HANDLING DEVICE, REMOVAL STATION AND METHOD FOR HANDLING TUBULAR OR Elongated SHELL-SHAPED WORKPIECES

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a handling device for tubular or elongated, bowl-shaped workpieces such as pipette tips or cups, wherein it is optionally provided that these workpieces are transported or can be transported on a workpiece carrier during their production up to the packaging, wherein the workpiece carrier has receiving locations for the workpieces arranged in a grid-like manner, preferably with the proviso that defective workpieces located on the workpiece carrier can be detected, wherein a removal station can be provided or is provided with which the defective workpieces can be removed from the receiving locations of a workpiece carrier so that receiving locations become free, wherein vacated receiving locations of the workpiece carrier can be equipped with defect-free workpieces by means of the handling device.

[0002] The handling device serves the purpose of directly removing defective workpieces from a workpiece carrier and filling the resulting gaps, i.e., the vacated receiving spaces, with flawless "good workpieces." This is intended to prevent difficulties at subsequent processing stations. It is common practice to slow down or even stop the transport of the tool carrier while checking or removing defective workpieces. This is particularly problematic when the inspection or removal of the defective workpieces is relatively time-consuming.

[0003] From WO2017031589_A1, a cooling plate assembly is known, comprising (a) a cooling plate having a plate front side; (b) an air channel extending within a thickness of the cooling plate; (c) a plate bore extending from the plate front side into the cooling plate to establish a fluid connection between the air channel and a cavity of a cooling tube that can be attached to the cooling plate; and (d) a valve within the plate bore.The valve is movable between a first position in which a first air flow passage extending within the plate bore is open to direct air from the cavity to the air channel, and a second position in which the first air flow passage is blocked to reduce air flow between the cavity and the air channel, and in which a second air flow passage extending within the plate bore is open to direct air from the air channel to the air channel.

[0004] WO9747459_A1 relates to an ejector device for a removal device suitable for removing preforms, with which preforms which have been cooled down can be removed from a mold in a safe manner and, after they have cooled down, can be ejected just as safely and completely from the removal device.

[0005] WO2018036857_A1 proposes carrying out an optical inspection of preforms, which is to be carried out by means of at least one camera device in such a way that the preforms are in a relative position to one another that is unchanged compared to an injection molding process.

[0006] From WO2018072009_A1, the skilled person knows a molding system comprising an inspection device. The molding system comprises a molding machine for producing multilayer preforms having a core layer and a skin layer enveloping the core layer, a triage device configured to determine at least one preform parameter for a portion of the multilayer preforms and to select at least one preform for inspection based at least partially on the preform parameter, and an inspection device configured to receive the selected multilayer preforms and determine at least one attribute of the at least one of the plurality of multilayer preforms.

[0007] The invention is based on the object of improving a handling device for tubular or elongated, bowl-shaped workpieces with regard to the speed of handling flawless workpieces when filling vacant receiving spaces in a workpiece carrier and, if a removal station is included, also improving the speed of handling defective workpieces that must be removed from a workpiece carrier. Furthermore, the invention is based on the object of providing a correspondingly improved method for handling corresponding workpieces.

[0008] This object is achieved by a handling device according to claim 1, a removal station according to claim 11 and a method according to claim 14. Advantageous embodiments emerge from the subclaims.

[0009] According to the invention, the handling device comprises a refill magazine having magazine locations arranged next to one another, each with a holding element that can be moved up and down, which serves to hold, pick up, and release a defect-free workpiece, with the further proviso that each magazine location comprises a guide tube in which the up and down movement of the holding element takes place, wherein the holding element, together with a held workpiece, can be moved at least partially into the guide tube, and that an acceleration device is provided with which the workpiece can be accelerated out of the guide tube and moved to a receiving location on the workpiece carrier. By means of the handling device according to the invention, vacated receiving locations on the workpiece carrier can be filled with defect-free workpieces particularly quickly and reliably.Due to the particularly short loading time with defect-free workpieces and / or the particularly short removal time of defective workpieces by means of the removal station according to the invention, it is possible for the workpiece transport at the handling device and / or removal station to be only briefly interrupted or only comparatively slightly and practically not slowed down. Furthermore, this means that the workpiece can be arranged particularly accurately at its receiving location, so that it preferably immediately assumes its desired position on the workpiece carrier, and preferably also its desired spatial orientation thereon. This also means that the entire production line with an integrated manufacturing device for the workpieces, which can also comprise a testing device for checking the workpieces for freedom from defects and / or a packaging station for the workpieces, and in which continuous workpiece transport between the devices orthe stations can be operated at high production speed.

