Beam gripping and manipulation device for airship manufacturing

Abstract

Beam transfer device (1), comprising a base (2) equipped with a moving member (3), a lifting member (4) mounted on the base having a body and a movable part, and a gripping member (5) mounted on the lifting member, the gripping member comprising a clamp (51) having a clamp body (5c) and at least one jaw (5m) movable relative to the clamp body, said clamp being actuable between a first configuration, referred to as locked, corresponding to clamping the clamp on a beam to be transferred, and a second configuration, referred to as unlocked, the gripping member being mounted on the lifting module by means of a ball joint that can be locked in position. Figure for publication: Figure 1

Description

Title of the invention: Device for gripping and manipulating beams for the manufacture of airships Scope of the invention

[0001] The field of the invention is that of the handling of long elements called beams for the manufacture of airships. Previous art

[0002] Arms are known for lifting and moving the load.

[0003] There is no beam gripping and handling device that allows beams to be taken from a conveyor trolley and then presented to an assembly station and subsequently positioned so that they can be fixed to an airship under construction.

[0004] The invention aims to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art and in particular to reduce the synchronization time in the event of a problem occurring in the synchronization. Description of the invention

[0005] To this end, according to a first aspect of the invention, a beam transfer device is proposed, comprising a base equipped with a displacement member, a lifting member mounted on the base having a body and a moving part, and a gripping member mounted on the lifting member.

[0006] The gripping member comprises a gripper having a gripper body and at least one jaw movable relative to the gripper body, said gripper being actuable between a first configuration called locked corresponding to a clamping of the gripper on a beam to be transferred and a second configuration called unlocked.

[0007] Advantageously, the gripping member is in particular designed to grasp a beam in a conveyor trolley when said device is in a starting position.

[0008] The gripping member is mounted on the lifting module by means of a ball joint that can be locked in position.

[0009] Preferably, the displacement member comprises a plurality of omnidirectional wheels.

[0010] Preferably, the lifting device is a telescopic mast.

[0011] Preferably, the gripping member comprises two parallel plates and an actuator functionally arranged between the two plates to adjust a distance separating them.

[0012] According to another aspect of the invention, a system comprising a beam is proposed arranged in a conveyor trolley and a beam transfer device according to the first aspect of the invention, or one or more of its improvements. Brief description of the figures

[0013] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the detailed description that follows, for an understanding of which reference should be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0014] [Fig-1] is a schematic front view illustration of a transfer device beams according to the invention,

[0015] [Fig.2] is a schematic side view illustration of the device shown on [Fig. 1], and

[0016] [Fig.3] is a schematic illustration of a detail of the gripper shown in [Fig.1] and of [Fig.2]. Detailed description of the invention

[0017] The embodiments described below are not in any way limiting; variants of the invention may, in particular, be considered comprising only a selection of the features described, hereinafter isolated from the other features described, if this selection of features is sufficient to confer a technical advantage or to differentiate the invention from the prior art. This selection comprises at least one feature, preferably functional without structural details, or with only a portion of the structural details if this portion alone is sufficient to confer a technical advantage or to differentiate the invention from the prior art.

[0018] A beam transfer device 1 is shown in [Fig.1] and [Fig.2], comprising a base 2 equipped with a displacement member 3, a lifting member 4 mounted on the base, and a gripping member mounted on the lifting member.

[0019] The base is for example formed of a parallelepiped structure made up of plates.

[0020] The displacement member 3 may for example comprise a plurality of omnidirectional wheels, for example mounted on a lower part of the base.

[0021] The lifting member 4 has a body fixed to the base, preferably an upper part of the base, and a movable part. The lifting member 4 may, for example, be a telescopic mast.

[0022] The association of the displacement member and the lifting member makes it possible to move a beam along the three axes of space.

[0023] The grasping member 5 comprises a gripper 51 having a gripper body 5c and at least one jaw 5m movable relative to the gripper body along a grasping axis.

[0024] The clamp 51 can be actuated between a first configuration, called locked, corresponding to clamping the clamp on a beam 6 to be transferred, and a second configuration, called unlocked.

[0025] The gripping member is in particular intended to grasp a beam 6 in a conveyor trolley when the beam transfer device is positioned in a starting position.

[0026] The gripping member 5 is mounted on the lifting module 4 by means of a ball joint that can be locked in position.

[0027] Thus, the device according to the invention allows the beam to be moved along the three axes, as well as the beam to be rotated around the three axes.

[0028] The locking in position allows operators to directly manipulate the beam by hand without effort and without load.

[0029] As illustrated by [Fig.2], the gripping member 5 may comprise two parallel plates pm, pc and an actuator functionally disposed 5a between said two plates to adjust a distance separating them.

[0030] The present invention further relates to a system (not shown) comprising a beam arranged in a conveyor trolley and the beam transfer device 1.

[0031] Of course, the invention is not limited to the examples just described, and many modifications can be made to these examples without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, the various features, forms, variants, and embodiments of the invention can be combined in various ways, provided they are not incompatible or mutually exclusive.

Claims

Demands

1. Beam transfer device (1), comprising a base (2) equipped with a displacement member (3), a lifting member (4) mounted on the base having a body and a movable part, and a gripping member (5) mounted on the lifting member, the gripping member comprising a clamp (51) having a clamp body (5c) and at least one jaw (5m) movable relative to the clamp body, said clamp being actuable between a first configuration called locked corresponding to a clamping of the clamp on a beam to be transferred and a second configuration called unlocked, the gripping member being mounted on the lifting module by means of a ball joint lockable in position.

2. Beam transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the displacement member (3) comprises a plurality of omnidirectional wheels.

3. Beam transfer device according to one of the two preceding claims, wherein the lifting member (4) is a telescopic mast.

4. Beam transfer device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the gripping member comprises two parallel plates (pm, pc) and an actuator functionally disposed between said two plates to adjust a distance separating them.

5. System comprising a beam arranged in a conveyor trolley and a beam transfer device according to any one of the preceding claims.

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