WO2020207971A1

WO2020207971A1 - Machine for aligning stacked elements arranged on a support base and method for operating the machine

Info

Publication number: WO2020207971A1
Application number: PCT/EP2020/059760
Authority: WO
Inventors: Flemming KRISTENSEN; Arne Lundfold BJERRING
Original assignee: Varo Specialmaskiner A/S
Priority date: 2019-04-08
Filing date: 2020-04-06
Publication date: 2020-10-15
Also published as: DK180383B1; DK201970223A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a machine (100) for aligning holding material (M) placed around stacked elements (S) arranged on a support base (B), said machine comprising: a work space (W) for receiving said support base (B) and stacked elements (S),one or more moveable pressing members (22, 22'), wherein each of said moveable pressing members (22, 22') is displaceable by means of a displacement mechanism (23) between a retracted position (R1) and extended position (R2) relative to the work space (W). The one or more moveable pressing members (22, 22') are configured for applying a force onto the stacked elements (S) on the support base (B) so as to align said stacked elements (S). A control system (60) is configured to control the movement in order to displace the one or more moveable members (22, 22') to align the stacked elements (S) on the support base (B) placed in the work space.

Description

MACHINE FOR ALIGNING STACKED ELEMENTS ARRANGED ON A SUPPORT BASE AND METHOD FOR OPERATING THE MACHINE

Summary

5 The present invention relates to a machine for aligning stacked elements arranged on

a support base and a method of operating said machine. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a machine for removing holding material placed around stacked elements arranged on a support base.

10 Background

Conventionally, stacked elements such as containers, bottles or metallic cans are de livered in the form of a palletized load, where the containers are arranged and placed on a support base such as a pallet. The load is delivered in bulk and can be layered via separate sheets placed between each of the layers, and the load can furthermore

15 be enclosed by a holding material such as shrink-wrapped or stretch-wrapped mate

rial. It is known to use a machine for removing the shrink-wrapped or stretch-wrapped material. One example can be found in US5282346, which discloses an apparatus for unwrapping a palletized and stretch-wrapped load, including lower grippers and upper grippers to grip the lower edge and upper edge of a stretchable film placed around

20 the load, and a cutter unit for vertically cutting the stretchable film. A plate 6 is provided

to press on the top of the palletized load to stabilize the load during unwrapping.

One problem associated with the current solution is, that the machine is not used for handling palletized load supported by a support base, where the stacked elements

25 have become misaligned during transport of the load. Another problem is, that a

number of sensors have to be used to detect whether the stacked elements on the support base have been positioned correctly relative to the cutting unit arranged in side the machine.

30 Present invention

It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a machine where the previous disadvantages are reduced or eliminated. A second object of the pre sent invention is to provide a machine, which is able to align the stacked elements being arranged on a support base. A third object of the present object is to remove the holding material from the aforementioned stacked elements arranged on the support base.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a machine for aligning stacked elements arranged on a support base, said machine comprising:

- a work space for receiving stacked elements on a support base,

- one or more moveable pressing members, wherein each of said moveable pressing member is displaceable by means of a displacement mechanism be tween a retracted position and extended position relative to the work space, - wherein at least one or more moveable pressing members are configured for applying a force onto the stacked elements on the support base so as to align said stacked elements and wherein at least one or more moveable pressing members are displaceable in a horizontal direction,

- a control system configured to control the movement of the moveable press- ing members,

wherein said control system is configured to displace at least one or more moveable members to align the stacked elements on the support base placed in the work space. The machine is used for aligning and straightening stacked elements supported by a support base and removal of the holding material being placed around the stacked elements on a support base. The machine can be used for handling stacked ele ments arranged on a support base, preferably stacks of lightweight items of various kinds of packaging such as canisters, barrels, bottles, cans, containers, boxes, etc. stacked on top of each other and placed on a support base such as a pallet. The stacked elements may be enclosed by a holding material such a shrinkable plastic foil placed on the sides. In another embodiment of the present invention it is possi ble to have a plastic cover or a plastic hood placed on top of the stacked elements, the plastic cover or the plastic hood could be made from another type of plastic ma- terial not belonging to the shrinkable plastic material group.

