FR2842754A1 - Device for loading/unloading metal sheets from cutting machine comprises tower with shuttle table reception zone at base and superposed metal sheet storage floors, lift having vertically mobile cradle and loading/unloading fork - Google Patents

Abstract

The device comprises a storage tower (10) having at its base a reception zone (11) for the cutting machine shuttle table and above the reception zone two superposed storage floors for sheet metal blanks. A lift (30) comprises a vertically mobile cradle (31) on the side of the tower driven so as to be placed opposite the reception zone or the different storage floors. A loading/unloading fork (40) has a series of parallel spaced fingers which can be engaged in the ribs of the shuttle table and adapted on the cradle to be able to translate horizontally between a retraction position in the cradle and an extension position in the volume delimited by the storage tower. An independent claim is included for a steel plate cutting installation.

Description

The present invention relates to the technical field of machine tools

  used for cutting metal sheets or plates such as for example

steel or aluminum sheets.

  In the above field, it is for example known to use laser cutting machines or automata comprising a work station and a loading station, between which move at least one and, preferably, two work tables. shuttle bus. The use of two shuttle tables thus makes it possible, in masked time, to load and unload a first shuttle table located at the loading station and to cut a sheet metal plate

  arranged on the second shuttle table then located at the workstation.

  Given the relatively large investment represented by such laser cutting machines, it appears desirable to be able to use them intensively. Thus, the need arises to use automatic devices for loading and unloading work tables at the loading station.

of the machine.

  To this end, it has been proposed, for example, manipulator systems involving a lifting gripper movable in vertical translation and carried by an arm movable in horizontal rotation, in order to take plates to be cut from a pile to deposit them individually on the work table, as well as ensuring a grip of each cut plate or panoply to transfer them to a buffer storage station. Such a device effectively makes it possible to ensure automatic or semi-automatic feeding of the laser cutting machine, but

  has the disadvantage of occupying a relatively large floor space.

  In addition, in certain types of unit manufacturing, it appears necessary to be able to carry out, in a sheet metal plate of large dimensions, the cutting of a part of small dimensions, so that after cutting the plate must be stored

  temporarily until next use.

  In order to reduce as much as possible the operations of handling the plate which is not completely used or cut, it has been proposed to implement an installation comprising a series of shuttle tables which are stored in racks and on which the plates to be cut are stored. Thus, the work tables are routed on demand to the machining station of the machine.

  cutting according to needs and type of plate stored.

  Such a device makes it possible, effectively, to provide treatment on demand and buffer storage of metal plates of different thicknesses or qualities of steel, but has, however, the disadvantage of an investment price.

  particularly heavy, due to the large number of shuttle tables used.

  Thus, there appears the need for a new device for the automatic or semi-automatic feeding of a cutting machine which, while presenting the functionalities of the devices mentioned above, namely possibility of carrying out the loading and the unloading of the work table into cutting plates and cut plates or panoply, as well as feeding and unloading on demand, as well as the buffer storage of partially cut plates, has a smaller footprint than the devices according to the prior art

  and a cost price lower than that of these same devices.

  In order to achieve these objectives, the invention relates to a device for loading and unloading at least one shuttle table of a cutting machine, the shuttle table comprising a series of spaced parallel members,

  defining a support surface for a plate or blank to be cut.

  According to the invention, this device is characterized in that it comprises * a storage tower having, at its base, a reception area for the shuttle table and, above the reception area, at least two floors superimposed storage of sheet blanks, a and a freight elevator comprising: - a cradle movable in vertical translation on one side of the tower and driven by displacement means, so as to be placed facing the reception area or different stages of the storage tower, and a loading-unloading fork having a series of parallel fingers spaced so as to be able to be engaged between the members of the shuttle table and being adapted on the cradle to be movable in horizontal translation and moved by motor means, between a retraction position in the cradle and a

  extension position in the volume delimited by the storage tower.

  The implementation of a storage tower associated with the freight elevator according to the invention makes it possible to reduce in a very advantageous way the space taken up on the ground by the device for supplying blanks to be cut and for discharging cut blanks from the

cutting machine.

