US 9,904,259 B2Granted

Plate member reversing system and reversing/transfer method thereof

AssigneeKawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorsKenji Bando, Toshihiko Miyazaki, Shuhei Kuraoka

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Abstract

A plate member reversing system adapted for sequentially reversing and transferring a plurality of plate members, includes a second delta robot, a reversing device and a second transfer device. The second delta robot is configured such that it sequentially holds the plate members and transfers and places them onto the reversing device. The reversing device, onto which the plate member is transferred and placed in a horizontal position by the second delta robot, is configured such that, while the transferred and placed plate member is being held by application of suction with its upper surface in an open state, it reverses the upper and the lower surfaces of the plate member. In addition, the second transfer device receives the reversed plate member from the reversing device and transfers it in a reversed state and in a horizontal position.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A plate member reversing system for sequentially reversing and transferring a plurality of plate members including a first plate member and a second plate member, the plate member reversing system comprising:

an upstream-side transfer/placing robot including an arm and configured to perform an upstream-side transfer/placing operation using the arm to sequentially hold, transfer and place the plurality of plate members;
a reversing device including a pair of reversing tables onto each of which the plate member held by the arm of the upstream-side transfer/placing robot is transferred and placed in a horizontal position, the reversing device being configured to perform a reversing operation of reversing upper and lower surfaces of the plate member transferred to and placed on each of the reversing tables, while the transferred and placed plate member is being held with its upper surface in an open state;
a transfer device configured to perform a transfer operation of receiving the reversed plate member from the reversing device and transferring the received plate member in a reversed state and in a horizontal position;
and
a control device which executes control that enables the upstream-side transfer/placing robot, the reversing device and the transfer device to operate intermittently, wherein:
the transfer device is a belt conveyor;
the reversing device reverses the first plate member, transferred to and placed on one of the reversing tables by the arm of the upstream-side transfer/placing robot;
and places the first plate member onto the belt conveyor to deliver the first plate member to the belt conveyor, and the reversing device causes the other of the reversing tables to receive the second plate member transferred and placed by the arm of the upstream-side transfer/placing robot, the second plate member being different from the first plate member;
and
the control device is configured such that while the upstream-side transfer/placing robot is caused to use the arm to perform the upstream-side transfer/placing operation to transfer and place the second plate member to and on the other of the reversing tables in a state in which the reversing operation of the reversing device is stopped, the control device causes the transfer device to perform the transfer operation simultaneously and in sync with the upstream-side transfer/placing operation by the upstream-side transfer/placing robot to deliver the first plate member, transferred to and placed on the one of the reversing tables, to the belt conveyor.

7 more elements

A plate member reversing/transfer method for use in a plate member reversing system which includes:

an upstream-side transfer/placing robot configured to use an arm to sequentially hold, transfer and place a plurality of plate members including a first plate member and a second plate member;
a reversing device including a pair of reversing tables onto each of which the plate member held by the arm of the upstream-side transfer/placing robot is transferred and placed in a horizontal position, the reversing device being configured to reverse upper and lower surfaces of the plate member transferred to and placed on each of the reversing tables, while the transferred/placed plate member is being held with its upper surface in an open state;
and a transfer device configured to perform a transfer operation of receiving the reversed plate member from the reversing device and transferring the received plate member in a reversed state and in a horizontal position, the transfer device being a belt conveyor, wherein the reversing device reverses the first plate member, transferred to and placed on one of the reversing tables, and places the first plate member onto the belt conveyor to deliver the first plate member to the belt conveyor, and the reversing device causes the other of the reversing tables to receive the second plate member transferred and placed by the arm of the upstream-side transfer/placing robot, the second plate member being different from the first plate member, the method comprising:
a transfer/placing step in which the plurality of plate members are sequentially held by the upstream-side transfer/placing robot, and are transferred and placed onto the other of the reversing tables of the reversing device;
a reversing step in which the plate member transferred and placed onto the one of the reversing tables in the transfer/placing step is delivered to the transfer device in such a manner that the reversing device holds and reverses the plate member and places the plate member onto the belt conveyor;
and
a transfer step in which the plate member reversed and delivered in the reversing step is transferred by the transfer device, wherein
while the transfer/placing step is being executed in a state where a reversing operation of the reversing device is stopped after the reversing step, the transfer step is executed simultaneously and in sync with the transfer/placing step.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/110,279Filed 30 Mar 2012
Priority: JP 2011-0840525 Apr 2011
Published: US 2014/0081443 A120 Mar 2014
Granted: 27 Feb 2018
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

G05B 15/02
Systems controlled by a computer: electric
B65G 49/067
For fragile sheets, e.g. glass: sheet handling, means, e.g. manipulators, devices for turning or tilting sheet glass
B65G 49/068
For fragile sheets, e.g. glass: stacking or destacking devices; Means for preventing damage to stacked sheets, e.g. spaces
H10P 72/3211
Between different workstations: changing orientation of the substrate, e.g. from a horizontal position to a vertical position