Bar Pick-Up Head With Temporary Supports for Long-Bar Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bar-picking devices struggle to accurately pick up the correct number of bars, often resulting in errors and inefficiencies, especially with long bars that remain twisted or curved, making them unsuitable for use.
Innovation Solution
A pick-up device with a support arm and temporary support means, including a central and lateral supports, aligns and extracts bars from a feed plane to a delivery plane, using a magnetic or electromagnetic gripping matrix and vertical secondary supports to maintain linear alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If magnetic pick-up arms are used to pick up bars, then bars can be picked up and delivered to the user machine, but the pick-up devices are not able to extract the correct and desired number of bars and/or the bars are picked up randomly without a particular spatial orientation
Solution Approach 1:
The pick-up device is divided into multiple independent pick-up heads, each capable of picking up a specific number of bars. The support arm can selectively position individual pick-up heads to extract the correct number of bars from the bundle, enabling precise control over bar extraction quantity while maintaining high productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The device incorporates detection means that scan the bar bundle and provide information about bar arrangement and quantity. This feedback system allows the control unit to adjust the pick-up head positions and extraction force to ensure the correct number of bars are picked up with proper spatial orientation
2Ease of operation
If bars are picked up from a scattered or entangled bundle, then bars can be extracted from the feed plane, but the bars are picked up randomly without a particular spatial orientation causing errors in counting and repositioning
Solution Approach 1:
The detection means scan and analyze the bar bundle arrangement before the pick-up operation begins. Based on this preliminary information, the control unit pre-positions the pick-up heads and adjusts extraction parameters to ensure bars are picked up with the correct spatial orientation and without random scattering
Solution Approach 2:
Different pick-up heads are positioned at specific locations on the support arm to target specific regions of the bar bundle. Each pick-up head can be independently controlled to extract bars with proper orientation from its local area, ensuring overall spatial precision even when picking up multiple bars
3Length of moving object
If very long bars exceeding 25 m are handled, then bars can be transported to the user machine, but the bars remain twisted and curved making it very difficult to pick them up and they can be subjected to flexions or curving
Solution Approach 1:
The support arm is divided into multiple articulated segments that can independently move and position themselves. This segmentation allows the support arm to adapt to the length and shape of long bars, maintaining proper alignment and preventing twisting or curving during extraction and transport
Solution Approach 2:
The support arm incorporates dynamic positioning capabilities with multiple degrees of freedom, allowing it to adjust its configuration based on the specific length and curvature of each bar. This dynamic adaptation enables the device to handle very long bars while maintaining their linear condition and preventing unwanted flexions
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Ensures accurate and efficient picking of bars, maintaining linear alignment and preventing errors, suitable for bars of varying lengths, reducing waste and operational inefficiencies.
Implementation Method 1
a magnetic or electromagnetic gripping matrix configured to extract bars from the feed plane
Implementation Method 2
a magnetic or electromagnetic gripping matrix configured to extract bars from the feed plane
Data Source
AI summary
Pick-up device (10) configured to selectively pick up and extract at least one bar (B) from a plurality of bars (B) disposed on a feed plane (111) and to position it on a delivery plane (12), said pick-up device (10) comprising a support arm (11) terminally provided with a pick-up head (12). The present invention also concerns an apparatus (100) for feeding bars (B) comprising the device (10) as above and a corresponding method for picking up bars (B).