CN111094155B

CN111094155B - Method and device for processing articles moving in at least one row in sequence

Info

Publication number: CN111094155B
Application number: CN201880055886.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 约翰纳斯·科齐格; 弗兰克·文亲格
Original assignee: Krones AG
Current assignee: Krones AG
Priority date: 2017-09-01
Filing date: 2018-08-06
Publication date: 2021-12-10
Anticipated expiration: 2038-08-06
Also published as: CN111094155A; WO2019042715A1; DE102017215320A1; EP3676203A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and a device (10) for processing piece goods (2) which are moved in at least one row one after the other and which are transported to a capture area (4) of at least one manipulator (5). In at least one handling step, at least two transported articles (2) of at least one row (1) are captured in a capture region (4), spatially separated from subsequent articles (2) of at least one row (1) and placed in a defined first relative target position with respect to the subsequent articles (2) of at least one row (1) under rotation and/or displacement. In this case, the piece goods are separated from the at least two piece goods transferred into the first relative target position and placed in a further defined relative target position with respect to the at least two subsequent piece goods transferred into the first relative target position under the condition of rotation and/or displacement. In this case, a stackable and/or palletizable layer formation (12) or sublayer and/or a preceding stage of such a layer formation (12) or sublayer is formed from a defined number of manipulated articles (2), which are transported in a transport direction (TR) and are supplied to further operating steps.

Description

Method and device for processing articles moving in at least one row in sequence

Technical Field

The invention relates to a method for handling articles moving in at least one row in sequence and to a device for handling articles moving in at least one row in sequence.

Background

In the known methods for packaging and/or palletizing piece goods, such as packages, bundles or the like, the piece goods are first conveyed onto a conveyor which conveys them in a straight line and are moved, oriented and/or organized in the manner described in order to produce the desired layered pieces which can then be stacked several times one on top of the other, for example on pallets prepared for this purpose. The processing step can be used in particular meaningfully in installations for processing containers for beverages. The piece goods concerned can be, for example, packages, boxes, cartons, bundles or stacks of articles. In order for the tray in question to be transportable, the laid-up layered pieces must meet certain requirements. In general, measures are necessary for preparing such layered products, which consist, for example, in grouping or collecting the items, which are initially conveyed regularly or stepwise on a so-called distribution belt, on an inserted conveyor belt in order to transfer them from there to a layering belt or a layering table in a collected and/or grouped manner.

It is known from the prior art to transfer the piece goods individually from the distribution belt onto the transport belt, whereby the transfer of the individual piece goods on the distribution belt onto the transport belt is in each case indicated. The transfer can be performed by: each individual piece goods is individually transferred onto the conveyor belt by means of a speed difference between the distribution belt and the conveyor belt, wherein control can be present by means of an optical sensor, such as, for example, a light barrier. It is also conceivable to transfer the piece goods individually from the conveyor belt by stepwise displacement of the layered belt. In order to transfer individual piece goods from the conveyor belt onto the layering belt in this way, respectively, the layering belt can move the length of the piece goods in the conveying direction with a pitch synchronized with the conveyor belt. On the conveyor belt, it is also possible to turn a portion of the piece goods in cycles or groups according to the desired layering for subsequent transfer onto the layering belt.

In order to form a group table for the gathering of articles, such as cardboard boxes, shrink packs, pallets and plastic boxes, different variants of embodiment are known from the prior art. Thus, for example, pieces of merchandise can be gathered as follows: the pieces are placed in a two-dimensional formation (in blocks, e.g. a pallet layer). For this purpose, for example, a rolling conveyor track of one or more channels can be fed linearly. The piece goods can be rotated as desired upstream of the roller conveyor or on the roller conveyor and set in the desired position on the roller conveyor mechanically by a stop. The piece goods thus positioned can then be pushed away orthogonally to the transport direction by the rolling conveyor. The entry, setting and ejection of piece goods can be considered here as a cycle. To program a layer, at least one cycle is required, however, a plurality of cycles is usually required. The partially discontinuous transport due to its relatively abrupt speed or direction change accordingly causes high mechanical loads on the piece goods, which can be detrimental to the processing of the protective products of the piece goods.

Document EP 1465101 a2 discloses a row of devices for packing goods for a strapping stacker. The strapping stacker includes at least one forming station and at least one palletizing station. The row of apparatuses comprises at least one positioning station on which the packaged goods are arranged in at least one row at a desired spacing during transport. The positioning station is connected to a supply conveyor associated with the layering station. At least one storage and transport machine is arranged upstream of the positioning station, wherein the positioning station has a plurality of conveyor segments which are arranged one behind the other in the transport direction and have controllable and controllable drives. With the aid of a controllable and controllable drive, it is possible to achieve a desired formation of the distance between the packaged goods. The row of devices has at least one monitoring device for determining and monitoring the formation of the distance between the packaged goods. The construction of the known row of devices is relatively complex and complicated, since the row of devices requires a large number of belts which require spacing formation and/or rotation for the packaging goods.

From US 5123231 a an apparatus for arranging articles into groups and their subsequent packaging is known. On the conveyor belt, the articles are conveyed at predetermined intervals to a collecting belt, on which groups of articles of the same number are arranged. The group is fed to the packaging device by means of a subsequent belt.

Disclosure of Invention

The primary object of the present invention is to enable a position-accurate handling and manipulation of piece goods which are transported or transported in at least one row. The corresponding device should be able to operate faster than the actuating devices known from the prior art, and the reliability should be at least approximately the same and the adjustment accuracy approximately the same.

The object of the invention is achieved by means of a method and a device for processing articles moving in at least one row one after the other.

The invention relates to a method and a device for handling and/or manipulating pieces of goods moving in at least one row in succession, which are transported to a capture area of at least one manipulator. The articles that are moved in at least one row one after the other can optionally have the same or different gaps between the articles that follow one another, optionally also be conveyed in a moving manner directly and without gaps in each case. Regardless of the sequence of the sequentially transported pieces, the pieces are generally transported in sequence flush. The piece goods transported in succession can be transported selectively periodically, for example in rows of a respective plurality of piece goods following one another, or the like. If, in connection with the present description, only methods, method variants, methods according to the invention etc. are mentioned, this generally means the method for processing items which are moved in at least one row sequentially and/or periodically sequentially and/or at different distances from one another. Furthermore, if only devices, device variants, devices according to the invention, etc. are mentioned in connection with the present description, this generally means devices for handling items that are moved in succession.

If the treatment item is referred to here in the exemplary embodiments and/or in the entire description, this includes both handling, capturing, positioning, movement in space, rotation, orientation, etc., in particular in connection with the manipulator and/or the movable part of the manipulator which is arranged in the capturing space and is movable there within definable limits. However, the term treatment likewise includes positioning, conveying and/or all types of operating steps which can take place in connection with conveying means, horizontal conveying means, conveyor belts or the like, are part of and/or effectively act on and/or are in conveying connection with the apparatus according to the invention, which is a downstream, upstream or integrated part of the apparatus according to the invention in the conveying and/or conveying direction.

The piece goods can be articles, packages, container arrangements, ties, cartons, etc. which are moved in sequence. For example, it can be provided that a plurality of identical or different articles are packaged in a cardboard box around one another, bundled in one or more bundles, packaged in film or the like to form a bundle or a mixed bundle. Furthermore, a plurality of beverage containers can be formed separately into a piece goods, which are held, for example, by shrink wrapping, by a strapping or a plurality of strapping. The pieces of goods moved in succession can be designed identically or differently depending on the requirements of the subsequent operating device.

At least two pieces which follow one another directly, for example, are transported in a row without spacing or with a minimum or also a large and/or variable spacing from one another and/or are transported toward an area, in particular a handling area or a capture area, for example as a self-contained formation. The term self-organizing formation can particularly denote that the sequentially transported pieces follow each other as free of gaps as possible. A self-contained formation in the sense of the present invention can be of infinite length and comprise a limited number of pieces, whereby gaps and such gaps may be able to cause other such formations which are subsequently transported. This sequence can be repeated, possibly also a number of times, in large numbers or with an indeterminate number. Self-organizing formations but can also be transported as endless formations that are uninterrupted and include any number of pieces. At least one transported piece goods is captured in a gripping and/or non-positive and/or positive manner from the formation or the self-contained formation, spatially separated from the formation and placed in a defined relative target position and/or target orientation with respect to the subsequent piece goods of the formation.

In contrast, the articles can, of course, also be conveyed to the manipulator or to the capture region thereof in a periodically entering manner, which can mean conveying in rows having a defined distance of the articles from one another in each case and/or rows of infinite length having in each case a large gap between such rows following one another. A self-organising formation in this sense can also be understood as a long sequence of a plurality of such rows, which therefore does not represent a gapless following of piece goods, but can also be regarded as a self-organising formation in the broadest sense as a whole, owing to the regular transport with a regularly repeating pattern of piece goods transported one after the other and their corresponding gaps between one another. Of course, this described transport sequence is closer to the terms of a periodically delivered piece goods or a periodic entry than the tight, gapless following of piece goods to one another. This periodic formation can be repeated, possibly also a number of times, in large quantities or in an indeterminate number. The periodic formation can be transported as an endless formation, which is uninterrupted and includes any number of pieces.