  According to a characteristic of the invention, the device comprises * a storage stage, called "destacker", is intended to receive a sheet blank stack and is fitted with means for individually lifting an upper blank from the stack, i while another storage stage, called "receiver", is intended to receive the cut sheet metal blanks and has, at a lateral opening for passage of the fork, a comb having at least two vertical teeth intended to come each engage between two fingers of the fork to form a stop for a blank carried by the fork during

  a retraction movement of the fork.

  According to a preferred but not strictly necessary feature of the invention, the destacker and receiver stages each comprise a removable tray

  equipped with means for receiving the fork of a forklift.

  According to the invention, the lifting means of the destacker stage can be made in any suitable way. In a preferred embodiment: the lifting means comprise a lifting beam movable in vertical translation above the storage stage and equipped, on its underside, with gripping suction cups connected to a source of vacuum,

  * and means for moving the lifter in vertical translation.

  According to another characteristic of the invention, the unloading loading device comprises at least one buffer storage stage, constituted by a fixed platform secured to the storage tower and comprising a series of parallel members which are spaced so as to allow the passage of the fingers

  of the fork and which define a receiving plane for a sheet metal plate.

  Such a buffer storage stage can then be implemented alone or in combination with the destacker and receiver stages. Thus, the device according to the invention can comprise either a series of buffer stages, or unstacker and receiver stages only, or else a combination involving the unstacker and receiver stages associated with one or more superposed buffer storage stages. According to the invention, the structure of the storage tower and the freight elevator can be made of any suitable material. In a preferred but not strictly necessary embodiment, the storage tower comprises at least two lateral uprights each equipped with a vertical system of guide rails and support for the cradle which is then adapted in cantilever on the rails . The device according to the invention can be adapted on a pre-existing cutting machine, the receiving area of the storage tower then being placed at the level

  a machine loading station.

  According to another embodiment, the device according to the invention is designed to be integrated into the cutting machine and the reception area of the storage tower is then equipped for this purpose with means for taking charge of two tables Shuttle Buses. The support means are then adapted to allow alternating back and forth of the shuttle tablets between the reception area and the cutting machine. According to a characteristic of the invention, the storage tower is open on at least two opposite vertical faces and the cradle moves along a first face, the opposite face defining an access face for handling means.

  at least on the destacker and receiver stages.

  The invention also relates to an installation for cutting sheet metal plates comprising a cutting machine equipped with at least one shuttle table and means for moving the shuttle table between a work station and a loading station. According to the invention, this installation is characterized in that it comprises a device for loading and unloading the shuttle table, as described above, the storage tower of which is placed directly above the unloading station,

  so that the latter occupies the reception area located at the base of the tower.

  Various other characteristics of the invention emerge from the description below, made with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred form,

  but not limiting, production of a loading-unloading device for a cutting machine according to the invention, as well as a cutting installation implementing such a device FIG. 1 is a schematic elevation in side view of a sheet metal cutting installation comprising a loading-unloading device according to

the invention.

  Fig. 2 is an elevation along line II-II of FIG. 1.

  Fig. 3 is a perspective of the loading-unloading device, such

as illustrated in fig. 2.

  Fig. 4 is a perspective of a fork constituting the device according to

1 5 the invention.

  Figs. 5 to 7 are partial sections along the line V-V of FIG. 1 showing different operating phases of the loading-unloading device

according to the invention.

  The device according to the invention, as illustrated in FIG. 1 and designated as a whole by the reference 1, is intended to ensure the loading and unloading of a cutting machine 2 shown, diagrammatically, in FIGS. 1 and 2 in dashed lines. The cutting machine 2 comprises a work or cutting station 3 and a loading station 4 between which two shuttle tables 5 can move alternately. The embodiment of the work stations 3 and loading 4 of the cutout 2 do not fall within the scope of the present invention and are widely known to those skilled in the art, so that they do not

  no further description required. It should simply be remembered that the

  loading station 4 is adapted to allow an reversal of the positions between the two work shuttle tables 5, between work station 3 and the

loading 4.

