FR2804944A1 - APPARATUS FOR STACKING PLATES - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for stacking plates on a lifting table (12). The plates (54) are lifted from a conveyor (10) by a transport fork (30) and sent to the table (12). After the descent of the fork (30) on the table (12), the latter is brought back and the plates (54) are oriented by a first vertical orientation element (28) of an orientation device ( 16) and the fork (30) is removed. Then, a second orientation element (36) opposite the first is applied. After the descent of the table (12), an orientation element (44 or 46) of a second orientation device (18) is applied to the two other sides of the plates to achieve additional alignment.

Description

The present invention relates to a stacker for destacking

  plates of the same format, isolated or in stacks, to make stacks of plates. This device comprises a roller conveyor transporting the articles to be stacked to a transfer station, a lifting table associated with the latter and arranged on the side of the transfer station, a de-stacking device, comprising a transport fork capable of moving horizontally in a reciprocating movement between the roller conveyor and the lifting table and which has teeth directed essentially in a horizontal plane, and an orientation device which comprises two orientation elements arranged in parallel one in facing each other, each having a vertical orientation surface, and one of which 15 can be moved and fixed in a horizontal direction and the other is placed in the area between the roller conveyor and the lifting table and constitutes a stop intended to push the articles to be stacked resting on the transport fork. A stacking device of this type is known from Austrian patent application AT 395 311 B. In this structure, the lifting table is located next to the transfer station of a roller conveyor using which we send items to be stacked, which come, for example, from a plate cutting saw, to make

stacks of plates.

  For the destacking, one uses, on the one hand, a de-stacking device which comprises a transport fork comprising teeth directed horizontally and which can move horizontally. This unstacking device is located on the side of the lifting table opposite that of the roller conveyor. On the other hand, an orientation device is provided for this purpose with the aid of which the articles to be stacked deposited on the lifting table can be aligned edge to edge in a direction perpendicular to the direction of transport of the roller conveyor. . The orientation device comprises, for this purpose, two orientation elements arranged parallel one opposite the other, which each have a vertical orientation surface and among which one can be arranged so as to io ability to move horizontally between roller conveyor and lifting table while the other is provided on the opposite side of the lifting table and below the fork

  for transporting the de-stacking device.

  This orientation element has a lifting fork directed upwards and can move vertically so that it can be controlled, from a lower position opposite the other orientation element, so as to move upward to reach a removal position. In this removal position, it engages, by its teeth, between the teeth of the fork

transport and seizes them.

  The orientation element thus forms a vertical stop on which circulate the articles to be stacked which rest on the transport fork during transport above the lifting table and which, as a result, are automatically removed from the transport fork which moves horizontally to its exit position which is next to the lifting table and deposited, for example on a pallet brought on the table

  lifting or similar support.

  After removal, the items to be stacked are aligned edge to edge in the direction of travel of the transport fork, and to this end, the lifting table and the steering element, which includes the fork tines, must be lowered far enough so that, then, the two orientation elements, located one opposite the other, are above the lifting table or a battery support placed on the latter and can be moved

horizontally one on top of the other.

  This known stacking device thus only makes it possible to align edge to edge of the isolated plates or stacks of plates placed one on the other, in a direction transverse to the direction of transport of the

roller conveyor.

  To achieve the edge-to-edge orientation in the transport direction of the roller conveyor, there are no means of orientation on the stacking device and this is why the articles to be stacked must already be positioned. by orienting them

  correspondingly on the roller conveyor.

  In the case of plate materials which have, on their flat faces, a particularly smooth surface obtained by plating, it is necessary to determine the transport speed as well as the working speed of the de-stacking device in such a way that the stacking items

  keep their respective positions when handling.

  The working speeds currently required cannot therefore be achieved, regardless of the fact that, even in the case of a carefully transferred material on the lifting table, the maintenance of the initial orientation of the articles

  stacking should not be insured.

  In addition, the relative arrangement of the roller conveyor, the lifting table and the unstacking device correspondingly requires large working displacements of the transport fork for unstacking since the latter must first be controlled to move over the lifting table towards the roller conveyor and, after taking care of the articles to be stacked, to move back again over the table

  lifting for its removal on the latter.

  For edge-to-edge alignment of the articles to be stacked transversely to the transport direction of the roller conveyor, the lifting table and the transport fork must be lowered independently of each other as well, for edge-to-edge orientation, to bring the transport fork out of the grip with the fork-shaped orientation element, only to be able to place the two orientation elements on the articles to be stacked above

i5 from the lifting table.

