ES2946147T3 - Device and procedure for handling objects - Google Patents

Abstract

The device (1) has a transport unit (3) for transporting the objects (2) along a transport path (T) from a service area (4) to a delivery area (5) and an area peripheral such as a washing floor (6).), which is arranged between the service area and the delivery area and through which the objects are guided. Intermediate areas (7) are provided along the transportation route before and after the peripheral area to temporarily receive identical objects, respectively. An independent claim is included for a method of handling objects, in particular multiple different containers such as food boxes. (Automatic translation with Google Translate, without legal value)

Description

DESCRIPTION

Device and procedure for handling objects

The invention relates to a device for handling objects, in particular a plurality of different containers such as food boxes, comprising at least one conveying agent for transporting the objects along a transport route from a receiving area to a delivery area and at least one peripheral area, such as a washing facility, which is designed so that objects are handled there, the peripheral area being arranged between the receiving area and the delivery area and being able to be guided through the objects, intermediate storage areas being provided for the temporary accommodation of identical objects in each case along the transport route before and after the at least one peripheral area, the intermediate storage areas being in each case configured with several intermediate storage sections, with at least one removal unit being provided that is mobile along the transport route after a first intermediate storage area, with which objects can be removed from the first intermediate storage area, and being provided along Along the transport route at least one mobile loading unit in front of a second intermediate storage area with which the objects in the second intermediate storage area can be loaded.

Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for handling objects, in particular a plurality of different containers such as food boxes, the objects being transported with at least one conveying agent along a transport route from a receiving area to a a delivery zone and being guided for this through at least one peripheral zone, such as a washing installation zone, in which the objects are handled, the peripheral zone being arranged between the receiving zone and the receiving zone delivery, the objects being temporarily stored in intermediate storage areas along the transport route before and after the at least one peripheral area, the intermediate storage areas being configured in each case with several intermediate storage sections, using at least a removal unit mobile along the transport route after a first intermediate storage area with which objects can be removed from the first intermediate storage area, and at least one removal unit being used along the transport route mobile load in front of a second intermediate storage area, with which the objects can be delivered to the second intermediate storage area.

Food, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, is transported in boxes suitable for sale and transported for trade. After transport, the food boxes are immediately used to present the products together with the fruits and vegetables. Typically, food boxes are formed as rectangular, open-topped plastic containers.

In supermarkets, food boxes are emptied, either by full sale of merchandise or by staff emptying them if all the fruit and/or vegetables could not be sold in sufficiently fresh condition. Regardless of this, considerable impurities generally remain in solid or liquid form. For example, food boxes used for lettuce are usually contaminated after use with bits of lettuce leaves and liquid residue. Therefore, food boxes must be cleaned before they are used again.

After use, the food boxes are nested or stacked in supermarkets and placed in towers on pallets on which the grocery boxes are transported for cleaning.

It is common for different supermarket chains to use different grocery boxes, which can also be different colors. This also allows, among other things, to better distribute food boxes.

For cleaning the food boxes, these are transported, as mentioned, and fed into a device for cleaning or washing. In a corresponding device according to the state of the art, solid and liquid impurities are removed so that the food boxes can be used again for fresh fruit and vegetables.

However, the devices known from the prior art have the disadvantage that they only allow a low degree of flexibility. In principle, one proceeds in such a way that a washing installation of the device is loaded with the food boxes that are needed at the moment, for example green rectangular containers from a certain supermarket chain. In other words, exactly the boxes of food that are needed at the moment are washed. Devices are thus charged based on demand.

DE 102005012536 A1 discloses a device for dispensing bakery products, the bakery products being transported on conveyors along a transport circuit to a discharge store. The features of the preamble of claim 1 and the preamble of claim 6 are known from this document. Also in US 2006/0070847 A1,

DE 195 34 954 A1, WO 2012/045987 A1, GB 1421 348 A storage devices for the temporary storage of articles are shown. Documents EP 0125054 A2, DE 101 16854 A1, US 3783560 A and US 2 894516 A refer to devices for cleaning a plurality of objects. Documents GB 946616 A, GB 970 534 A and US 2 990 965 A describe logical storage systems to facilitate the classification of multiple objects. Documents US 2011/048894 A1 and US 3 361 247 A show packet classification systems, recognizing packets with optical agents. Documents US 4 991 719 A and US 3686 899 A describe systems for sorting or folding laundry in the laundry cleaning process.

Also in other areas of technology, for example in the automotive sector, it is necessary to clean used boxes or containers in which components or other objects are transported.

This is where invention comes into play. The aim of the invention is to indicate a device of the type mentioned at the beginning, which allows continuous operation, but at the same time also offers the possibility of removing any object, such as food boxes, when necessary.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to indicate a corresponding method.