  As is also known to those skilled in the art, each shuttle table comprises a frame or a frame 6 on which is fixed a series of spaced parallel members 7 defining a flat support surface S intended to receive a sheet or a plate of sheet to be cut or machined by the machine 2. It should be noted that the parallel members 7 are, most often,

spaced at a constant pace.

  In accordance with the invention and in order to supply the machine 2 with sheets, the device 1 according to the invention comprises a storage tower 10 which has, at its base, a reception area 11 for shuttle tables 5. According to the invention, illustrated example, the lower zone of the tower 10 receives the loading station 4 of the cutting machine 2. The tower 10 comprises, above the reception zone 11, at least two and, according to the illustrated example, ten floors superimposed 12 to 21 of storage of

sheet metal plates or blanks 22.

  The tower 10 can be made in any suitable way and is, according to the example illustrated, consisting of a mechanically welded frame comprising four uprights 25 by which the tower 10 rests on the ground. In addition, the uprights 25 define the interior volume of the tower 10 which has a generally parallelepiped shape open at its two large vertical side faces,

  thus offering free access to each of the storage stages 12 to 21.

  In accordance with an essential characteristic of the invention, the loading-unloading device 1 also comprises a load-lifting device 30 intended to ensure the deposition and removal of sheet metal plates at the level of the different stages of

tower storage 10.

  For this purpose, the freight elevator 30 comprises a cradle 31, movable in vertical translation along a large face of the tower 1O. According to the example illustrated, the cradle 31 is mounted in cantilever on slides vertical 32, adapted in two

  uprights 25 delimiting the same large face of the tower 10.

  In order to ensure the movements of the cradle 31 in vertical translation, as indicated by the double arrow F1, the freight elevator 30 comprises, as means of displacement 33 of the cradle 31, a chain drive system 34 associated to an electric motor 35 controlled by a control unit 36 to which it is connected by a line not shown. Of course, the displacement means 33 could be made in any other appropriate way, such as, for example, by means of a worm system or, again, by means of hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders. In order to take over the sheet metal plates 22, the freight elevator 30 further comprises a loading-unloading fork 40, more particularly illustrated in FIG. 4. The fork 40 is adapted to the cradle 31, so as to be movable in horizontal translation. The fork 40 can be made in any suitable manner and, according to the example illustrated, the fork 40 comprises a beam 41, substantially horizontal, the two ends of which are fitted in slides 42 carried by two lateral branches 43 of the cradle 31 which has , moreover, a shape seen in a horizontal plane substantially in a "U" shape opening towards the

round 10.

  The fork 40 also includes a series of fingers 45, parallel and spaced, which extend from the beam 41 of which they are integral, so as to be able to be engaged between the members 7 of a tablenavette 5 like this

will appear later.

  In order to ensure the movements of the fork 40 in horizontal translation, between a retraction position R in the cradle 30, illustrated in FIG. 5, and an extension position E in the volume delimited by the storage tower, as shown in FIG. 6, the cradle 31 is equipped, as drive means 50, with a chain drive system. The operation of the motor means 50 is then controlled by the control unit 36 to which they are connected by a line not shown. Of course, the driving means could be produced under another

appropriate form.

  The operation of the freight elevator 30, in relation to the different floors

  12 to 21 and the shuttle tables 5 will be described later.

  According to the example illustrated, the storage tower 10 comprises three types of storage stages, intended to give great flexibility to the installation putting in place

  operates the loading-unloading device 1 according to the invention.

  First of all, the tower 10 comprises storage stages, called buffers, such as the stages 14 to 21 which are each constituted by a fixed platform 51, integral with the tower 10 and comprising, like the shuttle tables 5 , a series of parallel members 52 which are spaced at the same pitch substantially as the members of the shuttle tables 5, so as to allow the passage of the fingers 45 of the fork 41. The members 52 of each storage stage then define

  together a reception plan for one or more sheet metal plates 22.