[0010] The refill magazine is advantageously movable relative to the workpiece carrier, so that each magazine location of the refill magazine can be aligned with each vacated receiving location of the workpiece carrier. In this way, each magazine location that has not yet released the defect-free workpiece can be aligned with each of the vacated receiving locations to fill the corresponding receiving location with a defect-free workpiece. This enables rapid loading of the workpiece carrier with defect-free workpieces. Furthermore, the handling device is particularly adapted to load different workpiece carriers with different grid arrangements of workpieces.

[0011] Advantageously, gaps in vacated receiving locations can be filled directly and quickly with the proposed handling device. The mobility of the refill magazine, which brings a magazine location into alignment with a vacated receiving location, is just as fast and precise as the transfer of a defect-free workpiece from the magazine location to a free receiving location of a workpiece carrier.

[0012] The handling device preferably comprises a workpiece carrier with workpieces, wherein the workpieces can be handled by means of the handling device according to the invention. However, the handling device is independently encompassed by the present invention without such a workpiece carrier. Preferably, these workpieces can be transported or are transported on a workpiece carrier during their production up to packaging, for which purpose a corresponding transport device can be the subject of the handling device, but the handling device is also the subject of the invention independently of the transport device. The workpiece carrier has receiving locations for the workpieces arranged in a grid-like manner.

[0013] Preferably, the defective workpieces located on the workpiece carrier are detectable. For this purpose, a suitable detection device can be provided, which can be provided by workpieces positioned on the workpiece carrier, which are preferably in their desired position with respect to the transport of the workpiece carrier. The detection device can be part of the handling device; preferably, the handling device is the subject of the invention independently of such a detection device. The workpieces are thus arranged on the workpiece carrier in a way that enables defect detection by means of the detection device, i.e., preferably arranged at a suitable distance from one another and in a suitable, preferably predefined spatial position relative to one another.

[0014] Preferably, a removal station is provided with which the defective workpieces can be removed from the receiving locations of a workpiece carrier so that receiving locations become free, wherein the freed receiving locations of the workpiece carrier can be equipped with defect-free workpieces by means of the handling device.

[0015] The handling device can include the aforementioned removal station or it can be designed without it, serving only to pick up flawless workpieces, namely from a suitable supply, and then fill empty receiving spaces of a workpiece carrier with them. Furthermore, the removal station itself is considered an independent invention, with which defective workpieces can be removed from the receiving spaces of a workpiece carrier.

[0016] The workpieces to be handled with the proposed handling device are, in particular, pipette tips and matching cups. Pipette tips and cups are usually used in pairs by the end user. They are used, for example, in laboratories for the examination of medical or other material samples. Workpieces of the type mentioned above are often made of plastic, for example, by injection molding. This can lead to production defects that must be monitored. Individual defective workpieces must be detected on a workpiece carrier so that they can be removed and replaced with flawless ones.

[0017] The proposed handling device is designed to virtually shoot a flawless workpiece out of the guide tube of a refill magazine. For this purpose, the guide tube acts like a gun barrel from which the workpiece is accelerated. The guide tube therefore has a cross-section adapted to the cross-section of the workpiece that can be accommodated within it and is to be accelerated out. The guide tube provides the workpiece with a sufficiently straight path of movement. For this purpose, a certain length of guidance within the guide tube is required. For this purpose, the workpiece is at least partially lifted into the guide tube. If necessary, it can be moved completely into the guide tube. The entire length of the guide tube is expediently utilized to generate the acceleration of the workpiece within the guide tube.The length of the guide tube is dimensioned such that the workpiece reaches the receiving location of the workpiece carrier with sufficient accuracy or with sufficient accuracy. This preferably mechanically decouples the workpiece from the acceleration device when the workpiece assumes its receiving location on the workpiece carrier, which enables particularly fast operation of the handling device. At the point in time at which the workpiece leaves the acceleration direction or decouples from it, the workpiece is preferably spaced apart from its receiving location on the workpiece carrier, for example, spatially or vertically.