In at least one operating step, at least two transported articles are gripped and/or force-fitted and/or form-fitted within a capture region by means of an operator, separated from and/or set in a first relative target position and/or target orientation defined with respect to the subsequent articles of at least one row, in a rotated and/or moved condition, from the entry of an autonomous formation or of a periodically transported article, i.e. transported articles with a defined intermediate space between the articles or groups of articles following one another.

If in the context of the present invention reference is made to the grippable capture of piece goods, this likewise includes force-fitting and/or friction-fitting capture, force-fitting and/or friction-fitting capture or reception of piece goods. All these variants of receiving, capturing and/or catching piece goods can likewise be combined with form-fitting capture, capture or reception of piece goods. If a target position and/or a target orientation is mentioned in the context of the invention, this can mean, in particular, that the piece goods can be captured, moved and/or rotated and/or lifted, wherein the piece goods can optionally also be moved or lifted only (without rotation) or rotated only (without a movement).

The at least two captured articles are transferred into a defined first relative target position and/or target orientation within the capture region of the at least one manipulator, which is arranged/formed laterally offset from the row of at least one subsequent article, or which is laterally offset from the row of at least one subsequent article. For example, the manipulator is associated with a horizontal transport device on which it places the respectively captured piece goods in a relative target position and/or target orientation. The horizontal conveyor preferably moves in a transport direction and at a transport speed, which in particular corresponds to the transport direction and the transport speed of the piece goods transported in at least one row, preferably via at least one conveyor. I.e. the relative arrangement between the delivered piece goods and the piece goods placed by the manipulator is fixed, as long as it is not captured and manipulated again by the manipulator in a further method step.

In at least one further operating step of the further method sequence, at least one piece goods of at least one row and/or of at least two piece goods transferred into the first relative target position and/or target orientation is captured in a clamping and/or force-and/or form-fitting manner, is spatially separated from the respectively following piece goods of at least one row and the piece goods arranged in the first relative target position and/or target orientation, and is brought into a further, in particular second defined, relative target position and/or target orientation under rotational and/or translational conditions. In this case, in each method step, one, two or more piece goods can be captured and manipulated by the manipulator in each case in different quantities.

Thus, by means of a plurality of suitable handling steps, a stackable and/or palladable layer formation or sublayer and/or a preceding stage of such a layer formation or sublayer is formed from a defined number of handled pieces. This can be conveyed further in the transport direction and conveyed to further operating steps, for example pre-grouping to form compact layers and palletizing connected thereto to place the compact layers on a stacking surface, for example a pallet. If a manipulated piece goods is mentioned in connection with the present application, this is all the piece goods that enter the capture area of the manipulator and are arranged within the layer formation.

In this case, the piece goods can be captured by the manipulator and set in a defined relative target position and/or target orientation with respect to the subsequent piece goods. The individual pieces or groups of pieces can, however, also continue to move on the horizontal conveyor without contact with the manipulator flush in the transport direction, so that they occupy the target position within the layer formation. The spacing from the subsequent piece goods of the row being transported occurs here, for example, in the following manner: the manipulator grips the subsequent piece goods of the row in the transport direction and places them in the target position and/or target orientation according to the layer pattern.

The number of pieces and/or goods that can be gripped in the further handling step by the at least one manipulator or by the at least one gripper head of the at least one manipulator, which gripper head is described in more detail below, is in each case dependent in particular on the layer pattern to be created. In this case, at least one piece or a group of at least two pieces is always captured by the manipulator, separated from the subsequent pieces in at least one row and placed in the respective relative target position and/or target arrangement.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the placing of the piece goods captured by the manipulator into the defined first relative target position and/or target orientation and the placing into the further relative target position and/or target orientation are carried out in time succession, in particular in separate manipulation steps. This is particularly the case: the placement of the piece goods takes place with the aid of a single manipulator and/or, according to a predetermined layer pattern, the individual piece goods are captured twice by the manipulator and are placed in a first laterally offset target position and/or target orientation in a first manipulation step and are placed in a further target position and/or target orientation in a subsequent manipulation step.

According to one embodiment of the invention, in a further operating step, at least one of the at least two pieces which have been transferred into the first laterally offset relative target position and/or target-oriented piece is recaptured by the operating device and transferred into a further relative target position and/or target arrangement according to a predetermined layer pattern. That is to say that the setting of the at least one twice-manipulated item in the first target position and/or arrangement does not correspond to the desired arrangement according to the layer pattern preset and to be set up by the manipulator. In this embodiment, the sequentially moving pieces are also transported in at least one row to the capture area of at least one manipulator.

In the capture region, the at least two articles are captured in a clamping and/or non-positive and/or positive manner, are spatially separated from the subsequent articles of the at least one row, and are displaced in a defined first relative target position and/or target orientation in a rotating and/or moving manner laterally offset from the subsequent articles of the at least one row. The at least two laterally offset piece goods form a simulated additional row of piece goods, from which the manipulator can likewise grasp and displace the piece goods in the following method steps. In particular, it can be provided that the manipulator captures the simulated additional rows of pieces and places them in a further target position and/or target orientation in a subsequent method step, or that the manipulator uses normally transported rows of pieces. The piece goods placed in the respective target position and/or target orientation by the manipulator together with at least two piece goods laterally offset from the row of subsequent piece goods, which are likewise placed again in a further method step in a further target position and/or target orientation, form a stackable and/or palladable layer formation or sublayer and/or a preceding stage of such a layer formation or sublayer. The layer formation or sub-layer is transported in the transport direction and transported to further processing steps.

In this case, it can be provided that all the pieces initially arranged as a simulated second row in the first target position and/or target orientation are again gripped by the manipulator in one or more manipulation steps and oriented in a further target position and/or target direction according to a preset layer pattern to be created. Alternatively, it can also be provided that at least one of the at least two items arranged as a simulated second row in the first target position and/or target orientation is held in the first target position and/or target orientation as a component of the layer pattern to be created.

By arranging the pieces of goods in the capture area in the form of a simulated second row, the path traveled by the manipulator can be optimized, in particular the necessary return stroke can be shortened. In particular, a layer can be formed which at least partially comprises the piece goods which are captured twice by the manipulator and which are placed in a target position and/or target orientation in a time-staggered manner, in particular wherein the piece goods are first placed in a first intermediate position and/or intermediate orientation laterally offset from the row of the piece goods which follow in a row, and are then placed in a further target position and/or target orientation within the capture region of the manipulator, in particular on a horizontal conveyor associated with the manipulator, according to a predetermined layer pattern.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the manipulator can delay the captured and laterally offset piece goods with respect to the transport speed within the capture area. In particular, the manipulator can delay the transport speed of the piece goods relative to the horizontal transport device. The piece goods are preferably released by the manipulator in a first target position and/or target orientation, wherein the piece goods of the simulated additional row, which are arranged furthest forward in the transport direction, and the piece goods of the row entering into the capture area, which are arranged furthest forward in the transport direction, are located at a common height. The two forward-most pieces of the simulated row and the actual row are each located at the same distance from the capture area and are now transported further in parallel. In this way, the space within the capture region can be used particularly well.

The simulated additional rows can be used advantageously, for example, in the following cases: due to disturbances in subsequent processing modules, such as pre-grouping, palletizing, etc., layering must be delayed, whereas the transport of piece goods cannot be stopped immediately. The problem arises in particular in the following cases: the articles are shrink-wrapped articles which are transported substantially directly from the shrink tunnel to the capture area of the manipulator.

Although the shrink-film-wrapped product bunches can end up in a short time, the shrink-film-wrapped product bunches which are located in the shrink tunnel at the moment of disturbance must still be transported away from the transport tunnel in order to avoid excessive heating, which can lead to product damage. For this reason, it is particularly expedient in the spatially close arrangement of the shrink tunnel, grouping module comprising the horizontal conveyor and at least one manipulator and palletizer without an interposed buffer section or with only a short interposed buffer section that the layering within the grouping module is not immediately stopped by a disturbance in the subsequent processing module, but instead is delayed.

For example, the transport speed of the transport device transporting the piece goods and of the horizontal transport device of the grouping module can delay and adjust the motion profile of the at least one manipulator. Additionally, pieces no longer able to be processed can be arranged laterally offset as simulated additional rows from pieces subsequently entering the capture area, so that a simulated buffer area is formed. In this case, it can be provided that the piece goods already arranged offset in a simulated row are grabbed again by the manipulator in a subsequent method step and moved counter to the transport direction in order to counteract a movement of the horizontal conveyor in the transport direction and prevent the buffered piece goods from entering too far into the capture region and possibly disturbing the layering.

After the interference has been eliminated, the at least one manipulator can first process the buffered piece goods arranged in the simulated row. In this case, it can be provided, for example, that the horizontal conveyor is not switched on again, so that the buffered piece goods do not move in the transport direction. After the formation of at least one new layer arrangement and/or the processing of all buffered piece goods, the piece goods are only transported again in at least one row at a transport speed and the horizontal transport device is operated at a transport speed corresponding to the transport speed.

