IL34710A - Handling device - Google Patents

Description

Handling Device The invention relates to a device for handling art cles B wherein an article is supported by one or more supporting surfaces for at least a part of the handling time8 completely or partly on a supporting fluid in contact with the or each supporting surface, Handling devices are known in which articles are handled while they are carried by a supporting fluid, a gas or a liquids These devices are advantageous for handling in which the supporting surface is horizontal or substantially so„ However, fluid supports as a rule have disadvantages due to the absence of friction 9 more particularly the fact that the articles cannot be readily immobi-lisede The present invention relates to handling devices which utilize the method of a fluid support but which a-re much more versatile than the known deviceSo A device according to the inven-tion comprises at least one contacting member and means for forming at least one fluid cushion capable of supporting at least partly an article for handling, characterized in that it comprises, placed under at least a part of the position provided for said article, at least one means capable of applying a pressure lower than the ambient pressure such that said article can attracted towards the contact member. The devices according to the invention are advantageous, because they are more versatile than the known apparatus. Indeed, the device according to the invention enables the movement of the article to be controlled easily - i0e<>s to be accelerated, decelerated or changed in direction, by the use of the contact member., More particularly, they are advantageous to immobilise the article in contact with one or more fixed members, for instance a table c The invention applies more particularly to the handling of sheets of glass, which it locates quickly and ef-ficiently so as to prevent the sheets from moving during cutting or the detection of possible faults.

Other advantages of the device are due to the fact that the same surface or surfaces are used for fluid support and control of movement, more particularly immobilisation; the area in contact with the other surface therefore always remains completely and permanently free for all operations to be performed thereto, for instance, cuttingo The result is the elimination of inoperative periods as in handling by known devices for the withdrawal of the handling members used in contact with said other surface .

In one embodiment of the invention the article continues to be supported by the fluid during the application of said Sewer pressure., In this vay the operation of disconnecting the fluid support is obviated from the succession of operations to be performed,, Advantageously the contact member forms part of the means for applying the said lover pressure - i.e. , the contact member not only acts as a stop for the movement of the article under the effect of said lower pressure, but it also acts as an integral part of the device for applying said lower pressure to the article0 Preferably the means for applying said lower pressure are means for sucking the fluid under the place destined for the article to be handledo For instance, these means can be pumps, fans, or other analoguous devices for sucking in the fluido This embodiment is advantageous because it permits utilizing the same fluid support as well as for applying said lower pressure and, on the other hand, it eliminates the inoperative periods which otherwise would be needed to evacuate the supporting fluid before applying the lower pressure » Preferably the means for forming at least one fluid support are formed by means for circulating a pressurised fluid and means for emitting fluid in the direction of the article to be handled^ These means enable articles of very different dimensions to be supported,, Preferably the means for circulating a pressurised fluid and the means for applying said lower pressure are incorporated in a common fluid circuit so that the means of the second type feed the means of the first type. This reduces further the time needed for displacing the article(s) to be handled from a position where it/they are supported by a fluid support to a position where it/ they are applied against the contact nember(s), In one embodiment of the invention the means for .emitting fluid are connected both to means for producing the lower pressure and to means for circulating the supporting fluid, via connecting and disconnecting means for each of these two connections separately., In this way the means for emitting fluid are also used as means for applying eaid lower pressure, so that there is no further need to provide the two means for applying pressure and said lower pressure than the ambient pressure under the position foreseen for the article,, Preferably the means for emitting the fluid are formed by at least one box provided with apertures which extend at least over substantially the whole extent of the articles to be handled , ¾ich permits to apply on the surface of the article a fluid support for said article as well as a lower pressure than the ambient pressure both substantially uniformly distributed., This is more particular-5 ly advantageous for the handling of large very thin fragile sheets which may be broken if seized by suckers located at a few places,, Since the box is normally flat, handling without breakage is par- ticularly easy.

