GB2169872A

GB2169872A - Materials handling machine

Info

Publication number: GB2169872A
Application number: GB08600852A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew Marc Edwards
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1985-01-17
Filing date: 1986-01-15
Publication date: 1986-07-23
Also published as: GB8501177D0; GB2169872B; GB8600852D0

Abstract

A materials handling machine which comprises a vertically movable support (10), a carriage (12) movable side to side on the support, a telescopic boom (14) mounted to the carriage, a head unit (16) mounted for rotation about the axis of the boom, which head unit is provided with sockets detachably receiving tool holders such as suction pads (20) for plate glass, the boom being mounted for rotation, about an intermediate point in its length, relative to the carriage, in a horizontal and a vertical plane. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Materials handling machine This invention relates to a machine for handling materials, which may range from plate glass and insulating sheets or sheeting to drainage pipes and the like.

Plate glass is very heavy material which requires to be precisely manoeuvred and positioned on site prior to fixing. Known machines for handling plate glass commonly do not take into account the difficulties involved in moving plate glass into the position in which it is to be fixed, often assuming free space for manoeuvring which is not always available and/or assuming a precise construction and/or orientation of the frame (in which the glass is to be fitted) which does not exist. Similar manoeuvring and handling difficulties arise in many other fields.

It is an object of this invention to provide a machine capable of manoeuvring and positioning materials, even in difficult situations.

According to the invention, there is provided a materials handling machine comprising a head carrying devices for holding the material, a support means capable of vertical and horizontal movement, a telescopic boom mounted on the support means for rotational movement relative thereto in vertical and in horizontal planes, the head being carried by the boom for rotation about the axis of the booom, power means for moving the support means, carriage, boom and head, and a controller operable at will for effecting any one power driven movement independently of the others.

In one arrangement the support means comprises a vertically movable support and a carriage mounted for side to side movement on said support, the boom being mounted on the carriage.

One possible machine is a modification of a fork lift truck or the like, wherein the movable support is constituted by a support vertically movable in place of the usual fork lift arms.

The invention therefore also extends to a materials handling assembly, comprising support means, boom and head as aforesaid, adapted for mounting to a fork lift truck or the like in place of the lifting arms thereof. Alternatively, for example, an analogous assembly may be adapted for mounting to a digging or trenching machine, for example to handle pipework or cable to be laid into a trench.

However, the machine or assembly as aforesaid is not restricted to use in conjunction with a moving vehicle, and finds application in fields where repetitious handling of materials is provided at a work station or the like.

The machine is preferably hydraulically operated. The necessary power supply is generally already available on a conventional fork lift truck, digger or the like, and the invention can therefore be enabled by a bank of valves through which the supply of hydraulic fluid to the various drives is controlled. Such drives are preferably constituted by hydraulic cylinder/piston arrangements and/or rotary hydraulic actuators.

Control of the bank of valves may be by means of a portable controller adapted to be worn by the operator and connected to the valved hydraulic circuitry via flexible control lines. In this way, the operator can operate a vehicle such as a fork lift truck from the back in the usual way for transport of plate glass or other material and coarse positioning on site, whilst being able to move to the front of the truck adjacent the plate glass or other material in order to facilitate control of fine positioning by use of the portable controller.

The hydraulic power of the fork lift truck or the like may also often be used to operate the devices for holding the material. Such devices may be constituted, for example, by magnetic clamps or cups, pipe clamps or devices such as suction pads when sheet material such as plate glass is being handled. For plate glass, for example, operation may be enabled by a vacuum pump for creating a vacuum within shallowly cupped suction pads which seal against the glass at their peripheries. A low pressure detector is useful for monitoring the operation of the suction circuit.

The suction pads or other devices for handling the material are preferably mounted on arms which fit detachably into sockets on the head, thus enabling differing combinations of devices to be used for materials of differing shapes and sizes.

A practical example of the head assembly in accordance with the invention, for example as applied to a plate glass handling machine, is shown diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of the head assembly; Figure 2 is a front elevational view; and Figure 3 is a side elevational view.

The complete machine comprises a modification of a fork lift truck (not shown). The usual fork lift arms are replaced by the head assembly shown in the drawings, and the usual hydraulic power circuitry of the truck is modified and supplemented to enable power operation of the head assembly, as will be mentioned in more detail later.

The head assembly comprises a support 10 which is vertically movable on the carrier which normally carries the fork lift arms.

Mounted on this support 10 for horizontal side-to-side movement thereon is a carriage 12.

The carriage 12 carries a telescopic boom 14, which is extensible and retractable generally in the fore/aft direction.

The front end of the boom (to the front of the truck body) carries thereon a head unit 16, mounted for rotation about the longitudi nal axis of the boom 14. The head unit includes sockets in which are received detachable arms 18 carrying suction pads or cups 20 lying in a common plane. Any combination of two or more of the detachable suction arms 18 may be used to grip a sheet of plate glass.

The boom 14 is mounted for rotation, about an intermediate point of its length, relative to the carriage 12, in a horizontal plane and in a vertical plane.

