FI80247B - Arrangement for handling product units stacked in load pallet pattern - Google Patents

Description

80247

Equipment for handling product unit stacks in a pallet pattern

The invention relates to an apparatus with which stacks of product units assembled in a pallet pattern can be delivered as aligned stacking strings. In particular, the invention relates to the treatment of beverage basket stacks as pallet units so that the beverage basket stacks can be disassembled from the pallet pattern in an aligned manner, for example for delivery to a transport or storage track. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the stacks of baskets palletized in irregular patterns can also be handed over, so that all the handed-off stacks have baskets with the same, selected side in the handover direction.

Such a targeted delivery operation may be possible, for example, when unloading product unit pallets, such as beverage basket units, on a transport track or, alternatively, on several parallel storage tracks.

Regularly shaped product units, such as beverage baskets, are conveniently loaded for transport on pallets so that as much of the pallet surface as possible is used, but that the extreme dimensions of the pallet are not exceeded. To facilitate the handling of loads, loading is performed in stacks consisting of product units stacked on top of each other in the same place. The height of the stacks naturally depends on the height of the product unit, and for example, for beverage baskets, the height of the stack is usually 5-7 baskets per stack.

Efforts have been made to standardize the size of pallets, but despite this, there are several "standard sizes" of pallets. In addition, given that the bottom dimensions of the beverage baskets vary depending on the bottle sizes packed in the baskets, a number of suitable pallet patterns are created between the pallets and the bottle baskets. Some of the patterns are so-called. regular, i.e. all basket stacks are on the stage in the same direction. Usually, these regular patterns have three parallel rows in at least one direction of the pallet, with two, three or four parallel rows in the other direction, depending on the size of the baskets. A pallet pattern with two parallel rows of basket stacks is also commonly used.

Instead, some of the figures have to be made in the so-called as irregular patterns, in which boxes are stacked in one row with their width: length dimension rotated 90 ° with respect to the other two rows. Such an anomalous queue may be at the edge of the pallet or as a middle queue.

These pallet loads are handled, for example, in distribution warehouses, where they come from a soft drink bottling plant, a brewery or a similar supplier. In order to handle the load appropriately, the aim is to unload the product unit stack (basket stack) one by one, which stacks are fed in succession, for example to a conveyor. One such application of a conveyor system is an intermediate storage consisting of several parallel conveyors. Each conveyor has units containing a specific type of product, such as baskets in successive stacks. Distribution loads are formed from the discharge end of these parallel conveyors, from each storage conveyor, or track, by collecting product units on order.

In the simplest cases, pallet loads are unloaded onto storage tracks by hand. However, in order to facilitate the work and achieve more flexible operation, an attempt has been made to arrange this discharge into a mechanical and automated function. In these cases, the pallet load is transferred in its entirety to a special delivery platform, from which 3 80247 basket stacks are pushed onto the transport or storage tracks. Preferably, such a delivery platform is arranged as a distribution trolley, with which the pallet can be moved to its own product line.

However, the problem with these delivery pallet systems has been the simple, rapid alignment of the stacks on the pallet, regardless of the size of the basket, as well as the smooth removal of the aligned basket stack queue for transport or storage.

One pallet unloading device enabling alignment is described in Swedish publication publication No. 350 744, which is mainly suitable for unloading single-layer pallet loads. According to the operating principle of this equipment, the pallet load placed on the delivery platform is unloaded as pallet pattern sequences applied to the conveyor below the delivery platform. To enable operation, the delivery tray is divided substantially in the middle into two halves in the direction of the discharge conveyor. These halves are removable from each other, whereby the line of goods at the dividing point falls on the conveyor below. The product line dropped on this conveyor can be aligned with the conveyor by pushing the product line sideways towards each other with returnable delivery plane halves. At the same time, the product queues left on the delivery level halves, which may extend beyond the distribution edge, are transferred to the distribution edge of the distribution level halves. The queues on the halves are in turn pushed onto the ejector cassette after the previous queue exits.

Said known apparatus requires a change in the height position of the product line to be aligned for removal. In this case, the products in the queue, as well as the products left on the delivery level halves, may be tilted. Thus, it is not possible to process higher product queues with this equipment.

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According to the invention, a substantial improvement in the problems of previously used equipment is provided by a hardware structure, the essential features of which appear from the appended claim 1. In particular, an apparatus with the special features of the appended claim 2 has proved advantageous for processing irregular pallet patterns.