In one variant the fluid supporting mean(s) and the means 0 for applying lower pressure are distributed in distinct zones along the position foreseen for the piece(s) to be handled0 Consequently, a fluid support can be maintained under a part of the piece(s) to be handled during the use of said lower pressure,, Advantageously the device comprises means for emitting 5 fluid which globally have a component of predetermined direction, to exert a thrust for the displacement of the article,, Also advantageously it comprises driving members and means for positioning the driving members, towarde the position foreseen for an article to be handled, 0 This provides for the article to make a mechanically defined movement, thus facilitating the automatisat ion of handling,, Preferably the positioning means can displace the entraining members from a working position allowing the entraining of an article placed above and in the vicinity of the contact member, to a posi-5 tion of rest different of that occupied by said article when the latter is supported above the contact member by at least on supporting fluids This allows making disappear the entraining members for applying the article against the contact members 0 It allows also applying different members conceived for entraining in diffe-0 rent directions, successively against an inferior surface of the piece(s) to be handled, i9e«, that the article can be entrained selectively in these different directions.

Advantageously the positioning means depend on the means which allow the formation of at least one fluid support,, Particu-5 larly, these positioning means can utilize the fluid pressure needed for the formation of the fluid support, for bringing the entraining means in contact with the article(s) to be handled,, Thus, much easier than with the mechanical devices, a suitable positioning of the entraining members can be realized with the article to O be handled, whose position on the fluid support varies in relation to its weighto The contact pressure of the entraining membeJ. can be kept sufficiently constant in spite of this variation in position of the articles o In one embodiment of the device in which endless belts are used as entraining members, lifting jacks driven by the pressurised fluid used for the formation of the fluid support can be employed for displacing the belts and their entraining pulleys towards and/or against the article to be handled,, In one embodimen the entraining members are formed by at least two belts of concurrent directions and independent positio-ning means are provided for the belts of different directions to enable only the or each belt to be brought into contact with only the article whose direction coincides with the direction selected for the displacement of the articles At least one belt can be associated with means for emit-ting supporting fluid beneath the run adapted to entrain the article, so as to apply the run at pressure to the article,, Preferably articulating and tilting means are provided for the or each article contacting members and such means advantageously enable the article-contacting members to be substantially completely turned over0 This embodiment is advantageous to produce symmetrical pairs of sheets of glass for instance, the upper surfaces of the two sheets on the horizontal conveyor both coming into position on the outside or inside of the pair, as desired* This operation is needed especially for the manufacture of some double glazings 0 A horizontal pile of sheets can also be formed, for instance, in a case, without the upper surface of the sheet being impeded when it leaves the horizontal conveyor to be added to the stacks According to one feature of the invention at least one lower structure which can be displaced on a track is connected to the contact member(s)9 by said means of articulation,, This allows an increased mobility and utility of the devices This arrangement is particularly advantageous when sheets have to be taken off and then added - or inversely - to the stacks, the stillages or other similar apparatus, at distance from each others Advantageously the track of said lower structure can, according to one feature of the invention, be part of a body which can be displaced on a second track substantially perpendicular with the first tracks In one embodiment of the invention it comprises means for moving away at least a marginal zone of the contact surface of the member in the direction thereof j preferably, these means are^ans for deforming said member,, This is particularly advantageous vhen sheets have to be taken off a substantially vertical stack. In fact 8 it is someti-mes very difficult to remove a sheet from a substantially vertical etack, because of the effect of suction between the sheet and the rest of the stack. By deforming the member in the way stated, the suction effect is obviated, by progressively moving away one or more marginal zones of the sheet , thus enabling atmospheric air to occupy the space between the sheet and the stack without delay.

Preferably the means for moving away at least a marginal zone of the surface of said member are apparatus such as pneumatic or hydraulic jacks, allowing deforming automatically a marginal zone of the contact eurface of said member when this is pressed against the stack of sheets, Certain advantages and special features of the invention can be more clearly gathered from the following description of a number of non-limitative exemplary embodiments thereof.

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a device according to the inven=» tion.

Fig. 2 is a view sectioned along the line II-II in Fig.l.