[0018] On a workpiece carrier, workpiece locations are typically arranged in a grid, for example, in several parallel rows. The locations within a row can be spaced at a distance identical to the distance between the rows. Furthermore, the locations in adjacent rows can be arranged without offset from one another, thus forming a square grid.

[0019] If the refill magazine has at least two rows of magazine locations, the magazine locations of the refill magazine can also be arranged in a grid, and this grid ideally corresponds to the grid of the workpiece carrier. This allows the refill device to be positioned above the workpiece carrier so that the magazine locations exactly overlap with the receiving locations. This allows a workpiece to be loaded from any magazine location into the overlapped receiving location.

[0020] The acceleration device is preferably equipped with a spring pressure element or a compressed air nozzle, so that when the holding element is moved into the guide tube, a force impulse can be transmitted to the workpiece by means of the acceleration device. This improves the speed of workpiece handling, as the guide tube, essentially like a rifle barrel, guides the workpiece like a projectile when it is accelerated out of the guide tube by the force impulse. The design of the acceleration device with a pressure nozzle is particularly advantageous because it is particularly wear-free, easily adaptable to the specific requirements such as the properties of the respective workpiece, and, for example, particularly suitable for clean room conditions.

[0021] The flawless workpieces are stored in guide tubes at the individual magazine locations. A control unit allows the acceleration device for each magazine location to be operated individually. This allows workpieces to be ejected from individual magazine locations as needed. Multiple magazine locations can also be operated simultaneously, provided they overlap with empty locations on the workpiece carrier.

[0022] The control device further serves to control the aforementioned mobility of the refill magazine relative to the workpiece carrier, so that a loaded magazine location, whose guide tube is occupied by a flawless workpiece, can be aligned with an empty receiving location on the workpiece carrier. Once this alignment is established, the flawless workpiece can be ejected from the guide tube to fill the empty receiving location on the workpiece carrier. Preferably, the refill magazine can be moved so that each magazine location can be aligned with each of the receiving locations on the workpiece carrier. In this way, it is possible to empty all magazine locations of the refill magazine.

[0023] A simple solution involves a compressed air supply and a pneumatic switching valve to impart a movement impulse to the workpiece via a burst of compressed air. The switching valve increases the speed by operating quickly and precisely; preferably, a quick-acting valve can be provided. For this purpose, it is briefly opened, allowing compressed air to enter the guide tube. The compressed air expands in the guide tube, and the expanding air propels the workpiece out of the guide tube and carries it out. This enables particularly wear-free operation and is particularly suitable, for example, for clean room conditions.

[0024] It is further beneficial if each raising and lowering holding element is equipped with an additional suction nozzle, which allows the refill magazine to be reliably loaded with flawless workpieces. The suction nozzles are conveniently left switched on permanently. When a compressed air nozzle emits a pressure pulse to release a flawless workpiece, the suction nozzle remains permanently in operation. The pressure pulse must be set sufficiently strong to accelerate a flawless workpiece out of the corresponding magazine location of the refill magazine against the suction effect of the suction nozzle. This enables particularly fast and reliable operation and a low-wear design of the device, which is also particularly suitable for clean room conditions, for example.

[0025] The suction nozzles of several of the raising and lowering holding elements are conveniently connected via a common suction line, which can be described as a common rail system. This simplifies the mechanical effort and allows all magazine positions to be reloaded simultaneously with new, flawless workpieces when the refill magazine is completely empty. The flawless workpieces for this purpose come from a suitable supply, in which they are held in a grid arrangement that corresponds to the grid of the refill magazine. In this way, all magazine positions can be reloaded simultaneously and immediately, without having to move the refill magazine back and forth for reloading.

