Classifications

• • 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
  • B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
  • B65G47/74—Feeding, transfer, or discharging devices of particular kinds or types
  • B65G47/82—Rotary or reciprocating members for direct action on articles or materials, e.g. pushers, rakes, shovels
• • 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
  • B65G57/02—Stacking of articles by adding to the top of the stack
  • B65G57/09—Stacking of articles by adding to the top of the stack from alongside
  • B65G57/10—Stacking of articles by adding to the top of the stack from alongside by devices, e.g. reciprocating, acting directly on articles for horizontal transport to the top of stack
• • 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
  • B65G59/00—De-stacking of articles
  • B65G59/02—De-stacking from the top of the stack
  • B65G59/026—De-stacking from the top of the stack with a stepwise upward movement of the stack

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the field of equipment for transferring products in an industrial line, in particular equipment where the transfer is done by scanning, and has as its object, on the one hand, a particular transfer device and a transfer machine using such a device, and, secondly, a method of implementation.
• EP2842895 discloses a pallet-type transfer installation. At the end of the conveyor line is a movable tray, or dispensing head, on which an entire layer of products is transferred. The moving plate then moves until the layer is deposited on a stack, above a pallet.
• the products are accumulated at the end of the conveyor line, then pushed by means of a push bar, which extends transversely to the conveyor.
• a push bar which extends transversely to the conveyor.
• the bar comes behind the product layer and moves towards the head.
• the bar is attached to a belt, which ensures the movement of the push bar.
• US20150063971 also describes a transfer of a layer of products from a starting zone to an arrival zone, which is carried out by scanning from the rear of the product layer with the aid of a transverse bar forming pusher.
• the crossbar moves along a rectangular cycle: it pushes the products, lifts itself to allow the reception of new products, goes back behind the new layer, then goes down to the height of the products to start the next cycle.
• the push bar is mounted on a pair of belts, each on one side.
• US5271709 describes a pusher system mounted on two opposite chains.
• the chains are mounted on wheels, whose diameter contributes to the shift between the lower run, which drives the crossbar for the push of the layer of the product layer, and the upper run, which drives the crossbar for its return to upstream, and so that it is sufficiently offset from the product receiving plane to not hinder the arrival of a new layer of products.
• the transverse thrust bar is further cantilevered with respect to the belt surface, offset from it by fingers extending from said surface, thereby increasing the spacing between the forward and back strand.
• US2010089721 discloses a pusher for, each time, a transverse row of products or a few rows.
• the rod-shaped pusher is also driven by chains to which it is attached at each of its ends.
• the rectangular course of the chains allows the pusher, on his return, not to hinder the arrival of a new layer of products.
• several transverse bars are mounted on the side chains.
• the driving of the push bar must be such that its return to position does not hinder the arrival of new products.
• the pusher must be retracted for its return to position, for example by mounting the pusher on a vertical actuator, or by arranging a pusher movement cycle more elaborate than a similar go and return.
• the belt drive has many advantages over a chain drive, among which a reduced maintenance requirement, less noise, less messiness because no need for lubrication, etc.
• the invention thus aims at improving the product transfer solutions by scanning from a departure zone to an arrival zone, in particular in terms of simplicity and / or reliability, while ensuring a retraction of the push rod for receipt of the following products.
• the invention proposes to circulate the push bar, for the go as for the return, on a support surface which rises at the rear of the starting area.
• the subject of the invention is thus a transfer device for releasing products from a departure zone to an arrival zone, said zones extending one after the other in a transfer plane, said device comprising a pusher for pushing from the rear on the products and performing a parallel scan to the transfer plane.
• This device is characterized in that
• the transfer device has a reference surface on which the pusher travels and which has, on the one hand, a flat portion, parallel to the transfer plane, and, on the other hand, an elevation portion, to move the pusher away the transfer plan.
• the invention also relates to a machine for transferring products by layer, of the palletizing or depalletizing machine type, in which a plurality of products organized in a layer are to be transferred by a plane scanning cycle, or from a stack for depalletization, either to a stack for palletizing.
• the invention comprises a transfer device as above, mounted to act from behind on the products to be transferred and pushed.
• the subject of the invention is also a method implemented by the above equipment, namely a method for transferring products by scanning, comprising steps consisting in
• This method is characterized in that the pusher travels along a flat portion, for the sweeping movement from the rear of the products, and an elevation portion to retract when it is put back into position allowing the receiving the products for the next transfer.
