DE102020122722B4 - Feeding unit and method for its operation - Google Patents

Abstract

Feeding unit (30) for automatically feeding an object (G), in particular glass (G), to and/or positioning on and/or removing one of several storage bases (A1, A2) with a continuous, dense, in particular flat , worktop (31),- the several storage bases (A1, A2) being located on or above the worktop (31),- a controller (30*) for automatically controlling the components, in particular all movable ones, of the feed unit (30 ), with an input unit (32), - slides (40), which are freely movable in the X and Y direction on the worktop (31), - one supporting surface (40a) on the top (40a) each Carriage (40), - a drive system (50) under the worktop (31) for the controlled driving of the carriages (40) independently of one another, characterized in that - the underside of the plate-shaped carriage (40) has three-dimensional form-fitting elements (34), which are designed in such a way that - the carriage can move along the X-Y plane into a carriage mount, which is a parking base (A1, A2), - the carriage mount is three-dimensional on its upper side, to the form-fitting elements (34) has matching counter-elements (35), which are designed in such a way that when the plate-shaped carriage (40) is pivoted from the position parallel to the X-Y plane by up to 60°, the carriage (40) does not deviate from the carriage recording slips out.

Description

The invention relates to the automatic feeding of an object, in particular a vessel, in particular glass, to and/or removing it from a storage base on which the object can be placed.

In industry and commerce, including in the catering trade, a lot of working time is spent transporting objects to a desired position, the so-called storage base, and placing them there or, conversely, removing an object standing on the storage base from there and, in particular, transporting it to a desired target position.

In industry, such identical and frequently occurring processes are usually already automated, in that a handling system, for example a robot, which is available in accordance with this process to be managed, does this.

In this context it is from the German patent applications DE 10 2019 117 431 A1 which forms the closest prior art - and the DE 10 2015 209 625 A1 and the DE 10 2013 218 403 A1 It is already known to transport the object on a carriage, which moves above a work surface and is driven without contact from below the work surface, which in the last-mentioned patent application is only possible along guides below the work surface, but in the first two mentioned the carriages can be moved freely on the work surface.

However, for such an automation in the industry, a higher investment can usually be made available due to the large number of handlings to be managed, often even in two-shift or three-shift operation and also due to the fact that it is always the same process and always the same or very similar object to be handled.
In trade and especially in gastronomy, the manual handling processes of objects are rarer, usually also more diverse in terms of the type of process and the object to be handled, so that only limited investment funds can be used for automation, provided that these are to be amortized over time.

• Das Zuführen und Abführen des richtigen Glases findet dabei heute manuell durch den Schankkellner statt, der aus einem möglichst in seiner Griffweite stehenden Vorrats-Regal für die verschiedenen Arten von Gläsern das richtige entnimmt, unter die Auslauföffnung des Zapfhahnes stellt oder hält, und nach Füllen des Glases dieses unter dem Zapfhahn wegnimmt und an einer Übergabestelle für die Bedienung abstellt, beispielsweise auf deren Tablett.

A typical example is the provision of glasses at a bar in the catering trade:

• The supply and removal of the right glass is now done manually by the bar waiter, who takes the right glass for the different types of glasses from a storage shelf that is as close as possible to his reach, puts it under the outlet of the tap or holds it, and after the glass has been filled, takes it away from under the tap and places it at a transfer point for the service staff, for example on their tray.

Even with only a relatively limited number of drinks to be dispensed per unit of time, the bar waiter is therefore indispensable and must be present and paid for in addition to the service.

In addition, in order to limit the dead times between the filling processes, the glass supply shelves must all be within reach of the bar waiter, but their capacity is therefore relatively low. This means that even when the restaurant is busy, the glass supply has to be refilled several times, mostly from the dishwasher, and the cold drink is often poured into a warm to hot glass that was last refilled on the glass storage shelf, which is counterproductive. In addition, refilling the stock of glasses usually also has to be managed by the bar waiter.

A sensibly large stock of glasses, which contains a sufficient buffer for a whole day or evening of the catering business, could only be located so far away from the bar that the distance for the bar waiter would be too long to pick up a glass there every time.

It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a supply unit for objects, in particular containers such as an open-topped glass, that is easy and inexpensive to produce and, in particular, easy to clean, for industry and in particular the bar area of the catering trade, which enables cost-effective partial automation of the serving of cold drinks and should in particular be retrofittable, as well as a method for operating such a supply unit.

This object is solved by the features of claims 1 and 18. Advantageous embodiments emerge from the dependent claims.

With regard to the supply unit, this initially comprises a worktop which has a continuously closed and liquid-tight, preferably flat, upper side in order to be able to easily remove liquid soiling that falls on it, which is necessary for hygiene reasons, particularly when used in gastronomy at a dispensing station.

On or above the worktop there is at least one storage base, of which there are usually several, on which the automatically fed object, in particular a glass, is to be placed and after its treatment, for example filling, is to be removed from there again by means of the feed unit and removed.

According to the invention, this object is achieved in that at least one, preferably several carriages are present, which can be moved freely in the X-Y direction - the two mutually perpendicular directions which span the upper side of the worktop and thus its main plane. Each carriage has a parking area on its upper side, on which a vessel can be placed and moved by means of the carriage.

The carriages are moved without contact by means of a drive system, which is not arranged in the area on and just above the worktop, but is preferably arranged under the worktop, which has the advantage that the drive system does not have to be in the dirt-intensive area on or above the top of the worktop, for example a bar table.

If there are several carriages, the drive system should be able to move the individual carriages independently of one another.

If the drive source for the drive system of the carriages is primarily outside of the carriages, e.g. below the worktop, the carriages can be constructed very simply. In particular, they do not have to contain any moving parts that could be impaired in their function by dirt above the worktop and could also be difficult to clean and would also increase the manufacturing costs of the carriages. A power supply for the carriages can then also preferably be dispensed with.

In addition, there is a controller that controls the movable, in particular all movable, components of the feed unit, in particular the drive system and thus the carriages.

