Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
  • B25J—MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES
  • B25J19/00—Accessories fitted to manipulators, e.g. for monitoring, for viewing; Safety devices combined with or specially adapted for use in connection with manipulators
  • B25J19/06—Safety devices
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
  • B25J—MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES
  • B25J21/00—Chambers provided with manipulation devices
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
  • B25J—MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES
  • B25J9/00—Programme-controlled manipulators
  • B25J9/0093—Programme-controlled manipulators co-operating with conveyor means
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G57/00—Stacking of articles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G61/00—Use of pick-up or transfer devices or of manipulators for stacking or de-stacking articles not otherwise provided for
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16P—SAFETY DEVICES IN GENERAL; SAFETY DEVICES FOR PRESSES
  • F16P3/00—Safety devices acting in conjunction with the control or operation of a machine; Control arrangements requiring the simultaneous use of two or more parts of the body
  • F16P3/12—Safety devices acting in conjunction with the control or operation of a machine; Control arrangements requiring the simultaneous use of two or more parts of the body with means, e.g. feelers, which in case of the presence of a body part of a person in or near the danger zone influence the control or operation of the machine
  • F16P3/14—Safety devices acting in conjunction with the control or operation of a machine; Control arrangements requiring the simultaneous use of two or more parts of the body with means, e.g. feelers, which in case of the presence of a body part of a person in or near the danger zone influence the control or operation of the machine the means being photocells or other devices sensitive without mechanical contact
  • F16P3/144—Safety devices acting in conjunction with the control or operation of a machine; Control arrangements requiring the simultaneous use of two or more parts of the body with means, e.g. feelers, which in case of the presence of a body part of a person in or near the danger zone influence the control or operation of the machine the means being photocells or other devices sensitive without mechanical contact using light grids

Definitions

• the present invention relates to an improvement to an installation which comprises, in combination, a robotic station for palletizing cardboard boxes and a packaging machine which shapes said boxes and performs their filling with previously packaged products.
• the full pallet exit and empty pallet insertion operations are generally performed by means of a conveyor of the automatic type; however, such an installation involves the use of a much larger floor area.
• stopping the palletizing robot also involves stopping the packaging machine with which it is associated.
• One of the aims of the invention is therefore, on the one hand, to ensure the safety of the operator (s) during the phases of full pallet exit and empty pallet insertion, on the other hand, to avoid the plant stops when changing the pallet while limiting the floor area of the installation.
• Document FR 2 921 636 discloses a secure palletizing installation which comprises two palletizing stations separated by a fixed wall and a mobile fairing ensuring the closure of a station or the other, alternately.
• a robot is used to fill the pallet which is in the first palletizing station which is accessible to it (not closed by the mobile fairing).
• the fairing moves to close the first palletizing station.
• an operator can safely retrieve the pallet in the first closed station, while the robot fills a new pallet in the second station.
• document US 2005/0175436 discloses a secure palletizing installation which comprises a station that can accommodate two pallets on a movable platen between two positions. In a first position of the moving plate, a first pallet is filled by a robot while a second pallet is inserted next to it, waiting to be filled. In a second position of the movable platen, the first full pallet is output from the station to be supported by an operator, while the second pallet is filled by a robot in the station.
• the installation thus ensures the safety of the operator who only retrieves the pallets that have left the station, at the same time as a continuous filling of pallets.
• the object of the invention is to propose an alternative design solution which is as safe as the solutions set out above, which also ensures a continuous filling of the pallets, and which is much less bulky than the known solutions.
• the invention relates, for this purpose, to an installation comprising a robotic palletizing station comprising a robot capable of taking out boxes from a machine for placing them on a pallet which adjoins said outlet, said machine and said robotic palletizing station being arranged in the same closed chamber provided with a door providing access to said palletizing station, said robotic palletizing station being provided with a cradle, which cradle is constituted:
• a fixed part which is arranged to center and guide the pallet during its partial introduction into said palletizing station, and, associated with this fixed part, a moving part which supports said pallet so as, on the one hand, to put it in a reference position in said palletizing station and, on the other hand, to remove it from said reference position after filling.
• said station comprises:
• the means for detecting the position of the pallet and the means for securing the station being associated with means for controlling the operation of said robot.