• FIG. 1 shows a transfer device in the retracted pusher position
• FIG. 4 shows a view from above with a pusher acting on the products
• - Figure 5 shows a configuration of the palletizing machine type.
• the invention therefore firstly as a transfer device 1, to release products 2 from a starting zone 3 to an arrival zone 4, said zones extending one after the other in a transfer plane 5, said device comprising a pusher 6 for pushing from the rear on the products 2 and performing a parallel scan to the transfer plane 5.
• the starting zone 3 can be at the end of a conveyor, which then brings the products 2.
• the starting zone 3 can also be at a dead plate, for example.
• Products 2 arriving in the departure zone 3 can be brought there by any appropriate means, such as a conveyor on which they rest, or even an actuator that pushes them by translation.
• the transfer device 1 thus serves to move the products 2 from the departure zone 3 to the arrival zone 4. Again, in the arrival zone, the products 2 can be accumulated, waiting, taken immediately to a downstream processing step, repositioned, processed, etc.
• the arrival zone 4 is in the extension of the departure zone 3, preferably directly after.
• each zone provides a flat surface on which the products 2 can stand. The two surfaces are coplanar and parallel to the same transfer plane 5.
• the transfer device 1 only performs a plane scan of the products 2.
• the starting zone 3 and the arrival zone 4 are preferably of shape. rectangular, separated by a delimitation perpendicular to the movement that the transfer device 1 imposes on the products 2.
• the products 2 arrive in the departure zone 3 and are then cyclically transferred in batch to the arrival zone 4 along the same linear movement.
• the eventual conveyor which brings the products 2 to the starting zone 3 or the means for pushing them, thus acts in parallel with the pusher 6 of the transfer device 1.
• the direction of circulation at least during the transfer defines a direction and therefore an upstream side and a downstream side, the transfer movement being from the upstream side to the downstream side.
• the transfer device 1 therefore acts on the at least product 2 which is in the starting zone 3 coming into contact with the upstream side.
• the transfer device 1 has a push action, from the upstream side, on the at least one product 2 in the starting zone 3.
• the transfer device 1 thus comprises a pusher 6 which moves from the upstream side to the downstream side for the transfer of the products 2, then from the downstream side to the upstream side for the return to the initial position.
• the transfer device 1 has indeed a cyclic action, each cycle corresponding to a scan of at least one product 2 from the starting zone 3 to the arrival zone 4.
• the transfer device may comprise a carrier of products 2 in at least part of the departure zone 3 and the arrival zone 4.
• the product supports 2 in the departure zone 3 and / or the arrival zone 4 may accompany this movement, for example in the form of a conveyor, a surface with reduced adhesion, rollers, balls, etc.
• the transfer device 1 has a reference surface 7 on which the pusher 6 travels and which has, on the one hand, a flat portion 8, parallel to the transfer plane 5, and, on the other hand, an elevation portion 9, to move the pusher 6 away from the transfer plane 5.
• the pusher 6 of the device having a cyclic action, on the height of the products 2, from the rear, it is understood that it is necessary that the pusher 6 is retracted to let new products arrive 2.
• the invention proposes to provide a circulation surface, on which pusher 6 flows, which is shifted from the transfer plane 5 as the pusher 6 is on the upstream side.
• This circulation surface, or reference surface 7 receives the pusher 6 of the device during its entire movement.
• the pusher 6 therefore always travels on the reference surface 7 in one direction or the other. Its position relative to the transfer plane 5, therefore determines the position of the pusher 6 with respect to the same plane, in particular in a direction perpendicular to said plane.
• the reference surface 7 has different heights with respect to this transfer plane 5.
• the reference surface 7, in its portion of the upstream side, also has an elevation portion 9, which is not parallel to the transfer plane 5.
• the pusher 6 circulates on the elevation portion 9, it moves not only in the plane scan direction, but also perpendicularly to the transfer plane 5.
• the pusher 6 goes upstream, it is directed to arrive above the products 2, and therefore rises, the transfer plane 5 being essentially horizontal. For the transfer movement, the pusher 6 therefore begins to flow downwards and then runs parallel to the transfer plane 5.
• the elevation portion 9 thus serves to sufficiently shift the products 2 of the transfer plane 5 so as not to hinder the flow of products 2 which extend upwardly from the transfer plane 5 on which they rest by their base.
• the elevation portion 9 has a curved profile, which reduces the displacement path that must undergo the pusher 6 parallel to the transfer plane 5 so that its elevation reaches the required height.