• Bei einer ersten Bauform sind unter der Arbeitsplatte Traktoren in X- und Y-Richtung frei verfahrbar, wobei jeder Traktor zumindest zeitweise berührungslos mit einem auf der Arbeitsplatte befindlichen Schlitten durch die Arbeitsplatte hindurch gekoppelt ist, insbesondere mittels Magnetkraft, sodass der Schlitten in der X-und Y-Richtung einer entsprechenden Bewegung, die sein Traktor unter der Arbeitsplatte vollzieht, folgt und dadurch der Schlitten auf der Arbeitsplatte frei verfahren werden kann.

The drive system can be designed in different ways, for example by means of magnetic force, in that at least one upper magnet is arranged in each of the carriages and at least one lower magnet that can be coupled to it is arranged under the worktop:

• In a first design, tractors can be moved freely in the X and Y directions under the worktop, with each tractor being coupled through the worktop at least temporarily without contact to a carriage located on the worktop, in particular by means of magnetic force, so that the carriage in the X and Y direction follows a corresponding movement that its tractor performs under the worktop, and the carriage can therefore be moved freely on the worktop.

If this is realized by means of magnetic force, the carriage comprises on the one hand at least one upper magnet and the tractor on the other hand at least one lower magnet, preferably on the one hand a permanent magnet and on the other hand a magnet that can be activated and deactivated, in particular a switchable electromagnet or a permanent magnet that can be activated and deactivated by shifting its position, the pole axes of which preferably run transversely to the X-Y plane. If both the upper and the lower magnet are activated and their effective magnetic ranges sufficiently overlap, the tractor and carriage are magnetically coupled, otherwise not.

This allows a carriage to be coupled and uncoupled to a tractor and thus to be dragged along the top of the worktop by the tractor magnetically coupled thereto.

Preferably, there is at least one permanent magnet in the carriage as the upper magnet, which is preferably also stationarily positioned on or in this carriage, while magnets that can be activated and deactivated under the worktop are used as lower magnets, be they electromagnets that are activated by power supply or permanent magnets that are activated by approaching the worktop from below, for example by moving or pivoting, in that an upper magnet can then and only in this activated, approached position of the lower magnet reach its effective range.

With such a magnetic coupling, the worktop is preferably made of non-magnetic material, in particular also non-magnetizable material, in particular plastic or stainless steel, so that the magnetic field lines of the magnets can extend substantially unhindered through the countertop.

The permanent magnet is then preferably located in the carriage, so that it does not require any electrical current to be supplied, and the switchable electromagnet in the tractor.

• In einer ersten Variante ist jeder Traktor an einem X-Y-Führungs-System befestigt, welches z.B. ein erstes stangenförmiges Führungselement aufweist, welches in einer ersten Richtung der X-Y-Ebene gegenüber dem Grundgestell der Vorrichtung bewegbar ist sowie ein zweites stangenförmiges Führungselement, welches an dem ersten Führungselement in einer dazu quer, insbesondere lotrecht, verlaufenden zweiten Richtung der X-Y-Ebene verfahrbar ist.

The tractors can be moved and driven in different ways:

• In a first variant, each tractor is attached to an XY guidance system, which has, for example, a first rod-shaped guide element that can be moved in a first direction of the XY plane relative to the base frame of the device, and a second rod-shaped guide element that can be moved on the first guide element in a second direction of the XY plane that runs transversely thereto, in particular perpendicularly.

The tractor can be moved in a controlled manner along the second guide element in its direction of extension, and can therefore approach any position in the X-Y plane within the area of extension of the guide system and be positioned there.

In such a guide system, the direction of movement of the first guide element is preferably defined as the X direction and referred to as the X guide, and the direction of movement of the second guide element as the Y direction and referred to as the Y guide.

Each guide system - which is preferably located under the worktop - preferably carries only one tractor, but can also have two tractors on the second guide element, which can be moved independently of one another along the second guide element, i.e. the Y-direction, but cannot overtake each other laterally either in the X-direction or in the Y-direction.

However, two or more second guide elements which can be moved independently of one another and which in turn each carry at least one tractor can also be present on the first guide element.

Several guide systems can also be arranged one above the other, i.e. spaced apart from one another transversely to the X-Y direction, and can each carry one or more tractors, the only important thing being that the coupling of the tractor to the carriage still works.

On the other hand, the coupling, in particular by means of magnetic force, between the sled and the tractor must be aligned in such a way that it does not extend too far in the X-Y plane, so that sleds arranged adjacent to one another are not influenced by the tractor of a neighboring sled or even unintentionally coupled by it.

Preferably, several guidance systems can also be present next to each other in the top view of the X-Y plane with a border in between, or their working areas can overlap, in particular partially, whereby a transfer of a carriage from a tractor of one guidance system to a tractor of another guidance system is possible.

In a second variant, the tractors can be moved freely under the worktop, i.e. in particular along the X-Y plane, and in particular maintain a small distance from the underside of the worktop or even adhere to it.

In a structurally simple variant, there can be a sub-plate parallel to the worktop below it, on which the tractors can move by being self-propelled and contactless, e.g. via radio, controllable and steerable, i.e. usually also having wheels, and not sliding on the ground, i.e. the sub-plate.

The lower plate can be sealed in the form of a trough attached to the underside of the worktop so that no dirt can penetrate to the tractors.

It is important that the tractors can be moved independently of one another and can in turn be controlled using a central control system.

As a result, the structural complexity for the individual tractor is greater than with a guide system with movable guides along which the tractors are moved, but the freedom of movement of the tractors is significantly greater and a large number of tractors that can be moved independently of one another can be used and moved at the same time.

The tractors then preferably have so-called omnidirectional wheels, i.e. wheels that can roll not only in the circumferential direction around their axis of rotation on the ground, but also in the direction of their axis of rotation, which means that such tractors are extremely manoeuvrable and can not only take very small curve radii, but can even turn on the spot.

The tractors preferably have an electric motor drive and a battery as an energy store, and can automatically approach charging stations in their work area and the battery reload, in particular without contact using induction.

The tractors can be completely controlled by the central control with regard to their travel distances and travel times, or the tractors can only be given the start and destination points as well as the start and destination times, and the tractors use the on-board controls of the individual tractors, which can preferably communicate with each other, to find their own way without colliding.

A limiting size could be the size of such tractors, which must be small enough to be able to be positioned next to one another according to the smallest available distances from several parking bases.

Such tractors preferably have a maximum diameter of at most 20 cm, better still at most 15 cm, when viewed from above.

