ADJUSTING SYSTEM WITH AN ADJUSTING DEVICE FOR ALIGNING WORKPIECES

Description

[0001] The invention relates to an adjustment system with an adjustment device for aligning workpieces, in particular stacks of sheet metal, relative to a pallet, with a plurality of support bars on which the workpieces can be placed, wherein the support bars are connected to a positioning frame.

[0002] Document FR 2 973 018 A1 discloses a device according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0003] Particularly for the storage and / or processing of workpieces, it is often necessary to adjust the workpieces in a precise relative position with respect to a pallet and then place them on the pallet in the specified relative position. Afterwards, they are stored on the pallet in a warehouse, e.g., a (high) rack warehouse or similar facility, or directly fed to further processing, e.g., using a machine tool. It is essential to ensure that the workpieces are not damaged or even scratched, especially due to mechanical impact.The workpieces can be individual pieces, usually relatively large and / or heavy, or groups of workpieces, whereby the handling of sheets usually delivered in stacks proves particularly difficult due to their large dimensions and high weight, and also due to the very easy mechanical damage they can sustain, such as scratches, dents, etc., if they are moved relative to each other in a stack of sheets.

[0004] Typically, workpieces delivered for storage and / or processing, including stacks of sheet metal, are initially placed on the pallet—which serves as a carrier—in a relative position that does not exactly correspond to the intended position, for example, using a forklift, crane, or other known handling equipment. This is because it is practically impossible to place the workpieces "by eye" in the exact intended position on the pallet with reasonable effort using the aforementioned handling equipment. For this reason, stop elements may be provided to mechanically align the workpiece. Due to the enormous weight of the workpiece, these stop elements are destroyed after only a few alignment cycles and must be replaced.The workpieces can also be damaged during alignment, meaning that the known stop elements do not guarantee secure workpiece alignment. Furthermore, if workpieces already placed on the pallet are moved, there is a risk of at least superficial mechanical damage due to friction. In the case of sheet metal stacks, even relative displacement of individual sheets compared to adjacent sheets can result in damage. Moreover, manual alignment of the workpieces on the pallet is generally not feasible due to their considerable weight.

[0005] To place workpieces in the precise relative position on the pallet for further use, adjustment devices are known from the prior art. These devices comprise a positioning frame with a plurality of support bars, which can be moved relative to the pallet. The workpieces can be placed on these support bars. By moving the positioning frame relative to the pallet, the workpieces placed on the support bars are brought into the precise, predetermined relative position with respect to the pallet and finally placed on it. This is achieved by moving the pallet vertically relative to the positioning frame, so that the workpieces, now in the precise position on the pallet, can be stored or further processed. The known adjustment devices include actuators that move the positioning frame with the support bars and the stack of sheet metal placed on it.Due to the necessary multi-degree-of-freedom mounting of the positioning frame, allowing it to be moved relative to the pallet in a typically horizontal plane, known adjustment devices prove to be complex and expensive in terms of design, while offering only a limited range of motion for aligning the sheet metal stack. Since the sheet metal stack often deviates to a greater or lesser extent from its precisely predetermined alignment with the pallet when placed onto the support bars of the positioning frame of the adjustment device, usually by forklift, aligning the loaded positioning frame with the pallet is often time-consuming and inefficient, which also increases the susceptibility to errors of the known adjustment devices.

[0006] The invention is therefore based on the objective of addressing the aforementioned disadvantages and further developing an adjustment device of the type mentioned at the outset in a simple and cost-effective manner so that the workpieces, including stacks of sheet metal, can be aligned more easily and quickly. It is further directed towards an adjustment system comprising such an adjustment device and at least one pallet.

[0007] According to the invention, the problem is solved by an adjustment system according to claim 1. The adjustment device of the adjustment system comprises a positioning frame with support rods, which is displaceably mounted on a support frame in a substantially horizontal plane.

[0008] The adjustment system comprises at least one pallet onto which the workpieces can be placed, the pallet having through-openings that can be reached through by the support bars of the positioning frame, the cross-section of which is larger than the cross-section of the support bars.