• a curved profile has the following advantage over a plane slope profile.
• the pusher 6 While traveling on a curved profile for the elevation portion 9, the pusher 6 is rotated about a transverse axis, which itself forms the axis of the curved profile. This axis is perpendicular to the advance of the products 2 and parallel to the transfer plane 5.
• the rotation of the pusher 6 around this axis thus makes it possible to release the product circulation corridor 2 with a movement of smaller amplitude, in the cases where the actuating element 11 of the pusher 6, which comes against the products 2, happens to be a plate, for example.
• the lower part of said plate then raises not only thanks to the height of the elevation portion 9, but also thanks to the rotation of the pusher 6 as it circulates on it.
• the pusher 6 comprises at least one assembly having a plate 10 and an actuating element 11 which extends therefrom, said plate 10 having two contact parts remote from each other. other in the scanning direction to travel on the reference surface 7, such as wheels, for example.
• the use of at least two contacts between the plate 10 and the surface of reference 7 allows in particular to rotate the pusher 6 when the elevation portion 9 is curved, viewed from the side.
• Said assembly preferably has two plates 10 spaced from one another and between which the actuating element 11 extends.
• the latter can take the form of a bar or a plate, for example.
• the advantage of a plate is that the thrust force is distributed over the height of the products 2.
• the transfer device 1 further comprises at least one actuator 12 acting parallel to the transfer plane 5 to move the pusher 6, and for all of its movement on the reference surface 7 , both on the elevation portion 9 and on the flat portion 8, that is to say in particular to move it for the product transfer movement 2 by scanning, and to bring it back into position for the next cycle.
• the actuation parallel to the transfer plane 5 makes it possible to have a relatively simple actuator 12. It only exerts a force parallel to the transfer plane 5.
• This actuator 12 may be a jack for example, or a belt-based system described below.
• This actuator 12 is connected to the pusher 6 by a deformable element which ensures the coherence between, on the one hand, a linear force and a non-exclusively linear displacement.
• the actuator 12 is driven by a movement that is only linear.
• the transfer device 1 may have a symmetrical architecture with respect to the advance of the products 2 and their scanning.
• the pusher 6 then extends from one side to the other, and the drive means of said pusher 6 are housed on one side and / or the other.
• the transfer device 1 may have an actuator 12 on one side and an actuator on the other.
• the at least one actuator 12 is connected to the pusher 6 by a flexible interface 14, in particular a flexible interface 14 mounted each time between, on the one hand, a corresponding support 13 that moves the at least one actuator 12, parallel to the transfer plane 5, and, secondly, a corresponding plate 10.
• the flexible interface 14 takes in particular the form of a flexible lamella, one end of which, fixed to a support 13 guided parallel to the transfer plane 5, moves linearly, the other end fixed to the pusher 6 and preferably at the at least one plate 10, follows the path of the reference surface, in particular the elevation portion 9,
• the movement parallel to the transfer plane 5 of the linear actuator 12 can push the pusher 6 along the elevation portion 9, non-parallel.
• the interface 14 accommodates the differences between these two movements.
• the transfer device 1 further comprises, on the one hand, at least one support 13 that moves the linear actuator 12 and to which the interface 14 is connected, and on the other hand , a corresponding linear guide 15 on which is mounted said at least one support 13 to guide it parallel to the transfer plane 5.
• the support 13 thus supports a torsional force by the deformation of the interface 14 when the pusher 6 rises, or undergoes a non-parallel movement to the transfer plane 5, since said support 13 has only a linear movement.
• the linear guide 15 thus also serves to compensate for the torsion torque.
• the support 13 is attached to the downstream end of the interface 14, which works in bending between this downstream end and the upstream end, which rises as the corresponding plate 10 flows on the portion of elevation 9 upstream.
• the interface 14 thus twists when the pusher 6 circulates on the elevation portion 9.
• the interface 14 is bent in a plane perpendicular to the transfer plane 5 and parallel to the advance of the products 2.
• the linear guide 15 prevents the twisting is reflected on the linear actuator 12, whose end, which is the support 13, advance and retreat linearly and parallel to the transfer plane 5, to exert the cycle of scanning movement , return, retraction, and arrival in position.
• the interface 14 thus makes it possible to combine, on one side, a strictly linear movement of the support 13 and therefore of the linear actuator 12, with, on the other side, a retraction by a movement which is not parallel thereto. .
