HK1025552B - Arrangement for holding disc-shaped plastic substrates - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device for holding and removing preferably disc-shaped plastic substrates, such as CDs, DVDs and similar recording media, as defined in claim 1.

In the case of such a device used for the processing of disc-shaped plastic substrates, the support unit has a plate-shaped mask with a pin at the bottom, and at least one pair of opposite sprayed-in balls are placed around the circumference of the mask (US 5698030). The distance between these balls and the bottom of the mask is equal to or greater than the thickness of the plastic substrates to be treated. In this known device, the pin of the support unit is inserted into the centre of the plastic substrate so that the plastic substrate can be placed behind the sprayed-in balls.At the transfer station to a treatment plant, the plastic substrate with the plate mask is taken over by a vacuum holding device after the electromagnet is switched off. The plastic substrate is removed from the plate mask held by an electromagnet by vacuum removal. Since this well-known device requires electromagnets on the conveyor arm and resistive balls mounted on the support unit with the plate mask, this device is relatively complex in its construction and therefore only suitable for such transport facilities as the above-mentioned swing arm, which offers only two transport positions.

The purpose of the present invention is to create a device for the reception and removal of preferably disc-shaped plastic substrates of the type described at the outset, which is more easily constructed and is particularly suitable for such transport devices which are equipped with several transport platforms and move the plastic substrates in a plane different from the horizontal plane.

To address this, a device for the reception and removal of preferably disc-shaped plastic substrates of the type described above shall have the characteristics specified in claim 1.

The measures of the invention make it possible to keep the disc-shaped plastic substrates in a much simpler way and independently of the position of the support device in the room. Thus, holding the plastic substrates without further action is achieved together with holding the support unit to the support device. This ensures that when the plastic substrate is placed on the support unit, the plastic substrate is uncovered and thus unencumbered. The measures of the invention are particularly advantageous for transporting the cooling equipment of the plastic substrates produced by the injection moulding process.

The pluggable and soluble holding of the support unit to the holding device may be achieved, for example, by mechanical restraints. However, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the permanent magnetic holding device is provided with the features of claim 2.

The characteristics of claim 5 ensure that the vacuum required to remove the plastic substrate from the support 15 can be applied to the bottom of the base of the support unit without further connecting holes, and that the plastic substrate is not directly subjected to loading when the plastic substrate is removed from the support, because the vacuum does not hold the plastic substrate but the support unit and separates it from the support.

If the features described in claim 6 are provided, the plastic substrate shall be located not only on the base of the support unit but also directly on the reception and/or storage device.

To absorb or release the plastic substrate, the absorber and/or deposition device shall be moved towards the holding device according to the characteristics of claim 7, and it is appropriate to provide for the characteristics of claim 8 in order to minimise any force that may be applied to the holding device.

For use with the device, particularly in a device for cooling disc-shaped plastic substrates immediately after injection, the features of claim 9 are provided, so that the plastic substrates can be cooled during a complete rotation of the rotating unit in the example, and this results in a space-saving arrangement in the horizontal plane, which also leads to improved cooling while avoiding heat loss. It is useful to provide the intake and exhaust cooling device at two separate stations in accordance with the features of claim 10. Further details of the invention are given in the following description, which describes the invention in detail using the mirror shown in the figure and shows: Figure 1 shows a device for the reception and removal of disc-shaped plastic substrates in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in a starting position,Figure 2 a representation similar to Figure 1 but in a delivery order,Figure 3 shows a device similar to Figures 1 and 2 but in a position to receive a plastic substrate, in a reduced and extended representation, andFigure 4 a representation similar to Figure 3 in the case of a plastic substrate.

The device 10 shown in Figure 1 is used for the removable and removable holding of disc-shaped plastic substrates 11 such as CDs, DVDs and other recording media, the device 10 being particularly useful where it is used to cool such disc-shaped plastic substrates 11 previously produced by injection moulding.

Figures 3 and 4 show that the device 10 has a rotating hub 12 with a horizontal axis, e.g. in the direction of pivot A, on which are mounted radially protruding holds 15, each of which has a spike or arm 13 and an end-mounted intake head 14. The arms 13 are arranged at an equal angular distance from each other over the perimeter of hub 12. Each intake head 14 is equipped with a support unit 16 for a diskshaped plastic substrate 11 soluble.

The device 10 also has a receiver 17 for the reception of a disc-shaped plastic substrate 11 by means of the receiver head 14 of the holding device 15. The receiver 17 is adjustable up and down in relation to the respective receiver 15 according to the double arrow B. As will be described later, the receiver 17 serves as a station for the successive reception of a disc-shaped plastic substrate by the rotating receivers 15 of the device 10 passing by this station.

The support unit 16 has a disc-shaped base 26 equipped with two opposite-facing coaxial cylindrical protrusions 27 and 28 of equal diameter and length. The support unit 16 has an axial through-hole 29 in which an external screw bolt 33 is inserted as an iron core, which is fixed by a radial screw bolt which is screwed into a radial screw hole 30. The rotationally symmetrical support unit 16 can be used in both 180° positions.

