position during egg removal and transports the emptied tray to an empty tray stacking area, where the empty trays are stacked on top of each other for reuse. The placing device according to the invention also has a control unit that controls the movements of the suction head and the gripper.According to the invention, the gripper and / or the suction head can each be moved by means of a linear drive, which linear drive(s) is connected to the control unit. With the aid of the linear drives, the gripper and / or the suction head can be moved along the shortest path along at least one linear axis and preferably along two linear axes in the placement device according to the invention. Since these linear drives allow the transport of the shells or the eggs removed from the shells along the shortest path, the placement device according to the invention can be designed to be comparatively compact and space-saving.

[0012] In order to design the inventive placement device with the smallest possible footprint and to enable the inventive placement device to be built vertically, it is advantageous if the linear drive associated with the gripper and / or the suction head has at least two linear axes. To enable the linear drives to move the humps and / or the eggs removed from the humps in a vertical direction, it is expedient if, of the at least two linear axes, a first linear axis is oriented approximately horizontally and a second linear axis is oriented approximately vertically.

[0013] In a particularly simple and advantageous embodiment according to the invention, the linear drive(s) has / have at least one slide.

[0014] It is advantageous if one linear axis carries the gripper or suction head and if this linear axis is held on the slide of the other linear axis of the linear drive.

[0015] The humps typically have a rectangular shape, each regularly containing six rows of five nests. To stack multiple, and preferably six, such egg-storing humps on top of each other, the humps grouped in a stack are alternately offset from one another by 90°. In this way, the nest rows of a lower hump are, for example, oriented in the conveying direction, while the nest rows of the hump directly above are rotated by 90° and oriented transversely to the conveying direction. This alternating orientation of the humps must be resolved in the transfer area between the feed station and the discharge station. A preferred embodiment according to the invention therefore provides that the feed station has a rotary table on which the stacked humps can be placed.

[0016] It is possible for the turntable to be rotated in 90° increments.

[0017] For the same reason, another embodiment according to the invention provides that the turntable is rotatable between a first rotational position and a second rotational position rotated by 90° relative to it.

[0018] To enable the suction head at the transfer station to remove the eggs from the egg nests and feed them to the conveyor leading to the egg sorting system, a further embodiment of the invention provides that the suction head has a plurality of suction cups, each designed to pick up one egg, and that the suction cups are held in a row, offset from one another, on a spreading rod or a spreading scissor mechanism. This spreading rod or scissor mechanism is movable between a first relative position and a second relative position of the suction cups, in which the suction cups are spaced further apart compared to the first relative position. This allows the eggs to be stored in the nests of an egg nest at relatively close intervals.As soon as the suction head removes the eggs from the upper hump, the suction cups holding the eggs can be spaced apart by means of the spreading rod or the spreading shears so that the eggs can be placed at larger intervals on the conveyor leading to the egg sorting system.

[0019] It is advantageous if a double-track conveyor is positioned upstream of the transfer station in the feed direction, on which the stack of humps containing the eggs can be transported in the feed direction to the transfer station.

[0020] In order to transfer the humps transported on the conveyor of the feed station to the transfer station in the desired orientation, it is advantageous if the turntable is movable between a raised position, in which a stack of humps is arranged above the double-track conveyor, and a lowered position in which a stack of humps positioned above the turntable is stored on the double-track conveyor.

[0021] In order to be able to stack the empty egg trays on top of each other at a container stacking station, it is advantageous if the gripper in the transfer station is movable between a first position arranged below the suction head and a second position provided above the container stacking station, and if the gripper grasps an empty egg tray and transports it from the first position to the second position.

[0022] The placement device according to the invention is characterized by a high degree of automation and enables the fully automatic removal of the eggs stored in the trays and their transfer to the conveyor leading to an egg sorting system. However, it cannot be completely ruled out that a suction cup of the suction head might not properly grip the egg assigned to it, and that this egg might therefore inadvertently remain in the tray. To prevent the stacking of partially emptied trays on top of each other in the empty tray stacking area, it is advantageous that each tray transported by the gripper from the first position to the second position is pulled under a series of probe sensors. These probe sensors detect any egg remaining in the tray and send a signal to the control unit.This control unit can then remove the accidentally not completely emptied hump from the conveying path in the inventive placing device, so that no further empty hump is placed on top of this not yet completely emptied hump.