[0026] In a simple way, the compressed air nozzle and the suction nozzle are each arranged coaxially on the corresponding lifting and lowering holding element. This symmetrical design improves the precision and accurate delivery of defect-free workpieces, which in this way reliably reach the vacated locations on a workpiece carrier. The coaxial construction also allows for a very compact design and simplifies production. The compressed air nozzle is advantageously arranged centrally and the suction nozzle can be arranged coaxially to this in a ring around the pressure nozzle. A reverse arrangement with the suction nozzle arranged centrally and the pressure nozzle in a ring around the suction nozzle is also possible in principle. The former arrangement with the central compressed air nozzle is, however, less complex and is advantageous because, among other things, the cross section of the suction nozzle should be larger than the cross section of the pressure nozzle in order to generate sufficient suction flow.An intake nozzle with a larger cross-section is easier to implement in a ring shape. The first arrangement is therefore easier to implement from a mechanical engineering perspective. The larger cross-sectional area of the ring-shaped intake nozzle allows for a larger volume flow. This is expedient, among other things, because the vacuum should be as small as possible, which is approximately 500-800 mbar relative to the air pressure of the surrounding atmosphere, preferably 700 to a maximum of 800 mbar to be on the safe side. For the pressure surge of the compressed air nozzle, an overpressure of 3-10 bar compared to the air pressure of the surrounding atmosphere is provided, preferably 4-8 bar and particularly preferably 6 bar. In addition, a common suction connection can be easily implemented for all suction nozzles with just one common suction line arranged transversely to the suction nozzles, which is connected to all suction nozzles.The pressure channels, on the other hand, are all controlled individually in order to be able to deliver individual pressure pulses.

[0027] A further benefit arises when a lifting device is provided that allows at least one of the lifting and lowering holding elements to be moved up and down. This measure avoids the need to move the refill magazine as a whole. It reduces the mass that must be moved to pick up and remove a defect-free workpiece from the refill magazine.

[0028] It is particularly useful if the lifting device has a raising and lowering coupling element, with several or all of the raising and lowering holding elements being connected to the coupling element. In this way, the holding elements of all magazine positions of the refill magazine can be operated jointly, i.e., raised and lowered, with a single lifting device, so that several holding elements are integrated and can be raised and lowered using a common coupling element.

[0029] A further improvement is achieved if the lifting device provides a lifting guide for the raising and lowering coupling element, as well as a lifting cylinder to drive the raising and lowering movement of the coupling element. The drive of the raising and lowering holding elements is improved by integrating a lifting device to operate several or all of the holding elements.

[0030] A further helpful feature is a control device which can be used to switch on the shared suction line for the suction nozzles when the coupling element is in a lowered position, and which can also be used to individually actuate the compressed air nozzles. Compressed air nozzles are expediently actuated when the coupling element is in a raised position. This allows the workpiece to be moved sufficiently deep into the guide tube. The holding element thus improves the loading / unloading of the guide tubes. Each workpiece is stored in a protected manner in the guide tube. The storage position of the workpiece is either so deep in the guide tube that it can be shot out directly from the storage position, or the workpiece is moved into a suitable shooting position within the guide tube before the shot, i.e. before the power impulse from the compressed air pulse.

[0031] Each guide tube can be unloaded independently of all other guide tubes using a compressed air pulse and the workpiece can be shot out, which enables particularly flexible working methods.

[0032] The handling device is particularly efficient because it includes a removal station that operates independently of the refill magazine and is located upstream of it. When the refill magazine is used, the defective workpieces have already been removed from the workpiece carrier. The refill magazine's sole purpose is to pick up and store non-defective workpieces and place them in a targeted manner into empty locations on a workpiece carrier.

[0033] Furthermore, a removal station for the aforementioned defective workpieces, such as pipette tips or cups, is proposed. The removal station includes a lifting aid for removing the defective workpieces from the workpiece carrier and a disposal line for transporting the removed defective workpieces. A passageway for the workpiece carrier is provided between the disposal line and the lifting aid.

[0034] If a workpiece carrier can reach the passage area of the removal station, then the transport of the workpiece carrier does not have to be stopped in order to remove a defective workpiece. The lifting aid can provide a pulse that lifts the workpiece while the workpiece carrier passes through the passage area of the removal station. It is not necessary to reduce the transport speed of the workpiece carrier. However, it is of course possible to set a reduced transport speed for this passage when the workpiece carrier passes through the passage area or even to stop it in order to remove defective workpieces.

[0035] The position of a defective workpiece can be determined using a suitable detector. The detector provides the control unit with a position signal that identifies the respective receiving location of the workpiece carrier on which the detected defective workpiece is located. By evaluating this position signal, the control unit can trigger the lifting aid, which lifts the defective workpiece from the receiving location of the workpiece carrier.

[0036] The lifting aid of the removal station expediently comprises at least one compressed air nozzle, with which a defective workpiece can be lifted from the workpiece carrier's receiving space using a compressed air pulse. Furthermore, and regardless of whether the lifting aid is a compressed air nozzle, a negative pressure relative to the air pressure of the surrounding atmosphere can be generated in the disposal line. In this way, the lifted defective workpiece can be sucked into the disposal line and transported away via it. This enables particularly fast, precise, and low-wear operation. If compressed air is to be dispensed with, a mechanical ram, for example, can be provided as an alternative for lifting a defective workpiece.

