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US 2026/0264909 A1Published application
Apparatus and method for positioning products on supports
AssigneeG.Mondini S.P.A.
InventorsGIOVANNI MONDINI, PAOLO CARLO MONDINI
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for positioning products on supports, wherein the supports are moved by means of magnetic shuttles of a planar motor conveyor between a plurality of operating stations, and wherein, at an unloading station, each product is fed with an auxiliary conveyor above a gliding plane (5) of the planar motor conveyor, and is unloaded onto a support which is supported by a magnetic shuttle, while the magnetic shuttle moves below the auxiliary conveyor.
Claims22
An apparatus for positioning products on supports, comprising:
- a supporting structure;
- a planar motor conveyor, which is mounted on the supporting structure, which defines a gliding plane of the planar motor conveyor and which comprises a plurality of magnetic shuttles associable with the gliding plane, for being moved over the gliding plane by means of the planar motor, between a plurality of operating stations, each magnetic shuttle being configured to convey at least a support and defining a resting zone for at least one support;
- an auxiliary conveyor which is associated with the planar motor conveyor above the gliding plane at an unloading station, at the unloading station between the auxiliary conveyor and the gliding plane of the planar motor conveyor there being a transit space present which, in use, allows the gliding of at least one magnetic shuttle with at least one support loaded onto it;
- and
- an electronic control unit operatively connected to the auxiliary conveyor and to the planar motor conveyor for controlling their operation in a coordinated way;
- wherein moreover:
- at the unloading station the auxiliary conveyor is configured to unload the product above the planar motor conveyor below;
- and
- during the unloading of each product from the auxiliary conveyor, the electronic control unit is programmed to control the planar motor conveyor for, in use, making a magnetic shuttle onto which a support has been loaded, move through the unloading station;
- the apparatus also comprises a first electronic device, which is associated with the auxiliary conveyor for inspecting each product arriving at the unloading station, and a first processing device operatively connected to the first electronic device, for receiving from it data relative to each product, and programmed to determine the spatial orientation of the product on the auxiliary conveyor using those data;
- and
- the electronic control unit is also programmed to control the planar motor conveyor for orienting the resting zone of each magnetic shuttle, at the unloading station, as a function of the spatial orientation of the product arriving at the unloading station to be loaded onto the magnetic shuttle.
9 more elements
A method for positioning a product on a support, comprising the following operating steps:
- a loading step in which the support is loaded onto a magnetic shuttle of a planar motor conveyor which defines a gliding plane over which the magnetic shuttle glides;
- a positioning step in which the magnetic shuttle onto which the support has been loaded is brought into a first transfer start position;
- a feed step in which the product is brought into a second transfer start position in which it is located above the support loaded onto the magnetic shuttle placed in the first transfer start position, and at a distance from it;
- and
- a transfer step in which the product starting from the second transfer start position is gradually transferred onto the support, whilst simultaneously the magnetic shuttle shifts from the first transfer start position with a known and controlled first velocity, the transfer step being performed by making the product move forward projecting above the planar motor conveyor so as to make it descend towards the support below;
- wherein, in the feed step, the product is brought into the second transfer start position with a random orientation, wherein there is also an observation step in which, using data obtained by inspecting the product with a first electronic device, a spatial orientation of the product in the second transfer start position is determined, and wherein there is also an orientation step in which by acting on the magnetic shuttle, the support is oriented as a function of the spatial orientation of the product.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.