FI120681B - A method and gripper for lifting upright rolls of material and a corresponding transfer system - Google Patents

Description

A method and gripper for lifting upright rolls of material and a corresponding transfer system

The invention relates to gripping material web rolls for lifting.

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It is known, for example, from patent application FI20010369 to handle rollers with a forceps. Applying the solution to the warehouse requires space for each of the rollers to be held by the gripping / lifting mechanisms, and the storage space can only be partially utilized. Alternatively, if the stock is filled / emptied only at the edges, the flexibility is limited to 10. In this case, not all storage locations will have free access.

Cranes operating in vertical storage are most commonly used suction cup grippers. Because the lifting capacity of the gripper is determined by the suction area, an effort is made to apply the suction to as much of the end surface of the roll as possible. Typical paper mill rolls 15 have a diameter range of 700mm to 1500mm. The simplest way to control the area is to divide the grippers into several annular zones. Such solutions are described, for example, in FI 971382, US 5470117 and FI 104552 B.

A particular weakness of the large diameter suction gripper is that the 20 small diameter rollers have to be stacked in small, largest diameter distributions. In the solution according to patent application FI 20002089, the loose extension rings have been made to adapt the gripper size to the diameter of the roll. However, if roller diameters are constantly changing, changes in the gripper settings will significantly slow down the operation of the equipment. The suction grip is not enough for lifting wide and heavy jumbo rollers.

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GB 1388320 describes a solution in which a suction cup grip is connected to a suction cup grip on the end of a roll to grip the inside of the sleeve.

The aforementioned suction grippers as well as the swelling inches are suitable for handling unpacked rolls 30. To ensure that the packed roll is held in place, the wrapper must be pierced. In this way, the suction is also affected under the wrap. Such a solution is described in U.S. Patent No. 3,515,424. However, patch wrapping after transfer causes additional costs.

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Because the safety factor for the suction grip is as low as 1.5, extra control is required to prevent uncontrolled removal of the roll. DE 4106916 C1 discloses a stepwise increase in pressure which allows the safety factor to be minimized but does not eliminate the problem itself. FR 2859197 discloses a solution 5 per se. This is suitable for a standard-sized container, but worse for a roll of paper whose lower end location can vary over a wide range, extending from 0.3 to 4.5 m below the suction grab.

US 5791861 also describes 10 grippers for barrels or the like, with suction cups acting on the area of the diaper. When handling a heavy roll of paper, the grip of the gripper is not sufficient.

In the solution described in DE 4114499, support arms are added to the suction gripper on four sides of the diaper surface. This prevents the roller from detaching under the action of rapid oscillations 15.

The solution described in DE 19716747 A1 is based on the diameter of the roll and is advantageous for space use. Six slender grippers are optimally positioned in the clearance between the roll stacks. In practice, however, the solution is only suitable for relatively small, lightweight rolls. The transmission of the required clamping force from the roller clamping mechanism to the roller shell surface results in remarkably robust structures and very high weight of the gripper. In addition, movement mechanisms with many angular gears make the solution expensive. A slightly simpler alternative to the foregoing is described in JP6298485.

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The above solutions lack the ability to automatically adjust the grip force according to the load. This is known to be accomplished by the scissor mechanisms according to DE 3822228 and US 2959444. However, these are solutions that require a lot of space and the compressive force is not optimal throughout the diameter range. FR 2699908 30 describes a wedging mechanism which engages the upper end of the roll.

What is common to all grippers gripping the roll shell surface is that they are unable to convey sufficient gripping force to the very bottom. However, reaching down is a necessary feature in order to transport multiple bundles of rolls at the same time.

3 Release by suction grip Only one roll at a time can be carried with the same gripper. In addition, the rolls of paper are relatively susceptible to damage by bumping or excessive crimping: the end of the roll may have rays that interfere with the roll unwinding and may cause breaks and / or tears or bumps on the roll surface to remove some of the roll surface. In fact, roller defects cause at least extra work and, at worst, complaints from customers.

In general, roller gripping technology is described on the Internet at www.bartholornv.de 10 There are other problems besides the roller gripping described above.

Porous materials, such as cardboard, are permeable to air flow. To achieve traction on the suction grip, the air flow rate must be high. With certain materials, the so-called '' telescoping '' tend to lead to a situation where only the inside or outside of the gripped 15 rolls is released. The layers of strips slip downward in a spiral fashion.

The roller tracking system monitors the roller flow through the process. For tracking, it is advantageous to read the roll information both before and after the roll is in storage. WO 2004/075103 A1 describes roller tracking based on RFID technology. It is difficult for prior art solutions to be able to reliably read RFID tags in an unfavorable orientation relative to the position of the antenna through thick layers of material webs.

