DE102022132193A1 - Gripper head and method for gripping and manipulating piece goods - Google Patents

Abstract

A gripper head (1) for gripping piece goods (3) is disclosed. The gripper head (1) has a first gripper bar (7) and a second gripper bar (8), which can carry out a feed movement for clampingly receiving at least one piece of goods (3) and are fastened to a gripper base (5) of the gripper head (1). The gripper head (1) also comprises at least one support bar (9) for piece goods (3), which is located between the first gripper bar (7) and the second gripper bar (8) and is held on the gripper base (5) via at least one bearing (4). The at least one support bar (9) is held movable relative to the gripper base (5) via the at least one bearing (4), so that the at least one support bar (9) can adjust its range (R1, R2) emanating from the gripper base (5) by moving relative to the gripper base (5).

Description

The present invention relates to a gripper head for gripping piece goods, a turning and distribution system for piece goods with such a gripper head and a method for gripping and manipulating piece goods.

In order to be able to arrange piece goods in the field of packing and palletizing technology in a relative arrangement that is suitable for forming a palletizable layer, grippers are already known from the prior art that have several strips designed to clamp piece goods. In already known grippers, these strips or clamping strips can carry out a feed movement, whereby piece goods are held between the strips with force and the gripper can then rotate the held piece goods and/or move them relative to other piece goods. After rotation and/or displacement, the strips can be opened or their relative distance from one another can be increased, whereby the piece goods that were previously held in a clamped manner are released again.

The piece goods can, for example, be packages with several beverage containers, so that a corresponding gripper can accept such packages and then rotate or move them as required. For example, packages are known in which several beverage containers are held together by means of strapping and/or a banderol. There are also packages in which articles are held together by a so-called tray on which several beverage containers stand and which tray has side tabs that have been converted into an upright orientation. Packages have also been known for some time in which beverage containers are held together by a flat packaging cut-out that is clipped onto the respective beverage containers from above. Such packaging cut-outs, known in practice as top clips, can be made of cardboard and/or paperboard.

Grippers are already known from the prior art that can clamp one or more containers that have been moved one after the other into the gripper's working area. In addition, grippers are known that can clamp containers that reach the gripper's working area next to one another. In such embodiments, the containers that are arranged next to one another are brought together when the gripper bars move. Practice has shown that subsequent manipulation of containers often leads to the containers that are held clamped by the gripper shifting, which can be the case in particular when the containers are rotated by the gripper.

In order to avoid such problems, grippers are known that have at least one separating or supporting plate that is arranged between the gripper bars. If several containers arranged next to each other are gripped by a gripper, each container comes into surface contact with the separating or supporting plate, which can prevent containers from accidentally detaching from the gripper during subsequent manipulation. Such a gripper is known from the EP 4 067 271 A1 known.

It is therefore the case that at least one corresponding separating or supporting plate is either necessary or useful depending on the manipulation to be carried out, or can be omitted entirely if the manipulation in question does not require such a separating or supporting plate. If a gripper is to be used for different manipulation tasks, the gripper must therefore be adapted to the respective manipulation task, which may require at least one separating or supporting plate to be arranged on the gripper or at least one separating or supporting plate to be removed from the gripper.

It would be desirable to have options that could shorten the changeover times for a gripper or even eliminate the need for changeover work on the gripper altogether. Grippers that have greater flexibility in accepting piece goods than grippers known from the state of the art are also desirable.

It is also the case that the gripper cannot be adjusted or converted within a work program, as this would require manual operator intervention. If piece goods that are provided via a single-lane feed are to be gripped within the respective work program and piece goods that are provided via a two-lane feed are to be gripped immediately afterwards, grippers known from the state of the art cannot perform this task. However, such gripping can be useful or even necessary in order to be able to transfer piece goods by manipulation into an arrangement that is coordinated with a palletizable layer to be formed from the piece goods. Grippers that can perform this task would be desirable.

For this reason, an object of the invention can be seen in providing a possibility with which the flexibility for different manipulation tasks can be further increased. Furthermore, an object of the invention can be seen in providing a possibility with which changeover times for a gripper when changing between different manipulation tasks can at least be shortened or even completely eliminated.

The above objects are achieved by the subject matter comprising the features in the independent claims. Further advantageous embodiments are described by the subclaims.

The invention relates to a gripper head for gripping piece goods. The gripper head has a first gripper bar and a second gripper bar, which can carry out a feed movement for clamping receipt of at least one piece of goods and are attached to a gripper base of the gripper head.

In this case, the first gripper bar and the second gripper bar may each perform a linear movement as part of the feed movement, or the first gripper bar and the second gripper bar may each be moved in a linear direction as part of the feed movement. Alternatively, the first gripper bar and the second gripper bar may each be pivoted as part of the feed movement.

In such embodiments, a first pivot axis provided for the first gripper bar and a second pivot axis provided for the second gripper bar can be oriented parallel to one another. If the gripper head is designed as part of a rotating and distributing system described below, the pivot axes can run parallel to the transport direction of at least one horizontal conveyor device of the rotating and distributing system.

The first gripper bar and the second gripper bar can be, for example, a gripper jaw, a tong-shaped gripper arm, a sheet metal or another gripping structure. Alternatively or in addition to this, the first gripper bar and/or the second gripper bar can each have a profile and/or reversibly elastically deformable elements that are prepared for surface contact with the respective piece goods to be clamped.

In such embodiments, the risk is reduced that the respective at least one piece of goods to be clamped is damaged by contact with a gripper bar. If the first gripper bar and/or the second gripper bar have a profile, the static friction between the first gripper bar and/or the second gripper bar and the at least one piece of goods to be clamped is increased, which can reduce the risk that the at least one piece of goods clamped by the first gripper bar and the second gripper bar will unintentionally become detached from the gripper head.

