US3410425A - Sheet handling apparatus and method - Google Patents

Sheet handling apparatus and method Download PDF

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Publication number
US3410425A
US3410425A US524801A US52480166A US3410425A US 3410425 A US3410425 A US 3410425A US 524801 A US524801 A US 524801A US 52480166 A US52480166 A US 52480166A US 3410425 A US3410425 A US 3410425A
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United States
Prior art keywords
sheet
abutments
rollers
platform
emplaced
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Expired - Lifetime
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US524801A
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English (en)
Inventor
Guillaume Yves
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Compagnie de Saint Gobain SA
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Compagnie de Saint Gobain SA
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G49/00—Conveying systems characterised by their application for specified purposes not otherwise provided for
    • B65G49/05—Conveying systems characterised by their application for specified purposes not otherwise provided for for fragile or damageable materials or articles
    • B65G49/06—Conveying systems characterised by their application for specified purposes not otherwise provided for for fragile or damageable materials or articles for fragile sheets, e.g. glass
    • B65G49/068—Stacking or destacking devices; Means for preventing damage to stacked sheets, e.g. spaces

Definitions

  • Sheets of material such as glass come from a production line and are sequentially pivoted from a horizontal to an essentially vertical position. As each sheet approaches the vertical, its increasing weight component acting upon abutments in contact with the lower edge of the sheet, acts to retract the abutments to allow the sheet to descend a short distance onto a mobile truck or pallet. At the same time rollers associated with the abutments, nudge the lower edge of the sheet into full line contact with a sheet previously emplaced. The sheet then pivots slightly into full surface contact with the previous sheet.
  • This invention relates to apparatus for handling sheets of material of large transverse and longitudinal dimensions relatively to their thickness and which by reason of their fragility must be moved and handled with particular care.
  • sheets of material of large transverse and longitudinal dimensions relatively to their thickness and which by reason of their fragility must be moved and handled with particular care.
  • materials of glass, metal, fiber and cement there may be mentioned materials of glass, metal, fiber and cement.
  • each sheet in sequence, at the end of a conveyor and to transfer it to a loading table located at the terminus of the conveyor and forming a prolongation thereof.
  • This table is provided with stops or abutments located along its transverse edge remote from the conveyor, and is pivotable about a normally horizontal axis to first bring the adjacent edge of the sheet into contact with the abutments and then to elevate the sheet from a horizontal to an essentially vertical position. Following this the sheet is transferred in vertical position, from the table to the aforesaid platform. In effecting this transfer the table is brought to a position with respect to the platform, such that the lower portion of the sheet being handled comes into contact with the lower portion of the previouslyloaded sheet in place upon the platform.
  • a further object is to provide a mechanism as described, that eliminates breakage of sheets of fragile material otherwise caused by rough, careless or inexperienced handling, and thus reduces costs per unit area of usable sheet material.
  • the invention involves means by which the aforesaid stops or abutments for the leading edge of the sheet are not fixed to the table as in prior art devices but, to the contrary, are so mounted to the table as to have a certain freedom of movement, relatively thereto.
  • This movement is such that as the sheet rises in pivotal movement about a normally horizontal axis, it is also automatically displaced or adjusted transversely of its own plane in order to bring the lower edge or portion of the sheet into contact with the corresponding portion of the one previously emplaced upon the platform, so that the sheet being loaded moves into full surface contact with thepreviously loaded one, as it moves into the vertical position.
  • the aforesaid movable abutments are displaced or moved toward the platform until the guide means forming parts of the abutments, come into contact with the sheet previously emplaced upon the platform and are thus definitely and positively located to properly position the sheet being emplaced when it is separated from the abutment assemblies.
  • guide rollers which are moved into contact with the sheet already in place upon the platform.
  • the successive generatrices of these rollers as they come into contact with the sheet already in position are then used to guide into final location the sheet being emplaced.
  • a further object is to provide a new and useful method of handling and stacking sheets of fragile material and by which breakage and damage to edges of the sheets are reduced or eliminated.
  • the drawing shows a form of the invention of particular utility in the glass-making industry, as well as in other industries, in the safe and efficient handling of sheets of predetermined sizes.
  • FIGURE 1 is a schematic side elevation showing the general lay-out and means by which a sheet of material is transferred from a conveyor to loading mechanism and by such mechanism emplaced upon a mobile platform in an essentially vertical position;
  • FIGURE 2 is a view to an enlarged scale, partly in section, of one of two duplicate mechanisms embodying the invention, with its parts in the position they occupy when a sheet of material is being moved horizontally into engagement therewith;
  • FIGURE 3 is a view corresponding to FIGURE 2 but showing the parts in the positions they occupy as the sheet moves into the vertical and is about to be deposited upon the platform in surface-to-surface contact with the sheet immediately previously emplaced;