Thus, referring to the drawings, Figure 1 indicates: a) the side to side movement 24 of the carriage 12 b) the fore/aft movement 26 afforded by the boom 14 c) the swing movement 28 enabled by rotation of the boom 14 in the horizontal plane.

Figure 2 indicates: d) the vertical movement 30 of the support 10 e) the rotational movement 32 enabled by rotation of the head unit 16 on the boom 14.

Figure 3 indicates: f) the tilt movement 34 enabled by rotation of the boom 14 in the vertical plane.

Thus, the machine provides six degrees of freedom for positioning of a sheet of plate glass gripped by the suction cups 20 which, with respect to the glass sheet, consist of: 1) vertical displacement 2) horizontal displacement 3) displacement normal to its plane 4) rotation in its plane 5) swinging about a vertical axis to its rear 6) tilting about a horizontal axis to its rear.

These freedoms for manoeuvring and positioning enable the glass sheet to be accurately located, e.g. in the position in which it is to be fixed, even in the most difficult circumstances, as when the plate has to be moved in sideways closely behind a pillar or the like or moved in vertically behind a plinth or the like or when the frame in which it is to be fitted is not properly aligned or orientated or when the floor on which the truck is standing is not level or is uneven or when the truck can only be awkwardly positioned relative to the structure in which the glass plate is to be fitted. These represent but a few of the many difficult situations which can arise on site and wherein the machine of this invention is nevertheless capable of accurately manoeuvring and positioning the glass plate in a required location.

Referring again to the drawings, in Figure 1 are designated the hydraulic actuator 22 for the side-to-side movement of the carriage 12 and the hydraulic cylinder/piston arrangement 36 for rotation of the boom 14 about a vertical axis 38. Figure 1 also marks a vertical axis 40 at the front end of the boom 14, about which the head is manually rotatable. This further adjustment can sometimes be useful for tucking a glass plate behind a post or the like.

Figure 2 also- shows the actuator 22 and the cylinder/ piston arrangement 36, whilst Figure 3 additionally shows the cylinder/piston arrangement 42 which is used to drive the boom 14 in rotation about horizontal axis 44.

Rotation of the head unit 16 is by means of a rotary hydraulic actuator 46 (see Figure 1), whilst the telescopic boom 14 is itself an hydraulic cylinder/piston actuator. The means of vertical displacement is not shown, but is constituted by the conventional hydraulic lift drive of the truck.

Each hydraulic adjustment can be carried out at will independently of any of the others.

This is enabled by introducing a bank of control valves into the hydraulic circuitry of the truck, which valves are controllable by a portable controller which is worn by the operator and is connected to the valve bank through flexible control lines. The operator is thus enabled to leave the usual rear truck operating position and move to the front of the truck for close attention to the precise manoeuvring and positioning of the glass plate using the controller which he takes with him.

Also introduced into the truck hydraulics is a vacuum pump for operating the suction cups 20. The cups are initially applied (by movement and adjustment of the machine) against the glass, and the interior of the cups is then evacuated to cause the cups tightly to grip and hold the glass during transport to and positioning on site.

The illustrated head assembly of the handling machine is capable of modification in various ways within the scope of the invention hereinbefore defined. More especially, although particularly described with reference to its incorporation in a modified fork lift truck for glass handling, the invention is also applicable in many other fields of material handling, including both applications where the head assembly is mounted on another type of vehicle such as a digger or trenching, for example to assist pipe or cable laying, and applications where the assembly is statically mounted, for example at a work station on a conveyor line.

Claims

1. A materials handling machine comprising a head carrying devices for holding the material, a support means capable of vertical and horizontal movement, a telescopic boom mounted on the support means for rotational movement relative thereto in vertical and in horizontal planes, the head being carried by the boom for rotation about the axis of the boom, power means for moving the support means, carriage, boom and head, and a controller operable at will for effecting any one power driven movement independently of the others.

2. A machine according to claim 1, wherein the support means comprises a vertically movable support and a carriage mounted for side to side movement on said support, the boom being mounted on the carriage.

3. A machine according to claim 2, wherein the vertical support is constituted by the fork lift arm support of a fork lift truck.

4. A machine according to claim 1 or claim 2 or claim 3, when mounted on a vehicle having an hydraulics power supply, said supply being utilised to operate the handling machine.

5. A machine according to claim 4, wherein power supply and control is enabled by a bank of valves through which the supply of hydraulic fluid to the various drives is controlled.

6. A machine according to claim 5, wherein said various drives are preferably constituted by hydraulic cylinder/piston arrangements and/or rotary hydraulic actuators.

7. A machine according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein control of the bank of valves is by means of a portable controller adapted to be worn by the operator and connected to the valved hydraulic circuitry via flexible control lines.

8. A machine according to any preceding claim, wherein the devices for holding the material are constituted by magnetic clamps and/or cups, pipe clamps or vacuum suction pads.

9. A machine according to claim 8, wherein said devices are detachably mounted to sockets on the head in order to enable exchange of one such device for another.

10. A materials handling machine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.