[0009] The invention is based on the fundamental idea that the essentially horizontally movable and floating mounting of the positioning frame on the support frame makes it possible to bring even very heavy, large-format, and easily damaged workpieces, including stacks of sheet metal, directly into the precisely desired orientation relative to the pallet, without restricting the range of motion through a complex mounting of the positioning frame with fixed degrees of freedom. The alignment of the sheet metal stack using the positioning frame, which can be moved relative to the support frame, and the support rods of the adjustment device according to the invention is therefore simpler and faster, thanks to a structurally simple, robust, and relatively inexpensive design, which also reduces the susceptibility to errors.Due to its floating mounting on the support frame, the positioning rack can be moved in any spatial direction along the approximately horizontal plane. It can be moved translationally in any direction within this horizontal plane and also rotated about any vertical axes. Because of the positioning rack's floating mounting, any relative movement of the workpieces held on its support bars is prevented. This avoids damage to the workpieces during precise alignment and allows even difficult-to-handle workpiece groups, such as stacks of sheet metal, to be adjusted quickly and without damage.

[0010] The adjustment system according to the invention makes it possible, due to the large cross-sectional openings of the pallet, which allow the support bars with their smaller cross-section to pass through during the alignment of workpieces – or more precisely: during the relative displacement of workpieces held on the support bars of the positioning frame relative to the support frame – to keep the pallet and the support frame, which is arranged in a stationary manner, stationary, while the positioning frame with its support bars passing through the openings of the pallet is moved relative to the support frame and the pallet.The space provided by the large cross-section of the pallet's through-holes, which can extend lengthwise along the pallet in a strip-like pattern or in any other arrangement, is fully available for repositioning the positioning frame relative to the pallet. Once the workpiece(s) have been adjusted in this way, they can be easily and quickly placed on the pallet by lowering the positioning frame with its support bars until the support bars are no longer engaged with the pallet's through-holes and the workpieces are in contact with the pallet.

[0011] The positioning frame can preferably be mounted on the support frame with virtually no sliding friction to compensate for the often considerable weight of the workpieces, including stacks of sheet metal, during alignment and to ensure high energy efficiency. By essentially eliminating any sliding friction forces through the frictionless mounting of the positioning frame on the support frame, very simple and quick alignment of the sheet metal stack is possible with minimal effort, further reducing the potential for errors. Furthermore, the resulting low bearing resistance also allows for manual alignment of the sheet metal stack.

[0012] According to an advantageous embodiment, the positioning frame can be provided with a plurality of ball rollers on the support frame. This allows for a particularly simple implementation of the floating bearing, which in this case has only minimal rolling friction resistance. The ball rollers can be arranged, for example, on the side of the support frame facing the positioning frame or on the side of the positioning frame facing the latter.

[0013] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the positioning frame can rest on a fluid cushion arranged between the positioning frame and the support frame. The fluid cushion can, for example, comprise a pressurized liquid such as water or the like, but also gels, or it can be a pressurized gas cushion, e.g., in the form of an air cushion. Furthermore, a floating mounting of the positioning frame on the support frame using electromagnets is also conceivable.

[0014] Alternatively or additionally to manual alignment of the positioning frame with respect to the support frame, an advantageous embodiment may provide that at least one actuator is connected to the support frame in such a way that the positioning frame can be moved relative to the support frame by means of the actuator. Such actuators allow the movements of the positioning frame relative to the support frame to be precisely controlled, and the actuator may, for example, be manually or motor-operated and, in particular, remotely controllable. Such an actuator may preferably be a linear actuator, in particular in the form of a hydraulic, pneumatic, hydropneumatic, or electric piston / cylinder unit, as is known from the prior art.

[0015] In an advantageous embodiment, at least two such actuators are provided, which have different, non-parallel directions of action, which are expediently arranged essentially perpendicular to each other in order to provide for displacements of the positioning frame in both the x and y directions in the horizontal plane.

[0016] In this context, preferably at least three, e.g. exactly three, actuators can be provided, wherein in particular two actuators have essentially parallel directions of action, while at least one further actuator has a different, non-parallel direction of action, e.g. again arranged essentially perpendicular to the first. In this way, rapid rotations of the positioning frame relative to the support frame about practically any vertical axis of rotation can also be carried out.

[0017] To enable essentially vertical movement of the positioning frame relative to a pallet, and thus a simple transfer of workpieces placed on its support bars onto the pallet, as described above, a lifting device can advantageously be provided by means of which the support frame, together with the positioning frame, can be raised and lowered relative to the pallet. The lifting device can, for example, be designed as a scissor lift table that supports the support frame, or in any other known manner.

[0018] To limit the movement of the positioning frame in relation to the support frame, at least one stop can be provided, wherein such a stop can be designed, for example, as a mechanical stop and / or, in particular, as a non-contact stop, e.g., in the form of a light barrier or other non-contact sensors, by means of which a signal can be output when the positioning frame interrupts the light barrier and exceeds a predefined position.