  • FIGURE 4 is a perspective view showing the complete assembly with parts essentially in the same positions as those depicted upon FIGURE 2.
  • the sheets move leftwardly and horizontally over a conveyor genererally identified at 2.
  • a mobile loading table including a chassis 6 having a frame 3 carrying a table or sheet support 4.
  • the frame and table fonm a unit and are pivotable relatively to the chassis about a horizontal transverse axis 7 adjacent the forward end of the chassis, from the horizontal position shown upon FIGURES l, 2 and 4, in the direction of arrow 1, to an essentially vertical position.
  • Rollers 33 spaced and located at selected points over the surface of the table are journaled thereon by bearings 33a, one of which appears upon FIGURE 3.
  • Chassis 6, as indicated, is mobile, as by being mounted upon wheels 6a, so that it may be easily horizontally translated from a first position wherein its trailing edge is closely adjacent conveyor 2, to a second position with its leading edge closely adjacent platform 8, as indicated by arrow f1, FIGURE 1.
  • abutments move into recesses in platform 8 and eventually the sheet moves into full surface contact with the one previously emplaced.
  • the present invention concerns more particularly the mounting and operation of abutments 5.
  • the forward edge of table 4 includes a channel 4a which has bearing brackets 19, 19a, 19b etc., secured to the surface thereof and which, as shown, is uppermost when the table is horizontal as in FIGURES 1, 2 and 4.
  • the brackets are horizontally aligned and jointly journal a shaft 18. This shaft mounts two duplicate assemblies 5, as is clear from FIGURE 4.
  • an abutment support is generally identified at 15, and comprises a sleeve 17 keyed to shaft 18 and a pair of axially spaced parallel arms or projections integrally connected therewith and extending radially forwardly therefrom.
  • the anms have enlarged or widened ends which are interconnected at their lower edges by a depending U-shaped yoke 29, shown as integral with the arms.
  • the enlarged ends are each provided with a pair of links 24. Referring especially to FIGURE 2, it is noted that the links are pivoted to the arm 26 on respective pivots which are there vertically spaced. These links and their pivots are matched by a like construction carried by the opposite enlarged end of the second arm 16.
  • Each abutment 5 comprises a generally T-shaped body having its stem 12 smoothly fitting between arms 16 for movement therebetween.
  • the crossarm 9 of the T has a rearwardly-facing surface covered with a pad or strip 10 of rubber or other resilient material and against which the leading edge of sheet 1 abuts.
  • cross arm 9 journals rollers 11 having a common transverse horizontal axis. Reference to FIGURE 2 shows that these rollers are just forwardly of a vertical plane through the 'face of pad 10.
  • Stem 12 has a pair of pins 13 projecting from each side wall thereof. Each pin projects through a respective one of a pair of slots 14 in the corresponding arm 16. Each slot is arcuate about a respective one of pivots 26 as a center. Each pin extends into and has a smooth pivotal fit within a bearing aperture in the distal end of a corresponding link 24.
  • the arrangement and construction are such that links 24 are at all times parallel and form a parallelogram connection between arms 16 and abutment stem 12. For instance, as is seen from FIGURE 2, the intersection of the axes of pivots 26 and of pins 13 with a plane normal to shaft 18, define the four corners of a defonmable parallelogram.
  • abutment 5 may move between arms 16 but is constrained so that its stem 12 remains parallel to itself; and rollers 11 move in arcuate paths.
  • there may be but two pins secured in stem 12 each having its ends projecting from opposite sides thereof and extending through a respective slot 14, with a smooth sliding fit. That is to say, each pin 13 on one side of stem 12 is aligned with a corresponding pin on the other side.
  • slots 14 extend generally upwardly and forwardly; and that a tension coil spring 25 is secured at one end at 27 to the lower end of stem 12 and at its other end to the bigh-t portion of yoke 29, and thus acts to urge abutment 5 downwardly as viewed in this figure, until the ends of pins 13 engage the lower ends of the slots.
  • Means not shown may be provided for adjusting the tension of spring 25, to regulate the force with which it urges abutment 5 into the position of FIGURE 2.
  • Arms 20, 20a are secured as by keys, to the respective ends of shaft 18. Confining attention to arm 20, a yoke 21 is pivoted to the free end of the arm at 21a.
  • the yoke is integral with a bolt 22 passing downwardly through an aperture in a plate 34 having one end riveted to channel 4a and projecting rearwardly therefrom.
  • Upper and lower nuts of which upper nut 23 only appears upon FIGURE 4 are threaded upon the bolt and may be turned to eflect a fine rotational adjustment of shaft 18 and to fixedly maintain this adjustment. Since the arm 20a is parallel with 20 and is similarly connected between shaft 18 and a plate, not shown, corresponding to plate 34, it is sufiicient to identify yoke 21a and bolt 22a.
  • rollers are shown as having their uppermost elements substantially tangent to, and spaced slightly forwardly of the leading edge of the plane of the upper face of sheet 1. This particular relation is not absolutely essential. In fact, in the majority of installations it is advantageous that the rollers project slightly above the upper face of the sheet. Indeed, the most satisfactory position of the guide rollers 11 would be one wherein their common axis lies in the plane of the top or upper face of the sheet being emplaced,
  • rollers 11 should not be located so that they project excessively above the plane of the upper face of the sheet because such an arrangement requires too great a retraction of stem 12 and may result in damage to the lower edges of the sheets.
  • a sheet such as 1 moves off the conveyor 2.