In a second design, a field of lower magnets that can be activated and deactivated in a controlled manner and extends in the X and Y directions, in particular in the form of a grid, is present under the worktop in the entire traversing range. Within the field, the lower magnets are preferably distributed regularly, ie arranged in a grid-like manner, for example arranged at a uniform distance from one another, in particular on lines running in the X and Y directions.

If a carriage has several upper magnets, for example 4 upper magnets forming a square when viewed from above, this upper magnet pattern or at least a part of it should be present multiple times in the grid-like array of lower magnets.

If the size and/or magnetic force viewed in the top view in the activated state and/or mutual spacing of the lower magnets in the lower array is dimensioned such that an upper magnet held by a first lower magnet upon deactivation of this first lower magnet and activation of a second, adjacent lower magnet is pulled by this the upper magnet including the carriage on which it is located, as well as the load on the carriage over the activated second lower magnet along the top of the worktop, by sequentially activating the always next lower magnet in the desired direction of progress of the upper magnet and thus the carriage, the carriage can be moved in the desired direction.

The deactivation of the first lower magnet can be carried out either before, at the same time as or after the activation of the next lower magnet,

Activation can take place by energizing an electromagnet as the lower magnet or by mechanically displacing a permanent magnet as the lower magnet, preferably in the transverse direction to the plane of the upper side of the worktop, preferably by changing the height of the permanent magnet.

In order to facilitate the "passing" of an upper magnet from one neighboring lower magnet to the next, the lower magnets can have a smaller area than the upper magnets when viewed from above. This makes it easier for an upper magnet standing centrally above a lower magnet to have the effective area of a lower magnet adjacent to this lower magnet overlap at least partially with the effective area of the upper magnet when viewed from above, or even overlap with the surface of the upper magnet when viewed from above.

In a third design, sleds and tractors of the first design are functionally combined, in that the sleds are designed as self-propelled tractors that can be controlled independently of one another, as previously described for the second variant of the first design, except that the tractors do not move on the lower plate but directly on the top of the worktop.

This of course has the disadvantage that the tractors come into contact with the possibly soiled or wet surface of the worktop, which requires such tractors to be well sealed against dirt and easy to clean, preferably even in a glass-washing machine.

The supply unit is preferably used in the catering sector for supplying glasses to a dispensing station, so that the worktop is the top of a dispensing table that stands under the taps and the storage bases are the positions under each tap unit, in particular under each tap.

In order to be able to easily load the carriage with a container such as an empty glass and, conversely, also to be able to unload it, there is a loading station on the one hand and an unloading station on the other - which, however, can also be functionally combined to form a single loading station - and which are preferably physically designed in such a way that they can automatically load and unload the carriage by interacting with it.

A simple solution is to have one or more parallel grooves in the top of the carriage and a horizontal rake at the loading station, the tines of which fit into the grooves.

An object standing on the top of the carriage can be lifted from there and passed to the rake by inserting its tines into the grooves under the object and lifting the rake tines over the top of the carriage so that the object no longer stands on the carriage but on the tines of the rake and the empty carriage can be moved away underneath.

Preferably, on or next to the shelf on the upper side of the carriage there is a shoulder as a side stop, in particular a closed shoulder running around the shelf, which serves as a stop for the lower end of the object standing on the shelf, in particular glass.

This not only prevents slippage when the carriage is accelerated, but also allows limited tilting of the top of the carriage without the object sliding off the carriage.

When loading and unloading using the rake described, the lifting height must of course be so great that the object can be lifted above the upper end of the shoulder.

The underside of the carriage is preferably designed in such a way that it does not rest flat on the surface of the worktop, but only with at least three, preferably four, contact points by means of adjustable feet.

The adjustable feet can slide on the worktop, for example by being made of a hard plastic and the top of the worktop made of stainless steel, which has the advantage over castors or wheels that no dirt can penetrate the bearing of such rotatable castors or wheels.

With a magnetic coupling of the carriage above and a tractor below the worktop, one or more permanent magnets can be arranged, in particular in the adjustable feet of the carriage near the lower sliding surface, in order to position the permanent magnets as close as possible to the worktop. The electromagnets are also arranged near the top of the carriage and this is moved under the worktop with as little distance as possible.

The underside of the - usually approximately plate-shaped - carriage can also have three-dimensional form-fitting elements, so that the carriage moves into a carriage receptacle, in particular a storage base, and is positively fastened to the carriage receptacle of the storage base by means of a relative movement between the carriage and the storage base, in particular the storage base, with the aid of corresponding counter-elements, whereby a relative movement between the carriage and the carriage receptacle, at least in preferably two spatial directions, is prevented.

Thus, the slide holder can be a parking base for a glass at a dispensing station, which is pivoted about a horizontal axis for filling the glass in order to place the glass at an angle during filling.

Then the carriage can be positioned together with the glass in such a storage base and both pivoted together and, if necessary, additionally raised in the direction of the tap without having to unload the glass from the carriage for this filling process, which would also be possible, but costs additional time.

After filling and depositing glass and the carriage carrying the glass on the worktop, the carriage can automatically transport the filled glass to an unloading station, for example the transfer station to an operator, and deposit it there, either by unloading the glass from the carriage or by waiting until the glass has been manually lifted from the carriage and removed.

With regard to the procedure, the existing object is thus achieved in that the objects are automatically saddled on a carriage and transported on the worktop by means of the carriages that can be moved independently of one another, in particular between a loading and an unloading station, if necessary with a processing station arranged in between, at which the object must be processed or handled in some way, for which it can be removed from the carriage or processed or handled while standing on the carriage.

The carriages can be designed to be self-propelled and move independently of one another on the upper side of the worktop.

In a preferred embodiment, the slides that move on the worktop do not have their own drive motor or other drive of their own, but are moved along the top of the worktop with the help of tractors that move under the worktop and to which they are coupled without contact.

Such a non-contact coupling can preferably be carried out by means of magnetic force.

The tractors moving the sledges can each be moved independently of one another by means of their own drive and a controller, in particular controlled by a central controller, or they are only given the start and destination, including position and the respective time, and each tractor determines the specific route using its on-board controller, which each tractor has and which communicate with one another to avoid collisions.

