Gripper, an apparatus, and a method for assembling kits of sanitary products

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12030682-B2
Application number	US-202218080800-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 14, 2022
Priority date	Dec 15, 2021
Publication date	Jul 9, 2024
Grant date	Jul 9, 2024

Abstract

A gripper, an apparatus, and a method for assembling kits of sanitary products in an automated fashion are disclosed. The sanitary products are pre-loaded into containers including a plurality of independent housings for the sanitary products, each of the housings being configured to allow loading of a sanitary product therein and withdrawal of the sanitary product therefrom independently of the other housings, and the kit is assembled in batches on the gripper, and released by the latter into a package.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus for assembling kits of sanitary products, comprising:
a manipulator unit including a gripper as an end effector,
at least one storage unit for the sanitary products, the storage unit comprising an array of containers, each of the containers being a rack container comprising a rack of slot-like housings, each of said slot-like housings being configured to accommodate a sanitary product and being separated by a baffle, wherein each of the slot-like housings has an inlet opening, all of the inlet openings facing on one and the same side of the container, and further wherein said each baffle includes a first portion and a second portion arranged on opposite sides of a cutaway, the cutaway extending across the rack of slot-like housings and being arranged on an opposite side to the inlet openings,
an extractor unit comprising an extractor and an extractor drive facility configured to move the extractor across the array of containers of the storage unit and across the slot-like housings of each container, the extractor being operable to enter each container through the cutaway thereof to extract a batch of sanitary products from the respective slot-like housing, and
a conveying unit configured for carrying a plurality of packages for sanitary products,
wherein the gripper comprises:
a first gripping section,
at least one second gripping section,
the first gripping section comprising first and second gripping members defining a first gripping span therebetween,
each second gripping section comprising third and fourth gripping members defining a second gripping span therebetween,
wherein the first gripping member and the second gripping member are operable to vary a mutual distance thereof along a first direction, thereby varying the first gripping span therebetween,
wherein the third gripping member and the fourth gripping member of each second gripping section are operable to vary a mutual distance thereof along a second direction, thereby varying the second gripping span therebetween,
the first direction being transverse to the second direction,
wherein each of the first and second gripping sections is operable between a reception position and a gripping position, wherein in the reception position the respective gripping span is controlled to a value greater than the respective gripping span in the gripping position,
wherein the manipulator unit is configured to position the gripper at a rack container on an opposite side of the extractor unit to receive the batch of sanitary products from the rack container following extraction thereof by the extractor, each batch of sanitary products being received at one of said first gripping section and second gripping sections, and
wherein the manipulator unit is configured for positioning the gripper with batches of sanitary products in the first and second gripping sections at a package on said conveying unit to load the batches of sanitary products into the package.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the extractor unit is configured to extract batches of different sanitary products from the containers in the storage unit and loading each batch of sanitary products into a corresponding one of the first gripping section and the at least one second gripping section.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein in the reception position of each of the first and second gripping sections, the first gripping span associated with the first gripping section and the second gripping span of the second gripping sections are controlled to a value greater than a dimension of the batch of sanitary products in the direction of the first and second gripping spans, and
wherein in the gripping position of each of the first and second gripping sections, the respective first and second gripping spans are controlled to a value smaller than the dimension of the batch of sanitary products in the respective first and second directions of the first and second gripping spans.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , comprising a plurality of storage units on opposite sides of the conveying unit, and wherein the manipulator unit is arranged amid the storage units on opposite sides of the conveying unit.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first gripping section is adjacent to each of the at least one second gripping section.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first gripping section comprises a first drive unit configured to move the first gripping member and the second gripping member along the first direction, and wherein each of the at least one second gripping section comprises a second drive unit configured to move the third gripping member and the second gripping member along the second direction.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the first drive unit and said each second drive unit are independently operable.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the first gripping span is adjustable independently of said each second gripping span.

9. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the first drive unit is configured to operate the first gripping member and the second gripping member, and the second drive unit is configured to operate the third gripping member and the fourth gripping member in a reciprocating fashion to vary the first and second gripping spans thereof.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one second gripping section comprises two second gripping sections arranged on opposite sides of the first gripping section and adjacent thereto.

11. A method of assembling kits of sanitary products by means of an apparatus according to claim 1 , the method comprising:
positioning the gripper at the rack container on the side of the inlet openings thereof with one of the first gripping section and the at least one second gripping section in the reception position and with the respective first gripping span or second gripping span extending over a number of inlet openings) corresponding to a first batch of a kit of sanitary products to be loaded onto the one of the first gripping section and the at least one second gripping section,
positioning the extractor of the extractor unit on the side of the cutaway of the rack containers, and advancing the extractor through the cutaway of the rack container to extract the first batch of the kit of sanitary products to be loaded onto the one of the first gripping section and the at least one second gripping section,
controlling the gripping span of the one of said first gripping section and the at least one second gripping section to achieve the gripping position,
positioning the gripper at the rack container on the side of the inlet openings thereof with the other of the first gripping section and the at least one second gripping section in the reception position and with the respective first gripping span or second gripping span extending over a number of inlet openings corresponding to at least one second batch of the kit of sanitary products to be loaded onto the other of the first gripping section and the at least one second gripping section,
positioning the extractor of the extractor unit on the side of the cutaway of the rack container, and advancing the extractor through the cutaway to extract the at least one second batch of the kit of sanitary products to be loaded onto the other of the first gripping section and the at least one second gripping section,
controlling the first gripping span or the second gripping span of the other of said first gripping section and the at least one second gripping section to achieve the gripping position,
positioning the gripper comprising the kit of sanitary products loaded into the first gripping section and the at least one second grippi

Assignees

• Fameccanica Data Spa

Inventors

• Sablone Gabriele

Classifications

• B65B35/02

  Supply magazines · CPC title

• B65B5/06

  Packaging groups of articles, the groups being treated as single articles · CPC title

• B25J9/0093

  co-operating with conveyor means · CPC title

• A61F13/5514

  each item packaged single · CPC title

• G05B2219/45048

  Packaging · CPC title