  • table 4 has its rearward end closely adjacent the conveyor so that the sheet, supported by rollers 33, is easily moved onto the table with its forward edge engaging strips, 10 and resting on rollers 31 of abutment assemblies 5.
  • the table is then translated the relatively short distance to platform 8, whereupon the table is elevated about axis 7 by hand or by known power means such as a worm and gear mechanism driven by an electric motor through a speed reducer.
  • rollers 11 and stems 12 are forced slightly to the right by engagement between these rollers and sheet 32.
  • roller 31 moves slightly forwardly relatively to rollers 11, and finally nudges sheet 1 off pads 10.
  • the sheet then moves downwardly smoothly and accurately with its lower edge in full line contact with the surface of sheet 32.
  • springs 25 free and clear of the sheet, until pins 13 engage the ends of the slots as in FIGURE 2.
  • the sheet glides smoothly downwardly a short distance into fully emplaced position.
  • the table is then returned to position adjacent conveyor 2, while being lowered or pivoted back to the horizontal, ready to receive the next sheet coming 01f the conveyor.
  • each sheet is elevated smoothly and without jar, so that danger of breakage or chipping of the lower edges thereof is practically eliminated. Furthermore, precise collocation between platform 8 and table 4 is not necessary so long as rollers 11 engage sheet 32 as sheet 1 nears the vertical position.
  • Sheet handling apparatus comprising a table defining a plane, means mounting said table for pivoting about a first normally horizontal axis parallel with said plane, from a first horizontal position to a second vertical position, a pair of abutments carried by said! table at one edge thereof, to engage and support an edge of a sheet thereon, and means operated by the increasing gravitational component of the weight of the sheet effective upon said abutments, to move each said abutment transversely outwardly of said plane, in response to pivoting of said table from said first to said second positions.
  • roller means carried by said table and supporting a sheet thereon in a predetermined plane thereabove, each said abutment comprising a member having a head and a shank extending therefrom, guide means mounting said shank to said table for guided movement parallel with itself, normal to said plane, from a first limiting position with said head substantially in said plane, to a second limiting position with said head forwardly and outwardly of said plane, antifriction means carried by each said abutment and contacting the lower surface of a sheet on said table when the edge thereof engages said abutments, means yieldingly urging said abutments into said first position, said abutments moving automatically to second position in response to pivotal elevation of said table about said first axis, toward the vertical.
  • each said roller having its upper peripheral element adjacent said plane and rearwardly of the sheet-contacting surface of said head, said surface comprising resilient material.
  • said guide means comprising a pair of arms fixed with and extending forwardly from said table and receiving said shank between them, and parallelogram link connections between said shank and arms.
  • said parallelogram link interconnection comprising first and second pairs of parallel links each pivoted at one end to a respective arm and at its other end to a respective one of a pair of pins fixed with said shank and extending through a respective one of a plurality of slots in said arms, each said slot being arcuate about the pivot of its link, said slots determining said first and second limiting positions.
  • the method of emplacing sheets of material in essentially vertical stacked relation upon a horizontal platform comprising, moving a horizontally-disposed sheet contiguous to an edge of said platform and above the plane thereof, pivoting the sheet upwardly about a horizontal axis substantially parallel with and adjacent said edge, while initially supporting the sheet by abutments engaging an edge thereof, and moving said abutments under the action of the increasing component of weight of the sheet effective upon abutments, as the sheet being emplaced approaches the vertical and moves into contact with the sheet previously emplaced, and forcing the sheet being emplaced, off said abutments.
  • Sheet handling and stacking apparatus comprising, a chassis, a table, means mounting said table on said chassis for pivoting about a horizontal axis adjacent and parallel with one edge of said table, a shaft mounted on said table parallel with, above, and adjacent said edge, and a pair of abutments carried by said shaft in spaced relation therealong, for engaging the edge of a sheet resting on said table, each said abutment comprising a sleeve fixed about said shaft, a pair of arms carried by and extending forwardly of said sleeve, a shank vertically mounted between said arms, means connecting said arms and shank to guide the latter in movement parallel with itself, forwardly and outwardly with respect to said shaft, between first and second limiting positions, a head fixed with the upper end of said shank, parallel with said shaft and positioned to engage the edge of a sheet on said table, a pair of rollers journaled to the respective ends of said head on a common axis, said connecting means operating to move each said shank and head outward
  • roller means carried by said shank and effective to force a sheet forwardly off said head in response to tilting of said table and sheet thereon, substantially into vertical position.
  • Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the sheets supported by the pivoting are deposited on a stand to be stacked on said stand in a near vertical position, comprising guiding means carried by said abutments which are able to come into contact with the sheet precedently deposited on the stand and to cause the abutments to further move under the reaction exerted by said precedently deposited sheet on said guiding means, until said abut ments are brought in the exact position for placing the sheet on the stand.
  • Apparatus according to claim 12 comprising means for withdrawing the abutments from the stand as soon as they are no longer supporting the weight of the sheet.

