Automatic lifting table

Abstract

The invention relates to an automatic lifting table (1) comprising a platform (12), on the surface of which products (3) can be stacked in layers, each layer being intended to receive a predetermined integer number (N) of products (3).

Description

AUTOMATIC LIFTING TABLE Technical field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic lifting table more particularly intended for the handling of products stored on a pallet. Technological background

[0002] In the wine industry, it is common practice to stack bottles horizontally in layers on pallet racks, shelves, or dedicated crates, starting from a minimum height, generally the surface area of ​​a shipping pallet placed on the ground. The person performing this task will therefore work at different heights. First, they will have to bend down to place the bottles on the lowest level of the pallet rack, and then their working height will gradually increase as more layers are added. Consequently, the operator is rarely in an optimal working position, leading to physical fatigue, a high risk of injury, and ultimately, a predisposition to back pain.

[0003] Document FR3000948 states that the receiving platform height of a handling table can be automatically adjusted to a comfortable operating height, regardless of the operator's anatomy or the size and weight differences of the packages being handled. However, this document is silent on how to increment the receiving platform height, and the loads all have different weights.

[0004] We also know of documents KR20190006248 and US2768756 disclosing grouped or individual items with identical or substantially identical unit weights and shapes. However, these documents are also silent on how to trigger the increment of the platform height.

[0005] The present invention aims to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks by providing an automatic lifting table that is both safe and economical.

[0006] To this end, the present invention relates to an automatic lifting table comprising a platform for stacking products in superimposed layers on its surface, each layer being intended to receive a predetermined whole number of products, each product being characterized by a unit weight.

[0007] According to the invention, the lifting table further comprises: - means for regulating the height of the platform to move the platform in height, - means for detecting a weight exerted on the platform, and - a control unit for controlling the means for regulating the height so as to set the platform to a predetermined initial height, and then to automatically move the platform in height by successive increments of a predetermined height each time the weight exerted on the platform is incremented by a weight increment whose value is substantially equal to the unit weight of a product multiplied by the whole number of products constituting a layer.

[0008] The lifting table thus allows the height of the platform to be automatically adjusted each time a layer is full of the whole number of products or emptied of the whole number of products, and to maintain the initially set working height in order to minimize the physical fatigue of the operator and consequently the risks of injury and a predisposition to back pain.

[0009] According to an advantageous feature of the invention, the control unit includes a counter for counting a total number of products stacked on the surface of the platform.

[0010] According to an advantageous feature of the invention, each product is further characterized by three-dimensional unit dimensions whose height, in storage position, extends along a vertical axis normal to the surface of the platform, and the value of the height increment is substantially equal to the unit height.

[0011] According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the height increment value, the weight increment value, the integer value, and the unit weight value are determined by the control unit from information identified on a label intended to be scanned via a reading device connected to the control unit in order to be stored in the control unit's memory. In this way, the lifting table can be configured automatically and easily.

[0012] According to another feature of the invention, the initial height value is set via a control interface connected to the control unit.

[0013] According to another feature of the invention, the initial height value is set so that an operator can load or unload products from the platform while minimizing the physical constraints for these operations.

[0014] According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the lifting table further comprises one or more locking devices enabling the platform to be held in a stable and secure manner at each of the different heights.

[0015] According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the locking device(s) are associated with one or more safety devices so as to maintain the platform at each height of the different heights in the event of a power or pneumatic supply failure. Brief description of the figures

[0016] is a view of a lifting table according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0017] is a view of a lifting table according to another embodiment of the invention.

[0018] An automatic lifting table 1 conforming to an embodiment of the invention is described, the lifting table 1 being intended for the handling of products 3, such as bottles, packs of laundry detergent, boxes of bolts, etc.

[0019] In a preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the figure, the products 3 are wine bottles, for example 75 centiliter Burgundy bottles.

[0020] The lifting table 1 includes a movable platform 12 for stacking the products 3 in superimposed layers on its surface. The products 3 can, but are not limited to, be stacked with or without intermediate supports, directly on the surface of the platform 12 or on the surface of a transport pallet placed on the surface of the platform 12, or in one or more containers placed on the surface of the platform 12 or on the surface of a transport pallet itself placed on the surface of the platform 12.

[0021] Here, "layer" refers to a horizontal arrangement of products stacked on top of each other vertically or horizontally, generally to optimize storage space.

