Automatic system for storing and handling article group to be processed

Abstract

To provide an automatic system which has few risks of failure, and in which workability has been improved.SOLUTION: An automatic system for storing and moving an article group to be processed includes: a plurality of trays for defining a support surface of an article; a tower frame having a plurality of tray storage stations; and an elevator. The elevator includes a handling device of the tray at an upper part, and a needle unloader and a frame at a lower part. The frame is vertically movable with respect to the elevator, and is arranged in the intermediate position between the needle unloader and the tray handling device. A movable frame supports a plurality of vertical tip parts. The plurality of vertical tip parts has the size that fits between bars of the tray which vertically moves between a stationary position in which a tip part is below the bar, and an active position in which the tip part protrudes further upward than the bar and an article is held in a state of being raised with respect to the tray so as to be loaded / unloaded by a forklift.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a system for handling articles arranged in groups located on trays stored in a tower frame, where the articles are brought one at a time to a loading station for transport to a machine for processing the articles (e.g., laser cutting machine, punching machine, etc.), and when processing of the group of articles is complete, the processed articles are returned to an unloading station on trays that are rearranged in the tower. Specific reference will be made below to the processing of sheet material arranged in stacks, but what is said is equally applicable to other articles (e.g., bars, beams, pipes, etc.) arranged side by side and / or on top of each other, provided they are supported by a flat support. [Background technology]

[0002] In conventional systems, the handling of the articles is performed by an elevator that moves up and down between the aforementioned loading and unloading stations and the tower storage station. The elevator is equipped above with a tray handling device that acts on tray side supports arranged in the direction of the horizontal movement of the tray, the support surface of the tray including a plurality of spaced bars perpendicular to the side supports. The elevator is equipped below with an unloader formed by a bed of parallel needles arranged in the direction of horizontal displacement of the tray, which is used to lift the processed plates and bring them to the unloading station.

[0003] Introduction of new stacks of sheets to be processed into the system and removal of processed stacks of sheets from the system are accomplished using a forklift equipped with forks that place the stacks on or lift them from trays carried by an elevator to the appropriate height for the operable loading / unloading level. To avoid harmful contact between the forks of the forklift and the tray, the stack of sheets must be elevated above the tray during such operations by a plurality of vertical prongs that project above the tray support surface.

[0004] These tips are mounted on the ground in the elevator's ground mounting area, either in a fixed vertical position (as in U.S. Patent No. 5,623,929) or can be raised when needed (as in U.S. Patent No. 5,623,929), and must pass between the needles and tray bar of the unloader in order to project upward. However, this prior art solution has several drawbacks, both in terms of cost and operation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Chinese Patent Application Publication No. 109516053 [Patent Document 2] Italian Patent Application Publication No. 202100020966 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] First of all, the clearance between the needles and the bar is very limited, since the tip needs to be large and strong enough to hold the load of the stack of sheets. On the other hand, increasing the spacing and / or removing some of the needles in the tip passage area can cause problems when unloading the processed sheets, since some small pieces of cut sheets can fall into the gap where there are no needles. Therefore, in any case, there is a risk that the tip will come into contact with the needles and / or the bar, causing damage or deformation of the tip itself and / or the unloader needles, resulting in repair costs in terms of material, labor, and downtime. Secondly, the tip at the ground level makes it impossible to approach with a forklift and load sheets directly into the loading station, a maneuver that may be necessary in the event of an elevator failure and / or when loading heavier / thicker sheets than the system can automatically manage.

[0007] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an automated system that overcomes these drawbacks. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The above object is achieved by a system in which the lifting tip of the stack of sheets is mounted on a frame that is vertically movable relative to the elevator, and in a rest position in which the tip is below the tray, the lifting tip is located on the frame in an intermediate position between the staple unloader and the tray handling device, and in which displacement means are provided in the system for lifting the movable frame relative to the elevator from the rest position to an operating position in which the tip projects above the tray support surface when the elevator reaches a level for loading / unloading by means of a forklift at the end of its descent. Further advantageous configurations of the system are specified in the dependent claims.