Instead of such freely moveable tractors, which move by means of their own drive and wheels on a lower plate under the worktop - with the smallest possible distance to the worktop - such tractors can also be guided on an X-Y guide system and moved along it, which limits the variability and in particular the number of tractors that can be moved independently of one another, but increases the manufacturing costs and functional reliability.

With regard to the method for automatically feeding an object, in particular glass, to and/or positioning it on and/or removing it from one of several storage bases on or above a dense, in particular level, worktop using carriages on which an object can stand and which can be freely moved in the X and Y direction on the worktop, this object is achieved in that the carriages are driven and moved from below the worktop, in particular without contact.

This allows the carriages to be extremely simple, in particular plate-shaped or block-shaped elements without moving parts, which are not damaged by the liquid present everywhere on the top of the worktop, for example in a dispensing station, and are easy to clean.

Because preferably several carriages can be driven and moved independently of one another, several objects can be moved independently of one another on the worktop.

In one design, the carriages are each driven by means of a tractor, which is moved in a controlled manner below the worktop and can be coupled to the carriage in particular by means of magnetic force that can be switched on and off.

In another design, an array of activatable and deactivatable magnets arranged in a plane parallel to the worktop below activates them one after the other in the desired travel direction of the carriage so that the carriage is moved in the desired direction.

As a result, the tractors are also simple in design and inexpensive to produce, and coupling by means of magnetic force means that no mechanical connection through the worktop is necessary.

For positioning on a storage base, the carriage is preferably moved into the storage base together with the glass saddled on it and, in particular, is handled there together with the carriage.

It is therefore not necessary to unload and then reload the glass onto the carriage at the storage base.

Preferably, the carriage is loaded with the object in a very simple manner by placing the object standing on the approximately horizontally extending tines of a rake on the upper side of the rake by lowering the tines into grooves in the upper side of the rake.

• 1a, b: eine erste Bauform einer Zufuhr-Einheit für Gläser zu oder von einer Schankstation in der Gastronomie in einer ersten Variante in Seitenansicht und Aufsicht,
• 2a-e: bei dieser ersten Variante des Antriebssystems die Übergabe eines Schlittens von einem ersten an ein zweites Führungssystem, 3a-e: eine Ladenstation in der Aufsicht in unterschiedlichen Funktionsstellungen beim Beladen eines Schlittens,
• 4a-e: in den gleichen Funktionsstellungen die Ladestation in der Seitenansicht,
• 5a, b: eine zweite Variante der ersten Bauform des Antriebssystems in Seitenansicht und Aufsicht,
• 6a, b: eine zweite Bauform des Antriebssystems in Seitenansicht und Aufsicht.

Embodiments according to the invention are described in more detail below by way of example. Show it:

• 1a, b : a first design of a feed unit for glasses to or from a dispensing station in the catering trade in a first variant in side view and top view,
• 2a-e : in this first variant of the drive system, the transfer of a carriage from a first to a second guide system, 3a-e : a loading station in the supervision in different functional positions when loading a sled,
• 4a-e : in the same functional positions, the charging station in side view,
• 5a, b : a second variant of the first design of the drive system in side view and top view,
• 6a, b : a second design of the drive system in side view and top view.

1a shows for a first variant of a first design of the drive system in a side view that on the upper side 31a of the worktop 31 of a bar T carriages 40, in this case a first carriage 40.1 and a second carriage 40.2, are positioned and can be moved along them in both directions X and Y of the upper side 31a with the aid of a tractor 51.1 or 51.2, which can be moved in a controlled manner under the worktop, as a drive source, to which the respective carriage 40. 1, 40.2 is magnetically coupled through the worktop.

This coupling takes place by accommodating a permanent magnet 45 as the upper magnet oM in each of the four adjustable feet 49 of each square carriage 40, and magnets that can be activated and deactivated, in this case switchable electromagnets 46, are arranged in the same arrangement to one another in the top side of the tractors as the lower magnet oM.

However, it could also be exactly the other way round, or magnets that can be activated and deactivated could be used both as the lower and as the upper magnets, which, however, then generally entails a more complex design of the carriages 40 .

Another design of magnets that can be activated and deactivated, in this case lower magnets uM, is in 4b shown, in which permanent magnets 45 are used as the lower magnets uM, which, however, can be shifted from their activated position, located close below the worktop 31, in this case pivoted downwards, into a deactivated position, further away from the worktop 31, in which they have little or no magnetic effect on an upper magnet oM located on the worktop 31.

The displacement, in particular pivoting, can be controlled independently of one another for each magnet by the electrical control 30*, as can the application of current to existing electromagnets 46 independently of one another.

If the electromagnets 46 are activated, ie energized, the carriage 40 above is coupled to the tractor 51; if the electromagnets 46 are deactivated, the tractor 51 can be moved and the carriage 40 remains in position.

The power supply to the tractors 51 is not shown for reasons of clarity.

The tractor 51.1 is guided and driven along a first guidance system 52a, the second tractor 51.2 by means of a second guidance system 52b, each of which therefore represents a drive system 50 for one of the two tractors 51.1, 51.2.

The guide system 52a comprises two X-guides 52aX running in the X-direction, mounted on a lower plate 33--running parallel to the worktop 31--which are arranged running parallel and at a distance from one another. A Y-guide 52aY is arranged across both of them and can be moved in the Y-direction along the X-guides. The tractor 51.1 can be moved in the Y direction along the Y guide.

The second guidance system 52b is designed analogously.

The Y guides 52aY, 52bY only extend as far as the boundary 53' which separates the two working areas 53a and 53b of these two guide systems 52a, 52b from one another. The tractors 51 cannot move beyond this limit 53'.

For reasons of clarity, it is not shown how the tractors 51 can not only be moved but also driven along their respective guidance system, since there are a large number of options for this, from electric linear drives to spindle-nut/spindle drives.

The entire drive system 50 is housed under the worktop 31, protected primarily from the moisture present above and on the worktop, and for this purpose the front edge of the worktop 31 is bent downwards so that the entire drive system 50 is preferably not visible behind it. The lower plate 33 can be fastened to the lower edge of the downwardly bent leg of the worktop 31, e.g. by means of the screw connection 36 shown.

In 1a a tap Z is also shown on the left, on which an input unit 32 can also be present, as is customary in digitally controlled tap systems, with a parking base A1 under the tap Z, on which a glass G should be placed so that it can be filled from the tap Z.