The invention provides the possibility to ensure uniform alignment of the stacked el ements on the support base so that a cutting operation of the holding material can be performed precisely without the risk of damage to the stacked elements (items). The holding material may be placed on the sides as well as on top of the palletized load supported by the support base.

The machine can be implemented with movable pressing members, which are able to push the stacked elements on the support base to align the stacked elements on the support base. The stacked elements on the support base would preferably be handled by a truck in a prior handling step before the aligning of the stacked ele ments.

As mentioned before the movable pressing members are displaceable between a retracted position and an extended position. The movable pressing member would in an extended position be brought into contact with outer surface of the stacked ele ments on the support base where the movable pressing member can push the stacked elements into their intended position. By using movable pressing members, it is possible to move the stacked elements arranged on the support base back into their intended position during an alignment operation.

The machine is advantageous in many aspects e.g. the present machine reduces the involvement and manual intervention by workers to a minimum. The machine of the present invention can be implemented as a fully automatic or semi-automated machine and the machine can also be integrated into an existing production line. It is further more possible to incorporate and couple the present machine with other machines possibly being arranged upstream or downstream relative to the present machine. One advantage of using one or more moveable pressing members is, that the oper ator of the machine or worker at the production facilities, will not be subjected nei ther to the danger of slipping elements nor to the risk of falling elements.

The cutting mechanism includes a cutting unit comprising one or more cutting ele- ments and the cutting mechanism is designed so that the stacked elements (items) are not damaged by cutting elements on the cutting mechanism and the layout of the cutting mechanism furthermore has the advantage that personal injury is avoided by changing the blade. The cutting mechanism has a design enabling cut ting in both a horizontal direction and a vertical direction relative to the machine, where the vertical direction can be defined as the downward and upward movement and the horizontal direction can be defined as the way back and forth. The cutting mechanism used to remove the holding material will be placed on the sides as well as on top of the palletized load supported by the support base.

The cutting mechanism further includes guidance means in the form of mechanical device that makes is possible for the operator of the machine to easily adjust the cutting unit sideways to ensure that the cutting element of the cutting unit hits the gap between the stacked elements. After said cutting operation involving cutting the holding material (in most cases being the plastic foil), the movable pressing member can be moved for alignment operation, where the stacked elements will be aligned a second time so that the stack elements do not fall over during a subsequent convey ing of the unwrapped stacked elements along a possible second conveying system of the machine.

The machine in one further embodiment, the machine can be designed so that it can record the height and the tolerances of the stacks as the total stack height can be determined by using the vacuum system (vacuum guard) included in the machine. The vacuum system may comprise a number of vacuum elements (e.g. suction cups) which can be turned on and off. In one present embodiment of the present in vention, the height of the stack can be determined by activating a vacuum system of the machine. The vacuum elements of the vacuum system are lowered towards the top of the stacked elements. Vacuum system can be set so that a signal is send to the control system when there is sufficient vacuum and said signal can be used to determine the height of the stack. During operation of the machine, the suction ele ments will abut the top of the stacked elements and said abutment (contact) will ac cording to one embodiment be used to determine the height of the load on the sup port base. According to one embodiment of the present invention, said machine will further com prises a cutting mechanism configured to provide a cutting operation so as to cut said holding material, wherein said control system is configured to control the movement of the cutting mechanism and wherein the cutting mechanism is configured to provide said cutting operation to penetrate the holding material. By using a cutting mecha nism, it is possible to remove the holding material placed around the stacked ele ments, hereby achieving the effect that the holding material being placed around the stacked elements can be released and removed during the step of removing the hold- ing material.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the machine is configured to provide an aligning operation involving aligning the stacked elements on the support base by means of the one or more movable pressing members, followed by a subse- quent cutting operation where said cutting element of the cutting mechanism pene trates the holding material where the cutting mechanism is displaced horizontally and/or vertically during the cutting operation. By aligning the stacked elements during a first operation step, it possible to achieve a more efficient unwrapping of the stacked elements on the support base during a subsequent cutting mode of the machine in- volving operation the cutting mechanism to penetrate the holding material wherein the operation of the cutting mechanism involve displacing a cutting unit of the cutting mechanism in a horizontally and/or vertically during the cutting operation.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the one or more of the move- able pressing members can be formed as a plate or in other different configurations based on different design criteria’s. It is within the scope of the present invention, that the different configuration could include: a lattice structure or a grid structure, as the ses design configurations can be used to reduce the weight of the moveable pressing members.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the machine is configured to provide an aligning operation involving aligning the stacked elements on the support base by means of at least one or more movable pressing members, followed by a subsequent cutting mode where said cutting mechanism penetrates the holding ma- terial (M) and is displaced horizontally and/or vertically during the cutting operation. The aligning operation can be obtained by one or more pressing members pressing on one or more side surfaces of the stacked elements enclosed in the holding material so as to move and align these stacked elements relative to each other and possibly also relative to the support base. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the cutting operation is con figured to be provided while the stacked elements are arranged in said workspace, such as subsequent and/or during said aligning of said stacked elements. The cutting operation can be obtained by moving the cutting mechanism inside the work space subsequent and/or during said aligning of said stacked elements. The work space can be defined as the space between two opposite moveable pressing members. It is possible to operate the machine such that both the alignment operation and the re moval operation can be obtained within the same time frame.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, said one or more cutting mechanism is moveable independently of the said one or more moveable pressing members. By using a cutting mechanism being movable independently of said mov able pressing members, it is possible to program the machine for performing the align- ment operation and the unwrapping steps independently of each other.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, said at least one cutting mech anism is moveable in dependency of the said one or more moveable pressing mem bers.

