SUPPORTING STRUCTURE FOR MACHINERY, IN PARTICULAR ACCUMULATION APPARATUS, OF COMPLEX PRODUCTION LINES.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention refers to a supporting structure for industrial machinery, such as used in production lines, isles and plants for transformation, assembly or storing of products.

Specifically but not exclusively the invention refers to a supporting structure for apparatus for the temporary accumulation of products within production lines.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Very often industrial machines suitable for transformation, assembly or storing of the products, obviously also as function of the products to be processed, include very bulky and heavy structures which imply a very complex management during their transport and assembly.

Extremely illustrative is the case of the apparatus for the temporary accumulation of products arranged within production lines between machinery of different production cycles or to avoid production standstills in the downstream machinery in case of failure or momentary jamming of upstream machinery and/or vice-versa.

This apparatus necessarily will be largely dimensioned in order to fulfill its purpose, i.e. to allow for the temporary storing of the maximum possible quantity of products. As a matter of fact, the bigger the quantity of storable product, the higher will be the increase in efficiency

of the line where this machinery is installed. The footprint of this apparatus may vary a lot but hardly be less than two meters by side, whilst its height even may extend beyond five meters. As may be easily understood, transporting of such bulky apparatus from the place of construction to that of installation is hard labour and practically impossible using normal containers, wherefore the procedure normally followed by the sector is that of dismantling the machinery and its relative supporting structure, in order to transport it by single components and to reassemble it at the place of installation. It is easy to imagine that thereby not only nearly all of the components will have to be dismantled but also all electrical connections, calibrations, settings and mechanical adjustments reached by hard work during the acceptance will be lost.

Considering the dimensions and the structural complexity of the machinery, the reassembly operations may require even several days and be particularly costly due to the expenditure of labour involved. This is what occurs for example in case of the accumulation apparatus described in the patent applications US 4,142,626; US 6,053,304; US 2003/002437 or EP 1371583, where the complexity and the dimensions of the above equipment are such to require mounting times for installation and setting up that well may extend to weeks, due to the large dimensions which require the complete reassembly or in particular due to reestablishing the settings and adjustments lost during dismantling before shipment.

Another negative aspect of constructions such as described in the above patent applications is the big volume of any of the dismantled components that implies a high cost of shipment.

For the same reasons, this apparatus after installation no longer will be displaced even if particular productive or work requirements might require a relocation or removal, an operation that, if it cannot be avoided, again would imply all the above inconveniences and the expenses caused by it.

Besides that, already in the design phase the dimensions of such machinery and its relative supporting structure often deliberately will have to be limited far beyond values that otherwise would be the dimensions dictated by the production flow optimization criteria, in order to limit the difficulties which would arise for transport and reassembly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Object of the present invention is that of proposing a supporting structure for bulky industrial machinery that is in a position to overcome the above exposed problems of the known technology.

A further object of the present invention is that of proposing a supporting structure for particularly bulky industrial machinery to adapt it for transport in a container of standard dimensions and extremely easy and fast installation without the need of particular adjustments and without repeating the complete acceptance procedures.

Another object of the present invention is that of proposing a supporting structure for apparatus for the temporary accumulation of goods that provides for extreme ease of transportation and installation but

simultaneously allows also for a very high product accumulation capacity and an optimization of the space used so that the available height is used at a maximum.

The above objects are achieved by a machinery supporting structure placed between a section upstream and a section downstream of a complex production line and wherein said machinery includes at least one loading and/or unloading station and means for moving and/or processing said products, and wherein said supporting structure is expandable.

Preferably the expansion takes place by a series of telescopic elements including means for referencing the relative position between successive telescopic elements, and means for securely defining the relative position between said successive telescopic elements.

Alternatively the structure may expand due to the presence of reciprocally linkable modular elements removable by quick connect facilities.

The machinery supported by the structure may be equipped with means of propulsion suitable for expansion/compression of said structure.

Said machinery may consist in particular of a temporary accumulation apparatus wherein said structure supports flexible power transmission means that support product containers.

A structure according to the invention preferably is obtained by a method of mounting of telescopic expandable machinery supporting structures placed between a section upstream and a section

downstream of a complex production line, wherein said machinery includes at least one loading and/or unloading station and means for moving and/or processing said products, including phases of: i. Installation of said structure with minimum dimensions in the workspace provided for; ii. Extension of first telescopic elements from external telescopic elements close to them, up to the exit of reference bores present in said first telescopic elements from said external telescopic elements close to them; iii. Inserting in said reference bores the relative reference pins; iv. Interlocking said first telescopic elements with said external telescopic elements close to them by means of secure fastening means; v. Repeating phases ii, iii and iv until all of the telescopic elements have been extended or until obtaining the required expansion level.

Relevant advantages compared with the known technology immediately may be appreciated concerning to the possibility of significantly reducing the dimensions of the structure itself for transport, guaranteeing the recovery of the working configuration by extremely simple and fast mounting operations, taking into account the obtainable large accumulation capacity.