The feature of the first gripper bar and the second gripper bar is therefore to be understood broadly in this case and includes all constructions that are suitable for the clamping acceptance of piece goods.

• - die wenigstens eine Stützleiste über das wenigstens eine Lager relativ zur Greiferbasis beweglich gehalten wird, so dass die wenigstens eine Stützleiste durch eine Bewegung relativ zur Greiferbasis ihre von der Greiferbasis ausgehende Reichweite anpassen bzw. verändern kann und/oder dass
• - die wenigstens eine Stützleiste über das wenigstens eine Lager relativ zur Greiferbasis beweglich gehalten wird, so dass die wenigstens eine Stützleiste durch eine Bewegung relativ zur Greiferbasis aus einem Bereich zwischen den zwei Greiferleisten wegbewegt wird.

Furthermore, the gripper head comprises at least one support bar for piece goods, which is located between the first gripper bar and the second gripper bar and is held on the gripper base via at least one bearing. It is provided that

• - the at least one support bar is held movable relative to the gripper base via the at least one bearing, so that the at least one support bar can adjust or change its range from the gripper base by a movement relative to the gripper base and/or that
• - the at least one support bar is held movable relative to the gripper base via the at least one bearing, so that the at least one support bar is moved away from an area between the two gripper bars by a movement relative to the gripper base.

The movement of the at least one support bar relative to the gripper base can be rotational or linear.

As a result, the at least one support bar can provide a contact surface for several piece goods that are received in a clamping manner and can penetrate between adjacent piece goods that are to be received in a clamping manner when the at least one support bar extends away from the gripper base with a first reach. In addition, with an adapted second reach that is reduced compared to the first reach, the at least one support bar cannot reach the respective at least one piece goods that are to be received in a clamping manner and can be located exclusively above the respective piece goods that are to be received in a clamping manner when the first gripper bar and the second gripper bar carry out their feed movement. The gripper head according to the invention therefore has a high degree of flexibility with regard to the respective at least one piece goods that are to be received.

It may be that the at least one bearing is designed such that the at least one support bar can be moved over a piece of goods relative to the gripper base by placing a free end region of the at least one support bar on a piece of goods.

It has proven useful in embodiments in which a free end region of the at least one support strip, which is intended to be placed on a piece of goods, is assigned a reversibly elastically deformable contact element, which is made in particular from rubber or foam. This can counteract damage to the respective piece of goods.

Furthermore, the gripper head can comprise at least one actuator, via which the at least one support bar can be moved relative to the gripper base to adjust its range extending from the gripper base. The at least one actuator can be attached to the gripper base.

In various embodiments, the gripper head can be designed to grasp piece goods that are beverage container packages. Such a beverage container package can comprise several beverage bottles and/or several beverage cans that are held together by at least one packaging means.

The bearing can also provide a linear guide for the movement of at least one support bar.

Alternatively or additionally, the at least one bearing may comprise at least one scissor mechanism, via which the at least one support bar is held movable relative to the gripper base via the at least one bearing, so that the at least one support bar can adjust its range emanating from the gripper base by a movement relative to the gripper base caused by the at least one scissor mechanism.

The scissor mechanism can comprise a plurality of scissor levers or exactly two scissor levers which are connected to one another in an articulated manner, so that the at least one support bar can adjust its reach from the gripper base by a movement caused by the at least one scissor mechanism relative to the gripper base.

It is possible for the gripper head to comprise exactly one support bar, with exactly one support bar being held on the gripper base via a bearing in such a way that exactly one support bar can only be moved along its longitudinal direction relative to the gripper base. In particular, exactly one support bar can be held on the gripper base via a bearing in such a way that exactly one support bar has an identical distance from the first gripper bar and the second gripper bar. It is therefore conceivable that exactly one support bar is held on the gripper base via a bearing with a degree of freedom f=1.

In further embodiments, the gripper head can comprise at least two support strips for piece goods, which are held on the gripper base via a respective bearing between the first gripper bar and the second gripper bar and are located between the first gripper bar and the second gripper bar. The bearings of the at least two support strips can be designed such that the at least two support strips can each be moved perpendicular to their longitudinal extension in a linear direction along the gripper base and can each adjust their range from the gripper base by moving relative to the gripper base. The at least two support strips can each be held on the gripper base via a respective bearing with a degree of freedom f=2.

The invention also relates to a turning and distribution system for piece goods with at least one gripper head according to at least one of the previously described embodiments.

The rotation and distribution system can comprise at least one industrial robot on which the at least one gripper head is arranged, wherein the at least one industrial robot is a gantry robot and/or a delta kinematic robot.

Furthermore, the rotation and distribution system can comprise at least one horizontal conveyor device, via which piece goods can be moved into a working area of the at least one gripper head. The rotation and distribution system can be configured and equipped for handling the at least one gripper head in such a way that the at least one piece of goods maintains surface contact with the at least one horizontal conveyor device when being clamped and manipulated via the at least one gripper head.

The turning and distribution system can also be configured and equipped to form an arrangement or a specific arrangement from a large number of piece goods. The arrangement or the specific arrangement can be adapted to a palletizable layer to be formed from the large number of piece goods.

The invention also relates to a method for grasping and manipulating piece goods via at least one gripper head according to at least one embodiment of the preceding description. In the method, piece goods are moved via at least one horizontal conveyor device into a working area of the at least one gripper head.

The at least one gripper head then receives at least one piece of goods in a clamped manner by means of a feed movement of its first gripper bar and its second gripper bar and manipulates the at least one piece of goods received in a clamped manner.