In the context of the present invention, the term“stacked elements” is used to de scribe lightweight items of various kinds of packaging such as canisters, barrels, bottles, cans, containers, boxes, etc. stacked on top of each other and placed on a support base such as a pallet. Similarly, the machine may be able to handle stand- ard wood and plastic pallets in different sizes, preferably but not limited to pallets measuring 1200 by 800 millimetres also referred to as EUR-pallet or EUR-pallet such as EUR 2 measuring 1200 mm by 1000 mm, EUR 3 measuring 1000 mm by 1200 mm or EUR 6 measuring 800 mm by 600 mm. In the context of the present invention, the term“cutting mechanism” is used to de scribe a mechanism comprising one or more cutting units comprising one cutting el ement for performing a cutting operation and it is therefore within the scope of the invention to implement the cutting mechanism with at least one cutting unit of the fol lowing type; mechanic knife cutter, laser cutter, cutting wire etc. In the context of the present invention, the term“holding material” is used to de scribe a material suitable to be placed around stacked elements, where the holding material is used for holding and preventing the stacked elements from falling down from the support base. The holding material can according to the present invention be a shrink-wrapped or stretch-wrapped material, eg. termoplastic polymer, prefera bly a thermoplastic polyethyle such as LLDPE (Linear Low Density Polyethylen).

Brief description of the drawings

Further objects, features and advantages will appear from the following detailed de scription of embodiments, with reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates a first perspective side view of the machine with some parts being removed to better illustrate the movable pressing members.

Fig. 2 illustrates a second perspective side view of the machine with some parts being removed to better illustrate the movable pressing members. Fig.3 illustrates a third perspective view of the machine with some parts being re moved to better illustrate the movable pressing members, where the stacked ele ments on the support structure has be placed a support base of the machine.

Fig.4 illustrates a top view of the machine, where the protective covers and the sup- port base have been removed to better illustrate the work space for the movable pressing members.

Fig.5 illustrates a perspective view of the moveable pressing members and the dis placement mechanism, where the movable pressing members is positioned in an ex- tended position and a retracted position.

Fig.6 illustrates a perspective view of the cutting unit according to one preferred em bodiment. Fig.7 illustrates a perspective view of the cutting mechanism including the cutting unit according to one preferred embodiment.