[0009] A major advantage of the system according to the invention is that it prevents the tips from crossing the needle bed of the unloader, so that the unloader is complete and can be sized to fit the size of the workpiece cut from the sheet. In this way, when the machined sheet is lifted by the needle unloader, there is no risk of the workpiece falling, and no risk of damage to the needle unloader and / or tips due to possible interference.

[0010] A second advantage of the present system is that the unloader design is completely free: it does not have to be a conventional needle unloader, and since the tips do not have to be crossed, it can also be made in other ways (e.g. perforated plate, conveyor belt, etc.) In the following, specific reference will be made to conventional needle unloaders, but it will be clear that this is not a limitation on everything that has been said so far.

[0011] An added benefit of this system is that the elevator's ground footprint is unobstructed, allowing forklifts to approach the loading station directly to load sheets.

[0012] These and other advantages and features of the system of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of one embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the elevator at a mid-level of its downward stroke, with the tip in a rest position. [Figure 2] A view similar to FIG. 1 at a level of the elevator near the end of its descent, but with the tip still in a rest position. [Figure 3] 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 of the elevator at a level closer to the end of its descent, but with the tip beginning to rise to engage the sheet stack. [Figure 4]4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 of the elevator at the end of its descent, with the tip lifting the sheet stack from the tray. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] With reference to these figures, the automated system according to the invention conventionally comprises an elevator essentially consisting of a pair of side walls 1, with coupling means for vertical sliding along a pair of posts 2, supporting below a staple unloader 3 and above a handling device 4 which interacts with the side supports 5 of a tray, the tray being provided with a number of cross bars 6 on which a stack 7 of sheets rests (only one end of the tray and handling device is shown in the figures, the other end being obviously symmetrical).

[0015] It should be noted that the elevator may also be arranged in a cantilevered manner by sliding along the front face of the tower frame, in which case there are no support columns 2 and the connecting means of the side wall sections 1 are in a rear position rather than a central position.

[0016] As mentioned above, an innovative aspect of the present system is the addition of a frame elevator that is movable vertically relative to the frame. More specifically, in the embodiment shown in the figures, the frame comprises two crossbars 8 arranged perpendicular to the side walls 1, between which extend supports on which are mounted vertical tips for lifting the stack of sheets 7.

[0017] Relative movement between the crossbars 8 and the side walls 1 is made possible by vertical slots 10 cut into the side walls 1, through which the ends of the crossbars 8 protrude (only the two slots 10 of the front crossbar 8 are visible in the figures). By appropriately combining the height and position of the tips 9 and the slots 10, the movable frame can be brought to a rest position when the crossbars 8 rest under gravity at the lower ends of the slots 10, i.e. when the tips 9 are below the tray as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

[0018] In the embodiment shown in the figures, the vertical legs 11 arranged at the ends of the crossbars 8 outside the side walls 1 are displacement means for lifting the movable frame relative to the elevator from its rest position to an operating position in which the tips 9 protrude from the support plane defined by the bars 6 when the elevator reaches the end of its descent.

[0019] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the legs 11 extend below the unloader 3 so that in the final stage of the elevator's descent, while the elevator is still descending, they contact the ground, preferably a centering cone 12 fixed to the ground, so that the movable frame remains stationary at the level defined by the legs 11 while the side wall 1 is descending. This causes a relative upward displacement of the crossbar 8 along the slot 10 (Figure 3), so that the tip 9 penetrates the bar 6 and engages the stack of sheets 7.

[0020] As shown in Figure 4, at the end of the elevator's descent, crossbar 8 is near the top of slot 10, with tip 9 protruding through bar 6, holding stack 7 of sheets in an elevated position so that the forks of a forklift can be easily inserted to remove stack 7 without contacting the tray (the same is true, of course, when stack 7 is loaded into the tray). Similarly, as the elevator begins its upward stroke, sidewall 1 rises while the movable frame remains stationary, causing tip 9 to move back under the tray (in the reverse order from Figure 4 to Figure 1) until the lower end of slot 10 contacts crossbar 8, thereby capturing tip 9.

