Trolley for storing and transporting electronic material

Abstract

The invention is a storage trolley (1) for storing and transporting electronic material (E), preferably electronic material stored in reels (B), of the type comprising: - a load-bearing structure (2); - at least one tray (3) supported by said load-bearing structure (2) and configured to accommodate the electronic material (E), wherein this tray (3) has a storage surface (31) in which a plurality of seats (32) is defined, each configured to removably accommodate a partition (4), in such a way that it is possible to divide the storage space of said tray (3) into several separate storage housings (5); - said partitions (4). In the storage trolley (1), each of the seats (32) includes a first presence sensor (6) configured to generate a first signal (81) related to the detection of the presence or absence of one of the partitions (4) in the seat (32). The storage trolley (1) also comprises electronic control means (7) configured to define the extent of each of the storage housings (5) in real time, based on the first signals (S1).

Description

[0001] TROLLEY FOR STORING AND TRANSPORTING ELECTRONIC MATERIAL. DESCRIPTION

[0002] The invention concerns a trolley for storing and transporting electronic material, preferably electronic material stored in reels, used for the assembly of printed circuit boards, often referred to by the acronym PCB.

[0003] The invention also concerns the method for setting up said storage trolley that is the subject of the invention, the method for storing electronic material in said storage trolley and the method for picking electronic material from the same storage trolley.

[0004] It is known that in printed circuit board assembly operations, which are carried out according to Surface-mount Technology, known in the art as SMT, the electronic components, referred to as SMDs (Surface-mount Devices), are directly picked from automatic storage systems by means of special devices. In turn, the reels of electronic material are moved by said devices to storage trolleys equipped with appropriate partitions intended to separate the reels from each other and keep them upright. Said storage trolleys can be moved to carry the electronic material close to the operator in charge with the assembly of the board, who can thus pick the components needed from the storage trolley.

[0005] The reels, usually containing only one type of SMD component each, can have different diameters and thicknesses, depending mainly on the type of component present on the reel itself. Therefore, it is required that the trays of the storage trolleys be capable of accommodating reels of different formats.

[0006] For this reason, storage trolleys are currently known which are equipped with a load-bearing structure and at least one tray supported by said load-bearing structure and having, along its longitudinal extension axis, a storage surface in which a plurality of seats is defined, each configured to removably accommodate a partition in such a way as to dynamically define several storage housings with different dimensions, according to the needs.

[0007] It is also known that, in order to optimize the tracking of the use of the various electronic material stored in the above-mentioned trolleys of the known art, the electronic control means that manage the picking and placing of the above- mentioned electronic material must be configured so that they know the exact composition and dimensions of the storage housings of the various trays, know in real time which housings are free and which are occupied by electronic material, and also know the type of electronic material present in the occupied storage housings.

[0008] In the storage trolleys of the known art said information is supplied to the electronic control means by a human operator, who disadvantageously needs to perform a series of manual operations which, if not correctly carried out, could lead to errors in the handling of the material itself, which in turn could lead to the incorrect composition of the electronic board.

[0009] In particular, to disadvantage, the operation of preparing the storage housings of a storage trolley of the known art, in addition to including the positioning of said partitions in the appropriate seats defined in the tray in order to define the plurality of storage housings with the appropriate extension, also includes the manual input of the information relating to the actual composition of such tray into the electronic control means, which is done by an operator.

[0010] To disadvantage, this considerably increases the time required for said preparation step and also the risk of human errors in the setting up of the storage trolley.

[0011] Again to disadvantage, the step of storing the electronic material in said trolleys requires the operator to enter into the electronic control means the type of electronic material to be stored, to choose the most appropriate storage housing, in which to place said electronic material, from among all the storage housings previously defined in the tray, and finally to enter into the electronic control means the information regarding the storage housing where the material was actually stored.

[0012] Therefore, disadvantageously, also in this case said procedure entails a non- negligible set-up time and a higher risk of error when performing this operation. The present invention intends to overcome all the above-mentioned drawbacks. In particular, one of the objects of the invention is to provide a trolley for storing and transporting electronic material that is capable of simplifying the set up operations of the trolley itself and the storage and retrieval operations of said electronic material.

[0013] In particular, it is the object of the invention to provide a storage trolley that makes it possible to reduce the time required to set up the trolley itself and the time required to store and retrieve electronic material in and from said trolley.

[0014] It is also the object of the invention to provide a storage trolley that makes it possible to reduce the risk of human errors during the setting up of the trolley and during the placing and picking of electronic material into and from said trolley.