• the movement cycle of the pusher 6 corresponds to linear movements of the linear actuator 12, which are complementary to one another.
• the actuator 12 comprises a belt 16 mounted with at least one active strand parallel to the transfer plane 5, the support 13 being mounted on said strand, if appropriate.
• the belt 16 circulates in two opposite directions around two pulleys.
• the cooperation is preferably with notches, for better positioning.
• the wheels are positioned so that the belt strands 16 between them are effectively parallel to the transfer plane 5, and thus also to the linear guide 15.
• the support 13 is fixed to the belt 16 so as not to circulate around the wheels, but to remain on a parallel strand to the transfer plane 5.
• the belt 16 therefore circulates so that the support 13 moves parallel to the linear guide 15 between an upstream position, which corresponds to the upstream position and retracted pusher 6, and a downstream position, which corresponds to the position at the end of the scan.
• the actuator 12 thus resting on a belt 16 is particularly simple, controlled, and reliable.
• the support since the support remains on a stretch of belt 16 which remains straight, it can be attached to a length of strand sufficient for it to be firmly anchored.
• the transfer device 1 may also comprise a belt 16 for each side of the products 2 to be moved.
• the device comprises a frame 17 along a rectangle, the pusher 6 acting on the products 2 from an upstream edge 18 of said rectangle to push them towards the downstream edge 19, opposite, the device comprising, in in addition, a motor 20 positioned at the downstream edge to circulate the pusher 6, in particular by driving the at least one belt 16 forming the actuator 12, which allows in particular to free space for the circulation of products at the level upstream edge 18.
• the pusher 6 is at the downstream edge 19 when the products 2 have all been transferred. It is at the level of the upstream edge 18 at the beginning of the batch transfer of products 2.
• the cycle of the pusher 6 thus consists of going back and forth between the downstream edge 5 and the upstream edge 18.
• the invention also relates to a machine for transferring products 2 per layer, of the palletizing or depalletizing type, in which a plurality of products 2 organized in a layer to be transferred by a plane scan cycle, either from a stack for depalletization, or to a stack for palletizing.
• this machine comprises a transfer device 1 as described above, mounted to act from behind on the products 2 to be transferred and pushed.
• the subject of the invention is also a method corresponding to the device described and / or the machine described, namely a method for transferring products 2 by scanning, comprising steps of
• the pusher 6 circulates along a flat portion 8, for the scanning movement from the rear of the products 2, and an elevating portion 9 to retract when it is put back in position allowing the reception of products 2 for the next transfer.
• the pusher 6 therefore travels on the elevation portion 9 towards the upstream. In doing so, it frees up space for the next 2 products. Preferably, it descends to the transfer plane 5 before touching the products 2.
• the pusher 6 is retracted upstream and above the products 2 to be transferred.
• the transfer device 1 operates in the following manner.
• the products 2 circulate in a transfer plane 5 using conveyors of the conveyor belt type.
• the products can arrive in a wide column of a single product 2 or wide of several products 2.
• the conveyor brings the products up to a starting zone 3 from which the transfer device 1 will push them to the zone d 4.
• the transfer device 1 operates by scanning, which means that the products 2 which are in the input zone 3 are moved by a linear thrust, parallel to the transfer plane 5, to the zone d arrival 4.
• the number of products 2 transferred at each scanning operation may vary depending on the configurations.
• the transfer device 1 moves each time a single product from the starting zone 3 to the arrival zone 4.
• the transfer device 1 moves each time a plurality of products. This plurality of products may be organized in the form of a batch of products 2 which extends either transversely or longitudinally with respect to the conveying direction.
• the plurality of transferred products 2 can also be arranged as a substantially rectangular shaped layer.
• the transfer device 1 therefore acts on a set of products cyclically and this to move them linearly in a movement parallel to a transfer plane 5 to an arrival zone 4.
• the transfer device 1 is provided with a pusher 6 which acts cyclically on the at least one product 2 to transfer.
• This pusher 6 extends transversely to the conveying direction of the products, and therefore transversely to the direction of transfer from the starting zone 3 to the arrival zone 4. It acts from behind the at least one product 2 to move from start zone 3 to arrival zone 4.
• the pusher 6 thus extends transversely from one side to the other of the conveyor which brings the products 2.
• the pusher 6 extends from one side to the other of the starting zone 3 which is formed preferably by the downstream end portion of the conveyor.
• the pusher 6 exerts the scanning movement of the transfer device 1, this scanning being linear and in a plane which is preferably horizontal.