Reference

100 machine

10 first conveyor system

12 conveying unit

14 conveying rollers

20 work station

21 platform

22 moveable pressing members

22’ second set of movable pressing members

23 displacement mechanism

221 first moveable pressing plate

222 second moveable pressing plate

230 spindles

231 connecting element

232 bearing

233 connecting rod

234 spindle nuts

24 guidance element

25 protective covering member

26 holding element

27 door frame

28 supporting structure

29 blowing unit

30 cutting mechanism

31 cutting unit

32 guidance member

33 cutting element

34 displacement element

35 mounting plate

36 spring

37 intermediate element 41 cable protection

42 extension element

43 cutting frame

44 adjustment member 50 interface

60 control system

70 second conveying system

72 second conveying unit

R1 retracted position R2 extended position

M holding material

S stacked elements

B support base

C1 cutting position

CO non-cutting position

Detailed description

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments and aspects of the invention are shown. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments and aspects set forth herein; rather, these embodiments and aspects are provided for thoroughness and completeness. Like reference characters refer to like elements throughout the description. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be exaggerated in order to better illustrate and explain the exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

With reference to the accompanying drawings, the machine according to the present invention is generally indicated by the numeral 100 in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The machine 100 is suitable to incorporate into an automated process/production.

Some of parts such as the protective cover 25 have been removed from the machine to better show the movable pressing members 22,22’ according to one presently pre ferred embodiment of the invention. The moveable pressing members can be formed as movable pressing members 22, 22’.

Referring to the FIGS 1-5, the basic elements of the machine are: one or more move- able pressing members 22,22’ and a control system 60, shown as a principal drawing. In the shown embodiments in FIGS 1-4, the machine includes a first set of moveable pressing members 22 and a second set of movable pressing members 22’, each moveable pressing members 22 being displaceable between a retracted position R1 and extended position R2 (shown in FIG. 5). The moveable pressing members 22,22’ cab be arranged opposite to one another and configured for applying a force onto the stacked elements on the support base B (depicted as a pallet) for aligning said stacked elements S on the support base B.

In FIGS 1-5, the movement of the one or more movable pressing members 22, 22’ is configured to be performed based on predefined data stored in a data storage, such as a data storage of said control system 60. The machine include a supporting struc ture 28 configured for supporting said cutting mechanism 30 and said one or more movable pressing members 22, 22’ and the support structure 28 encloses or sur rounds the work space W (shown in FIG. 4). A number of guidance elements 24 are connected to the support frame 28 and each of the guidance elements 24 are used for supporting moveable pressing members 22,22’ relative to the support frame 28. The guidance elements 24 can be a hydraulic cylinder or pneumatic cylinder.

The machine 100 may further include a control system 60 for controlling the move ment of each of the moveable pressing members 22,22’ and the control system 60 is likewise configured for controlling the operation of the cutting mechanism 30, as would be evident from the FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the machine 100 can include a number of pro tective covering members 25. The control system 60 can be implemented as a wire less control system. The control system 60 is not depicted in the FIGS 2-5 for the sake of simplicity. The machine further comprises a first conveyor system 10 with at least one conveying unit 12. The conveying unit 12 may have a number of conveying rollers 14 and the conveying rollers 14 can be operated by a motor 14. In all the shown embodiments of the present invention the conveying unit 12 is depicted with conveying rollers, how ever it is within the scope of the present invention to implement the conveying unit 12 with one or several endless conveying tracks. Independently of the type of conveying mechanism, the conveying system 10 would include at least one conveying unit 12 configured for transporting the stacked elements S from the first conveying system 10 to the work space W inside the work station 20 positioned downstream of the first conveying system 10 for receiving the wrapped and stacked elements S on the sup- port base B from the first conveying system 10.

The machine further comprises a second conveyor system 70 having one or more second conveyor units 72 configured for transporting the unwrapped and stacked el ements S from the work space W inside the work station 20 to a second work station (not shown in the figures). The second work station (not shown) can be positioned downstream of the work station 20 for receiving the unwrapped and stacked elements S from the work station 20. In all the FIGS.1-5, each of the moveable pressing member 22, 22’ is depicted as a plate, however it is within the scope of the present invention to implement one or more of the moveable pressing members 22, 22’ as a lattice structure or a grid structure, as the lattice structure or grid structure can be used to reduce the weight of the move- able pressing members.