[0015] The objects listed above are achieved by the trolley for storing and transporting electronic material that is the subject of the invention and is carried out according to the main claim, to which reference will be made.

[0016] Further characteristics of the storage trolley according to the invention are described in the dependent claims.

[0017] Said objects are also achieved by the method for setting up the storage trolley of the invention according to claim 12, by the method for storing electronic material in the storage trolley of the invention according to claim 13 and by the method for picking electronic material from the storage trolley of the invention according to claim 14.

[0018] The objects and the advantages mentioned above, together with others that will be mentioned below, are highlighted in the description of the storage trolley that is the subject of the invention, which is provided by way of non-limiting example with reference to the attached drawings, wherein:

[0019] - Figure 1 shows an axonometric view of the storage and transport trolley according to the preferred embodiment of the invention;

[0020] - Figure 2 shows a front view of the storage and transport trolley shown in Figure 1 ;

[0021] - Figure 3 shows a detailed view of a plurality of storage housings defined on a tray belonging to the storage and transport trolley of the invention;

[0022] - Figure 4 shows a detailed view of a tray of the storage and transport trolley of the invention;

[0023] - Figures 5 and 5a respectively show top views of the tray and of a detail of the tray, in which the first and the second presence sensors are visible;

[0024] - Figures 6, 6a and 6b show details of the seats housing the partitions in a tray of the storage and transport trolley of the invention;

[0025] - Figure 7 shows a top view of a tray of the storage and transport trolley of the invention to which some partitions are applied;

[0026] - Figure 8 shows the cross section of the tray of Figure 7 according to section line A-A;

[0027] - Figures 9 and 9a show an electronic control board with which the tray shown in Figure 4 is equipped;

[0028] - Figure 10 shows a partition of the storage trolley of the invention;

[0029] - Figure 11 shows a reel on which the electronic material to be stored in the storage trolley of the invention is placed;

[0030] - Figure 11 a shows a detail of the electronic material placed on the reel;

[0031] - Figure 12 shows the flowchart of the method for setting up the storage trolley of the invention;

[0032] - Figure 13 shows the flowchart of the method for storing electronic material in the storage trolley of the invention;

[0033] - Figure 14 shows the flowchart of the method for picking electronic material from the storage trolley of the invention.

[0034] The trolley for storing and transporting electronic material E, preferably electronic material E stored in reels B, which is the subject of the invention, is shown as a whole in Figures 1 and 2, where it is indicated by the reference numeral 1.

[0035] It is not excluded, however, that said storage trolley 1 may be used for the storage and transport of materials and objects other than the electronic material E.

[0036] According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, said storage trolley 1 comprises a load-bearing structure 2 and a plurality of trays 3.

[0037] Still preferably, in the embodiment shown in Figure 1 the storage trolley 1 comprises nine trays 3.

[0038] It is not excluded that, according to a different embodiment of the invention, the trolley may comprise a single tray 3.

[0039] In any case, each of said trays 3 is supported by said load-bearing structure 2 and is configured to accommodate the electronic material E. In particular, each of said trays 3, shown in Figures from 3 to 9, has, along its longitudinal extension axis X, a storage surface 31 in which a plurality of seats 32 is defined, each configured to removably accommodate a partition 4, separately shown in Figure 10, in such a way that it is possible to divide the storage space of the tray 3 itself into several separate storage housings 5, each of which is defined between two adjacent partitions 4.

[0040] Clearly, the storage trolley 1 of the invention also comprises said partitions 4.

[0041] According to the invention, each of the seats 32 comprises a first presence sensor 6, configured to generate a first signal S1 related to the detection of the presence or absence of one of the partitions 4 in the same seat 32. Said first presence sensors 6 are shown in Figure 6 and in Figure 9.

[0042] Furthermore, again according to the invention, the storage trolley 1 comprises electronic control means 7, preferably a PC, configured to receive said first signal S1 generated by each of the first presence sensors 6 located in each of the seats 32, and to define in real time, based on the first signals S1 , the extent of each of the storage housings 5 defined through the insertion of said partitions 4 in said seats 32.

[0043] Said characteristics advantageously allow the electronic control means 7 to know the actual configuration of the storage housings defined on the various trays 3, with no need for the operator, who has positioned said partitions 4, to manually enter the information related to said configuration into the electronic control means 7 themselves.

[0044] Said information, as described in detail below, makes it possible to simplify and automate as much as possible the process of storing the electronic material E in the storage trolley 1 of the invention.

[0045] According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, each of the seats 32 is defined on the tray 3 in such a way as to accommodate one of the partitions 4 in a position at right angles to the storage surface 31 of said tray 3 and to the longitudinal extension axis X of the same tray 3.