Furthermore, it can be provided that at least one manipulator captures at least two piece goods, separates them from at least one row of subsequent piece goods and places them in respectively different relative target positions and/or target orientations. According to an alternative embodiment, the placing of the piece goods into the defined first relative target position and/or target orientation and the further relative target position and/or target orientation takes place at least partially simultaneously in the temporal direction and/or in temporally intersecting phases. This is the case in particular in the following cases: two or more manipulators are provided for placing the piece goods or at least one manipulator comprises two or more individually controllable gripper heads which capture the piece goods independently of one another and can be placed in a corresponding target position and/or target arrangement. At least two manipulators or at least two gripper heads of a manipulator can move, turn, lift respectively captured pieces or the like independently of each other. For example, one of the at least two manipulators can grasp two pieces and arrange them laterally offset in a first relative target position and/or target orientation, while the other manipulator grasps at least one further piece of the row and arranges it in a second relative target position and/or target orientation in a time-synchronized or time-interleaved manipulation phase.

If a manipulator is generally mentioned in connection with the present application, this means at least one manipulator or at least one gripper head of a manipulator. Furthermore, embodiments are also included in which a plurality of manipulators or manipulators with a plurality of gripper heads that can be actuated independently of one another are used.

According to one embodiment, the piece goods are transported to the capture area of the at least one manipulator in at least two parallel rows. In this case, at least one defined handling step can be provided, in which at least two pieces of at least two parallel rows are captured simultaneously in each case, are separated from at least two rows which are conveyed in parallel in the same conveying direction and can be placed in respectively different relative target positions.

The manipulator can have, for example, at least two gripper heads which can be rotated independently of one another about parallel vertical axes of rotation, by means of which the manipulator can place the piece goods captured by it from at least two parallel rows in respectively different target positions, wherein the at least two rotatable gripper heads can place the piece goods captured thereby in respectively variable and/or respectively different target orientations in at least two different target positions. For example, it can be provided that one gripper head positions the piece goods captured by it laterally offset from the row of subsequently entering piece goods, while the other gripper head rotates the piece goods captured by it, for example, by 90 degrees about a vertical axis of rotation and positions it in a target position in which the row of subsequently entering piece goods is flush or laterally offset.

In addition, it can be provided that the gripper heads of the manipulator have a variable spacing from one another, which is the time interval between the capture of the piece goods and the placement of the piece goods in the respective target position and/or target orientation. It can furthermore be provided that the rotary movement and the change of the distance between at least two pieces of goods captured by the respectively large gripper head can be carried out simultaneously in some handling steps, in particular wherein the change of the distance between at least two pieces of goods and the rotary movement of the respective torque head of the manipulator are coupled at least in some handling steps. The coupling is preferably carried out electronically here by means of a suitable control device.

In particular, the manipulator can also simultaneously set different layer-forming pieces by means of at least two individually controllable gripper heads. For example, one of the gripper heads can set the last piece goods or the last group of at least two piece goods in the target position and/or target orientation, which piece goods/group together with the piece goods that have been set up accordingly before form a first layer formation, while the piece goods captured by the second torque head already form the beginning of a new layer formation.

The substantially simultaneous gripping of the piece goods transported in at least two parallel rows can alternatively also be carried out by means of at least two manipulators which can be actuated independently of one another. In this case, it can also be provided that the piece goods of the first layer and the piece goods of the second layer can be simultaneously placed in the respective target position and/or target direction by means of two manipulators.

By means of the above-described method steps, a stackable and/or palladable layer formation or sub-layer can be produced from at least two pieces of goods separated from at least one row and placed in a first relative target position and/or target orientation and by further pieces of goods placed in the respective relative target position and/or target orientation, which can subsequently be transported to a further operating device.

The invention also relates to a device for processing articles moving in at least one row in sequence. The device comprises at least one manipulator for the piece goods and at least one transport device via which the piece goods arranged in a row one behind the other can be transported into a capture region of the at least one manipulator. The at least one manipulator is designed to receive the at least one piece goods grippingly and/or non-positively and/or positively, to separate it from the following piece goods and to arrange it in the relative target position and/or target orientation. In at least one handling step, the manipulator captures at least two pieces and transfers them into laterally offset target positions and/or target orientations, as already described in detail in connection with the method. Furthermore, additional pieces, in particular at least one piece in each case, can be captured by the manipulator in a further method sequence and placed in a relative target position and/or target orientation defined in each case according to a predefined layer pattern. By means of the manipulation step, a stackable and/or palladable layer formation or sub-layer and/or a preceding stage of such a layer formation or sub-layer is formed, which is subsequently transported in the transport direction and conveyed to further operating steps.

The at least one manipulator can furthermore be designed to rotate the at least one captured item in order to transport it in a rotated and/or moved condition into a relative target position and/or target orientation.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the at least one manipulator comprises at least one gripper head. The gripper head must be designed for capturing at least one piece goods, in particular, but also for capturing at least two piece goods. The at least one gripper head is preferably arranged on the swivel joint so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis and serves to catch the piece item/items. The positioning of the gripper head of the manipulator relative to the row of the transported piece goods and/or relative to the piece goods arranged laterally offset in the first target position and/or target orientation in front is carried out in such a way that a number of piece goods arranged according to a predetermined layer pattern in the target position and/or target orientation can be captured by the manipulator.

The at least one manipulator or a part of the at least one manipulator may be formed by a parallel kinematics robot. In particular, the manipulator or a part thereof can be based on a so-called triangle robot or parallel kinematics robot, which in the case of a three-arm embodiment, as is increasingly used in practice, can also be referred to as a tripod. Each arm of such a tripod or a tripod robot is composed of an upper arm which is arranged on the base so as to be drivable in a pivotal manner about a pivot axis fixed to the frame and a lower arm which is connected in an articulated manner to the upper arm and to the coupling arm. Each arm of such a tripod or a tripod robot is composed of an upper arm which is arranged on the base so as to be drivable in a pivotal manner about a pivot axis fixed to the frame and a lower arm which is connected in an articulated manner to the upper arm and to the coupling arm. One or more lower arms can be connected to the respectively associated upper arm and coupling element, for example, via a ball joint. Such a single lower arm is freely pivotable and has no inherent stability. All upper arms of the triangular robot are each mounted so as to be pivotable about a pivot axis which preferably lies in a common plane, can be driven as a whole and are designed with separate drive motors. In each position, the three lower arms connected to the coupling element and to the respective associated upper arm form a force triangle which can be moved only when: the three upper arms perform their intended pivotal movements about their pivot axes fixed to the frame simultaneously or simultaneously. An operating device with such a manipulator and various methods which can be carried out with such a manipulator are described, for example, in application No. DE 102016206639.0, the contents of which are hereby incorporated into the present application and the contents of which should be regarded as known to the person skilled in the art when reading the present application.

The manipulator or the gripper head of the manipulator has according to one embodiment two movable gripper blocks which can be moved and/or can be moved relative to one another, between which at least one piece of goods is gripped in order to be moved accordingly to the target position. However, it is also expedient for a plurality of other gripping and/or capturing points to be remote, possibly also in combination. Since in this description, in addition to the positive capture of piece goods, reference is generally made to the capture of piece goods by gripping, it is noted here that force-fitting capture is also to be included here, since in each case it is not precisely determinable and in particular not precisely distinguishable from one another in the individual gripping processes how the actual force transmission from the gripping elements to the piece goods, strapping or the like takes place. The capture of the form fit during the simultaneous slight gripping also encompasses in all cases at least a slight force fit.

Another embodiment provides for the arrangement of the manipulators arranged one behind the other in the transport direction within the apparatus. The manipulator arranged upstream in the transport direction captures at least two piece goods and arranges them in a staggered arrangement with respect to the row of the row to be transported within the capture region, thereby simulating at least one additional transport row. The manipulator arranged subsequently in the transport direction picks up the piece goods necessary for layering from the row to be transported or at least one simulated row, respectively. Thus, a plurality of rows of parts for subsequent processing can be created in a simple manner from the row of parts being shipped. This reduces the distance of the manipulator for the subsequent creation of the layer formation, in particular so that the required return stroke of the manipulator between the placing of the piece goods in the target position and/or target orientation and the capturing of further piece goods can be reduced or minimized.

In a further embodiment variant of the method according to the invention for processing piece goods transported in at least one row in succession to the capture area of at least one manipulator, it is proposed that in at least one manipulation step at least two transported piece goods of at least one row are captured in the capture area in a clamping and/or force-and/or form-fitting manner, are spatially separated from subsequent piece goods of at least one row and are placed in a defined first relative target position and/or target orientation relative to the subsequent piece goods of at least one row while being rotated and/or moved. In addition, the further method variant provides for the at least two captured articles to be transferred into a defined first relative target position and/or target orientation, which is formed laterally offset from the rows of subsequent articles in the at least one row or is laterally offset from the rows of subsequent articles in the at least one row. In a further embodiment, the method provides that, in at least one further operating step, at least one of the at least two pieces of goods transferred into the first relative target position and/or target orientation is captured in a clamping and/or force-and/or form-fitting manner and is spatially separated from the subsequent pieces of goods of the at least two pieces of goods transferred into the first relative target position and/or target orientation and is brought into a further defined relative target position and/or target orientation in a rotated and/or moved condition. Furthermore, it is proposed that a defined number of the manipulated pieces form a stackable and/or palladable layer formation or sublayer and/or a preceding stage of such a layer formation or sublayer, which is transported in the transport direction and delivered to further processing steps.

