WO2021084148A1

WO2021084148A1 - Disc clasping claw

Info

Publication number: WO2021084148A1
Application number: PCT/ES2020/070650
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jesús BAHILLO DE LA PUEBLA
Original assignee: Icut Solutions, S.L.
Priority date: 2019-10-31
Filing date: 2020-10-26
Publication date: 2021-05-06
Also published as: ES1239004U; ES1239004Y

Abstract

The invention discloses a grasping claw for discs configured with an internal diameter, managed by means of a control system and linked to a manipulator robot, comprising a moving carriage (6) incorporating a base component (10) and a support ring (1), an expandable actuator (4) incorporating a plurality of clasps (2) centred with regard to the support ring (1), a traction component (8) attached to the mounting base (9) and to the base component (10), at least one slider (12) adjusted on a guide component (13) which is attached to the base component (10) in such a way that once a disc has been detected by the control system, the manipulator robot places the support ring (1) in a position determined by the control system and the moving carriage (6) withdraws for the clasps (2) to grasp the disc.

Description

DISC CAPTURE CLAW

DESCRIPTION

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention refers to a disc capture claw with a configuration and design such that it allows it to catch any disc with the sole condition that they have an internal diametrical hole, that is, that they have the shape of a circular crown, regardless of thickness. of the same.

It finds special application in the field of the industry of mechanisms for gripping products for their movement.

TECHNICAL PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the current state of the art, laminated sheet cutting processes include the use of different types of discs for cutting sheets. These discs are located along a pair of axes that are placed parallel to form a cutting train in a machine and, once used, must be replaced by new ones, either to carry out a new cutting configuration of the machine. laminated sheet or for maintenance of the discs, mainly sharpening and cleaning. For this, the discs that are housed in the two axes are simultaneously changed, as they are part of the same cutting process.

To carry out this process, a wide variety of discs are used. This means that discs with thicknesses ranging from 200 to 0.5 mm have to be handled, which is a difficulty for automating the process of loading and unloading the discs.

The fact of having a great diversity of different discs entails, on the one hand, the complexity of handling pieces of different sizes with the same mechanisms. On the other hand, thinner discs have the risk of sticking to the adjacent disc, either due to the oils that are usually used during the cutting process or due to the flatness of the discs and the adhesion properties between the discs. metals. This phenomenon of adhesion between discs makes the automation process extremely difficult, which is why the extraction of the discs from the shafts is usually not automated. In addition, this adhesion of discs, in an automated disc change system, usually becomes the uncontrolled exit of the shaft and the possible fall to the ground of some of the attached discs due to the fact that in the drag between the discs they have not reached adhere firmly.

Another problem of the automated disc change process lies in the different outer diameters of the discs that are installed on a line, which means that the claws have to be able to adapt to the variability of diameters.

The present invention solves the aforementioned problems related to the adherence of discs and possible falls to the ground, offering a claw for capturing the discs by means of which it is possible to carry out an automatic and reliable process for the automated exchange of discs in lines. of laminated sheet metal, regardless of the thickness and size of the disc.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In order to achieve the objectives and avoid the aforementioned drawbacks, the present invention describes a claw for capturing discs configured by means of an external diameter, an internal diameter and a thickness determined by which an internal diametrical surface is defined for gripping. of the discs. The gripper is governed by a control software with information about the positioning and dimensions of the discs, for which the most important value is the thickness.

The claw comprises the following main elements:

- a fixing base by means of which it is attached to a manipulator robot in charge of moving the claw,

- a floating carriage that incorporates a base element and a support ring destined to contact the disc to be captured,

- an expandable actuator, with a support element, centered with respect to the support ring,

- a towing element fixed at its ends to the fixing base and to the base element of the floating trolley,

- at least one guide element, fixed at its ends to the fixing base and to the expandable actuator support element,

- at least one slide, fitted to the guide element, which is attached to the base element of the floating carriage, and

- a plurality of clamping claws, fixed at one end to the expandable actuator, with the ability to move.

With these elements, the way of acting of the claw of the invention to capture a disc and take it to another location is as described below.

It should be noted that the process for capturing discs is different depending on whether it is a matter of unloading discs from the storage or review position to be loaded onto a cutting shaft or to the warehouse, respectively, or whether it is a matter of unloading disks destined for a review or storage station.