  The problem underlying the invention is to provide a stacking device intended for unstacking plates of the same format, isolated or in stacks, for making stacks of plates, comprising a roller conveyor transporting the articles to be stacked at a transfer station, a lifting table associated with the latter and arranged on the side of the transfer station, a de-stacking device, which includes a transport fork which can move horizontally in a back and forth movement between the conveyor roller and the lifting table and which has teeth oriented essentially in a horizontal plane, and an orientation device which comprises two orientation elements which are arranged parallel opposite one another, which each have a surface of vertical orientation and among which one can be moved and fixed in a horizontal direction and the other is arranged in the area between the roller conveyor and the lifting table and constitutes a stop intended to push the articles to be stacked resting on the transport fork which, on the one hand, works in a more advantageous way from the functional point of view and, on the other hand, allows '' edge-to-edge alignment of plate-like stackable items in a horizontal plane in two directions

perpendicular to each other.

  This problem is solved, in accordance with the invention, by the fact that the roller conveyor and the destacking device are arranged on the same side of the lifting table, in that the fork-shaped orientation element, arranged vertically between the roller conveyor and the lifting table, is fixed under the plane of movement of the roller conveyor and the other orientation element can be moved vertically and is produced in the form of a fork so that the teeth of the transport fork and the orientation element can be brought into mutual engagement, and in that at the lifting table, there is added an orientation device which can be adjusted vertically and which comprises two orientation elements parallels arranged face to face, each having a vertical orientation surface, the mutual distance of which can be modified, and extending perpendicular to the direction of transpo rt of the roller conveyor. In the structure according to the invention, the horizontal conveyor and the unstacking device are arranged on the same side of the lifting table. Therefore, the transport fork must no longer, for picking up the articles to be stacked, move empty above the lifting table and also be ordered to pass back again over the lifting table after picking up. stackable items; in addition, the transport fork can immediately pick up the items to be stacked which arrive at the pick-up station for the roller conveyor and transport them above the lifting table. In this way, a large empty displacement of the transport fork is avoided at the start, which allows

  to work at shorter work rates.

  The specific arrangement and structure of the orientation elements means that only one of them has to be controlled in order to obtain an edge-to-edge alignment in the direction transverse to the direction of transport of the roller conveyor, this alignment obtainable as soon as the items to be stacked are placed on the lifting table. It is no longer necessary to carry out a movement of

descent from the lifting table.

  Thanks to the additional orientation device which is added to the lifting table, the articles to be stacked, as soon as they are deposited on the lifting table, are also aligned edge to edge, in a complementary manner perpendicular to the alignment carried out previously. There is therefore no need to achieve an exact orientation of the articles to be stacked on the roller conveyor. As a result, the articles to be stacked can be brought to the pick-up station with a relatively high travel speed and be picked up there by the transport fork

  while they are stacked in a relatively disorderly fashion.

  It was thus possible to shorten the operating time of the stacking device according to the invention, correspondingly reduce the space required for the arrangement of the roller conveyor, the lifting table and the device.

  destacking and optimize edge-to-edge alignment.

  According to one embodiment of the invention, the orientation element adjustable in vertical direction can, before the destacking of the articles to be stacked, be controlled to move on the lifting table in the direction of the articles to be stacked being on the fork and be stopped a short distance in front of them. This arrangement offers the advantage of controlling the adjustable orientation element in the vertical direction of the orientation device, in order to achieve edge-to-edge alignment of the articles to be stacked perpendicular to the direction of transport, after picking up the articles to be stacked by the transport fork, directly in front of the articles to be stacked in such a way that, when removed from the transport fork, which is, for this purpose, advantageously, tilted slightly forward, it forms a stop which prevents the plates from sliding in

the direction of tilting.

  According to another embodiment of the invention, after depositing the articles to be stacked on the lifting table, both the orientation element adjustable in the vertical direction and also the two orientation elements of the orientation device Assistant to the elevating table can be applied to the items to be stacked for their final orientation. This arrangement offers the advantage of being able to put the two orientation devices into service at the same time, so that, at the end, a stack of plates is available for later use, being exactly aligned on the assembly.

the height of the stack.