Landscapes

  • Sheets, Magazines, And Separation Thereof (AREA)
  • Folding Of Thin Sheet-Like Materials, Special Discharging Devices, And Others (AREA)
  • Registering Or Overturning Sheets (AREA)
US524801A 1965-03-29 1966-02-03 Sheet handling apparatus and method Expired - Lifetime US3410425A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR11033A FR1438399A (fr) 1965-03-29 1965-03-29 Perfectionnements à l'empilage de feuilles sur un pupitre

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3410425A true US3410425A (en) 1968-11-12

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US524801A Expired - Lifetime US3410425A (en) 1965-03-29 1966-02-03 Sheet handling apparatus and method

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US (1) US3410425A (es)
BE (1) BE678406A (es)
DE (1) DE1262895B (es)
ES (1) ES324861A1 (es)
FR (2) FR1438399A (es)
GB (1) GB1081666A (es)
LU (1) LU50786A1 (es)
NL (1) NL6603330A (es)

Cited By (13)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3679076A (en) * 1970-07-20 1972-07-25 Libbey Owens Ford Co Method and apparatus for handling sheet material
US3682329A (en) * 1970-03-03 1972-08-08 Libbey Owens Ford Co Sheet handling apparatus
US3712480A (en) * 1969-04-02 1973-01-23 M Houssa Process and machine for the toasting of cut bread
US3774783A (en) * 1970-07-20 1973-11-27 Libbey Owens Ford Co Apparatus for handling sheet material
US3838779A (en) * 1972-09-14 1974-10-01 Ppg Industries Inc Glass plate transporter apparatus and system
US3896954A (en) * 1972-09-14 1975-07-29 Ppg Industries Inc Method of handling loose glass plates
US3984010A (en) * 1975-09-15 1976-10-05 Boise Cascade Corporation Truss stacking apparatus
US4189818A (en) * 1976-11-15 1980-02-26 Saint-Gobain Industries Apparatus and method for the assembly of glass sheets
US4349304A (en) * 1976-04-08 1982-09-14 Asahi Glass Company, Ltd. Automatic glass plate piling apparatus
US4664581A (en) * 1984-12-10 1987-05-12 Mechanical Separations, Inc. Sheet handling and separator apparatus and method
US5620293A (en) * 1995-08-07 1997-04-15 Vidrio Plano De Mexico Glass sheet handling apparatus
US20100106288A1 (en) * 2007-03-16 2010-04-29 Grenzebach Maschinenbau Gmbh Device for automatically sorting glass plates
US20170176051A1 (en) * 2010-05-24 2017-06-22 Opterra Energy Services, Inc. Solar module array pre-assembly method and apparatus

