Patent EP-2551222-A1 (EP)
Inventor: FAVRE CHRISTOPHE
IPC: A21C9/08
Filed: 2012-07-27
Abstract: The installation comprises a feed conveyor (2) defining a transport plane for products and an advancing direction, a unit (3) for detecting a position of the products on the transport plane, a support unit (4) for receiving the products, a gripping unit (5) carried by an actuating unit (6) and adapted to ensure the gripping of the products on the transport plane and to ensure the removal of the products on the support unit, and a unit (7) for controlling the actuating unit and the gripping unit from informations provided by the detecting unit. The gripping unit comprises a gripping band. The installation comprises a feed conveyor (2) defining a transport plane for products and an advancing direction, a unit (3) for detecting a position of the products on the transport plane, a support unit (4) for receiving the products, a gripping unit (5) carried by an actuating unit (6) and adapted to ensure the gripping of the products on the transport plane and to ensure the removal of the products on the support unit, and a unit (7) for controlling the actuating unit and the gripping unit from informations provided by the detecting unit. The gripping unit comprises a gripping band that is wound around a front end of a first drum at a first end and a rear end of a second drum at a second end. The drums are associated with a motor controlled by the control unit. The gripping band comprises an upper strand having a top face forming a plane for gripping the products. The actuating unit is adapted to ensure the operation of the gripping unit in a three-dimensional space between a gripping position in which the gripping band is positioned opposite and above the feed conveyor for gripping the products and a release position in which the gripping band is positioned opposite and above the support unit for removing the products. The motor of the gripping unit is adapted to ensure the rotation of the drum associated in two directions to allow the movement of gripping plane of the gripping band in two opposite directions for gripping and removal of the products from the first end of the gripping band. The actuating unit ensures the operation of the gripping unit according to: a lateral horizontal translation axis perpendicularly oriented to the advancing direction of the feed conveyor; an upstream and downstream horizontal translation axis parallely oriented to the advancing direction of the feed conveyor; a vertically oriented translation axis for the vertical displacement of the gripping unit with respect to the transport plane of the feed conveyor and to the support unit; and a vertical rotational axis so as to control pivoting movements of the axis of the path of a gripping conveyor, and comprises a parallel arm delta robot having a three deformable parallelogram-shaped manipulation member. The motor of the gripping unit cooperates with a speed and position sensing unit that is connected with the control unit for controlling the movement of the gripping plane of the gripping band and the products during the gripping and removal of the products. The gripping plane of the gripping band is inclined at an angle of 10-45[deg] with respect to the horizontal during the operation of the gripping of the products on the feed conveyor and depositing of the product on the support unit to ensure the stability of the products. The feed conveyor comprises a drive drum coupled to the motor equipped with the speed and position sensing unit that is connected with the control unit. The position detecting unit comprises image acquiring unit. The control unit comprises image treatment unit and image tracking unit for driving the gripping unit and actuating unit. The support unit comprises a package. The control unit comprises a unit for adjusting the speed of the movement of the gripping band so as to allow, during the operation of gripping of the product on the feed conveyor and/or during the removal of the product on the support unit, the application of a speed difference between the feed conveyor or support unit and the gripping plane of the gripping band so as to provide an extension and retraction of the length of the products An independent claim is included for a process for handling products.