It is mentioned here in detail that all aspects and embodiment variants which are explained in connection with the device according to the invention can equally relate to or be a sub-aspect of the method according to the invention. The same applies, on the contrary, so that all aspects and embodiment variants set forth in connection with the method according to the invention can equally relate to or be a sub-aspect of the device according to the invention.

The above-described embodiments of the method carried out by means of a suitable device serve in particular to avoid collisions of piece goods with machine parts and/or to maintain operation during access and in particular during subsequent operation.

Drawings

The embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensional relationships of the individual elements in the figures do not always correspond to the actual dimensional relationships, since some shapes are simplified and others are shown enlarged relative to others for better illustration.

Fig. 1 to 16 show schematically the time course of a first embodiment of a method for processing pieces of goods moving in at least one row one after the other by means of an operating device.

Fig. 17 and 18 schematically show the time course of a second embodiment of a method for processing pieces of goods moving in two rows one after the other by means of a corresponding handling device.

Fig. 19 shows a third embodiment.

Fig. 20 to 22 show a further procedure for handling pieces of goods moving in two rows one after the other by means of corresponding handling devices.

Fig. 23 to 33 show an alternative procedure for a method for processing pieces of goods moving in at least one row one after the other by means of a corresponding handling device.

The same reference numerals are used for identical or functionally equivalent elements of the invention. Furthermore, for the sake of clarity, only the reference numerals necessary for describing the respective figures are used in the individual figures. The embodiments shown in the figures are only examples of how the device according to the invention and the method according to the invention can be constructed and do not set any exclusive limits to the invention or the inventive concept.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 to 16 schematically show the time course of a first embodiment of a method for processing articles 2 moving in at least one row 1 one after the other by means of an operating device. The operating device 10 is in particular a layering module, which comprises at least one grouping module 20. The illustrated handling device 10 comprises a first transport device 3, via which the pieces 2 directly following one another are transported in the first row 1 without interruption and/or at a continuous transport speed v3 into the capture area 4 of at least one manipulator 5 of the handling device 10. The capture region 4 in this context represents in particular the maximum and/or respectively programmed movement space of the manipulator 5. As can be seen from fig. 1, the capture area 4 or its external spatial limitation can be greater than the external limitation of a preset horizontal conveyor 6, on which the substantially horizontal upper side of the piece goods 2 is conveyed and/or is positioned and/or moved by means of the manipulator 5. In general, however, the capture region 4 of the manipulator 5 is a meaningful movement region in which the item of goods 2 to be captured can be located and/or in which the item of goods 2 to be placed can be positioned. At least one manipulator 5 and a horizontal transport device 6 form the main components of a grouping module 20, in which the articles 2 are arranged according to a predetermined layer pattern.

The articles 2 in the sense of the invention or in the sense of the described embodiments can be, for example, individual articles, packages or strapping. The packaging or strapping can be, for example, a shrink film strapping and/or a hoop strapping or the like, wherein a plurality of articles, such as, in particular, containers, liquid and/or beverage containers, are usually combined to form a strapping.

The piece goods 2 can be transported on the transport device 3, for example, continuously without interruption in the transport direction TR. Alternatively, rows can also be delivered, each of which contains a number of piece goods 2, which are required, for example, to form a piece goods layer for further processing. Such rows can be followed by other rows of the same type or shorter or longer, wherein a spacing can possibly exist between the rows following one another. The distance and length of the respective rows are meaningfully dependent on the desired processing speed of the layered or used manipulator 5 or the maximum movement speed of the movable components of the manipulator 5 which is maintained for a certain duration during normal operation. However, it is also possible to consider an infinite row 1 with in principle an infinite number of pieces following one another, which are conveyed into the capture region 4 of the manipulator 5 until a planned or unplanned facility shutdown takes place. If in this context it is mentioned that the piece goods 2 follow each other without gaps or directly follow each other, this includes not only the case of touching of the piece goods 2, but also the case of slightly spaced apart piece goods 2, wherein the case can be random and/or due to small size deviations of the piece goods 2, etc.

The transport device 3 is, for example, at least one conveyor belt or at least one other suitable transport device on which the piece goods 2 are transported, preferably in single rows (respectively), wherein no or only slight, likewise process-related and/or predetermined gaps are present between the piece goods 2 which respectively directly follow one another. In particular, the transport device 3 can be formed by an endless revolving conveyor belt, an endless conveyor chain or the like, so that the piece goods 2 can be delivered and conveyed to the horizontal conveyor device thereby. The articles 2 lying on the transport device 3 in the row 1 thus enter the capture area 4 of the manipulator 5 in a so-called self-contained formation F.

The manipulator 5 is designed and constructed for gripping and/or positively and/or non-positively receiving the

piece goods

2, 2 within the capture area 4. The piece goods 2 captured by the manipulator 5, i.e. the piece goods 2 captured usually at the top in the formation F, are then denoted with the reference numeral 2 in order to be distinguished from the remaining piece goods 2 provided in the formation F or the overall formation. For example, the handling device 5 takes one, preferably at least two or three sequentially arranged

articles

2, 2 coming in from the integrated formation F, separates them from the formation F of a single row of articles, and conveys the separated articles 2 or two or three groups of articles 2 arranged in a row without gaps into the target position P and/or the target orientation, respectively, according to a predetermined layer pattern for creating the layers 2 or sub-layers. In this case, it can be provided that the piece goods 2 or the group of piece goods 2 are displaced laterally relative to the incoming formation F of piece goods 2, and/or that the piece goods 2 or the group of piece goods 2 are spaced apart from the formation F of piece goods 2 in the transport direction TR by the manipulator 5, and/or that the piece goods 2 or the group of piece goods 2 are rotated relative to the piece goods 2 of the formation F, etc. Furthermore, manipulator 5 can also lift at least one captured piece 2 and possibly onto piece 2 already arranged in target position P on horizontal conveyor 6, or onto piece 2 of row 1.

If in this case or generally in the context of the present invention a generic reference is made to the manipulator 5, the component of the manipulator 5 provided for transporting at least one piece goods 2, 2 x, 2a to the target position P and/or the target orientation is in particular a tool head, a gripper head or the like, which is held and supported, for example, on a movably supported boom, which in turn can typically be supported on a frame or the like in a manner fixed to the frame. This kind of manipulator suspension or manipulator arrangement, also referred to as a parallel kinematics robot, enables the desired mobility of the gripper head (also gripper head of the manipulator 5) which can capture, move, position, place, rotate, etc. the piece goods 2, 2a in a desired manner in order to be able to achieve the respective target position P and/or target orientation for the piece goods 2, 2 a. However, other suitable manipulator configurations are also conceivable, for example manipulator configurations with portal robot guides, etc. The further manipulator configurations can optionally relate to single, multiple or all embodiments, which are mentioned in connection with the present description of the figures and/or the entire description of the invention.

Fig. 1 to 16 are schematic top views showing the play-free further guided transport of a row 1 or a formation F which arrives in the capture area 4 of the handling device 10 or manipulator 5 in the transport direction TR. In particular, the articles 2 of row 1 are transported further on the horizontal conveyor 6 in the capture area 4 without interruption and at a constant speed v6, to be precise before being positioned or captured by the manipulator 5 and usually again after reaching the respective target position P.

As already mentioned above (only shown in fig. 1), the capture region 4 is in particular associated with a horizontal conveyor 6, the surface of the

carrier

2, 2 of which moves at a speed v 6. In particular, the speed v6 of the horizontal conveyor 6 corresponds to the transport speed v3 of the transport device 3. Optionally, the transport speed v3 and the transport speed v6 are also slightly different, as long as it can be ensured that: the transfer of the

piece goods

2, 2 to the horizontal transfer device 6 is maintained without interruption. The piece goods 2 arriving via the transport device 3 in the row 1 or in the formation F can be moved at least at different speeds v3 and v6 by the back pressure of the following piece goods 2 which may occur due to the higher transport speed v3, above the horizontal conveyor 6 and can be conveyed there without interruption. It is necessary, however, to eliminate this back pressure by suitable measures, for example by means of a rubber-coated conveyor belt of the horizontal conveyor 6 and/or by means of a rubber-coated conveyor belt of the transport device 3, optionally also by means of a brake belt between the transport device 3 and the horizontal conveyor 6, which brake belt is characterized by a surface of the carrier goods 2 having a particularly high coefficient of friction. These or other suitable measures serve to precisely position the respective piece goods 2 at the respective capture positions of the capture area 4, so that a precise acceptance by the manipulator 5 is ensured. However, it should be emphasized that such measures for eliminating back pressures which may be present or occur are not desirable, even when they cannot be used in a disclainable or meaningful manner, depending on the selected configuration of the movable component.

Downstream of the grouping module 20 in the transport direction TR, for example, a pre-grouping device 21 is provided, in which the

articles

2, 2 arranged in layers 12 are pushed together by means of suitable centering elements (not shown) to form a compact layer 13.