• the invention offers the same safety comfort as that proposed by the solutions of the state of the art: (i) The pallet detection means, combined with the control means of the robot, limit the action from the robot to a safe working area for the operator, away from the latter when he removes a full pallet from the station, (ii) The combination of the safety means with the control means of the robot provides a second safety stage for the operator, since their presence allows a safe setting, that is to say a stop of the robot, if the operator triggers them (for example by entering the palletizing station).
• the position detection means of the pallet in the cradle may comprise at least one sensor positioned on the mobile structure of the cradle.
• the means for securing the station comprise at least one bar of photocells arranged in the enclosure in the vicinity of said access door to said station.
• said fixed part of the cradle comprises a sole positioned in the axis of the passage door of the pallet, which sole comprises, on the one hand, longitudinal guides arranged laterally, said lateral guides, and spaced apart from each other. a width which is substantially greater than that of the pallet and, secondly, stops at its end, which stops serve as a reference for the longitudinal positioning of the pallet at the palletizing station.
• the lateral guides are fixed and have a height which is of the order of one third of the thickness of the pallet.
• the upstream portion of the lateral guides is shaped rounded to facilitate the introduction of the pallet.
• the height of the rounded upstream portion of the lateral guides is substantially equal to the thickness of said pallet.
• the stops forming the longitudinal reference frame at the end of the hearth, are adjustable.
• the mobile part of the cradle consists of a U-shaped structure arranged flat and open towards the entry-exit door of the pallet, which structure is guided longitudinally on the sole and comprises movable lateral walls capable of enclosing the sides of said pallet, above the level of the fixed guides of said sole, which movable walls comprise, at their end located towards said entry-exit door, a fold to the square which allows to frame and grip said pallet and, when introduced into the palletizing station, folds in question allow to wedge said pallet against the stops of said fixed sole which, with said side walls of the U-shaped structure, form the reference system of said pallet at the palletizing station.
• the mobile part of the cradle is carried by ball pads cooperating with rails arranged on each rim of the fixed sole of said cradle and actuators, such as cylinders for example, are interposed between the crossbar that forms the bottom of the U and a fixed support.
• said fixed support is integral with said sole.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an installation according to the invention which combines a product packaging machine and a palletizing station;
• FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the palletizing station of the installation according to the invention.
• FIG. 3 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view along the plane III-III of Figure 2, the palletizing station of the installation according to the invention
• FIG. 4 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view along the plane IV-IV of Figure 3, the sole and the cradle of the palletizing station of the installation according to the invention;
• FIGS. 5A to 5E are partial schematic plan views of the palletizing station of the installation according to the invention during the various steps of positioning a pallet in said palletizing station.
• the installation according to the invention comprises, assembled in a chamber 1 which is closed, a machine 2 of product packaging and a station for the pallet 3 where the automatic palletizing operation is carried out .
• the enclosure 1 is closed by lateral walls 4, a rear wall and a front wall 6 which has a door 7 to allow access to the pallet 3 which located at the palletizing station, the side walls 4, rear 5 and front 6 being advantageously translucent.
• the packaging machine 2 is, for example, a machine of the type described in document FR 2 907 100. It is supplied with products in a regular manner by means of a conveyor, not shown in FIG. produced by the rear wall of the enclosure 1. This machine 2 also comprises a magazine, not shown in Figure 1, which allows to feed cardboard blanks for the shaping of boxes 8 in which are positioned the products , said boxes 8 coming out of said machine 2 on a conveyor 9 which extends longitudinally in the enclosure 1.
• a robot 10 is disposed near the palletizing station on the side of the packaging machine 2. This robot 10 is mounted on a base 1 1 which is placed on the ground or which is integral with the general frame of the entire installation. This robot 10 comprises a polyarticulate arm and it pivots about its main axis No. 1 which is a vertical axis, which axis No. 1 corresponds to the first axis relative to the base 1 January.
• the robot 10 could comprise several arms without departing from the scope of the invention.
• This robot 10 is equipped with a gripping head 12 which is located at the end of its arm.
• the volume in the chamber 1, in which the robot 10 is authorized to evolve, is programmed in a control command, not shown in FIG. 1, of said robot 10 and this control, of the PLC type, is integrated into said enclosure 1 .
• the entire system operates with this control command of the robot 10 which is loaded, with appropriate programs, to operate the robot 10 and, in particular, to allow the palletizing operation of the boxes 8 in a suitable scheme said boxes 8 and pallet 3.