Like the supervision of 1b shows, a dispensing station ZS usually has several dispensing taps Z1, Z2, etc. side by side, which in practice is usually a closely adjacent pair of dispensing taps, one of which is usually provided for beer and the other for non-alcoholic beverages.

Underneath each of the pairs of taps Z1, Z2, Z3 there is an associated placement base A1, A2, A3, on which a glass G must be placed so that it can be automatically filled from the corresponding tap Z1.

According to the invention, the glass G is set down in the respective storage base together with the respective carriage 40.3, 40.4 on which the glass is standing.

As in 1a indicated, is the parking base, there A1, from the in 1a shown initial position, namely just above the top 31a of the worktop 31 floating, liftable and also pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis.

As a result, the glass G standing indirectly - with the carriage 40 in between - on the storage base, e.g. A1, can be brought optimally close to the tap Z until it even protrudes into the glass G, and the beverage flowing out of the tap Z hits the inside of the wall of the glass and not its bottom, which is important for heavily foaming beverages for rapid filling of the glass G.

• Das Glas G kann vom Schlitten 40 nicht herab rutschen, weil auf dessen Oberseite 40a die dortige, vorzugsweise im Zentrum der Oberseite 40a angeordnete, Abstellfläche 44 für ein Glas nach radial außen auf mindestens einer, besser mindestens zwei einander gegenüberliegenden Seiten begrenzt wird von einer nach oben aufragenden Schulter 48 - siehe 3a sowie 5b -, gegen die der untere Rand des Glases stößt, wenn es auf der Abstellfläche 44 in diese Richtung rutschen sollte.

To ensure that the glass G does not slip off the side of the storage base A1, a form-fitting safety device is provided between the glass G and the carriage 40 on the one hand and the carriage 40 and the storage base A1 on the other:

• The glass G cannot slide off the carriage 40 because on its upper side 40a the storage surface 44 for a glass there, preferably arranged in the center of the upper side 40a, is delimited radially outwards on at least one, better at least two opposite sides by an upwardly projecting shoulder 48 - see 3a as well as 5b - against which the lower edge of the glass strikes if it should slide on the shelf 44 in that direction.

The underside 40b of the carriage 40 - apart from the four adjustable feet 49 in the corners - which is spaced apart from the base of the worktop 31, moves over the leg of the storage base A, which is horizontal in the starting position and is L-shaped in the side view.

This is - see enlarged view in 5a - the distance between the underside 40b and the worktop 31 is greater than the thickness of this horizontal leg, so that it can still have a short extension 35 upwards at its free end, and the free end of this horizontal leg can still pass underneath the carriage 40.

Is then, as in the enlarged view of the 5a shown, the carriage 40 located between the vertical leg and the extension 35 is lifted from the parking base A1, the extension 35 projects upwards behind the carriage 40 and forms a counter-element 35 to the form-fitting element 34 in the form of the carriage 40 and in particular its underside 40b, because this means that the carriage can also tilt by one in the viewing direction of the horizontal leg 5a , ie the direction in which the horizontal leg runs between the vertical and horizontal legs of the storage base A1, cannot slide down from its horizontal leg in the tilted position.

The same effect can be achieved by extensions or depressions extending in the vertical direction in the underside 40b of the carriage 40 as positive-locking elements 34 and corresponding counter-elements 35 in the form of matching depressions or projections, which also means that a locked in the 2nd horizontal transverse direction and thus in the horizontal plane, more precisely in the plane of the leg of the storage base A1, which is horizontal in the starting position but can be tilted.

In the upper right part of the picture 1b a loading station 41 is shown, by means of which glasses G delivered on a feed conveyor 39 can be transferred individually to a carriage 40 that is moved up adjacent on the worktop 31 .

Shown here with dashed arrows, the carriage loaded with the empty glass G, e.g. 40.7, is then automatically moved into a specific, provided parking base, e.g. A3.

This is possible because at the input unit 32 of such an automated dispensing station - according to 1a can be present at each individual tap or as a central unit apart from the taps - the control 1* of the supply unit - which must be coupled with the control of the dispensing station ZS for this or is functionally combined - knows which type of glass G arrives when on the feed conveyor 39 and to which empty parking base A3 it has to be transported.

There the respective glass G is filled, as is currently the case, for example, in the storage bases A4 and A5, and after the end of the filling process, the carriages, e.g. 40.3, 40.4 with the filled glass G standing on them, which have been placed back on the bar 31, are moved out of the storage bases A1, A2 and to an unloading station 42, which in this case only consists of a waiting area at the edge of the bar 31, where the Service takes the filled glasses from the carriages 40.1, 40.2 etc. waiting there. The individual waiting positions can be marked to make it easier for the operator to put together orders.

• Hierfür weist zum einen die Oberseite 40a jedes Schlittens eine Abstellfläche 44 für das Glas auf, die in der Aufsicht meist rund ist und vollständig oder teilweise von einer erhöhten Schulter 48 umgeben ist, um ein seitliches Verrutschen des auf der Abstellfläche 44 stehenden Glases G zu vermeiden.

The transfer of a glass G at the loading station 41 is in a step-by-step process based on the 3a-e in top view and in associated side views in FIGS 4a-e shown:

• For this purpose, on the one hand, the upper side 40a of each carriage has a storage area 44 for the glass, which is mostly round in the top view and is completely or partially surrounded by a raised shoulder 48 in order to prevent the glass G standing on the shelf 44 from slipping sideways.

Above all, however, in this case there are three grooves 47 which run parallel to one another and are recessed in relation to the storage surface 44 and which end in the side surfaces of the carriage 40 in the surface 40a.

As the side view shows, the underside 40b of the carriage 44 does not rest completely on the top 31a of the worktop 31, but only with four adjustable feet 49 formed in the corners of the carriage, which is square in plan view, and in the lower ends of which a permanent magnet 45 is preferably arranged in each case.

The glass G, with which the slide 40.7 in 1b to be loaded in the sequence of 3a-e and 4a-e referred to only generally as a carriage 40, is delivered by means of a feed conveyor 39, in which the respective glass G stands on the upper run of the conveyor belt 38, with grooves 47* also being recessed in the upper side of the conveyor belt 38 and continuously present in the direction of travel of the conveyor belt 38, which roughly correspond in width, depth and mutual spacing to those of the grooves 47 in the upper side 40a of the carriage 40.

