Handling device and handling method for handling a plate-shaped material

Abstract

The invention relates to a handling device and a handling method for handling a plate-shaped material, comprising a support frame (18) which comprises two longitudinal struts (19) and two transverse struts (20), a gripping device (25) which is arranged on the support frame (18) and which has two guide strips (26) that are oriented towards each other, can be moved on the support frame (18), and can be adjusted in a mutually spaced manner, and at least one gripper (30), said grippers being arranged on each guide strip (26) and comprising a gripping element (32) and a clamping element (31) that can be converted into an open position (33) and a closed position (34), wherein the support frame (18) is provided with a support structure (41) which extends at least partly on a plane or parallel to a plane of the support frame (18), the grippers (30) can be moved at least partly within the support structure (41), and in a gripping position, the grippers (30) fix the plate-shaped material (9) so as to rest against the support structure (41) in a transport position.

Description

[0001] Handling device and handling method for handling a plate-shaped material

[0002] The invention relates to a handling device and a handling method for handling a plate-shaped material, in particular for feeding and removing it into and from a processing machine.

[0003] WO 2022 / 118544 A1 discloses a handling device for handling a plate-shaped material, in particular a machined plate-shaped workpiece. The plate-shaped material rests on a workpiece support in a processing machine, which is cut into individual workpieces and a residual skeleton by cutting. A handling device is provided for removing the residual skeleton from the workpiece support. This handling device comprises a support frame with two longitudinal struts and two cross struts. Guide rails are provided on the cross struts, which are aligned parallel to the longitudinal struts of the support frame. The two outer guide rails can be moved towards one another along the cross struts. Several grippers are provided on these movable guide rails, which can be moved along the guide rail.These grippers, which are arranged along the movable guide rails, are intended for gripping one long side of the scrap skeleton. Further guide rails are arranged fixedly on the cross struts between the movable guide rails. Grippers, in turn, are arranged so that they can move along the fixed guide rails. These grippers can be adjusted to the length of the scrap skeleton and grip on the narrow sides of the scrap skeleton. Using a support frame of this type, the grippers can be adapted to the format of the sheet material or scrap skeleton to be handled, so that the grippers grip all four side edges of the scrap skeleton for handling. This handling device can be flexibly adapted to the format of the sheet material or scrap skeleton to be handled.The height of the remnant skeleton is adjustable, but this handling device has the disadvantage that sagging or bending can occur when handling a plate-shaped workpiece or remnant skeleton. This prevents high handling speeds. Furthermore, when removing the remnant skeleton with workpieces still inside it, the bending can lead to jamming or hooking between the workpieces in the remnant skeleton.

[0004] The invention is based on the object of proposing a handling device and a handling method for handling a plate-shaped material, whereby safe handling with a highly dynamic travel movement is enabled.

[0005] This object is achieved by a handling device for handling a plate-shaped material, which comprises a support frame consisting of at least one longitudinal strut, preferably two longitudinal struts, and at least one transverse strut, preferably two transverse struts. A gripping device is arranged on the support frame, which has two mutually aligned guide rails that can be moved on the support frame and whose distance from one another is adjustable. At least one gripper is arranged in or on each guide rail, wherein the grippers comprise a gripping element and a clamping element, which can be transferred into an opening position and a gripping position.A support structure is provided on the support frame, which extends at least partially in one plane or parallel to the plane of the support frame, wherein the grippers are at least partially movable within the support structure and fix the plate-shaped material in contact with the support structure in a transport position. This allows the underside of the plate-shaped material to be picked up load-free except for a few clamping points. In addition, the underside of the plate-shaped material is not covered or is only slightly covered mechanically. This handling device has the advantage that the plate-shaped material to be handled is fixed in contact with the support structure or is clamped thereto. This prevents bending of the plate-shaped material or reduces it to a minimum. This enables highly dynamic feed movements to be carried out safely.Furthermore, sheet materials can be handled regardless of their material thickness. The handling device enables the handling of the sheet material both as raw material or unprocessed sheet material, in particular sheet metal, as a partially processed sheet material, or as a processed sheet material that has been completely or partially separated into a residual skeleton and at least one workpiece by cutting in a processing machine.