[0019] A further development of the invention can also provide an optical image recognition device by means of which the respective position of the positioning frame and / or its support bars and / or the placed workpiece of the sheet metal stack can be detected and by means of which information on the workpieces, for example in the form of a machine-readable code such as a QR, Data Matrix, barcode or the like, can preferably also be detected.

[0020] Furthermore, preferably at least one control unit can be provided by means of which the positioning frame can be moved automatically in relation to the support frame, particularly depending on the information captured by an image recognition device of the aforementioned type.

[0021] The positioning frame with its support bars and the support frame of the adjustment device can advantageously be associated with a support frame on which the pallet can be placed. The support frame with the pallet placed on it can be stationary, with the support frame, the positioning frame, and its support bars arranged below the pallet when the pallet has been placed on the support frame; that is, the supports of the support frame are located, in particular, at a level above the support frame and the positioning frame, which is floatingly mounted on it. In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the support frame is movable relative to the ground to provide greater freedom of movement for the adjustment device. The support frame can preferably be supported on wheels against the ground and can be guided or controlled on rails, or moved automatically, and in particular autonomously.The support frame can be connected to a wheeled carriage. Using the movable carriage, the workpiece, once placed on the adjustment device and aligned, can be moved particularly efficiently to its desired destination.

[0022] As already indicated, the adjustment system according to the invention preferably further comprises a lifting device which is designed to raise and lower the support frame together with the positioning frame relative to the support frame or a pallet placed thereon. After the workpieces have been moved into their desired position relative to the pallet by moving the positioning frame with the support bars in a horizontal plane relative to the pallet stationary on the support frame, the workpieces can then be placed onto the pallet by means of the lifting device, which lowers the positioning frame together with the floating support frame relative to the pallet until the support bars are out of engagement with the through-holes of the pallet.

[0023] Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings. These show: Fig. 1 a perspective view of an embodiment of an adjustment device with a support frame and a positioning rack mounted thereon, on whose support bars a stack of sheet metal has been placed by means of a forklift; Fig. 2 the adjustment device according to Fig. 1 in exploded view; Fig. 3 a schematic detail view of a ball roller of the support frame; Fig. 4 an exploded view of the adjustment device according to Fig. 1 bis 3 in a view from a low angle; Fig. 5 the adjusting device in the assembled state viewed from below; Fig. 6 the adjusting device with a lifting mechanism and a support frame in a side view; and Fig. 7 the adjusting device according to Fig. 6 with a pallet.

[0024] In the Fig. 1 A sheet metal stack 10, sketched as a cuboid and composed of several individual sheets, is schematically represented. This stack has been transferred by a forklift 11 to an embodiment of an adjustment device 12 of an adjustment system 41 according to the invention, in order to align the sheet metal stack 10 into a predefined relative position to a pallet 13 and place it on the pallet. The sheet metal stack 10 is first placed on support bars 14 of the adjustment device 12, the support bars 14 – here essentially extending longitudinally in a strip-like manner – passing through openings 13a of the pallet 13 from below, as can be seen in particular from the Fig. 7 This is evident. The support bars 14 are essentially rigidly attached to a [unclear] in the Fig. 1 An unrecognizable positioning frame is defined, which is movable relative to the pallet 13, so that the stack of sheet metal 10 can be aligned in the desired manner with respect to the pallet 13.

[0025] The Fig. 2 shows an exploded view of the adjustment device 12 of the Fig. 1 As already mentioned, the support rods 14 are connected to the positioning frame 15, the positioning frame 15 being floatingly mounted on a support frame 16 and being displaceable in a horizontal plane. The support frame 16 has several ball rollers 18 on its upper surface 17 facing the positioning frame 15, on which the positioning frame 15 rests for its floating and friction-free mounting, so that the positioning frame 15 – including the component placed thereon and in Fig. 2 The sheet metal stack 10, not shown again, can be displaced in the horizontal plane both translationally and rotatably about vertical axes when the sheet metal stack 10 rests with its high weight on the support bars 14 of the positioning frame 15.