It is an object of the invention to avoid or at least reduce the problems associated with adhesion.

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According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method according to claim 1 for gripping a vertical web of material web.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a gripper 30 according to claim 10 for gripping material web rolls.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided an automatic transfer system for material web rollers comprising a gripper according to another aspect of the invention.

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Preferably, the same gripper can handle both packed and unpackaged rolls over the entire diameter of the mill rolls. The gripper may still be relatively small in space, although the gripping force of the gripper may be dimensioned for loads greater than 10 tons. When the grip is applied to the lowest roll of the stack, several 5 rolls can be transported at the same time. Compared to the suction grip, the grip is more secure, and even a long-term power failure does not pose a risk of load shedding.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) readability can be improved by positioning the RFID antennas in an angular position such that obscuration is eliminated. A larger number of contact elements than two provides the possibility of an antenna position deviating by 180 degrees. By eliminating obscure orientations, the readability of RFID tags is substantially improved.

Various embodiments of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. It will be appreciated that inventions of 15 different embodiments may be incorporated into inventions of other independent claims.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, without limiting the invention to these examples.

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Figure 1 shows an embodiment of the invention in side view, partly in section and simplified.

Figure 2 is a side view of another embodiment of the invention.

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Figure 3 illustrates an embodiment of the invention, in simplified form, placed in a vertical roll storage.

Figure 4 illustrates an operating principle of an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 5 shows another embodiment of the invention in side view, partly in section and simplified.

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Figures 6a, 6b and 6c illustrate a side view and a simplified view of aligning the movable roll with the stack at various stages of the transfer.

The central idea of an embodiment of the invention is that the adhesive force on the contact strip members 4 of the gripper 2 clamping against the web roll 1 is produced by generating, at a tensile height, a tensile stress on the one or The bandage may wrap one or more of the contact members, and / or the bandage may be attached to the edge of the one or more contact members such that the contact member or its body forms part of the bandage.

For the sake of clarity, Figure 1 illustrates two winding machines located on different sides of the central axis. Alternatively, there may be more or fewer winding machines. The folding members of the bandage 15 have not been described at all. The roll 1a is in the grip of the two contact members 4a, 4b of the gripping device 3 of the gripper 2. In practice, there are preferably more contact members / lifting members. One or more rolls may be carried on the gripping roll 1a. In the figure, the top roll of the stack is In. The body 6 of the gripper 2 is connected, for example, by means of wires 7 or the like to the lifting machinery of the actual transfer equipment, such as a bridge crane. The gripper body 6 attaches, preferably evenly, a moving device for lifting means 8 which, when grabbing, moves the lifting means 8 towards the roll and during the removal step away from the roll. In one embodiment of the invention, the transfer apparatus is implemented by a parallel mechanism where the levers 9 and 10 are pivotally connected at their upper ends to the lugs of the body 6 and at the lower end to the lifting member bracket 11. The transfer apparatus may, of course, be formed by other known biases such as fixed

Most preferably, the center 6 of the body 6 has a centering mechanism 12. In the centering mechanism, the pivoting disk 13, which is rotatable relative to the body, is rotated by a power unit 14 via belt or chain drive, gear or other power transmission. The pivoting plate has pivots 15 on the same circumference, evenly spaced. The transfer arms 16 are pivotally attached at one end to the shafts 15 and at the other end to the lifting means 8 or brackets 11. Preferably, the opening of the gripper is measured by an absolute transducer 21 or

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The operating principle of the gripping apparatus is illustrated in Figure 4. The gripping apparatus shown in the figure with a solid line has a larger roller diameter 1. The dotted line shows a smaller roller an for gripping the same gripping apparatus. 5 moving to tighten the grip or engage a smaller diameter kelauselin roll 17a rotates about its axis in a clockwise direction of arrow CL, and kelauselin 17b rotates counterclockwise about its axis in the direction of the arrow CCL. In the illustrated embodiment, both winding members 17a and 17b coil a tensioner or bandage 18 from both directions on the coils 19a and 19b. Between the winding members, one or more folding members, such as folding drums 20, may be disposed, each of the winding members and the folding members being associated with their own contact member and lifting member.

In the embodiment of Figure 3, a gripper with six lifting and contacting means is disposed in a roll storage between the roll stacks.