[0006] To transfer the sheet material into a transport position in which the sheet material is fixed against the support structure or clamped thereto, the grippers can be movable relative to the support structure, or the support structure relative to the grippers, or the grippers and the support structure relative to each other. This feed movement is preferably adjustable depending on the thickness of the sheet material to be handled. This enables the sheet material to be handled to be held against the support structure with at least a slight amount of tension.

[0007] It is preferably provided that the movable guide rails are aligned parallel to the at least one longitudinal strut or to the longitudinal struts of the support frame. This enables the gripping device to be adjusted to the width of the plate-shaped material and the grippers to engage the opposite long sides of the plate-shaped material. The plate-shaped material usually has a rectangular format. The gripping device can thus engage the long sides of the plate-shaped material in order to fix it against the support structure. It is preferably provided that the gripping device engages exclusively the long sides of the plate-shaped material. An additional alignment of grippers to engage a narrow side of the plate-shaped material is unnecessary in this embodiment.

[0008] Furthermore, it is preferably provided that the guides are movable along at least one or more cross struts of the support frame and can be adjusted in spacing by at least one actuator to suit the format of the sheet material to be handled. These actuators can be electric, hydraulic, pneumatic, and / or magnetic. The movement of the actuators is controlled and / or monitored by a controller.

[0009] The actuators are preferably integrated into or on the cross braces of the support frame. However, they can also be external (e.g., chain or belt drives) and transmit the movement to the guides via a transmitter.

[0010] The support structure arranged on the support frame is designed as a flat support structure, at least on its underside. A support surface for the plate-shaped material to assume the transport position is preferably provided on an underside of the support structure.

[0011] The contact surface of the support structure for the plate-shaped material can be formed, for example, by a plurality of bristles, by several brush strips arranged next to one another, by an elastically flexible layer on a support plate, or by knob-shaped projections.

[0012] The support structure preferably includes openings, particularly longitudinal openings, within which the grippers can be moved with the guide rails. These longitudinal openings are preferably formed parallel to the narrow side of the support structure and enable movement in the direction of a longitudinal center axis of the sheet material to be handled. This allows the grippers to be adjusted to different sizes of the sheet material to be handled. Furthermore, the support structure can extend substantially over the largest size of the sheet material to be handled and form a support surface for assuming the transport position.

[0013] According to a preferred embodiment of the gripper, the clamping element of the gripper is provided resting on the support structure, and the gripping element of the gripper extends below the support structure. After gripping behind or underneath the sheet material, the gripper can be moved into the transport position, whereby the gripping element fixes the sheet material against the underside of the support structure and clamps it against the clamping element of the gripper.

[0014] In the above-described embodiment, it can preferably be provided that the clamping element of the gripper is designed as a plate that is positioned in the longitudinal opening and / or covers the width of the longitudinal opening. This has the advantage that the support structure is virtually closed in the region of the longitudinal opening in which the gripper is movably positioned.

[0015] According to an alternative embodiment of the at least one gripper, it can be provided that the clamping element and the gripping element are positioned below the support structure in an open position of the gripper and can be transferred into a closed position for fixing the plate-shaped material between the clamping element and the gripping element in a first work step. Subsequently, in a second work step, the gripper can be transferred from the closed position into the transport position in which the plate-shaped material is fixed in contact with the support structure. This embodiment enables, on the one hand, the edge of the plate-shaped material to be securely fixed and a clamping frame to be formed by the grippers. In addition, this plate-shaped material, which is held in tension, is fixed in contact with the support structure.

[0016] In the above-described embodiment, it can preferably be provided that a chipboard is provided on the support structure and covers the longitudinal opening and / or engages into the longitudinal opening. This can further increase the fixation of the plate-like material to the support structure.

[0017] The gripper's gripping elements can be designed, for example, as a gripping hook or a gripping mandrel. The appropriate selection can be made depending on the type and / or thickness of the material to be handled.

[0018] Advantageously, at least one sensor is provided on the grippers and / or on the guide rails, by which the position of the gripper relative to an edge of the sheet material to be handled can be detected. This at least one sensor can control the movement of the guide rails so that the grippers, which are provided in an open position, are aligned with the edge of the sheet material. The grippers can then be moved into a closed position by the control system.