[0026] In the Fig. 3 is one of the ball rollers 18 of the Fig. 2 The housing 19 is shown schematically with a partially cut-out section. Small balls 21 are arranged in a hemispherical recess 20 within the housing 19. These small balls are in direct contact with a large ball 22 centered in the recess 20. The large ball 22 is captive in the recess 20 by a cover 23 of the housing 19, with the ball 22 partially passing through a circular recess 24 of the cover 23. When the adjusting device 12 is assembled, the positioning frame 15 rests on the large balls 22 of the ball rollers 18, which are mounted in their respective housings 19 by means of the small rollers 21. This results in a sliding-friction-free, floating mounting of the positioning frame 15 on the support frame 16 by means of the ball rollers 18, which is subject to only minimal rolling friction.

[0027] In the exploded view of the Fig. 2 Furthermore, three actuators 25 in the form of linear cylinders 26, 27, 28 are visible, which are articulated to the support frame 16 by means of joints 29. The linear cylinders 26, 27, 28 are also connected to the positioning frame 15 by means of further joints 30, so that changes in the length of a respective linear cylinder 26, 27, 28 allow the positioning frame 15 to be moved relative to the support frame 16. In the present embodiment, two linear cylinders 26, 27 are arranged on opposite sides – here the transverse sides – of the support frame 16 and have parallel directions of action. The third linear cylinder 28 is arranged below the support frame 16 (see in particular the Fig. 5 ) and has a direction of action approximately perpendicular to the two other linear cylinders 26, 27, wherein the directions of action of all actuators 26, 27, 28 are in the horizontal plane which extends parallel to the pallet 13.

[0028] By means of the linear cylinders 26, 27, 28, each formed from piston / cylinder units, any translational movements of the positioning frame 15 in the horizontal plane are possible, including rotations of the positioning frame 15 about a variable vertical axis relative to the support frame 16. Thus, in the case of a common, synchronous deflection of the two parallel linear cylinders 26, 27, the positioning frame 15 is moved translationally along a first horizontal direction of movement A. If the linear cylinders 26, 27 move in opposite directions but at the same speeds, the positioning frame 15 is rotated about a vertical axis B, which extends approximately through the center of the positioning frame 15. If only one of the linear cylinders 26, 27 moves, or if both linear cylinders 26, 27 move but at different speeds, the positioning frame 15 is rotated about another vertical axis (not shown).In the event of movement of the linear cylinder 28, the positioning frame 15 is moved translationally along a second horizontal direction of movement C perpendicular to the first direction of movement A, etc. Due to the articulated connections of the linear cylinders 26, 27, 28 on the one hand with the support frame 16 and on the other hand with the positioning frame 15, the linear cylinders 26, 27, 28 can follow any relative movements of the positioning frame 15 with respect to the support frame 16. The linear cylinders 26, 27, 28 can be controlled manually and / or by means of control devices not shown.

[0029] The Fig. 4 The adjusting device 12 shows the Fig. 2 in a view from a low angle. From this view it can be seen that all linear cylinders 26, 27, 28 are each pivotally connected to a downwardly projecting pin 32 of the positioning frame 15 such that the pins 32 transmit the movements of the linear cylinders 26, 27, 28 to the positioning frame 15 and deflect it in the manner described above. Furthermore, it shows Fig. 4 Two angle elements 16a are attached to a long side surface of the rectangular support frame 16 and overlap the support frame 16. For clarity, the angle elements 16a are arranged in Fig. 2 not shown.

[0030] In the Fig. 5 The adjusting device 12 is shown in its assembled state in a bottom view, from which the connections of the linear cylinders 26, 27, 28 to the support frame 16 by means of the joints 29 and the similarly articulated connections of the linear cylinders 26, 27, 28 to the positioning frame 15 by means of the joints 30 and the pins 32 are evident. Furthermore, the arrangement of the third linear cylinder 28 below the support frame 16 is visible.

[0031] As from the Fig. 6 As can be seen, the adjusting device 12 is expediently equipped with a lifting device 33, which in the present embodiment is designed as a hydraulically actuated scissor lift table 34. The scissor lift table 34 is supported by a lower frame 35 on a base (not shown). Two crosswise extending legs 36, 37 of equal length are movably connected to the frame 35 such that the legs 36, 37 can move about a joint 38 as a common axis of rotation. In the upper region of the scissor lift table 34, the legs 36, 37 are connected to a support 39, which receives the support frame 16 of the adjusting device 12. By moving the legs 36, 37, the support 39 and consequently the adjusting device 12 with its support frame 16 and the positioning frame 15 floating thereon can be raised and lowered in the vertical direction 40. In this way, the adjusting device 12 can initially be positioned below a Fig. 6 The pallet 13 (not shown) is arranged and, by means of the lifting device 33, is raised on the one hand so that the support bars 14 of the positioning frame 15 extend upwards through the passage openings 13a of the pallet 13 (workpieces can now be placed on the support bars 14 for adjustment), and on the other hand lowered so that the support bars 14 of the positioning frame 15 are pulled downwards out of the passage openings 13a of the pallet 13 (the adjusted workpieces can now be placed on the pallet 13), as already described above with reference to the Fig. 1 This is explained.

