Field of the invention

The present invention generally finds application in the field of machines for working stone materials and the like and particularly relates to a numerical-control machine for cutting slabs made of stone materials, such as stone, marble, granite, conglomerate stone and concrete materials and the like.

Background art

Stone slab cutting machines are known to generally comprise a carriage, which is mounted to a support beam to be driven on a horizontal plane above a horizontal cutting bench having the slab to be cut thereon.

The carriage supports a cutting head having a motorized spindle, with a disk-shaped tool rotatably associated therewith.

The head is also designed to vertically translate relative to the carriage, to move the spindle, and its tool, towards and away from the slab, thereby also regulating the cutting thickness.

In certain solutions, one of which is disclosed in the Italian patent IT1 335280 by the applicant hereof, the spindle is designed to both rotate about a vertical axis and oscillate about a horizontal axis, to make bevel cuts, at angles to both vertical and horizontal planes.

Particularly, all the movements are interpolated using numerical- control systems, for possibly making complex cuts.

Numerical-control cutting machines with interpolated movements are also known, which associate a suction cup manipulator with the cutting head, so that the cut slab portions, such as tiles or strips can be picked up from the bench and transferred to an external support for storage or for further transfer to finishing stations.

In certain solutions, such as the one disclosed by WO2006057024, the manipulator is totally independent of the cutting head, and is particularly mounted to a support beam other than that of the head.

While these solutions impart high operational flexibility to the machine, with the manipulator being operable at the same time as the head, they are still complex and bulky and have a relatively high cost.

EP1 651409 discloses a cutting machine as described hereinbefore, in which a suction cup manipulator is integral with the cutting head and is particularly rigidly mounted thereto.

While this solution is more cost-effective and less bulky, it still has the drawback that even though the manipulator allows an independent translational movement of its suction cup gripper element when the head is still, it is rigidly connected to the head and follows its translational and rotational movements. Therefore, the manipulator cannot be used when the head is moving and vice versa, which will reduce the flexibility of the machine.

In further solutions, such as the one disclosed by EP2253422, the manipulator is rotatably mounted to the head, to rotate from an idle position to an operating position.

Here again the operativity of the machine is limited by the possibility of only operating the manipulator when the head is idle.

A further drawback of the above solutions is that they have to be specially designed in every part, and that they do not allow the use of existing configurations including the head only, for integration of a manipulator.

Disclosure of the invention

The object of the present invention is to overcome the above drawbacks, by providing a numerical-control machine for cutting stone slabs that is highly efficient and relatively cost-effective.

A particular object is to provide a machine for cutting stone slabs with cutting head movement interpolation that has a high operational flexibility as well as a small size and a simple construction.

Yet another object is to provide a numerical-control cutting machine having a manipulator, that may be obtained from a cutting machine having the head only.

These and other objects, as better explained below, are fulfilled by a numerical-control machine for cutting stone slabs comprising a bench for supporting one or more slabs to be cut, a bearing frame for supporting substantially horizontal first longitudinal guide means, a substantially transverse bridge-like beam slidably mounted to said first guide means, to translate in a first direction of translation above said supporting bench, a carriage slidably mounted to the beam, a cutting head mounted to the carriage to oscillate about a substantially vertical first axis and to adjust its tilt about a substantially horizontal second axis, wherein the cutting head supports a motorized tool spindle to rotatably drive a substantially disk- shaped cutting tool along a third axis of rotation substantially perpendicular to said second axis of tilt, second guide means integral with the carriage, with the cutting head slidably mounted thereto to translate in a substantially vertical second direction of translation, a manipulator with at least one gripper element slidably mounted to third guide means, to translate in a third substantially vertical direction of translation.

According to a peculiar feature of the invention, the third guide means are integral with said carriage and the manipulator has drive means for translating the gripper element relative to the carriage in the substantially vertical third direction independent of the cutting head.

With this combination of features the machine will ensure high operational flexibility and a reduced bulk, as the manipulator will be at least partially independent of the cutting head, and may thus operate at the same time as the latter.

Preferably, the beam may include guide means for translation of the cutting device and the manipulator in joined relation, in a substantially horizontal second longitudinal direction of translation.

Conveniently, the manipulator may include a support slider, sliding along the guide means and having an anchor bracket with a top plate anchored to the guide means and a bottom plate anchored to the cutting device.

Thus, the manipulator may be later mounted to a cutting machine initially equipped with the device only, or two different forms of the machine may be envisaged, with or without the manipulator, without designing two different types of cutting devices. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are obtained in accordance with the dependent claims.