The invention is explained by means of the accompanying drawing, in which

Figure 1 shows the most common stage patterns, especially those used in beverage baskets,

Figure 2 shows a general embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention, seen from above,

Figure 3 shows a possible initial operation phase model of the apparatus of Figure 2 for aligning the stack to be removed with respect to the storage path

Figure 4 shows an embodiment of the apparatus according to Figure 2 at different stages of operation for delivering an irregular platform pattern.

Figure 1 shows the most common patterns used in particular when transporting beverage baskets by pallet load. The choice of pattern depends on the pallet used and the bottom dimensions of the body. Figures a to d are so-called, irregular patterns in which one stack row is different from the other two rows in relation to the basket dimensions. Figures e - h are instead the so - called. regular patterns with baskets in parallel on all stacks. For short baskets, the pattern usually comprises three parallel rows, while the pallet pattern of Figure f is commonly used for long baskets. Pattern h can be considered a partially exceptional pattern of small baskets.

According to these figures, the aim is to remove the basket stacks from the pallets loaded on the transport or storage tracks one by one, and preferably also in such a way that all the stacks to be removed have the baskets in the same direction. Particularly with regard to the utilization of storage space, it has proved advantageous for the baskets to be fed to the tracks long side first. From the point of view of this pallet unloading function, it would be advantageous if the entire pallet could be processed as an automatic function and, in addition, so that the basket stacks leave the processing equipment substantially aligned.

In order to achieve such a function, the so-called regular pallet patterns are substantially simpler to handle than irregular ones, but the delivery processing of regular patterns also involves the problem of precise alignment of basket stacks as well as smooth removal. The apparatus according to the invention has both the problem of aligning the stacks of baskets to be delivered and the undisturbed delivery of the baskets.

The basic point for your invention is that the pallet receiving processing level is divided into two parts, one comprising about 1/3 and the other 2/3 of the total area of the level, respectively. In addition, these planar sections are made to be spaced apart from the respective dividing line and to be returned to each other, respectively. In addition to this, it must be possible to move the stacking rows of the pallet load in a certain manner in a controlled manner on the handling plane, with which the desired total function can be achieved together with the mutual movements of the plane parts.

Figure 2 shows a handling plane 1 implemented as a dividing train, which is arranged at the receiving end of the storage tracks 10 to be guided to move in a transverse direction relative to the storage tracks 6 80247. According to the invention, the cover of the carriage is divided on the dividing line 2 into two parts in a ratio of about 1/3: 2/3. These sub-levels, level 1/3 and level 2/3, can be spaced apart perpendicular to dividing line 2 and returned to each other. Preferably, this movement is implemented in such a way that the 1/3 plane is movable relative to the 2/3 plane. In order to achieve the intended operation, the apparatus also includes pushers 3 and 4, of which the pusher 3 is movable substantially 2/3 of the plane in a direction perpendicular to the dividing line 2. The pusher 4, in turn, moves in the direction of the dividing line 2 over the 1/3 plane, and the function of this pusher is to remove the 1/3 level, aligned basket stack sequence on the storage track or conveyor 10. The pusher 3 in turn moves the basket stacks in the 2/3 plane as will be explained later. In addition, the apparatus includes means for providing controlled movements of the pushers, which are well known in the art and are not described in detail herein. Similar pushers have been described e.g. in Swedish Patent Publication 350,744.

A part of the operation of the equipment in question, i.e. a method of aligning the basket stack to be removed first, is explained in Figure 3.

Fig. A in Fig. 3 shows a pallet-laden beverage baskets 9 handed over to the processing level 1, for example from a pallet removal device known per se. This is a regular, three-row pallet pattern. The control of the apparatus is given in advance information about the pallet pattern on the processing plane, and in connection with the transfer of the pattern, the preferred delivery direction of the pattern in question is also taken into account, whereby the pattern is placed on the processing plane.

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This pallet pattern is unloaded one row at a time so that each row to be removed from the plane exits at a predetermined, preselected location. Direction A has been selected as the queue deletion direction.

As mentioned above, the processing plane 1 is divided along the line 2 into two parts 1 'and 1'1, the size of which is about 1/3 and about 2/3 of the total area of the plane, respectively. The La-pattern is set according to the preconditions so that one of the outermost rows of the stage pattern occurs substantially on the 1/3 plane.