[0037] A simple approach is to arrange several compressed air nozzles in a row, along with several discharge lines in a row. The compressed air nozzles are positioned opposite the discharge lines, with one compressed air nozzle aligned with each discharge line. This allows several workpieces to be removed simultaneously using the removal station. Furthermore, or alternatively, the approach movement to the individual workpiece positions on the workpiece carrier for the removal of defective workpieces is significantly simplified.

[0038] The row of compressed air nozzles and the row of disposal lines are conveniently arranged perpendicular to the direction of travel of the workpiece carrier. This allows each individual pick-up station passing through the entire width of the passageway to be specifically targeted if a defective workpiece is located there, in order to generate a lifting impulse that lifts the defective workpiece from the pick-up station. If necessary, multiple rows of compressed air nozzles and disposal lines can be provided to lift and dispose of defective workpieces in two rows.

[0039] Furthermore, the invention relates to a handling device according to the invention with a removal station described according to the invention.

[0040] Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for handling tubular or elongated bowl-shaped workpieces using a handling device according to the invention, in particular according to one of claims 1 to 10, and / or using a removal station according to the invention, in particular according to one of claims 11 or 12, for handling the workpieces.

[0041] The invention is illustrated below by way of example in a drawing and described in detail with reference to several figures. They show: Fig. 1 shows a part of the handling device according to the invention without its removal station, wherein the lifting and lowering holding elements are in the lowered state (loading position), Fig. 2 shows the handling device according to Fig. 1 with the holding elements in the upwardly moved state (storage position), Fig. 3 a sectional view of the handling device in the storage position according to Fig. 2 and above a workpiece carrier, Fig. 4 a partial enlargement according to IV in Fig. 3 , Fig. 5 a removal station, Fig. 6 a partial enlargement according to VI in Fig. 5 .

[0042] In Fig. 1 A portion of a handling device according to the invention is shown, specifically the portion intended for receiving and storing flawless workpieces. It has a refill magazine 2 with several magazine locations 3 for the individual workpieces. The proposed handling device is intended for tubular or elongated, bowl-shaped workpieces, such as a pipette tip or a cup for a pipette tip. Fig. 1 A pipette tip 4 is shown as an example.

[0043] Furthermore, in Fig. 1 A workpiece carrier T is indicated, which has 5 locations for individual pipette tips. The locations are arranged in an 8 x 8 grid.

[0044] In Fig. 1 The handling device is shown in a loading position in which a pipette tip can be gripped, as can be seen from the pipette tip 4 shown. During operation, all free magazine positions 3 are conveniently loaded with fault-free pipette tips simultaneously.

[0045] The refill magazine 2 is further provided for dispensing the faultless pipette tips, namely to complete the loading of the receiving locations 5 of the workpiece carrier T when faulty pipette tips had to be removed from their receiving locations 5. Faulty pipette tips 4 are transferred from the refill magazine 2 to the vacated receiving locations 5, thus completing the loading of the workpiece carrier T. To transfer the pipette tips from the refill magazine, an acceleration device V is provided, which accelerates the pipette tips 4 from a storage position in the refill magazine 2.

[0046] Production errors are a recurring occurrence in the manufacture of workpieces such as pipette tips, particularly when they are injection molded. For example, wear and tear can occur on the injection molding tool. An increased error rate then leads to more defective workpieces / pipette tips, which first end up on the workpiece carrier and then have to be removed again. The ongoing injection molding process cannot always be stopped immediately to repair the injection mold. Instead, production must sometimes continue, with defective workpieces subsequently removed during the further course of production and replaced with faultless ones. The workpiece carriers T are packaged during production and delivered to customers in this package. It is therefore unacceptable to leave receiving locations empty once defective workpieces have been removed.

[0047] An efficient handling device that can replace faulty workpieces on a workpiece carrier with faultless workpieces is therefore of great advantage.

[0048] In Fig. 1 Not shown is the part of the handling device with which the defective workpieces are removed from the workpiece carrier T. This part is referred to as the removal station in the context of the present invention. An embodiment of the removal station is described below with reference to Fig. 5 described.