Fig. 3 is a partial section, similar to Fig. 2, through a variant embodiment of the device, and Fig. k is a plan view of a particular embodiment of the deviceo Fig. 1 shows a device according to the invention compri-sing a lower frame 1, an upper frame 2, an apron 3 and a box k0 Lower frame 1 (shown diagrammat cally in Fig0 l) can be moved over a track by means of wheels 8 and can be made, for instance, of rolled iron bars welded to one another and moved by a hydraulic or electric motor (not shown). The upper frame 2 (also shown diagram-matically) is mounted on parallel rails attached to the lower frame 1 over which the upper frame 2 can move by means of wheels 10 perpendicularly '■ to the movement of the lower frame 1, The upper frame 2 can, for instance, take the form of a rigid frame moved by a pneumatic cylinder (not shown).

The apron 3 can tilt around a pivot forming part of, a hinge 12 attached to the upper frame 2. To this end the apron is actuated by a telescopic jack 15 mounted on swivel joints 16, 17» As shown in Fig0 1, the apron 3 occupies an intermediate position between the end positions - iae0 , the horizontal position and a position forming an angle slightly greater than 90° there-withe As can be seen in Figs 0 1 and 2, the apron 3 is formed by two U-sections 20-21 rigidly interconnected by struts 22a-22cL also formed by U-sections o The box is formed by two panels 25 ,26 connected by wooden struts 27° The upper panel 25 is formed with apertures 28 and lined with a felt cover 29 formed with apertu-res 30o The box k is connected to the apron 3 by four screw- -threated rods 33 extending through the panel 26 via a hole Two of the rods extend through the strut 22d via holes 35 ,36 with which its flanges are formed, while the two other rode extend in a similar manner through the strut 22a0 The rod 23 terminates at one end in a head 38 which is wedged to the panel 26 by a nut 39» A gasket Uo is disposed between the head 38 and the nut 39- At the other end of the rod 33 there is screwed a nut l which limits the movement apart of the box k and the apron 3o A spring k k disposed around the rod 33 between the nut 39 and the apron 3 retains the box k in a position away from the apron 3o This spring also acts as a shock absorber for any shock or pressure exerted on the box h o Clearly j, other shock absorbing members could be used, such as pneumatic or oil shock absorbers0 A stop h 8 is disposed between the box k and the apron 3 and attached to the latter via a nut 1*9 and a screwthreaded rod 50 unitary with the stop} a rod 50 extends through the flanges of the strut 22d via holes 51»520 A switch 59 whose control member slightly extends beyond the upper plane of the stop k & is rigidly attached thereon via an attachment k60 The electric circuit of the switch 59 forms part of the circuit of a control panel (not shown) which is attached to the device or can be detached therefrom, the panel bearing push-buttons for controlling the various operations of the device0 Two pairs of endless belts 57 ,57' » 6ls6l' forming the sides of a rectangle around the panel 25 extend over k corresponding pairs of pulleys 56,56' ¾ 6θ,6θ' whose shafts are attached to the apron 3 by devices which are not shown in FigSo 1 and 2 and which comprise jacks; the latter enable the pulley shafts to be raised and lowered so that in the raised position the upper run of the belts is in a plane somewhat higher than that of the panel 25 , and in the bottom position, as shown in Figs0 1 and 2, the upper run of the belts is in a plane lower than that of the panel 25 o ®* Each pair of belts is driven by a motor (not shown) such as a step-down electric motor.