[0023] Further developments according to the invention will become apparent from the description in conjunction with the drawings and the claims. The invention is described in more detail below with reference to a preferred embodiment.

[0024] It shows: Fig. 1: A placing device for transferring eggs stored in tubs to a conveying device in a perspective view and Fig. 2: the mounting device made of Fig. 1 in a side view.

[0025] In the Fig. 1 and Fig.Figure 2 shows a loading device 1, which serves to transfer eggs 3, stored in egg cups 2, to a conveying device (not shown here). The loading device 1 has a feed station 4 with a conveyor 5, designed here as a double-track conveyor, in which at least one stack of egg cups 2 is moved to a transfer station 6.

[0026] The mounting device 1 shown here has the following components: a) the conveyor 5, to convey the humps 2, stacked in groups of six, into the enclosed machine cabin of the loading device 1. The conveyor 5 is designed here as a double-track toothed belt conveyor 5, which can have a center-to-center distance of 1900 mm and a usable width of twice 75 mm. This conveyor 5 has a center-to-center distance of 236 mm and a clear width between the frame of 155 mm with a roller diameter T 10 Z 18 (~ 60 mm) and an outer frame width of approximately 311 mm. The conveyor 5 has a right-hand pull end drive, which includes a winding protection contact WSK for FUU operation. The conveyor 5 achieves a speed of 8 m / min (= 500 mm in 4 sec). The conveyor 5 has two toothed belts 75 T 10 serving as belts with eight egg carton positions, of which four positions are usable, in a grid of 300 mm x 200 mm.Between each of the egg carton positions on conveyor 5, which serve to support the egg carton prongs 2, a clearance is provided. Conveyor 5 has lateral guides on both sides made of stainless steel strips, which are 10 mm high and have a pitch of 155 mm, to guide the egg carton prongs 2, which are preferably designed as egg cartons. Conveyor 5 has a length of 1960 mm, with the lateral guides adjustable between the infeed station 4 and the transfer station 6 by a width of 300 ± 20 mm. Adjustment is made manually using push rods 462 mm long. Conveyor 5 is supported by a stainless steel support, which has leveling feet on the deflection side and is hinged on the inside, with the height of conveyor 5 being 780 ± 50 mm. Conveyor 5 can carry a transport weight of at least 60 kg on its conveyor belt. b) The placing device 1 has a rotary table 7, which here is designed as a rotatable lifting platform that can be raised and viewed by means of a Z-linear axis 16 in order to lift the stacks of humps from the conveyor 5 and to rotate them at every second hump. c) A vacuum-operated suction head 8 with six suction tubes, each with five suction cups, is provided to suction the 30 eggs located on each hump 2 above the one above it. The distances between the suction tubes and their suction cups can be varied by means of a spreading scissor or a spreading rod, with a cylinder provided for moving the spreading rod or the spreading scissor. d) A vertical Z-linear axis 14 is provided to lift the suction head 8 with the suctioned eggs 3. e) Furthermore, a horizontal X-linear axis 13 is provided to move the Z-linear axis 14 with the suction head 8 and the eggs 3 over the rollers of a conveyor device 15 designed as a roller conveyor. f) The placement device 1 has a gripper 9 to secure the hump 2 in its position, which is being emptied by means of the suction head 8. g) To lift the gripper 9 and the emptied hump 2 grasped by it, a vertical Z-linear axis 12 is provided. h) To move the gripper 9 with the empty hump 2 from the transfer station to an empty container stacking station 10, a horizontal Y-linear axis 11 is provided. i) The humps 2 grasped by the gripper 9 are passed under a rod-shaped antenna to determine whether the hump 2 in question is indeed empty and no egg remains in it. j) A cylinder 17 is provided to transport a stack of empty humps 2 from the empty container stacking station 10 out of the enclosed machine cabin.