• This robot 10 can also cooperate with complementary equipment such as, for example, a conveyor 14 disposed at the downstream end of the conveyor 9, which conveyor 14 recovers any rejects to transfer them to the outside of the installation.
• the robot 10 may incidentally cooperate with an apparatus 15 which carries out the labeling of the boxes 8 before placing them on the pallet 3.
• the packaging machine 2 operates continuously; it operates at the pace of its product supply.
• the robot 10 palletizes the boxes 8 as they exit the machine 2; its head 12 for gripping the boxes 8 is moved into a predefined volume, dedicated to its evolution, which is programmed in the control control of the robot 10.
• This predefined volume is included in the enclosure 1 and is dedicated to the arrangement of the boxes 8 on the pallets 3 according to the distribution scheme provided.
• the robot 10 is programmed to continue to operate and to take care of the boxes 8 which continue to leave the packaging machine 2.
• the installation comprises a buffer zone which is in the form of a platform 16 arranged, for example, above the packaging machine 2 and this buffer zone allows the robot 10 to temporarily deposit the boxes 8, the time an operator intervenes to remove the pallet 3, which is full, and that he installs a new pallet at the palletizing station.
• the robot 10 comprises means for controlling its operation.
• control means of the robot make it possible to limit the maximum amplitude of its movements in the predefined volume in which the head 12 moves.
• control means, or limitation of the amplitude, made from programmable systems, of cams electrical and mechanical stops allow to define, allow and / or prohibit areas of evolution of the robot 10 around its main axis No. 1.
• the control control of the robot 10 manages, via this amplitude limitation device, all of the movements of said robot 10 while ensuring that it does not leave the work area that is programmed. More precisely, this control command comprises means for defining the working spaces in which said robot is authorized to operate as well as means for causing its immediate and total stoppage if it leaves these authorized operating spaces.
• the palletizing station, the palletizing station of the installation according to the invention comprises, with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a cradle 17 consisting of a fixed part which is arranged to roughly center and guide the pallet 3 during its partial introduction into said palletizing station by a suitable manipulator device.
• the palletizing station also comprises, associated with this fixed part, a movable part which supports said pallet 3 to, firstly, put it in its reference position to said palletizing station and, secondly, remove it. after filling.
• Said fixed part of the cradle 17 comprises, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a sole 18 positioned in the axis of the opening of the door 7 for passage of the pallet 3.
• This sole 18 comprises longitudinal guides 19 arranged laterally, said lateral guides, and spaced from a width which is substantially greater than that of the pallet 3. Said lateral guides 19 are fixed and have a height which is of the order of one-third the thickness of the pallet 3.
• the upstream or proximal part of each of the lateral guides 19, that is to say the part of each of the lateral guides 19 closest to the door 7 for passage of the pallet 3, is shaped rounded to form a shoe 20 having a height substantially equal to the thickness of said pallet
• the convexity of the rounding of the shoes 20 is oriented towards the outside of the door 7 of passage forming the access from the outside to the palletizing station.
• stops 21 which serve as a reference for the longitudinal positioning of the pallet 3 at the palletizing station. These stops 21 form the longitudinal reference frame at the end of the hearth 18, that is to say they delimit a reference position in the cradle. They are also adjustable.
• the mobile part of the cradle 17 consists of a U-shaped structure 22 arranged flat and open towards the entry-exit door of the pallet.
• Said structure 22 comprises a bottom 23 and two branches 24 extending towards the entry and exit door 7 of the pallet 3.
• This structure 22, with reference to FIGS. 4, is carried by ball pads 25 mounted idle under the branches 24 of said structure 22, said pads 25 sliding on rails 26 arranged on each edge of the sole 18 fixed said cradle.
• pads 25 may be substituted by any other means allowing a longitudinal translation of the structure 22 without departing from the scope of the invention.
• actuators such as pneumatic or electric cylinders 27, for example, are interposed between a fixed support 39 and the cross-member which forms the bottom 23 of the U-shaped structure 22, said actuators 27 being controlled by the control command of the robot 10 and / or by an operator by means of control buttons.
• Said fixed support 39 is preferably integral with said sole 18.
• the structure 22 comprises, along the inner edge of each branch 24, a wall 28 mounted movably relative to said branch 24 so that it is able to move horizontally and transversely between the branches 24.