• the pusher 6 is preferably driven at each of its ends. In some configurations, the pusher 6 is driven at one of its ends.
• the transfer device 1 thus comprises a structure having two sides which extend parallel to the conveying and scanning direction and a perpendicular side extending transversely to the conveying direction.
• the ends of the pusher therefore each circulate at a longitudinal side of the transfer device 1.
• the pusher 6, as will be described later, is guided in its scanning movement within the transfer device 1.
• the pusher 6 has a cyclic action on the products that are in the starting zone 3. This action cycle corresponds to the following steps.
• the pusher 6 pushes the products linearly parallel to the conveying direction from the starting zone 3 to the arrival zone 4.
• the pusher 6 acts from behind the at least a product 2. This means that, at the start of this first step, the pusher 6 is on the upstream side of the at least one product 2 to be transferred from the starting zone 3 to the arrival zone 4. It will be noted that that, at the starting zone 3 and the level of the arrival zone 4, the products 2 rest on a support surface of the dead plate type, conveyor belt, or retractable curtains.
• the pusher 6 returns to its initial position, which means that it moves from a downstream position, which it reached at the end of the previous step, to an upstream position. which will allow it to perform the scanning action on the at least one next product 2 to be processed.
• the action cycle of the pusher 6 is therefore based on two steps which are respectively the downstream movement of the pusher 6, during which stage it actually performs the sweeping and pushing of the products 2 from the rear to the arrival zone 4, and a complementary step during which the pusher 6 is returned to its starting position upstream for the next cycle.
• the direction of sweeping exerted by the pusher 6 is preferably parallel to the direction of movement of the products 2. This means that the pusher 6 must retract so as not to hinder the arrival of the at least one product 2 to be treated in the next cycle.
• the transfer device 1 at each cycle, can process in this linear and plane scanning function from a start zone 3 to an arrival zone 4, a product at each cycle, a row of products which are arranged one behind the other in the conveying direction, or a row of products that are arranged next to each other perpendicular to the conveying direction or a set of products that extends both in the direction of conveying and perpendicular to the conveying direction.
• the transfer device 1 processes at each cycle an optionally complete product layer 2.
• the transfer device 1 ensures the displacement, by scanning in the direction and direction of the product conveying, of a batch of products 2 which extends transversely to the conveying direction.
• the arrival zone 4 then receives successively, at each cycle, a transverse row comprising several products 2.
• a layer of products 2 can be constituted successively, at each cycle, by successive addition of the transverse rows that the pusher 6 moves in the arrival zone 4.
• the spatial arrangement of the products 2 within the successive rows may be different each time.
• the starting zone 3 may be formed by a dead plate. In other embodiments, the starting zone 3 is formed by a moving conveyor belt.
• the arrival zone 4 can in turn, in certain configurations, be formed by a pair of retractable curtains, in which case the arrival zone 4 can be sized to receive a complete layer of products 2, the retraction of the curtains which face each other allowing the removal of the product layer 2 which is in the arrival zone 4.
• the transfer device 1 is part of a machine of the palletizer type.
• This palletizer comprises a fixed gantry.
• a vertically movable structure is mounted on this fixed gantry and the transfer device 1 is on this mobile structure.
• this vertically movable structure can be mounted on a single column rather than between two columns facing each other.
• the transfer device 1 is therefore vertically movable and the arrival zone 4 is also movable vertically to bring to the necessary height the layer of products 2 that it contains and which must be deposited over a stack of products already accumulated on a pallet.
• the starting zone 3 can, for its part, be fixed, the pusher 2 then only ensuring the transfer of products from this starting zone 3 fixed vertically to an arrival zone 4 which is mounted in the structure vertically movable in the palletizer.
• the starting zone 3 is also movable vertically, mounted in this mobile structure within the frame.
• the palletizer is then equipped with a means for moving a product or batch comprising several products to this starting zone 3 which then takes the form of a dead plate.
• said column may be able to rotate about itself about a vertical axis.
• the transfer device 1 is fixed vertically. It essentially performs the function of a device for moving the objects in the same plane along a direction of linear movement and preferably horizontal.
• the transfer device 1 comprises a pusher 6. In some embodiments, the transfer device 1 comprises a plurality of pushers 6.
• FIG. 3 shows that the pusher 6 is in the form of a bar or actuating element 11 which extends transversely to the conveying of the products 2, that is to say a bar which extends transversely to the 2.
