EP0242588B1 - Transporting and classifying device for a part of computer controlled angle shears - Google Patents

Abstract

The transporting and classifying device for various partial pieces, in particular for computer-controlled angle shears, cuts out different partial pieces in each case to optimise the utilisation of a metal sheet. The device has a multiplicity of stacking points, at which the partial pieces of equal size in each case can be deposited via an overhead conveyor, the latter comprising loading carriages which are individually displaceable on a circulating track, are provided with their own drive and control system and have magnetic or suction cup-type grippers. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a transport and sorting device, in particular for a computer-controlled angle shear, which cuts out different sections in order to optimize the utilization of a sheet metal plate, with a multiplicity of stacking points, at each of which the sections of the same size are deposited on a hanging conveyor. At this point, reference is made in particular to DE-U-1 930 385, from which the combination of features according to the preamble of claim 1 is known.

In computer-controlled angle scissors, in which completely different sections occur one after the other, difficulties arise with the sorting and removal of these sections, which are further increased by the fact that these angle scissors work extremely quickly and can eject sections at very short intervals. The consequence of this is that the computer-controlled angle shears which have already been developed have hitherto been practically impossible to use, at least not sensibly, since there is no adequate subsequent disposal for the material to be cut.

The invention is therefore based on the object of creating a transport and sorting device which enables the removal and sorting of the material to be cut at a speed corresponding to the working speed of modern computer-controlled angle scissors.

To achieve this object, the combination of features according to claim 1 is provided according to the invention.

The closed circumferential lane eliminates the time-consuming driving back and forth of the loading wagons, such driving back and forth - as extensive studies on which the invention has shown - does not even for picking up and setting down the sections from the storage table to a subsequent shooting table for the actual removal device can be tolerated. The required high removal rate can only be achieved if a loading wagon receives the part taken off, given by the angle scissors, the loading wagon moves into the respective stacking point located under the track, which is usually formed by a transport wagon that moves out transversely and is replaced by an empty wagon can be when it is fully loaded, while the empty loading wagon then continues immediately and in the original direction of travel and is moved back to the starting position adjacent to the angle table. It goes without saying that a large number of such loading wagons are required because of the long distance that each wagon has to travel, since it basically has to travel all the way across all the stacking points, with a plurality of such loading wagons each time the angle shears are used Loader wagons will be in motion, some of which will drive loaded to the respective stacking point, while the others will return to the starting position after setting down the section they have been transporting.

It has proven to be particularly expedient to make an arrangement in which the forward and return legs of the carriageway lie one above the other and lifting devices are provided at both ends for moving the loading wagons between the superimposed legs. The stacking is extremely space-saving and therefore preferable to a horizontally arranged carousel lane in most cases. Such a horizontal carousel track would only be appropriate in exceptional cases, namely when the space problem to the side is irrelevant, since it could do without the lifting devices at the beginning and end of the transport route.

With particular advantage, the roadway can comprise essentially U-shaped tracks for the wheels of the loading wagons, as well as racks arranged therein for gearwheels connected to the drive. While two pairs of impellers will usually be assigned to each loading wagon, it is sufficient to assign one drive gear to only one pair of wheels. This gear drive in conjunction with a two-sided arrangement of the racks enables a tilt-free precise movement and in particular a very simple control of the respective set-down positions, i.e. the stacking points on the individual stacking trolleys, using a computer program.

This position control can be achieved in a particularly simple and precise manner in that the angle scissors are assigned a storage table for the material to be cut, which includes parallel conveyor belts with an adjustable stop rake for exact adjustment of the leading edges of the sections. This exact definition of the leading edge of the respective section held on the stop screen A very simple computer control of the storage position of the portion picked up and transported away with the aid of a loading wagon and its grippers is possible. The control takes place via the same computer that also controls the angle shears, which has the advantage that no detection devices are required to identify the respective sections. The computer "knows" which section has just been cut from the angle scissors and fed to the storage table, so that it is easy for him to determine from the fixed leading edge of the stored section the necessary distance that the loading wagon has to drive with this section in order to do it to be placed on the stacking trolley provided for this purpose and, if necessary, also at the corresponding position of the stacking trolley. The control itself is therefore relatively simple, in particular if you also provide the rack transport device already mentioned. Of course, another transport device would also be possible, but the respective position of the carriages would then have to be determined and evaluated in a more complex manner.