The feed conveyor 39 ends at a short distance from the edge 31c of the worktop 31, in that there is just enough space between the local deflection roller 37a of the conveyor belt 38 and the edge 31c for an upright, preferably vertical, standing lifting column 54, at the upper end of which a horizontally lying rake 43 is attached, which with the help of the lifting column 54 is not only shifted in height but also about the direction of the lifting column, the pivot axis 43 'The rake 43 can be pivoted.

The rake 43 has from its central part, in which the attachment to the lifting column 54 is located, parallel and spaced apart prongs 43a-c, in this case three, prongs 43a-c, which are narrow enough and are equipped with a corresponding mutual distance that they can be lowered into both the grooves 47 and the grooves 47* when viewed from above, and also - as in 4a apparent - have a height which is less than the depth of the grooves 47 as well as 47*.

Before a glass G is delivered to the removal position, the rake 43 is located with its tines 43a - c lowered into the grooves 47 *, the tines 43a - c protruding from the end of the conveyor belt 38 into its grooves, so that a glass standing on the conveyor belt 38 is moved up to a removal position in which its lower foot is completely above the tines 43a - c, moved up from the conveyor belt 38 and in this position Position the conveyor belt 38 can be stopped.

Then according to 4b the rake 43 is raised by the lifting column 54 until it makes contact with the underside, foot, of the glass G and then further up, together with the glass G, until the rake 43 is completely above the conveyor belt 38 and is disengaged from the grooves 47*.

At this level, according to 3c , 4c the rake 43 is pivoted about the upright pivot axis 43', in this case by 180°, until, viewed from above, the prongs 43a-c are located above the grooves 47 of a carriage 40 that has been moved to the corresponding loading position and the glass G standing on the prongs is above the storage surface 44 of this carriage 40.

Then according to 3d , 4d the rake 43 is lowered by means of the lifting column 54 so far that the prongs 43a-c are located in the grooves 47, with their upper side below the storage surface 44 extending laterally next to the grooves 47, so that the glass rests on this storage surface 44.

Then according to 4e the carriage 40 with the glass G standing on it in the direction of the grooves 47 and thus the prongs 43a, c are moved out of the rake 43 and then moved freely on the upper side 31a of the worktop 31, according to FIG 1b approximately into the empty storage base A3.

The rake 43 is then free for the next loading process and can be swiveled back and lowered with its tines into the grooves 47* of the conveyor belt 38, which must be done before the conveyor belt 38 moves the next glass G over the tines.

Such a feed unit with the first design, i.e. an X, Y guide system for the tractor 51, can manage with just one such guide system 52, but if a higher movement frequency is to be achieved on the carriage 40, as per 1a shown several adjacent management systems 52a, b useful.

As in 1b shown, the boundary 53 between the working areas 53a, 53b of two guidance systems could lie on the longitudinal center line through these parking bases if there are several parking bases A1 to A5 in a row, so that one guidance system, e.g. 52a, is responsible for bringing the loading station 41 to a storage base and the other guidance system 52b is responsible for removing the carriages 40 from the storage bases A1 to A5 and bringing them to the unloading station 42.

• Zunächst wird ein Schlitten 40, der mit seinen in diesem Fall vier, z.B. in der Aufsicht betrachtet im Viereck angeordneten, Dauermagneten 45 über den vier Elektromagneten 46 des darunter befindlichen Traktors 51.2 des zweiten Führungs-Systems 52b positioniert ist, von diesem Traktors 51.2 möglichst nahe an die Grenze 53' zwischen den beiden Führungs-Systemen herangefahren gemäß 2a.

The 2a-e show a side view of the transfer of a carriage 40 from one guide system 52b to an adjacent guide system 52a:

• First a carriage 40, which in this case has four permanent magnets 45, e.g 2a .

After the electromagnets 46 in the tractor 51.2 have been switched off, it is moved back somewhat from the limit 53', while the carriage 40 remains in its position due to a lack of coupling, namely until the direction of view of the 2 consecutive electromagnets 46 of tractor 51.2 adjacent to border 53' are located under the two permanent magnets 45 of carriage 40 remote from border 53' according to FIG 2 B .

Then according to 2c the tractor 51.2 is moved forward again in the direction of the border 53' and the carriage 40, which is also sufficiently strongly coupled by means of only two pairs of magnets, is moved along with it until it extends beyond the border 53'.

If a tractor 51.1 is now positioned there in a similar manner from the other guidance system 52a in such a way that it too lies with its two electromagnets 46 close to the border under the permanent magnets 45 of the carriage 40 on its side of the border 53' and then the electromagnets 46 are activated, this tractor 51.1 - if the electromagnets 46 of the other tractor 51.2 have been switched off in the meantime - can couple the carriage 40 magnetically and pull it completely over into the working area 53a of the guidance system 52a.

From now on, the tractor 51.1 can either move the carriage 40 further by coupling only two pairs of magnets or beforehand - for a more stable coupling - drive in the direction of the border 53' with the electromagnets 46 switched off until its four electromagnets 46 are located under the four permanent magnets 45 of the carriage 40, according to 2e , and then activate the electromagnets 46 again and optimally magnetically couple the carriage 40 with all existing magnet pairs.

The 5a, b show a second variant of a drive system 50 located under the worktop 31 for the slides 40.1, 40.2.

The tractors 51.1, 51.2 serving as the drive source are independently self-propelled and controlled tractors, which in turn move on a lower plate 33 under the work plate 31, so that the electromagnets 46 arranged on or in the upper side of the tractors 51.1, 51.2 are again just below the underside 31b of the work plate 31.

Here, too, the lower plate 33 is again parallel to the worktop 31.

As per supervision 5b shows - in the left half in a view from above of the worktop 31, in the right half in a sectional view cut horizontally along the underside of the worktop 31 - the tractors 51.1 to 51.7 can drive independently of one another, and after positioning under a carriage 40.1 to 40.4 standing on the worktop 31 - whose position and rotated position is usually called by a higher-level central control together with a travel order - by activating their electromagnets 46, which in turn do the same mutual arrangement as the permanent magnets 45 are aligned in the carriage 40 and, in particular, aligned with them - coupling them and taking the carriage 40 with them when moving on the lower plate 33 .