The object is solved according to the invention if, in a device of the type mentioned at the beginning, a detection device is arranged to detect the objects before the first buffer zone and a sorting unit is provided which sorts the objects into the first buffer zone based on detection, and the sorting unit is arranged to run continuously along the transportation route before the first buffer zone and after the second buffer zone to sort objects in the first buffer zone and remove them from the second buffer zone.

By means of intermediate storage areas provided before and after, for example, a washing facility, it is possible to carry out washing or general handling of objects such as food boxes if necessary continuously in such a way that there are always different objects available for withdrawal on the receiving side, but also that a corresponding repertoire of objects is available on the delivery side before the peripheral zone. The intermediate storage areas can thus ensure that continuous operation of the device is possible, but that different objects of one type are also available for transport in each case. Unlike the state of the art, the device therefore allows an extremely flexible procedure. Unlike the state of the art, today you no longer handle what is needed at the moment, but rather, for example, cleaning or washing can be carried out largely independently of the needs of the moment. It goes without saying, however, that, for example, the washing of objects is carried out in such a way that the buffer areas on the receiving side are filled if possible as needed, but without leading to to overfilling on the delivery side.

In principle, buffer zones can be configured arbitrarily. According to the invention, the buffer zones are each formed with several buffer sections. Different objects can be delivered to or withdrawn from the individual buffer sections, with the individual buffer section filling up with the same objects. In this connection, for a compact and efficient construction of the device, it is expedient if several buffer sections are arranged adjacently and/or superimposed. It is also preferred in this context that the buffer storage sections are designed to run inclined. In this respect, it can be provided in particular that the intermediate storage sections are in each case inclined downwards in the direction of transport. For the automatic movement of the objects, the buffer sections can preferably be configured with rolling and/or sliding agents. Thanks to the inclined configuration of the buffer sections, objects can be automatically moved from a delivery position to a removal position. If rolling and/or sliding agents are provided, preferably at the bottom of the buffer sections, the automatic movement of the objects is significantly facilitated.

In order to arrange objects of the same type in each case, for example food boxes of a certain type in a row, it is provided according to the invention that a detection device for detecting the objects is arranged before a first intermediate storage area. and that a sorting unit is provided that sorts the objects in the first buffer zone based on the detection. Advantageously, the detection equipment is an optical detection equipment. For example, a camera can be provided which is connected to a computer, so that a correct association can be made using a captured image and by comparing the image with data stored in a database. Of course, a manual entry is also possible.

According to the invention, along the transport route after the first intermediate storage area, at least one mobile removal unit is provided with which objects can be removed from the first intermediate storage area. In particular, if several adjacent and superimposed buffer sections are provided in the first buffer zone, such a removal unit is favorable for transferring the objects from the individual buffer sections onto a single conveyor agent. or, if necessary, also to various transport agents.

For similar reasons, it is provided that along the transport route before a second intermediate storage area, at least one mobile loading unit is provided with which objects can be delivered to the second intermediate storage area. If the first and the second buffer zone are arranged adjacent to each other, the extraction unit for the first buffer zone can be integrally configured with the charging unit for the second buffer zone, so that the expenditure on equipment.

According to the invention, the sorting unit is configured to run continuously along the transport route before the first buffer zone and after the second buffer zone in order to sort objects in the first buffer zone and remove them from the second buffer zone. intermediate. Again, a structurally simple configuration of the device results. The sorting unit usually has at least one transport unit for moving the objects from a transport agent to an intermediate storage location or vice versa. However, various transport equipments can also be provided, depending on the configuration of the size of the device.

If provided, the at least one washing facility is advantageously arranged above or below another part of the transport route. This makes it possible to guide objects in a loop to save space.

The other object of the invention is solved if, in a method of the type mentioned at the beginning, a detection device is used to detect the objects before the first buffer zone and with a sorting unit the objects are sorted in the first detection-dependent buffer zone, the sorting unit being arranged to run continuously along the transport route before the first buffer zone and after the second buffer zone and with the sorting unit objects in the first buffer area are sorted and removed from the second buffer area.

In a method according to the invention, the advantages are obtained that, for example, continuous washing or general handling is possible, but at the same time individual packages of different objects can be provided. Therefore, it is not absolutely necessary to manipulate a certain type of objects when a different type of objects must be retrieved. Within groups of different objects, the same objects are temporarily stored together and are also guided through the device together.

The objects are expediently delivered to several buffer sections, preferably several buffer sections arranged adjacently and/or on top of each other, optionally sloping buffer sections. The same objects are placed in each individual buffer section, such that each individual buffer section is used for a specific type of objects or for identical objects.

According to the invention, a detection equipment is used to detect the objects before a first buffer area and the objects are sorted in the first buffer area with a sorting unit based on the detection. If the various objects are classified in such a way that in each case identical objects are arranged in a buffer section, then the flow of objects can be controlled without additional detection.

