Material or article handling – Vertically swinging load support – Grab
Patent
1991-06-11
1992-12-08
Valenza, Joseph E.
Material or article handling
Vertically swinging load support
Grab
414728, 414731, 414738, 414783, 4147985, B66C 100
Patent
active
051692805
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to a device for the rapid lifting of sheets of glass, said device being adaptable to sheets of varied dimensions (polyvalency).
The sheets of glass are gripped in a substantially horizontal position, for example on a conveyor, and placed in substantially vertical position, for example stacked on a table. Such operation being called lifting.
The current lifting machines are designed for specific dimensions of sheets.
For example, there are lifting machines for sheets of small dimensions (length=600 to 1200 mm, width=400 to 600 mm), working at very rapid rates (one sheet being lifted every 2 secs.) or at more generally rapid rates (3-4 secs).
There are also on the market machines that are designed for sheets of average dimensions (length=1,000 to 1,300 mm, width=1,800 to 3,500 mm) working at slower rates (over 6 secs).
European Patent Application 0 243 236 illustrates a machine for lifting sheets of small dimensions. It comprises arms mounted perpendicularly to a shaft driving them in rotation, gripping means (suction cups) mounted on the end of each arm, said arms being slidable perpendicularly to said shaft.
To enable financial and installation space savings, the present invention proposes a simple and compact lifting machine, capable of picking up sheets of variable dimensions, and of working at rapid rates (one sheet being lifted every 4 secs. or more).
More precisely, the device for lifting sheets of glass brought on a horizontal conveyor, according to the invention, comprises:
at least one arm rotatable about a horizontal axis situated at the lower end of said arm, between a substantially vertical position for gripping the sheet and a substantially horizontal position for depositing it, said device further comprising means for rotating the arm,
a support mounted on the upper end of each rotating arm, which support is slidable along the axis of said arm and carries suction cups for gripping the sheets; the rotating arm or arms, support or supports and suction cups being disposed symmetrically with respect to the conveyor axis, their number and position being determined as a function of the dimensions of the sheets to be lifted,
at least two retractable arms fast with the support or supports, which arms are rotatable between a substantially horizontal working position and a substantially vertical rest position about a horizontal axis carried by said support or supports, each arm being provided with suction cups, said arms and suction cups being disposed symmetrically with respect to the conveyor axis and in such a way that the sheets of large dimensions are gripped while being in equilibrium,
means for synchronously actuating and controlling said retractable arms, support or supports and suction cups.
The invention will be more readily understood from the figures:
FIG. 1 is a lateral view of the device,
FIG. 2 is a plan view of one advantageous embodiment of the device according to the invention,
FIG. 3 illustrates an advantageous embodiment with nitrogen accumulator.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the device according to the invention comprises at least one arm (1) rotating about the spindle (2) of a horizontal shaft (3) placed at the lower end of said arm (1).
FIG. 1 only shows one arm, but others may be provided on the same rotation axis and which are not diagrammatically illustrated in cross-section.
Rotation is obtained for example by means of a jack (4) operating the spindle (2) of the shaft (3). Other means may also be suitably used for actuating the arm.
The arm or arms move between a substantially vertical position, corresponding to the action of gripping the sheets, and a substantially horizontal position corresponding to the action of depositing the sheets.
At the other end (upper end) of each arm, is provided a support (5) slidable along said arm (1).
Sliding is obtained for example by means of a jack (6) advantageously placed inside said arm (1), thus saving space on the machine.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the jack (6) is fast with a bearing surface (7) of the support (5) to
REFERENCES:
patent: 3902606 (1975-09-01), Ronbeck
patent: 4444537 (1984-04-01), Werner
patent: 4846625 (1989-07-01), Gabillet
patent: 5030059 (1991-07-01), Favre
Nguyen Tuan N.
Societe Generale pour les Techniques Nouvelle
Valenza Joseph E.
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