[0046] In addition, the seats 32 are distributed along the longitudinal axis X in such a way that they are equidistant from each other.

[0047] It is not excluded that, according to variant embodiments of the invention, the seats 32 may be defined on the storage surface 31 at different distances from each other.

[0048] Furthermore, according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the storage trolley 1 comprises a system 8 of the “Pick to Light” type, comprising a luminous element 81 arranged on each tray 3 in such a way that it can be seen by the user, at the space defined between each pair of said seats 32.

[0049] As is known, said “Pick to Light” type systems 8 indicate, through a visual signal, the storage housing 5 from which the electronic material E must be picked or in which the same electronic material E must be stored.

[0050] In fact, the electronic control means 7 of the invention are configured to switch on one or more luminous elements 81 at one or more of the storage housings 5 from which the electronic material E to be used must be picked.

[0051] Even more precisely, according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the electronic control means 7 are configured in such a way that, if it is necessary to pick the electronic material E from a specific storage housing 5, they switch on all the luminous elements 81 associated with said storage housing 5, according to the real-time definition of the extent of said storage housing 5, performed by the same electronic control means 7 in the manner described above.

[0052] Additionally, according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, a further characteristic of the storage trolley 1 lies in that the tray 3 comprises second presence sensors 9, each of which is configured to generate a second signal S2 related to the detection of the presence or absence of electronic material E in each of the storage housings 5. Even said second presence sensors 9 are shown in Figure 6 and Figure 9.

[0053] In this case, the electronic control means 7 are also configured to determine, based on said second signals S2 generated by the second presence sensors 9, which of said storage housings 5 are defined as occupied by electronic material E and which of said storage housings 5 are defined as free, meaning without electronic material E.

[0054] Advantageously, this characteristic makes it possible to keep the condition of the various storage housings 5 automatically monitored, with no need to have an operator provide the electronic control means 7 with said information manually.

[0055] Incidentally, it is important to point out that said solution comprising said second presence sensors 9, each of which is configured to generate a second signal S2 related to the detection of the presence or absence of electronic material E in each of the storage housings 5, may be the subject of a specific separate claim, with no need for the storage trolley 1 of the invention to comprise said first presence sensors 6. In fact, the latter solution, as mentioned above, alone allows the condition of the various storage housings to be automatically monitored, with no need to have an operator provide the electronic control means 7 with said information manually, and with no need to automatically monitor the configuration of the storage housings 5.

[0056] According, again, to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the electronic control means 7 are configured in such a way that, if it is necessary to store the electronic material E in one of the storage housings 5, they switch on the luminous elements 81 associated with one of the storage housings 5 which is defined as free, based on the second signals S2 generated by the second presence sensors 9, and whose extent is deemed appropriate for the dimensions of the electronic material E to be stored, based on the first signals S1 generated by the first presence sensors 6.

[0057] Regarding, in particular, the second presence sensors 9, according to the preferred embodiment of the invention each of them is positioned at the portion of the storage surface 31 of the tray 3 interposed between two adjacent seats 32

[0058] Even more preferably, each of said second presence sensor 9 is a sensor of the time-of-flight type 91, configured to generate a second signal S2 which both detects the presence of electronic material in one of the storage housings 5 and determines the distance of the electronic material E from the same time-of-flight sensor 91.

[0059] In fact, in the case of electronic material E stored in reels B as shown in Figures 11 and 11a, this additional characteristic advantageously makes it possible to measure the distance between the storage surface 31 of the tray 3, in which the second presence sensor 9 is located, and the external surface of the tape wound on the reel B, on which the electronic material E is located, thus allowing the actual diameter of said tape to be determined. Once the diameter of the tape wound on the reel B has been determined, and the type of electronic material E located on said tape being known, it is possible to automatically estimate the amount of electronic material E present on said reel B.

[0060] A further aspect of the storage trolley 1 of the invention lies in that the load- bearing structure 2 is provided with moving means 10, in particular castor wheels 11 , to allow the storage trolley 1 to be moved.

[0061] This advantageously makes it possible to comfortably move the storage trolley 1 to the position that is most suited to facilitate the retrieval of the electronic material E by the operator, who has the task of assembling the electronic boards. As mentioned above, the invention also includes the method for setting up a storage trolley 1 according to the invention, used for storing and transporting electronic material E, preferably electronic material E stored in reels B. The flowchart of said configuration method is shown in Figure 12.