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2526410A1 (fr) * 1982-05-10 1983-11-10 Tech Nles Ste Gle Dispositifs pour la constitution simultanee, avec taquage, de plusieurs piles de produits verriers plats
GB8919672D0 (en) * 1989-08-31 1989-10-11 Abrahams Mark & Sons Glass handling system
IT1267827B1 (it) * 1994-07-06 1997-02-18 Simec Spa Dispositivo manipolatore automatico, particolarmente per lastre di marmo, granito ed altri materiali lapidei.
ITPD20060363A1 (it) * 2006-10-03 2008-04-04 Antonio Piazza Attrezzatura per la movimentazione di prodotti lastriformi
DE102008002072A1 (de) * 2008-05-29 2009-12-03 Grafoteam Gmbh Transportvorrichtung, insbesondere für Druckplatten

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2154757A (en) * 1935-01-19 1939-04-18 Int Paper Box Machine Co Printing mechanism
DE1180681B (de) * 1962-11-21 1964-10-29 Glas & Spiegel Manufactur Ag Vorrichtung zum Hochkantstapeln von fort-laufend angelieferten Glasscheiben
US3279664A (en) * 1964-08-11 1966-10-18 Rolland Glass Company Apparatus for cutting glass

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2154757A (en) * 1935-01-19 1939-04-18 Int Paper Box Machine Co Printing mechanism
DE1180681B (de) * 1962-11-21 1964-10-29 Glas & Spiegel Manufactur Ag Vorrichtung zum Hochkantstapeln von fort-laufend angelieferten Glasscheiben
US3279664A (en) * 1964-08-11 1966-10-18 Rolland Glass Company Apparatus for cutting glass

Cited By (15)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3712480A (en) * 1969-04-02 1973-01-23 M Houssa Process and machine for the toasting of cut bread
US3682329A (en) * 1970-03-03 1972-08-08 Libbey Owens Ford Co Sheet handling apparatus
US3679076A (en) * 1970-07-20 1972-07-25 Libbey Owens Ford Co Method and apparatus for handling sheet material
US3774783A (en) * 1970-07-20 1973-11-27 Libbey Owens Ford Co Apparatus for handling sheet material
US3838779A (en) * 1972-09-14 1974-10-01 Ppg Industries Inc Glass plate transporter apparatus and system
US3896954A (en) * 1972-09-14 1975-07-29 Ppg Industries Inc Method of handling loose glass plates
US3984010A (en) * 1975-09-15 1976-10-05 Boise Cascade Corporation Truss stacking apparatus
US4349304A (en) * 1976-04-08 1982-09-14 Asahi Glass Company, Ltd. Automatic glass plate piling apparatus
US4189818A (en) * 1976-11-15 1980-02-26 Saint-Gobain Industries Apparatus and method for the assembly of glass sheets
US4664581A (en) * 1984-12-10 1987-05-12 Mechanical Separations, Inc. Sheet handling and separator apparatus and method
US5620293A (en) * 1995-08-07 1997-04-15 Vidrio Plano De Mexico Glass sheet handling apparatus
US20100106288A1 (en) * 2007-03-16 2010-04-29 Grenzebach Maschinenbau Gmbh Device for automatically sorting glass plates
US8210339B2 (en) * 2007-03-16 2012-07-03 Grenzebach Mashinenbau GmbH Device for automatically sorting glass plates
US20170176051A1 (en) * 2010-05-24 2017-06-22 Opterra Energy Services, Inc. Solar module array pre-assembly method and apparatus
US10584901B2 (en) * 2010-05-24 2020-03-10 Engie Services U.S. Inc. Solar module array pre-assembly method and apparatus

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB1081666A (en) 1967-08-31
FR1438399A (fr) 1966-05-13
BE678406A (es) 1966-09-26
DE1262895B (de) 1968-03-07
FR92840E (fr) 1969-01-03
LU50786A1 (es) 1966-09-29
NL6603330A (es) 1966-09-30
ES324861A1 (es) 1967-02-16

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