Patent Application
20230116035
This patent application claims priority from Italian Patent Application No. 102021000023414 filed on Sep. 10, 2021, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
This invention relates to a plant for the storage of sausages.
In particular, this invention relates to a plant for the storage of sausages of the type comprising a loading station for the storage of a succession of sausages; a vertical store, which extends in a first direction, and has multiple storage levels overlapping each other in the first direction; and a transfer unit for transferring the sausages from the loading station to the vertical store.
The vertical store has a plurality of vertical uprights parallel to each other and to the first direction.
Each storage level comprises, normally, a pair of first horizontal cross members that are parallel to each other, each of which extends in a second direction that is transverse to the first direction, and is fixed, in particular welded, to a pair of vertical uprights; and a plurality of second horizontal cross members that are parallel to each other and to a third direction that is orthogonal to the above-mentioned first and second directions.
Each second cross member extends between two first cross members, is hooked so that it can be released to the first cross members, and is provided with a plurality of hooking members designed to receive and hold a corresponding sausage each.
Generally, the sausages are transferred to the loading station via a chain conveyor, which extends through a sausage processing station, and is provided with a plurality of second hooking members designed to receive and hold a corresponding sausage each.
The transfer unit comprises, normally, an anthropomorphic robot provided with a pick-and-place device, which is moved by the anthropomorphic robot between a first operating position, wherein the pick-and-place device retrieves the sausages from the loading station, and a second operating position, wherein the pick-and-place device releases the sausages into the vertical store.
The pick-and-place device is configured to retrieve a second cross member from the corresponding storage level, move the second cross member into the loading station, hook a row of sausages, equal in number to half the number of first hooking members, to the second cross member, transfer the second cross member to the vertical store, and hook the second cross member to the corresponding first cross members again.
Once the second cross member in the vertical store is released, the pick-and-place device is, first of all, moved into its first operating position to retrieve a second row of sausages, equal in number to half the number of first hooking members of the second cross member, from the loading station, and is, finally, moved into its second operating position to release the second row of sausages on the second cross member.
With regard to the above, it is appropriate to specify that the two rows of sausages are hooked to opposite sides of the second cross member so as to avoid the sausages of the two rows of sausages coming into contact with each other, thus compromising the correct curing of the sausages.
The known plants for the storage of sausages of the type described above have some drawbacks mainly deriving from the fact that filling each second cross member entails two operating cycles of the pick-and-place device and the transfer of the second cross members between the vertical store and the loading station.
As a result, the productivity of the transfer unit is relatively low, the pick-and-place device is relatively complex and costly, and the vertical store has relatively large dimensions.
The object of this invention is to provide a plant for the storage of sausages that is free of the drawbacks described above and is simple and economical to implement.
According to this invention, a plant for the storage of sausages is provided as claimed in claims 1 to 10.
This invention also relates to a method for the storage of sausages.
According to this invention, a method for the storage of sausages is provided as claimed in claims 11 to 16.
This invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings that illustrate a non-limiting embodiment thereof, in which:
With reference to
The plant 1 comprises a vertical store 3, which extends in a direction 4, has a parallelepiped-like shape with a rectangular base, and is provided with a plurality of vertical uprights 5, in this case six vertical uprights 5, which are parallel to each other and to the direction 4.
The uprights 5 are connected to each other, at their lower ends, by a frame 6 resting on the ground, and are connected, in addition, at their upper ends, by a rectangular frame 7.
The uprights 5 can be divided into two groups of three uprights 5, each of which is coplanar to the two uprights 5 of its group of uprights 5 and to an upright 5 of the other group of uprights 5.
The store 3 has a plurality of storage levels 8, which overlap each other in the direction 4, and are defined, in this case, by three horizontal cross members 9 that are coplanar to each other and parallel to a direction 10 that is transverse to the direction 4.