  The tower 10 also includes a set of two storage stages, known respectively as the destacker 13 and the receiver 12 for reasons which emerge from the following. Thus, the destacker stage 13 comprises a platform 54 intended to receive a stack 55 of sheets, blanks or sheet metal plates 22 intended to be cut by the machine 2 and is fitted with individual lifting means 56 of an upper sheet of the stack 55. According to the example illustrated, the lifting means 56 comprise a lifter 57, equipped with gripping suction cups 58, the operation of which is controlled by the control unit 36. The lifter 57 is then carried by jacks 59 , so as to be movable in vertical translation, above

  of the battery 55 carried by the platform 54.

  The receiving stage 12 is, for its part, intended to receive the sheet metal plates 22 after their cutting into sets by the machine 2. For this purpose, the receiving stage 12 comprises a platform 60, adapted on the tower and intended to receive a battery 61

of cut plates.

  In order to allow the unloading of the cut plates from the fork, the receiving stage 12 is, moreover, equipped with a comb 62 which has at least two and, preferably, a series of vertical teeth 63 intended to come each engage between two fingers 45 of the fork 40 to provide a stop for a sheet carried by the fork during a retraction movement of the fork, like this

will appear later.

  The loading-unloading device 1, according to the invention and as described

  previously, works as follows.

  When an empty shuttle table 5 is to be loaded with a sheet or plate coming from the stack 55, the lifter 57 and its suction cups 58 raise the upper sheet from the stack 55. Next, the cradle 31 is placed opposite the stage 12 and the fork 40 is moved to the extended position E, so as to place the fingers 45 under the plate 22. The pressure, at the level of the suction cups 58, is then

  canceled, so as to deposit the plate 22 on the fingers 45.

  The fork 40 is then moved to the retraction position R and the cradle 31 then performs a downward movement, so as to place the plate 22 and the fingers 45 which carry it opposite the shuttle table 5 to be loaded as shown fig. 5. It should be noted that the movement of the cradle 31 is then ensured so that the underside of the plate 22, carried by the fingers 45, is located above the support surface defined by the members of the shuttle table 5. The unit 36 then controls movement of the fork 40 from its retraction position R to its extension position E, as illustrated in FIG.

Fig. 6.

  The unit 36 then controls a slight descent of the cradle 31, so as to bring the plate 22 to bear on the shuttle table 5 and out of contact with the fingers 45 of the fork 40. Next, the unit 36 controls a retraction movement of the fork 40, so as to bring it into the retraction position R, as illustrated in the

  Fig. 7, the plate 22 having remained in place on the shuttle table 5.

  After cutting the plate 22, the latter is removed from the shuttle table 5 according to a reverse process in order to then be deposited at the level of the receiving stage 12. For this deposit, the cradle 31 is brought opposite the stage 12, so that the fingers 45 are located above the level of the teeth 63 of the comb 62. The fork is then engaged in translation, in the extended position in the stage 12, then the cradle 31 is lowered so that, when with a retraction movement of the fork 40, the plate 22, carried by the fingers 45, comes into abutment on the teeth 63 of the comb 62, so that, after complete removal of the fork 40, the cut plate

  22 remains at the reception stage 12.

  It should be noted that, in order to allow easy handling of the stack formed at the level of the receiving stage 12, the platform 54 of the latter is preferably removable and has engagement means or openings, not visible in the figures, for the fingers of a fork of a forklift. In the same direction, in order to allow an easy installation of the stack of sheets to be cut, the platform 54 of the destacker stage 13 is also removable and also includes means 65 for engaging the fingers of the fork a

forklift.

  Finally, the placement and removal of plates 22 to be cut or cut at the level of the storage buffer stages 14 to 21 is carried out in the same manner as the

  placing and removing plates on shuttle tables 5.

  It therefore appears that the loading-unloading device according to the invention allows, with a small footprint on the ground, to ensure, optimally, intensive use of the cutting machine, while authorizing unit work doing intervene different types of sheets which are preloaded at the level of the buffer storage stages 14 to 21 or, again, at the level of

the destacker storage stage 13.