[0049] But first, Fig. 1 the already mentioned refill magazine 2 is shown, which in the present example has two rows R1 and R2 next to each other, each with eight magazine locations 3 per row. Each magazine location 3 comprises a guide tube 6 and therein a holding element 7 which can be moved up and down and which, in the present embodiment, is designed to initially grip and hold pipette tips 4. The refill magazine 2 can be loaded with faultless pipette tips 4 in this way. An empty location 5 of a workpiece carrier T can then be restocked from this refill supply, and this process is repeated until all magazine locations 3 are empty. All magazine locations of the refill magazine 2 are then reloaded at once in order to be able to repeat the process and to fill empty locations 5 of a workpiece carrier T with faultless pipette tips 4.

[0050] The holding element 7 is guided within the guide tube 6 and serves to load the respective magazine location 3 with a flawless pipette tip 4. According to the present embodiment, the loading process only occurs when all magazine locations 3 are empty. All guide tubes 6 are simultaneously loaded with new, flawless pipette tips 4.

[0051] Special functions of the holding elements 7, which are intended to hold and dispense a pipette tip 4, are explained below with reference to the Figuren 3 and 4 explained.

[0052] First, further details are in Fig. 1 can be seen, namely a coupling element 8 that can be moved upwards and downwards. All holding elements 7 are attached to the coupling element 8 and can be moved up and down together with it. For the up and down movement, or raising and lowering movement, of the coupling element 8, a lifting device 9 is provided, which is driven by a lifting cylinder 10. It is also equipped with a lifting guide 11, which in the present embodiment has two linear axes 12 and 13 and a displaceable linear bearing 14 and 15, respectively, on each of them. The coupling element 8 is connected to the linear bearings 14 / 15 and can thus be guided upwards and downwards along the linear axes 12 / 13. A connecting element 16 is arranged on the side of the refill magazine 2, which carries the lifting cylinder 10 and to which the linear axes 12 and 13 are also attached. The lifting cylinder 10 has a piston rod 17.Due to the required stroke, the lifting cylinder has dimensions such that its piston rod 17 cannot be attached directly to the coupling element 8, but is instead fastened to a bridge 18 above the coupling element 8. The bridge 18, in turn, has a spacer bolt 19 or 20 at each end, which connects it to the coupling element 8. In . Fig. 1 The lifting cylinder 10 is shown with the piston rod 17 retracted. The coupling element 8 assumes its lowest position, which means that the free ends of the holding elements 7 are visible at the bottom of the opening of the guide tubes 6 and protrude slightly from the respective guide tube 6. This centers the pipette tips provided, and the holding element 7 can grasp a new pipette tip 4 in a centered manner.

[0053] Fig. 2 shows the same part of the handling device 1 as Fig. 1 , however, the lifting cylinder 10 is now shown in its extended state with the piston rod 17 extended. As a result, the coupling element 8 is moved upwards and assumes its highest position. The two movable linear bearings 14 and 15 have guided the movement along the respective linear axes 12 and 13 precisely upwards. At the same time, the holding elements 7 in the guide tubes 6 have moved upwards. The pipette tip 4 from Fig. 1 is completely submerged in the guide tube 6 and is no longer visible from the outside. It has reached its storage position in magazine slot 3 of the refill magazine 2.

[0054] Next is Fig. 3 the handling device 1 in the same storage position as in Fig. 2 shown as a sectional view. A row of guide tubes 6 and the retaining elements 7 located therein are visible in section. The retaining elements 7 are shown in their upwardly moved position within the respective guide tube 6, i.e., in the storage position.

[0055] Each holding element 7 essentially has three functions. One function is the aforementioned upward and downward mobility within the guide tube 6. Another function is to hold a workpiece, such as the pipette tip 4. For the purpose of holding it, in the present embodiment, each holding element 7 has a suction nozzle 19. The suction nozzles 19 of all holding elements 7 in the same row are connected to a common suction line 20 (common rail principle), which is considered a simple solution. Alternatively, suction nozzles can also be connected via individual suction lines or, when grouped together, via several suction lines. Due to the common rail principle in the present example, all magazine positions 3 in this row can be loaded simultaneously. A control device C is provided which controls the switching on and off of the suction line 20 for this purpose.

