WO2022248704A1

WO2022248704A1 - System for managing exchangeable pieces of equipment of a production line

Info

Publication number: WO2022248704A1
Application number: PCT/EP2022/064469
Authority: WO
Inventors: Christian Boularan; Patrick Juillaguet; Mikael Salvat; Emmanuel PALAYRET
Original assignee: Robert Bosch Gmbh
Priority date: 2021-05-28
Filing date: 2022-05-27
Publication date: 2022-12-01
Also published as: FR3123335B1; FR3123335A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a system, comprising: boxes (4) for the pieces of equipment (E), which are each identified by a code; a magazine, which bears radial cells (11) on the periphery; a drive device (12); a changing region (13), which is formed from a column of cells (11); an elevator (2), which has a horizontal rail (23) and a transfer carriage (3) on the rail (23), the transfer carriage describing a path between an position of access to the changing region (13) and a changing region (52) of a changer/conveyor (5) connected to the production line (LP).

Description

DESCRIPTION

TITLE

System for managing the interchangeable equipment of a production line

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a plant for managing interchangeable equipments of a production line comprising an equipment store, a plant connecting the store and the production line to supply it with the equipments necessary for a production and to take back the equipments exchanged and them put in the magazine.

STATE OF THE ART

There are different types of tool magazines for automatic or semi-automatic loading of machines, in particular machine tools, depending on the operations to be performed.

Such magazines contain mills or drills with different dimen- sions or shapes for performing automatic machining.

There are also facilities for storing and retrieving tools in the form of external carousel assemblies carried by a rotatable structure. The external units are columns of seats with the maintenance tools or equipment. The columns of tool shots are brought into a window to access one or the other shot of the selected tool. However, such systems are relatively complex. There are also storage towers with compartments distributed on rings of a cylindrical drum to be accessible from the outside.

These systems have various disadvantages that are related to the complexity, the slow operation, in order to receive or store the desired tool or to adapt to very ^different tool shapes.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to develop a system for managing the interchangeable equipment of a production line that offers a very high storage capacity and, more generally, for the management of equipment that allows the equipment to be delivered or stored very quickly. by making it possible to automate the operations between the equipment change station at the entrance to a management facility, by making it possible to deliver or deposit equipment in a fully automated manner, in order to simply and quickly meet equipment requirements, which by their nature are more or less random.

DISCLOSURE AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

To this end, the invention relates to a system for managing interchangeable equipment of the type defined above, characterized in that it comprises: an array of boxes intended to contain the equipment and each identified by a code , each box having a radial length and a width; an equipment magazine in the form of a vertical cylindrical tower supporting, radially, cells forming reference storage places distributed in superimposed rims, accessible from the outside on the perimeter of the cylindrical tower; a controlled rotary drive device; a changeover area extending the full height of the tower and formed by a column of cells; an elevator associated with the changeover area, comprising a vertical rail; an elevator carriage movable on the vertical rail; a horizontal rail that is radial with parallax in relation to the center of rotation of the turret is aligned; a transfer carriage movable on the horizontal rail of the elevator carriage, having a radial path passing through the axis of the tower between an access position to the changeover area of the tower and a changeover area of a changer/conveyor connected to the production line , describes wherein the changer/conveyor forms a changeover area for changing an equipment box with the transfer carriage; a control unit which receives the equipment requirements of the production line and generates control signals to control the positioning of the selected cell of the magazine in the exchange column; to control the transfer carriage to arrive opposite the selected cell in the change column to change the box and to control the transfer carriage to change the selected box with the changer/conveyor of the production line.

The system for managing interchangeable equipment on a production line according to the invention makes it possible to efficiently change the equipment on the production line automatically, depending on the requests sent from the production line.

The invention enables the automatic operation of picking up or depositing equipment stored in boxes between the station of use, e.g. H. a station in the production line, and transferred to the storage location in the tower-shaped magazine.

This operation is particularly fast because the movement of the tower to position the cell with the selected box in the changeover area and the positioning at the level of the fork to be ready to receive the box in the changeover area allow the time of removal or Significantly shorten the equipment changeover cycle. Scanning the boxes' R FID labels provides a check that avoids any misplacement, which would require a full scan of all cells to correct misplacements.