[0062] In particular, said method includes the following operations: a) insertion of the partitions 4 into one or more of the seats 32 defined in the tray 3, performed by an operator according to the storage needs; b) detection of the first signals S1 generated by the first presence sensors 6, performed by the electronic control means 7; c) definition of the extent of each of the storage housings 5, performed by the electronic control means 7 in real time and based on said first signals S1.

[0063] The invention also concerns the method for storing electronic material E in a storage trolley 1 according to the invention.

[0064] The flowchart of said storage method is shown in Figure 13.

[0065] In particular, said method includes the following operations: d) entry of information, into said electronic control means 7, on the type and dimensional characteristics of the electronic material E to be stored, performed by an operator; e) selection, by said electronic control means 7, of one of the storage housings 5 which is defined as free, based on said second signals S2 generated by the second presence sensors 9, and whose extent is deemed appropriate for the dimensional characteristics of the electronic material E to be stored, based on the first signals S1, generated by the first presence sensors 6 and based on the information entered by the operator; f) switching on of at least one luminous element 81 associated with the selected storage housing 5; g) storage of the electronic material E in said selected storage housing 5, performed by the operator; h) detection, by the electronic control means 7, of at least the second signal S2 generated by at least one second presence sensor 9 associated with said storage housing 5, once the electronic material E has been stored in said storage housing 5; i) definition, by said electronic control means 7, of the occupied condition of said selected storage housing 5; l) association, by said electronic control means 7, of said selected storage housing 5 with the type of electronic material E stored, based on the information entered by said operator.

[0066] Finally, the invention also concerns the method for picking electronic material E from a storage trolley 1 according to the invention.

[0067] The flowchart of said picking method is shown in Figure 14.

[0068] In particular, said method includes the following operations: m) switching on, by the electronic control means 7, of at least one luminous element 81 associated with the storage housing 5 in which the electronic material E to be picked was previously stored; n) picking of the electronic material E from said storage housing 5 by the operator; o) detection, by the electronic control means 7, of at least the second signal S2 generated by at least one second presence sensor 9 associated with said storage housing 5, once the electronic material E has been picked from said storage housing 5; p) definition, by said electronic control means 7, of the free condition of said storage housing 5; q) checking, by said electronic control means 7, that the picking operation has actually taken place from the storage housing 5 whose at least one luminous element 81 has been switched on, so as to verify whether the picking of said electronic material E has been carried out correctly or not.

[0069] Accordingly, the storage trolley 1 of the invention and the related methods achieve all the above-mentioned objects.

[0070] In particular, the object to provide a trolley for storing and transporting electronic material that is capable of simplifying the set up operations of the storing and transporting trolley itself and the storage and retrieval operations of said electronic material is achieved.

[0071] In greater detail, the invention achieves the object to provide a storage trolley that makes it possible to reduce the time required to set up the trolley itself and the time required to store and retrieve electronic material in and from said trolley. The invention also achieves the object to provide a storage trolley that makes it possible to reduce the risk of human errors during the setting up of the trolley and during the placing and picking of electronic material in and from said trolley.