[0019] The object underlying the invention is further achieved by a handling method for handling a plate-shaped material, in which a handling device according to one of the previously described embodiments is provided. In the handling method, it is provided that the handling device is positioned in a starting position relative to the plate-shaped material to be handled, in which starting position a gripping region of the grippers is aligned with the edge of the plate-shaped material. The support structure can be positioned resting on the plate-shaped material. In this starting position, the guide rails are spaced apart from one another by a distance greater than a format, in particular a long side, of the plate-shaped material to be handled.The guide rails are then moved along the support frame and toward the respective edge of the sheet material until the sheet material is positioned within the gripping range of the grippers. The grippers are then moved into a closed position, and the sheet material is secured against the support structure in the transport position. This handling process enables mechanical clamping of the sheet material. Furthermore, the tight fixation of the sheet material to the support structure enables handling of the gripping device with highly dynamic travel or feed movements.Furthermore, such a handling method has the advantage that by gripping the plate-shaped material at the peripheral edge, an additional receiving opening in the plate-shaped material or workpiece is not required, in which gripping elements for handling the plate-shaped material are positioned.

[0020] The invention, as well as further advantageous embodiments and developments thereof, are described and explained in more detail below with reference to the examples shown in the drawings. The features shown in the description and the drawings can be used individually or in any combination according to the invention. They show:

[0021] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a machine arrangement with a processing machine and a handling device,

[0022] Figure 2 is a schematic view of a handling device of the handling apparatus according to Figure 1,

[0023] Figure 3 is a schematic sectional view along the line III-III in Figure 2,

[0024] Figure 4 is a perspective view of the handling device with a plate-shaped material fixed thereto,

[0025] Figure 5 is a schematic side view of the handling device in a first working step of a handling method, Figure 6 is a schematic side view of the handling device in a second working step of the handling method, and

[0026] Figure 7 is a schematic side view of an alternative embodiment of a gripper to Figure 5.

[0027] Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a mechanical arrangement 1. This comprises a processing machine 2, which is designed, for example, as a laser cutting machine. The mechanical arrangement 1 further comprises a handling device 3. The processing machine 2 comprises a work area 5 delimited by a housing 4, in which a cutting unit 6 with laser cutting heads 7, 8 can be moved in a horizontal plane of movement as a production unit. This cutting unit 6 is only an example. A pallet changer 10 is provided as part of the work area 5 of the processing machine 2. The pallet changer 10 comprises a pallet 11 with a workpiece support 12. This pallet 11 can be moved into and out of the work area 5. For processing a plate-shaped material 9, it is positioned on the workpiece support 12 of the pallet 11.Together with the pallet 11, the unprocessed sheet material 9 is moved from the pallet changer 10 into the work area 5 of the processing machine 2. In the work area 5, the sheet material 9 is then cut by means of the cutting unit 6. This produces one or more workpieces. It can also be provided that at least one workpiece and a residual skeleton are produced from the sheet material 9. The term sheet material 9 refers to both an unprocessed sheet material, in particular a raw sheet, and a partially processed sheet material, as well as a workpiece and a residual skeleton. After the cutting process has been completed, the pallet 11 with the processed sheet material 9 is moved back onto the pallet changer 10.

[0028] The machine assembly 1 is controlled and monitored by a control unit 22. This control unit 22 runs one or more processing programs 23, which output control commands to control both the processing machine 2 and the handling device 3 according to predetermined work sequences.

[0029] The handling device 3 comprises, for example, a horizontally pivotable pivot arm 16, on which a handling device 17 for handling the sheet material 9 is provided. Instead of the pivot arm 16, a multi-link arm or a linear axis unit can also be provided, which can be controlled in several spatial axes. The handling device 3 enables the loading and unloading of the pallet 11 with the handling device 17. The handling device 3 can remove unprocessed sheet material 9 from a storage station and guide it to the pallet 11. Furthermore, the handling device 3 can remove the processed sheet material 9 from the pallet 11 and transfer it to an unloading station. The handling tasks are not limited to this.

[0030] The handling device 17 comprises a support frame 18. This support frame 18 is essentially rectangular in shape. This support frame 18 is articulated to the pivot arm 16 of the handling device 3 and is preferably replaceable thereon. The structure of the handling device 17 is described in more detail below in Figures 2 to 4.