[0021] It should be noted that the length of the tip 9 and legs 11 determines the level at which the stack of sheets 7 is placed for loading / unloading using a forklift, and the height of the slot 10 must be such that its upper end does not come into contact with the crossbar 8 at the end of the elevator's descent.

[0022] It will be clear that the above described embodiment of the system according to the invention is only one example, which may be subject to various modifications, in particular the displacement means for lifting the movable frame relative to the elevator may be modified according to specific construction requirements, provided that the general construction described above is maintained.

[0023] For example, the legs 11 may be fixed to the ground and contact the ends of the crossbars 8, preferably with the centering cones 12 below. In this way, the movable frame is lighter and the elevator easier to move, but the legs 11 are outside the elevator's ground footprint and do not get in the way and prevent forklift access for loading sheets directly into the loading station.

[0024] Another alternative embodiment could eliminate legs 11 and provide a pair of straight or U-shaped horizontal rods attached to support 2 at a level that will partially restrain the ends of crossbar 8, depending on how far crossbar 8 protrudes from side wall 1, to perform the same function as legs 11.

[0025] In another possible variation, the pegs can protrude internally from the support posts 2 by inserting them into central slots in the side walls 1 until they hold the movable frame partway. In yet another variation, the legs 11 can be positioned on the crossbars 8 at a position inside the side walls 1 (in which case the legs 11 would need to pass through the needle unloader 3).

[0026] It should be noted that although the above solution simply utilizes gravity and elevator displacement to realize the relative displacement of the movable frame in order to simplify the elevator structure, it is also possible to provide an electrically operated displacement means arranged between the side wall 1 and the movable frame.

[0027] Likewise, the connection between the elevator's movable frame 1 and the side wall 1 can be realized by solutions other than slots 10, for example by guides machined on the inner surface of the side wall 1, as long as they are technically equivalent.

Claims

1. 1. An automated system for storing and handling a group of articles to be processed, comprising: a plurality of trays having parallel spaced apart bars (6) for supporting said articles and defining a support surface; a tower frame having upright horizontal supports adapted to define a plurality of vertically stacked storage stations for storing said trays; an elevator for vertical movement between said storage station and an operating level at which there are located loading / unloading stations for said groups of articles to be processed and already processed; wherein the elevator comprises above it a handling device (4) for the trays and below it an unloader, preferably a staple unloader (3), for handling the processed articles, the elevator comprises a frame, the frame being vertically movable relative to the elevator and being positioned at an intermediate position between the unloader and the tray handling device (4); the movable frame supports a plurality of vertical tips (9) sized to fit between the bars (6) of the tray as it moves vertically between a rest position in which the vertical tips (9) are below the bars (6) and an operating position in which the vertical tips (9) project above the bars (6); 10. The automated system, comprising: a displacement means for pushing the movable frame relative to the elevator from the rest position to the operating position when the elevator reaches the operating level of the loading / unloading station.

2. 2. The automated system according to claim 1, characterized in that the elevator comprises two side walls (1) supporting the unloader, the handling device (4) for the trays and the movable frame comprising two crossbars (8) arranged perpendicular to the side walls (1).

3. 3. The automated system according to claim 2, characterized in that the crossbar (8) is inserted into a vertical slot (10) formed in the side wall portion (1) and the end of the crossbar (8) protrudes through the vertical slot (10).

4. 4. An automated system according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the movable frame comprises vertical legs (11) extending below the unloader.

5. 5. An automated system according to claim 4, characterized in that the vertical legs (11) are arranged at the ends of the crossbars (8) outside the side walls (1).

6. 6. An automated system according to claim 5, further comprising a centering cone (12) fixed to the ground at the abutment point of the legs (11).

7. 4. The automated system according to claim 1, wherein the displacement means for pushing the movable frame relative to the elevator comprises a fixing element arranged to come into contact with the movable frame before the elevator reaches the end of its descent.

8. 8. The automated system of claim 7, wherein the fixed element is constrained to the ground or a structure along which the elevator slides vertically.

9. An automated system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the elevator is centrally mounted on two columns (2).

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