Brief description of the drawings

Further features and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the detailed description of a preferred, non-exclusive embodiment of a cutting machine according to the invention, which is described as a non-limiting example with the help of the annexed drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a machine of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the machine of Fig. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a front face view of the machine of Fig. 1 , with certain details thereof being omitted;

FIG. 4 is a rear face view of the machine of Fig. 1 , with certain details thereof being omitted;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the machine of Fig. 1 , with certain details thereof being omitted;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a manipulator that is part of a machine of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the manipulator of Fig. 6;

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of a manipulator and a cutting head that are part of a machine of the invention.

Detailed description of a preferred embodiment

Referring to the above figures, a numerical-control machine of the invention, generally designated by numeral 1 , is designed for cutting slabs of stone materials or the like.

Particularly, the machine 1 may be used for cutting and/or shaping a slab L made of a stone material, such as stone, marble, granite, conglomerate stone and concrete materials and the like, to obtain, for example, a plurality of strips or variously shaped portions.

As shown in Fig. 1 the machine comprises, as is known per se, a bench 2 for supporting a slab L to be cut, which may be stationary or movable relative to the ground, and a bearing frame 3, e.g. composed of a pair of posts or vertical walls 4', 4".

The bearing frame 3 supports first guide means consisting, for instance, of a pair of substantially horizontal and longitudinal guides 3', 3", associated with each of the lateral posts 4', 4".

A substantially horizontal and transverse bridge-like beam 5 is placed above the supporting bench 2 with the ends slideably mounted to respective guides 3', 3".

A cutting carriage 6 is further slidably mounted to the beam 5 and has a head 7 rotating about a first axis of rotation X and a second axis of rotation Y which are substantially orthogonal to each other, i.e. are preferably vertically and horizontally oriented respectively.

Particularly, rotation about the second axis Y allows tilt adjustment of the head 7 relative to the bench 2.

The head 7 also supports a spindle 8 having a third motorized axis of rotation W substantially orthogonal to both the first X and the second Y axes of rotation, which has a disk-shaped cutting tool 9, e.g. of diamond type, rotatably supported thereon.

The machine 1 also comprises substantially vertical second guide means 1 0, integral with the carriage 6, with the head 7 slidably mounted thereto to vertically translate in a substantially vertical second direction of translation T ₂ , thereby moving the tool 9 to contact with the slab L to be cut.

Thus, the cutting tool 9 may make cuts at any tilt both relative to a vertical cutting plane and relative to the horizontal plane defined by the supporting bench 2, to make cuts of any plan and profile shape, to impart a multiplicity of shapes to the slab L or portions thereof.

A suction cup manipulator 1 1 is also mounted to the beam 5 and has third guide means 1 2 for translating a gripper element 1 3 in a substantially vertical direction of translation T ₃ , to be moved to contact with at least one portion of the cut slab L on the bench 2.

According to a peculiar feature of the invention, the third guide means

1 2 are integral with the carriage 6.

Furthermore, the manipulator 1 1 has drive means 14 for translating the gripper element 1 3 relative to the carriage 6 in the third direction T ₃ , independent of the translational movements of the head 7.

Particularly, the third guide means 1 2 are designed to maintain the gripper element 1 3 independent of the head 7 both during vertical translation thereof in the second direction of translation T ₂ and during rotation thereof about the first X and second Y axes.

The third guide means 1 2 are substantially independent of the second guide means 1 0.

Essentially, the vertical translational movements of the head 7 in the second direction T ₂ and the rotational movements thereof about the first X and second Y axes, as well as the rotation of the tool 9 about the third axis W involve no consequent movement of the manipulator 1 1 or its gripper element 1 3.

The latter may include one or more suction cup units, two of which are referenced 15, 1 5' in the illustrated configuration, that can be translated up and down in the third direction of translation T ₃ .

The suction cup units 1 5, 15' are formed, for instance, in perforated aluminum plates, which are connected to a vacuum device, not shown, integrated in the manipulator 1 1 , e.g. having a liquid ring vacuum pump and adapted to be connected to suction means, not shown and known per se.

The support beam 5 has a substantially elongate shape in a substantially horizontal longitudinal fourth direction of translation T ₄ and defines a substantially vertical longitudinal center plane π.

In a particular advantageous aspect of the invention, the manipulator 1 1 is mounted to the beam 5 on the side opposite to the cutting head 7 relative the center plane π, as shown in Fig. 5.

Thus, the manipulator 1 1 may be driven independent of the head 7, with no risk of interfering with the operating volume thereof.