In order to optimize the processing time, in particular to reduce the path traveled by the manipulator 5 between the capture of a

piece goods

2, 2 and the positioning and/or recapturing of a

further piece goods

2, 2 in the target position P and/or target arrangement, a greater number of

piece goods

2, 2 can be captured by the manipulator 5 and set up and/or grasped as a new second row 1-2 within the grouping module 20 on the horizontal transport device 6 (fig. 1 to 3). In a subsequent method step, the subsequently entered piece 2 within the row 1 or the

piece

2, 2 of the row 1-2 created again within the grouping module 20 via the transport device 3 is now captured by the manipulator 5 and placed in the desired target position P and/or target arrangement according to the preset layer pattern.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, four piece goods 2 are captured by the manipulator 5 from the row 1 entered via the transport device 3 (see fig. 1) and are arranged laterally offset as a new row 1-2 on the horizontal conveyor 6 (see fig. 2 and 3). The new row 1-2 is arranged offset to the right, in particular in the transport direction TR, from the row 1 entering on the transport device 3. According to fig. 4, the new row 1-2 of

pieces

2, 2 is again captured by the manipulator 5 and, after rotating 90 degrees in the counterclockwise direction, is placed in the target position P1 (see fig. 5). In the following method step, the two

pieces

2, 2 of the newly created row 1-2 are captured according to fig. 5 to 8 and are placed in the target position P2 with a rotation of 90 degrees in the clockwise direction. In a subsequent step, four piece goods 2 are captured by the manipulator 5 from the row 1 entered via the transport device 3 and are set as a new row 1-3 laterally offset to the left in the transport direction TR on the horizontal conveyor 6 (see fig. 8 to 11). Subsequently, two

pieces

2, 2 of row 1 entered via transport device 5 are captured by manipulator 5 and inserted into respective target position P3 in the gap between two

pieces

2, 2 of row 1-2 placed at target position P2 rotated 90 degrees in the clockwise direction and the

last piece

2, 2 of row 1-2 not processed further by manipulator 5 after forming said new row 1-2, wherein a rotation of 90 degrees in the counter-clockwise direction and a lifting of

last piece

2, 2 of row 1-2 may be necessary, and wherein a rotation of 270 degrees in the clockwise direction may be meaningful (see fig. 11 to 14).

Subsequently, the

pieces

2, 2 of the rows 1 to 3, which are now newly created on the horizontal conveyor 6, are successively captured by the manipulator 5 and are accordingly set in the preset target position P4 etc. and/or the target arrangement on the horizontal conveyor 6 for forming another layer according to the preset layer pattern (see fig. 15 and 16).

Due to the continuous movement of the horizontal transport device 6 in the transport direction TR, the already finished layers 12 of the

articles

2, 2 positioned in fig. 1 are continuously transported further in the direction of the pre-grouping device 21. If all the

pieces

2, 2 of the layer 12 are inside the pre-grouping device 21 (see fig. 12), they are pushed together by means of suitable centering elements (not shown) to form a compact layer 13 (see fig. 13). As centering elements, for example, pushing rods that can be fed in each case parallel to one another are used. In this case, at least one stop lever extending transversely to the transport direction TR and a first push lever arranged downstream in the transport direction TR and extending transversely to the transport direction TR can be provided. The first pusher arm can be moved in the transport direction TR. In this case, the first pusher pushes the

pieces

2, 2 of the layer 12 against the first stop bar in the transport direction TR and closes the gap between the

pieces

2, 2 of the layer 12. Furthermore, second pusher bars arranged parallel to the transport direction TR and movable transversely to the transport direction TR can be provided, which push the

pieces

2, 2 of the layer 12 together by a feed movement relative to one another, thus forming a compact layer 13.

Fig. 17 and 18 schematically show the time course of a second embodiment of a method for processing articles 2 moving in sequence in at least one row 1 by means of a corresponding handling device 10. In this exemplary embodiment, the articles 2 are delivered to the grouping module 20 in two

parallel rows

1a, 1b via two

parallel transport devices

3a, 3 b. The horizontal conveyor 6 of the grouping module 20 can be formed by an endless conveyor belt or by a plurality of conveyor belts arranged parallel next to one another. Within the grouping module 20, in this case two

manipulators

5a, 5b are provided. In particular, it is proposed that the handling devices 5a each grip the articles 2 of the row 1a and are arranged as partial layers 12a on the horizontal transport device 6 according to a predefined layer pattern. Furthermore, it is proposed that the handling devices 5b respectively grip the articles 2 of the row 1b and are arranged as partial layers 12b on the horizontal transport device 6 according to a predefined layer pattern. The two

manipulators

5a, 5b can preferably be actuated independently of one another, the movement profiles of the two

manipulators

5a, 5b however being coordinated with one another in such a way that they do not collide.

Additional entry rows 1-2 of articles 2 are also created, at least temporarily, within grouping module 20. The new, additional rows 1-2 of pieces 2 created by the

manipulators

5a, 5b according to the embodiment of fig. 1 to 16 are then used to complete the

respective sub-layers

12a, 12b (fig. 18). In connection with this, the two

partial layers

12a, 12b are pushed together within the pre-grouping device 21 to form a compact layer 13 and are particularly ready for palletizing.

Even if the

manipulators

5a, 5b always grip and process only one

row

1a or 1b of pieces 2 each, as described in connection with the description of the figures of fig. 17 and 18, embodiments can be considered in which one of the

manipulators

5a or 5b grips two

rows

1a, 1b of pieces 2, respectively. Another possibility is that one of the

manipulators

5a or 5b generates a new, additional row (not shown) within the grouping module 20, from which the

other manipulator

5b or 5a takes the piece goods 2 for additional arrangement in the target position and/or target arrangement.

The schematic top view of fig. 19 shows a third embodiment. In this case, the two

manipulators

5a, 5b are arranged in the grouping module 20 such that their

capture areas

4a, 4b are arranged one behind the other in the transport direction TR and do not overlap or only partially overlap. The horizontal conveyor 6 is formed in the exemplary embodiment shown by two horizontal conveyors 6a, 6b which adjoin one another flush in the transport direction TR, but can also be formed by a single continuous horizontal conveyor 6. During the production of substantially only further additional rows 1-2 etc. by the first manipulator 5a, the subsequent manipulator 5b in the transport direction TR creates the desired layer 12 from the piece goods 2 entered via the

transport devices

3a, 3b and the additional piece goods 2 of rows 1-2 etc. created within the grouping module 20 according to the preset layer pattern.

It can also be provided that the first control device 5a is exposed to tasks in the middle of the normal group operation, whereas the capture region 4a of the first control device 5a is essentially a pure traffic route in the normal group operation. The first manipulator 5a is used in particular in the event of a subsequent disturbance in operation, for example in the event of a subsequent palletization or the like. In the case of a disturbance, the problem arises that pieces still remain in the upstream constriction channel. This should be removed from the shrink tunnel, i.e. the shrink tunnel should be emptied, in order to avoid damage to the piece goods due to excessive heat transport. If there is no or insufficient buffer zone between the shrink tunnel and the grouping module 20, parallel rows of at least one further accessory can be produced by the first manipulator 5b from the articles 2 conveyed from the shrink tunnel as a result of emptying. In this way, a relatively large number of articles 2 can be arranged within the grouping module 20, which thus additionally forms or provides a buffer region.

After the interference cancellation, the second manipulator 5b can first use the piece goods 2 arranged by the first manipulator 5a in at least one additional row 1-2 for creating a further layer, after which the supply of the piece goods 2 takes place from the shrink tunnel in the grouping module 20.

In this way, collisions within subsequent process modules which are involved in interference can be avoided in a simple manner, and the ongoing operation can be maintained at least until all pieces are removed from the upstream shrink tunnel. Since the transfer of the piece goods to the shrink tunnel is not received again until the interference of the subsequent processing module is reliably eliminated, a time offset occurs until the finished piece goods 2 arrive again at the grouping module 20 from the shrink tunnel via the transport device 3. The time offset can advantageously be compensated for by the buffering of the piece goods 2 within the grouping module 20, since the piece goods 2 buffered by the first manipulator 5a in at least one additional row 1-2 can now be used for layering by the second manipulator 5 b.

Fig. 20 to 22 are schematic diagrams showing a further process of a method for processing articles 2 moving in succession in at least one row 1 by means of a corresponding handling device 10. In this embodiment, the piece goods 2 are transported in two

parallel rows

1a, 1b to the grouping module 20 via a common transport device 3 or via two

transport devices

3a, 3b arranged in parallel. The transport means 3a, 3b are for example horizontal conveyors, in particular belt or chain conveyors. In particular, the articles 2 are transported directly following one another in the

rows

1a, 1b without interruption and/or at a continuous transport speed v3 into the capture area 4 of at least one manipulator 5 of the handling device 10. The capture region 4 in this context represents in particular the maximum and/or respectively programmed movement space of the manipulator 5.