[0022] Each layer is intended to receive a predetermined integer number N of products 3 horizontally or vertically, each product 3 being characterized by a unit weight Pu, and by three-dimensional unit dimensions Hu, Lu, lu whose height Hu, in storage position, extends along a vertical axis z normal to the surface of the platform 12. The three-dimensional unit dimensions Hu, Lu, lu are advantageously composed of the unit height Hu, a unit width Lu, and a unit length lu measured respectively along the x, y, and z axes of an orthonormal coordinate system (O, x, y, z) belonging to the platform 12, the three-dimensional position of a product 3 thus being defined with respect to the three-dimensional position of the platform 12.

[0023] It is essential to note here that the three products in a layer can be arranged to form, depending on their shapes, one or more horizontal sub-layers. For example, the products can be staggered across two sub-layers to maximize storage space while ensuring overall stability.

[0024] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention illustrated in the figure, the lifting table 1 can, in addition, be equipped with rolling elements 11, such as casters, adapted to move the lifting table 1 on a floor S. The lifting table 1 can thus be moved between different workstations of an installation.

[0025] The lifting table 1 also includes height regulation means 13 of the platform 12 adapted to move the platform 12 in height, within a height range between a minimum height Hmin and a maximum height Hmax.

[0026] The height control means 13 are advantageously connected, either articulated or non-articulated, to the platform 12, and may include, but are not limited to, a scissor mechanism consisting of articulated and interlocking arms associated with one or more cylinders, enabling the scissor mechanism to be deployed and thus raising or lowering the platform 12 to a desired height. It goes without saying that many other mechanisms can be used to move the platform 12 vertically, such as mechanisms composed of one or more electric, pneumatic, or hydraulic cylinders, one or more telescopic arms, lifting screw systems, etc.

[0027] The lifting table 1 may advantageously include, in addition, one or more locking devices not shown, such as one or more parking brakes, allowing the platform 12 to be held at a stable and secure height.

[0028] The locking device(s) can be associated with one or more safety devices so as to keep the platform raised in the event of a power or pneumatic supply failure.

[0029] The lifting table 1 further includes means 14 for detecting variations in a weight P exerted on the platform 12, the detection means 14 being configured to measure the force exerted on the platform 12 continuously or discretely. As illustrated in Figure 1, the detection means 14 are preferably arranged at the level of the platform 12 of the lifting table 1 so as to directly weigh the elements received on the surface of the platform 12, thus enabling automatic tare each time there are no more products 3 on the surface of the platform 12. Alternatively, and as illustrated in Figure 1, the detection means 14 can be arranged at the level of a base 11 of the lifting table 1 supporting the height adjustment means 13.

[0030] The detection means 14 may, but are not limited to, include one or more load cells, one or more dynamometers, or one or more industrial scales.

[0031] The lifting table 1 further includes a control unit 15 for controlling the height regulation means 13 so as to initially set the platform 12 to a predetermined initial height H0, and then to move the platform 12 in height by successive increments of a predetermined height Hc each time the weight P exerted on the platform 12 is incremented by a weight increment Pc whose value is substantially equal to the unit weight Pu of a product 3 multiplied by the integer number N of products 3 constituting a layer.

[0032] The control unit 15 comprises, but is not limited to, at least one controller and a memory connected to the controller for storing data, the controller being configured to execute a computer program. The control interface 15 can be connected by wire or wirelessly to a control interface 16, the control interface 16 advantageously allowing manual adjustment of all or some of the various values ​​necessary for the operation of the lifting table 1.In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the control interface 16 includes an application connected to the control unit 15, the application being adapted to adjust the size of the operator described below, add product definitions 3, each product 3 being able to be characterized, as described below, by its unit weight, its height in storage position, its width, its length, and by an integer number of products stored per layer on the platform 12 of the lifting table 1.

[0033] The control interface 16 can be local or remote from the lifting table 1, and, without limitation, include action buttons and a display screen, or a touch display screen for configuring and adjusting the lifting table 1. As illustrated in Figure 1, the control interface 16 can be integrated into a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet, wirelessly connected to the control unit 15. As illustrated in Figure 1, the control interface 16 can be integrated into a handle of the lifting table 1 made mobile by the rolling elements 11, the control interface 16 being wired to the control unit 15.

[0034] The initial height H0 is advantageously set so that the operator can load or unload products 3 from platform 12 while minimizing physical constraints; in this case, the initial height H0 is referred to as the "operator's working height." The initial height H0 is advantageously determined based on the operator's height, also known as "standing height," but can also be adjusted according to the operator's biomechanical parameters and the parameters of the workstation at which the operator is working.