Each of the moveable pressing members 22 can be movable in a horizontal direction either independently to one another or in mutual dependency of each other and the control system 60 of the machine may be configured for operating the moveable pressing members 22 according to the first operation mode involving aligning and possibly stabilizing of the stacked elements on the support base B. A first operation mode may be followed by a subsequent second operation mode involving performing a cutting operation where the movement of the cutting mechanism 30 can be con trolled by the control system 60. The cutting mechanism 30 is configured for cutting and penetrating the holding material M placed around the stacked elements S, wherein the cutting mechanism is used for releasing the holding material from the stacked elements S on the support base B.

Referring back to FIGS. 2 and 4, each the movable pressing member can be attached to a door frame 27 and the displacement mechanism 23 can be attached to the door frame 27 hereby allowing the movable pressing member to be pivoted relative to the work space W and the door support frame 28. As shown in FIG. 2, the two doorframes 27 are pivotably connected to the support frame 28. By allowing one or more of the movable pressing members 22,22’ to pivot relative to the work space W, it is possible to convey the stacked elements into and out off the work space W. A number of hold ing elements 26 connected to the movable pressing members 22,22’ and can be configured for gripping the holding material M placed around and on top of the stacked elements. Each holding element 26 can be implemented as a number of grippers such as mechanical operated grippers and/ or a number of suction cups. A number of blow- ing units 29 can be connected to one or more of the movable pressing members 22,22’ for releasing the holding material M from the surface of the movable pressing members 22,22’. The movable pressing members are attached to or part of a door such as a hinged door, wherein said door or pressing member comprises holding material gripping members such as one or more suction cups (26) and/or one or more grippers (27) for removing the holding material during or after said cutting operation

In one aspect of the present invention, the holding material M is a foil and the blowing unit can be a fan or flat air nozzle that generates a strong, efficient blowing force at an exceptionally low noise level.

In the shown embodiment of FIG. 2, the machine comprises a set of oppositely ar ranged movable pressing members 22,22’ configured to move parallel or substantially parallel to said conveying direction C, so as to provide an aligning of the stacked elements S. A conveying system 10 comprises one or more conveying units 12 with a number of conveying rollers are configured for transporting the stacked elements S on the support base B from the first conveying system 10 to the work space W. A machine 100 further comprises a collecting unit 50 configured for collecting the holding material M after the holding material M has been released by cutting the hold ing material M surrounding the stacked elements S on the support base B. The ma chine can include a platform placed in the work space W for receiving said support base B and the collecting unit 50 can be implemented as a suction arrangement 50 placed below said platform. In one embodiment, the collecting unit 50 includes at least one fan for providing suction under said platform 21.

As mentioned with reference to the first conveying system 10, the second conveyor system 70 can include one or more conveying units 72, preferably conveying rollers or endless conveying tracks, said conveyor units 72 are configured for transporting the stacked elements on the support base B from the work space W to the second work station or a similar station positioned downstream of the work space W for re ceiving the stacked elements S on the support base B. As depicted in FIGS. 1-5, each conveying unit 72 will include a number of conveying rollers 73 and the conveying roller 73 can be operated by a motor 71 being configured for operating said conveying rollers 73. Referring now to FIG. 4, it is within the scope of the present invention, that the conveying unit 73 in one preferred embodiment is implemented as a at least two conveying unit 72 having a number of conveying rollers. A second conveyor system 70 including a number of second conveying units 72, pref erably conveying rollers or endless conveying tracks, said conveyor units 72 are con figured for transporting the stacked elements S on the support base B from the work space W to the second work station or a similar station positioned downstream of the work space W for receiving the stacked elements S on the support base B.

Independent of the type of conveying system, a second conveying system 70 with one or more conveying units 12 can be used for transporting the stacked elements on the support base B after the holding material M has been removed from the stacked elements.

The aligning operation involves that the one or more pressing members 22, 22’ are pressing on one or more side surfaces of the stacked elements S enclosed by the holding material M so as to move and align these stacked elements S relative to each other and possibly also relative to the support base B.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the machine 100 is configured to provide an aligning opera tion involving aligning the stacked elements S on the support base B by means of the one or more movable pressing members 22, 22’ being displaced horizontally.

