EP3999277A1

EP3999277A1 - Device and method for automatically removing grinding wheels

Info

Publication number: EP3999277A1
Application number: EP20735136.2A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ronald Naderer; Jakob SCHINNERL
Original assignee: Ferrobotics Compliant Robot Technology GmbH
Current assignee: Ferrobotics Compliant Robot Technology GmbH
Priority date: 2019-07-15
Filing date: 2020-06-24
Publication date: 2022-05-25
Anticipated expiration: 2040-06-24
Also published as: CN114126804A; EP3999277B1; US20220266422A1; WO2021008837A1; JP2022541762A; CN114126804B; KR20220031635A; DE102019119152B4; DE102019119152A1

Abstract

A device for automatically removing a grinding wheel from a grinding machine mounted on a manipulator is described. According to one embodiment, the device has the following: a support plate with a surface for depositing a grinding wheel; a movable clamping element that is raised in a first position with respect to the support plate; an actuator that is coupled to the clamping element and is configured to move the clamping element into a second position in which the clamping element is pressed against the support plate such that the grinding wheel is clamped between the support plate and clamping element; and a release element that is arranged in such a way relative to the support plate that the release element is actuated when the grinding wheel is placed on the surface of the support plate and is pressed against the latter. The release element and the actuator are coupled (directly or indirectly, electrically or mechanically) such that, when the release element is actuated, the actuator moves the clamping element from the first position into the second position.

Description

DEVICE AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATIC

HONING OF GRINDING WHEELS

TECHNICAL AREA

The present invention relates to a changing station which enables a robot-assisted grinding device to automatically change grinding means (e.g. grinding wheels).

BACKGROUND

[0002] Grinding machines are widely used in industry and craft. Orbital grinders are grinding machines in which an oscillating movement (vibration) is superimposed on a rotary movement about an axis of rotation. They are often used for finishing surfaces with high demands on the surface quality, for example in the repair (spot repair) of surface defects on painted surfaces. So that these requirements can be met, irregularities should be avoided as much as possible during the grinding process. In practice, this usually happens because these tasks are carried out by experienced skilled workers, especially in the production of small quantities.

In robot-assisted grinding devices, a grinding tool (for example an orbital grinding machine) is guided by a manipulator, for example an industrial robot. The grinding tool can be coupled in different ways to the so-called TCP (Tool Center Point) of the manipulator, so that the manipulator can set the position and orientation of the tool practically as desired. Industrial robots are usually position-controlled, which enables precise movement of the TCP along a desired trajectory. In order to achieve good results with robot-assisted grinding, in many applications it is necessary to regulate the process force (grinding force), which is often difficult to achieve with sufficient accuracy with conventional industrial robots. can be realized. The large and heavy arm segments of an industrial robot have too great a mass inertia for a closed-loop controller to be able to react quickly enough to fluctuations in the process force. In order to solve this problem, a linear actuator, which is smaller than the industrial robot and which couples the TCP of the manipulator to the grinding tool, can be arranged between the TCP of the manipulator and the grinding tool. The linear actuator merely regulates the process force (ie the contact force between the tool and the workpiece) while the manipulator moves the grinding tool together with the linear actuator in a position-controlled manner along a predeterminable trajectory.

Grinding machines, such as eccentric grinders, work with thin, flexible and removable grinding wheels which are attached to a carrier disk. A very common type of grinding wheel are so-called daisy discs. A grinding wheel consists, for example, of paper (or another fiber composite material) coated with abrasive grains and can be attached to the carrier disk using an adhesive layer or a Velcro fastener (Hook and Loop Fastener, Velcro Fastener). Even with robot-assisted grinding devices, worn grinding wheels are often changed manually. Although there are some concepts for robot-supported changing stations for changing grinding wheels, known solutions are comparatively complex, complex to implement and therefore expensive.

[0005] One of the objects of the present invention can therefore be seen in providing a changing station which enables a robot-supported grinding device to automatically change grinding wheels in a comparatively simple manner.

SUMMARY

The above-mentioned object is achieved by the device according to claim 1 and the method according to claim 9. Various exemplary embodiments and further developments are the subject of the dependent claims.