It is provided that a range of the at least one support bar for clamping receipt of the respective at least one piece of goods is adjusted as required, so that the at least one support bar is either located with a first range extending from the gripper base between several piece of goods to be received together by clamping or is located with a second range extending from the gripper base, which is reduced compared to the first range, exclusively above the at least one piece of goods to be received by clamping.

The gripper head can comprise a scissor mechanism, via which the range of the at least one support bar for clamping the respective at least one piece of goods is adjusted as required.

It may be that a free end region of the at least one support bar is placed on a piece of goods to be received in a clamped manner, whereby the at least one support bar is moved relative to the gripper base and the first range of the at least one support bar formed up to that point is reduced to the second range of the at least one support bar.

The articles in this process can also be beverage containers.

It is conceivable that the at least one piece of goods received in a clamped manner is rotated and/or displaced at an angle to the transport direction of the at least one horizontal conveyor during the manipulation. In this case, surface contact between the respective at least one piece of goods received in a clamped manner and the at least one horizontal conveyor may be maintained throughout the manipulation.

Furthermore, it may be the case that the at least one gripper head forms a respective arrangement from a respective plurality of piece goods, which respective arrangement is coordinated with a palletizable layer to be formed from the respective plurality of piece goods, wherein the gripper head repeatedly receives and manipulates at least one piece of goods moved into its working area in order to form the respective arrangement.

The arrangement can be designed in such a way that a palletizable layer can be formed from the arrangement by pushing together the large number of piece goods that form the respective arrangement. Accordingly, the respective arrangement can be formed by a large number of piece goods that can be transferred into a respective palletizable layer by pushing together.

It is conceivable that the at least one gripper head receives and manipulates piece goods from a first horizontal conveyor and a second horizontal conveyor in a clamping manner to form a respective arrangement, wherein the at least one support bar of the at least one gripper head is arranged exclusively with its first reach extending from the gripper base between a plurality of piece goods to be received together in a clamping manner when these plurality of piece goods to be received together are located on the first horizontal conveyor.

Furthermore, it can be the case that the at least one support bar of the at least one gripper head is arranged exclusively with its second reach extending from the gripper base above piece goods to be received in a clamped manner when these piece goods to be received in a clamped manner are located on the second horizontal conveyor device.

• - zunächst eine erste Anordnung aus einer ersten Vielzahl an Stückgütern bildet, welche erste Anordnung auf eine aus der ersten Vielzahl an Stückgütern zu bildende erste palettierfähige Lage abgestimmt ist, wobei der Greiferkopf zum Bilden der ersten Anordnung mehrmals jeweils mehrere in seinen Arbeitsbereich bewegte Stückgüter klemmend entgegennimmt und manipuliert und die wenigstens eine Stützleiste bei einer klemmenden Entgegennahme der jeweiligen mehreren Stückgüter jeweils mit einer ersten von der Greiferbasis ausgehenden Reichweite zwischen benachbarten Stückgütern anordnet, so dass klemmend über den Greiferkopf entgegengenommene Stückgüter mit der wenigstens einen Stützleiste in Oberflächenkontakt stehen. Es kann hierbei sein, dass derselbe Greiferkopf hierauf
• - eine zweite Anordnung aus einer zweiten Vielzahl an Stückgütern bildet, welche zweite Anordnung auf eine aus der zweiten Vielzahl an Stückgütern zu bildende zweite palettierfähige Lage abgestimmt ist, wobei der Greiferkopf zum Bilden der zweiten Anordnung mehrmals ein einzelnes in seinen Arbeitsbereich bewegtes Stückgut oder mehrmals jeweils mehrere entlang lediglich einer einzelnen Reihe hintereinander in seinen Arbeitsbereich bewegte Stückgüter klemmend entgegennimmt und manipuliert und die bis dahin ausgebildete erste Reichweite für die wenigstens eine Stützleiste auf eine zweite Reichweite für die klemmende Entgegennahme verkürzt, bei welcher zweiten Reichweite sich die wenigstens eine Stützleiste oberhalb des einzelnen Stückgutes oder oberhalb der mehreren entlang lediglich einer einzelnen Reihe hintereinander in seinen Arbeitsbereich bewegten Stückgüter befindet, wenn der Greiferkopf das einzelne in seinen Arbeitsbereich bewegte Stückgut oder die mehreren in seinen Arbeitsbereich bewegten Stückgüter der einen einzelnen Reihe klemmend entgegennimmt. Weiter kann es hierbei sein, dass
• - die Vielzahl an Stückgütern der gebildeten ersten Anordnung sowie die Vielzahl an Stückgütern der gebildeten zweiten Anordnung jeweils zusammengeschoben wird, woraus resultierend aus der ersten Vielzahl an Stückgütern eine erste palettierfähige Lage gebildet wird und aus der zweiten Vielzahl an Stückgütern eine zweite palettierfähige Lage gebildet wird, welche erste palettierfähige Lage und welche zweite palettierfähige Lage über einen Palettierer auf einer gemeinsamen Palette abgesetzt werden.