In this way, the first process is carried out in the following way. Once a disk destined to be captured has been determined by the control software, the claw being in a position in which the drive element is extended, that is, with the support ring in the position furthest from the fixing base , and the clamping claws located between the support ring and the base element of the floating carriage, the manipulator robot is in charge of bringing the claw closer to the disc and reduces the speed until the support ring is already supported on the disc. Then, the manipulator robot continues to advance by pressing with the support ring on the disk a distance determined by the control, depending on the thickness of the disk destined to be loaded, in such a way that it displaces the floating carriage, contracting the drag element and causing it to In turn, the clamping claws protrude through the support ring until they are positioned at the height of the inner diametral surface of the disc for a certain distance. Then, the manipulator robot stops, the drag element is blocked to fix the position of the nails inside the disc, and the expandable actuator extends, causing the extension of the nails, which contact the inner diametrical surface of the disc. , grabbing it. The manipulator robot then removes the claw along with the disk to bring it to its destination.

In the second case, that is, for the unloading of discs destined for a review or storage position, the manipulator robot is in charge of bringing the gripper closer to the disc to be captured until it reaches a position in which the capture of the disc is programmed. on question. However, instead of being the robot that makes the claw continue advancing until the support ring is in contact with the disc, the claw remains immobile so that it is the mechanism where the disc is located that moves the disc. to the position programmed to be captured, pushing the disc to the support ring, dragging the floating carriage until the mooring claws appear and are located in the position determined to capture the disc.

As particular configurations, the support ring preferably comprises a plurality of suction cups intended to be fixed on the disc to be captured. The suction cups are especially applicable in the capture of discs of small thickness, where the nails can fail in the capture of the disc due to lack of precision or physical space to be located.

The claw can also comprise a disc sensor on the support ring to determine that the support ring is in proximity to the disc to be captured and that the claw slows down.

Furthermore, the claw can also comprise a ring position sensor, to control the movement of the floating carriage with respect to the fixing base and thus, control the distance that the clamping claws protrude with respect to the support ring.

Finally, indicate that the robot can incorporate more than one claw so that it can carry out two or more different operations simultaneously.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

To complete the description of the invention and in order to help a better understanding of its characteristics, according to a preferred example of its embodiment, a set of drawings is attached where, by way of illustration and not limitation, they have been represented the following figures:

- Figure 1 represents an elevation view of the claw of the invention in the retracted position, the claws protruding from the support ring in a first embodiment.

- Figure 2 represents a front view of the claw of the invention shown in the Figure 1, showing the centering of the clamping claws with the support ring.

- Figure 3 represents a side view of the claw of the invention shown in figure 1.

- Figure 4 represents a perspective view of the claw of the invention shown in figure 1 in two positions, one extended, in a continuous line, and a retracted, in a broken line.

- Figure 5 represents a front perspective view of the claw of the invention in a second embodiment.

- Figure 6 represents a rear perspective view of the claw of the invention represented in figure 5.

Below is a list of the references used in the figures:

1. Support ring.

2. Tie nails.

3. Suction cups.

4. Expandable actuator.

5. Disc sensor.

6. Floating car.

7. Ring position sensor

8. Drag element.

9. Fixing base.

10. Base element.

11. Separators.

12. Slide.

13. Guiding element.

14. Support element.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention refers to a claw for catching discs with a circular crown configuration, so that the capture of the discs by the claw will always be carried out by the internal diameter of the disc.

A particular application of these discs is in a cutting train for the laminated sheet metal cutting process. These discs are located along the axes of a cutting train, for which will always have an internal diameter of the same dimension. The discs can be of different types such as, for example, cutting discs, vulcanized discs and spacer discs, so the outer diameter and thickness will be different depending on whether they are cutting discs or of another type. In this way, by changing the position of the different types of discs, configurations are achieved that determine sheets of certain widths to be obtained after cutting.