[0032] The positioning frame 15 according to the Fig. 6 A frame-like support structure 42 is assigned, and on which a [unit] is mounted. Fig. 6 The pallet 13 (not shown) can be placed on the positioning frame 15. In this position, the positioning frame 15 with its support bars 14 is movable relative to the stationary support frame 42, and consequently also relative to the pallet 13 placed on it, as described above. The support frame 42 is connected to a carriage 43, which extends essentially in a horizontal plane and is supported on its underside by means of wheels 44 against a base (not shown). The carriage 43 allows the support frame 42—and thus also the entire adjustment device 12—to move along the base, so that workpieces, e.g., stacks of sheet metal, positioned on the adjustment device 12 can be moved to their desired destination after alignment, where they can be stored and / or further processed.

[0033] The Fig. 7 Finally, the adjustment system 41 with the adjustment device 12 is shown. Fig. 6and with a pallet 13 which has been placed on the stationary support frame 42, in particular in a fixed predetermined position and whose through-openings 13a are penetrated by the support bars 14 of the positioning frame 15, as already described in detail above.

Claims

1. Adjustment system (41) comprising an adjustment device (12) for aligning workpieces, in particular sheet metal stacks (10), relative to a pallet (13), comprising a plurality of support rods (14) on which the workpieces are placeable, wherein the support rods (14) are connected to a positioning framework (15) of the adjustment device (12), wherein the adjustment system is provided with at least one pallet (13) on which the workpieces are placeable, wherein the pallet (13) has through-openings (13a) of which the cross section is larger than the cross section of the support rods (14) and which are penetrable by the support rods (14) of the positioning framework (15), characterized in that the positioning framework (15) with the support rods (14) is mounted floatingly on a support frame (16) of the adjustment device (12) so as to be shiftable in a substantially horizontal plane.

2. Adjustment system according to claim 1, characterized in that the positioning framework (15) is mounted on the support frame (16) in a manner substantially free of sliding friction.

3. Adjustment system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the positioning framework (15) rests on a plurality of ball rollers (18) of the support frame (16).

4. Adjustment system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the positioning framework (15) rests on a fluid cushion, arranged between the positioning framework (15) and the support frame (16), of the adjustment device (12).

5. Adjustment system according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that at least one actuator (25) of the adjustment device (12) is connected to the support frame (16) in such a way that the positioning framework (15) is movable relative to the support frame (16) by means of the actuator (25).

6. Adjustment system according to claim 5, characterized in that the actuator (25) is designed as a linear actuator, in particular in the form of a piston-cylinder unit.

7. Adjustment system according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that at least two actuators (25) having different, non-parallel directions of action are provided.

8. Adjustment system according to any of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that at least three actuators (25) are provided, wherein in particular two actuators (25) have substantially mutually parallel directions of action while a further actuator has a different, non-parallel direction of action in relation thereto.

9. Adjustment system according to any of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that a lifting apparatus (33) of the adjustment device (12) is provided, by means of which the support frame (16) together with the positioning framework (15) is raisable and lowerable relative to the pallet (13).

10. Adjustment system according to any of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that at least one stop for limiting the movement of the positioning framework (15) in relation to the support frame (16) is provided.

11. Adjustment system according to any of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that an optical image recognition apparatus of the adjustment device (12) is provided, by means of which the position of the positioning framework (15) and / or its support rods (14) and / or the placed workpiece can be detected.

12. Adjustment system according to any of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that at least one control unit of the adjustment device (12) is provided, by means of which the positioning framework (15) is automatically movable in relation to the support frame (16).

13. Adjustment system according to any of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the positioning framework (15) with the support rods (14) and the support frame (16) is associated with a support framework (42) of the adjustment system (41), on which the pallet (13) is placeable.

14. Adjustment system according to claim 13, characterized in that the lifting apparatus (33) is designed to raise and lower the support frame (16) together with the positioning framework (15) relative to the support framework (42).