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In the embodiment of Figure 2, the antennas 30a and 30b of the RFID sensors read / write devices are preferably located in at least two contact elements. The antennas are preferably located in the lower parts of the contact elements. In this case, when the gripper is threaded from above the roll / roll stack or vice versa, it is possible to read / write RFID tags 26 of all the rolls to be transported in a vertical movement. Most preferably, the antennas are disposed on the contact members so that

In the embodiments described, the bandage is wound on the same coil in two directions. In one embodiment (not shown), it is possible to achieve approximately two times the holding force of the same winding member with respect to bidirectional winding. Hereby, the bandage 18, most preferably the strap, is fixed at one end to the contact member or retaining structures of the winding member and at the other end to be wound on the reel of the winding member.

The winding apparatus 17,19 with its ties 18 may be one or more vertically adjacent to each other. 30 More parallel equipment allows the force to be distributed over a larger area, and lighter straps, such as thinner straps, can be used. Parallel bindings can also achieve relatively uniform tightening of the roll width, even if the roll has a thickness variation. By means of parallel ties, in one embodiment of the invention it is also possible to tighten different rolls stacked on top of each other, even if they have slightly different diameters.

For example, the activity of the infectious agent can be understood as follows.

5 - A rotational movement is transmitted from the power unit 14 to the pivot plate, as a result of which the lifting means 8 project outwardly from the center. The counter-force is generated, and the bandage is tightened as the motors 22 rotate the lifting members around their axis of rotation, providing a torque which tends to rotate the winding members 17 so that the bandage 18 extending around the roller 1 tends to tighten. The movement of the lifting members is terminated when the radius of the circle passing through the inner surfaces of the contacting members 10 is approximately 100 mm greater than the radius of the roll to be grasped. The gripper 2 is lowered so that the lowest gripping device 3 is positioned at a height where the lower edges of the contact members 4 are close to the lower end of the roller 1 or stack of the lowest roller 1a. During vertical movement, the RFID tags (26) of the rolls to be transported can be read. The motors 22 then rotate the winding members 8 in 15 directions, which causes the periphery of the bandage 18 to be shortened, whereby the contact members 4 are pressed against the roll 1. The movement is stopped when a torque sufficient to maintain sufficient gripping force in the gripping device is achieved. Most preferably, at the same time, the adhesion between the contact member and the roll, or a related quantity such as clamping force 32, is also measured. The gripper sensor 20 may comprise any of the following: a piezo element and a stretch tab.

The gear of the winding motor 22 is most preferably self-holding, and / or the winding motor and / or the winding machine is provided with a brake. In this case, there is no need for electricity to be connected to the motor during the roll transfer, and therefore a potential cut-off of the power supply may not pose a risk of the roll rolling off. The elongation of the bandage 18, the elastic compression of the roll 25 and the elasticities of the structures together result in a tensioning / holding force which is maintained during the roll transfer.

When the roller / roller has been lifted a few hundred mm, the securing is activated by one or more actuators 24, during which the critical step of roller / roller transfer is performed by securing at least one locking member 25 of the securing device 23 to a securing position S.

The gripping rollers are lifted against the docking members known per se for the crane's hoisting machinery.

8 - Once in the docking station, the gripper can be connected to the compressed air connection of the hoist, whereby the compressed air reservoir in the folding unit is filled while the gripper is connected to the docking station.

- The crane moves the gripper to the roller position.

5 - The crane begins to lower the folder down.

- Before the roller reaches the level of the leaving position, the blocking members are moved from the safety position S to the rest position S '.

When approaching the top roll of any stack at the drop-off point, the gripping rolls are preferably aligned with the top roll of the stack. By aligning 10 in this way, the staggering of the stack can be reduced and the stack can be dismantled without having to slide the rolls sideways.

Lowering continues until the roller reaches the drop position.

The motors 22 wind the straps in the open direction, while the power unit 14 pushes the lifting members / contact pads off the roll.

15 - When the distance between the touch pad and the roller reaches about 50 - 100 mm, lift the gripper to the upper position, then move the gripper to the next pickup position.

The aforementioned functions are performed automatically, under the control of programmable logic and / or computer.

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In one preferred embodiment, the safety device 23 can be moved from the rest position S 'to the safety position S using only one linear actuator, such as an air cylinder. For example, a solution known as a rifle lock is applied. The safety device is connected to a conveyor which moves vertically in a similar control box. First, the safety device 25 moves in a straight line vertically and, after advancing substantially to the lower end of the roll, with the straight guide portion of the slot turning curved, the blocking member 25 forcibly rotates under the lower end of the roll 1. The critical stage of the transfer is that portion of the transport where the roller can cause significant damage.

The embodiment shown in Figures 2 and 5 of the invention is advantageous in cases where the roll diameter is small. In this embodiment, power units may be omitted from the winding machines or alternatively assisted.