[0031] Figure 2 shows a schematic view from above of the handling device 17. Figure 3 shows a schematic partial section along the line III-III in Figure 2. Figure 4 shows a perspective view from below of the handling device 17 with a received plate-shaped material 9 for its handling. The handling device 17 comprises the support frame 18, which comprises two longitudinal struts 19 and two transverse struts 20, which in particular form a closed, circumferential frame. A coupling point, by which the support frame 18 can be connected to the handling device 3, in particular the pivot arm 16, is not shown for the sake of clarity. A gripping device 25 is provided on the support frame 18. This gripping device 25 comprises two opposing guide rails 26, which preferably extend parallel to the longitudinal struts 19 of the support frame 18.These guide rails 26 are mounted on the support frame 18 at variable spacing. Preferably, at least one actuator 27 is provided, by which the guide rails 26 are movably controlled, in particular in and against a direction relative to the longitudinal center axis of the support frame 18. Advantageously, guides are provided on the cross struts 20 of the support frame 18, along which the guide rails 26 are movably guided.

[0032] The gripping device 25 further comprises at least one gripper 30 arranged on each guide rail 26. Preferably, a plurality of grippers 30 are provided on each guide rail 26. The grippers 30 are preferably provided at a fixed or stationary distance from one another on the guide rail 26. The distance between the grippers 30 cannot be adjusted to the length of the long side of the plate-shaped material 9. The gripper 30 comprises a clamping element 31 and a gripping element 32. These can be moved relative to one another in order to be transferred from an opening position 33 to a closing position 34. Alternatively, it can also be provided that the clamping element 31 is fixed and the gripping element 32 is movable, in particular controlled by a lifting drive 35. Each of these grippers 30 can be controlled individually or jointly by the control unit 22 for opening and closing.

[0033] The support frame 18 extends along a plane formed by an X and Y axes. The guide rails 26 arranged on the support frame 18 accommodate at least the gripping element 32 of the gripper 30 so that it can be moved along a Z axis. A lifting drive 35 is preferably provided on each gripper 30. Thus, each gripper 30 can be controlled to open and close. Preferably, the gripper 30 can also be moved in a position along the Z axis relative to the XY plane of the support frame 18. A support structure 41 extends at least partially within the support frame 18. This support structure 41 preferably comprises a planar extension. A contact surface 42 is preferably formed on an underside of the support structure 41. The underside of the support structure 41 is the side which points towards the plate-shaped material 9 when the handling device 17 is positioned relative to the plate-shaped material 9.The support structure 41 can preferably consist of several segments 43. These segments 43 are preferably fixed, in particular replaceable, to the longitudinal struts 19 of the support frame 18. Advantageously, the support structure 41, in particular the segments 43, can be fixed to the support frame 18 by a bearing 44. This bearing 44 can be a vibration-damping or vibration-absorbing bearing 44. This can also be designed to be at least slightly flexible along the Z-axis. In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the support structure 41 is arranged in a fixed orientation in its position and orientation relative to the support frame 18 by the bearing 44. Alternatively, it can be provided that the support structure 41 can be moved up and down relative to the support frame 18, i.e., can be displaced along the Z-axis. The support structure 41 preferably extends over its entire surface within the support frame 18 or in a plane parallel to the support frame 18.This allows the support surface 42 to also extend completely over the format of the plate-shaped material 9 to be handled. The format of the support structure 41 is preferably designed to match the size of the plate-shaped material 9 to be handled.

[0034] The contact surface 42 of the support structure 41 can be formed as a flat, continuous surface. Alternatively, it can be provided that the contact surface 42 is formed by a plurality of bristles or several brush strips aligned parallel to one another. Other materials or elements can also be used which enable any burn-off, contamination, or melting on or toward the contact surface 42 of the support structure 41 to allow unhindered contact with the support structure 41. At least one longitudinal opening 46 is provided within the support structure 41, in particular within a segment 43. This longitudinal opening

[0035] 46 is aligned perpendicular to a longitudinal center axis of the support frame 18. The gripper 30 extends within the longitudinal opening 46. Due to the movable arrangement of the guide rails 26, the grippers 30 can be moved along the X-direction within the longitudinal opening 46 of the support structure 41, so that these grippers 30 can be adjusted to a format of the sheet-like material 9 to be handled. At least the gripping element 32 of the gripper 30 is positioned below a contact surface 42 of the support structure 41.

[0036] Figure 4 shows a perspective view from below of the handling device 17. The handling device 17 picks up the sheet material 9 by means of the grippers 30. In this arrangement, a displacement movement or transport movement is carried out by the handling device 3 in order to feed the sheet material 9 to the pallet changer 10 or to remove it from the pallet changer 10. A transport movement can also take place between the loading station and the unloading station and another station. During such transport of the sheet material 9 by the handling device 17, the sheet material 9 is fixed in a transport position against the contact surface 42 of the support structure 41.