The movable pressing members 222, 221 can be arranged in pair, respectively a first moveable pressing plate 221 and a second moveable pressing plate 222, wherein the moveable pressing plate 221 and a second moveable pressing plate 222 are config ured to move perpendicularly or substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction C. Each of the moveable pressing members 22,22’ being displaceable between a retracted position R1 and extended position R2. The displacement mechanism 23 includes a number of spindles 230, a number of spindle nuts 234, a number of con necting elements 231 , a number of bearings 232, a number of connecting rods 233 and one or more motors 237. By using a displacement mechanism 32 including a number of spindles 230 and a number of spindle nuts 234, it is possible to achieve an uniform displacement of the movable pressing members 22,22’ due to the inherent gearing of the threads of the spindle 230 and the complimenting threads of the spindle nuts 234. By using a number of spindles 230 and spindle nuts 234 it is furthermore possible to achieve a sufficient pressing force to displace the misaligned stacked el ements into their intended and aligned position. It is within the scope of the present invention, that the displacement mechanism 23 is not limited to spindle and spindle nuts, but can also be realized as one or more hydraulic cylinders or one or more pneumatic cylinders. The cutting operation can be performed while the stacked elements S are arranged in said workspace W, such as subsequent and/or during said aligning operation of said stacked elements S.

The cutting mechanism 30 would be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, where it would be evident that each of the cutting mechanism 30 is configured to provide a cutting operation so as to cut said holding material M and the cutting mechanism 30 also include a protruding element 32 for penetrating and releasing the holding material from the stacked elements S positioned on the support base B. The cutting operation by said cutting mechanism 30 can involve penetrating the hold ing material M where the cutting unit 31 is displaced horizontally and/or vertically dur ing the cutting operation. The cutting operation can be based on predetermined input data, where the cutting mechanism 30 is configured to provide said cutting operation to penetrate the holding material M placed around the stacked elements S. The cutting operation will result in releasing the holding material from the stacked element S placed on the support base B.

Referring to FIG. 6, a present preferred embodiment of the cutting mechanism 30 is shown, where said cutting mechanism 30 is connected to the supporting structure 28 of the machine, and the cutting mechanism 30 is retractable relative to the work space W.

Referring to FIG. 6, the cutting mechanism 30 is configured to be mounted to ma chine 100 by means of a mounting plate 35 (shown in FIG. 7) and said cutting mechanism 30 is configured to be moved between a non-cutting position, a first cut ting position and possibly a second cutting position. The first cutting position being substantially horizontal and perpendicular to the first direction. The second cutting position being substantially vertical to the first cutting direction. The cutting mecha- nism 30 is configured to remove a holding material M placed around the stacked el ements S on a support base B independently of how the stacked elements S are po sitioned on the support base B. The cutting mechanism 30 further includes a cable protection 41 for protecting the electrical cables used for providing electricity to the actuator positioned inside the extension element 42. The extension element 42 is used for moving the cutting unit 31 between a third position relative to the work space W and a fourth position relative to the work space W, wherein the fourth posi tion correspond to a position where the cutting unit 31 would be pivoted into a cut ting position Ci by operating the displacement element 34. The cutting frame 43 is used for supporting the cutting unit 31 and the cutting unit 31 can be moved relative to the work space W by using the adjustment mechanism 44, which can be operated by turning the handle positioned at the end of the adjustment mechanism 44. A spring 36 attached to the mounting plate 35 and an intermediate element 36, where the intermediate element 36 of the cutting unit 31 is pivotably connected to the mounting plate 35 and the spring 36 is used as an overload protection.

The control system 60 can be configured for moving said cutting mechanism 30 be tween a non-cutting position Co, wherein said cutting position Ci is determined by an input to the control system 60 based on determining the position of one of the move- able members 22, 22’. The control system will be able to control the movement and the positioning of the cutting mechanism 30 into said cutting position Ci followed by moving the cutting mechanism 30 along plan being substantially vertical to the ground G. The cutting mechanism 30 is configured for cutting a holding material M placed on top of the stacked elements S on the support base B and the cutting element 33 can be implemented as one or more blades as shown in FIG.7

