DE102004020891A1 - Compact handling system for bottles especially drinks bottles has a self supporting frame with overhead gantries to position at least three robotic handling units - Google Patents

Abstract

A compact handling system for bottles has a self supporting frame (4,5) positioned over the bottle handling space and fitted with overhead gantries from which are supported at least three robotic handling units (1 to 3). These move sets of bottles between the various processing stages, e.g. unpacking, filling and sealing, packing etc., with the stages positioned close together rather than in a long process line. The robotic units can be fitted with different grips to handle different shapes and sizes of bottles and the whole system can be operated by a process control. The system can be applied to one way bottles as well as to recycled bottles.

Description

The The invention relates to a device for processing disposable and returnable bottles or containers, which are used for picking and packaging in the dry part of bottling plants the beverage industry Find use and with the features and workflows, such as the depalletising and palletizing and packaging of bottles and containers realized can be.

The present inventive plant concept is particularly suitable for smaller and middle bottling plants as in wine cooperatives, wineries or in fruit juice businesses and middle-class Private breweries are encountered.

Such generic systems are already known and in numerous bottling plants of the beverage industry in use. These are usually single-asset investments Workstations in which handling systems for depalletizing or unpacking and packing or palletizing next to each other and Functionally arranged are arranged.

The individual workstations are regularly on extensive conveyors, such as roller conveyors with each other and with storage bins for packaging material and containers connected.

Known Require system concepts quite a lot of workstations and have a large space requirement.

For example, from the DE 19928145 C2 is a device for unpacking and depalletizing bottles is known.

These Device is plant and process technology with a bottling plant connected and has one or several unpackers in which each unpacker is either empty Pallets depalletised and unpacked in open or in containers. additionally a palletizer is arranged, which wrapped the Boxes to pallets summarized. This is intended to be a simplified Bottle logistics and a compact system construction with significantly reduced Space requirement can be achieved. In particular, several types of bottles can be used processed in parallel and the bottling plant off supplied to only one station become. According to the proposed Unpacking can be the size of the unpacking container and the number and sizes of be located therein bottles variable.

In the indicated preferred embodiment The unpackers have three separate side by side unpacking places and a common gripping device, a change or combination gripper for the has different types of bottles.

These known bottle treatment device is particularly for the processing and bottling of big ones numbers suitable, what their scope and profitability particularly on size Breweries and beverage producers limited with a very high bottle turnover. The facility consists in Essentially from several individual machines, which by long conveyors interconnected and process only one type of bottle can.

For medium-sized private breweries, Wineries or fruit juice companies with lower bottle throughput is this plant concept, especially because of the large space requirement and the increased costs not suitable for the individual stations.

Other versions of the prior art, which relate in particular to structural details in handling systems for packing and unpacking bottles of different sizes are, for example, in the DE 10223670 A1 specified. In this disclosure, particular attention is given to control and design of gripper tools in order picking systems.

Of the Use in an overall system for packaging and handling of However, bottles do not matter here.

task It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device which is suitable in cost-saving and compact design, the entire Dry area of smaller and medium-sized bottling plants, as they are particularly in wine cooperatives, fruit juice companies and smaller private breweries prevail over.

there should it be the bottling plant allow the processing of disposable and reusable containers or bottles.

These The object is achieved by the characterizing part of the 1 claim solved.

In the dependent claims are further particularly advantageous embodiments of the invention specified.

Thereafter, according to the basic idea of the invention, several in the individual Ar beitsstationen arranged handling robot linked to a multi-functional portal and transport technology connected by means of funding.

the Multifunctional portal according to the invention can disposable or returnable bottles in the different packages, Supplied to pallets or containers and processed.

By the use of flexible handling robots, depending on the used Bottle or container type with one or more gripper tools of different types equipped and transversely in the transport direction on common rails can be moved all for processing bottles in the dry part of a bottling plant necessary work steps are realized.

in the Contrary to the previously necessary arrangement of several individual machines around the bottling plant around, leads the multifunctional portal due to its compact design and the good integration options in the bottling process also to savings of for the transport of packaging and crates necessary conveyor technology, like conveyor belts and roller conveyors.

All essential components of the portal, such as the handling robots, the different promoters, Temporary storage and parking spaces are easily accessible arranged substantially within a gantry.