Two fans 75,75a driven by a motor 76,76a, respectively are in communications with the box k via a conduit 77,77^ respect ively. The objet of the fan 75 is to induce excess pressure in the box 9 while the fan 75a induces a lower pressure than the ambient pressure thereiQc In the following description we shall call this lower pressure than the ambient pressure - for reasons of alleviating the text - depression, To this end the conduits 77,77,a each have a flap (not shown). As soon as a fan comes into operation, its corresponding flap opens automatically, while the flap corresponding to the other fan closes automatically „ These automatic openings and closings are controlled, for instance, by a relay inclu-ded in the circuit of the motor 76,76ae Two jacks 65.65' each composed of a cylinder 66,66', a piston 67,67' and a rod 68,68' are mounted on hinges 69 , 70 ,6 ' ,70' unitary with the apron 3 and the box „ These jacks 65,65', when actuated, slightly attract the two corresponding corners of the box in the direction of the apron 3» When the box is under depression and attracts a sheet of glass in stock, for instance, verticall on to a stillage, the actuated jacks 6- 9.65' cause the two upper corners of the sheet of glass to « detached from the subjacent sheet in the stack before the remainder of the sheet, thus enabling atmospheric air to be introduced between the two sheets so that they can disengage from one another satisfactorily,, According to a not shown embodiment of the invention, more than two jacks such as 65 and 65' are provided for attracting a marginal part of the box k extending over the entire width of said box k towards the apron 3» For instance between the jacks 65 and 65' which act on the corresponding corners of the box k , one or more jacks are disposed depending on the width of said box, so as to attract, in the best possible uniformity, a marginal part of said box h towards the apron 3« For an initial period, the apron 3 and the box k are in a horizontal position and one side of the box is close to and parallel with the terminal edge of a sheet conveyor. The motor 76 is rotated so that the fan 75 induces excess pressure in the box „ The air under excess pressure in the box escapes through the ho-les 28 in the panel 25<, The pair of belts perpendicular to the terminal edge of the conveyor is brought into the top position^. The sheet arrives at the box k floating on a cushion of air set up by the excess pressure in the box, while being guided and entrained by the belts of the particular pair concerned,, At the end of its travel over the box k9 the sheet actuates a switch (not shown) whose action is slightly delayed by an adjustable system. The switch controls the stoppage and descent of the said pair of belts and also controls the stoppage of the motor 76 and the starting of the motor 76 ti , thus setting up a depression in the box k so that the sheet of glass is attracted and retained in contact with the panel 25 of the box covered with the felt cover 29 » The switch also controls the rising of the apron 3 into the position exceeding the vertical , by rotation under the action of the jack 15 around the hinge 12 whose axis is parallel with the terminal edge of the conveyor,, To unload the sheet on to a stillage, the lower frame 1 is displaced in a suitable manner over its track and so if necessary is the upper frame 2 in a direction perpendicular to the displacement of the lower frame lo These two movements can moreover be executed partly simultaneously and during the lifting operation*, The jack 15 r for instance,, can be actuated by a variable flow pump so that the tilting speed can be kept substantially constant in spite of the graduation of the diameters of the stages of the jack, but also allows acceleration at the start, high speed lifting,, and deceleration on arrivalo The apron 3 is thus brought into a plane extending by a number of degrees , for instance 10° , beyond the vertical so that the box is parallel with that surface of the stillage on which the sheet is to be laido This latter operation is performed as follows % the upper frame 2 is displaced either relatively to the frame 1 or together therewith in relation to the ground, in dependance on the orientation of the stillage; the sheet thus encounters that surface of the stillage on to which it is to be unloaded or if necessary the surface of the stack of sheets already loaded on the stillage,. The movement of the frame 2 continues, however, so as to produce satisfactory contact between the sheet and the stillage, even if at first contact the sheet is not strictly parallel with such surface,, The apron 3 then comes close to the box k and the springs kk are compressed, The lower panel 26 of the box h then contacts the control member kf of the switch 59 which then stops the frame 2 „ The motor 76 a is then stopped and the sheet , which is no longer sucked by the box under depression, remains deposited on the stillage when the device is brought into the initial position for the start of a fresh identical operation,, The sheet can also be placed in a horizontal or subs tan-tially horizontal plane, for instance on a stack of horizontal sheets, in which case the apron 3 is allowed to tilt through l80°0 To this end, instead of being tilted by a single jack, the apron 3 can be controlled by two jacks acting in series,, The sheet can also be placed on another horizontal con-veyor, in which case only the frames 1 and 2 move horizontally and the apron 3 is not tilted0 If the second conveyor is perpendicular to the first, after the sheet has been admitted on to the box, and if necessary after the horizontal displacements of the frames 1, 2, the pair of guiding belts perpendicular to the terminal edge of the second conveyor is brought into the top position and starts rotating at the same time as the excess pressure is set up in the box to produce a cushion of air which will support the sheet during its displacement towards the second conveyors The device also allows the unstacking, sheet be sheet, of a stack of sheets disposed on a stillage or, when the apron 3 is tilted horizontally by two jacks, in a case, for instance0 To unstack the sheets from a stillage, the apron 3 is tilted until the plane of the box is parallel with the plane of the sheet to be unstacked, and the box is then directed towards the storage stillage by the movement of the lower frame 1 and the upper frame 2e When the box k contacts the sheet to be unstacked, the upper frame continues to move. Consequently, the upper panel 25 of the box k perfectly fits over the surface of the sheet to be unstacked. As it continues its travel, the upper frame brings the box h and the apron 3 close together,, The latter movement, and also the impact caused by the contact between the box h and the sheet are absorbed by springs k h « The box then contacts the switch U? which, after actuating the right push-buttons on the control panel, puts the box under depression and actuates the jacks 65,65' which attract the two upper corners of the box to= wards the apron 3» As a result of the depression in the box, the whole surface of the sheet to be unstacked sticks to the upper panel 25 of the box, and the upper corners of the sheet follow the upper corners of the box in their movements towards the apron. Con-sequently, the upper corners of the sheet to be unstacked are disengaged from the subjacent sheet and ambient air can be readily-introduced between the sheet being handled and the subjacent sheets The upper frame 2 is then moved away from the stillage and the ambient air is then readily introduced over the whole boundary surfa-ce between the sheet being handled and the subjacent sheeto This avoids the disadvantage of two sheets or more being simultaneously sucked by the box „ After suitable movements of the apron 3 and the lower frame 1 and the upper frame 2, the sheet can then be deposited on another stillage, a horizontal stack or a conveyor, in the same way as that described hereinbefore..