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The gripping device 3 moves vertically under the control of the lifting member 8. The lifting member 8 is preferably a ball screw with a very large pitch (considerably larger than that shown in the figures). Movement of the engaging device with respect to the lifting member in the axial = vertical direction forces the winding member 17 to rotate about the axis of the lifting member 8. The winding member 17 is most preferably a ball nut or the like. The winding member 17 is rotatable relative to the contact member 4. A bandage 18, such as a strap, ribbon, foil, wire, or the like, is wound around the winding member. At its ends, the bandage engages the winding members 17 of adjacent contact members, forming a reel 19 around them. The operation of this embodiment is as follows. The gripper contact members are first brought, by the power unit, into an initial compression contact against a web of material web. Thereafter, when starting to lift the gripper, the initial compression causes the frictional force to be raised by the friction, which, through force transmission, is forcibly converted into an attraction between the contacting members. The tensile countermeasure produces the actual gripping force as the contact members press more tightly against the web of material. The transmission is so dimensioned that the frictional force generated 15 is able to prevent slip on the contact means due to friction.

In the embodiment of Fig. 5, a solution to the "telescoping" problem is shown. This embodiment can be applied to unpacked rolls. In the center of the gripper is located a gripping core 27 either fixedly fixed to the gripper body or vertically movable by the lifting device 28, which grips the roll / bottom roll 1a from the inside surface of the sleeve and contributes to supporting the roll / rolls during transfer. Preferably, the positioning of the gripping inch is based on the dimension information of the sensor 29 disposed on the shaft of the lifting power unit. There is also a possible embodiment in which the aforementioned RFID tag reading antenna is located at 25 inches. In this case the reading distance is very short and the reading accuracy is good. Instead of the toothed bar transmission described, the gripping core 27 may be suspended by a wire, a chain, a belt or the like. This reduces the need for space above the gripper.

Fig. 6 illustrates the alignment of the roll / roll to be moved to the storage stack at different stages. 30 Roller warehouses often stack rolls in stacks higher than 10 meters. When lowering the movable roller / roller over a stack in storage, the roller / roller is preferably aligned with the end of the top roll of the stack. For clarity, the clamping fixtures of the gripper have not been described. In Fig. 6a, the pickup roller / roller lowest roller la is located in the pick-up position. In this case 10 is aligned, the rib 31 is moved above the plane of the lower end of the roll 1a, to the position P1. Preferably, at least three alignment members are spaced about the roll.

In Fig. 6b, the movable roll / roll bundle is lowered in stock onto the top roll 5 of the stack. As the stack is approaching, it is possible to move the alignment member (s) 31 to the pre-alignment position P2, whereby the alignment member begins to guide the roll as it encounters the upper end of the roll during descent. This saves time if the stress at the top of the roller can be assumed to withstand contact.

10 It is most advantageous to lower the roll / roll so close to the top of the roll that the alignment members avoid the top of the roll. The alignment members are then moved to position P3, at which position the facing surfaces of the alignment members are anchored to an imaginary extension of the roll 1a of the roll extending below the roll 1a. When moving to position P3, the contact elements simultaneously align the roll la with the end of the roll. Preferably, the alignment is performed simultaneously with the roller / roller bundle being slowly lowered over the roller end.

The abutment surface 31 resting on / facing the roller of the alignment member 31 may be formed by a roller, ski or the like.

When gripping the roller, it is necessary to secure the grip on the lower roller 1a before beginning the lifting and, most preferably, to maintain the grip during transfer. Advantageously, the securing can take place with at least one pressure sensor 32 integrated in the structure of the contact member 4. The sensor known per se is sketched in Figure 6a. The pressure sensor measures the compression of the sensing member 4f corresponding to the roll member 1a of the contact member against the back member 4b of the contact member 25. A pressure transducer 32 is disposed between the back portion 4b and the sensing portion 4f. Alternatively, a contact roll may be disposed on the contact member and connected to the pulse sensor. If the grip does not hold during lifting, the roller slides with respect to the contact member, in which case the roller rotates with the pulse sensor axis. In this way, the pulse encoder provides information about poor grip. For example, in the case where the lower roll roll 1a of the stack is smaller in diameter than the rolls above, a sufficient clamping force on the roll roll 1a may not be generated when tightened. In this case, based on the sensor information, an alarm is given and the transfer is not started.

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In addition to the solution of Figure 5, several other embodiments that contribute to securing adhesion are possible. It is possible to cover the contact members 4 with a high friction coating material 5 which is at the same time elastic. It is also possible to shape the contact elements into suction plates and increase their gripping force by means of a vacuum. Furthermore, it is possible to combine other gripping solutions known per se with the gripper according to the invention. For example, the suction plate can be positioned to grip the upper end of the roll.