• Wie bei jedem Rad ist das ganze Rad 55 um seine Rad-Achse 55' drehbar, antreibbar und abrollbar auf der Unterplatte 33, jedoch besteht der Umfang des Rades 55 und dessen Lauffläche aus in mindestens zwei axialen Ebenen hintereinander angeordneten Radrollen 56, die meist Tonnen-Form besitzen, und gegenüber dem Grundkörper des Rades 55 um eine tangential zum Grundkörper verlaufende Rollen-Achse 56' drehbar sind.

In the left half of 5b are the multi-directional wheels 55 better than in 5a to recognize:

• As with every wheel, the entire wheel 55 can be rotated about its wheel axis 55', can be driven and rolled on the lower plate 33, but the circumference of the wheel 55 and its running surface consists of wheel rollers 56 arranged one behind the other in at least two axial planes, which are usually barrel-shaped and can be rotated relative to the base body of the wheel 55 about a roller axis 56' running tangentially to the base body.

By driving the in this case three wheels 55 of a tractor 51 in the correct relation to one another in a controlled manner, the latter can drive in any direction, make extremely tight curves and even turn on the spot, and in this way maneuver the carriages 40 with the glasses G standing on them very well.

The 6a, b show a second design of a magnetic drive system for the carriage 40, in which there are a large number of lower magnets uM that can be activated and deactivated under the worktop 31, arranged in an array 57 extending in the X and Y directions - for example applied to a subplate 33 which is located at the smallest possible distance below the worktop 31, or also glued to the underside of the worktop 31 - which can be activated and deactivated individually and independently of one another by the controller 30* . In the present case, these are electromagnets 46 that can be supplied with electricity or not supplied with electricity.

How 6b shows in the top view with the carriage 40 indicated above, an upper magnet oM is arranged in the corners of the quadrilateral, in this case square, carriage 40, with a mutual distance from center to center of the upper magnets oM adjacent on one side of the square, which corresponds to an integer multiple of the distances from center to center of two adjacent lower magnets uM of the array 57.

Because in the array 57 the lower magnets uM are arranged in a regular grid, that is to say with constant mutual distances—in this case a grid extending in the X and Y directions, at the crossings of which the lower magnets are located.

The magnet pattern which the magnets in the carriage 40 adopt in relation to one another is therefore contained in the array 57 in many cases.

To facilitate assembly, a certain number of lower magnets in rows and columns next to each other, here 12 × 12 lower magnets uM, are combined in an array plate 58, so that the entire process area can be equipped with a continuous array 57 by array plates 58 arranged side by side.

To move the carriage 40, for example, in 6b to let go down, the application of current to those lower magnets uM that are located under the upper magnets oM of the carriage 40 must be switched off and instead the next lower magnets uM in the downward direction must be charged with current and thereby activated.

Since the magnetic field of action of a lower magnet uM is designed in such a way that an upper magnet oM standing exactly above an adjacent lower magnet uM is still influenced by it to such an extent that it is able to pull it into a position directly above it when it is energized, this will cause the entire carriage 40 to move down by the distance of a distance between two lower magnets uM and so on. In an analogous manner, the carriage 40 can also be moved to the right or left.

For this purpose - viewed from above - the upper magnets oM, which e.g. like the lower magnets uM here have a round base, are so large that they extend slightly beyond the positions of the adjacent lateral to the lower magnet uM located exactly below.

Reference List

30

feeding unit

30*

steering

31

countertop

31a

top

31b

bottom

31c

edge

32

input unit

33

sub-plate

34

interlocking element

35

counter element

36

Screw connections, fastening

37a, b

pulley

38

conveyor belt

39

feeder

40

Sleds

40a

wing, top

40b

bottom

41

loading station

42

unloading station

43

rake

43'

pivot axis

43a, b

tines

44

storage area

45

permanent magnet

45'

polar axis

46

electro magnet

46'

polar axis

47

groove

48

shoulder

49

adjustable foot

50

drive system

51

tractor

52, 52a, b

guidance system

53a, b

Workspace

53'

Border

54

lifting column

55

wheel

55'

wheel axis

56

wheel roller

56'

roller axis

57

array

58

array disk

A1, A2

storage base

G

object, glass

oM

top magnet

around

bottom magnet

T

Table, bar, counter

Z, Z1, Z2

tap

ZS

pump station

Claims (23)