[0035] In other words, each time the weight P exerted on the platform 12 is incremented by a positive increment of weight Pc, the platform 12 automatically deduces that a layer is loaded with the number N of products 3, and lowers itself by an increment of height Hc in order to maintain the working height of the operator.

[0036] Similarly, each time the weight P exerted on the platform 12 is incremented by a negative increment of weight Pc, in other words decremented by the weight Pc, the platform automatically deduces that a layer is unloaded by the number N of products 3, and rises by the increment of height Hc in order to maintain the working height of the operator.

[0037] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the computer program of the control interface 15 implements a counter, i.e., the control interface 15 includes a counter, to count a total number Np of products 3 stacked on the surface of the platform 12, i.e., stored on the surface of the platform 12. The counter cooperates with the detection means 14 to count the number Np of products 3 stacked on the surface of the platform 12 each time the weight P exerted on the platform 12 is incremented or decremented by the value of the unit weight Pu of a product 3. In this way, it is possible to track, unit by unit, and therefore more precisely, the storage of the products 3 on the platform 12, and to trigger an automatic tare of an initial empty weight P0 exerted on the platform 12 when the counter is equal to 0.

[0038] The height increment Hc, also called the "step" of height Hc, or "level" of height Hc, preferably corresponds to the height of a layer made up of the whole number N of products 3. The value of the step of height Hc is advantageously adjustable via the control interface 16.

[0039] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the initial height value H0 is stored in the memory of the control unit 15 in association with a unique identifier associated with each operator. In this way, each operator can identify themselves, for example via the control interface 16, and automatically trigger the height adjustment of the platform 12 of the lifting table 1 to the initial height associated with them according to their height.

[0040] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the value of the height increment Hc and the value of the weight increment Pc are stored in the memory of the control unit 15, and can be configured and adjusted via the control interface 16 according to the nature and characteristics of the stored products 3.

[0041] Generally, the control unit 15 is connected, on the one hand, to the detection means 14, and, on the other hand, to the height control means 13, so as to cooperate with the height control means 13 to automatically adjust the height of the platform 12 according to the total weight of the objects received on its surface, and, where applicable, the shape or dimensions of said objects. Each time said weight P exceeds a predefined threshold Pc (advantageously corresponding to the total weight of the number of products in a layer), the height of the platform is automatically decreased or increased respectively by a decrement or increment of height Hc so that the operator's working height remains constant.It is important to understand here that the detection of the weight increment Pc by the detection means 14 can be carried out in an absolute or relative manner, requiring in the latter case to tare the weight P exerted on the platform 12 at each weight increment Pc.

[0042] Each increment or decrement of height Hc of platform 12 is fully automatic, thus saving time in addition to preventing fatigue and back pain.

[0043] The lifting table 1 is advantageously powered electrically by an electrical power supply, thus enabling the various elements of the lifting table 1 to be powered electrically, such as the height regulation means 13, the detection means 14, and the control unit 15.

[0044] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, an initial height value H0 and an initial weight value P0 exerted on the platform 12 at the initial height H0 are stored in a memory of the control unit 15, and can be configured and adjusted via the control interface 16.

[0045] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the respective values ​​of the unit weight Pu of each product 3, the integer number N of products 3 per layer of products 3, and the unit height Hu of a layer, are identified on a label intended to be scanned via a reading device connected to the control unit 15 in order to be stored in the memory of the control unit 15. The label may incorporate a QR code or a barcode allowing the control unit 15, via the reading device, to access the configuration values ​​(Pu, Hu, N, Pc, Hc, etc.) stored in a remote server or database. In this way, the lifting table 1 can be configured automatically and easily.

[0046] It is important to understand here that the values ​​of the height increments Hc and weights Pc can easily be deduced by the control unit 15 from the unit values ​​of height Hu and weights Pu by knowing the integer number N of products 3 of a layer. Similarly, the value of the integer N can be deduced from the incremental values ​​Hc, Pc and the unit values ​​Hu, Pu.

[0047] A method for loading a lifting table 1 according to an embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figure 1 is now described. In this example, the platform 12 of the lifting table 1 receives a frame pallet 2 designed to receive bottles 3 stacked in layers of 32 bottles (here 32 corresponds to the integer N) lying horizontally, each bottle 3 being characterized by a unit weight Pu of approximately 1.5 kilograms and a unit horizontal height Hu of approximately 8 centimeters. This data is stored in the memory of the control unit 15, which automatically determines the value of the weight increment Pc equal to 1.5 × 32 = 48 kilograms, and the value of the height increment Hc equal to 8 centimeters.

