Apparatus and method to feed bars
AssigneeM.E.P. Macchine Elettroniche Piegatrici S. P.A.
InventorGiorgio Del Fabro
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus to feed bars (B) to one or more user machines located downstream, said apparatus comprising a support plane (11), a bar feed zone (12) located in proximity to one bar supply end (13) of said support plane (11), wherein said support plane (11) comprises a unit (14) to move said bars (B) in a direction of movement (Z) from and toward said bar feed zone (12).
Claims16
Apparatus to feed bars to one or more user machines located downstream, said apparatus comprising a support plane, a bar feed zone located in proximity to one bar supply end of said support plane, wherein said support plane is configured to move said bars in a direction of movement from and toward said bar feed zone, characterized in that it comprises:
- a support structure positioned in correspondence with said bar feed zone and configured to pass from a first position, in which it is above said support plane in order to support said bars and/or move said bars in a direction transverse to said direction of movement, to a second position, in which it is below said support plane in order to deposit said bars onto said support plane in correspondence with said bar feed zone,
- a plurality of containing and translation units disposed adjacent to each other with respect to said direction of movement and configured to contain and make available said bars on each occasion,
- said support plane being configured to move said bars from said bar feed zone toward said containing and translation units and vice versa, and from said bar feed zone to said bar supply end, and
- wherein each containing and translation unit comprises (i) at least two containers distanced and aligned in a longitudinal direction, transverse to said direction of movement, coordinated with each other and selectively movable in order to pass at least from a containing position, in which they are positioned below said support plane and are suitable to support a bundle of bars, to at least a release position, in which they are positioned above said support plane in order to release said bars onto said support plane, and (ii) at least two conveyors associated with said containers and aligned in said longitudinal direction, being coordinated with each other in order to pass at least from a lowered condition, in which they are substantially parallel to said support plane and allow the movement of said bars, to at least a raised condition in which they are raised in order to allow access to the respective containers.
Method to feed bars to one or more user machines, which provides to move said bars on a support plane in a direction of movement from and toward said bar feed zone characterized in that
- a support structure, which supports said bars in correspondence with, and/or moves said bars in a direction transverse to said direction of movement toward said bar feed zone, is moved from a first position, in which it is above said support plane in order to support said bars, to a second position, in which it is below said support plane in order to deposit said bars onto said support plane in correspondence with said bar feed zone,
- said bars, deposited on said support plane by said support structure, are moved from said bar feed zone toward containing and translation units and vice versa, and from said bar feed zone toward said bar supply end, said containing and translation units being disposed adjacent to each other with respect to said direction of movement and configured to contain and make available said bars on each occasion, and
- wherein each containing and translation unit comprises (i) at least two containers distanced and aligned in a longitudinal direction, transverse to said direction of movement, coordinated with each other and selectively movable in order to pass at least from a containing position, in which they are positioned below said support plane and are suitable to support a bundle of bars, to at least a release position, in which they are positioned above said support plane in order to release said bars onto said support plane, and (ii) at least two conveyors associated with said containers and aligned in said longitudinal direction, being coordinated with each other in order to pass at least from a lowered condition, in which they are substantially parallel to said support plane and allow the movement of said bars, to at least a raised condition in which they are raised in order to allow access to the respective containers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.