The installation also makes it possible to optimize random operations, since no cell of the tower is permanently dedicated to a specific equipment. Identifying the contents of a box makes it possible to trace the location of the box, ie the place where this or that precise piece of equipment can be found, without having to put the box, ie a specific piece of equipment, back into a specific one to put cell of the magazine. This method minimizes the time required to return equipment to the magazine or, conversely, to remove equipment from the magazine to the production line.

The rotatable cylindrical shape of the magazine also makes it possible to reduce the rotational movement of the turret to half the circumference of the turret because the equipment, whatever its type, is certainly located on half the circumference of the turret. Since the movement of the turret is limited to one of the components of the movement, i. H. the turning movement to present the selected box in the changing area in the form of a column or a vertical window, during this turning time the carriage moves to the height level in the changing area corresponding to the height of the cell to which it is to access.

In other words, the travel times of the tower and the transfer carriage, at least, by the elevator, are not times that add up because the duration of the cycle is the time of the longest operation, the slewing of the tower or the height adjustment of the transfer carriage.

According to a particularly advantageous characteristic, the radial cell is a support in the shape of a U-shaped lying open on the periphery, according to a radial orientation with respect to the turret, comprising:

- a back lined by two legs, each formed by an angle having a vertical side and a horizontal side separated from the other horizontal side by a free space, the horizontal side having a length equal to that radial length of the box and the vertical sides have a length less than the radial length and are spaced by the width of a box; the transfer carriage has ei NEN swivel arm, which is provided with a fork, which has a central blade with has a length equal to the radial length of a box and sides spaced by the width of a box and having a length less than the radial length of the box so that in a changeover area the fork has its central blade under the bottom of a box between the horizontal sides on which the box rests, or the lateral paths of the transition area, with the sides of the fork partially lining the long sides of the box.

This embodiment of the cell simplifies the design not only of the cell, but also of the transfer carriage and the tooling of the carriage that accepts the box. This fork-shaped tool picks up the box with its central blade or puts the box down with it.

The simplicity of the construction of the cell and the fork allows the plant to be easily adapted to different equipment that requires boxes of different dimensions.

The simplicity of the construction of the radial cell also makes it possible to change the space reserved for a radial cell, both in circumferential length and in height, simply and quickly, without requiring further modifications. The fork of the transfer carriage is adjustable if necessary or is automatically compatible with such a change of boxes.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the horizontal rail of the elevator carriage is parallel to the radial direction of the pivot of the arm of the fork. This arrangement saves a considerable amount of time, since the straight path of the transfer carriage is automatically directed towards the changing area of the tower.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the sum of the lengths of a side of the fork and a vertical side of the leg of a cell is less than the radial length of the radial side of a box.

This shape and these dimensions of the arms of the fork and of the sides of the cell allow the sides or lateral branches to be placed one under the other compatible while ensuring a good grip of the box both on the sides of the cell and on the central blade of the fork.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the pivoting arm of the carriage is telescopic with respect to its pivot. This makes it possible to adapt the changeover area with the production line to different characteristics of production lines and distances or orientations of their changeover areas in relation to the plant, i. H. the tower and the transfer carriage.

According to another characteristic, the sides of the fork and/or the vertical sides of the legs have flared ends, which facilitates the insertion of the fork into the box or the transfer of the box in a cell, without the unavoidable lateral displacements impeding or blocking the transfer .

Finally, since the boxes are identified by an RFID code, as already indicated, the fork is advantageously equipped with an RFID sensor in order to check the identity of the contents of the box at the beginning of the takeover, so that this identity is then automatic can be assigned to a place in a cell of the tower and allows this box to be extracted unequivocally in response to a future request.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to embodiments of an interchangeable equipment management system illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In these show:

[Fig. 1] a schematic plan view of a plant for managing equipment according to the invention,

[Fig. 2A] a perspective view of a cell forming a seat for a box in the magazine,

[Fig. 2B] a perspective view of a transfer carriage, [Fig. 3] a perspective view of a transfer carriage accessing a cell, without showing the box,

[Fig. 4] a perspective view of the equipment management system showing the magazine and the elevator and the transfer carriage,

[Fig. 5] the lift of the facility.

DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

According to figure 1, the invention relates to a system for managing interchangeable equipment of a production line LP (LP1, LP2) which is fed with equipment boxes 4 containing the equipment used in the production line or boxes with equipment returned from the production line.

This equipment exchange in one direction and the other takes place between the production line LP and the equipment magazine 1. The equipments E are production tools in a general sense used in packaging manufacturing stations and others of the production line. As shown in the general sense, the plant can change equipment with one or more production lines LP1, LP2 or production line parts.

According to the invention, the equipments E are placed in boxes 4 which circulate between a changeover area 13 of the equipment magazine 1 and a changeover area 52 with the production line LP.

The preferably rectangular (possibly square) box 4 has a length called the radial length LR for the handling and depositing operations of the box 4.

The box 4 is provided with a code in the form of an RFID tag to identify it during exchange and storage operations.

The equipment magazine 1 has the shape of a rotating cylindrical tower with the vertical axis ZZ represented by the center O located at Perimeter carries cells 11 oriented radially with respect to the central axis ZZ of the cylindrical tower, represented by the "center O".

The cells 11 form spaces intended to receive a box 4 each. These sites are identified by their cylindrical coordinates (angular position and elevational position). They are distributed on rings over the height of the cylindrical tower 1, and the cells coincide in the vertical direction, forming vertical columns with the same angular orientation.

The cylindrical tower is driven in rotation under the control of a drive device 12 to guide the selected cell into a changeover area 13, which is a column formed by the cells 11 of each height level.

Each cell 11 is a U-shaped support consisting of a back 111 connected to two legs 112 which are parallel to each other and are parallel to the central axis of the support, which is a radial axis passing through the Center O runs.

The spine 111 is fixed to the structure or cylindrical wall of the tower 1. The legs 112 are each formed from an angle having a vertical side 112a and a horizontal side 112b. The vertical sides 112a are separated by a distance substantially equal to the width of a box 4. FIG. The sides 112b facing each other leave between them an interim space 113, which is used to grip the box 4, which rests on the two horizontal sides of the holder formed by the cell 11.

The construction of a cell 11 can be seen in the example of cell 11 shown in Figure 2A. This Fig. 2A shows the length of the horizontal sides 112b substantially equal to the radial length LR of a box 4, while the vertical sides 112a have a length less than this radial length LR. The vertical sides 112a each have a flared end 112aa to guide and re-center a box that should arrive at the entrance of the cell 11 offset. In order to simplify the representation of the plant, figure 1 includes an axis OX representing the radial direction passing through the center O of the drum and the horizontal axis (or the vertical plane passing through this axis) which traverses the changeover zone 13; the transverse direction Y runs through the changing area 52 with a changer/conveyor 5 of the production line LP1 (LP). The transfer to the box changer 4 is carried out with a transfer carriage 3 movable along the radial direction OX and the vertical direction OZ, perpendicular to the plane of FIG , and the transfer carriage interacts with the changeover area 52 of the production line LP (LP1).

The transfer carriage 3 is carried by an elevator 2 equipped with an elevator carriage 22 movable along the vertical rail 21 of the elevator. This elevator carriage 22 supports a horizontal rail 23 parallel to the radial direction OX. The transfer carriage 3 thus describes a path in the radial direction OX in order to access the changing area 13 or to position itself along the rail 23 opposite the other changing area 52 in the direction Y1. The transfer carriage 3 has a pivot arm 31 supported by a motor pivot 311 . The arm 31 is provided with a fork 32 formed by a horizontal central blade 321 and on either side of this a side 322 ending in a flared end 322a. 2B and 3, the end 321a of the blade 321 is provided with a rim 321a for the box 4 to be hooked.

Fig. 2B shows the detail of an embodiment of the transfer carriage 3. The console-shaped transfer carriage 3 has a base 30 consisting of a vertical plate which is provided with running elements, not shown, and is suspended from the horizontal rail 23 arranged on edge. The swing arm 31 is actuated by the motor pivot 311 .

The arm 31 is made up of two profiles 312 connected by the base 313 and on which the head 323 of the fork 32 moves in translation, so as to form a telescopic assembly. 2B shows this arrangement extended when the head 323 is at the end of the arm 31, while in the retracted position the head is near the carriage and the blade 321 passes between the two profiles 312. FIG. The head 323 supports the central sheet 321 in a height-adjustable manner to guide it under the box 4 between the two horizontal sides 112b of a cell 11 or between the lateral transport paths 51 of the changer/conveyor 5 and then raise it to lift the box 4 and to transport them.