In the following, a device for automatically removing a grinding wheel from a grinding machine mounted on a manipulator is described. According to one embodiment, the device has the following on a support plate with a ner surface for placing a grinding wheel; a movable clamp member which is raised in a first position with respect to the platen; an actuator which is coupled to the clamping element and which is designed to move the clamping element into a second position in which the clamping element is pressed against the support plate so that the grinding wheel is clamped between the support plate and the clamping element; and a trigger element which is arranged relative to the platen in such a way that the trigger element is actuated when the grinding wheel is placed on the surface of the platen and pressed against it. The trigger element and the actuator are coupled (directly or indirectly, electrically or mechanically) in such a way that when the trigger element is actuated, the actuator moves the clamping element from the first position to the second position.

Furthermore, a method for automatically peeling off a grinding wheel from a grinding machine mounted on a manipulator is described. According to one example, the method comprises the following: placing a grinding wheel mounted on a grinding machine on a support plate of a dressing device by means of a manipulator, whereby by the Placing the grinding wheel on the platen a release element of the pulling device is actuated. The method further comprises clamping the grinding wheel between the platen and a movable clamping element, which is pressed in the direction of the platen in response to the actuation of the trigger element, and lifting the grinding machine by means of the manipulator, whereby the jammed grinding wheel is removed from a carrier disk Grinding machine is removed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Various exemplary embodiments are explained in more detail below with reference to the examples shown in the figures. The illustrations are not necessarily true to scale and the invention is not limited to the aspects presented. Rather, emphasis is placed on depicting the principles on which the illustrated exemplary embodiments are based.

Figure 1 shows schematically an example of a robot-assisted grinding device. [0011] FIG. 2 illustrates a grinding machine mounted on a robot during automatic removal of a grinding wheel with a removal device.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a pulling device which is suitable for the automated pulling off of grinding wheels from a grinding machine mounted on a robot

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the puller from Fig. 3, which shows the interior of the puller in more detail.

FIG. 5 shows the example from FIG. 4 with a clamped grinding wheel.

FIG. 6 is a plan view corresponding to FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart to illustrate an example of a method for robot-assisted, automatic removal of a grinding wheel from a grinding machine. .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before various exemplary embodiments of the present invention are explained in detail, a general example of a robot-assisted grinding device will first be described. This includes a manipulator 1, for example an industrial robot, and a grinding machine 10 with a rotating grinding tool (e.g. an orbital grinding machine), which is coupled to the so-called tool center point (TCP) of the manipulator 1 via a linear actuator 20. In the case of an industrial robot with six degrees of freedom, the manipulator can be built from four segments 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d, which are each connected via joints 3a, 3b and 3c. The first segment is usually rigidly connected to a foundation 41 (but this does not necessarily have to be the case). The joint 3c connects the segments 2d and 2d. The joint 3c can be 2-axis and enable a rotation of the segment 2c about a horizontal axis of rotation (elevation angle) and a vertical axis of rotation (azimuth angle). The joint 3b connects the segments 2b and 2c and enables a pivoting movement of the segment 2b relative to the position of the segment 2c. The joint 3a connects the segments 2a and 2b. The Ge joint 3a can be 2-axis and therefore (similar to the joint 3c) allow a pivoting movement in two directions. The TCP has a fixed position relative to segment 2a, this usually also comprises a swivel joint (not shown) that enables a rotary movement about a longitudinal axis of the segment 2a (drawn in as a dashed line in FIG. 1, corresponds to the axis of rotation of the grinding tool). Each axis of a joint is assigned an actuator that can cause a rotary movement about the respective joint axis. The actuators in the joints are controlled by a robot controller 4 in accordance with a robot program.

The manipulator 1 is usually position-controlled, i.e. the robot controller can determine the pose (location and orientation) of the TCP and move it along a predefined trajectory. When the actuator 20 is in contact with an end stop, the pose of the TCP also defines the pose of the grinding tool. As already mentioned at the beginning, the actuator 20 serves to set the contact force (process force) between the tool (grinding machine 10) and workpiece 40 to a desired value during the grinding process. A direct force control by the manipulator 1 is usually too imprecise for grinding applications, since the high inertia of the segments 2a-c of the Ma nipulator 1 enables rapid compensation of force peaks (e.g. when the grinding tool is placed on the workpiece 40) with conventional manipulators is practically impossible. For this reason, the robot controller is designed to regulate the pose of the TCP of the manipulator, while the force regulation is carried out exclusively by the actuator 20.