In one embodiment, the solutions shown in Figures 1, 2 and 5 are combined. 10 With the power unit (s), the contact members are first pressed against the roll. The power unit is then locked in that position and the roll weight is affected by the action of the wedging members or the like so that the contact members are pressed against the roll when the roll is lifted and the gripping force is significantly proportional to the roll weight.

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Electric, pneumatic or hydraulic power units can be used in the gripper's motion mechanisms.

Various embodiments of the invention have been described above. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the 20 inventions may be used by combining any of the above features. Thus, the present invention is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims (19)

Method for lifting a vertical material web roller (1) with a gripper, characterized in that contact members (4) are placed against the sides of the roller (1) and around the roller (1) a contacting joint (4) is tensioned by tensioning the the contact means (4) being pressed against the roller to provide a friction sufficient to lift the roller. 2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the dressing is substantially tensioned at the gripping height by a material web roller (1) surrounding clamping means (18) for pressing the contact means (4) against the material web roller (1). Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that one or more rollers are transported on top of the gripped roller. 15 Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that a locking member (25) is placed below the roller to prevent the roller from falling. Method according to Claim 3 or Claims 3 and 4, characterized in that the roll gripped is moved on top of a roll stack and the roll gripped is directed according to the top roll (1pu) in said roll stack. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the contact member (4) of the tag gripper (2) is brought into initial pressing contact against the material web roller, whereupon, as the tag gripper starts to be lifted, the initial pressing under the influence of the friction produces a force which counteracts the lifting. force transfer, is forcibly transferred to a traction between the contact members, the counter force of which the actual grip force is formed as the contact members are pressed more tightly against the material web roller. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that a further grip is gripped by a grip (27) in the roller (1) in the inner crotch of the sleeve which forms the center of the roller, which for its part takes part in supporting the roller. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the vertical direction, the tag gripper's contact organ system is moved around the roll and communicates during the vertical movement thread with all rollers to be transported RFID identifiers (26). Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the gripped roller is moved in an automatic treatment system with a transport device, such as with a traverse crane, portal robot or the like, from a pick-up station to a delivery station, while the axis of rotation of the roller during transport is substantially vertical. 10. A gripper for lifting vertical gripping material web rolls (1), such as 5 paper or cardboard rolls, characterized in that in the roof gripper (2) there is substantially the gripping height for pressing the roller (1) contact means and a contact means surrounding joints (18). and means for forming a tension in the joint (18) and means for converting the tension to a compressive force between the contact means (4) and the material roll (1). 10 11. Tag gripper according to claim 10, characterized in that in the tag gripper there are retractors (17, 19) with associated joints (18) as one or more units vertically next to each other. 12. The tag gripper according to claim 11, characterized in that the tag gripper comprises a reel motor (22) and the reel motor gear for conveying a power from the reel motor to the reel device, and that the gear is self-braking and / or rewinding motor and reel coil engine. 13. The grabber according to any of claims 10 - 12, characterized in that in the grabber there are m pcs. a locking member (25) arranged to be adjusted under the roller to prevent the gripped roller (1a) from falling. Tag gripper according to any one of claims 10 - 13, characterized in that in order to check that the grip in the grip pours, a gripping measuring detector of the grip such as a pressure detector (32) is integrated into the structure of the contact member (4) and / or a detector for identifying off, if the roller that is raised with the grabber slides relative to the tag grabber. 15. A gripper according to any one of claims 10 - 14, characterized in that the tag gripper has fitting means (31), by means of which, where the roller / roller bundle to be transported is lowered on a stacked stack, the roller / roller bundle is directed according to the stack top mile (lpu). The tag grabber according to any of claims 10-15, characterized in that the tag grabber has means for communicating with RFID identifiers (26) located in the rollers as the tag grabber moves past the rollers. 17. A gripper according to any one of claims 10 to 16, characterized in that a gripper (27) movable in the vertical direction of the roof gripper is fixedly fixed in the frame of the roof gripper or a gripping device (27) which is adapted to grip the vertical direction. in the inner surface of the sleeve and for its part take part in supporting the roller during the movement. 5 18. Tag gripper according to any of claims 10 - 17, characterized in that in the tag gripper there is a compressed air container and means for connecting the compressed air container in the docking position to a compressed air connection unit for receiving compressed air to the compressed air container. 10 An automatic conveyor system for rolls of material characterized in that the system comprises a tag gripper according to any of claims 10-18.