The operation of unstacking the following sheet can then start and continue in the same way. Clearly, as soon as a sheet has left the stillage, the jacks 65, 5s can be relaxed,, The operation of unstacking sheets from a horizontal stack is very similar, but with the difference that in that case it is not the upper frame 2 which continues its travel after the box has contacted the sheet, but the tilting movement of the apron 3 continues after contact between the sheet and the box0 Figo 3 is a partial section, analogous to Fig„ 2, showing a variant embodiment of the device according to the invention0 A U-section 80 belongs to the frame forming the apron 3» Its struts 8l,8l" (also U-sections) are attached perpendicularly to the sections 80„ The box is formed by depression members and excess pressure members 6 k and 85 respect ively0 The depression member k is formed by a chamber 86 attached to the apron and formed by an end wall 87, side walls 88,88" and a top wall 89 formed with apertures 0, A suction conduit 1 connects the chamber 86 to a member (not shown) which sets up a depression such as a fane An excess pressure member 85 is formed by a hollow shaft 100 for- ed with apertures 101 and rotated by a reversible motor (not shown) o The hollow shaft 100 is retained in reach by axle stubs 102 supported by bearings attached to the apron0 A conduit 105 connects the inside of the hollow shaft 100 in sealing-tight relationship with a member producing an excess pressure, such as a fan (not shown) o Flat irons 106 attached to the apron are covered with a felt cover 107 to protect the lower surface of a sheet 110 against any rough contact with rigid members * In operation, when the apron is in the horizontal position, the sheet moves from the conveyor over the box under the ac-tion of the air under excess pressure distributed by holes 101 in the rotated hollow cylinder 100, These jets of air, which create the air cushion supporting the sheet, have a horizontal component which acts on the sheet and displaces it horizontally., For directions of forward movement of the sheet as shown by the arrows- A 5 and A' respectively, the hollow cylinder 100 is rotated in different directions, the trigonometric direction and the non trigonometric direction respect ivelye The application of an excess pressure by these means realises both support and advance of the sheet on the air cushion and 0 assures at the same time the guiding of the sheet, so that guiding means such as belts may be suppressed^ At the required moment, during the forward movement of the sheet over the air cushion, the chambers 86 are put under depression the sheet is therefore subjected to this depression by 5 the holes 0 in the top wall 8 and is retained against the cover 107o The depression member dk and the excess pressure member 85 can take up the whole width of the box and succeed one another, Alternati vely „ they can occupy only a portion of the box, in which case the depression and excess pressure members are disposed in 0 cheque rboard fashion, the members succeeding one another not only in the length of the box but also in its width. This embodiment is advantageous, for instance, to inspect faults in sheets in a continuous line. Each sheet can be supported and advanced by the excess pressure members of the device and retained by the depres-5 sion members. The stoppage of the sheet for inspection and detection or faults can therefore very readily be performed without having to stop the excess pressure members. The depression members retain the sheet in a fixed position enabling it to be inspected and faults to be located. When these operations are com-0 pleted, the depression members are put out of operation and the sheet is immediately evacuated. The chequerboard arrangement of the depression and excess pressure members can be used as the network giving the coordinates for fault location. Moreover, excess pressure members 85 can be disposed in two directions perpendicu-5 lar to one another, thus enabling the sheet to advance in two directions and four senses. This latter embodiment is particularly advantageous for the handling of sheets of non-standardised sizes and small sizes.