As already mentioned, the contact force FK between the tool (grinding machine 10) and workpiece 40 with the help of the (linear) actuator 20 and a force control (which can be implemented in the controller 4, for example) can be set during the grinding process that the contact force between the grinding tool and workpiece 40 corresponds to a predefinable setpoint. The contact force is a reaction to the Ak torkraft with which the linear actuator 20 presses on the workpiece surface. If there is no contact between workpiece 40 and tool, actuator 20 moves against an end stop due to the lack of contact force on workpiece 40. The position control of the Mani pulators 1 (which can also be implemented in the controller 4) can work completely independently of the force control of the actuator 20. The actuator 20 is not responsible for the positioning of the grinding machine 10, but only for setting and maintaining the desired contact force during the grinding process and for detecting contact between tool and workpiece. The actuator can be a pneumatic shear actuator, for example a double-acting pneumatic cylinder. However, there are others too Pneumatic actuators can be used, such as bellows cylinders and air muscles. As an alternative, electrical direct drives (gearless) can also be considered.

In the case of a pneumatic actuator, the force control can be implemented in a manner known per se with the aid of a control valve, a regulator (implemented in the controller 4) and a compressed air reservoir. However, the specific implementation is not important for the further explanation and is therefore not described in more detail. As an alternative to the actuator 20, a passive, flexible element such as a spring can also be used, depending on the application. The actuator 20 can also be omitted if the force control is provided in sufficient quality by the manipulator itself.

The grinding machine 10 has a grinding wheel 11 which is mounted on a carrier disk 12 (backing plate). The surface of the carrier disk 12 or the rear surface of the grinding wheel 11 or both surfaces are such that the grinding wheel 11 readily adheres to the carrier disk 12 upon contact. For example, a Velcro fastener (hook and loop fastener or Velcro fastener) is used so that the grinding disk 11 remains adhered to the carrier disk. A common alternative to a Velcro fastener is an adhesive coating on the back of the grinding wheel 11, which adhere to the corresponding surface of the carrier disk 12. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a grinding device 10 that can be mounted on a manipulator, the grinding machine 10 relative to a grinding wheel puller 30 is positioned so that the grinding wheel 11 rests against the surface of a support plate 35 of the grinding wheel puller 30 and is pressed against this support plate 35 (for example with an adjustable force). An embodiment of the grinding wheel puller 30 is explained in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the grinding wheel dressing device 30 from FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 is a corresponding sectional view showing the components located inside the housing 31 of the dressing device 30. It goes without saying that the housing 31 of the puller 30 does not necessarily have to be a closed housing. Rather, a housing is understood to mean any mechanical structure on which other components of the pulling device 30 are directly or indirectly, movably can be borrowed or mounted immovably. The housing can aufwei sen a frame on which (in the case of an at least partially closed housing) one or more covers are attached. In the examples shown here, the housing 31 comprises several parts that are connected by means of screws. It goes without saying that other connection techniques such as rivets, latching connections (snap-in connections), etc. can also be used. The shape of the housing can, depending on the application, also be designed differently than in the exemplary embodiments described here. In the illustrated example, the housing has a base plate 310 with holes 311. The base plate 310 (and thus the entire device 30) can be mounted on the floor or another support by means of screws (not shown) which are pushed through the holes 311.

As can be seen in Fig. 3, the support plate 35, against which the robot presses the grinding wheel 11 mounted on the grinding machine 10 during a pulling operation, has an opening through which the end of a trigger element 33 (trigger element) is guided is. The end of the trigger element 33 protrudes from the opening in the support plate 35, so that the protruding end of the trigger element 33 is pressed into the opening (see Fig. 4 contact force FA) when the grinding wheel 11 is pressed against the support plate 35 during a pulling process and plan on this. The opening can also be designed as a slot. It goes without saying that the end of the release element 33 does not necessarily have to run through an opening in the support plate 35. Alternatively, the trigger element 33 can also be arranged next to the support plate. It is only relevant that the release element 33 is arranged in such a way that it is actuated when the robot presses the grinding wheel 11 against the surface of the support plate 35.