• Each side wall 28 consists of a vertical wall extending above the level of the lateral guides 19 of the fixed floor 18 and has at its proximal end, that is to say at its end the closer to the entry-exit door 7 of the palletizing station, a fold-back 29, oriented towards the sagittal plane of the U-shaped structure 22, which allows the pallet 3 to be framed and gripped.
• side wall 28 is secured to the actuator rod 30 whose body is carried by the inner face of each leg 24 of the structure 22.
• the actuators 30 preferably consist of pneumatic or electric cylinders controlled by the control of pi batching the robot 10 and / or by an operator by means of control buttons.
• the side walls 28 are capable of gripping the sides of said pallet 3, above the level of the fixed lateral guides 19 of said sole 18.
• the folds 29 of the movable side walls 28 make it possible to frame and grasping said pallet 3 and, when it is introduced into the palletizing station, the folds 29 in question make it possible to wedge said pallet 3 against the abutments 21 of said fixed base 18 which, with said lateral walls 28 of the U-shaped structure 22, form the reference system of said pallet 3 to the palletizing station.
• detection means 38 are provided which are located at the bottom of the U-shaped structure 22, which means are able to detect the presence of a pallet 3 in the cradle ( Figure 3).
• These detection means 38 make it possible to avoid the stops of the installation during the change of pallet 3 and to improve the safety of the operator during steps of installation and / or removal. of the pallet 3. Indeed, when the detection means 38 detect that the pallet is out of the reference position, that is to say when it is brought by the moving part of the cradle to the door to be removed by an operator, the means 38 informs the control means of the robot which then works only in the buffer zone 16 where it temporarily stores the objects.
• the robot when the sensors 38 communicate with the control means of the operation of the robot. If they find that the pallet is out of the reference position in the cradle, then the robot works in the buffer zone 16. If the sensors 18 locate that the pallet is in the reference zone, then the robot loads the pallet with boxes 8.
• the space intervention of the robot 10 is limited to a restricted sector, that is to say to a sector that allows the robot 10 to enter the boxes 8 at the output of the machine 2 and place them in the temporary storage area, on the platform 16 which acts as a buffer.
• control command of the robot 10 can be programmed so that the latter operates at speeds that are lower than those it uses in the sector corresponding to its normal operating cycle.
• the robot 10 completes its current task and will position itself in the restricted sector. From this moment, by means of the piloting control, the robot 10 is confined in this sector, that is to say in the restricted sector which enables it, in particular, to take the boxes 8 at the exit of the machine. 2 and temporarily drop them on platform 16.
• the working speed of the robot 10, during the normal cycle of palletizing, is high enough to allow it to later resume the boxes 8 stored on the platform 16 and store them on the pallet 3 with the other boxes coming out of the machine 2 d 'packaging.
• a light signal of the light-indicating type associated with the switch 32, signals the operator that all the security conditions are met and that he is authorized to open the door 7.
• the installation comprises a sensor 33 which cooperates with the door 7 to signal, to the control of the robot control 10, that said door 7 is in the closed position or in the open position.
• This sensor 33 makes it possible to make the installation safe if the door 7 is handled by anybody without prior authorization, that is to say before the indicator light of the switch 32 is turned on.
• the door sensor 33 may be of the interlocked type, that is to say that it is impossible to open the door from the outside while the robot 10 has not transmitted the control command 10. information that the robot 10 is at a standstill.
• a light curtain makes it possible to put the installation in safety (means of security), that is to say to stop it if the barrier intangible is cut in particular by the operator or another person who enters the enclosure 1 by the door 7.
• This barrier consists of substantially vertical bars 34 and 35 comprising photocells.
• the bars 34 and 35 are arranged in the chamber 1, in the vicinity of the door 7 to detect the intrusion of an operator or an object.
• the bars 34 and 35 are however provided at a certain distance from the door, behind the frame of the latter, to avoid any inadvertent stoppage of the machine, for example because of a too wide movement of the arm of an operator handling a pallet truck to remove the full pallet from the station.
• the lower-lower ends of the bars 34 and 35 of this light curtain are arranged at a distance from the ground level, of the order of 30 cm, for example; said barrier is in fact at a level which is above the upper level of the pallet 3, when empty, so as to allow the introduction of this pallet 3 under the light curtain into the U-shaped structure 22, at the palletizing station, without the risk of cutting the beams of the cells of said light curtain.