• the transverse bar of the pusher 6 comes behind the at least one product, that is to say in one position. initial retracted end which is upstream of said at least one product.
• the transverse bar in order to exert on the at least one product a thrust from the rear, that is to say from upstream, circulates for this step to a height which corresponds approximately to the height of the products 2.
• the scanning movement of the pusher 6 is similar to the direction of advance of the products 2 into the starting zone 3, the return of the pusher 6 to the initial position for the next cycle must be accompanied by a retraction of the crossbar so that it does not interfere with the arrival in the starting zone 3 of the products 2 to be scanned in the next cycle.
• the pusher 6 is lifted at the end of the step of returning to the initial position.
• the pusher 6 is offset from the transfer plane 5 until it reaches a height sufficient for products 2 to pass under it, in particular under the actuating element 11, and then reach the departure zone 3.
• the Pusher 6 in its most upstream position, or initial position, the Pusher 6 is in height relative to the conveyor which brings the products 2 to the starting zone 3.
• the pusher 6 is retracted above the product column at the upstream edge 18.
• the pusher 6 preferably has a plate 10 at each end of the crossbar. This plate 10 guides the pusher 6 for the scanning movement and for the return movement to the initial position. Each plate 10 circulates in effect on a reference surface 7 which has two different and successive portions.
• a first portion of the reference surface 7 is a portion called the flat portion 8.
• This flat portion 8 is parallel to the transfer plane 5.
• the pusher 6 is driven by a parallel movement to the transfer plane 5, which corresponds to the action itself pushing by scanning the at least one product 2 from the starting zone 3 to the arrival zone 4.
• the reference surface 7 Upstream of this flat portion 8 by relative to the flow of products 2, the reference surface 7 has a portion of elevation 9. This portion of elevation
• the pusher 6 also circulates on the flat portion 8 for the return to the initial position.
• the transfer device 1 is provided with a pair of such reference surfaces 7, namely a reference surface 7 on one side of the departure zone 3, as well as a reference surface 7 of the on the other side of the departure zone 3, transversely to the scanning and conveying direction, aligned.
• each plate 10 circulates on one of the reference surfaces 7.
• the reference surface 7 guards the movement of the plate 10 from which the transverse bar of the pusher 6 extends.
• the plate 10 in order to flow on the reference surface 7, has two contact elements of the roller, wheel, ball or other type, so that the plate 10 takes the form of a carriage which can be moved along the corresponding reference surface 7.
• the transverse bar and therefore the pusher 6 are animated by a movement parallel to the transfer plane 5. This movement corresponds to the sweep and a portion of the pusher return 6 in initial position.
• the pusher 6 shifts from the transfer plane 5 to a height sufficient to allow the circulation of the products 2, that is to say, their arrival in the starting area 3.
• the elevation portion 9 thus allows the pusher 6 to retract when it is upstream.
• the elevation portion 9 has a curved profile, in particular a curvilinear profile.
• the elevation portion 9 may be a simple slope.
• the advantage of making the elevation portion 9 as a curvilinear profile has the following advantage.
• the use of a plate 10 in the form of a carriage with two points of contact with the reference surface 7 has the effect that the plate 10, during its circulation on the curvilinear elevation portion 9, will pivot about an axis parallel to the transfer plane 5 and transverse to the direction of advance of the products 2. It is thus possible to realize the pusher 6 with a transverse bar in the form of a plate extending perpendicular to the transfer plane 5 when it acts on the products 2, that is to say having a certain height.
• the advantage of such a plate is that the scanning effort on the products 2 is distributed over a larger part of their height.
• the plate forming the transverse bar passes from a substantially vertical orientation, and therefore perpendicular to the transfer plane 5, to an orientation which, in the end, can be horizontal, that is to say parallel to the transfer plane 5.
• the plate-shaped cross bar releases the passage for the products 2 with a return movement upstream which has a smaller amplitude than if the elevating portion 9 did not allow such rotation on itself of the actuating element.
• the transfer device 1 thus has to guide the movement of the pusher 6 a reference surface 7.
• This reference surface 7 has in its upstream portion an elevation portion 9.
• This elevation portion 9 receives the plates 10 of the pusher 6 when this pusher 6 is in its most upstream position.
• the reference surface 7 has a flat portion 8 on which the plates 10 of the pusher 6 travel when the latter pushes the at least one product 2, preferably in the form of a product layer 2, since the starting zone 3 to the arrival zone 4.