Feeding unit (30) for automatically feeding an object (G), in particular glass (G), to and/or positioning it on and/or removing it from one of a plurality of storage bases (A1, A2). - a continuous, dense, in particular flat, worktop (31), - wherein the plurality of storage bases (A1, A2) are located on or above the worktop (31), - a controller (30*) for automatically controlling the components, in particular all movable ones, of the feed unit (30), with an input unit (32), - Slides (40) that can be moved freely in the X and Y directions on the worktop (31), - one support surface (40a) each on the upper side (40a) of one carriage (40), - a drive system (50) under the worktop (31) for the controlled driving of the slides (40) independently of one another,characterized, that - the underside of the plate-shaped carriage (40) has three-dimensional form-fitting elements (34) which are designed in such a way that - the carriage can move along the X-Y plane into a carriage receptacle, which is a parking base (A1, A2), - the upper side of the carriage receptacle has three-dimensional counter-elements (35) that match the positive-locking elements (34) and are designed in such a way that - when the plate-shaped carriage (40) is pivoted from the position parallel to the X-Y plane by up to 60°, the carriage (40) does not slip out of the carriage mount. feeding unit after claim 1 , characterized in that - the drive system (50) works without contact with respect to the carriage (40), in particular by means of magnetic force - in particular in that at least one permanent magnet (45) is arranged in the carriage (40) as the upper magnet (oM), preferably on or in its underside, and under the worktop (31) as the lower magnet (uM), preferably at least one magnet that can be activated and deactivated in a controlled manner is present, which is designed and arranged in such a way that it is able to move in the XY plane along the upper magnet including its carriage (40) along the top of the worktop (31). feeding unit after claim 2 , characterized in that the drive system (50) works without contact in that - at least one tractor (51) can be moved freely in the X and Y direction under the worktop (31) by means of a guide system (52), - there is one tractor (51) under each carriage (40), - the tractor (51) and the carriage (40) are coupled without contact, in particular by means of magnetic force, so that the carriage (40) can be moved on the worktop (31 ) in the XY plane follows the movements of the tractor (51) in the XY plane under the worktop (31). feeding unit after claim 3 , characterized in that in the carriage (40) and in the tractor (51) there is on the one hand a permanent magnet (45) and on the other hand a magnet that can be activated and deactivated, in particular a switchable electromagnet (46) or a permanent magnet (45) that can be displaced with respect to the component carrying it, which, at least in the activated state, in particular each have their pole axes (45', 46') running transversely to the XY plane. Supply unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the worktop (31) consists of non-magnetic material, in particular also non-magnetizable material, in particular high-grade steel or plastic. Feeding unit according to one of claims 3 - 5 , characterized in that - the tractor (51) can be moved in a controlled manner, in particular directly, along an X guide element (52.X) of the guide system (52) extending parallel to the XY plane, - the X guide element in a transverse direction of its extension direction of the X guide element, in particular in the Y direction, along a Y guide element (52.Y) of the guide system (52) along the underside of the worktop (31) can be moved in a controlled manner. feeding unit after claim 6 , characterized in that - each guide system (52) carries at least one tractor (51), - at least two guide systems (52a, b) are present, - in particular the working areas (53a, b) (defined) of the guide systems (52a, b) viewed in the top view of the XY plane overlap, so that a transfer of a carriage (40) from one tractor (51 a) to another tractor (51 b) is possible. Feeding unit according to one of claims 2 - 5 , characterized in that the tractors (51) - are self-propelled and steerable, - are held, in particular attached, to the underside (31b) of the worktop (31), or - can be moved on a sub-plate (33) under the worktop (31) and - can be moved in particular freely controlled along the underside of the worktop (31) in all directions of the XY plane. Feeding unit according to one of Claims 1 or 2 , characterized in that the carriages (40) - are self-propelled and steerable, - are freely controlled on the upper side (31a) of the worktop (31) in all directions of the XY plane. Feeding unit according to one of claims 3 - 8th , characterized in that the tractors (51) viewed from above have a maximum diameter of 20 cm, preferably a maximum of 15 cm. Feeding unit according to one of Claims 1 or 2 , characterized in that - under the worktop (31) in the entire movement area there is an array (57) of lower magnets (uM) that can be activated and deactivated in a controlled manner, extending in the X and Y direction, in particular in the form of a grid, - the size and/or magnetic force of which, viewed from above, is dimensioned in the activated state and/or the mutual distance between them is such that an upper magnet held by a 1st lower magnet (uM) when this 1st lower magnet is deactivated (uM) and activation of a 2nd, adjacent lower magnet (uM) from which the upper magnet (oM) is pulled over the activated 2nd lower magnet (uM) along the top of the worktop (31). Feeding unit according to one of Claims 1 ,2 or 11, characterized in that - when viewed from above, the lower magnets (uM) have a smaller area than the upper magnets (oM), - in particular with an upper magnet (oM) standing centrally over a lower magnet (uM), the effective range of a lower magnet (uM) adjacent to this lower magnet (uM) overlaps at least partially, viewed in the view, with the effective area of the upper magnet (oM), in particular when viewed in the view, with the surface of the upper magnet (oM) overlapped. Supply unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that - the worktop (31) is the top of a bar table (T) and - the storage bases (A1, A2) are each located under a tap (Z). Feed unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that - there is a loading station (41) for loading a carriage (40) with a, in particular empty, vessel (G), - there is an unloading station (42) for removing the, in particular filled, vessel (G) from the carriage (40). Feed unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at each loading station (41, 42) there is a horizontally lying rake (43) that can be adjusted in height, the tines (43a, b) of which, after being lowered, find space in corresponding grooves (47) in the top side (40a) of the carriage (40) and can be raised above the height of the top side (40a) of the carriage (40). Feed unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that next to the storage surface (44) on the upper side (40a) of the carriage (40) there is a shoulder (48), in particular a shoulder (48) running closed around the storage surface (44), as a stop for the lower end of a container (G) standing on the storage surface (44). Feed unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that - at least three, better four, downwardly projecting adjustable feet (49) are arranged on the underside (40b) of the carriage (40), - In the adjustable feet, in particular their lower area, lower magnets (uM), in particular permanent magnets (45) are arranged, in particular with a pole axis running primarily in the Z direction, ie transversely to the XY plane. Method for the automatic handling of an object (G), in particular glass (G), over a sealed worktop (31) by means of carriages (40), - on which an object (G) can stand, - which are freely movable in the X and Y directions on the worktop (31), - which are driven from below the worktop (31), characterized in that the object (G) is positioned on one of several storage bases (A1, A2) by means of a carriage (40). procedure after claim 18 , wherein - the underside of the plate-shaped carriage (40) has three-dimensional positive-locking elements (34) which are designed in such a way that - the carriage can move along the XY plane into a carriage mount, which is a storage base (A1, A2), - the carriage mount has three-dimensional counter-elements (35) on its upper side that match the positive-locking elements (34), characterized in that - counter-elements (35) are selected such that pivoting of the plate-shaped slide (40) from the position parallel to the XY plane by up to 60°, the slide (40) does not slip out of the slide mount. procedure after claim 18 or 19 , characterized in that the carriages (40) are each driven by a tractor (51) which is moved in a controlled manner below the worktop (31) and can be coupled to the carriage (40) by means of a magnetic force which can be switched on and off. procedure after claim 18 or 19 , characterized in that the carriages (40) are activated by activating lower magnets (uM) of the array (57) of lower magnets (uM) that are preferably adjacent and preferably one behind the other in the desired direction of travel of the carriage (40). Method according to one of the preceding method claims, characterized in that for positioning on a storage base (A1) the carriage (40) together with the glass (G) saddled on it is moved into the storage base (A1) and in particular is handled there together with the carriage (40). Method according to one of the preceding method claims, characterized in that the carriage (40) is loaded with the object (G) by placing the object (G) standing on the tines (43, b, c) of a rake (43) by lowering the tines (43, b, c) into grooves (47) in the upper side (40a) of the carriage (40) on its parking surface (40).

Images