The sides 322 are doubled in height, for example, and are formed from U-shaped bent metal sheets with flared ends.

Figure 3 shows the position of the fork 32 brought up to the cell 11 and inserted therein with its central blade 321 lying between the horizontal sides 112b. Fig. 3 shows the complementarity of the lengths of the sides of the cell 11 and that of the fork 32, so that schematically the sum of the lengths of a vertical side 112a of the cell 11 and of a side 322 of the fork is less than the length of the blade 321 or of the horizontal sides 112b, which corresponds to the radial length LR.

The fork 32 is equipped with a sensor 33 to detect the RFID tag of the box 4 that it transports.

Fig. 1 shows the two directions of rotation +R, -R of the tower 1, which reduces the amplitude of the rotational movements that are required between two accesses to a selected cell of the changing area 13.

Starting from the end of a box changing process between the transfer carriage 3 and the tower 1, if the carriage 3 is to take back another box 4, this now selected other box 4 is either at the same level as that of the carriage 3 or at a different level, and its angular position is seldom in a position diametrically opposed to the changeover zone and more frequently in one or other half of the circumference from the changeover zone for this standstill position of the turret 1. The turret thus needs to turn at most by an angle of less than ± 180° (+R , -R) and not complete a complete rotation. 1 shows as an example the installation assigned to two production lines LP1, LP2, which is served by the same transfer carriage 3. The changer/conveyor 5 associated with the line LP1 forms a direction at angle α with respect to the radial direction of movement OX of the carriage 3. This direction is, for example, 90° with respect to the axis OX. However, this is just an example that depends on the context of the plant and the given position of the production line LP1.

The only requirement is that the fork 32 must be able to change with the changer/conveyor 5 when in axis with it. This requires that the transfer carriage 3 is positioned so that its pivot point 311 is at the intersection of the axis Y1Y1 of the changer/conveyor 5 and the track OX, since the fork 32 performs an extension movement (translation to reach the changeover area 52), although it would be possible to reach this area 52 by tilting the fork 32 above the area 52 and then lowering it to set the box down; such a maneuver would firstly not make it possible to align the box in the direction of the changing area, and secondly would not make it possible to remove a box from the changing area 52 with the fork 32 alone.

To simplify the design and operation of the transfer carriage, it is preferable to use the telescopic movement of the arm 31 of the fork 32.

Finally, it must be emphasized that since the carriage is controlled, the angle a may differ from one changer/conveyor 5 to another depending on the context of the installations.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the system in a construction forming the enclosure 100 that receives a panel to encapsulate the system.

This figure shows the cylindrical tower 1 with the cells accessible on the perimeter. The changing area 13 is not identified; it is simply the location of the column of cells A, which can be accessed with carriage 3.

In the vicinity of the tower 1 there is a cage 20 of the elevator 2 with its vertical rail 21. The elevator carriage 22 is in the lower position, which is the waiting position of the transfer carriage 30 at the level of a changing area 52 of a changer/conveyor. This changer/conveyor 5 comes out of the enclosure 100. The control unit 6 is completely identical to this enclosure 100.

Figure 5 shows a perspective view of the elevator 2, its construction in the form of a cage 20 supporting the vertical rail 21 and the reference points 211 which allow the elevator carriage to be positioned at the appropriate height. The carriage 22 carries the transport carriage 3 on the raised horizontal rail 23.

An example of a plant used in a footwear production line that requires pairs of molds (left molds, right molds) to assemble the elements of the upper and sole according to the article and sizes.

It is thus conceivable to construct a tower 1 with 500 cells in the form of cylindrical means with a diameter of 5.4 meters and a height of 1 meter.