The actuation of the trigger element 33 (when the grinding wheel is pressed against the support plate 35) triggers a mechanism which causes the edge of the grinding wheel 11 to be clamped between the support plate 35 and a clamping plate 34. When the robot moves the grinding machine 11 away from the honing device 30 again, the grinding wheel 11 is held in place by the clamping plate 34, while the Trä gerplatte 12 of the grinding machine 10 is lifted from the surface of the platen 35. By lifting the support plate 12, the (clamped) grinding wheel 11 is detached from the support plate. An example of the mechanism mentioned is described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. As shown in Fig. 4, the clamping plate 34 (generally referred to as a clamping element) is mounted on a first end of a rocking lever 342 which is rotatably mounted on a part of the housing 31 by means of a hinge 341. That is, the rocker arm 342, which can also be referred to as a rocker (rocker), can be pivoted about a pivot point (which is defined by the joint 341). The clamping plate 34 (clamping element) can be fastened to the rocker arm 341 by means of one or more screws 342, for example. In other embodiments, clamping plate 34 and Kipphe bel 341 can also be made in one piece. In the situation shown in FIG. 4, the rocker arm 342 is positioned (first position) in such a way that the clamping plate 34 is lifted from the support plate 35. In the situation shown in FIG. 5, the rocker arm 342 is positioned (second position) so that the clamping plate 34 is pressed against the surface of the support plate 35 and a grinding wheel (if it is correctly positioned on the support plate 35) between the clamping plate 35 and the surface of the platen 35 is clamped.

The movement of the rocker arm 342 from the first position (clamp released) to the second position (clamp tightened) is triggered by actuation of the release element 33. In the example shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the rocker arm 342 has a stop 343 which rests on a corresponding support surface of the trigger element 33. The trigger element 33 is - similar to the rocker arm 342 - pivotably mounted on a part of the housing 31 (swivel joint 331) and is pressed by means of a spring 332 into a normal position in which one end of the trigger element 33 as in Fig. 4 is Darge on the Surface of the support plate 35 protrudes. In this normal position, the release element 33 acts as a pawl, which prevents the rocker arm 342 from moving into the second position (clamp tightened). Since the stop 343 of the rocker arm 342 rests on the release element 33 (acting as a pawl), the movement of the rocker arm 342 is blocked. If the protruding release element 33 is pressed against the spring force of the spring 332 towards the surface of the support plate 35 (when the grinding wheel is positioned on the support plate 35), the release element 33 is pivoted so that the stop 343 of the rocker arm 342 is no longer on the release seelement 33 is applied and a movement of the rocker arm in the second position is no longer blocked. In the example shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the rocker arm 341 is in the first position (clamp released, pawl blocks movement of the rocker arm), a biasing force FB is exerted on the rocker arm 341. When the release element 33 is actuated / moved, the pawl (release element) releases the rocker arm 341 and, due to the pretensioning force FB, it swivels abruptly into the second position in which the grinding wheel is clamped. This situation is shown in FIG.

The aforementioned pretensioning force FB can be provided by various pretensioning mechanisms. In the example of Figures 4 and 5, this biasing mechanism comprises a pneumatic cylinder 37 which is arranged between a second end of the rocker arm 341 and a part (e.g. mounting bracket 311) of the housing 31. The cylinder 37 is connected to the mounting bracket 311 (which can be seen as part of the housing) via a hinge 374, and the piston rod of the piston 371 located in the cylinder is connected to the second end of the rocker arm 341 via a hinge 373. When compressed air is applied to the cylinder space marked Vi in FIGS. 4 and 5, the pneumatic cylinder 37 (with the associated piston 371) generates the prestressing force FB, which presses the rocker arm 341 into the second position when the trigger element 33 is actuated and the grinding wheel 11 is stuck.

As mentioned, after clamping the grinding wheel 11, the grinding machine 11 is moved away from the pulling device again, whereby the (clamped) grinding wheel 11 is pulled off the carrier disk 12 of the grinding machine. The rocker arm 341 (and thus the clamping plate 34) must then be moved back from the second position (clamp tightened, FIG. 5) to the first position (clamp released, FIG. 4). This movement can be brought about by various reset mechanisms. In the example shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the reset mechanism is provided by the pneumatic cylinder 37. In this case, the pretensioning mechanism and the return mechanism are one unit. The cylinder 37 can be a double-acting cylinder. That is, if the cylinder space designated V2 in FIGS. 4 and 5 is acted upon with compressed air, then the pneumatic cylinder 37 generates a restoring force FR which acts exactly in the opposite direction as the pretensioning force FB. The restoring force FR causes a pivoting movement of the rocker arm 341 back into the first position, whereby the clamping of the grinding wheel is released. The spring 332 pushes the Auslö seelement 33 back into the normal position, so that when the next pulling process the biasing force FB acts again, the movement of the rocker arm 341 is blocked again (as shown in FIG. 4).