[0027] The mounting device 1 shown here has the following functionality: On the double-track conveyor 5, several stacks of egg trays 2 filled with eggs 3 can be placed at preferably uniform intervals. The conveyor 5 of the feed station 4 transports these stacks of egg trays 2 in the conveying direction to the transfer station 6, which has the suction head 8 that picks up the eggs 3 stored in the uppermost tray 2 and places them on the conveying device 15 (only partially shown), which transports the eggs 3 removed from the tray 2, for example, via a feed table (not shown), to an egg sorting system.

[0028] The transfer station 6 has the gripper 9, which secures the upper hump 2 in its position during the removal of the eggs 3 from the upper hump 2, in order to then transport the emptied hump 2 to the empty container stacking place 10.

[0029] The movements of the suction head 8 and the gripper 9 are controlled by a control unit of the placement device 1 (not shown here). To move the gripper 9 and / or the suction head 8, each is moved by means of a linear drive, which is connected to the control unit. Thanks to these linear drives, the placement device 1 can be designed to be relatively compact despite its high degree of automation.

[0030] Each suction head 8 and gripper 9 are each assigned a two-axis linear drive. The suction head 8, which has six suction tubes, each with five suction cups to pick up 30 eggs from the uppermost hump 2, is assigned a vertically oriented first linear axis 14, which lifts the suction head 8 with the picked-up eggs 3, and a horizontally oriented second linear axis 13, which transports the first linear axis 14, together with the suction head 8 carrying the eggs, via the conveyor 15 of the feed table, which is designed, for example, as a roller conveyor.

[0031] The linear drive associated with gripper 9 has a first linear axis 12 oriented in a vertical direction to secure the hump 2 in its position during emptying by means of the suction head 8, and to subsequently transport the emptied hump 2 to the empty container stacking station 10. Furthermore, the linear drive of gripper 9 has a second linear axis 11 oriented in a horizontal direction to move the first linear axis 12, together with the gripper 9 and the empty hump 2, to the empty container stacking station 10. Each emptied hump 2 is pulled under rod-shaped sensors that detect if an egg 3 remains in the hump 2 and then send a signal to the control unit of the placement device 1 so that it can remove the hump 2 still carrying an egg 3 from the placement device 1, so that no further empty hump 2 is placed on the not yet completely emptied hump 2.

[0032] The stacks of six egg cups 2 are manually placed outside the machine cab onto the conveyor 5 of the feed station 4 so that the row of six eggs on the top egg cup 2 points towards the conveying mechanism of the feed table. The egg cup stacks are moved on the conveyor 5 under the suction head 8 of the transfer station 6. There, the rotary table 7, approaching from below, lifts the egg cup stack, while the suction head 8, approaching from above, picks up the 30 eggs contained in the egg cup 2.

[0033] The linear drive of the suction head 8 then moves the suction head 8 and the eggs 3 over the rollers of the conveyor device 15 of the feed table, which is designed as a roller conveyor. The spreading shear or spreading rod spreads the suction tubes and their suction cups apart so that the spacing of the rollers provided on the conveyor device is achieved and the eggs 3 taken from the upper hopper 2 can be deposited.

[0034] While the eggs 3 are being suctioned from the upper hump 2, the gripper 9 initially holds the hump 2 and secures it in position. After the eggs 3 have been removed, the emptied hump 2 is transported away and placed on the empty container stacking station 10. During this transport movement, the empty hump 2 is passed under a series of probe sensors to verify that it is indeed empty and that no eggs 3 remain in the hump 2. If, however, an egg 3 is still present, the not completely emptied hump 2 is nevertheless placed on the empty container stacking station 10, but is then immediately removed from the loading device 1 to prevent another empty hump 2 from being placed on top of it.

[0035] The turntable 7, designed as a lifting platform, then rises again, rotating the stack of bumpers on the turntable 7 by 90° so that the row of six bumpers 2, now on top, points again towards the conveyor following the loading device 1. Once the stack of six bumpers 2 has been processed, the conveyor 5 moves the next stack of bumpers under the suction head 8.

[0036] As soon as the empty container stacking station 10 is full, the stack of empty containers 2 is pulled out of the machine cabin of the loading device 1 by a cylinder 17 with a pulling device, so that the stack of containers can be picked up manually. Loading devices currently available on the market that require a comparable amount of space typically operate only semi-automatically. This requires manual placement of each individual container 2, as well as manual stacking of each empty container 2. This ties up a full-time worker. In contrast, loading devices available on the market with a comparable degree of automation require significantly more space and a significantly higher hourly output, and are correspondingly more expensive. For smaller businesses, these fully automated conventional systems are oversized; however, these fully automated large systems only require a maximum of half a worker.