The capture area 4 or its outer spatial limitation can be greater than the outer limitation of a preset horizontal conveyor 6, on which the substantially horizontal upper side of the piece goods 2 is conveyed and/or is positioned and/or moved by means of the manipulator 5. In general, however, the capture region 4 of the manipulator 5 is a meaningful movement region in which the item of goods 2 to be captured can be located and/or in which the item of goods 2 to be placed can be positioned. At least one manipulator 5 and a horizontal transport device 6 form the main components of a grouping module 20, in which the articles 2 are arranged according to a predetermined layer pattern.

The piece goods 2 can be transported on the transport device 3, for example, continuously without interruption in the transport direction TR. A row can be delivered which comprises a number of piece goods 2 each, which number is required for example for forming one layer of piece goods for further processing. Such a row can be followed by other rows of the same type or shorter or longer, wherein a spacing, in particular greater than 10cm, can possibly be present between the rows following one another. The spacing and length of the respective rows are meaningfully dependent on the processing speed of the manipulator 5 or the maximum movement speed of the movable components of the manipulator 5 which is to be maintained for the duration during the normal operation, respectively desired for the use of the grouping module 20 of the layering or operating device 10. However, it is also possible to consider an infinite row 1 with in principle an infinite number of pieces following one another, which are conveyed into the capture region 4 of the manipulator 5 until a planned or unplanned facility shutdown takes place. If in this context it is mentioned that the articles 2 follow each other without gaps or directly follow each other, this includes not only the case of touching of the articles 2, but also the case of articles 2 which are slightly spaced apart from each other, in particular less than 10 cm. The situation can be random and/or due to small size deviations of the piece goods 2, etc.

The transport device 3 or the

transport devices

3a, 3b are, for example, at least one conveyor belt or at least one other suitable transport device on which the piece goods 2 are transported, preferably in single rows (respectively), wherein no or only slight, likewise process-related and/or predetermined gaps are present between the piece goods 2 respectively directly following one another. In particular, the transport device 3 or the

transport devices

3a, 3b can be formed by endless circulating conveyor belts, endless conveyor chains or the like, so that the piece goods 2 can be delivered and conveyed to the horizontal conveyor of the grouping module 20 thereby. The articles 2 lying on the transport device 3 in the row 1 are thus moved in a so-called self-contained formation F into the capture area 4 of at least one manipulator 5.

Within the grouping module 20, two

manipulators

5a, 5b are provided in the present exemplary embodiment, which can preferably be actuated independently of one another. Alternatively, it can be provided that the two

manipulators

5a, 5b can be operated and operated synchronously via a control device (not shown).

The

manipulators

5a, 5b are designed and constructed for gripping and/or positive and/or non-positive reception of the

piece goods

2, 2 within the capture area 4. The piece goods 2 captured by the manipulator 5, i.e. the piece goods 2 captured usually at the top in the formation F, are then denoted with the reference numeral 2 in order to be distinguished from the remaining piece goods 2 provided in the formation F or the overall formation.

For example, the

manipulators

5a, 5b each grip at least one, preferably at least two or three, successively arranged

articles

2, 2 coming in from an integrated formation F, separate them from the single-row formation F of articles 2, and transport the at least one, respectively separated article 2 or two or three groups of articles 2 arranged in a row without gaps into the target position and/or target orientation, respectively, according to a predetermined layer pattern for creating a layer 2 or a sublayer.

In this case, it can be provided that the piece goods 2 or the group of piece goods 2 are displaced laterally relative to the incoming formation F of piece goods 2, and/or that the piece goods 2 or the group of piece goods 2 are spaced apart from the formation F of piece goods 2 in the transport direction TR by means of the respective manipulator 5, and/or that the piece goods 2 or the group of piece goods 2 are rotated relative to the piece goods 2 of the formation F, etc. Furthermore, the corresponding manipulator 5 can also lift at least one captured piece 2 and possibly onto a

piece

2, 2 or a piece 2 of a row 1 already arranged in the target position P on the horizontal conveyor 6.

If in this case or generally in the context of the present invention a generic reference is made to the

manipulator

5a, 5b, the component of the

manipulator

5a, 5b provided for transporting at least one

piece goods

2, 2 to the target position P and/or the target orientation is in particular a tool head, gripper head or the like, which is held and supported, for example, on a movably supported boom, which in turn can typically be supported on a frame or the like in a manner fixed to the frame. This kind of manipulator suspension or manipulator arrangement, also referred to as a parallel kinematics robot, enables the desired mobility of the gripper head (also gripper head of the manipulator 5) which can capture, move, position, place, rotate, etc. the

piece goods

2, 2 in a desired manner in order to be able to reach the respective target position P and/or target orientation for the

piece goods

2, 2. However, other suitable manipulator configurations are also conceivable, for example manipulator configurations with portal robot guides, etc. The further manipulator configurations can optionally relate to single, multiple or all embodiments, which are mentioned in connection with the present description of the figures and/or the entire description of the invention.

The articles 2 of the

rows

1a, 1b are transported further in the grouping module 20 on the horizontal conveyor 6 without interruption and at a constant speed v6, namely before being positioned or captured by the

manipulators

5a, 5b and usually again after reaching the respective target positions and/or target arrangements.

Downstream of the grouping module 20 in the transport direction TR, for example, a pre-grouping device 21 is provided, in which the pieces 2 arranged in layers are pushed together by means of suitable centering elements (not shown) to form a compact layer 13. The compact layers can be transported to the palletizer in connection therewith.

In the event of a disturbance in a subsequent processing module, for example in a palletizer or the like, it is often not expedient to stop the module arranged upstream in the method immediately. For example, despite the fact that the shrink tunnel provided upstream of the grouping module 20 is rapidly no longer equipped with an arrangement of articles for shrinking the film around the shrinking of the arrangement of articles to produce articles in the form of bundles. However, the arrangement of items wrapped in shrink film, which are located within the shrink tunnel at the moment of disturbance, must still be transported away from the shrink tunnel in order to avoid intensive heating thereof, which may lead to product damage. For this reason, in particular if the shrink tunnel, the grouping module 20 and the palletizer are arranged spatially closer together without an intermediately arranged buffer section or with only a short intermediately arranged buffer section, it makes sense that the layering within the grouping module 20 is not immediately stopped by disturbances in the subsequent processing modules, in particular instead of delaying them.

This is achieved in particular in that the transport device 3 and/or the horizontal conveyor 6 which is carrying out the transport run more slowly and the motion profiles of the

manipulators

5a, 5b are correspondingly adapted thereto, so that the desired arrangement of the piece goods 2 takes place with the same delay according to the predetermined layer pattern. "run slower" or "run with delay" in this context means that the transport speed after the start of the disturbance is less than in the case of no disturbance before. In particular, the smaller, slowed speed may have a value of less than 50% of the normal speed.

The "cycle" of the manipulator preferably consists of a component of the movement of the manipulator with the piece goods in the transport direction TR and a movement having a component opposite to the transport direction TR. The cycle of the manipulator can also be defined such that the manipulator starts with the capture of a piece goods, which, via the release of the piece goods, ends up moving back empty (directly after the output of the piece goods) into the output position and ends directly before the capture of further piece goods.

The schematic top view of fig. 20 shows, for example, a laterally offset arrangement of the

piece goods groups

7a, 7b on the horizontal conveying surface 6 by means of each

manipulator

5a, 5b, each

piece goods group

7a, 7b comprising three piece goods 2. In the non-delayed processing, the

manipulators

5a, 5b will place the subsequently gripped piece goods 2 in the target position according to fig. 21, i.e. in the target position downstream of the two

piece goods groups

7a, 7b in the transport direction TR. The closing of the gap between the piece item 2 of the

piece item groups

7a, 7b and the piece item 2 subsequently arranged on the level device 6 then takes place within the pre-grouping module 21, as it is described, for example, in connection with fig. 1 to 16. This mode has the advantage that the

manipulators

5a, 5b travel a minimum distance during operation, so that the process time is optimized. In the delayed layering, the

manipulators

5a, 5b are actuated by means of the modified movement profile and instead the piece goods 2 are set in the target positions Pa, Pb according to fig. 22, which essentially correspond to the arrangement of the piece goods 2 in the finished layer (not shown) relative to the piece goods 2 of the

piece goods groups

7a, 7 b.

According to one embodiment, which is not shown, the pieces of the laterally arranged

piece goods groups

7a, 7b do not become an integral part of the layer to be created in the delay mode. Instead, the arrangement is created according to the layer pattern from the piece goods subsequently transported via the

transport devices

3a, 3b, while the laterally arranged

piece goods groups

7a, 7b are always moved by the

manipulators

5a, 5b counter to the transport direction TR of the horizontal conveyor 6 again, in order to ensure that the

piece goods groups

7a, 7b remain on the horizontal conveyor 6 and are not transferred into the pre-grouping module 21. The

piece groups

7a, 7b are thus buffers for the piece items 2. As soon as the shrink tunnel is empty, no piece goods 2 are in the shrink tunnel, and the layering by the grouping module 20 can likewise be stopped until the jamming of the palletizer or the like is eliminated.

After the interference has been eliminated, the

manipulators

5a, 5b can first use the piece goods 2 buffered within the

piece goods groups

7a, 7b for creating further layers, after which the supply of the piece goods 2 takes place from the shrink tunnel in the grouping module 20.