It is also possible that at least one gripper head

• - firstly, a first arrangement is formed from a first plurality of piece goods, which first arrangement is adapted to a first palletizable layer to be formed from the first plurality of piece goods, wherein the gripper head, in order to form the first arrangement, repeatedly receives and manipulates a plurality of piece goods moved into its working area in a clamped manner and arranges the at least one support strip between adjacent piece goods in a clamped manner with a first reach extending from the gripper base, so that piece goods received in a clamped manner via the gripper head are in surface contact with the at least one support strip It may be that the same gripper head is used
• - forms a second arrangement from a second plurality of piece goods, which second arrangement is adapted to a second palletizable layer to be formed from the second plurality of piece goods, wherein the gripper head, to form the second arrangement, repeatedly clamps and manipulates a single piece of goods moved into its working area or several piece of goods moved into its working area one after the other along only a single row and shortens the first range for the at least one support strip formed up to that point to a second range for the clamping reception, in which second range the at least one support strip is located above the single piece of goods or above the several piece of goods moved into its working area one after the other along only a single row, when the gripper head clamps the single piece of goods moved into its working area or the several piece of goods moved into its working area in a single row. It can also be the case that
• - the plurality of piece goods of the first arrangement formed and the plurality of piece goods of the second arrangement formed are each pushed together, as a result of which a first palletizable layer is formed from the first plurality of piece goods and a second palletizable layer is formed from the second plurality of piece goods, which first palletizable layer and which second palletizable layer are deposited on a common pallet via a palletizer.

This allows mixed pallets to be produced easily and with high throughput.

At this point, it should be emphasized that features that were previously mentioned in relation to embodiments of the gripper head according to the invention or to embodiments of the rotation and distribution system according to the invention equally relate to or can be partial aspects of the method according to the invention. Therefore, if at one point in the description or in the claim definitions an embodiment of the gripper head according to the invention or of the rotation and distribution system according to the invention is mentioned, this equally applies to the embodiments of the method according to the invention. The same applies in reverse, so that all aspects and design variants that were explained in connection with embodiments of the method according to the invention equally relate to or can be partial aspects of the gripper head according to the invention or of the rotation and distribution system according to the invention. Therefore, if at one point in the description or in the claim definitions for the method certain aspects or effects are mentioned, this equally applies to the gripper head according to the invention and the rotation and distribution system according to the invention. It is also possible that various embodiments of the method according to the invention are implemented or carried out by means of an embodiment of the rotation and distribution system according to the invention.

• 1 und 2 zeigen schematische Ansichten einer ersten Ausführungsform eines erfindungsgemäßen Greiferkopfes und einer ersten Ausführungsform eines erfindungsgemäßen Dreh- und Verteilsystems.
• 3 und 4 zeigen schematische Ansichten einer zweiten Ausführungsform eines erfindungsgemäßen Greiferkopfes und einer zweiten Ausführungsform eines erfindungsgemäßen Dreh- und Verteilsystems.
• 5 und 6 zeigen eine schematischer Perspektivansicht einer weiteren Ausführungsform eines erfindungsgemäßen Greiferkopfes.
• 7 zeigt im Flussdiagramm Schritte, wie sie einzeln oder gemäß der dargestellten Kombination in diversen Ausführungsformen des erfindungsgemäßen Verfahrens vorgesehen sein können.

In the following, embodiments are intended to explain the invention and its advantages in more detail with reference to the attached figures. The size relationships of the individual elements to one another in the figures do not always correspond to the actual size relationships, since some shapes are simplified and other shapes are shown enlarged in relation to other elements for better illustration.

• 1 and 2 show schematic views of a first embodiment of a gripper head according to the invention and a first embodiment of a rotation and distribution system according to the invention.
• 3 and 4 show schematic views of a second embodiment of a gripper head according to the invention and a second embodiment of a rotation and distribution system according to the invention.
• 5 and 6 show a schematic perspective view of another embodiment of a gripper head according to the invention.
• 7 shows in the flow chart steps as they can be provided individually or according to the combination shown in various embodiments of the method according to the invention.

Identical reference numerals are used for identical or equivalent elements of the invention. Furthermore, for the sake of clarity, only reference numerals are shown in the individual figures that are necessary for the description of the respective figure. The embodiments shown are merely examples of how the invention can be designed and do not represent an exhaustive limitation.

The 1 and 2 show schematic views of a first embodiment of a gripper head 1 according to the invention and a first embodiment of a rotation and distribution system 10 according to the invention.

The rotation and distribution system 10 comprises in the embodiment according to 1 and 2 the gripper head 1 and a horizontal conveyor 14. The horizontal conveyor 14 transports 1 Piece goods 3, which are designed as beverage container packages 6, are moved into a working area of the gripper head 1. Such beverage container packages 6 can comprise several beverage bottles or several beverage cans, which are held together by a packaging material. The packaging material can be a strapping, for example. The packaging material can also be a flat packaging blank made of cellulose-containing material, into which the beverage containers or the beverage bottles or beverage cans are inserted. In addition, the beverage container packages 6 can comprise several beverage containers that are connected to one another by adhesive connections. Other packaging materials and/or connections are also conceivable in order to combine beverage containers in this way to form a beverage container package 6.

In 1 the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor 14 is oriented in the direction of the image plane. In the present case, further piece goods 3 are transported in the direction of the image plane, which are aligned with the two piece goods 3, which are in 1 can be seen. Since these additional goods 3 are covered by the two goods 3, they are in 1 not recognizable. The two in 1 The piece goods 3 shown are arranged next to one another perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor 14.

The gripper head 1 comprises a first gripper bar 7 and a second gripper bar 8, which 1 have only been shown schematically. In practice, the gripper bars 7 and 8 can be formed, for example, by gripper jaws, by tong-shaped arms or by metal sheets. Thus, a gripper head 1 can, for example, comprise gripper bars 7 and 8, as shown in 5 and 6 are shown. On a respective broad side surface, which faces the piece goods 3 to be received, the gripper bars 7 and 8 can each have a profile and/or a defined shape that corresponds to the respective piece goods 3 to be received, so that the piece goods 3 to be received dip into the gripper bars 7 and 8 in a form-fitting manner and/or so that a static friction between the gripper bars 7 and 8 and the piece goods 3 is increased due to the profiling. This can reduce the risk that a piece of goods 3 received by the gripper head 1 in a clamped manner will unintentionally become detached from the gripper head 1 when manipulated by the gripper head 1.

