KR20180046913A - Coil package system - Google Patents

Abstract

A coil package system (100) is disclosed. The system includes a first robot arm 110 having a gripping portion 112 configured to grip a lapping material 114, a second robot arm 120 having a gripping portion 122 configured to grip a lapping material 114, And a coil rotating means 140 configured to hold and rotate the coil 150 around the coil axis. The first robot arm 110 is movable along the first horizontal axis A1 and the first horizontal axis coincides with the coil axis at the operating position and the second robot arm 120 is parallel to the first horizontal axis A1 Can move along a second horizontal axis A2 and can move along a third horizontal axis A3 perpendicular to the second horizontal axis A2.

Description

Coil package system

The present invention relates generally to a coil packaging system for wrapping a coil with a wrapping material by transferring a lapping material between two robotic arms.

It has been known for years to package such goods by wrapping sensitive goods with impermeable, stretchable wrapping media, such as, for example, stretch wrap plastic films. By using the lapping method, the product is protected from corrosion or contamination during transportation or handling. Large products such as coils of steel strips can also be packaged in this way. However, the package of the steel strip coil is particularly difficult due to its shape, size and weight. A method called through-the-eye wrapping has been developed to completely wrap the coil while still leaving an open center that accepts coil handling equipment.

There are also available solutions that are beginning to transfer the lapping material between the robotic arms. U.S. Patent No. 6,705,060 discloses such a system comprising a pair of opposing robot arms, wherein the robot arms move about both ends of the coil such that when the coil is slowly rotated by the variable speed coil roller, Pushes the roll of lapping material back and forth at the center of the hollow core of the coil and above the coil.

However, systems such as those described in U.S. Patent 6,750,060 are very large and heavy because they involve large devices for the robot arm in part, and require sensing systems to tune the robot arms.

Therefore, it is desirable to achieve a compact, easy to implement and inexpensive solution.

It is an object of the present invention to find a solution to solve at least some of the problems outlined above.

According to one aspect, a coil package system is provided. The system includes a first robot arm having a gripping portion configured to grip a lapping material, a second robot arm having a gripping portion configured to grip the lapping material, and coil rotating means configured to hold and rotate the coil about the coil axis . The first robot arm can move along a first horizontal axis coinciding with the coil axis at the operating position and the second robot arm can move along a second horizontal axis parallel to the first horizontal axis, You can move along the horizontal axis. In alternative embodiments, the robotic arms may be further configured to send and receive lapping materials to each other.

By implementing the system described above, a solution for wrapping the coil, which is easier, simpler, cheaper, more cost effective and more compact than previously possible, can be achieved. Moreover, the system may be implemented using existing techniques that further facilitate the implementation of such systems.

In an alternative embodiment, the first gripping portion is configured to grip the upper portion of the lapping material, and the second grip portion is configured to grip the bottom portion of the lapping material.

In another alternative embodiment, the second robot is mounted on a guide rail which is extendable along a third axis and movable along a second axis.

In another alternate embodiment, the first and second robotic arms are configured to move simultaneously along the first and second horizontal axes. By allowing the robot arms to move in parallel with each other, there is no need for a sensing and / or coordination system that keeps the robotic arms properly aligned with one another during operation.

In another alternative embodiment, the first robot arm is disposed at a first height, the second robot arm is disposed at a second height, and the distance between the first height and the second height is substantially equal to the height of the lapping material. This can be preconfigured for specific heights of the coil and lapping materials, thereby further reducing the need to coordinate and move the system during operation.

In alternative embodiments, the robot arms are adjustable along a vertical axis. The coil rotating means may be adjustable along a vertical axis. This allows the system to accommodate the coils of various sizes and shapes, since the first robotic arm must be roughly aligned with the eye of the coil during operation.

According to one aspect, a coil package system is provided. The system includes a first robot arm having a gripping portion configured to grip a lapping material, a second robot arm having a gripping portion configured to grip the lapping material, and coil rotating means configured to hold and rotate the coil about the coil axis . The first robot arm can only move along a first horizontal axis coinciding with the nose axis in the operative position and the second robot arm can move along a second horizontal axis parallel to the first horizontal axis and a third horizontal axis perpendicular to the second axis Therefore, it can move. In alternative embodiments, the robotic arms can be further configured to send and receive lapping material to each other.