• this light curtain may also include a first programmable active zone that extends from the lower end of the bars to a height corresponding to that of the full pallet of the current series and a second active zone. also, but permanently for this series.
• the first active zone of the light curtain can be put in an inactive situation, the time to leave the pallet 3 full.
• Means make it possible to inhibit this first active zone of the light curtain; they consist, for example, of a pair of cells 36 and 37, which lie inside the chamber 1.
• the full pallet cuts the beams of the cells 36 and 37 of inhibition before those of the light curtain, which has the effect, through the control of control of the barrier, to disable said barrier during the exit phase of said full pallet.
• the inhibition of the light curtain is canceled when the full pallet 3 is no longer in front of the beams of the inhibition cells 36 and 37 and has left the zone. of the immaterial barrier.
• the duration of the inhibition is limited and, if it is too long, the control of the light curtain causes an emergency stop of the installation.
• the introduction of a new pallet 3 to the palletizing station is performed without cutting the different beams because said empty pallet passes below the level of the different beams.
• the installation comprises a sensor 38 which makes it possible to signal, to the control command of the robot 10, the presence or absence of a pallet 3 at the palletizing station.
• the operator closes the door 7 and restarts the normal cycle of the robot 10 by a new intervention on the switch 32.
• the robot 10 resumes, under the control of the piloting control, its activity namely: gripping the boxes 8 on the conveyor 9 at the output of the machine 2 packaging and / or gripping the boxes 8 stored on the platform 16 for their palletization.
• a pallet 3 is then positioned on the hearth 18 by any suitable means between the side walls 28 of the U-shaped structure 22, by passing it under the level of the access control means constituted by the bars 34 and 35 and the cells 36 and 37, until said pallet 3 bears on the cross-member 23 forming the bottom of the U-shaped structure 22.
• the lateral walls 28 are then moved towards the sagittal plane of the sole 18 from their retracted position to their active position where said lateral walls 28 take resting on the side blanks of the pallet 3, by means of the jacks 30.
• the U-shaped structure 22 is then moved, by means of the jacks 27 and the runners 25 guided on the rails 26 arranged on each flange. the sole 18 fixed said cradle, to the downstream part of the palletizing station, driving the pallet 3 to the bottom of the sole 18 until said pallet 3 comes to bear on the stops 21 of the latter.
• the translation movement of the U-shaped structure 22 is then continued towards the downstream part of the palletizing station until the folds 29 of the side walls bear against the upstream wall of the pallet 3 in order to to ensure its contention fig.5E.
• the reverse movement is operated in such a way that the full pallet is partially out with the help of the mobile part of the cradle 17 and, in particular, the bottom 23 of the structure 22 and 28 side walls, a distance that allows to partially place this full pallet outside the access control means, and that the contention means are put in the inactive position, before or after partial displacement of said full pallet , to release said solid pallet from the centering and restraining means of said cradle 17 and, finally, that said solid pallet is completely evacuated with a suitable manipulator apparatus.
• the door 7 may also comprise a lower skirt guaranteeing the non-access to the movable parts 28 and 29.
• this original arrangement avoids the stops of the installation during the change of pallet and it makes it possible to improve the precision of the positioning of the pallet in its repository, with the station of palletization.
• this positioning is broken down into two distinct periods: a first time with intervention of the operator to partially and “roughly” introduce the empty pallet on the fixed part of the cradle 17, and a second fully automated time to position said pallet empty in its reference system by means of the mobile part of said cradle, and the whole can be conjugated with the limitation of the intervention zone and the limitation of the speed of displacement of the palletizing head 12 installed on the robot 10.
• the pallet handling device could be adapted to other types of facilities requiring palletizing, without departing from the scope of the invention.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Robotics (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Manipulator (AREA)
• Stacking Of Articles And Auxiliary Devices (AREA)

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• 2009
  • 2009-07-22 FR FR0955123A patent/FR2948339A1/fr not_active Withdrawn
• 2010
  • 2010-07-20 EP EP10752048A patent/EP2456695A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2010-07-20 US US13/386,091 patent/US20120163953A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2010-07-20 BR BR112012001204A patent/BR112012001204A2/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2010-07-20 CN CN2010800337551A patent/CN102482040A/zh active Pending
  • 2010-07-20 WO PCT/FR2010/051521 patent/WO2011010057A1/fr active Application Filing

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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