• the position of the pusher 6 upstream of the conveying line thus corresponds to its positioning on the elevation portion 9.
• the pusher 6 is set in motion by means of a toothed belt 16 running on return wheels at two opposite ends.
• a return wheel in the downstream part of the device is, for a belt 16, a return wheel and, conversely, in the upstream portion, is another wheel return.
• the toothed belt 16 is wrapped around each of these wheels.
• These return wheels are positioned relative to the reference surface 7 and the transfer plane 5 so that the belt 16 which extends between them has a parallel strand to the transfer plane 5 and therefore to the flat portion 8.
• the notched belt 16 is protected in a lateral rollover of the transfer device 1. This avoids a complex cycle of circulation of the belt 16 since it makes movements back and forth through its return wheels.
• the transfer device 1 thus has, at each of its sides, such a drive system based on a belt 16 mounted on two return wheels disposed at the ends.
• one wheel is on the upstream side and another wheel is on the downstream side in the device.
• at least one of the return wheels is driven by a motor 20.
• the motor 20 can drive a shaft mounted transversely to the conveying direction which extends from one side to the other of the advancement of the products 2. At the ends of this shaft are then mounted each time a return wheel for one of the two belts 16 of the pusher drive system 6.
• the belt 16 during its movement moves substantially linearly and parallel to the transfer plane 5. This linear movement corresponds to the entire movement of the pusher 6 from its extreme downstream position to its extreme position upstream, retracted above the products 2 entering in the arrival zone 4.
• On one of the two linear strands of the belt 16 is a support 13.
• This support 13 is fixed to the belt 16.
• This support 13 is directed in its movement by a linear guide 15 parallel to the transfer plane 5 and to the conveying direction of the products 2 and therefore of the sweeping that the pusher 6 undergoes on them.
• the support 13 thus undergoes a linear movement only with the movement of the belt 16 to which it is connected.
• the amplitude of this movement corresponds to the amplitude necessary for the pusher 6 to exert the entire sweeping action on the products 2 and its return to the retracted position.
• a flexible interface 14 is preferably mounted between each of the two supports 13 and the pusher 6, at a platen.
• an interface 14 which may be in the form of, for example, a flexible blade, is fixed at one of its ends to the support 13, and at the other end to the pusher 6, preferably at the level of one of the
• the interface 14 is therefore deformable to ensure compatibility between the strictly linear movement of the support 13 along the corresponding linear guides 15 and the movement of the pusher 6 which is linear, meanwhile, only along the flat portion 8 of the reference surface 7.
• the end of the interface 14 fixed to the support 13 undergoes a movement which is only linear.
• the other end of the interface 14 is secured to the pusher 6 and thus undergoes a movement which is parallel to the transfer plane 5 for a part of the movement, then undergoes a movement that will move it away from the transfer plane 5 to the occasion of the retraction of the pusher 6.
• the linear guide 15 then makes it possible to guarantee that the support 13 is not displaced under the effect of the deformation experienced by the interface 14 when its upstream end has to deform to fit the contour of the elevation portion 9 of the surface. 7. Indeed, this deformation of the interface 14 is accompanied by a bending torque at its anchoring in the support 13, which the linear guide 15 compensates.
• the transfer device 1 preferably has a means of ensuring that the pusher 6 remains against the reference surface 7, even in the elevating portion 9, in particular by means of guides which plate the plate 10 against the corresponding reference surface 7.
• the interface 14, preferably in the form of flexible or flexible strips, which is temporarily parallel to the transfer plane 5, thus works in tension when the pusher 6 is pulled by the at least one belt 16 from its upstream position to its position. downstream position to exert the scanning of the products 2. During the return movement of the pusher 6 in its retracted position upstream, the interface 14 works in compression.
• the height of the support 13 with respect to the transfer plane 5 preferably corresponds to the height of the anchoring of the upstream end of the interface 14 on the plate 10 so that, when the pusher 6 is driven by a movement strictly parallel to the transfer plane 5, the interface 14 is also parallel to the transfer plane 5, and its attachment points are in a plane parallel to the transfer plane 5.
• the transfer device 1 is thus provided with an interface 14 at one side of the product flow stream 2 and an interface 14 on the opposite side.
• the transfer device 1 thus has two driving systems of the pusher 6 which face each other, one on one side of the product stream 2, the other on the other side.