According to one aspect, a coil package system is provided. The system includes a first robot arm having a gripping portion configured to grip a lapping material, a second robot arm having a gripping portion configured to grip the lapping material, and coil rotating means configured to hold and rotate the coil about a coil axis . The first robot arm is movable along a first horizontal axis coinciding with the nose axis at the operating position and the first robot arm is configured to move through the eye of the coil and the second robot arm is configured to move through the eye of the coil, Can move along a horizontal axis and can move along a third horizontal axis perpendicular to the second axis. In alternative embodiments, the robotic arms can be further configured to send and receive lapping material to each other.

According to one aspect, a coil package system is provided. The system includes a first robot arm having a gripping portion configured to grip a lapping material, a second robot arm having a gripping portion configured to grip the lapping material, and a coil rotating means configured to hold and rotate the coil about the coil axis do. The first robot arm can move only along the first horizontal axis in the course of wrapping the coil, the first horizontal axis coinciding with the coil axis at the operative position, and the second robot arm along the second horizontal axis parallel to the first horizontal axis And can move along a third horizontal axis perpendicular to the second axis. In alternative embodiments, the robotic arms can be further configured to send and receive lapping material to each other.

According to one aspect, a coil package system is provided. The system includes a first robot arm having a gripping portion configured to grip a lapping material, a second robot arm having a gripping portion configured to grip the lapping material, and coil rotating means configured to hold and rotate the coil about the coil axis . The first robot arm is movable during the course of wrapping the coil along only the first horizontal axis coinciding with the coil axis in the operative position and the first robot arm is configured to move through the eyes of the coil, , And can move along a third horizontal axis perpendicular to the second axis. In alternative embodiments, the robotic arms can be further configured to send and receive lapping material to each other.

The system may be constructed and implemented in accordance with other alternative embodiments. Other possible features and advantages of such a solution will become apparent from the following detailed description.

The present invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 shows the upper part of the coil package system in the operating position.
Figure 2 shows the side of the coil package system of Figure 1 in an operative position.
Figure 3 shows a side perspective view of the coil package system of Figure 1 in an operative position.

In the following, a detailed description of a coil packing system is disclosed. All examples herein are to be understood as part of the overall description and, thus, may be combined in any general sense. Again, the individual features of the various embodiments may be combined or interchanged unless the combination or replacement is clearly contradictory to the overall functionality of the system.

Figure 1 is a plan view showing the system 100 for a package of coils according to the present invention in an operative position. The system has a first robotic arm 110 and a second robotic arm 120 with the first robot arm being movable along a first horizontal axis A1 and the second robot arm being able to move along a second horizontal axis A2 Therefore, it can move. The second horizontal axis A2 may be parallel to the first horizontal axis A1 and the second robot arm 120 may move along the third horizontal axis A3, Right angle. The system 100 includes a coil rotating means 140 configured to hold a coil 150 and rotate it about a coil axis A1 such that the coil axis A1 is the same as the first horizontal axis A1, The first robot arm 110 can move along a horizontal axis.

Both the first robotic arm 110 and the second robotic arm 120 are configured to grasp and hold the lapping material 114. In a typical embodiment, the first robotic arm includes a grip portion 112 and the second robotic arm includes a grip portion 122, the two grip portions being similar to grip and hold a wrapping material . However, in some embodiments, the height of the gripping portions 112,122 is configured to grip the lapping material 114 at a different height, for example, the first gripping portion 112 of the first robotic arm 110 is configured to grip the lapping material 114 The second gripping portion 122 of the second robotic arm 120 may be configured to grip the upper portion of the lapping material 114. The second gripping portion 122 of the second robotic arm 120 may be configured to grip the lower portion of the lapping material 114, Compared to a solution wherein the gripping portions 112 and 122 are configured to grip the same portion of the lapping material 114 by configuring the gripping portions 112 and 122 of the robot arms 110 and 120 as described above, And the second robotic arm 120 can more easily exchange the lapping material 114 with each other. The gripping portions 112,122 may be implemented in a variety of ways, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, for example, each gripping portion may include two gripping arms adapted to respectively grip the wrapping material on one side , The wrapping material may have a handle configured to be gripped by the gripping portions.