[0037] 47. This minimizes or prevents deflection of the plate-shaped material 9 during transport. This enables a highly dynamic transport movement, which enables short cycle times within the machining process.

[0038] The handling device 17 can remove the sheet material 9 directly from the pallet 11. Even after an intermediate step, the handling device 17 can remove the sheet material not directly from the pallet 11, but also from another handling unit to which the sheet material 9 is temporarily transferred and stored.

[0039] Figures 5 and 6 show, in simplified form, two work steps for positioning the handling device 17 relative to the sheet material 9 to be gripped. According to Figure 5, the sheet material 9 can be positioned on the workpiece support 12 of the pallet 11. Alternatively, the sheet material 9 can also be positioned on a shelf in the unloading station or storage station. The handling device 17 is positioned above the sheet material 9 by the handling device 3. The guide rails 26 are moved into an opening position that is larger than the format of the sheet material 9 to be handled. The guide rails 26 are thus moved along the X-axis so that the grippers 30 are spaced apart by a distance greater than the width of the sheet material 9. The grippers 30 are moved into an opening position 33.The handling device 17 is then lowered until its contact surface 42 of the support structure 41 rests on the sheet material 9. This position can be detected by sensors that are provided on or in the support structure 41 and / or integrated. Subsequently, a displacement movement of the guide rails 26 is controlled by the actuator 27, so that the grippers 30 are fed toward the long side of the sheet material 9. Advantageously, a further sensor 49 is provided on the respective gripper 30, by which the displacement position of the gripper 30 is detected. As soon as an edge region of the sheet material 9 is positioned within a gripping range of the gripper 30, the feed movement, i.e. the displacement movement of the guide rails 26 toward one another, is stopped. The grippers 30 are then moved from the open position 33 to the closed position 34.This involves fixing, in particular clamping or bracing, the edge regions of the sheet material 9. This results in the sheet material 9 being fixed against the contact surface 42 of the support structure 41 in the transport position 47. The grippers 30 engaging the longitudinal sides of the sheet material 9 form a type of clamping frame for the fixed positioning of the sheet material 9 on the support structure 41.

[0040] Preferably, when the gripper 30 is transferred from the open position 33 to the closed position 34, the clamping element 31 remains positioned resting on the support structure 41. This enables simple control and rapid fixation of the plate-shaped material 9 to the underside of the support structure 41.

[0041] Alternatively, it can be provided that both the clamping element 31 and the gripping element 32 of the gripper 30 extend within the longitudinal opening 46, so that they are positioned below the contact surface 42 of the support structure 41. In this embodiment, it can be provided that the handling device 17 aligns the gripping device 25, in particular the grippers 30, with the edge region of the plate-shaped material 9, but the support structure 41 does not rest on the plate-shaped material 9. Subsequently, the edge region of the plate-shaped material 9 is initially held fixed by the grippers 30 after transferring to the closed position 34. In a subsequent step, the grippers 30 are moved upwards along the Z-axis, whereby the plate-shaped material 9 comes to rest against the contact surface 42 of the support structure 41 and is transferred to the transport position 47.

[0042] After the sheet material 9 has been picked up by the handling device 17, the sheet material 9 is moved to its next destination. The sheet material 9 is then positioned on the workpiece support 12 or on another storage area, or above a scrap storage area. Following this, the grippers 30 are moved into the opening position 33 and the guide rails 26 are moved into a starting position so that the edge area of ​​the sheet material 9 is free from the gripping area of ​​the grippers 30. In this case, the sheet material 9 is optionally cleared from the grippers 30 using strippers, and falls downwards. The handling device 17 is then lifted off and is ready for a subsequent handling task.

[0043] Figure 7 shows a schematic side view of an alternative embodiment of the gripper 30. In this embodiment, the gripping element 32 is designed in the form of a mandrel, which, when clamped by the clamping element 31, fixes the plate-shaped material 9.

