Method for gripping a sheet metal component and gripping device

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for gripping a sheet metal component (1) which has a number of spacers (2) which are manufactured by tooling in the sheet metal component (1) and each have a mushroom head (20) with an annular groove (21) extending in the circumferential direction, wherein each of the spacers (2) is gripped by means of a gripping means (30, 30a, 30b, 30c) of a gripping device (100) by one of the gripping means (30, 30a, 30b, 30c) engaging in the annular groove (21) of one of the spacers (2).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for gripping a sheet metal component. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a gripping device for gripping a sheet metal component.

[0002] In current technology, sheet metal components are typically centered and thus geometrically positioned using centering pins that engage in corresponding centering holes. The components are then mechanically fixed using a gripping device, particularly vacuum suction, mechanical, or magnetic gripping. Following this, the actual handling process of the sheet metal component begins.

[0003] Potential positional deviations during the handling process can only be partially compensated for by the diameter of the centering holes. Furthermore, the position of the centering holes used is individually dependent on the component. A comprehensive standardization of gripping technology has so far been hampered by constraints in component design during the development process.

[0004] DE 201 17 982 U1 discloses a modular body sheet metal component gripper which has several tubular parts that are connected to each other by clamping blocks and node pieces.

[0005] From DE 35 09 630 A1 a transport device for inserting and removing sheet metal to be formed into and out of a machine tool is known.

[0006] Further methods for gripping sheet metal components or gripping arrangements are known from the prior art according to DE 10 2023 204 458 A1, DE 10 2016 217 796 A1, DE 10 2013 016 820 A1, DE 10 2005 014 558 A1, DE 76 02 223 U1 and US 6 273 483 B1.

[0007] The invention aims to provide a method and a gripping device for gripping a sheet metal component, which enables a particularly secure gripping of the sheet metal component in a simple and cost-effective manner and a standardization of the gripping technique for the successive gripping of several sheet metal components.

[0008] This problem is solved by a method for gripping a sheet metal component with the features of claim 1 and by a gripping device for gripping a sheet metal component with the features of claim 4. The dependent claims relate to advantageous embodiments of the invention.

[0009] In an inventive method for gripping a sheet metal component comprising a number of spacers that are manufactured within the sheet metal component during tooling and each have a mushroom head with a circumferentially extending annular groove, it is provided that each of the spacers is gripped by means of a gripping element of a gripping device, by one of the gripping elements engaging in the annular groove of one of the spacers. The inventive method enables, in a simple and cost-effective manner, particularly secure gripping and handling of the sheet metal component and standardizes the gripping technology for the successive gripping of several sheet metal components. Advantageously, the inventive method does not require complex magnetic or vacuum technology for gripping the sheet metal component.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, it is proposed that the spacers are clamped using the gripping means.

[0011] In a particularly preferred embodiment, it is possible that the spacers are centered by means of the gripping means.

[0012] The component's spacers, due to their special design, advantageously combine two essential functions of component handling (centering and clamping the spacer) during the gripping process. Furthermore, the outer contours of the spacers allow for significantly simpler gripping device designs compared to diameter-limited, internally centered clamping solutions, which, for example, use clamping mandrels or hook clamps.

[0013] In a gripping device according to the invention for gripping a sheet metal component, which is particularly suitable for carrying out a method according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sheet metal component has a number of spacers which are manufactured by tooling in the sheet metal component and each have a mushroom head with an annular groove extending in the circumferential direction, it is provided that the gripping device has a number of gripping means corresponding to the number of spacers of the sheet metal component to be gripped, which are designed to engage in the annular groove of one of the spacers.

[0014] The gripping device according to the invention enables secure gripping and handling of the sheet metal component. Since the gripping means operate purely mechanically, cost- and energy-inefficient magnetic or vacuum technology for gripping the sheet metal component can be advantageously dispensed with. The gripping device according to the invention for gripping a component can, in particular, be part of a robot-assisted or manually operated component handling device.

[0015] In one embodiment, it is proposed that each of the gripping means comprises two clamping elements movable in a linear movement relative to each other, which are designed and shaped such that in a separated position they do not engage in the annular grooves of the spacers and in a retracted position each engage in the annular groove of one of the spacers and clamp it.

[0016] In an advantageous embodiment, the clamping elements can be designed and shaped in such a way that they center the spacers when engaging the respective annular grooves. The clamping elements can, in particular, be designed as centering jaws.