[0056] The suction nozzles 19 of the holding elements 7 are ring-shaped. They have an annular gap 21 and are arranged coaxially around a central compressed air nozzle 22, as best shown in the enlarged section according to Fig. 4 The central compressed air nozzle 22 is part of the acceleration device V, with which a workpiece stored in the magazine location 3, such as the pipette tip 4, can be ejected from the guide tube 6. The Fig. 4 The holding element 7 shown has been moved completely into the guide tube 6 with the pipette tip 4 held in place. Thus, the pipette tip 4, or rather the holding element 7, is in the storage position.

[0057] Each compressed air nozzle 22 is connected to a compressed air supply (not shown). A pneumatic switching valve 23 is arranged between the compressed air supply and the compressed air nozzle 22. By opening and closing the switching valve 23, the workpiece can be imparted a movement impulse via a burst of compressed air, which moves it out of the guide tube 6. Unlike the suction nozzles 19, the central compressed air nozzles 22 can all be controlled separately because each compressed air nozzle is assigned its own switching valve 23, which can be individually actuated independently of the switching valves of the other compressed air nozzles. The control device C is also provided for actuating the switching valves 23. If the refill magazine 2 is still full and a pipette tip 4 is to be ejected, the negative pressure is still present in the suction line 25 and the suction nozzles, and the suction nozzles 19 hold the remaining pipette tips in place using the negative pressure.For the pipette tip to be ejected, the compressed air blast released by the switching valve must therefore work against the negative pressure in the corresponding suction nozzle 19 in order to reliably expel the pipette tip. Therefore, the pressure and duration of the compressed air blast are adjusted accordingly. The compressed air supply can be a shared compressed air supply, as in the present embodiment.

[0058] Finally, show Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 an example of a removal station 25 with which defective workpieces such as pipette tips or cups can be removed from a workpiece carrier T in order to be able to refill empty receiving positions 5 of the workpiece carrier T with new, faultless workpieces / pipette tips.

[0059] The removal station 25 has a passage area 26 for a workpiece carrier T. The workpiece carrier T has a defined grid arrangement, which in principle can be arbitrary and in the present example is provided with 8 x 8 receiving positions 5 for workpieces. In Fig. 5 a cross-section of the passage area 26 is shown, in which a workpiece carrier T is located. Below the passage area 26, a lifting aid 27 is arranged, which serves to lift out defective workpieces from the workpiece carrier T. Above the passage area 26, there are several disposal lines 28, which serve to transport away lifted out defective workpieces.

[0060] The lifting aid 27 of the Fig. 5 comprises several compressed air nozzles 29 arranged in a row. Their number corresponds to the number of receiving positions 5 in a row of the workpiece carrier T shown, viewed in the illustrated sectional plane. The workpiece carrier T comprises eight consecutive rows, each with eight receiving positions per row. When the workpiece carrier T is transported through the passage area 26 of the removal station 25, each individual receiving position 5 passes one of the compressed air nozzles 29.

[0061] As best seen in the enlarged section of the Fig. 6 As can be seen, each compressed air nozzle 29 is actuated by means of the control device C and a switching valve 30. The actuation of the compressed air nozzle always occurs in good time when a defective workpiece arrives and is so close to the alignment of the compressed air nozzle 29 that a blast of compressed air can reliably lift the workpiece from its receiving location 5 and reliably into the disposal line 28 above the compressed air nozzle 29. Furthermore, the disposal process is supported by generating a negative pressure in the disposal line 28 relative to the air pressure of the surrounding atmosphere. The negative pressure can be permanently provided, or the control device C switches on the negative pressure in the disposal line 28 only when needed, when a defective workpiece arrives at the point where the disposal line 28 and the compressed air nozzle 29 are aligned. Bezugszeichenliste

[0062] 1Handling device 2Refill magazine 3Magazine location 4Pipette tip 5Holding location 6Guide tube 7Holding elements 8Coupling element 9Lifting device 10Lifting cylinder 11Lifting guide 12Linear axis 13Linear axis 14Linear bearing 15Linear bearing 16Connecting element 17Piston rod 18Bridge 19Suction nozzle 20Suction line 21Annular gap 22Compressed air nozzle 23Pneumatic switching valve 25Discharge station 26Passage area 27Lifting aid 28Disposal line 29Compressed air nozzle 30Switching valve CControl device R1Row R2Row TWorkpiece carrier VAcceleration device