In order to grip the piece goods 3 or the beverage containers 6 by means of the gripper bars 7 and 8, the gripper bars 7 and 8 carry out a feed movement in which the gripper bars 7 and 8 reduce their relative distance from one another and move along the gripper base 5, to which the gripper bars 7 and 8 are respectively attached, in a linear direction and perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor device 14. The movement is in 1 indicated by arrows.

When the gripper bars 7 and 8 move inward, the piece goods 3 or the beverage container packs 6 are pushed together via the gripper bars 7 and 8 until the piece goods 3 or the beverage container packs 6 hit the support bar 9 of the gripper head 1. The support bar 9 is a separating plate which lies flat against the piece goods 3 or the beverage container packs 6 when the respective piece goods 3 or the respective beverage container packs 6 are held clamped between the gripper bars 7 and 8. Such a support bar 9 is necessary or useful in practice in order to avoid the piece goods 3 accidentally coming loose from the gripper head 1 when the piece goods 3 held clamped via the gripper head 1 are manipulated via the gripper head 1.

The separating plate or the support strip 9 therefore ensures that the piece goods 3 are adequately fixed to the gripper head 1 and also prevents the piece goods 3 from shifting against one another when the piece goods 3 are manipulated via the gripper head 1. If the piece goods 3 are designed as beverage container bundles 6, practice has shown that beverage containers of a first beverage container bundle 6 can get caught between several beverage containers of an adjacent beverage container bundle 6 if adjacent piece goods 3 are held in a clamped manner via gripper strips 7 and 8 and a support strip 9 is missing.

Such a nested arrangement of beverage container packs 6 is undesirable and is generally not suitable for further processing of the beverage container packs 6 that have already been manipulated via the gripper head 1. In addition, beverage container packs 6 often detach from the gripper head 1 when they have been gripped by the gripper head 1 and are in a nested arrangement.

A support bar 9 is therefore always required for a clamped acceptance of piece goods 3 when several perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor 14 neighboring piece goods 3 are to be clamped together via the gripper head 1.

The gripper head 1 is connected to the control device S. After the gripper head 1 has clamped and received piece goods 3, the piece goods 3 are manipulated via the gripper head 1 and are thereby displaced at an angle to the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor and/or rotated about a vertical axis. The movement of the gripper head 1 at the instigation of the control device S takes place in such a way that several piece goods 3 are in an arrangement after manipulation via the gripper head 1, which is coordinated with a palletizable layer to be formed from the respective several piece goods 3.

For this purpose, it may be necessary for piece goods 3 to be rotated via the gripper head 1 without these piece goods 3 being displaced obliquely to the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor device 14 during the manipulation. It may also be necessary to form such an arrangement for piece goods 3 to be displaced obliquely to the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor device 14 via the gripper head 1 without these piece goods 3 being rotated about a vertical axis.

For some piece goods 3, it may also be necessary to form such an arrangement that they are both displaced at an angle to the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor 14 and also rotated about a vertical axis during manipulation. If individual piece goods 3 intended for the respective arrangement are already in a position and orientation that is suitable for the respective arrangement, they can also be moved through the working area of the gripper head 1 without the gripper head 1 grasping and manipulating these individual piece goods 3.

How it looks 1 As can be seen, the clamping force required to hold the piece goods 3 on the gripper head 1 is applied via the gripper bars 7 and 8. The force connection is thus achieved by the gripper bars 7 and 8 jointly applying the clamping force required to hold the piece goods 3 and the clamping force from one of the two piece goods 3 is introduced via the support bar 9 to the respective other piece goods 3. In 1 The clamping force is indicated by arrow F.

In practice, the support bar 9 must be designed with a low thickness so that a single piece of goods 3 to be received via the gripper head 1 cannot be gripped via a gripper bar 7 or 8 and a support bar 9 without this leading to damage or an unwanted deformation of the support bar 9. The clamping force of a gripper bar 7 or 8 is too great in gripper heads known from the prior art, so that the support bar 9 cannot withstand the clamping force. In practice, therefore, several gripper heads are used when both several piece goods 3 adjacent perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor 14 and only individual piece goods 3 or only several piece goods 3 arranged one behind the other in the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor 14 must be manipulated in order to produce a corresponding arrangement from a large number of piece goods 3 that is coordinated with a palletizable position.

The gripper head 1 of the embodiment according to 1 and 2 can, however, carry out a large number of different manipulation tasks and can both accept several adjacent piece goods 3 perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor 14 and also grasp individual piece goods 3. For this reason, the turning and distribution system 10 can have a very compact structure, since no additional gripper head 1 is required for the described manipulation tasks. In addition, the turning and distribution system 10 can work with a high throughput.

As can be seen from a summary of the 1 with 2 As can be seen, the support bar 9 is held on the gripper base 5 via a bearing 4. The bearing 4 is designed in such a way that the support bar 9 can carry out an evasive movement or can be moved in the direction of the gripper base 5 when a free end region 19 of the support bar 9 rests on a piece of goods 3 and the gripper base 5 is subsequently lowered further in the direction of the piece of goods 3.

If several piece goods 3 are adjacent perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor 14, the support bar 9 can thereby extend away from the gripper base 5 with a first reach R1, so that the support bar 9 is located between these piece goods 3 adjacent perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor 14 when these piece goods 3 are clamped by a feed movement of the gripper bars 7 and 8.