In the next step, the parts of the plane are spaced apart, preferably the 1/3 plane perpendicular to the dividing line 2 from the 2/3 plane according to Fig. 2b. The 2/3-level pusher 3 is then activated, by which the two parallel stack strings in the 2/3-plane are pushed towards the dividing line and the edge of the middle stack queue is aligned with the dividing line 2 (Figure 2c). Push 3 is locked in this position. After aligning the middle box row with the dividing line 2, the 1/3 plane is returned to the 2/3 plane, whereby the stack at the 1/3 level collides with the stacks at the 2/3 level. When the pusher 3 is in place, the stacking line in the 1/3 level has to slide, whereby the edge towards the center of its pattern settles on the dividing line 2. When the 1/3 level is then recalculated a certain distance from the 2/3 level, the 1/3 level the box queue to be exactly at the right position with respect to the processing plane assembly 1, which position can be adapted, for example, as the location of the storage conveyor 10 (see Fig. 2). The aligned basket stack queue is pushed onto the storage conveyor (or similar discharge conveyor) by pusher 4. The 1/3 level is then returned to the 2/3 level and the pusher 3 is activated to move the middle stack of the pattern to the 1/3 level. The operation of the pusher 3 can be programmed so that the following stacking strings are moved to the 1/3 level on the basis of the prediction orientation obtained from the control stack pattern, so that after the 1/3 level is removed, the stack is automatically in the correct position with the pusher 4. for deletion. The reciprocating movement of the 1/3 plane relative to the 2/3 plane described above then serves to define a 0 point for the control of the pusher 3. Alternatively, the reciprocating movements of the 1/3 level can be repeated for each stack and the alignment of the stack to be delivered in each case can be performed in the same way as for the first stack.

In the case of an irregular pallet pattern, the boxes in one stack would be different from the boxes in the other rows, so that a special implementation of the apparatus according to Figure 4 of the accompanying drawing is required to control this situation.

According to a special embodiment of the present invention, the 1/3 plane is further divided into three parts 7 by separating lines 8 running perpendicular to the dividing line 2 between the 1/3 plane and the 2/3 plane. These sub-levels 7 are spaced apart from these separation lines. In addition, the sub-planes 7 are made to rotate 90 ° about a vertical axis. Rotational motion can be provided by institutions known in the art, such as stepper motors.

The operation continues from step e) of Fig. 3 according to step a) of Fig. 4, i.e. the basket stacks of the middle stack row are pushed onto the 1/3 level returned in connection with the 2/3 level. In the future, the 1/3 plane is moved away from the dividing line 2, as well as the subplanes 7 according to Fig. 4b, the baskets in the 1/3 plane are next rotated 90 ° about the vertical axis (Fig. 4c), where they will be a long side in the discharge direction. After the rotation step, the sub-planes 7 are returned to each other (Fig. 4 d), after which the box string can be removed with a pusher 4. A possible variation may be to align the stack string according to steps c, d and e of Fig. 3 above.

The last basket in the row is aligned with the pusher 3 to the 1/3 level and removed with the pusher 4.

As described above in connection with the operating models of the equipment, the equipment is capable of handling various, regular or irregular, pallet loads consisting of product unit stacks. In this case, the dimensions of the product units occurring between the different pallet loads also do not cause difficulties, but the unit dimensions can vary within rather wide limits. For example, with beverage baskets, the dimensions of the baskets between pallet loads can vary within a range of about 60 mm.

Although the delivery operation of the equipment has been described above to take place at the storage track or the discharge conveyor, it is advantageous to program the distribution carriage to take place so that the internal functions of the carriage can take place while the carriage is moving, such as during a transition movement.

Claims (3)

10 80247 Apparatus for delivering regular product units, such as beverage baskets, as stack rows aligned with the delivery point from a pallet pattern on a processing plane (1) consisting of two or three parallel rows of stacks, characterized in that the processing plane (1) is divided by a dividing line (2) substantially 1/3: 2/3 to parts d ', resp, 11 *), and that the apparatus has means for moving the 1/3 plane perpendicular to the dividing line (2) to a predetermined distance from the 2/3 plane, respectively for returning to the 2/3 plane, substantially 2 Pusher (3) extending parallel to the dividing line (2), transfer means (5) for moving the pusher over the 2/3 plane perpendicular to the dividing line (2), limit members, respectively stepping means for movement of the transfer means (5) of the pusher (3) for guiding, a pusher (4) extending substantially 1/3 of the width of the plane, and means (6) for moving the pusher (4) 1/3 of the length yii. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the 1/3 plane is divided into three sub-planes (7) of substantially equal size by dividing lines (8) perpendicular to the dividing line (2), and has means for rotating the sub-planes (3) 90 ° about the vertical axis . Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the handling platform (1) is constructed as a dividing trolley advancing in a straight line and that the 1/3 plane is arranged to dispense product unit stacks at parallel storage tracks (10) perpendicular to the trolley path. n 80247