The recording device 17 consists essentially of a support body 36, a pressure plate 37 and a clamping block 38. The clamping block 38, which is firmly connected to the pressure plate 37, engages in a non-shown manner a pneumatic piston cylinder unit, e.g. performing the movement according to double arrow B. The pressure plate 37 is held flexible at a short distance from the bottom of the support body 36 by several pressure plates 39. The resulting spring path 41 between the pressure plate 37 and the clamping block 36 is 2 millimetres wide, e.g. 2 pa. The pressure springs 39 surround a bolt connection 42 and support each other over the booms at 40 and 43 mm from the shoulders of the respective centers. The centre of the pressure plate 36 is arranged between the center of the 36 and the center of the 36 and 45 pa.

The support body 36 has a central intake hole 46 on its upper side, opposite the pressure plate 37, with graduated coaxial parts, into which the cylindrical projection 28 or the disc-shaped base 26 fits. The intake hole 46 is based on a larger diameter depression 47 which is bounded on its perimeter by a ring-shaped support 48 for the disc-shaped plastic substrate 11. The support surface of the ring-shaped base 48 is coplanar with the upper support surface 31 of the disc-shaped base 26 at the position indicated in Figure 2.In the position of the support unit 16 shown in Figure 2, the underside 34 of the disc base 26 is on a ring shoulder 53 of the first bore of the intake bore 46. The subsequent bore takes up the lower cylindrical projection 28 with radial clearance (e.g. 0,5 mm). Between the ring shoulder 53 and the intake bore 46 there is a depression through which and the said radial clearance the vacuum from boreholes 52 and 51 can be applied to a free ring surface (vacuum strike surface) of the underside 34 of the support unit 16.

In Figure 1, a support unit 16 is held in a starting position in the intake head 14 by the permanent magnet 22 and the iron core 33 in a permanent magnetically soluble position, in which case the support surface 31 of the disc base 26 of the support unit 16 is at a distance from the bottom of the intake head approximately equal to the thickness of the substrate 11 14 To achieve the transfer position shown in Figure 2, the support unit 17 is moved upwards according to double-file B, so that the support unit 16 is held in the intake bore 46 while the load body 36 is held downwards.

Substrate 11 with a central hole 18 is then placed on the support 36 by means of an unmarked feed, as shown in Figure 3. The disc-shaped plastic substrate produced during an unmarked process is placed on the disc-shaped base 26 and the ring-shaped support 48 and is held radially by the cylindrical projection 27 with an outer diameter approximately equal to the inner diameter of the hole 18.

Then, by lifting the absorber 17, the support unit 16 equipped with substrate 11 can be fed back to the holding device 15 as, without vacuum, the support unit 16 remains suspended on the permanent magnet 22.

When the intake device 17 is moved upwards to the intake head 14, a buffered anchorage is achieved by the spring connection between the clamping block 38 or pressure plate 37 and the supporting body 36 and thus a minimum force is applied to the supporting unit 16 and the intake head 14 or the entire supporting device 15.

After the absorption of a substrate 11 as shown in Figure 4, the hub 12 is moved one step further according to arrow A, so that a substrate 11 can be absorbed in the manner described by the following holding device 15'. The gradual rotational movement of the substrate 11 allows, for example, the substrate 11 to be cooled, the cooling time being dependent on the location of the subsequent storage station.

Claims (10)

1. Apparatus (10) for receivably and depositably holding preferably disc-shaped plastics substrates (11) such as CDs, DVDs and the like recording carriers, comprising a holding device (15) to which at least one carrier unit (16) for the plastics substrate (11) is held, and a receiving and/or deposit device (17) from which the plastics substrate (11) can be received or on which it can be deposited, characterised in that the carrier unit (16) has a disc-shaped main body (26) which at its side towards the holding device (15) has a cylindrical projection (27) over which the disc-shaped plastics substrate (11) can be laid and which can be fitted into an opening (21) in the holding device (15) and releasably mechanically or permanent-magnetically held.
2. Apparatus according to claim 1 characterised in that the carrier unit (16) can be removed from the holding device (15) by means of a vacuum apparatus which is arranged in the receiving and/or deposit device (17) and which can be switched on.
3. Apparatus according to claim 2 characterised in that a permanent magnet disc (22) is arranged in the opening (21) of the holding device (15) and the carrier unit (16) is at least partially magnet-metallic.
4. Apparatus according to claim 3 characterised in that the carrier unit (16) has an axial through bore (29) which accommodates a metal pin (33).
5. Apparatus according to one of the preceding claims characterised in that the disc-shaped main body (26) of the carrier unit (16) is provided with a second cylindrical projection (28) which engages centeringly and with play into the recess (46) of the receiving and/or deposit device (17).
6. Apparatus according to one of the preceding claims characterised in that the disc-shaped main body (26) of the carrier unit (16) can be fitted in flush-surface relationship into a recess (46, 47) of the receiving and/or deposit device (17).
7. Apparatus according to at least one of the preceding claims characterised in that the receiving and/or deposit device (17) is movable towards the holding device (15).
8. Apparatus according to claim 7 characterised in that the receiving and/or deposit device (17) has a support (36) which receives the disc-shaped main body (26) and the disc-shaped plastics substrate (11) and a pressure plate (37) connected to the stroke-producing drive, and that the pressure plate (37) is held at a spacing with respect to the support (36) by compression spring means (39).
9. Apparatus according to at least one of the preceding claims characterised in that the holding device (15) is formed by a rotary unit (12) provided with a plurality of radial arms (13) and a horizontal axis of rotation, and that a carrier unit (16) can be accommodated at each arm (13).
10. Apparatus according to claim 9 characterised in that associated with the rotary unit (12) are a receiving station (17) and a deposit station which follows in the direction of rotation after preferably a full revolution.