Fig. 1

eine Seitenansicht einer Schneidvorrichtung mit einer rechnergesteuerten Winkelschere und einem Ausführungsbeispiel einer erfindungsgemäßen Transport- und Sortiervorrichtung,

Fig. 2

eine Aufsicht auf die Anordnung nach Fig. 1,

Fig. 3

einen vergrößerten Querschnitt durch die Transport- und Sortiervorrichtung und

Fig. 4

eine Teilaufsicht auf eine Vorrichtung entsprechend Figur 2 mit einem zusätzlichen Anschlagrechen.

Further advantages of the invention result from the following description of an exemplary embodiment and from the drawing. Show:

Fig. 1

2 shows a side view of a cutting device with computer-controlled angle scissors and an exemplary embodiment of a transport and sorting device according to the invention,

Fig. 2

2 shows a top view of the arrangement according to FIG. 1,

Fig. 3

an enlarged cross section through the transport and sorting device and

Fig. 4

a partial supervision of a device according to Figure 2 with an additional stop rake.

In the figures, the feed device for the angle shears 2 can be seen schematically at 1, the changing tables 3 being shown in FIG. The coordinate feed is indicated schematically at 4. The angle shear 2 is provided with a plurality of discharge conveyor belts 6, which conveys the cut sections 7, 7a, 7b etc. onto a storage table formed by conveyor belts 8 which are also parallel to one another. This storage table is assigned a stop rake 9, the teeth 10 of which protrude upwards form a stop for the leading edge of the respective section 7, so that its starting position is precisely fixed when picked up by the loading wagon. The stop rake 9 is preferably adjustable, the adjustment and storage of its respective position taking place in the computer controlling the angle shear 2.

The transport and sorting device for removing and storing the different 7, 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, etc. in the correct position comprises a hanging conveyor 11 with a carriageway comprising a leading strand 12 and a returning strand 13 made of parallel rails 12a, 12b and 13a , 13b. The wheels 14 of loading wagons 15 engage in these essentially U-shaped rails, which are provided on the underside with magnetic grippers 16 or designed as suction cups. At least one pair of wheels of each loading wagon 15 are assigned external gear wheels 17 which engage in racks 18 fastened within the running rails. In addition, each loading wagon is provided with its own drive device 19 and can be controlled independently of the other carriages. The control is also carried out via the computer that controls the angle shears, which has the advantage that it is always certain from the start which section 7, 7a, 7b etc. is currently on the Storage table has been delivered, so that the computer knows from the start on the basis of the program entered on which of the many stacking points arranged as sorting tables 20a, b, c, etc. arranged below the carriageway of the loading wagons, the respective section is to be stored. All that is required is to determine the running distance required for this, the setting and positioning of the loading wagon in accordance with the calculated running distance being able to be carried out particularly simply by means of the rack drive. The loading wagon 15 picks up the respective section 7 on the stop rake 9, moves to the right on the lower strand of the carriageway to the corresponding sorting table and continues immediately in the same direction of travel to the transfer device 21 at the end of the carriageway. There are track sections separated by a joint into which the loading wagon enters with its wheels. Immediately after the retraction of such a loading wagon, a lifting device, not shown, is automatically actuated, which conveys these running rail sections 22 upwards to the position shown in dash-dotted lines in FIG to retract the upper strand 13. There the waited for him the appropriately trained pair of rails 23 connected with a lifting device, which immediately transports the incoming loading wagon downwards, whereupon he - if the position is free - in the receiving position above the storage table with the conveyor belts 8 and the stop rake 9 issues. This circulation system, which could work even faster if a horizontal carousel lane could be used, but which takes up much more space than that vertically one above the other tracks of the drawing, there is a very rapid removal cycle time, whereby - as can be seen in particular from Figure 1 - a plurality of loading wagons 15 are currently traveling. This allows removal and sorting of the sections 7, 7a, 7b etc. at a speed corresponding to the high working speed of the computer-controlled angle shears 2. In Figure 2 it can be seen that the individual sorting tables 20a, 20b etc. can be moved on rails across the conveyor track 11, so that a fully loaded sorting table can be moved away and replaced by an empty sorting table. It can also be seen from the figures that, because the sorting tables can be moved transversely, a special loading of a table with several stacks of sections is also possible. This can be seen, for example, from the sorting tables 20b and 20d. To load the sorting table 20d with the parts 7, as can also be seen on the storage table on the stop rake 9, the stop rake is first brought into a position such that the preprogrammed path between the rake and the work table 20d is stacked along the right one Edge comes, that is, the stack 7ʹ is formed. As soon as the stack has reached its desired or permissible height, the stop rake 9 is shifted to the left to such an extent that when the loading wagon is moved the same distance, it is now deposited further to the left on the sorting table 20d, so that the stack 7ʺ is formed. Finally, a further shift of the stop rake 9 to the left can then take place, whereupon - without changing the program, ie without changing the route to be covered by the loading wagon - the stack 7 ‴ is formed. When all these three stacks have been piled up, the sorting table 20d is moved halfway up on the running rails 24, so that the lower half of the sorting table 20d could now be loaded with three corresponding stacks.