Air can be blown at high speed through the compressed air nozzle 32 onto the grinding wheel 11, so that it is blown in the direction of the baffle plate 312 and finally falls down, e.g. into a container. Compressed air nozzle 32 and baffle plate are each optional, but can in practice improve the robustness of the device 30 ver. The reset mechanism (e.g. switching the compressed air from cylinder chamber Vi to cylinder chamber V2) and blowing compressed air out of nozzle 32 can be triggered by the robot controller (see Fig. 1, controller 4), since the robot controller "knows" when the grinder 10 was moved away from the puller 30. Alternatively, the reset mechanism can also be triggered by tilting the trigger element 33 back into the normal position. For this purpose, an electrical switch could be coupled to the trigger element 33, and actuation of the electrical switch can trigger the switching of the compressed air from the cylinder chamber Vi to the cylinder chamber V2 as well as the blowing out of compressed air from the nozzle 32. A corresponding valve control with the associated valves is not shown in the figures, since various ways of implementing the valve control are within the skill of the art.

Some grinding wheels adhere to the carrier plate 12 (see FIG. 2) by means of an adhesive layer. In these cases, the grinding wheel may stick to the clamping plate 34. However, in order to be able to remove the grinding wheel reliably (for example by means of compressed air flowing out of the nozzle 32) from the device 30, one or more pins 38 can be attached to the housing 31 (directly or indirectly), which are arranged so that one at the clamping plate 34 adhering grinding wheel 11 is pressed away from the clamping plate 34 when it is moved back into the first position. The pins are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 too. In the top view from FIG. 6 belonging to FIG. 5, it can be seen that the clamping plate 34 has small recesses 38 'through which the pins 38 penetrate when the clamping plate 34 is in the first position (away from the support surface 35) is moved. If a grinding wheel adheres to the clamping plate 34 during this movement, then at the end of the movement it is pushed away from the pins 38 and detached from the clamping plate 34 to such an extent that the compressed air can transport the grinding wheel away. In order to be able to check whether the grinding wheel pulled off by the grinding machine 10 was actually transported away from the pulling device 30, the pulling device 30 can have a sensor 36. The sensor 36 can be seen in FIGS. 4-6 and can, for example, be designed as a reflex light barrier. In Fig. 6, the reflector 361 belonging to the light barrier 36 is shown. The sensor 36 (for example a module with a light emitting diode and a photodiode) and the reflector 361 are positioned relative to one another in such a way that the light beam emitted by the sensor 36 is interrupted by a grinding wheel. As a result, the sensor can detect whether the grinding wheel was carried away by the compressed air or not. If not, one or more compressed air pulses can be emitted via the nozzle 32 again. If the grinding wheel still adheres to the pulling device, a warning signal can be triggered, for example. The sensor 36 does not necessarily have to be designed as a light barrier. Since the grinding wheels usually have a specific color, an optical color sensor can also be used instead to detect the presence of a grinding wheel. Alternatively, one or more sensors can also be used to monitor whether the grinding wheel falls out of the device 30 below the baffle plate 312.

It is understood that the function of clamping the grinding wheel 11 between the platen 35 and the clamping element 34 (clamping plate) and triggering the movement of the clamping element by the triggering element 33 can also be implemented in a different way than that in the example Fig. 2-6 is the case. In the following, some important general aspects of the pulling device 30 are summarized and further exemplary embodiments are also discussed, in which certain functions are implemented differently than in the example from FIGS. 2-6.

In general, the pulling device has a support plate (see, for example, FIGS. 2 and 6, support plate 35) with a surface for placing a grinding wheel 11 on. As shown in FIG. 2, the grinding wheel 11 can be placed on the upper surface of the support plate 35 with the aid of a robot. As can be seen, for example, in FIG. 6, the grinding wheel 11 does not have to lie completely on the surface of the support plate 35. It is sufficient if part of the grinding wheel rests on the support plate 35. From the ziehvor direction further comprises a movable clamping element (see, for example, FIGS. 4 and 5, clamping element 34), which is raised in a first position with respect to the platen. That is, in the first position the clamping element does not touch the support surface. Of Furthermore, the puller has an actuator which is gekop pelt with the clamping element and which is designed to move the clamping element into a second position in which the clamping element is pressed against the platen so that the grinding wheel is between the platen and the clamping element is clamped (see Fig. 5). A triggering element is coupled to the actuator (directly or indirectly, mechanically or electrically depending on the actuator) in such a way that when the triggering element is actuated, the actuator moves the clamping element from the first position to the second position. The trigger element protrudes over the surface of the platen, so that the trigger element is actuated when the grinding wheel (mounted on the grinding machine) is positioned on the surface of the platen and moved towards it.

