Station for loading and unloading piece-carrying containers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9828194-B2
Application number	US-201214131047-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 4, 2012
Priority date	Jul 7, 2011
Publication date	Nov 28, 2017
Grant date	Nov 28, 2017

Abstract

A system for loading and unloading piece-carrying containers (C) in an industrial plant, comprising:
a station ( 2 ) for loading and unloading said containers; a workstation ( 3 ) to which the loaded containers are brought and at which the pieces are taken from said containers; and a turret ( 6 ), which can turn about a vertical axis and is designed to exchange with one another a first container in said workstation and a second container in said loading and unloading station, through a predetermined movement of rotation of said turret, said system being characterized in that, in order to carry out said exchange of said first and second containers, said turret is configured for lifting said first and second containers so as to release them and pick them up from said stations.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system for loading and unloading piece-carrying containers (C) in an industrial plant, comprising:
one or more trolleys each adapted to support a container;
a floor-level loading/unloading station ( 2 ) for loading and unloading each container carried on one of the trolleys positioned in the floor-level loading/unloading station, the trolleys separate and independent of the loading/unloading station;
a fixed, non-movable position workstation ( 3 ) positioned opposite of the floor-level loading/unloading station to which respective loaded containers are brought and deposited and at which the pieces are taken from said respective containers at the fixed position workstation; and
a turret ( 6 ), which can turn about a vertical axis of rotation and is designed to remove first containers carrying pieces from the independent trolley and exchange position with one another a second container empty of pieces in said fixed position workstation through a predetermined movement of rotation of said turret,
said system being characterized in that in order to carry out said position exchange of said first containers carrying pieces positioned at the loading/unloading station and second containers empty of pieces positioned at the fixed position workstation, said turret is configured for lifting upward said first container from said trolley and second container from said fixed position workstation, rotate about the vertical axis to reposition the first container at the fixed position workstation and the second container at the loading/unloading station, and lower the first and second containers to deposit the second container on the trolley and the first container in the fixed position workstation, the first position workstation having a reference for dimensionally fixedly positioning the first container in a precise and known positional location for removal of pieces from the first container.

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said turret comprises a first lifting fork or platform ( 14 ) and a second lifting fork or platform ( 16 ), which lie in a plane orthogonal to the axis of rotation of the turret and are mobile between a lowered position and a raised position, guided along the axis of rotation of the turret by drive means.

3. The system according to claim 2 , wherein said first and second lifting forks or platforms are carried by a single lifting body ( 18 ) that envelops the vertical structure of said turret and is slidably guided along it, and wherein said first and second lifting forks or platforms are mutually arranged so as to be simultaneously one in the fixed position workstation and the other in the floor-level loading/unloading station, and vice versa.

4. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said turret is designed to position said first containers in co-operation with said fixed position workstation reference for positioning said first containers in a precise and predetermined way.

5. The system according to claim 4 , wherein said fixed position workstation reference comprises guide surfaces, inclined with respect to a vertical direction, which are designed to engage the first container and to orient it in the correct position whilst the first container is made to drop downwards by the turret.

6. The system according to claim 5 , wherein said fixed position workstation reference comprises a board ( 22 ) designed to define a resting surface for the first container and comprising, on said resting surface, reference plates ( 24 ), each having a vertical wall ( 24 ′) and, on top of said vertical wall, a guide wall ( 24 ″) inclined with respect to the vertical, said plates being mutually arranged in such a way that their respective vertical walls are designed to contain the sides of the first container, substantially without allowing this any possibility of moving, and their respective inclined walls are instead designed to guide the first container between said vertical walls while the first container is made to drop downwards towards the resting surface.

7. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the loading/unloading station has means for receiving and guiding said trolley up to the turret.

8. The system according to claim 7 , wherein said means for receiving and guiding said trolley up to the turret comprise a bank of freely rotatable rollers ( 26 ), which are mounted on brackets fixed to the floor and are arranged in two opposed and substantially parallel rows ( 26 ′), designed to guide the trolley during approach to the turret, and two mutually diverging rows ( 26 ″), set in front of said parallel rows and designed to create a sort of lead-in for insertion of the trolley between the two parallel rows.

9. The system according to claim 1 wherein the trolleys are separate and independent of turret.

10. A system for reciprocally exchanging positions of piece containers for use in continuously supplying pieces for an industrial plant assembly line, the system comprising:
a plurality of trolleys each selectively operable to support a first piece container carrying pieces or a second piece container empty of pieces;
a floor-level loading/unloading station ( 2 ) operable to receive one of the plurality of trolleys positioned on an assembly plant floor and supporting a respective first or second piece container, each trolley separate and independent of, and independently movable with respect to, the loading/unloading station;
a fixed-position, non-movable workstation ( 3 ) positioned at a first angular distance from the loading/unloading station, the fixed-position workstation operable to automatically position a deposited first container in a dimensionally known and fixed position;
a manipulator robot positioned proximate the fixed-position workstation operable to selectively remove pieces from the first container positioned at the fixed-position workstation to support the industrial plant assembly line until the first container positioned at the fixed-position workstation is empty of pieces;
a turret ( 6 ) positioned directly between and immediately adjacent to the loading/unloading station and the fixed-position workstation, the turret further comprising:
a lifting body positioned along and linearly movable relative to a vertical axis, the lifting body further selectively rotatable about the vertical axis;
a first lifting member connected to the lifting body and extending radially outward relative to the vertical axis, the first lifting member operable to engage the first container positioned on a respective trolley positioned at the loading/unloading station; and
a second lifting member connected to the lifting body extending radially outward relative to the vertical axis and positioned at the first angular distance from the first lifting member, the second lifting member operable to engage the second piece container positioned at the fixed-position workstation, wherein the turret is selectively operable to lift the first piece container positioned at the loading/unloading station and the second piece container positioned at the fixed-position workstation along the vertical axis and exchange positions of the respective first and second piece containers through a single continuous rotation about the vertical axis and then lower the respective first and second piece containers at the respective loading/unloading station and the fixed-position workstation thereby replenishing the fixed-position workstation with a first container carrying pieces to support continuous assembly line operations.

11. The system according to claim 10 , wherein said each of the first and the second lifting members further comprises:
one of a lifting fork or platform positioned in a

Assignees

• Guindani Giuseppe
• Magni Gianni
• Comau Spa

Inventors

• Guindani Giuseppe
• Magni Gianni

Classifications

• B23Q1/66

  Worktables interchangeably movable into operating positions · CPC title

• B23Q7/02

  by means of drums or rotating tables or discs · CPC title

• B65G65/00 Primary

  Loading or unloading (of vehicles B65G67/00) · CPC title

• B23Q7/1431

  Work holder changers (B23Q7/1442 takes precedence) · CPC title