Figure 1 represents an elevation view of the claw of the invention in a first embodiment, where it is reflected that at one end it is configured by means of a fixing base (9) through which the claw is intended to be fixed in A manipulator robot and that, at the other end, incorporates a support ring (1), solidly attached to a base element (10) of a floating carriage (6) by means of spacers (11). The support ring (1) is intended to contact the disk to be picked up, for which it is configured as a circular crown, and the robot manipulator positions it centered with respect to the disk, with the help of a disk sensor ( 5) located on the support ring (1). In a central area of the fixing base (9) there is a drag element (8) that incorporates a sensor for the position of the ring (7) whose function is to determine the distance to be inserted by clamping claws (2 ) on the disk to be caught, a control carried out by detecting the location of the floating carriage (6) with respect to the fixing base (9). The drive element (8) is attached at one end to the fixing base (9) and at the other end to the base element (10) of the floating claw carriage (6), and can be extended and retracted by varying the distance between the floating carriage (6) and the fixing base (9).

In a first embodiment, as shown in Figures 1 to 4, on each side of the drive element (8) there is a guide element (13) where there is a slide (12) attached to the element. base (10) of the floating carriage (6).

In a second embodiment, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, the guide element (13) is a centered plate that incorporates a pair of rails located in opposition in which the sliders (12) of the floating carriage are housed. (6).

For either of the two embodiments, one end of the guide element (13) is attached to the fixing base (9), while the other goes through the base element (10) to be fixed to a support element (14) of an expandable actuator (4) which, in this way, is at a fixed distance from the fixing base (9). In the expandable actuator (4) the clamping claws (2) are fixed at one of its ends, by means of which the claw presses on the disc to be caught with its free ends. The clamping claws (2) are angularly arranged at the same distance and preferably there are three.

The movement of the expandable actuator (4) is radial, with which it is achieved that the clamping claws (2) extend radially as well. In this way, the claws (2) are extended to press, with the free ends, on the internal diametrical surface of the disc to which they are facing, to catch it, or they are retracted to stop contacting the disc to which they were attached, to release it. The expandable actuator (4) is centered with respect to the support ring (1), as shown in figure 2, so that, on the one hand, the clamping claws (2) do not interfere with the support ring ( 1) when traversing it, partially or completely, to catch a disc and, on the other hand, so that when the clamping claws (2) extend, they contact the disc to be picked up at the same time. It should be noted that the internal diameter of the support ring (1) is greater than the internal diameter of the discs to be picked up, so that the clamping claws (2) can catch the disc even though part of the claws ( 2) are facing the inner diametrical surface of the support ring (1).

A series of suction cups (3) and a disk sensor (5) are attached to the surface of the support ring (1).

The maneuver used by the gripper to catch a disc is different depending on whether it is a matter of unloading a disc from a storage or review position to be loaded on a cutting shaft or to the warehouse, respectively, or depending on whether it is a discharge. of discs destined for a storage or review station from the cutting shaft unloading area, as described below.

In this way, the first process is carried out in the following way.

The manipulator robot moves to a position close to where the disk destined to be loaded is located, directed by the control and oriented to position itself with the support ring (1) facing the disk through the disk sensor (5). The claw meets the driver (8) fully extended and therefore the support ring (1) It is in an extreme position, while the clamping claws (2) are in their most retracted position, being located between the support ring (1) and the base element (10) of the floating carriage (6).

When the disc sensor (5) detects that the support ring (1) is facing a disc, the robot manipulator reduces speed and finishes positioning the claw on the disc to be picked up, leaving the support ring (1) positioned concentrically with the disc. As the manipulator robot continues to move towards the disc and the support ring (1) is already in contact with the disc, it causes the floating carriage (6) to move through the sliders (12), which are attached to the base element. (10) of the floating carriage (6), on the guide elements (13), contracting the drag element (8) and making the clamping claws (2) protrude from the support ring (1) a distance that will be less to the thickness of the disc to be picked up, this distance being determined by the control and controlled by the ring position sensor (7). At this moment the manipulator robot stops, the drag element (8) is blocked to fix the position of the clamping claws (2) with respect to the disc, and the expandable actuator (4) is activated to extend the clamping claws (2) and contact the disk to catch. It should be noted that, if the thickness of the disc is less than the distance that the claws (2) have protruded with respect to the support ring (1), part of the claws (2) would be located in the inner diametrical zone of the ring of support (1), so this diameter must be greater than the internal diameter of the discs to be picked up, as has been commented. The movements of the manipulator robot to get closer to the location of the disk to be picked up, of the contraction of the drive element (8) and of the expandable actuator (4) to move the clamping claws (2) are electronically controlled through a software of control through which information related to the discs is accessed, both about their thickness and their position both in the warehouse and on the axis where they are located to be loaded and unloaded.