If only one piece of goods 3 or piece of goods 3 moved along only one row via the horizontal conveyor 14 are to be received via the gripper head 1, this is not possible by means of the gripper head 1 if the support bar 9, starting from the gripper base 5, has the 1 shown first range R1. In gripper heads known from the prior art, the support bar 9 is therefore separated from the gripper head As a result, known gripper heads have little flexibility when accepting piece goods 3 in a clamped manner. In addition, adapting the gripper head 1 to different provision of piece goods 3 is time-consuming.

The support bar 9 is movably arranged on the gripper base 5 via the previously mentioned bearing 4 and can thus be moved upwards or perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor if only a single piece of goods 3 or piece of goods 3 moved one after the other along just one row via the horizontal conveyor 14 are to be grasped by the gripper head 1. In order to receive a single piece of goods 3 or several piece of goods 3 in one row, the support bar 9 is placed on the single piece of goods 3 or on the piece of goods in one row and the gripper head 5 is then lowered further so that the gripper head 1 approaches the horizontal conveyor 14.

The individual piece goods 3 or the piece goods 3 of one row push the support bar 9 relative to the gripper base 5, whereupon the support bar 9 can only move with the 2 shown second range R2 away from the gripper base 5. The first gripper bar 7 and the second gripper bar 8 then carry out a feed movement, wherein the individual piece goods 3 or the piece goods 3 of one row are clamped via the first gripper bar 7 and the second gripper bar 8.

By rotating and/or offsetting sideways relative to the transport direction, the clamped piece goods 3 or the piece goods 3 of one row are then manipulated via the gripper head 1. A free end region 19 of the support strip 9 remains in surface contact with the individual piece goods 3 held clamped via the gripper head 1 or with the clamped piece goods of one row.

After the individual piece goods 3 or the piece goods 3 of one row have been manipulated via the gripper head 1, the clamping connection formed up to that point between the individual piece goods 3 or the piece goods 3 of one row and the gripper bars 7 and 8 is removed, for which purpose the gripper bars 7 and 8 are moved apart and their relative distance from one another is increased.

The entire gripper head 1 is then raised relative to the horizontal conveyor device 14. Due to its mass, the support bar 9 moves relative to the gripper base 5, increases its second reach R2, which has been formed up to that point, relative to the gripper base 5 and finally reaches a position in which the support bar 9, starting from the gripper base 5, already in 1 shown first range R1. Then, by means of the gripper head 1, several adjacent piece goods 3 perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor 14 can be picked up according to 1 received or again a single piece of goods 3, for which the support bar 9 is again placed over its free end region 19 onto the single piece of goods 3.

The 3 and 4 show schematic views of a second embodiment of a gripper head 1 according to the invention and a second embodiment of a rotation and distribution system 10 according to the invention. From the embodiment of a gripper head 1 according to 1 and 2 The design of a gripper head 1 differs according to 3 and 4 sometimes in the fact that in the example according to 3 and 4 instead of exactly one support bar 9, two support bars 9 are arranged between the gripper bars 7 and 8.

By means of such an embodiment, according to 3 three piece goods 3 are received which are adjacent perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor 14. For this purpose, a support strip 9 is inserted between two piece goods 3 which are adjacent perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor 14.

In order to clamp the three piece goods 3 that are adjacent perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor 14, the gripper bars 7 and 8 carry out a feed movement in which the three piece goods 3 are pushed together via the gripper bars 7 and 8 and come into surface contact with the support bars 9. The 3 The piece goods 3 shown in the middle then rests flat on the two support strips 9 when the piece goods 3 are clamped in place via the gripper head 1. The two outer piece goods 3 each rest flat on a support strip 9 and on a gripper strip 7 or 8 when the piece goods 3 are held clamped in place via the gripper head 1.

The bearings 4 are in the embodiment according to 3 and 4 designed such that the bearings 4 together with the support strips 9 can be moved along the gripper base 5 in a direction which is oriented perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor 14. This movement is in 3 indicated by an arrow. The support bars are held on the gripper base with a degree of freedom f=2 via the bearings 4.

The support strips 9 are thus pushed together with the piece goods 3 when the gripper strips 7 and 8 carry out a feed movement. It is conceivable that the support strips 9 interact with a respective spring, which pushes the respective support strip 9 back into an initial position when the piece goods 3 have been released by the gripper head 1.

In the presentation of the 4 the gripper head 1 in turn only accepts a single piece of goods 3 or several piece of goods from just one row. If a single piece of goods 3 or several piece of goods 3 arranged one behind the other in the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor 14 are to be clamped using the gripper head 1, the gripper bars 7 and 8 are moved towards each other until both support bars 9 are located above the respective individual piece of goods 3 to be accepted or above the respective several piece of goods 3 of the one row arranged one behind the other in the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor 14.

Following this, the gripper head 1 is lowered in the direction of the horizontal conveyor 14, whereby the support strips 9 rest on the respective individual piece of goods 3 or on the multiple piece of goods 3 in one row via their free end region 19. By a further lowering movement of the gripper head 1, the support strips 9 are then pushed relative to the gripper base 5 and perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor 14 until the support strips 9 have a reduced reach R2 starting from the gripper base 5. The distance between the gripper strips 7 and 8 is then further reduced, whereby the gripper strips 7 and 8 clamp the respective individual piece of goods 3 or the respective multiple piece of goods 3 in one row arranged one behind the other in the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor 14.

By rotating and/or by an oblique offset to the transport direction of the horizontal conveyor device 14, the gripper head 1 then manipulates the respective individual clamped piece goods 3 or the respective plurality of clamped piece goods 3 of the one row.