[0048] The platform 12 of the lifting table 1, initially empty, is set, via the remote control interface 16, to an initial height H0 dependent on the operator's height. The value of the initial height H0 is stored in the memory of the control unit 15. The operator then places the bottles one by one on the surface of the platform 12 to form a first layer, and then progressively fills this first layer until the predetermined integer number N of bottles (here, 32 bottles) is reached. The control unit 15 then automatically detects, via the detection means 14, that a first weight increment Pc, in other words, a first plateau, has been reached, and commands the height regulation means 13 to decrease the height of the platform 12 (initially set at the initial height H0) by a first height increment Hc of 8 centimeters, corresponding to the height of one layer.The operator then arranges bottles again on the surface of the first layer to form a second layer, and then progressively fills this second layer until the predetermined whole number N of bottles is reached, i.e., again 32 bottles. The control unit 15 then detects, via the detection means 14, that a second weight increment Pc (48 kilograms relative or 96 kilograms absolute), in other words, a second plateau, has been reached, and commands the height regulation means 13 to decrease the height of the platform 12 by a second height increment Hc, i.e., again 8 centimeters, thus lowering the platform 12 by 16 centimeters relative to the initial height H0. The operator repeats these operations until the desired number of layers is formed.

[0049] If the operation consists of unloading the lifting table 1, whose platform 12 is initially loaded with a predetermined number of layers of 32 bottles, using the loading procedure described above, the operator unloads the bottles from the top layer until the predetermined whole number N of bottles, here 32 bottles, has been removed. The control unit 15 then automatically detects, via the detection means 14, that a weight increment Pc of -48 kilograms, i.e., a plateau, has been reached, and then commands the height control means 13 to increase the height of the platform 12 by a height increment Hc, here 8 centimeters. The operator repeats these operations until the platform 12 is completely emptied of the layers of bottles. Once the frame pallet 2 is empty, the lifting table 1 automatically lowers to its lowest level to facilitate unloading the frame pallet 2 by a stacker.

[0050] The present invention should not be considered as limited to the embodiment described and illustrated, but on the contrary covers all variants thereof.

Claims

An automatic lifting table (1) comprising a platform (12) for stacking products (3) in superimposed layers on its surface, each layer being intended to receive an integer number (N) of products (3), each product (3) being characterized by a unit weight (Pu), characterized in that the lifting table (1) further comprises: - means for adjusting the height (13) of the platform (12) to move the platform (12) vertically, - means for detecting a weight (P) exerted on the platform (12), and - a control unit (15) for controlling the height adjusting means (13) so as to set the platform (12) to a predetermined initial height (H0),then to automatically move the platform (12) vertically by successive increments of a predetermined height (Hc) each time the weight (P) exerted on the platform (12) is incremented by a weight increment (Pc) whose value is substantially equal to the unit weight (Pu) of a product (3) multiplied by the integer number (N) of products (3) constituting a layer. Lifting table (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit (15) includes a counter for counting a total number of products (3) stacked on the surface of the platform (12). Lifting table (1) according to claim 1 or according to claim 2, characterized in that each product (3) is further characterized by three-dimensional unit dimensions (Hu, Lu, lu) whose height (Hu), in storage position, extends along a vertical axis (z) normal to the surface of the platform (12), and in that the value of the height increment (Hc) is substantially equal to the unit height (Hu). Lifting table (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the value of the height increment (Hc), the value of the weight increment (Pc), the value of the integer (N), and the value of the unit weight (Pu) are determined by the control unit (15) from information identified on a label intended to be scanned via a reading device connected to the control unit (15) in order to be stored in a memory of the control unit (15). Lifting table (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the initial height value (H0) is set via a control interface (16) connected to the control unit (15). Lifting table (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the value of the initial height (H0) is set so that an operator can load or unload the products (3) from the platform (12) while minimizing the physical constraints for these operations. Lifting table (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lifting table (1) further comprises one or more locking devices enabling the platform (12) to be held at a stable and secure height. Lifting table (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the locking devices are associated with one or more safety devices so as to maintain the platform (12) in height in the event of a power or pneumatic supply failure. Lifting table (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lifting table (1) further comprises rolling elements (11) for moving the lifting table (1) on the ground.

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