Claims

CLAIMS1 ) Storage trolley (1 ) for storing and transporting electronic material (E), preferably electronic material (E) stored in reels (B), of the type comprising:- a load-bearing structure (2);- at least one tray (3) supported by said load-bearing structure (2) and configured to accommodate said electronic material (E), wherein said tray (3) has, along its longitudinal extension axis (X), a storage surface (31 ) in which a plurality of seats (32) is defined, each configured to removably accommodate a partition (4), in such a way that it is possible to divide the storage space of said tray (3) into several separate storage housings (5), each of said storage housings (5) being defined between two adjacent partitions (4);- said one or more partitions (4); characterized in that each of said seats (32) comprises a first presence sensor (6) configured to generate a first signal (S1 ) related to the detection of the presence or absence of one of said partitions (4) in said seat (32), said storage trolley (1 ) comprising electronic control means (7) configured to receive said first signal (S1 ) generated by each of said first presence sensors (6) positioned in each of said seats (32) and to define in real time, based on said first signals (S1 ), the extent of each of said storage housings (5).2) Storage trolley (1 ) according to claim 1 , characterized in that each of said seats (32) is defined on said tray (3) in such a way as to accommodate one of said partitions (4) in a position at right angles to the storage surface (31 ) of said tray (3) and to the longitudinal extension axis (X) of said tray (3).3) Storage trolley (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said seats (32) are distributed along said longitudinal axis (X) so that they are equidistant from each other.4) Storage trolley (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a system (8) of the Pick to Light type comprising a luminous element (81 ), arranged on said tray (3) in such a way that the user can see it, at the level of the space defined between each pair of said seats (32), said electronic control means (7) being configured to switch on one or more luminous elements (81 ) at one or more of said storage housings (5) from which the electronic material (E) that must be used can be picked.5) Storage trolley (1 ) according to claim 4, characterized in that saidelectronic control means (7) are configured in such a way that, if it is necessary to pick said electronic material (E) from one of said storage housings (5), they switch on all the luminous elements (81 ) associated with said storage housing (5) according to the real-time definition of the extent of said storage housing (5) performed by said electronic control means (7).6) Storage trolley (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said tray (3) comprises second presence sensors (9), each of which is configured to generate a second signal (S2) related to the detection of the presence or absence of electronic material (E) in each of said storage housings (5), said electronic control means (7) being configured to determine, based on said second signals (S2) generated by said second presence sensors (9), which of said storage housings (5) are defined as occupied by electronic material (E) and which of said storage housings (5) are defined as free, meaning without electronic material (E).7) Storage trolley (1 ) according to any one of claims 6 in combination with claim 4 or 5, characterized in that said electronic control means (7) are configured in such a way that, if it is necessary to store said electronic material (E) in one of said storage housings (5), they switch on the luminous elements (81 ) associated with one of said storage housings (5) which are defined as free, based on said second signals (S2) generated by said second presence sensors (9), and whose extent is considered suitable for the dimensions of said electronic material (E) to be stored, based on said first signals (S1 ) generated by said first presence sensors (6).8) Storage trolley (1 ) according to any one of claims 6 or 7, characterized in that each of said second presence sensors (9) is positioned at the portion of said storage surface (31 ) of said tray (3) interposed between two of said adjacent seats (32).9) Storage trolley (1 ) according to any one of claims from 6 to 8, characterized in that each of said second presence sensors (9) is a sensor of the time-of-flight type (91 ), configured to generate a second signal (S2) which both detects the presence of electronic material (E) in one of said storage housings (5) and determines the distance of said electronic material (E) from said time-of-flight sensor (91 ).10) Storage trolley (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of said trays (3).11 ) Storage trolley (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said load-bearing structure (2) is provided with moving means (10), in particular with castor wheels (11 ), to allow said storage trolley (1 ) to be moved.12) Method for setting up a storage trolley (1 ) made according to any one of the preceding claims and used for storing and transporting electronic material (E), preferably electronic material (E) stored in reels (B), characterized in that it comprises the following operations: a) insertion of said partitions (4) into one or more of said seats (32) defined in said tray (3), performed by an operator according to the storage needs; b) detection of said first signals (S1 ) generated by said first presence sensors (6), performed by said electronic control means (7); c) definition of the extent of each of said storage housings (5), performed by said electronic control means (7) in real time and based on said first signals(51 ).13) Method for storing electronic material (E) in a storage trolley (1 ) according to claim 7, characterized in that it comprises the following operations: d) entry of information, into said electronic control means (7), on the type and dimensional characteristics of the electronic material (E) to be stored, performed by an operator; e) selection, by said electronic control means (7), of one of said storage housings (5) which is defined as free, based on said second signals (S2) generated by said second presence sensors (9), and whose extent is deemed appropriate for the dimensional characteristics of said electronic material (E) to be stored, based on said first signals (S1 ) generated by said first presence sensors (6) and based on the information entered by said operator; f) switching on of at least one luminous element (81 ) associated with said selected storage housing (5); g) storage of said electronic material (E) in said selected storage housing (5), performed by said operator; h) detection, by said electronic control means (7), of at least said second signal(52) generated by said at least one second presence sensor (9) associated with said storage housing (5), once said electronic material (E) has beenstored in said storage housing (5); i) definition, by said electronic control means (7), of the occupied condition of said selected storage housing (5); l) association, by said electronic control means (7), of said selected storage housing (5) with the type of electronic material (E) stored, based on the information entered by said operator.14) Method for picking electronic material (E) from a storage trolley (1 ) according to claim 7, characterized in that it comprises the following operations: m) switching on, by said electronic control means (7), of at least one luminous element (81 ) associated with the storage housing (5) in which the electronic material (E) to be picked was previously stored; n) picking of the electronic material (E) from said storage housing (5) by the operator; o) detection, by said electronic control means (7), of at least said second signal (S2) generated by said at least one second presence sensor (9) associated with said storage housing (5), once said electronic material (E) has been picked from said storage housing (5); p) definition, by said electronic control means (7), of the free condition of said storage housing (5); q) checking, by said electronic control means (7), that the picking operation has actually taken place from the storage housing (5) whose at least one luminous element (81 ) has been switched on, so as to verify whether the picking of said electronic material (E) has been carried out correctly or not.

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