Claims

Claims 1. Handling device for handling a plate-shaped material (9), - with a supporting frame (18) comprising at least one longitudinal strut (19) and at least one transverse strut (20), - with a gripping device (25) arranged on the support frame (18), which has two mutually aligned guide rails (26) which can be moved on the support frame (18) and whose distance from one another is adjustable, - with at least one gripper (30) arranged on each guide rail (26), which comprises a gripping element (32) and a clamping element (31) which can be transferred into an opening position (33) and a closing position (34), characterized in that - that a support structure (41) is provided on the support frame (18), which extends at least partially in a plane or parallel to a plane of the support frame (18), - that the grippers (30) are at least partially movable within the support structure (41), and - that the grippers (30) fix the plate-shaped material (9) against the support structure (41) in a transport position (47).

2. Handling device according to claim 1, characterized in that the grippers (30) are movable relative to the support structure (41) or the support structure (41) relative to the grippers (30) or the grippers (30) and the support structure (41) relative to each other and the plate-shaped material (9) is positioned adjacent to the supporting structure (41).

3. Handling device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the guide rails (26) are aligned parallel to the at least one longitudinal strut (19) of the support frame (18).

4. Handling device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guide rails (26) are guided so as to be movable along the at least one cross strut (20) and can be adjusted in distance by at least one actuator (27) to the format of the plate-shaped material (9) to be gripped.

5. Handling device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support structure (41) extends flat and has on an underside a contact surface (42) for the plate-shaped material (9) to assume the transport position (47).

6. Handling device according to claim 5, characterized in that the contact surface (42) is formed by a plurality of bristles, by several brush strips, by an elastically flexible layer on a carrier plate or by groove-shaped projections.

7. Handling device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that longitudinal openings (46) are provided in the support structure (41), within which the grippers (30) are arranged to be movable by means of the guide rails (26).

8. Handling device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the clamping element (31) of the gripper (30) is provided resting on the support structure (41), and that the gripping element (32) is positioned below the support structure (41) and associated with the contact surface (42), and after engaging behind or encompassing the plate-shaped material (9), it can be transferred into the transport position (47) and the plate-shaped material is fixed against the contact surface (42) of the support structure (41).

9. Handling device according to claim 8, characterized in that the clamping element (31) is designed as a pressure plate which engages in the longitudinal opening (46) and / or covers the width of the longitudinal opening (46) on the support structure (41).

10. Handling device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the clamping element (31) and the gripping element (32) can be positioned in an open position (33) below the support structure (41), and can be transferred into a closed position (34) for fixing the plate-shaped material (9) between the clamping element (31) and the gripping element (32) and then the gripper (30) in the closed position (34) can be transferred into the transport position (47), in which the plate-shaped material (9) is positioned adjacent to the support structure (41).

11. Handling device according to claim 10, characterized in that an additional clamping plate is provided on the support structure (41) engaging in the longitudinal opening (46) and / or covering the longitudinal opening (46).

12. Handling device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one sensor (498) is provided on the gripper (30) and / or on the guide bar (26), by means of which a position of the gripper (30) relative to an edge of the plate-shaped material (9) can be detected.

3. Handling method for handling a plate-shaped material (9) - with a handling device (17) comprising a support frame (18) with at least one longitudinal strut (19) and at least one transverse strut (20), on which a gripping device (25) is provided, which has two guide rails (26) aligned at a distance from one another, which can be moved at a distance from one another on the support frame (18), and with at least one gripper (30) arranged on each guide rail (26), which comprises a clamping element (31) and a gripping element (32), which can be transferred into an open position (33) and a closed position (34), and with a support structure (41) provided on the support frame (18), which extends at least partially in a plane or parallel to a plane of the support frame (18), in which the handling device (17) is positioned above the plate-shaped material (9) to be handled in a starting position in which the guide rails (26) are spaced apart from one another,which is larger than a format of the plate-shaped material (9), in which the support frame (18) is moved towards the plate-shaped material (9) until the plate-shaped material (9) is aligned with a gripping area of ​​the grippers (30), or the support structure (41) rests on the plate-shaped material (9), in which the grippers (30) are moved towards a respective edge of the plate-shaped material (9) by a displacement movement of the guide rails (26), and in which the grippers (30) are transferred into a gripping position (39) and the plate-shaped material (9) is fixed in a transport position (47) adjacent to the support structure (41).

14. Handling method according to claim 13, characterized in that, in order to assume the transport position (47), the grippers (30) are controlled so as to be movable relative to the support structure (41), or the support structure (41) relative to the grippers (30), or the grippers (30) and the support structure (41) relative to one another.

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