In FIG. 4, a view of a modified device corresponding to the left part of FIG. 2 shows a variant in which, in addition to the stop rake 9, a further stop rake 25 of the same design is provided. The stop rake 25 is normally inoperative. However, if the conditions are such that two similar sections could be cut out of the sheet one after the other, the computer activates the second rake 25 on the teeth 10 of the stop rake 9 after the first section has started up and pushes it upward, so that the similar section starts on this rake. This means that both sections can be picked up in one operation with the help of a loading wagon 15 and placed next to one another on the assigned sorting table. In this way, the two upper and the two lower stacks of the sorting table 20b could each be assembled in one operation.

The invention is not restricted to the exemplary embodiment shown. In addition to the possibility, which has already been mentioned several times, of providing a horizontally lying, self-contained carousel lane, a different type of control of the loading wagons 15 could of course also take place. In addition, the transport and sorting device according to the invention can obviously be used for systems other than the disposal of computer-controlled angle scissors.

Claims (6)

1. Transporting and sorting device for removing and depositing in the right position parts (7, 7a, 7b), in particular for computer-operated angle shears (2), which cut out various parts (7, 7a, 7b) in such a manner as to gain optimum use of a sheet of metal, having a plurality of stacking positions at which the parts of the same size are each deposited via a suspension conveyor (11) comprising loading carriages (15), which is provided with its own control system and is movable on a revolving carriageway (12, 13) with grippers (16) which are magnetic or formed as suction cups, characterised in that the loading carriages (15) are movable individually and with their own drive.
2. Transporting and sorting device according to claim 1, characterised in that the outward and return strands (12, 13) of the carriageway of the suspension conveyor (11) lie one above the other and in that hydraulic devices (22, 23) are provided at both ends for transferring the loading carriages (15).
3. Transporting and sorting device according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the carriageway of the suspension conveyor (11) essentially comprises U-shaped rails (12a, 12b; 13a, 13b) for the wheels (14) of the loading carriages (15) and racks (18) mounted therein for pinions (17) connected to the drive (19).
4. Transporting and sorting device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised by a depositing table for the cut-out goods, which comprises mutually parallel conveyor belts (8) connected in series to the angle shears (2) and has one or more displaceable rake-type buffers (9, 25) for precise adjustment of the leading edges of the parts (7, 7a, 7b ...).
5. Transporting and sorting device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the control devices for the rake-type buffers (9, 25) and the loading carriages (15) are connected to the computer operating the angle shears.
6. Transporting and sorting device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that sorting tables (20a, 20b, ...), which are movable transverse to the carriageway (12), are mounted below the carriageway (12) of the loading carriages (15).

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