Referring now to FIG 7, the cutting mechanism 30 comprises a cutting frame 33 with a guidance member 32 and one or more cutting elements 31 for cutting said holding material M enclosing the stacked elements on the support base B. The cutting mech- anism 30 includes a cutting unit 31 with a mounting plate 35 for mounting said cutting unit onto the machine 100 and cutting mechanism 30 comprising a cutting unit 31 with two cutting elements 33 configured to be moved between a non-cutting position, a first cutting position by means of displacement element 34 and the cutting unit 31 can be rotate around the dotted line shown in FIG. 7. The cutting frame 43 and said guid ance member 32 enable the cutting unit 31 to be moved between a non-cutting posi tion Co and a cutting position Ci being provided for controlling the movement of the cutting element 31. The control system 60 of the machine will be configured to provide a cutting operation so as to cut said holding material and the control system would be connected to the cutting unit 31 for controlling the movement of the cutting unit 31 between an first extended position and a first retracted position, wherein the first re tracted position is defined as the non-cutting position Co and the first extended position Ci is defined as the cutting position. The cutting elements 33 can be replaced by slid- ing the cutting elements 33 out of the groove in the cutting unit 31.

The cutting mechanism 30 furthermore include a protruding element 32 configured for penetrating the holding material M and the protruding element 32 can be arranged juxtaposed to the one or more cutting elements 33 for providing a safeguard for the operator and for avoiding that the one or more cutting elements 33 can gets in direct contact with the stacked element S during the cutting operation involving cutting the holding material M place around the stacked elements S on the support base B. After the holding material has been cut, it is possible to remove and collect the holding material M

In an embodiment, said machine further comprises an interface 50 for supporting an upper interface with a number of retaining means, such as suction cups and a number of grippers configured for grabbing the top foil placed on top of the stacked elements. The gripper can be implemented as mechanical operated grippers.

In a not shown embodiment of the present invention, the machine 100 can be realized with two moveable pressing members 22 for aligning and stabilizing the stacked ele ments S on the support base B. It is preferred to provide the machine 100 with four movable pressing members 22, 22’ as four movable pressing members 22, 22’ will ensure that the stacked elements S can be placed in the work space W of the work station 20 without regarding whether the stacked elements S are misaligned. In the situation that the machine 100 is implemented with two moveable pressing members 22, 22’, the stacked elements S would have to be arranged so that the misalignment of the stacked elements S would be facing the movable pressing members 22, 22’. Point describing the cutting unit

1. A cutting mechanism (30), wherein said cutting mechanism (30) is configured to be mounted to the machine (100), such as a machine for aligning stacked ele- ments on a support base, and said cutting mechanism (30) comprising one or more cutting units (31) configured to be moved between a first cutting position and a second cutting position;

- said first cutting position being substantially horizontal and perpendicular to the first direction;

- said second cutting position being substantially vertical to the first cutting di rection;

- said cutting mechanism (30) is configured to remove a holding material (M) placed around the stacked elements (S) on a support base (B) independently of how the stacked elements (S) are positioned on the support base (B).

2. A cutting mechanism (30) according to point 1 , wherein said cutting mecha nism (30) is configured for cutting a holding material (M) placed on top of the stacked elements (S) on the support base (B). 3. A cutting mechanism (30) according to points 1 or 2, wherein said cutting unit

(31) includes at least one cutting element (33), such as a blade.

4. A cutting mechanism (30) according any to point 3, wherein said cutting mech anism (30) further includes a protruding element (32) for penetrating the holding material (M) and the protruding element (32) is arranged juxtaposed to the cut ting element (33) for providing a safeguard for the operator and for avoiding that the cutting element (33) gets in direct contact with the stacked element (S) dur ing the operational mode of removing the holding material (M) from the stacked elements (S) on the support base (B).