The 5 and 6 each show in schematic perspective views a further embodiment of a gripper head 1 according to the invention. In particular, from a summary of the 5 and 6 the functioning of a further embodiment of a bearing 4, as can be provided in various embodiments of a gripper head 1 according to the invention.

The gripper head 1 or the bearing 4 comprises a scissor mechanism 21 on which the support bar 9 is suspended. The scissor mechanism 21 is formed in the present case from exactly two scissor levers 23 and 23` and a joint 24, via which the exactly two scissor levers 23 and 23` are connected to one another in a rotationally movable manner. The range R1 or R2 for the support bar 9 extending from the gripper base 5 is adjusted with the aid of the scissor mechanism 21, as shown in FIG. 5 and 6 For this purpose, the scissor levers 23 and 23` are rotated relative to one another about a horizontal axis of rotation provided via the joint 24.

The 7 shows the steps in the flow chart as they can be carried out individually or according to the 7 shown combination can be provided in various embodiments of the method 100 according to the invention.

In step 110, a gripper head 1 is positioned above a single piece of goods 3 to be received. A support bar 9 formed as a component of the gripper head 1 has a first reach R1 starting from a gripper base 5 of the gripper head 1.

In step 120, the gripper head 1 is then lowered in the direction of the individual piece of goods 3, whereby a free end region 19 of the support bar 9 initially rests on the individual piece of goods 3. By a further lowering movement of the gripper head 1, the support bar 9 is pushed over the respective individual piece of goods 3 relative to the gripper base 5, whereby the support bar 9 shortens its previous range R1 emanating from the gripper base 5 to a reduced range R2.

In step 130, which follows step 120, gripper bars 7 and 8 of gripper head 1 carry out a feed movement, whereby the individual piece of goods 3 is gripped in a clamping manner. The support bar 9 is still in contact with the individual piece of goods 3 via its free end region 19.

In step 140, the piece goods 3 received in a clamped manner are manipulated via the gripper head 1 and rotated and/or displaced at an angle to the transport direction of a horizontal conveyor device 14 on which the individual piece goods 3 stands. The manipulation is carried out in order to form an arrangement from the individual piece goods 3 and other piece goods 3, which is coordinated with a palletizable layer to be produced from the individual piece goods 3 and the other piece goods 3.

The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment. However, it is conceivable for a person skilled in the art that Modifications or changes to the invention may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

List of reference symbols

1

Gripper head

3

General cargo

4

camp

5

Gripper base

6

Beverage containers

7

First gripper bar

8th

Second gripper bar

9

Support bar

10

Turning and distribution system

14

Horizontal conveyor

19

Free end area

21

Scissor mechanism

23

Scissor lever

23`

Scissor lever

100

Proceedings

110

First procedural step

120

Second procedural step

130

Third procedural step

140

Fourth procedural step

R1

First reach

R2

Second range

S

Control device

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• EP 4067271 A1 [0005]

Claims (20)