Claims

1. Handing device (1) for tubular or elongate bowl-shaped workpieces, like pipette tips (4) or cups, said workpieces being preferably transported or being able to be transported on a workpiece carrier (T) during their production up to their packaging, the workpiece carrier (T) having receptacles (5) arranged in a grid relative to each other for the workpieces, preferably with the proviso that faulty workpieces located on the workpiece carrier (T) can be detected, and preferably with the proviso that a removal station (25) is provided, with which the faulty workpieces can be removed from the receptacles (5) of a workpiece carrier (T) so that receptacles (5) become available, receptacles (5) of the workpiece carrier (T) that have become available are able to be populated with flawless workpieces by means of the handling device, the handling device comprising a refill magazine (2) which has magazine slots (3) arranged adjacent to each other, each magazine slot having a holding element (7) able to be moved up and down, said holding element functioning for holding, and for receiving and dispensing a flawless workpiece in each case, with the further proviso that each magazine slot (3) comprises a guide tube (6) in which the up and down movement of the holding element (7) takes place, that the holding element (7) is guided in the guide tube (6) and can be moved partially out of the guide tube (6), and can be moved at least partially, together with a held workpiece, into the guide tube (6), and that an acceleration device (V) is provided, with which the workpiece can be accelerated out of the guide tube (6) and can be moved to a receptacle (5) of the workpiece carrier (T).

2. Handling device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the acceleration device (V) is provided in each case with a spring pressure element or a compressed air nozzle (22) so that, when the holding element (7) is moved into the guide tube (6), a force impact can be transferred to the workpiece by means of the acceleration device (V).

3. Handling device according to claim 2 with a compressed air nozzle, characterized in that a compressed air supply is provided and also a pneumatic switching valve (23) in order to provide a movement impulse to the workpiece via a burst of compressed air.

4. Handling device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that each raisable and lowerable holding element (7) is provided with an additional suction nozzle (19), with which the refill magazine (2) can be loaded with flawless workpieces.

5. Handling device according to claim 4, characterized in that the suction nozzles (19) are connected to multiple raisable and lowerable holding elements (7) via one common suction line (20).

6. Handling device according to one of claims 4 to 5, characterized in that the compressed air nozzle (22) and the suction nozzle (19) are each arranged coaxial to the raisable and lowerable holding element (7).

7. Handling device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that a lifting device (9) is provided, with which at least one of the raisable and lowerable holding elements (7) can be moved up and down.

8. Handling device according to claim 7, characterized in that the lifting device (9) has a raisable and lowerable coupling element (8), and that multiple or all of the raisable and lowerable holding elements (7) are connected to the coupling element (8).

9. Handling device according to claim 8, characterized in that the lifting device (9) provides a lifting guide (11) for the raisable and lowerable coupling element (8) and also a lift cylinder (10) for driving the raising and lowering movement of the coupling element (8).

10. Handling device according to one of claims 4 to 9, characterized in that a control device (C) is provided, via which the common suction line (20) for the suction nozzles (19) can be switched when the coupling element (8) assumes a lowered position, and that the compressed air nozzles (22) can be individually actuated by means of the control device (C).

11. Removal station (25) for faulty tubular or elongate bowl-shaped workpieces, like pipette tips (4) or cups, comprising at least one workpiece carrier (T) having receptacles, arranged in a grid relative to each other and open at the top, for the workpieces, comprising a lifting aid (27) for lifting faulty workpieces out of the workpiece carried (T), and also comprising a disposal line (28) for the removal of lifted, faulty workpieces through the disposal line, lifted workpieces arriving into the disposal line (28) by means of the lifting aid (27), and a through passage area (26) for the workpiece carrier (T) being provided between the disposal line (28) and the lifting aid (27).

12. Removal station (25) according to claim 11, characterized in that the lifting aid (27) comprises at least one compressed air nozzle (29), with which a faulty workpiece can be lifted out of the receptacle (5) of the workpiece carrier (T) by means of a burst of compressed air, that a negative pressure relative to the air pressure of the surrounding atmosphere can be generated in the disposal line (28), and that a lifted, faulty workpiece can be suctioned into the disposal line (28) and can be removed using the negative pressure.

13. Handling device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 10 having a removal station (25) according to one of claims 11 or 12.

14. Method for handling tubular or elongate bowl-shaped workpieces using a handling device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 10 and / or a removal station (25) according to one of claims 11 or 12 for handing the workpieces.