Claims

1. A machine (100) for aligning stacked elements (S) arranged on a support base (B), said machine comprising:

- a work space (W) for receiving stacked elements (S) on said support base (B);

- one or more moveable pressing members (22, 22’), wherein each of said moveable pressing members (22, 22’) is displaceable by means of a displace ment mechanism (23) between a retracted position (R1) and an extended po sition (R2), relative to the work space (W);

- wherein at least one or more moveable pressing members (22, 22’) are con figured for applying a force onto the stacked elements (S) on the support base (B) in said workspace (W) so as to align said stacked elements (S), and wherein at least one or more moveable pressing members (22, 22’) are dis placeable in a horizontal direction;

- a control system (60) configured to control the movement of the moveable pressing members (22, 22’);

- wherein said control system (60) is configured to displace the one or more moveable members (22, 22’) to align the stacked elements (S) on the sup port base (B) placed in the work space (W),

characterised in that said machine further comprises a cutting mech anism (30) configured to provide a cutting operation in said workspace (W), so as to cut a holding material (M) placed around said stacked el ements, wherein said control system is configured to control the move ment of the cutting mechanism (30), and wherein the cutting mecha nism (30) is configured to provide said cutting operation to penetrate the holding material (M).

2. A machine (100) according to claim 1 , wherein said cutting operation is config ured to be provided while the stacked elements (S) are arranged in said work space (W), subsequent to and/or during said aligning of said stacked elements (S).

3. A machine (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the movement of the one or more movable pressing members (22, 22’) is configured to be per formed based on predefined data stored in a data storage, such as a data storage of said control system (60).

4. A machine according to any of the previous claims, further comprising a support ing structure (28) configured for supporting said cutting mechanism (30) and said one or more movable pressing members (22, 22’).

5. A machine (100) according to claim 4, wherein the support structure (28) en closes or surrounds the work space (W).

6. A machine (100) according to any of the previous claims, said machine comprises a set of movable pressing members (22, 22’) arranged opposite to each other, wherein the set of movable pressing members (22, 22’) are configured to be dis placed towards each other to align the stacked elements (S) on the support base (B).

7. A machine (100) according to any of the previous claims, said machine comprises a first and a second set of movable pressing members (22 22’) arranged opposite to each other, wherein said first set is configured to move in a first horizontal direction, and wherein said second set is configured to move in a horizontal di rection perpendicular to the first direction.

8. A machine (100) according to any of the previous claims, wherein the machine comprises one or more conveying systems (10, 70) configured to move the stacked elements (S) on the support base (B) into and/or away from said work space (W) in a conveying direction (C).

9. A machine (100) according to any of the previous claims, wherein one or more movable pressing members (22 22’) are attached to a door frame (27), and wherein said displacement mechanism (23) is attached to the door frame (27) to provide a movement of the movable pressing member (2222’) relative to the door frame (27).

10. A machine (100) according to any of claims 8 or 9, wherein and said machine comprises a set of oppositely arranged movable pressing members (22,22’) con figured to move parallel or substantially parallel to said conveying direction (C), so as to provide an aligning of the stacked elements (S).

11. A machine (100) according to any of previous claims, further comprising a col lecting unit (50) configured for collecting the holding material (M) after the holding material (M) has been released from the stacked elements (S) on the support base (B).

12. A machine (100) according to any of the previous claims, said at least one or more movable pressing members (22 22’) comprises one or more grapping ele ments (26), preferably one or more suction elements such as vacuum suction cups and/or one or more grippers for removing the holding material (M) placed around the stacked elements (S).

13. A method of operating the machine (100) according to any of the previous claims, comprising the following steps:

- arranging said stacked elements (S) inside the a work space (W);

- moving the one or more moveable pressing members (22, 22’) into an ex tended position (R2) relative to said work space (W), to apply a force onto the stacked elements (S) so as to align said stacked elements (S);

- performing a cutting operation to cut the holding material (M) placed around the aligned, stacked elements (S) on the support base (B) in said work space

(W) by means of said cutting mechanism (30);

- wherein the movement of the moveable pressing members (22, 22’) and said cutting operation is controlled by a control system (60).

14. A method of operating said machine (100) according to claim 13, said method including the steps of:

- moving said cutting mechanism (30) between a cutting position (Ci) and a non-cutting position (Co),

- wherein said cutting position (Ci) is determined by an input to the control system (60) based on determining the position of one of the moveable mem bers (22, 22’);

positioning the cutting mechanism (30) into said first cutting and moving the cutting mechanism (30) along a plane being substantially vertical to the ground (G).