The first robot arm 110 is typically movable only in one direction, and the direction follows the first horizontal axis A1. According to one embodiment, the first robotic arm 110 can move only in one direction along the first horizontal axis A1, as described above, during or during the process of wrapping the coil, . According to one embodiment, the first robotic arm 110 may move or move only in one direction along the first horizontal axis A1, as described above, during operation or during operation to wrap the coil . Thus, while the first robot arm 110 may be configured to move in a plurality of directions, for the purpose of performing the process of wrapping the coil or of wrapping the coil, the first robot arm 110 may include a first horizontal arm Is configured to move in one direction along the first axis A1 or to move in one direction or only in one direction. The second robot arm 120 can be moved in two directions, the second direction being perpendicular to the first direction, which allows the second robot arm to move along a second horizontal axis A2 parallel to the first horizontal axis A1 And thus can move along a third horizontal axis A3 perpendicular to the first and second horizontal axes A1 and A2. By implementing the system 100 with the two robotic arms as described above, achieving the desired function of completely covering the coil 150, including the eye of the coil 150, with the wrapping material A simple system can be implemented. To cover the coil, the lapping system must be able to move around the coil, i. E. Be able to move in at least four directions along two axes, and an easy way to implement such a function is provided by the system according to the invention.

The robotic arms are further configured to transfer the wrapping material 114 to and from each other so that the coils 150 can be completely covered with the wrapping material 114. The first robot arm 110 is configured to transfer the lapping material to the second robot arm 120 and the second robot arm 120 is similarly configured to transfer the lapping material to the first robot arm 110 The lapping material 114 may be passed all around the coil 150 and may also run around the eye of the coil 150. [ The first robotic arm 110 is movable along the first horizontal axis A1 which is the axis of the coil 150 so that the first robotic arm 110 is configured to move through the eyes of the coil 150. [ The second robotic arm 120 is adapted to provide the lapping material 114 to the first robotic arm 110 before the first robotic arm 110 moves through the eyes of the coil 150, Is adapted to receive the lapping material (114) from the first robotic arm (110) after moving through the eyes of the coil (150). Because the first robotic arm 110 and the second robotic arm 120 are similarly adapted with gripping portions, a first robotic arm 110 providing lapping material and a second robotic arm < RTI ID = 0.0 > 120 and there is no difference between the second robot arm 120 providing the lapping material 114 and the first robot arm 110 receiving it.

In some embodiments, the first robotic arm 110 and the second robotic arm 120 are configured to move in parallel with each other. This eliminates the need for a system for coordinating the arms with each other, since the motion will always be coordinated along the parallel axes A1, A2.

Figure 2 shows a side view of the system of Figure 1; As can be seen in the drawings, the first robotic arm 110 and the second robotic arm 120 can be mounted at different heights relative to the ground. This is because the hand-over of the lapping material 114, in the embodiment in which the first arm 110 grasps the lapping material at the top side and the second robotic arm 120 grasps the lapping material at the bottom side .

The coil rotating means 140 is configured to hold and rotate the coil 150. The rotating means 140 must be robust enough to handle the weight of the coil 150 which can be very heavy. The rotating means 140 may include two rotatable rollers 142 for rotating the coil 150. However, in some embodiments, the rotating means 140 may be arranged differently while still achieving the same purpose, for example it may comprise a bottom portion adapted to hold the coil and may be adapted to rotate the coil And may have two rollers disposed on the upper side of the coiled coil 150.

Moreover, the first robotic arm 110 and / or the second robotic arm 120 may be vertically adjustable such that the system handles coils of various sizes and shapes. Because at least one of the robotic arms 110 is adapted to transport the lapping material 114 through the eye of the coil 150, the possibility of vertical adjustment between the arms 110,120 and the coil 150 is required. This can be accomplished by having at least one of the robotic arms mounted on the vertically adjustable rails 160, and can be operated, for example, pneumatically. In some embodiments, the coil rotating means 140 may be adapted to be vertically adjustable instead of the robot arms, for example by being mounted on a vertically adjustable rail 170 to achieve the same function It can be vertically adjustable. Moreover, both robot arms 110 and 120 and coil rotating means 140 can be vertically adjustable.

3, a three-dimensional side view of the system is shown, which includes robot arms 110 and 120, coils 150 before robot arm 110 moves through the eyes 154 of coil 150, And the positioning of the wrapping material 114. FIG.

An exemplary process for wrapping the coil 150 as a system in accordance with the present invention will now be described with reference to FIG. The robot arm 110 maintains the lapping material 114 by using the gripping portions 112 in the figures and although the system may have any number of different starting positions, Will be referred to as a starting location for purposes. The robotic arm 110 is configured to move the robot arm 110 in the direction to move the robot arm 110 in order to wrap the inside of the coil 150 with the lapping material 114 by passing the lapping material 114 through the eye 154 of the coil 150. [ Will extend through the eye 154 of the coil 150, by moving along one horizontal axis A1. When the first robot arm 110 moves through the eye 154 of the coil 150 and comes out on the other side of the coil 150, the lapping material will be handed over to the second robot arm 120. In some embodiments, the second robot arm 120 moves parallel to the first robot arm 110 along the second horizontal axis A2, but the robot arms may also move independently of each other.