• This drive system thus comprises, as previously mentioned, a belt 16 mounted on two notched return wheels, a support 13, a linear guide 15 for directing the movement of said support 13, an interface 14 mounted between said support 13 and the plate 10.
• the pusher 6, for its part, thus has on one side of the product stream a plate 10 to which one of the interfaces 14 is fixed. It is the same for the other side of the pusher 6 which has another plate 10 to which is fixed the other flexible interface 14.
• the transfer device 1 may be provided with only one such drive solution of the pusher 6.
• the drive of the support 13 may be, in certain configurations, carried out by any another form of linear actuator 12, for example a linear electric actuator.
• the advantage of the use of a flexible interface 14 is to be able to combine, with respect to the drive system, a movement that is strictly linear and therefore parallel to the transfer plane 5, which guarantees a simplicity of this training, and on the other hand a movement of the pusher 6 which is for a part of the linear movement and for another part a retraction movement during which said pusher 6 moves away from the transfer plane 5, which guarantees a plane scan and a retraction for the arrival of new products 2.
• the driving system of the pusher 6 is then of simple and reliable design, since its movement is essentially linear, whereas, thanks to the interface 14 which is flexible, the final movement created at the pusher 6 is not it not only linear and parallel to the transfer plane 5.
• the transfer device 1 may take the form of a frame mounted on a fixed structure of the gantry type, in particular for a palletizer type installation.
• the transfer device 1 has a rectangular or U-shaped shape with its two long sides parallel to the flow of products 2 and therefore the scanning direction exerted by the pusher 6.
• the products 2 then arrive in the transfer device 1 at the departure zone 3 in the upstream portion of the transfer device 1.
• the drive motor that ultimately moves the pusher 6 is preferably at the portion of the transfer device 1 which is downstream of the scanning movement.
• the upstream portion of the transfer device 1 is released from any means associated with the drive function of the pusher 6.
• This allows a small footprint of the transfer device 1 at this location and thus to free more space for the circulation of products 2 which arrive in the starting zone 3.
• the driving of the pusher 6 is therefore from a linear actuator 12 which extends essentially on the sides of the transfer device 1, while the motor 20, the source of the movement is mounted in the downstream part of the transfer device 1.
• This arrangement also allows a better balance of the masses of the transfer device 1, which contributes to make mechanically compatible mounting cantilever.
• the transfer device 1 is particularly simple and reliable, and makes it possible to obtain a linear, plane scanning motion for transferring products 2 from a starting zone 3 to a arrival area 4 in a simple and reliable way.
• the use of a linear movement system contributes to the simplicity of the transfer device 1.
• the linear movement of the actuating system is transformed into a movement of the pusher 6 which corresponds to both the sweeping of the products 2 and the retraction of the pusher 6 to a height sufficient to allow the arrival of the products 2 to be transferred during the next cycle.
• This transfer device 1 can be used, as already pointed out, in a machine providing a palletizing function.
• the products 2 are arranged in a rectangular layer, said layer being transferred in the context of a single cycle by the scanning operation.
• the transfer device 1 can also be used in a depalletizer machine, the starting zone 3 then being at the top of a stack of products superimposed on a pallet.
• the transfer device 1 as described herein can also be used as a pusher in a product moving system within an industrial line.
• This transfer device 1 is particularly interesting for the configurations in which the products 2 are brought into the starting zone 3 with a direction of movement which is parallel to the direction of the sweep to be exerted by the pusher 6 between the starting zone 3 and the arrival zone 4. This allows the transfer device 1 to be provided with two drives for the pusher 6, each drive being disposed on one side or the other of the product stream 2.
• the pusher 6 can be mounted cantilever from a single moving system.
• the absence of the complementary movement system ensures a passage zone for products 2 arriving in the departure zone 3.
• a transfer device therefore requires only the implementation of a linear movement, which greatly simplifies and increases the reliability. It will be noted that the movement of the belt 16 on which the support 13 is mounted is such that the support 13 never crosses either of the return wheels, which means that the belt 16 is driven by a movement linear back and forth of limited amplitude.
• the invention makes it possible, if necessary, to fix a support on a significantly longer portion of the belt than if it has to pass around the return wheels. The holding of such a fixation is much better.

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• 2016
  • 2016-06-30 FR FR1656156A patent/FR3053321A1/fr not_active Withdrawn
• 2017
  • 2017-06-28 EP EP17755216.3A patent/EP3478608A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2017-06-28 WO PCT/FR2017/051725 patent/WO2018002518A1/fr unknown

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