[0037] The placement device 1 shown here is characterized by a high degree of automation compared to conventional placement devices, whereby the placement device 1 shown here requires only a comparatively small footprint and can be designed compactly. Reference symbol list 1 Placement device 2 humps 3 eggs 4 feed station 5 sponsors 6 Transfer station 7 turntables 8 suction head 9 grippers 10 Empty container stacking area 11 horizontal Y-linear axis of the linear drive assigned to the gripper 9 12 vertical Z-linear axis of the linear drive assigned to the gripper 9 13 horizontal X-linear axis of the linear drive assigned to the suction head 8 14 vertical Z-linear axis of the linear drive assigned to the suction head 8 15 Conveyor device of a feed table (not shown) leading to an egg sorting system 16 vertical Z-linear axis of the rotary table designed as a lifting platform 7 17 cylinders for transporting the empty containers 2 from the empty container stacking station 10 from the enclosed machine cabin

Claims

[1] A placing device (1) for transferring eggs (3) stored in tubs (2) to a conveying device (15), comprising a feed station (4) in which at least one stack of tubs (2) containing the eggs can be transported to a transfer station (6) which has a suction head (8) which grasps the eggs (3) stored in the upper tub (2) and places them on the conveying device (15), and which has a gripper (9) which secures the upper tub (2) in its position during the removal of the eggs (3) from this tub (2) and transports it to an empty container stacking station (10) after the removal of the eggs (3) by means of the suction head (8), and with a control unit which controls the movements of the suction head (8) and the gripper (9), characterized by , that the gripper (9) and / or the suction head (8) can each be moved by means of a linear drive, which linear drive(s) are in control connection with the control unit. [2] Placement device according to claim 1, characterized by , that the linear drive associated with the gripper (9) and / or the suction head (8) has at least two linear axes (11, 12; 13, 14). [3] Placement device according to claim 2, characterized by , that of the at least two linear axes a first linear axis (11; 13) is oriented in an approximately horizontal direction and a second linear axis (12; 14) is oriented in an approximately vertical direction. [4] Placement device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by that the linear drive(s) has / have at least one slide. [5] Placement device according to claim 4, characterized by , that one linear axis carries the gripper (9) or the suction head (8) and that this linear axis is held on the slide of the other linear axis. [6] Placement device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by, that the feed station (4) has a turntable (7) on which the stacked humps (2) can be placed. [7] Placement device according to claim 6, characterized by , that the turntable (7) can be rotated stepwise by 90° increments. [8] Placement device according to claim 6, characterized by , that the turntable (7) can be rotated between a first rotational position and a second rotational position rotated by 90° relative to it. [9] Placement device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by, that the suction head (8) has a plurality of suction cups, each intended for suctioning an egg (3), and that the suction cups are held spaced apart from one another in a row on a spreading rod or a spreading scissor, which spreading rod or spreading scissor is movable between a first relative position and a second relative position of the suction cups, in which the suction cups are spaced further apart from each other compared to the first relative position. [10] Placement device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized by , that a double-track conveyor (5) is positioned upstream of the transfer station (6) in the feed direction, on which the stack of the humps (2) storing the eggs (3) can be transported in the feed direction to the transfer station (6). [11] Placement device according to claim 10, characterized by, that the turntable (7) is movable between a raised position in which a stack of humps (2) is arranged above the double-track conveyor (5) and a lowered position in which a stack of humps (2) positioned above the turntable (7) is supported on the double-track conveyor (5). [12] Placement device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized by , that the gripper (9) is movable between a first position arranged below the suction head (8) and a second position provided above the empty container stacking place (10), and that the gripper (9) grasps an empty hump (2) and transports it from the first position to the second position. [13] Placement device according to claim 12, characterized by, that each hump (2) transported by the gripper (9) from the first position to the second position is pulled under a series of rod-shaped antennae, which rod-shaped antennae detect an egg remaining in the hump (2) and send a signal to the control unit.

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