Particularly, the beam 5 has first and second parallel longitudinal portions 1 6, 1 7, for fixation to the carriage 6 and the manipulator 1 1 respectively.

Also, the beam 5 comprises fourth guide means 1 8 associated with at least one of its longitudinal portions 16, 1 7 and designed to translate the carriage 6 and the manipulator 1 1 in joined relation in the fourth direction of translation T4.

By way of example, the fourth guide means 1 8 include a flexible drive chain 19 sliding on a slide carriage 20 formed on the second rear longitudinal portion 1 7.

The carriage 20 is conveniently depressed relative to the top surface of the first longitudinal portion 1 6 of the beam 5 at a predetermined level.

Of course, the fourth guide means 1 8 have first motor means 21 not described in greater detail and known per se.

As shown in Fig. 6, the manipulator 1 1 comprises a support slide 22 slidably mounted to the beam 5 and having third guide means 12.

The third guide means 1 2 include an anchor bracket 23 integral with the slide 22, which is used to secure the manipulator 1 1 to the fourth guide means 18.

The bracket 23 comprises a substantially vertical fastening plate 24, which is anchored to the slide 22 and a pair of upper 25 and lower plates or cantilever supports, which transversely project out of the plate 24 in a horizontal direction.

The two plates 25, 26 are vertically offset from each other at a predetermined distance, according to the depression level of the carriage 20.

Particularly, the upper plate 25 is secured to the drive chain 1 9 of the fourth guide means 1 8, whereas the lower plate 26 is secured to the carriage 6, thereby stabilizing coupling with the manipulator.

As more clearly shown in Fig. 6, the drive means 14 comprise, for instance, a pair of jacks 27 substantially parallel to the third direction T ₃ ad adapted to translate parallel thereto.

The jacks 27, which may have an electric, pneumatic, hydraulic, oil hydraulic, mechanical or the like drive, without limitation, have each an upper end fixedly secured to the slide 23 and a lower movable end associated with the gripper element 1 3.

Obviously, the jacks 27 may be replaced by any other actuator which is adapted to vertically translate the gripper element 1 3.

The carriage 6 is associated with the fourth guide means 1 8 and is stationary relative to the vertical second direction of translation T ₂ .

The lower plate 26 of the anchor bracket 23 is appropriately fixed to the carriage 6, such that it will not accommodate the translational movements of the head 7 or the rotational movements of the spindle 8.

The second guide means 1 0 may include an actuator 28 that vertically slides in the second direction T ₂ and has a lower end integral with the spindle 8 through a fork-shaped bracket 29, as shown in Fig. 8.

The fork-shaped bracket 29 is mounted to rotate about the first axis of rotation X, which will substantially coincide with the second direction of translation T ₂ , to rotatably drive 1 1 the spindle 8 and its tool 9.

The bracket 29 has in turn the second axis of rotation Y with the spindle 8 mounted thereto, which is associated with appropriate second motor means 30, that may also control the rotation of the third axis of rotation W. The head 7 also has a protective and support shield 31 for the spindle 8 and the tool 9.

The gripper element 1 3 is adapted to rotate about a substantially vertical fourth axis of rotation Z integral with the slide 22 and associated with an electric motor 32 mounted to the slide 22 and connected to the gripper element 1 2 through appropriate gearmotors, to allow independent rotation of the gripper element 1 3 relative the head 7 .

The movement of the beam 5 on the first guide means 3', 3" apparently imparts motion to the carriage 6 and its head 7, and the manipulator 1 1 in the first direction T-i , in joined relation to each other.

Conveniently, all translational movements in the four directions of translation T _; T ₂ , T ₄ , as well as the rotations of the tool 9 about the first three axes of rotation X, Y, W may be synchronized and interpolated by the provision of numerical-control means, not shown, which are designed to control the corresponding guide means 3', 3", 1 0, 18, to impart high flexibility to the machine 1 in terms of the variety of cuts that can be made.

The above disclosure clearly shows that the invention achieves the above purposes and particularly meets the requirement of providing a numerical-control cutting machine for cutting plates, having a manipulator for the cut portions of the plate, that also has a very compact size and a flexible use.

The machine of the invention is susceptible of a number of changes and variants, within the inventive concept disclosed in the appended claims. All the details thereof may be replaced by other technically equivalent parts, and the materials may vary depending on different needs, without departure from the scope of the invention.

While the machine has been described with particular reference to the accompanying figures, the numerals referred to in the disclosure and claims are only used for the sake of a better intelligibility of the invention and shall not be intended to limit the claimed scope in any manner.