KEY PARTS REFERENCE LIST

1 equipment magazine in the form of a rotating vertical cylindrical turret

11 cell

111 Back fixed to cylinder

112 thighs

112a Vertical side

112aa Flared end

112b Horizontal side

113 Free space between the horizontal

pages

12 rotary drive device

13 transition area

2 elevator

21 elevator track

211 reference point

22 elevator slides

23 Horizontal rail

3 transfer carriages

31 Swing arm 311 Controlled engine pivot

32 fork

321 Central leaf 321a End of central leaf

322 Page 322a Flared end

323 clevis

33 sensors

4 box for equipment

41 floor

42 page

43 identification label

5 receiving conveyors

51 Lateral transport routes 52 changeover area with the transfer carriage

6 control unit

O Center of rotation of cylinder 11

XX Translational direction of transfer carriage 3 YY Alternating direction of transfer carriage 3 zz Vertical direction

E equipment

LP1 production line

LP2 production line LR Radial length of the box

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

1. System for managing interchangeable equipment of a production line (LP), which includes an equipment magazine,

- an installation connecting the store and the production line (LP) to supply it with the equipments required for a production and to take back the equipments thus exchanged and store them in the store, the plant being characterized in that it comprises

A) an array of boxes (4) intended to contain the equipment (E) and each identified by a code, each box having a radial length (LR) and a width,

B) an equipment magazine in the form of a vertical cylindrical tower (1).

- radial cells (11) which form referenced, superimposed rims distributed and on the periphery of the cylindrical tower (1) from the outside accessible storage spaces,

- a controlled rotary drive device (12)

- an exchange zone (13) extending over the entire height of the cylinder (1) and formed by a column of cells (11).

C) comprising an elevator (2) which is assigned to the changing area (13).

- a vertical elevator track (21)

- a lift carriage (22) movable on the vertical rail (21).

- A horizontal rail (23) radially aligned with parallax in relation to the center of rotation (O) of the tower (1).

D) a transfer carriage (3)

- the one on the horizontal rail (23) of the elevator carriage (22) between an access position to the changing area (13) of the tower (1) and a changing area (52) of a conveyor (5) connected to the production line (LP), movable describing a radial path passing through the axis of the cylindrical tower (1). E) a conveyor (5) which forms a changing area (52) for changing an equipment box (4) with the transfer carriage (3).

F) a control unit (5)

- which receives the Equipment Requests of the Production Line (LP1).

- the control signals generated in order

* to control the positioning of the selected cell (11) of the magazine (1) in the change area (13).

* to control the transfer carriage (3) to arrive opposite the selected cell (11) in the changing column to change the box

* Control the transfer carriage (3) to change the selected box (4) with the conveyor (5) of the production line (LP).

Equipment management system according to claim 1, characterized in that the radial cell (11) is a support in the shape of a U-shape open on the periphery, according to a radial orientation with respect to the tower, comprising:

- A back (111), which is lined by two legs (112), each Weil formed by an angle having a vertical side (112a) and a horizontal side (112b) from the other horizontal side by a free space (113), the horizontal side (112b) having a length equal to the radial length (LR) of the box (4) and the vertical sides (112a) having a length less than the radial length (LR ) and are spaced by the width of a box (4).

- the transfer carriage (3) has a pivoting arm (31) provided with a fork (32) having a central blade (321) with a length equal to the radial length (LR) of a box (4) and sides ( 322), which are spaced apart by the width of a box (4) and have a length less than the radial length of the box, so that in a changing area (13, 52), the fork (32) with its central sheet (322) under the bottom (41) of a box (4) between the horizontal sides (112b) on which the box (4) rests, or the lateral paths (51) of the changing area (13, 51), the sides (322 ) of the fork (32) partially hem the long sides of the box (4).

3. System for managing equipment according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the horizontal rail (23) of the elevator carriage (22) is parallel to the radial direction of the pivot (311) of the arm (31) of the fork (32) passing through the center (O) of the drum.

Equipment management installation according to claim 2, characterized in that the sum of the lengths of a side (322) of the fork (32) and a vertical side (112a) of the leg of a cell (11) is less than the radial length (LR) is the radial side of a box (4).

Equipment management installation according to claim 2, characterized in that the pivoting arm (31) of the carriage (3) is telescopic with respect to its pivot (311).

Equipment management system according to Claim 2, characterized in that the sides (322) of the fork (32) and/or the vertical sides (112a) of the branches (112) have flared ends (322a, 112aa).

7. Equipment management system according to claim 6, characterized in that the fork (32) is equipped with an RFID sensor.