  Other characteristics and advantages of the invention

  will emerge from the following description of an example of

  embodiment, made by way of illustration and in no way limiting, with reference to the appended schematic drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a partial front view of the stacking device after taking over a stack of plates by the transport fork of the de-stacking device; Figures 2 to 6 each show the same view as Figure 1 to illustrate different stages of operation of the stacking apparatus; and Figure 7 is a top view of the stacking apparatus. The stacking apparatus comprises, as essential components 0o, a roller conveyor 10, a lifting table 12, a destacking device 14, a top orientation device 16 attached to the destacking device 14 as well as a device of lower orientation 18 adjoining the elevating table 12. The roller conveyor 10 comprises friction rollers 20 or drums with positive drive and parallel to the axis and defining a horizontal transport path which extends perpendicular to the plane of the drawing and it can be connected, for example, to a plate saw, a

sorting plant or the like.

  The elevating table 12 is arranged in the end zone of the roller conveyor 10, next to the latter, in such a way that its plane 22 of depositing on the table, defined, for example, by a roller conveyor, is located in the starting position of the table (see figure 1), at a distance

  below the transport plane 24 of the roller conveyor 10.

  On the longitudinal side of the roller conveyor 10 which is in the vicinity of the lifting table 12, there is preferably added to the latter a longitudinal stop of a vertical and fixed part. In addition, there is provided, below the transport plane 24, between the roller conveyor 10 and the lifting table 12, a vertical and fixed orientation element 28 which is part of the upper orientation device 16 and which extends , in the starting position of the lifting table 12, upwards

  above its plan 22 for placing on the table.

  The reference 30 designates a transport fork, known per se, which is part of the de-stacking device 14 and which comprises several horizontal teeth 32 which are arranged parallel to each other and which extend transversely to the direction of transport of the roller conveyor 10 to the side of the stacker on

  which is the lifting table 12.

  This transport fork 30 is guided so as to move horizontally and vertically, at the height of the roller conveyor 10, as indicated by the cross arrows 34; it can be controlled to move from a starting position on the right of the friction roller 20 in accordance with FIG. 1 to the left, to a take-up position and, subsequently, going in the same direction,

  to a transfer position above the lifting table 12.

  To allow the transport fork 30 to move vertically, the fixed vertical orientation member 28 is also made in the form of a fork so that its vertical teeth can engage

  the teeth 32 of the transport fork 30.

  The reference 36 designates another orientation element which is part of the upper orientation device 16, which extends parallel to the orientation element 28 and which is also produced in the form of a fork and can come in taken with the teeth 32 of the transport fork 30. The orientation element 36 is fixed on a support slide 40 disposed above the lifting table 12 and can move along a fixed horizontal guide device 38. The orientation element 36 can move, by means of the support slide 40, in the directions indicated by the cross arrows 42 so that it reaches both the upper starting position of the lifting table 12 only in its lowest lifting position, up to the vicinity of the plane

  depositing on the table 22 of the lifting table 12.

  The lower orientation device 18 comprises two orientation elements 44 and 46 of elongated shape which are arranged parallel and opposite and which extend parallel to the plane of the drawing above a domain which corresponds essentially, to the dimension of the lifting table 12 in the direction perpendicular to the direction of

  transport of the roller conveyor 10.

  These orientation elements 44 and 46 are, when looking perpendicular to the plane of the drawing, in coincidence with each other and each comprise a vertical abutment surface directed towards the lifting table 12 and their distance

mutual is variable.

  These two orientation elements 44 and 46 are each held by one of their ends on an adjustment device 48 which, for its part, is disposed on a support post 50, supporting the guide device 38, at a height such that the upper longitudinal edge 52 of the two orientation elements 44 and 46 is, in the upper starting position of the lifting table 12, slightly below the plane 22

  of deposit on the table of the latter.

  The stacker operates as follows.

  At the start of a work cycle, the transport fork 30 is in its starting position on the right outside 1] in accordance with FIG. 1 and the "lifting table 12 is located

  in its upper starting position which is shown.

  It is now accepted that partial stacks of plates must be unstacked on the lifting table 12 in order to form a stack of plates and that, for this purpose, a first partial stack of plates 54 is transported to the pick-up station. roller conveyor load 10 in front

  the transport fork 30 of the de-stacking device 14.

  For the transfer of the partial stack of plates 54 on the lifting table 12, the transport fork is then controlled with its teeth 32 to bring it between adjacent rows of transport rollers 20, as a result of which, thanks to a relative movement between the roller conveyor 10 and the transport fork 30, preferably by an upward movement of the latter, the partial stack of plates 54 is lifted from the roller conveyor 10 and then transported by the transport fork 30 to the above the lifting table 12

(see figure 1).