The movement of the drag element (8) and of the sliders (12) is represented in Figure 4 where the two positions, extended and retracted, can be seen in a continuous line and in a broken line, respectively.

In cases where the disc has a reduced thickness and it can be difficult to be grasped by the nails (2), not due to a lack of precision, but due to a lack of physical space to carry out the contact, then it is will activate suction cups (3) located on the surface of the support ring (1), to ensure the hold. The operation of the suction cups can be pneumatic by means of the necessary means known in the state of the art. Once the disc has been caught by the clamping claws (2), the manipulator robot moves to remove the disc from its location and be able to take it to the destination.

In the same way, for the second process, that is, for the unloading of discs from the cutting axis to a revision or storage position, the manipulator robot is in charge of bringing the claw closer to the disc to be captured until reaching a position in which the capture of the disc in question is programmed. However, on this occasion, instead of being the robot that makes the claw continue advancing until the support ring (1) is in contact with the disc, the claw remains immobile so that it is the mechanism where it is located. the disc who moves the disc to the position programmed to be captured, pushing the disc to the support ring (1), dragging the floating carriage (6) until the clamping claws (2) appear and are located in the position determined to capturing the disc.

In the maneuver of releasing a disc, either in the warehouse or to load an axis, once the robot has been brought to the destination position, considering that the claw is retracted, the clamping claws (2) sticking out through the support ring (1), the expandable actuator (4) is retracted, causing the clamping claws (2) to also retract, releasing the disc, while the brake of the drag element (8) is released, which it is extended so that the disc is moved to its target position.

If the disc is of low thickness and the suction cups (3) are activated for a better grip, once located in their destination position the suction cups (3) are deactivated.

Finally, it must be borne in mind that the present invention should not be limited to the embodiment described here. Other configurations can be made by those skilled in the art in light of the present description. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is defined by the following claims.

Claims

1 Claw for capturing discs configured by means of a determined external diameter, internal diameter and thickness, which define an internal diametrical surface, the claw being governed by a control with information on the dimensions and positioning of the discs, and configured by means of a base fixing (9) for attachment to a manipulator robot, so that the claw is characterized by comprising:

- a floating carriage (6) that incorporates a base element (10) and a support ring (1) intended to contact the disc to be captured,

- an expandable actuator (4), with a support element (14), centered with respect to the support ring (1),

- a drive element (8) fixed at the ends to the fixing base (9) and to the base element (10) of the floating carriage (6),

- at least one guide element (13), fixed at the ends to the fixing base (9) and to the support element (14) of the expandable actuator (4),

- at least one slide (12), fitted to the guide element (13), which is attached to the base element (10) of the floating carriage (6), and

- a plurality of gripping claws (2), fixed at one end to the expandable actuator (4), so that, once a disk destined to be captured has been detected through the control, the manipulator robot places the support ring (1 ) in a position determined by the control and the floating carriage (6) retracts so that the clamping claws (2) capture the disc.

2.- Disc capture claw, according to claim 1, characterized in that the floating carriage (6) retracts when contacting the disc to be captured and continue advancing pushed by the manipulator robot, allowing the mooring claws (2) to protrude the support ring (1).

3.- Disc capture claw, according to claim 1, characterized in that the floating carriage (6) retracts when the disc to be captured is contacted and exerted pressure on the support ring (1), the manipulator robot remaining immobile, allowing the lashing claws (2) protrude from the support ring (1).

4 Disc capture claw, according to claim 1, characterized in that It comprises a ring position sensor (7) that controls the movement of the floating carriage (6) to position the clamping claws (2) on the disk to be captured.

5. Claw for capturing discs, according to claim 1, characterized in that the support ring (1) comprises a plurality of suction cups (3) destined to be fixed on the disc to be captured.

6. Claw for capturing discs, according to claim 5, characterized in that the suction cups (3) are activated pneumatically.

7.- Disc capture claw, according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the support ring (1) comprises a disc sensor (5) to determine that the support ring (1) is in proximity of the disc to capture.