When the transported sheet occupies its final position on o the box, the sheet can actuate one or more switches which stop the excese pressure members and the tilting of the apron, but income cases it is preferred to keep up the excess pressure permanently, with a view to simplifying the control apparatus „. The other unloading operations are similar to those set forth with reference to Figs , 1 and 2„ When the sheet is not to be advanced by the action of jets of air having a horizontal component, instead of the rotary excess pressure members 8 » immobile excess pressure members can be used, such as, for instance, members similar to the members 8 , but set-ting up an excess pressure. In this case the same member can successively set up depression and then excess pressure,) Fig. is a plan view of a device according to the invention.

The upper panel 150 of the box is formed with multiple holes 151o In this embodiment the apron has four pairs of hinges, shown diagrammatically as 152 ,152'; 153,153* ; 15^ ,15 ' j 1558155 ' which can be unlockede Under the action of a telescopic jack 157 attached by swivel joints to the apron and the box, the apron can tilt around any of the pairs of hinges, on condition that the three other pairs are unlocked. Two pairs of endless guide belts l60,l6lj 162,163 rotate around wheels attached to the apron and can occupy an upper level and a lower level. The lower frame can move over track 165 and the upper frame can move over the lower frame in a direction perpendicular to the movement thereof » As a result of these two movements which are perpendicular to one another and the rotation of the apron around each of the four pairs of hinges, the box 150 can receive, for instance, sheets from a horizontal conveyor 170, deposit the sheets horizontally on a stack of sheets 172 or in a plane close to the vertical on stillages 173,17^» just as the box can eject broken or faulty sheets into a cullet hopper 175» which is used more particularly when the sheets handled are made of glass.

The device according to the invention enables any sheet material to be handled, such as glass, wood, metal, plastics mate-rials. The power of the means for setting up depression and excess pressure must be adapted to the weight of the sheets and to the orientations given thereto during handlingo By way of example, it is safe to use an excess pressure of 50mm and a depression of 100mm water column, the pressures being distributed over the whole eurfa-ce, to manipulate sheets of glass up to 8mm in thickness up to the vertical positionc In that case, perforations of 3mm and 100¾£m apart from one another in the two perpendicular directions are suitable for transmitting the pressure and depression from the box to the surface of the sheet. Many fluids can suitably be used in the device according to the invention. For instance, the handling time can be used to cool a relatively hot sheet of glass by a cooling fluids Nor does the invention exclude the use of special fluids conferring particular physical or chemical properties on sheets handled thereby,, Similarly, the invention does not exclude the device and inter alia the box from having means for processing the sheet handled, more particularly the face thereof not in contact with the fluid. Thus, for instance, the box can have scoring and cutting means. This work can even be carried out during the various traversing and rotary movements of the device.

The invention also covers the handling of articles which are not in the shape of sheets, on condition that the articles have a flat or curved surface to which the depression and/or the excess pressure can be applied, nor need such surface necessarily be the lowest portion of the article.