  At the same time, the upper orientation device 16 is activated and its orientation element 36 is controlled to send it in the direction of the partial stack of plates 54, stopping it at a relatively small distance from the front face.

before the latter.

  Then, the transport fork 30 is controlled to move it down until it is at a certain distance above the plane 22 of deposit on the table, which makes it possible to slightly tilt the fork down. of

  transport 30 in a known way forward (see Figure 2).

  In this position of the transport fork 30, the partial stack of plates 54 is in a position slightly inclined towards the front in front of the other fixed vertical orientation element 28 which is then located, as also the element orientation 36, in engagement with the teeth 32 of the fork

transport 30.

  For the transfer of the partial stack of plates 54 onto the lifting table 12, the transport fork is then controlled to bring it into a removal position located, in accordance with FIG. 1, to the right of the roller conveyor, then that the partial stack of plates 54 is retained by the fixed vertical orientation element 28 and is therefore removed io from the transport fork 30 and placed on the lifting table 12. In this case, the element d orientation 36 can serve as a stop for the case where, during an oblique recoil of the partial stack of

  plates 54, insulated plates would slide forward.

  After reversing, the transport fork 30 is again controlled to return to its upper starting position, while, preferably at the same time, the orientation element 36 pushes the partial stack of plates 54 in the direction of the fixed vertical orientation element 28 and, therefore, aligns the partial stack of plates 54 edge to edge in the plane of the drawing on the lifting table 12 (see

figure 3).

  Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the orientation element 36 releases the partial stack of plates 54 and the lifting table 12 is lowered until the lower longitudinal edge 58 of the two orientation elements 44 and 46 is about halfway up the stack plate

  partial of plates 54 which rests on the lifting table 12.

  After that, by means of the orientation elements 44 and 46, by applying them against the partial stack of plates 54, an edge-to-edge alignment of the plates is obtained perpendicular to the plane of the drawing (see FIG. 4). In addition, as shown in Figure 2, one can obtain a final alignment of the plates

  isolated using at the same time the orientation element 36.

  In the meantime, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, another partial stack of plates 54 "can already be transported again, supplied by the roller conveyor 10 above the transport fork 30 and then by descent and rear movement of the transport fork 30, push it on the latter while beforehand the lifting table 12 must be lowered by the height of the partial stack of plates 54 and the orientation elements 36, 44 and 46 must be commanded to return to their original starting position. Then the

  the cycle of work just described is repeated.

Claims (3)

  1. Stacking device intended to unstack plates of the same format, isolated or in stacks, to produce stacks of plates, comprising a roller conveyor (10) transporting the articles to be stacked (54) to a transfer station, a lifting table (12) associated with the latter and arranged on the side of the transfer station, a de-stacking device (14), which comprises a transport fork (30) which can move 0o horizontally in a back and forth movement - comes between the roller conveyor (10) and the lifting table (12) and which has teeth (32) directed essentially in a horizontal plane, and an orientation device (16) which comprises two orientation elements (28 , 36) which are arranged parallel to one another, which each have a vertical orientation surface and among which one can be moved and fixed in a horizontal direction and the other is arranged in the included area e between the roller conveyor (10) and the lifting table (12) and constitutes a stop intended to push the articles to be stacked (54) resting on the transport fork (30), characterized in that the roller conveyor (10) and the unstacking device (14) are arranged on the same side of the lifting table (12), in that the fork-shaped orientation element (28) which is arranged vertically between the roller conveyor (10) and the lifting table (12) is fixed under the transport plane of the roller conveyor (10) and the other orientation element (36) can be moved vertically and is produced in the form of a fork so that the teeth (32) of the transport fork (30) and of the orientation element (36) can be brought into mutual engagement and in that at the lifting table (12), an orientation device is added ( 18) which can be adjusted vertically and which has two orientation elements (44, 46) parallel arranged face to face, which each have a surface of vertical orientation, the mutual distance of which can be modified and which extend perpendicular to the direction of   transport of the roller conveyor (10).   2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the orientation element adjustable in vertical direction (36) can, before the unstacking of the articles to be stacked (54 or 54 "), be ordered to move on the table lift (12) towards the stackable items (54 or 54 ") on the transport fork (30) and be stopped at a short distance in front of these.   3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, after removing the articles to be stacked (54 or 54 ") on the lifting table (12), both the orientation element adjustable in vertical direction (36 ) that, also, the two orientation elements (44, 46) of the orientation device (18) adjoining the lifting table (12) can be applied to the   stackable items (54 or 54 ") for final orientation.