Preferably, it can also be provided that the objects are automatically delivered to the buffer zones. In particular, the flow of objects can also be controlled in this connection in particular in such a way that a balanced proportion of the individual objects or of several parts of a certain object is always available both in a first delivery-side buffer zone located before of the at least one washing facility or other peripheral zone, such as in a second extraction-side buffer zone located after the at least one washing facility or other peripheral zone.

Other characteristics, advantages and effects of the invention can be seen from the exemplary embodiment presented below. In the drawings referred to in this connection, they show:

Figure 1 a perspective view of a device according to the invention;

Figure 2 a side view of a device according to the invention.

In figure 1 a device 1 according to the invention for washing objects 2 is schematically shown. In principle, instead of the washing installation 6, any other peripheral unit can also be provided in which the objects 2 are treated or otherwise manipulated. The device 1 comprises a reception area 4 for the objects 2 to be supplied and a delivery area 5 for the objects 2 to be extracted, which are cleaned or washed in the device 1 in the manner that will be explained below. continuation. The goods are received in the receiving area 4. The objects 2 to be cleaned are delivered to this area. In this sense, these can be in particular food boxes that are used to transport fresh products such as fruit and vegetables to supermarkets and then present the goods there or pick them up. Boxes of food to be cleaned typically arrive stacked or nested inside each other on pallets at the goods incoming or receiving area 4. Depending on the delivery company, the containers may be of the same type, but this is not necessarily the case. Multiple pallets can be stacked on top of each other as permitted by law. In a rough representation, the objects 2 to be cleaned are received in the receiving area 4, then guided through the device 1 with one or more conveying agents 3, passing through a washing facility 6 and, finally, they leave device 1 again in delivery zone 5.

When passing through the device 1, the individual pallets first pass through a sorting equipment 16, if necessary, before passing through a checkpoint 17, where the staff can check the packages. The objects 2, which are still stacked in this state, then pass through a detection device 11. The detection device 11 is generally equipped with optical elements so that the type of container present can be quickly recognized by comparison with the data in the database. The containers then continue on the conveying agent 3 and are fed to a so-called portal robot or a sorting unit 12. The length of the sorting unit 12 is such that it extends over the entire width of an intermediate storage area. 7 adjoining. The buffer area 7 is configured into a first buffer area 9 and a second buffer area 10. Both the first buffer area 9 and the second buffer area 10 each comprise several buffer sections. 8. As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, provision is preferably made for several buffer sections 8 to be arranged adjacent to each other and to form the first buffer area 9 and the second buffer area in each case. 10. The containers or objects 2 generally moving along a transport route T are delivered to the individual intermediate storage sections 8 of the first intermediate storage area 9 by sorting equipment 12 or a so-called picking robot. portal. For this, at least one conveyor unit 15, preferably several, is provided on the sorting device 12, which can be moved along the sorting device 12 and also in height, so that the individual containers are associated with a single section. buffer section 8 according to the detection by the detection unit 11. Each buffer section 8 is filled with identical objects. However, different buffer sections 8 can be filled with objects 2 that are different from each other. It is also possible to use several buffer sections 8 for identical objects 2 in each case. The way in which the intermediate storage sections 8 are occupied depends on how many different objects 2 or containers of different types are to circulate through the device 1. At the same time, the sorting equipment 12 is configured in such a way that it can also remove objects 2 from one end of the second buffer zone 10 and transfer them to a conveying agent 3. The individual buffer sections 8 are each inclined in the conveying direction R both in the first buffer zone 9 and in each other. the second buffer zone 10 and are advantageously configured with rolling and/or sliding agents. Thanks to the inclined configuration, the objects 2 can be delivered to the first buffer zone 9 with the sorting equipment 12 and slide or slide down, so that there is always a filling on the opposite withdrawal side of the first buffer zone 9, provided that the corresponding objects 2 are present. The situation is analogous in the second buffer zone 10, there also being an inclination in the transport direction. However, the second buffer zone 10 or its buffer sections 8 in the device according to FIG. 1 run in the opposite direction. At the end of the first buffer zone 9 there is a longitudinally movable removal unit 13 with height-adjustable gripping equipment, with which objects 2 or containers are removed from the buffer sections 8 of the first storage area intermediate 9 and are delivered to a conveyer 3. If, as in the exemplary embodiment, these are stacked containers, they first pass through a second sorting unit 18, then they are conveyed by means of a conveyer 3 in a arc of 180° and then, as can be seen in particular in figure 2, they pass through a washing facility 6 arranged below or above the second sorting unit 18. Due to the curved guide and the inclination associated with this , coarser dirt can already be removed when it falls from the containers. For the same reason, it is also useful to store the containers upside down for later cleaning or washing. At the end of the washing installation 6, the objects 2 or containers are stacked up again. The stacks thus formed are delivered to the buffer sections 8 of the second buffer zone 10 with a loading unit 14. Thanks to the mentioned inclined configuration of the buffer sections 8 in the area of the second zone intermediate storage 10, the individual stacks of containers are again slid to a stop at the opposite end, where the stacks of containers can be removed with the sorting unit 12 as required and delivered to a conveyor 3. The containers are then taken away to drop zone 5, where they can be removed as needed.