Each cross member 9 is fixed, in particular welded, at its free ends, to two uprights 5, and is provided with multiple hooking pins 11, in this case eight pins 11, which are uniformly distributed along the cross member 9 in the direction 10, and project upwards from the cross member 9.
The plant 1 also comprises a chain conveyor 12 (shown only in part in
The conveyor 12 is provided with a plurality of support hooks 14 uniformly distributed along the conveyor 12 with a distribution pitch P1 that is substantially equal to a distribution pitch P2 of the pins 11 of a cross member 9.
The hooks 14 are mounted alternately on the two sides of the conveyor 12 so that each hook 14 has a concavity opposite the concavity of the two adjacent hooks 14.
The plant 1 also comprises a transfer unit 15 for transferring the hams 2 from the station 13 to the store 3.
The unit 15 comprises an anthropomorphic robot 16 provided with a plurality of jointed arms 17, and a support frame 18 which is mounted at one free end of the arms 17, and supports two straight guides 19 that are parallel to each other.
The unit 15 also comprises a pick-and-place device 20 comprising, in turn, a shelf 21, which extends between, and transversely to, the guides 19, is coupled, so that it slides, to the guides 19, and is provided with a pair of support arms 22 with an elongated shape.
The arms 22 project from the shelf 21 orthogonally to the guides 19 and to the shelf 21, and are coupled to the shelf 21 so that they slide to move one in relation to the other along the shelf 21 itself between an open position (
Each arm 22 has a length at least equal to the length of a cross member 9.
The device 20 is moved by the robot 16 between a first operating position, wherein the device 20 retrieves the hams 2 from the station 13, and a second operating position, wherein the device 20 releases the hams 2 into the store 3.
At least when the device 20 is arranged in the above-mentioned first and second operating positions, the guides 19 are parallel to the direction 4, the arms 22 extend in the direction 10, and the shelf 21 extends in a direction 23 horizontal and orthogonal to the directions 4 and 10.
Each arm 22 is provided with a plurality of holding members 24, which are equal in number to half of the hooking pins 11 of a cross member 9 (in this case, thus, four members 24), and are uniformly distributed along the arm 22 with a distribution pitch equal to double the distribution pitch of the hooking pins 11 of a cross member 9.
The members 24 of each arm 22 face the other arm 22, and are staggered in relation to the members 24 of the other arm 22, so that the distribution pitch P3 of the members 24 of the two arms 22 is equal to the distribution pitch P2 of the pins 11 of a cross member 9 and to the distribution pitch P1 of the hooks 14 along the conveyor 12.
Each member 24 comprises two jaws 25 that move relative to each other along the corresponding arm 22 between an open position for clamping a ham 2 and a closed position for releasing a ham 2.
The operation of the plant 1 will now be described with reference to
The device 13 is moved forward in the directions 4 and/or 10 so as to move the arms 22 on opposite sides of the hams 2 hooked to the conveyor 12 by means of corresponding hooking rings 26 (
At this point, the arms 22 are moved into their closed position so as to engage the members 24 though the rings 26, the members 24 are moved into their open positions for clamping the hams 2, and the arms 22 are, again, moved into their open position for disengaging two rows of four hams 2 each from the conveyor 12 (
The device 13 is, thus, moved into its second operating position and moved forward in the directions 4 and/or 10 so as to arrange the arms 22 on opposite sides of a cross member 9, the arms 22 are moved into the closed position for hooking the rings 26 of the hams 2 to the hooking pins 11 of the cross member 9, the members 24 are moved into their closed, release positions, and the arms 22 are, again, moved into the open position to enable the members 24 to disengage the rings 26 of the corresponding hams 2.
The plant 1 has some advantages mainly deriving from the fact that:
In addition, since the hams 2 are inserted in the store 3 by the pick-and-place device 20 in the direction 10, i.e., parallel to the cross members 9, the store 3 has relatively reduced dimensions.
According to some variants not shown:
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102021000023414 | Sep 2021 | IT | national |