[0017] In one embodiment, each of the gripping means may have a housing with a conical inner surface, wherein the clamping elements are arranged within the housing and can be displaced by means of a pneumatic or electric actuator along an axis of symmetry of the conical inner surface such that they are moved from the extended position to the retracted position and vice versa. The clamping elements may preferably be conical in shape.

[0018] In one embodiment, it is proposed that several gripping means are arranged geometrically in a line.

[0019] In an alternative embodiment, several gripping elements can be geometrically arranged on a circle. For example, the gripping device can have three gripping elements evenly spaced around a circle. This means that adjacent gripping elements are offset from each other by 120°. Thus, three spacers can be placed on the components to be gripped within the specified 120° grid, allowing them to be gripped by the gripping elements of the device. This 120° grid advantageously standardizes the clamping and centering positions on the components to be gripped.

[0020] Preferably, each of the gripping means can be assigned an electric, hydraulic or pneumatic actuator designed to adjust the position of the gripping means assigned to the actuator.

[0021] Further features and advantages of the present invention will become clear from the following description of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying figures. Fig. 1 a longitudinal section through a spacer of a sheet metal component, which can be gripped by means of a gripping device for gripping a sheet metal component, Fig. 2a, Fig. 2b two schematic representations illustrating the basic centering concept of a gripping element of the gripping device, Fig. 3 a perspective view of a possible design variant of a gripping means of the gripping device, Fig. 4 A schematically simplified representation of a gripping device for gripping a component, which has three gripping means arranged on a circle.

[0022] With reference to Fig. Figure 1 shows a longitudinal section of a spacer 2 of a sheet metal component 1. As can be seen in this illustration, the spacer 2, which is manufactured by tooling within the sheet metal component 1, has a mushroom head 20 with a circumferentially extending annular groove 21. The sheet metal component 1 can preferably have several such spacers 2.

[0023] These spacers 2 previously served to create a defined distance between sheet metal components 1 for easier component handling. This was necessary to achieve high availability using conventional gripping techniques, such as vacuum suction or magnetic gripping. Due to drawing oil adhesion and magnetic feedback, the sheet metal components 1 usually had to be laboriously separated beforehand to ensure reliable gripping.

[0024] The following will refer to Fig. 2a and Fig. 2b the basic features of a method and a gripping device 100 for gripping a sheet metal component 1, which has at least one spacer 2, preferably several spacers 2, according to Fig. 1, will be explained in more detail.

[0025] The gripping device 100 comprises a gripping element 30, which is designed to engage in the annular groove 21 of the spacer 2 of the component 1. For this purpose, the gripping element 30 has two clamping elements 31a, 31b that are movable in a linear motion relative to each other. These clamping elements are designed and shaped such that, in a fully separated position, they do not engage in the annular groove 21 of the spacer 2, and in a fully retracted position, they engage in the annular groove 21 of the spacer 2 and clamp it. The linear movements of the clamping elements 31a, 31b are preferably driven by an external actuator, which is not explicitly shown here.

[0026] In Fig. Figure 2a shows two arrows, 200 and 201, which symbolize the directions of movement of the two clamping elements 31a and 31b during their linear movement. A further arrow, 202, illustrates the direction of movement of the sheet metal component 1 with the spacer 2 during the movement of the two clamping elements 31a and 31b and the engagement of the clamping elements 31a and 31b in the annular groove 21 of the spacer 2.

[0027] In an end position of the two clamping elements 31a, 31b, which are in Fig. As shown in Figure 2b, the component 1 with the spacer 2 between the two clamping elements 31a, 31b is not only clamped, but also advantageously centered. Preferably, the clamping elements 31a, 31b can be designed as centering jaws, which enable the clamping and centering of the spacer 2 of the sheet metal component 1.

[0028] With reference to Fig. Section 3 below describes a possible constructive design of the gripping device 30 in more detail. The gripping device 30 has a housing 32 with a conical inner surface 33, wherein the clamping elements 31a, 31b, of which the drawing perspective shows in Fig. Only one of the clamping elements is visible, located within the housing 32. The clamping elements 31a, 31b, which are conically shaped and preferably designed as centering jaws, can be moved by means of a pneumatic or electric actuator along an axis of symmetry of the conical inner surface 33 of the housing 32 such that they can be moved from the extended position to the closed position, in which the clamping elements 31a, 31b engage in the annular groove 21 of the spacer 2 of the sheet metal component 1, and vice versa. In particular, the clamping elements 31a, 31b can be applied to an outer cone of the housing 32 by a spring element. By means of an upward pulling movement, the conically shaped clamping elements 31a, 31b close and center and clamp the spacer 2 of the sheet metal component 1 by engaging in the annular groove 21.