By the function link the individual workstations and the flexibility of the used Robot (gantry robot), it is possible according to the invention also different types of bottles and To handle packaging types flexibly as needed.

Farther a facility is provided which the conversion of the multi-functional portal automatically to the respective type of bottle or packaging.

The Invention will now be described with reference to a drawing and two embodiments be explained in more detail.

The figure shows a schematic illustration of the multifunction portal according to the invention 4 their main components three linked and transversely movable handling robot 1 to 3 (3D gantry robot) are.

Also in the work areas are intermediate storage and storage areas for bottles, packaging and pallets by means of conveyance are interconnected.

• 1. Für Einwegflaschen oder Behälter – Abschieben von Neuglas von flachen Zwischenlagen oder Kartonstülpböden, – Einpacken mit Hilfe eines automatisch verstellbarem 4-achsigem Multizentrierkopf, – Bepalettieren von Euro- und Düsseldorfer Paletten.
• 2. Für Mehrwegflaschen in Kunststoffkisten (Kuki) – Flaschen auspacken, – Entpalettieren von Kunststoff-Kisten, – Einpacken von Flaschen in Kukis, – Zwischenpuffern von Kukis, – Bepalettieren von Kukis

With the inventive multifunction portal 4 In general, the following functions and workflows can be realized:

• 1. For disposable bottles or containers - push off new glass from flat liners or cardboard slip-on shelves, - pack with the aid of an automatically adjustable 4-axis multi-centering head, - palletize Euro and Düsseldorf pallets.
• 2. For refillable bottles in plastic crates (Kuki) - unpack bottles, - depalletise plastic crates, - pack bottles in kukis, - buffer buffers from kukis, - palletize kukis

Since the handling robot 1 to 3 can be equipped with one or more different tools, especially gripper tools for picking up or settling bottles and in their work areas within the portal frame 5 arranged overlapping transversely movable, several different workflows in the dry area of the bottling plant can be realized.

In the following embodiment no. 1 is intended as an example, the processing of disposable bottles using the multifunction portal 4 be specified. Disposable bottles, also referred to as new glass, are usually delivered in open containers with several layers one above the other.

To push the new glass is robot 1 is equipped with a push-off head and additionally with an empty pallet gripper and an intermediate layer gripper. The deporting takes place from the depalletizer via the sheet metal plate pusher on the bottle table 14 , By means of intermediate layer gripper takes robot 1 the intermediate layers located between the individual bottle layers and the slip-on lid used for covering the containers at the depalletizing station 8th and places them at the intermediate position 9 or on Stülpdeckelplatz. There they can then be picked up by a forklift truck and unloaded. Empty pallets are then moved to the empty pallet location 10 stacked and brought out with conveyors and transported away with forklifts, if they are not immediately required for further palletizing.

The robot, which can also be moved transversely on the transport rails of the multifunction portal 2 is equipped with a rake gripper head and an empty pallet gripper. By means of empty pallet gripper empty pallets of size 1200 × 1000 mm or 1200 × 800 mm from the empty pallet place and at the palletizing place 13 be submitted. At this workstation, depending on requirements, empty pallets can be transported away via conveyors or additional supplies can be added to the packaging cycle.

robot 3 is equipped with an automatically adjustable multi-gripper head. This allows him to pick up the bottled bottles and pack them into the appropriate boxes and boxes. The palletizing of robots 3 Packed container and container via the row station 6 , a layer station 7 on the palletizing place 13 , The finished pallets are transported away by conveyors.

The embodiment No. 2 concerns the processing of returnable bottles or containers.

automatic Detection and conversion is possible.

Returnable bottles are in plastic crates (kukis) the Entpalettierplatz 8th of the multifunctional portal 4 delivered. The function of unpacking the empty bottles from the kukis and settling on the bottle table 14 at depalletizer 8th in turn will be handled by robots 1 accepted.

This will be robots 1 converted and receives instead of Abschiebekopfes for new glass now a Tulip gripper head with 96 Tulip grippers, as well as a Klemmgreifer and a Leerpalettengreifer.

robot 1 continues to take the empty Kukis and the empty pallets from the depalletizer 8th and spread out the Kukis to the Kuki dissolving station and stack the empty pallets in the empty pallet space 10 , In the Kuki dissolving station the Kukis are deposited and isolated.