As can be gathered from the description of the various embodiments of the device according to the invention, a depression and an excess pressure can be set up successively and/or simultaneously in the same box. The same surface, therefore, i.e., the upper plane of the box, enables a sheet to be retained by depression and successively or simultaneously be supported by excess pressure .

These advantages can be combined with the traversing movement of a surface as a result of the displacements of the lower and upper frames , and also the rotation of the surface by the tilting of the apron.

Claims (23)

1. WHAT IS CLAIMED IS : ™ϋ! lo Handling device comprising at least one contact member and means for forming at least one fluid cushion capable of suppor-ting at least in part an article for handling, characterised in that the device comprises, placed under at least a part of the position provided for said article, at least one means for applying a pressure lover than the ambient pressure such that said article can be attracted towards the contact member o

2. A device as set forth in claim 1, characterised in that the contact member forms part of the means for applying said lover pressure.

3. A device as set forth in one of claims 1 and 2e characterised in that the means for applying said lover pressure are means for sucking fluid under the position provided for the ar-ticle to be handled.

4. k, A device as set forth in one of claims 1 to-3, characterised in that the fluid cushion forming means are formed by means for circulating a pressurised fluid and means for emitting fluid in the direction of the position provided for the article to be handled.

5. A device as set forth in claim ht characterised in that the means for circulating a pressurised fluid and the means for applying said lover pressure are incorporated in a common fluid circuit such that the means of the second type feed the means of the first type.

6. A device as set forth in one of claims and 5» characterised in that the means for emitting fluid are connected both to means for producing said lover pressure and to means for circulating a fluid, via connecting and disconnecting means for each of these tvo connections separately.

7. A device as set forth in one of claims It to 6, characterised in that the means for emitting a fluid are formed by at least one box formed with apertures which extends at least over substantially the whole extent of the articles to be handled*

8. O A device as set forth in one of claims 1-U, characterised in that the means for forming at least one fluid cushion and the means for applying said lover pressure are distributed in distinct zones along the position(s) provided for the article(s) to be handled.

9. » A device as set forth in one of claims 1-8, characterised in that it comprises means for emitting fluid which globally have a component of predetermined direction tangential to the surface of the articlee

10. A device as set forth in one of claims 1-9» characterised in that it comprises entraining members and means for positioning these towards the position provided for an article to be handled.

11. A device as set forth in claim 10, characterised in that the positioning means can displace the entraining members from a working position permitting the entraining of an article located above and in the vicinity of the contact member to a position of rest different of the position of said article when it is supported over the contact member by at least one fluid cushion.

12. A device as set forth in one of the claims 10 and 11, characterised in that the positioning means depend on the means for forming at least one fluid cushion.

13. A device as set forth in one of claims 10-12, characterised in that it comprises as the entraining member at least two belts of concurrent directions and independent positioning means for the belts of different directions.

14. lU. A device as set forth in claim 13, characterised in that at least qne belt is associated with means for emitting fluid beneath the run adpated to entrain the article.

15. A device as set forth in one of claims 1-lU , characterised in that it comprises articulating means and tilting means for the contact member(s) with the article.

16. A device as set forth in claim 15, characterised in that said articulating means and tilting means enabl the contact member(s) with the article to be at least once substantially completely turned over.

17. » A device as set forth in one of the claims 15 and l6 , characterised in that at least two of the articulating means have non-parallel articulating axes and can be selectively placed in an operative position or a non operative position so that the said tilting means tilt the article-contacting member(s) around the axes of the articulating means which are in operative position.

18. A device as set forth in one of the claims 15-17» characterised in that it contains, associated to the contacting mem-ber(s) by said articulating means, at least one substructure which is displace a¾le on a tracks

19. A device as set forth in claim 18, characterised in that said track is part of a body which itself is displaceable on a second track substantially perpendicular with the first track,

20. A device as set forth in one of claims 1-18 , characte rised in that it comprises means for moving away at least a margi nal zone of the contact surface of said member in the direction thereof*

21. · A device as set forth in claim 20, characterised in that the means are means for deforming said member,

22. A device as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

23. A device as set forth in at least one of the hereinbefore mentioned claims for the handling of glass sheets. ttorneys f o r A p p l i c a n t