Patent ID: 11958096
Assignee: STROTHMANN MACHINES & HANDLING GMBH
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  G  Y | IPC B  G

Claim 10:
11. A transport system for transporting workpieces on a transport path between two process stations of a production line, comprising:
a set of drones, with each drone comprising at least one gripper which is designed to releasably couple to a surface of a workpiece, and
a control device for the simultaneous coordinated control of the drones of the set, in such a way that the grippers of the drones couple to different coupling positions on the surface of the workpiece and the orientation of the workpiece can be changed on a transport path between the process stations by changing the relative positions of the drones while maintaining the relative distances of the coupling positions from one another,
wherein the grippers each comprise at least one pneumatically operated suction device, which can be operated by at least one negative pressure source,
wherein the drones each comprise at least one drive system that serves as a negative pressure source for operation of a suction device, and
at least one additional negative pressure source to assist the drive system in operation of a suction device.