Even if the embodiment with two

transport devices

3a, 3b for transport and two

manipulators

5a, 5b is described in connection with fig. 20 to 22, the possibilities shown here can also be transferred to a further embodiment, in which the pieces 2 are transported in at least one row 1 to at least one manipulator 5.

Generally, the aspects of fig. 20-33 are described as follows, where this may be a stand-alone invention. Here, a method for grouping pieces into palletizable layers for subsequent arrangement on pallets or the like, comprising the following steps: the articles or pieces 2 are conveyed by means of the transport device 3, for example by means of a horizontal conveyor, to the horizontal conveying device 6 of the grouping module 20. The grouping module 20 comprises at least one manipulator which captures the transported items or pieces and which is placed in a target arrangement and/or target orientation by moving or rotating so as to be prepared according to a defined layer pattern. The layers thus prepared are palletized by means of a palletizer arranged downstream of the grouping module 20, wherein further operating steps may be required between the grouping module 20 and the palletizer in order to complete the layers 12 prepared within the grouping module for palletizing.

Disturbances can be caused, for example, by the collision of the pallet head or the absence of an intermediate layer or a tray. In the event of a disturbance, in particular of a pallet loader, the speed of the transport device 3 and/or the horizontal conveyor 6 of the grouping module is reduced after the disturbance thereof, at least during a time step during the disturbance duration. Furthermore, the distance of the piece goods 2 not yet manipulated by means of the manipulator 5, i.e. the piece goods entering via the transport device 3, from the already manipulated piece goods 2, can be reduced by re-manipulating them by means of the manipulator 5.

In other words, the invention can also be described such that the manipulator 5 moves the piece goods 2 in the transport direction TR more quickly in the event of a disturbance than the transport device 3 and/or the horizontal conveyor 6 moves.

In this way, the

articles

2, 2 can be buffered on the horizontal conveyor 6 by the manipulator 5, while the

articles

2, 2 do not have to be manipulated again after the disturbance has been eliminated. In particular, the

articles

2, 2 are already placed in the correct or predetermined target position and/or target orientation (rotational orientation) with respect to the predetermined layer pattern during the disturbance. By reducing the speed of the transport device 2 and/or of the horizontal conveyor 6, the distance between the completed layers 12 following one another on the horizontal conveyor is reduced.

Preferably, in this embodiment, the horizontal transport device of the grouping module is approximately twice as long as the capture area 4, i.e. the working and action area of the manipulator 5, in the transport direction.

The invention may also be implemented by means of a device 10, the control of which is programmed to carry out the method.

In particular, it can be provided that the manipulator 5 pushes the piece goods 2 of the cycle to be captured subsequently, viewed in the transport direction TR, as close as possible onto the already manipulated piece goods 2, so that a part of the two cycles or in the extreme case the entire cycle no longer has a distance from one another in the transport direction TR.

Instead of the two

manipulators

5, 5b, the device 10 shown in fig. 20 to 22 can also comprise a manipulator 5 with two gripper heads 8, 9 which can be actuated independently of one another. The following description may refer to fig. 20 to 22 and fig. 23 to 33. The two gripper heads 8, 9 can be fixed on a common part of the manipulator 5, for example a robot arm, and jointly execute said movement with a movement component in the transport direction TR. The two gripper heads 8, 9 may additionally have respectively associated drives for gripping and/or pivoting. In particular, one or more actuators described below can be arranged on the end region of the common part. The first drive can be designed to rotate the gripper head 8 relative to the common part of the manipulator 5 and the second drive can be designed to rotate the gripper head 9 relative to the common part of the manipulator 5. Furthermore, the third drive can be designed to grip the piece goods by means of the gripper head 8 and the fourth drive can be designed to grip the piece goods by means of the gripper head 9. Furthermore, a fifth drive can be provided in order to move the gripper head 8 linearly relative to the common part of the manipulator 5 and to space it away from the gripper head 9, for example. Similarly, a sixth drive can be provided in order to move the gripper head 6 linearly relative to the common part of the manipulator 5 and to space it from the gripper head 8, for example. With the aid of these six different drives, it is possible for pieces 2 captured simultaneously by means of the two gripper heads 8, 9 to be rotated, lifted, moved and/or released independently of one another.

It is also conceivable that the first and second drive are embodied as a common drive for rotating the two gripper heads 8, 9 and that the respectively captured piece 2 is rotated jointly. This can be achieved, for example, via a suitable transmission or the like. It is also conceivable that the third and fourth drives are combined to form a common drive for the gripping movement and that the articles 2 are gripped jointly. This can likewise be achieved via suitable gearing or the like. It is also conceivable that the fifth and sixth drives are combined to form a common drive for the displacement movement and that the captured articles 2 are displaced jointly. This can likewise be achieved via suitable gearing or the like.

Fig. 23 to 33 are schematic diagrams showing an alternative sequence of a method for processing articles 2 moving in succession in at least one row 1 by means of a corresponding handling device 10. In this embodiment, the piece goods 2 are transported in two

parallel rows

1a, 1b to the grouping module 20 via a common transport device 3 or via two

transport devices

3a, 3b arranged in parallel. In this case, the manipulator 5 is provided with two gripper heads 8, 9, wherein the gripper heads 8, 9 can preferably be actuated independently of one another. The gripper heads 8, 9 can however be arranged on and moved jointly by a common part of the manipulator as shown above.

Within pre-assembly device 21, compact layers 13-1 are shown that have been completed and pushed together within the pre-assembly device. Fig. 24 to 33 show the creation of a second layer 12-2 according to the same layer pattern as layer 13-1, wherein the two gripper heads 8, 9 in a first method step grip three articles in

rows

1a, 1b, respectively, substantially simultaneously, and, with a rotation of 90 degrees about a vertical axis, place the captured articles 2 in a target position P1, P2 and/or a target arrangement on the horizontal conveyor 6 (fig. 26). Subsequently, the two gripper heads 8, 9 again grip the three articles 2 in the

rows

1a, 1b, respectively, and place them on the horizontal conveyor 6 in the target positions P3, P4 and/or in the target arrangement with a lateral offset by a movement in the transport direction TR (fig. 28, 29). In order to produce the lateral offset, the gripper heads 8, 9 are no longer moved synchronously, instead the two gripper heads 8, 9 are guided counter to one another so that an increased distance is produced between the groups of articles 2 produced by one gripper head 8, 9 each. By means of the lateral offset, item 2 is arranged flush with item 2 entered in formation F, in the middle of target positions P3, P4.

In fig. 30, it can be seen that the piece goods 2 arranged in the target positions P1, P2, P3, P4 and/or the target orientation are moved by the horizontal transport device 6 in the transport direction R, so that the relative arrangement with the subsequent piece goods 2 of the row remains unchanged, as long as this is not captured by the

manipulators

5a, 5b and is placed in the new position. For example, a support bar 25 or the like which extends transversely to the transport direction TR and can be pivoted away upwards may be provided between the horizontal conveyor 6 and the pre-assembly device 21. The pieces 2 arranged in the target positions P1, P2, P3, P4 and/or the target orientation and moving further on the horizontal conveyor 6 are pushed onto the support rods 25, wherein the first gaps between the pieces 2 of the layer 13 to be created, which are formed in the transport direction TR, are eliminated.

In the method steps that follow, the gripper heads 8, 9 are likewise no longer moved synchronously. Instead, gripper head 9 captures the group of three articles 2 of row 1a and places them in target position P5 and/or target arrangement for completing second layer 12-2. At the same time, gripper head 8 grips the group of three pieces 2 of row 1 b. The article is however no longer required for the second layer 12-2. Instead, gripper head 9 performs a 90-degree rotation together with captured spacing 2 of row 1b and places it in target position P6 and/or target arrangement. The piece 2 located in the target position P6 is already part of the third layer (not shown) laid out below.

The second layer 12-2 thus prepared (see fig. 33) can now be transferred into the pre-grouping device 21 and pushed together for the completed layer (see also layer 13-1 in fig. 23), in particular by means of a second push rod, as described in connection with the description of fig. 1 to 16. Alternatively, additional articles 2 can be placed in the grouping module 20 on the horizontal conveyor 6 by means of the gripper heads 8, 9 of the manipulator 5 for creating a third layer.

Is created differently from the second tier 12-2 below the third tier to which the target position P6 and/or target orientation already belongs. The piece 2 placed in the target position P6 and/or the target orientation then also moves to the left, viewed in the transport direction, according to fig. 33, so that it is subsequently placed in the target position and/or target orientation, which corresponds to the target position P2 and/or target orientation described above on the horizontal conveyor 6 (see fig. 27 and 33). In a subsequent cycle, the group of three pieces 2 is captured via the gripper heads 8, 9, respectively, and placed in a target position and/or target orientation corresponding to the target positions P1 and P3 and/or target orientation (see fig. 29 and 33). In a final step, the piece goods layout for the target positions P5 and P4 and/or the target orientation is manipulated and set accordingly (see fig. 33). The third layer (not shown) is now complete and manipulator 5 may proceed with the creation of another layer according to fig. 23 ff.