The transport of the Leerkukis will be outside the multifunction portal 4 fed to the cardboard feed. If no Leerkukis are needed to pack, they will be stored temporarily at the Leerkukiplatz within the portal 4 ,

From Here, excess empty cucumbers can be transported out via conveyors or if additional Kukis are required to be accommodated.

The palletizing process, in turn, is handled by handling robots 2 accepted. For this he is equipped with a rake gripper head and an empty pallet gripper. The packaging of the refillable refill bottles is carried out by the handling robot as in the case of disposable bottles 3 , which is equipped with a corresponding multi-head, which allows the bottles 4-row from the bottle table 14 to take off and put in the waiting Kukis. The further Kuki transport follows the same procedure as the transport of the full cartons.

To palletize the required empty pallets from the empty pallet space 10 brought and on the palletizing place 13 submitted.

From there, depending on the need, Leepaletten can be transported away via conveyors or additionally required. The palletizing process of robots 2 submitted empty pallets via the row station 6 then the layer station 7 and the palletizing place 13 ,

Then be The finished pallets loaded with Kukis or cardboard boxes are transported via conveyors.

The inventive multifunction portal especially by a coherent one highly flexible robot system with electronic control of the Gripper systems marked.

By The combination of servomotor technology and proven timing belt technology will be included guaranteed fast and accurate Movements of the individual robot modules achieved.

The made possible thereby function links between robot and gantry assemblies enable a significant reduction the effort for the transport of containers bottles and containers.

Not Finally, the compact system concept also makes considerable Savings (of about 30%) of the necessary transport routes and the used Conveyors across from usual Plants can be realized.

By the automatic grade change considerably reduces set-up times. Overall, the multi-functional portal according to the invention allows the Operation of a space-saving compact plant, which depalletises and depallets, New glass shifts, boxes or boxes or unpacks. It can very advantageous as a conveyor and processing plant of disposable or refillable bottles by one filling equipment medium capacity to be integrated around.

1

handling robots 1

2

handling robots 2

3

handling robots 3

4

Multifunctional Portal

5

gantry

6

row station

7

Location station

8th

Entpalettierplatz / Neuglasabschieben

9

Interim Management Course

10

Empty pallet location

11

Stülpdeckelplatz

12

Empty glass delivery

13

Bepalettierplatz

14

bottle table

Claims (4)

A device for handling disposable or returnable bottles and their packaging, comprising at least one handling system comprising a handling robot, and a plurality of workstations connected by conveyers to a bottling plant and storage locations for bottles and packaging, each workstation being configured such that each a handling process of a bottle or packaging type is feasible, characterized in that the device is designed as a multifunctional portal ( 4 ) with at least three functionally linked handling robots ( 1 to 3 ), wherein a common portal framework ( 5 ) is provided, which has transport rails on which the handling robot ( 1 to 3 ) are arranged transversely movable, and wherein the robot ( 1 to 3 ) one or more monofunctional and / or multifunctional interchangeable tools and / or gripper tools, which allow the implementation of various functions and process steps with which the individual work areas of the multifunction portal ( 4 ), are attachable so that disposable or reusable bottles, pallets and packaging materials are processable. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the handling robots ( 1 to 3 ) are equipped to handle one-way bottles with the following gripper tools, - handling robots 1 for new glass removal, with a push-off head comprising an empty pallet gripper and an intermediate layer gripper, - handling robot 2 for palletizing, with a rake gripper head and an empty pallet gripper, - handling robot 3 for packing boxes and plastic crates (Kukis), with an automatically adjustable multi-gripper head. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the handling robots ( 1 to 3 ) are equipped to handle reusable bottles with the following gripper tools, - handling robots 1 for unpacking and depositing empty bottles at the depalletizing station ( 8th ), with a tulip rapier head, a clamping gripper and an empty pallet gripper, - handling robot 2 for palletizing, with a rake gripper head and an empty pallet gripper, - handling robot 3 for holding bottles from the bottle table, with a multi-gripper head. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the handling robots ( 1 to 3 ) a combination of servo motor technology and toothed belt technology is used to realize fast and precise movements.