In the simplest case, the actuator can be a pretensioned spring. A pneumatic actuator (pneumatic cylinder-piston unit) can also act like a tensioned spring when it is loaded with compressed air. In some exemplary embodiments, the clamping element blocks the movement of the actuator as long as it has not been actuated (see Fig.

4, cylinder preloaded with compressed air), which then abruptly moves the clamping element from the first position (clamp released) to the second position (clamp tightened) when the release element is actuated (see Fig. 5). In this case, the release element is a purely mechanical machine element that essentially has the function of a pawl. In order to move the clamping element back into the first position, a return mechanism can be provided. If a double-acting pneumatic cylinder is used as the actuator, it can also generate a restoring force and move the clamping element back into the first position accordingly. In the case of a single-acting pneumatic cylinder, a spring can also generate the restoring force, so that the spring moves the clamping element back into the first position when the single-acting pneumatic cylinder is depressurized. In the example mentioned, in which the actuator is a simple pre-tensioned spring, the restoring force can be generated, for example, by a lifting magnet which can tension the spring again. A unit of two (single-acting) pneumatic cylinders is also possible, with one cylinder serving as a (preloaded) actuator and the other being responsible for the return movement to the first position.

In other exemplary embodiments, the actuator does not have to generate a pretensioning force, while the movement of the actuator is mechanically blocked by the release element. Instead, the actuator is actively controlled to move the clamping element from the first posi tion to the second position when the release element is actuated, which in this case can also be an electrical switch (e.g. a button), which in turn is positioned in this way that it protrudes beyond the platen and is consequently actuated “automatically” when the grinding wheel mounted on the grinding machine is placed on the surface of the platen. In this case, the actuator can be any actuator (electric motor, linear motor, pneumatic actuator, lifting magnet, etc.) which is designed to move the clamping element from the first position to the second position. Instead of a simple switch such as a button, another sensor element can also be used which is able to detect that a grinding wheel has been placed on the support plate.

In the exemplary embodiments described here, the clamping element is mounted on one end of a rocker arm (see FIG. 5). It goes without saying that the clamping element and rocker arm can also be an integral component. In this case, the clamping element and rocker arm are made from one piece. The clamping element can be designed as a small plate, which was referred to above as a clamping plate. However, the clamping element is not necessarily a small plate, but can also be formed, for example, by several short pins that protrude from the rocker arm and can clamp the grinding wheel against the platen.

[0038] In the following, an example of a method for honing a grinding wheel from a grinding machine mounted on a manipulator is summarized with the aid of the flow diagram in FIG. According to the exemplary embodiment from FIG. 7, the method comprises the placing of a grinding wheel mounted on a grinding machine on a support plate of a pulling device by means of a manipulator (see FIG. 7, step S1). This situation is also shown in FIG. By placing the grinding wheel on the platen, a release element of the pulling device is actuated (see. Fig. 4, release element 33 designed as a pawl). The method further comprises clamping the grinding wheel between the platen and a movable clamping element (FIG. 7, step S2), which is pressed in the direction of the platen in response to the actuation of the release element. This situation is also shown in Fig. 5 is. The grinding machine is then raised by means of the manipulator, as a result of which the clamped grinding wheel is pulled off a carrier disk of the grinding machine (cf. FIG. 7, step S3). The clamping element can then be raised again in order to release the clamped grinding wheel. As already mentioned above, it can happen that the grinding wheel adheres to the clamping element, which is undesirable because the removal of the grinding wheel is prevented. In these cases, the grinding wheel can be detached by means of one or more pins (see FIG. 5, pins 38). When the clamping element is raised, the pins 38 block the movement of the grinding wheel adhering to the clamping element, whereby the grinding wheel is detached from the clamping element. The pin or pins can be mounted on the housing of the puller in such a way that the pins penetrate into one or more recesses (see FIG. 6, recesses 38 ') on the edge of the clamping element when the clamping element is lifted. Various other aspects of the method have already been described above with reference to FIGS. 2-6, so that reference is made to the above description in order to avoid repetition.