Gripper head (1) for gripping piece goods (3), comprising - a first gripper bar (7) and a second gripper bar (8), which can carry out a feed movement for clampingly receiving at least one piece of goods (3) and are fastened to a gripper base (5) of the gripper head (1), and - at least one support bar (9) for piece goods (3), which is located between the first gripper bar (7) and the second gripper bar (8) and is held on the gripper base (5) via at least one bearing (4), characterized in that the at least one support bar (9) is held movable relative to the gripper base (5) via the at least one bearing (4), so that the at least one support bar (9) can adjust its range (R1, R2) emanating from the gripper base (5) by a movement relative to the gripper base (5). Gripper head (1) after Claim 1 , in which the at least one bearing (4) is designed such that the at least one support bar (9) can be moved over a piece of goods (3) relative to the gripper base (5) by placing a free end region (19) of the at least one support bar (9) on a piece of goods (3). Gripper head (1) after Claim 2 in which a free end region (19) of the at least one support strip (9), which is intended for placement on a piece of goods (3), is assigned a reversibly elastically deformable contact element, which is formed in particular from rubber or foam. Gripper head after Claim 1 , comprising at least one actuator, via which the at least one support bar (9) can be moved relative to the gripper base (5) to adjust its range (R1, R2) extending from the gripper base (5). Gripper head (1) according to one of the Claims 1 until 4 , designed to detect piece goods (3), which are beverage containers (6). Gripper head (1) according to one of the Claims 1 until 5 , in which the bearing (4) provides a linear guide for the movement of the at least one support bar (9). Gripper head (1) according to one of the preceding claims, with exactly one support bar (9), wherein the exactly one support bar (9) is held on the gripper base (5) via a bearing (4) in such a way that the exactly one support bar (9) is only movable along its longitudinal direction relative to the gripper base (5). Gripper head according to one of the Claims 1 until 7 , comprising at least two support bars (9) for piece goods (3), which are held on the gripper base (5) via a respective bearing (4) between the first gripper bar (7) and the second gripper bar (8) and are located between the first gripper bar (7) and the second gripper bar (8), wherein the bearings (4) of the at least two support bars (9) are designed such that the at least two support bars (9) are each movable perpendicular to their longitudinal extent in a linear direction along the gripper base (5) and can each adjust their range (R1, R2) emanating from the gripper base (5) by a movement relative to the gripper base (5). Gripper head according to one of the Claims 1 until 8th , in which the at least one bearing (4) comprises at least one scissor mechanism (21), via which the at least one support bar (9) is held movable relative to the gripper base (5) via the at least one bearing (4), so that the at least one support bar (9) can adjust its range (R1, R2) emanating from the gripper base (5) by a movement relative to the gripper base (5) brought about via the at least one scissor mechanism (21). Turning and distribution system (10) for piece goods (3) with at least one gripper head (1) according to one of the Claims 1 until 9 . Turning and distribution system (10) for piece goods (3) according to Claim 10 , with at least one industrial robot on which the at least one gripper head (1) is arranged, wherein the at least one industrial robot is a gantry robot and/or a delta kinematic robot. Turning and distribution system (10) according to Claim 10 or Claim 11 , with at least one horizontal conveyor device (14), via which piece goods (3) can be moved into a working area of the at least one gripper head (1), wherein the rotation and distribution system (10) is configured and equipped for handling the at least one gripper head (1) in such a way that the at least one piece goods (3) maintains surface contact with the at least one horizontal conveyor device (14) during a clamped receipt and manipulation via the at least one gripper head (1). Turning and distribution system according to one of the Claims 10 until 12 , configured and equipped to form an arrangement from a plurality of piece goods (3), which arrangement is adapted to a palletizable layer to be formed from the plurality of piece goods (3). Method (100) for grasping and manipulating piece goods (3) via at least one gripper head (1) according to one of the Claims 1 until 9 in which method (100) piece goods (3) are moved via at least one horizontal conveyor device (14) into a working area of the at least one gripper head (1) and the at least one gripper head (1) then receives at least one piece of goods (3) by clamping by means of a feed movement of its first gripper bar (7) and its second gripper bar (8) and manipulates the at least one piece of goods (3) received by clamping, and in which method (100) it is provided that a range (R1, R2) of the at least one support bar (9) for receiving the respective at least one piece of goods (3) by clamping is adjusted as required, so that the at least one support bar (9) is either located with a first range (R1) emanating from the gripper base (5) between several piece of goods (3) to be received by clamping together, or with a second range (R2) emanating from the gripper base (5), which is reduced compared to the first range (R1), exclusively above the at least one piece of goods (3) to be received by clamping. general cargo (3). Procedure according to Claim 14 , wherein a free end region (19) of the at least one support bar (9) is placed on a piece of goods (3) to be received in a clamped manner, whereby the at least one support bar (9) is moved relative to the gripper base (5) and the first range (R1) of the at least one support bar (9) formed up to that point is reduced to the second range (R2) of the at least one support bar (9). Procedure according to Claims 14 or Claim 15 , in which the articles (3) are beverage containers (6). Method according to one of the Claims 14 until 16 , in which the at least one piece of goods (3) received in a clamped manner is rotated during the manipulation and/or displaced obliquely to the transport direction of the at least one horizontal conveyor device (14), and wherein a surface contact between the respective at least one piece of goods (3) received in a clamped manner and the at least one horizontal conveyor device (14) is continuously maintained during the manipulation. Method (100) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the at least one gripper head (1) forms a respective arrangement from a respective plurality of piece goods (3), which respective arrangement is coordinated with a palletizable layer to be formed from the respective plurality of piece goods (3), wherein the gripper head (1) repeatedly receives and manipulates at least one piece of goods (3) moved into its working area in a clamping manner in order to form the respective arrangement. Procedure according to Claim 18 , in which the at least one gripper head (1) receives and manipulates piece goods (3) from a first horizontal conveyor device and a second horizontal conveyor device in a clamping manner to form a respective arrangement, wherein the at least one support bar (9) of the at least one gripper head (1) is arranged exclusively with its first reach (R1) extending from the gripper base (5) between a plurality of piece goods (3) to be received together in a clamping manner when these plurality of piece goods (3) to be received together in a clamping manner are located on the first horizontal conveyor device, and wherein the at least one support bar (9) of the at least one gripper head (1) is arranged exclusively with its second reach (R2) extending from the gripper base (5) above piece goods (3) to be received together in a clamping manner when these piece goods (3) to be received together in a clamping manner are located on the second horizontal conveyor device. Procedure according to Claim 18 , in which the at least one gripper head (1) - initially forms a first arrangement from a first plurality of piece goods (3), which first arrangement is matched to a first palletizable layer to be formed from the first plurality of piece goods (3), wherein the gripper head (1) repeatedly receives and manipulates a plurality of piece goods (3) moved into its working area in a clamping manner to form the first arrangement and arranges the at least one support strip (9) between adjacent piece goods (3) when the respective plurality of piece goods (3) are clamped, in each case with a first range (R1) extending from the gripper base (5), so that piece goods (3) received in a clamping manner via the gripper head (1) are in surface contact with the at least one support strip (9), whereupon the same gripper head (1) - forms a second arrangement from a second plurality of piece goods (3), which second arrangement is matched to a second palletizable layer to be formed from the second plurality of piece goods (3), wherein the Gripper head (1) for forming the second arrangement repeatedly receives and manipulates a single piece of goods (3) moved into its working area or several times each time along only a single row one after the other into its working area and reduces the previously formed first range (R1) for the at least one support strip (9) to a second range (R2) for the clamping acceptance is shortened, at which second range (R2) the at least one support strip (9) is located above the individual piece of goods (3) or above the several piece of goods (3) moved one behind the other along only a single row into its working area, when the gripper head (1) clampingly accepts the individual piece of goods (3) moved into its working area or the several piece of goods (3) of the one single row moved into its working area, and wherein - the plurality of piece of goods (3) of the first arrangement formed and the plurality of piece of goods (3) of the second arrangement formed are each pushed together, as a result of which a first palletizable layer is formed from the first plurality of piece of goods (3) and a second palletizable layer is formed from the second plurality of piece of goods (3), which first palletizable layer and which second palletizable layer are placed on a common pallet via a palletizer.

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