Instead of a manipulator 5 having two gripper heads 8, 9 which can be actuated independently of one another, it is also possible in this context to use two manipulators 5 which can be actuated independently of one another. In some method steps, two manipulators 5 are provided for each piece of goods 2 to create a layer 12-2, while at least one further method step provides that one of the two manipulators 5 captures the piece of goods 2 for completing the layer, while the other manipulator 5 already captures the piece of goods 2 for a new layer.

Even if the embodiment with two

transport devices

3a, 3b for transport and a manipulator with two gripper heads 8, 9 is described in conjunction with fig. 23 to 33, the possibilities shown here can be transferred to further embodiments in which the piece goods 2 are transported in at least one row 1 to at least one manipulator 5 with two gripper heads 8, 9 or to at least two manipulators 5.

Generally, the aspects of fig. 20-33 are described as follows, where this may be a stand-alone invention. Here, a method for grouping pieces into palletizable layers for subsequent arrangement on pallets or the like, comprising the following steps: the articles or pieces 2 are conveyed by means of the transport device 3, for example by means of a horizontal conveyor, to the horizontal conveying device 6 of the grouping module 20. The grouping module 20 comprises at least one manipulator which captures the transported items or pieces and which is placed in a target arrangement and/or target orientation by moving or rotating so as to be prepared according to a defined layer pattern. The layers thus prepared are palletized by means of a palletizer arranged downstream of the grouping module 20, wherein further operating steps may be required between the grouping module 20 and the palletizer in order to complete the layers 12 prepared within the grouping module for palletizing. In particular, at least two pieces 2 or at least two groups of pieces 2 are captured simultaneously, i.e. within one cycle, by manipulator 5, wherein at least two groups of at least two

pieces

2 or 2 are placed in a target position and/or target arrangement, which is then associated with different layer formations. In particular, the first item of items 2 or the first group of items 2 is used to complete the first layer. Instead, by placing the second piece item 2 or the second group of piece items 2, the formation of a subsequent layer formation has already started.

List of reference numerals:

1, 1a, 1b row

1-2, 1-3 additional rows

2/2 piece goods

3, 3a, 3b transport device

4 capture area

5, 5a, 5b manipulator

6 horizontal conveying device

7a, 7b goods group

8 gripping apparatus head

9 gripper head

10 operating device

12, 12-2 layers

12a, 12b sub-layers

13 compact layer, layer

20 grouping module

21 pre-assembly device

25 support rod

F formation

L gap

P, P1, P2, P3, P4 target positions

P5, P6, Pa, Pb target position

TR transport direction

v3 transport speed

v6 conveying speed

Claims

1. Method for handling piece goods (2) moving in sequence in at least one row (1), which are transported to a capture area (4) of at least one manipulator (5), wherein,

-forming a palladable layer formation (12) or sub-layer or a preceding stage of such a layer formation (12) or sub-layer from a plurality of pieces (2) in a plurality of temporally successive handling steps, conveying the layer formation or sub-layer or preceding stage in a transport direction (TR) and conveying it to further operating steps,

-wherein, in at least one handling step, in the capture area (4), at least two transported pieces (2) are captured grippingly and/or non-positively and/or positively from the at least one row (1), spatially separated from subsequent pieces (2) of the at least one row (1), and placed in a defined first relative target position (P1) with respect to the subsequent pieces (2) of the at least one row (1) under rotating and/or moving conditions,

-wherein said first relative target position (P1) is laterally offset from the row of pieces (2) following at least one row (1),

-wherein, in at least one further handling step, at least one piece goods (2) is grabbed grippingly and/or non-positively and/or positively from at least two of the piece goods (2) transferred into the first relative target position (P1), and is spatially separated from at least one further piece goods (2) in the first relative target position (P1) and is placed in a further defined relative target position (P2) under rotation and/or movement.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second light sources are selected from the group consisting of,

wherein the manipulator (5) captures at least one piece goods (2) in a defined handling step, separates the at least one piece goods from the at least one row (1) and places them in a respective relative target position, and/or wherein the manipulator (5) captures at least two piece goods (2) in a defined handling step, separates them from the at least one row (1) and places them in a respective relative target position or in a respectively different relative target position.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,

wherein the pieces (2) are placed in a defined first relative target position (P1) and in a further relative target position (P2) in succession in time.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2,

wherein, in a further manipulation step, at least one of the at least two pieces (2) transferred into the laterally offset first relative target position (P1) is captured by the manipulator (5) and transferred into a further relative target position (P2).

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 or 2,

wherein the piece (2) is placed in a defined first relative target position (P1) and in a further relative target position (P2) at least partially simultaneously in time and/or in time-overlapping phases.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first and second light sources are selected from the group consisting of,

wherein the manipulator (5) captures within defined manipulation steps at least two piece goods (2) from at least two parallel rows (1) respectively, separates them from at least two parallel rows (1) conveyed in parallel in the same transport direction (TR) and places them in different relative target positions respectively.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first and second light sources are selected from the group consisting of,

wherein the manipulator (5) has at least two gripper heads (8, 9) which can be rotated independently of one another about parallel vertical axes of rotation, by means of which the manipulator places pieces (2) which have been captured by the manipulator from at least two parallel rows (1) in respectively different target positions, wherein the at least two rotatable gripper heads (8, 9) place the pieces (2) which have been captured thereby in respectively variable and/or respectively different target orientations in at least two different target positions, and/or wherein the at least two gripper heads (8, 9) of the manipulator (5) which can be rotated independently of one another can be variably spaced apart from one another, wherein the at least two gripper heads (8, 9) of the manipulator (5) which can be rotated independently of one another capture the pieces (2) and place the pieces (2) between the respective target positions The intervals are variable from one another.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first and second light sources are selected from the group consisting of,

wherein the rotational movement and the change in the distance between at least two pieces of goods (2) captured by the respective gripper head (8, 9) are carried out simultaneously, wherein the change in the distance between at least two pieces of goods (2) is coupled to the rotational movement of the respective gripper head (8, 9) of the manipulator (5).

9. The method according to claim 1 or 2,

wherein the stackable and/or palletizable layer formation (12) or sublayer is formed by at least two articles (2) separated from the at least one row (1) and placed in a first relative target position (P1) and by further articles (2) placed in a relative target position (P2).

10. Apparatus for processing pieces (2) moving in sequence in at least one row (1), for implementing a method according to one of claims 1 to 9, comprising:

-at least one manipulator (5) for manipulating the piece goods (2) in order to construct a palladable layer formation (12) or sub-layer or a preceding stage of such a layer formation (12) or sub-layer,

-at least one transport device (3) via which the pieces (2) arranged in succession in at least one row (1) are transported into a capture area (4) of the at least one manipulator (5),

-wherein the at least one manipulator (5) is configured for grippingly and/or non-positively receiving at least one piece goods (2) and for separating and placing the at least one piece goods (2) in a relative target position in a rotated and/or moved condition.

11. The apparatus as set forth in claim 10, wherein,

wherein the manipulator (5) comprises at least one gripper head (8, 9) for capturing at least one piece goods (2) and/or at least two piece goods (2), and/or wherein the at least one gripper head (8, 9) is arranged rotatably about a vertical axis on a swivel joint, and wherein the manipulator (5) captures the piece goods (2) by means of the at least one gripper head (8, 9), is separated from the at least one row (1) and is placed in a relative target position.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 or 11,

wherein the manipulator (5) is configured for capturing at least one piece goods (2) and separating the at least one piece goods from at least one row (1) and/or from at least two piece goods (2) transferred into the first relative target position (P1), respectively, within a defined handling step and placing in a respective relative target position, and/or wherein the manipulator (5) is configured for capturing at least two piece goods (2) and separating the at least two piece goods from the at least one row (1) and placing in respectively different relative target positions, respectively, within a defined handling step.

13. The apparatus as set forth in claim 10, wherein,

wherein the manipulator (5) is configured for capturing at least two piece goods (2) from at least two parallel rows (1) respectively within a defined handling step and separating the two piece goods (2) from the at least two parallel rows (1) transported in the same transport direction (TR) and placing them in respectively different relative target positions.

14. The apparatus as set forth in claim 13, wherein,

wherein the manipulator (5) has at least two gripper heads (8, 9) which can be rotated independently of one another about parallel vertical axes of rotation, by means of which the manipulator places pieces (2) which have been captured by the manipulator from at least two parallel rows (1) in respectively different target positions, wherein the at least two rotatable gripper heads (8, 9) place the pieces (2) which have been captured thereby in respectively variable and/or respectively different target orientations in at least two different target positions, and/or wherein the spacing of the at least two gripper heads (8, 9) of the manipulator (5) which can be rotated independently of one another is variable from one another, wherein the at least two gripper heads (8, 9) of the manipulator (5) capture the pieces (2) and place the pieces (2) in respectively corresponding target positions and/or target positions The time intervals between the orientations are variable relative to one another and/or wherein the rotational movement and the change in the distance between at least two articles (2) captured by the respective gripper head (8, 9) are carried out simultaneously, wherein the change in the distance between at least two articles (2) is coupled to the rotational movement of the respective gripper head (8, 9) of the manipulator (5).

15. The apparatus of claim 10 or 11,

wherein the at least one manipulator (5) or a part of the at least one manipulator (5) is formed by a parallel kinematics robot.