As can be seen in figure 1, at least two washing installations 6 are provided. Washing of the supplied plastic pallets can also be provided. The corresponding pallets are guided along a conveyor 31 and, after being sorted if necessary in a third sorting unit 19, through a washing facility 61. The pallets can finally be removed from the side.

With a device 1 according to the invention, objects 2 or, in particular, containers such as food boxes, which are the same within a certain typology, but different depending on the type, can be effectively cleaned or washed without causing a lack of a certain type when it should be available quickly. This is essentially due to the first intermediate storage area 9 and the second intermediate storage area 10, which are arranged in the transport direction R before and after the washing facilities 6. The invention thus offers a washing arrangement that is structurally relatively simple to implement with a high degree of flexibility in the provision of different containers.

Although the above exemplary embodiment refers to food boxes, other shipping boxes, for example those used in automotive manufacturing, can also be cleaned. In all cases, the intermediate storage of containers allows efficient control of the procedure.

Claims (8)

A device (1) for handling objects (2), in particular a plurality of different containers such as food boxes, comprising at least one conveying agent (3) for transporting the objects (2) along a delivery route. transportation (T) from a receiving area (4) to a delivery area (5) and to at least one peripheral area, such as a washing facility (6), which is designed for objects (2) to be handled there ), the peripheral area being arranged between the reception area (4) and the delivery area (5) and the objects (2) being able to be guided through it, intermediate storage areas (7) being provided for the temporary accommodation of identical objects (2) along the transport route (T) before and after the at least one peripheral zone, the buffer zones (7) being configured in each case with several buffer sections ( 8), with at least one mobile removal unit (13) being provided along the transport route (T) after a first intermediate storage area (9) with which objects (2) can be removed from the first area of intermediate storage (9), and being provided along the transport route (T) at least one mobile loading unit (14) in front of a second intermediate storage area (10) with which the objects can be loaded (2) in the second intermediate storage area (10), characterized in that , in front of the first intermediate storage area (9), a detection equipment (11) is arranged to detect the objects (2) and a sorting unit (12) which sorts the objects (2) in the first buffer zone (9) based on detection, and the sorting unit (12) is arranged to run continuously along the transportation route (T) in front of the first buffer zone (9) and after the second buffer zone (10), to bring objects (2) to the first buffer zone (9) and remove them from the second buffer zone intermediate storage (10). Device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the buffer sections (8) are configured with an inclined course. Device (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the buffer sections (8) are configured in each case to be inclined downwards in the transport direction (R) and for the automatic movement of the objects (2) preferably with rolling and/or sliding agents. Device (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the sorting unit (12) comprises at least one conveying device (15) for moving the objects (2) from a conveying agent (3) to an intermediate location of the first buffer zone (9) or second buffer zone (10) or vice versa. Device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the at least one peripheral zone is a washing facility (6) and the washing system (6) is arranged above or below another part of the transport route (T). 6. Method for handling objects (2), in particular a plurality of different containers such as food boxes, the objects (2) being transported with at least one conveying agent (3) along a transport route (T) from a receiving zone (4) to a delivery zone (5) and being guided in this connection through at least one peripheral zone, such as a washing installation zone, in which the objects (2) are handled , the peripheral zone being arranged between the reception zone (4) and the delivery zone (5), the objects (2) being temporarily housed in intermediate storage zones (7) along the transport route (T) before and after the at least one peripheral area, the buffer areas (7) being configured in each case with several buffer sections (8), at least one mobile removal unit (13) being used along the route of transport (T) after a first intermediate storage area (9) with which objects (2) can be removed from the first intermediate storage area (9), and used along the transport route (T) to the least one mobile loading unit (14) in front of a second intermediate storage area (10), with which the objects (2) can be delivered to the second intermediate storage area (10), characterized in that , in front of the first buffer zone (9), a detection equipment (11) is used to detect the objects (2) and a sorting unit (12) classifies the objects (2) in the first buffer zone (9) into function of detection, the sorting unit (12) being arranged to run continuously along the transport route (T) in front of the first intermediate storage area (9) and after the second intermediate storage area (10 ), objects being taken (2) to the first buffer zone (9) and removed from the second buffer zone (10). The method according to claim 6, characterized in that the objects (2) are delivered to several buffer sections (8) arranged adjacent to and/or optionally superimposed on buffer sections (8) running parallel to each other. inclined. Method according to one of Claims 6 or 7, characterized in that the objects (2) are automatically delivered to the intermediate storage areas (7).