Moving the lapping material along the third horizontal axis A3 toward the first robot arm 110 when moving the lapping material from the first robot arm 110 to the second robot arm 120 causes the second robot arm 120 to move, And later gripping the lapping material 114 using the gripping portion 122. Since the second robot arm 120 is movable along two axes, the second robot arm 120 needs to move toward the first robot arm 110 rather than moving in the opposite direction. After the second robot arm 120 receives the lapping material 114 from the first robot arm, the second robot arm moves again to the same position as the position that was in the starting position along the third axis A3. When moving back, the second robotic arm 120 carries the lapping material being held by the gripping portion 122, which will cover the left side of the coil 150. Next, the second robot arm 120 still holding the lapping material 114 will move toward the starting position along the second horizontal axis A2, thereby wrapping the front side of the coil 150. The second robotic arm 120 will once again extend outward along the third horizontal axis A3 to move the lapping material 114 to the first robotic arm 110, Thereby wrapping the right side of the coil.

As can be appreciated, the process described above covers only one side of the coil 150 when the coil 150 is stationary. To accomplish the wrapping of the entire coil 150, the coil rotating means 140 typically rotates during the entire process described above, which allows the entire coil 150 to be covered with the lapping material 114 . In some embodiments, the coils always rotate slowly, while in other embodiments the coil rotating means 140 may be adapted to rotate the coils in a predetermined amount after each iteration of the cycle described above have. It will be appreciated that the cycle must be repeated several times to cover the entire coil 150 with the lapping material 114.

It will be appreciated that the robotic arms of the present invention are typically pneumatically, mechanically, or electrically driven, but other drive mechanisms are possible.

By implementing the system described herein, a simple and inexpensive system can be achieved that is easy to implement and operate as compared to existing solutions.

A preferred embodiment of the coil package system according to the present invention has been described. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention can be varied within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

All or any of the embodiments of the alternatives described above or portions of the embodiments may be freely combined without departing from the spirit of the present invention, unless the combination is contradictory.

100. Coil package system 110. A first robot arm
112. Grasp portion 122. Grasp portion
114. Lapping material 150. Coil

Claims (10)

A first robot arm (110) having a gripping portion (112) configured to grip a wrapping material (114);
A second robotic arm 120 having a gripping portion 122 configured to grip the lapping material 114; And
And coil rotating means (140) configured to maintain and rotate the coil (150) around the coil axis, the coil package system (100) comprising:
The first robot arm 110 can move only along the first horizontal axis A1 in the process of wrapping the coil 150, the first horizontal axis A1 coinciding with the coil axis at the operating position;
The first robot arm 110 is configured to move through the eye 154 of the coil 150;
The second robot arm 120 is movable along a second horizontal axis A2 parallel to the first horizontal axis A1 and movable along a third horizontal axis A3 perpendicular to the second horizontal axis A2 (100). ≪ / RTI > The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the robotic arms are configured to send and receive lapping material (114) to each other. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The gripping portion 112 of the first robot arm 110 is configured to grip the upper portion of the lapping material 114 and the gripping portion 122 of the second robot arm 120 is configured to grip the bottom portion of the lapping material 114. [ (100). ≪ / RTI > 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The second robot arm 120 is mounted on a guide rail that is extendable along a third axis A3 and is movable along a second axis A2. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Wherein the first robot arm (110) and the second robot arm (120) are configured to move simultaneously along a first horizontal axis (A1) and a second horizontal axis (A2). 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The first robot arm 110 is disposed at a first height and the second robot arm 120 is disposed at a second height and the distance between the first height and the second height is substantially equal to the height of the lapping material 114 , A coil package system (100). 7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The robot arm (110,120) is adjustable along a vertical axis (V1). 8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The coil rotating means 140 is vertically adjustable. 9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The robot arm (110,120) is driven pneumatically. A first robotic arm (110) having a gripping portion (112) configured to grip a lapping material (114);
A second robotic arm 120 having a gripping portion 122 configured to grip the lapping material 114; And
And coil rotating means (140) configured to maintain and rotate the coil (150) about the nose axis, the coil package system (100) comprising:
The first robot arm 110 can move only along the first horizontal axis Al coinciding with the nose axis at the operating position;
The second robot arm 120 is movable along a second horizontal axis A2 parallel to the first horizontal axis A1 and movable along a third horizontal axis A3 perpendicular to the second horizontal axis A2 (100). ≪ / RTI >

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