  It should also be noted that, if according to the example described above the tower includes a destacker stage 13 associated with a receiver stage 12, as well as eight buffer storage stages 14 to 21, it should be noted that the tower 10 could not include only buffer storage stages or, again, only the two stages

destacker and receiver.

  Of course, various other modifications can be made to the subject of

  the invention without departing from its scope.

he

Claims (9)

  1 - Device for loading and unloading sheets of at least one shuttle table from a cutting machine (2), shuttle table (5) comprising a series of parallel and spaced apart members (7) defining a surface of support (S), characterized in that it comprises: * a storage tower (10) having, at its base, a receiving area (11) of the shuttle table (5) and, above the area receiving, at least two superimposed stages (12 to 21) for storing sheet blanks, * and a freight elevator (30) comprising: 1i0 - a mobile cradle (31) in vertical translation on one side of the tower (10) and driven by displacement means (33), so as to be placed opposite the reception area (11) or the different stages (12 to 21) of the storage tower (10), - and a loading fork - unloading (40) having a series of fingers (45) parallel and spaced so as to be able to be engaged between the members (7) of the table-nav ette (5) and being adapted on the cradle (31) to be movable in horizontal translation and moved by motor means (50), between a retraction position (R) in the cradle (31) and an extension position ( E) in the volume   delimited by the storage tower (10).   2 - Device according to claim 1, characterized in that: * a storage stage, called "destacker", (13) is intended to receive a stack of sheet metal sheets and is equipped with means for individually lifting a sheet upper stack, i while another storage stage, called "receiver" (12), is intended to receive the cut sheet metal and has, at a lateral opening for passage of the fork, a comb ( 62) having at least two vertical teeth (63) each intended to engage between two fingers (45) of the fork (40) to provide a frame for a sheet carried by the fork (40) during a movement of retraction of the fork (40).   3 - Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the two destacker stages (13) and receiver (12) each comprise a removable platform   (54, 60) equipped with means for receiving the fork of a forklift.   4 - Device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: * the lifting means comprise a movable lifting beam (57) in vertical translation above the storage stage and equipped, on its underside, with suction cups grip (58) connected to a vacuum source,   - And means (59) for moving the lifter in vertical translation.   5 - Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it   comprises at least one buffer storage stage (14), constituted by a fixed platform (51) integral with the storage tower (10) and comprising a series of parallel members (52) which are spaced so as to allow passage fingers (45) of   the fork (40) and which define a receiving plane for a sheet metal plate.   6 - Device according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that it   comprises, in addition to the destacker (13) and receiver (12) stages, at least one buffer storage stage (14) superimposed on the destacker and receiver stages and constituted by a fixed platform (51) integral with the storage tower (10 ) and comprising a series of parallel members (52) which are spaced so as to allow the passage of the fingers (45) of the fork (40) and which define a plane for receiving a sheet metal plate.   7 - Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the tower   storage (10) comprises at least two lateral uprights (25) each equipped with a vertical system of guides (32) for guiding and supporting the cradle (31) which is   suitable for overhang on the runners (32).   8 - Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the area of   reception (11) is equipped with means for taking over two shuttle tables (5), means which are adapted to authorize alternating back and forth shuttle tablets (5) between the reception area (11) and a work area (3) of the machine cutout (2).   9 - Device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the tower   storage (10) is open on at least two opposite vertical faces, the cradle moving along a first face and the opposite face defining an access face   for handling means at least on the unstacker (13) and receiver (12) stages.   - Installation for cutting sheet metal plates comprising a cutting machine (2) equipped with at least one shuttle table (5) and means for moving the shuttle table between a work station (3) and a loading station ( 4), characterized in that it comprises a device (1) for loading and   unloading of the shuttle table (5) according to one of claims 1 to 9, the tower of which   storage (10) is placed directly above the discharge station (4), so that this   the latter occupies the reception area (11) located at the base of the tower (10).