[0029] The gripping device 100 for gripping a sheet metal component 1 can have several gripping means 30a, 30b, 30c, which operate according to the gripping principle explained in this figure description. In an embodiment not explicitly shown here, these gripping means 30a, 30b, 30c can be geometrically arranged in a line, preferably also allowing adjustment of the positions of the gripping means 30a, 30b, 30c by means of electrical, pneumatic, or hydraulic actuators.

[0030] With reference to Fig. In section 4, a further embodiment of a gripping device 100 for gripping a component 1 will be explained in more detail below. In this embodiment, the gripping device 100 has three gripping elements 30a, 30b, 30c, which operate according to the gripping principle explained in this description of the figures and are arranged evenly distributed on a circle. This means that adjacent gripping elements 30a, 30b, 30c are each arranged offset from one another by 120°. In this embodiment, the positions of the gripping elements 30a, 30b, 30c can be changed in the radial direction by means of corresponding electrical, pneumatic, or hydraulic actuators. The corresponding adjustment ranges of the gripping elements 30a, 30b, 30c were described in Fig.4 is symbolized by corresponding double arrows 300, 301, 302. Thus, three spacers 2 can be placed on each of the components 1 to be gripped within the specified 120° grid, so that they can be gripped by the gripping means 30a, 30b, 30c of the gripping device 100. This 120° grid advantageously allows for a standardization of the clamping and centering positions on the components 1 to be gripped.

[0031] The gripping device 100 for gripping a component 1 can in particular be part of a robot-assisted or manually operated component handling device.

Claims

[1] Method for gripping a sheet metal component (1) which has a number of spacers (2) which are produced by tooling in the sheet metal component (1) and each have a mushroom head (20) with an annular groove (21) extending in the circumferential direction, wherein each of the spacers (2) is gripped by means of a gripping means (30, 30a, 30b, 30c) of a gripping device (100) by one of the gripping means (30, 30a, 30b, 30c) engaging in the annular groove (21) of one of the spacers (2). [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized by , that the spacers (2) are clamped by means of the gripping means (30, 30a, 30b, 30c). [3] Method according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized by , that the spacers (2) are centered by means of the gripping means (30, 30a, 30b, 30c). [4] Gripping device (100) for gripping a sheet metal component (1), in particular for carrying out a method according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sheet metal component (1) has a number of spacers (2) which are manufactured by tooling in the sheet metal component (1) and each have a mushroom head (20) with an annular groove (21) extending in the circumferential direction, wherein the gripping device (100) has a number of gripping means (30, 30a, 30b, 30c) corresponding to the number of spacers (2) of the sheet metal component (1) to be gripped, each of which is designed to engage in the annular groove (21) of one of the spacers (2). [5] Gripping device (100) according to claim 4, characterized by, that each of the gripping means (30, 30a, 30b, 30c) comprises two clamping elements (31a, 31b) that can be moved in a linear motion relative to each other and are designed and shaped in such a way that in a fully extended position they do not engage in the annular grooves (21) of the spacers (2) and in a fully retracted position each engage in the annular groove (21) of one of the spacers (2) and clamp it. [6] Gripping device (100) according to claim 5, characterized by , that the clamping elements (31a, 31b) are designed and shaped in such a way that they center the spacers (2) when engaging in the respective ring grooves (21). [7] Gripping device (100) according to one of claims 5 or 6, characterized by, that each of the gripping means (30, 30a, 30b, 30c) has a housing (32) with a conical inner surface (33), wherein the clamping elements (31a, 31b) are arranged inside the housing (32) and can be displaced by means of a pneumatic or electric actuator along an axis of symmetry of the conical inner surface (33) such that they are moved from the extended position to the retracted position and vice versa. [8] Gripping device (100) according to one of claims 4 to 7, characterized by , that several gripping devices (30a, 30b, 30c) are arranged geometrically in a line. [9] Gripping device (100) according to one of claims 4 to 7, characterized by , that several gripping devices (30a, 30b, 30c) are arranged geometrically on a circle. [10] Gripping device (100) according to any one of claims 4 to 9, characterized by, that each of the gripping means (30a, 30b, 30c) is assigned an electrical, hydraulic or pneumatic actuator which is designed to adjust the position of the gripping means (30a, 30b, 30c) assigned to the actuator.

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