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

1. An apparatus comprising:

a support plate (35) with a surface for storing a grinding disc (11);

a movable clamping element (34) which is raised in a first position in Be train on the platen (35);

an actuator (37) which is coupled to the clamping element (34) and which is designed to move the clamping element (34) into a second position in which the clamping element (34) is pressed against the support plate (35) such that the grinding wheel (11) is clamped between the support plate (35) and the clamping element (34); and a trigger element (33) which is arranged relative to the support plate (35) in such a way that the trigger element (33) is actuated when the grinding wheel is placed on the surface of the support plate (35) and pressed against it,

wherein the trigger element (33) and the actuator (37) are coupled such that when the trigger element (33) is actuated, the actuator (37) moves the clamping element (34) from the first position to the second position.

2. The device according to claim 1,

wherein the trigger element (33) relative to the platen (35) is arranged in such a way that the trigger element (33) is actuated mechanically by pressing the grinding disk against the surface of the platen (35).

3. The device according to claim 1 or 2,

wherein the trigger element (33) protrudes over the surface of the support plate (35) so that the grinding wheel (11), when it is placed on the surface of the support plate (35) and pressed against it, actuates the trigger element (33).

4. The device according to one of claims 1 to 3,

wherein the actuator (37) is a preloaded spring or a preloaded pneumatic or electrical actuator (37), and

wherein the trigger element (33) is designed to block a movement of the actuator (37) and to release the movement of the actuator (37) when the trigger element is actuated.

5. The device according to one of claims 1 to 4,

wherein the clamping element (34) is mounted on a rocker arm (342) or is part of the rocker arm (342).

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the actuator with the rocker arm (342) is gekop pelt and the rocker arm (342) couples the actuator (37) and the clamping element (34).

7. The device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the actuator is a double-acting pneumatic cylinder which is designed to pivot the rocker arm (342) back and forth, whereby the clamping element (34) in the second position and back again the first position is moved.

8. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising:

one or more pins (38) which are arranged such that when the clamping element (34) is moved into the first position, a grinding wheel (11) adhering to it is released.

9. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising:

a compressed air nozzle (32) for emitting a blast of compressed air in the direction of the grinding wheel.

10. A process that includes:

Placing a grinding wheel (11) mounted on a grinding machine (10) on a support plate (35) of a pulling device (30) by means of a manipulator (1), whereby a triggering element is created by placing the grinding wheel (11) on the support plate (35) (33) the puller (30) is actuated;

Clamping the grinding wheel (11) between the platen (35) and a movable clamping element (34) which is pressed in the direction of the platen (35) in response to the actuation of the trigger element; and

Lifting the grinding machine (10) by means of the manipulator (1), whereby the jammed grinding wheel is pulled from a carrier disk (12) of the grinding machine.

11. The method according to claim 10, whereby by placing the grinding wheel (11) on the support plate (35) the release element (33) of the pulling device (30) is actuated mechanically.

12. The method of claim 10 or 11, further comprising:

Lifting the clamping element (34) to release the clamped grinding wheel (11); and

Detachment of the grinding wheel (11) by means of one or more pins (38), wel che - when the grinding wheel (11) sticks to the clamping element (34) - block the movement of the grinding wheel (11) when the clamping element (34) is lifted, so that the Grinding disc (11) is detached from the clamping element.

13. The method according to claim 12,

wherein the pin or pins (38) are mounted on a housing of the pulling device (30) so that the pins penetrate into one or more recesses (38 ‘) on the edge of the clamping element when the clamping element (34) is lifted.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13,

whereby when the trigger element (33) is actuated, the movement of a pre-tensioned actuator (37) is released, whereby the clamping element (34) is moved from the actuator (37) to the support plate (35) and the grinding wheel (11) between the support plate (35) ) and clamping element (34) clamped.

15. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 14,

one end of the trigger element (33) protruding beyond the surface of the support plate (35) so that the grinding wheel (11), when placed on the surface of the support plate (35) and pressed against it, actuates the trigger element (33).

16. The method according to claim 15,

wherein the trigger element (33) is a pawl or a button.