As a matter of fact, during transport the structure is reduced after dismantling of a few secondary components to dimensions that permit storing within a standard container whilst the reassembly operations are

simple and fast as after completing the levelling, the only remaining requirement is the positioning and fastening of the various telescopic elements between them and the assembly of the few previously dismantled secondary elements, with the machinery maintaining all the settings and adjustments previously defined.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other advantages related to the supporting structure of the invention moreover will be more easily understood by illustration of the non exhaustive examples of the embodiment of the invention as described below by the drawings enclosed, wherein:

- The figure 1 shows a schematic frontal view of a supporting structure according to the invention, in four different phases of expansion; the figure 2 shows a detail of fig. 1 ;

- the figure 3 shows a cross section view along the plane identified by Ill-Ill of fig.2; the figure 4 shows a lateral view of the detail of fig.2; the figure 5 shows a frontal view of a different embodiment of a supporting structure according to the invention in expanded configuration; the figure 6 shows a lateral view of a supporting structure according to the invention schematically applied to an accumulation apparatus;

- the figure 7 shows a lateral view of the supporting structure of fig. 6; the figure 8 shows a top view of the supporting structure of fig.6.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to figure 1 , 10a outlines a supporting structure of industrial machinery configured for minimum space requirements. The same structure is indicated by 10b, 10c and 10d in successive expansion stages.

As may be noted, the structure includes peripheral columns, 1 1 , consisting of a series of internally hollow telescopic elements 12a, 12b,

12c and 12d, connected at their upper end by means of cross beams

13a, 13b, 13c and 13d.

The bottom ends of the columns, 1 1 , are provided with plates, 14, for securely anchoring of the structure to the floor and for corresponding levelling.

Between the end of one cross beam and the opposite end of the upper cross beam tie rods, 15, are anchored which are in a position to prevent deformation of the structure.

As may be noted in the detail of fig. 2 and in the following figs. 3 and 4, the expanded configuration of the structure is obtained by defining the relative position of two successive telescopic elements. The fastening position is established by the presence of a bore, 16, in which a reference pin, 18, with the applicable clearance is inserted that abuts against the upper wall, 19, of the lower telescopic element. The presence of the reference pin 18 allows for the correct alignment of through-holes present in the lower telescopic element, with tapped holes being present in the upper telescopic element, thus permitting the

reciprocal fastening of the two successive telescopic elements by means of screws, 20.

The correct installation sequence of the structure according to the invention is a direct result of the above description.

The structure configured for a minimum footprint, 10a, and the parts of the machinery supported by it that do not exceed the footprint of said configuration easily can be shipped in normal containers to the place of installation.

Then the structure is securely anchored to the floor by means of the anchoring plates 14.

The cross beam 13a connected to the telescopic end elements, 12a, is lifted, for example by means of the forks of a fork lifter, to the exit of bore 16 from the upper wall, 19, of the lower telescopic element, 12b.

At this point the reference pins, 18, are inserted which locate the successive telescopic elements 12a and 12b in the suitable relative position for inserting and tightening the screws 20.

Then the cross beam 13b is lifted and the previous reference and fastening operations are repeated with regard to the lower telescopic elements 12c.

Obviously the above operations are repeated until complete expansion of the structure.

Finally the anchoring of the tie rods 15 guarantees a higher rigidity and resistance against deformation of the structure.

The figures 6 to 8 show a supporting structure according to the invention preferably applied to a temporary accumulation apparatus of

the type arranged between a section upstream and a section downstream of a production line in order to act as "buffer" between machines of a different cycle or to avoid shutting off the whole line in case of failure of the upstream or downstream machine. The products, 21 , arrive at the apparatus by means of a belt conveyor, 22, which is part of the section upstream of the production line, and are fed by special auxiliary conveying means to a loading station, 24, of the apparatus.

From the loading station, the products are loaded into special containers, 25, suspended between two chains, 26 and 27, which extend as closed loop between a series of deflection wheels with fixed shaft, 28, rotatingly linked to the supporting structure 10, and groups of deflection wheels with moving shaft, 29 and 30, suspended inside the structure by means of connecting chains, 31 and 32, which are linked to further deflection wheels, 33, anchored to the upper cross beam 13a of the structure.

At the loading station 24 the products 21 are loaded into the containers 25, then carried to the top by the movement of the transmission chains 26 and 27, passing the group of wheels with moving shaft 29 to make a downside turn to the unloading station, 34, where they are unloaded to the belt conveyor, 35, which is part of the section downstream of the production line.

The quantity of products accumulated in the apparatus varies as function of the positioning in height of the deflection wheels 29. The configuration of figure 6 is indeed that of minimum accumulation where

the products simply are transferred from the loading position to the unloading position, whilst the position of the wheels 29 shown as dotted line in the same figure is that of the maximum accumulation with the maximum number of full containers, as the maximum section of transmission means extends between the loading and the unloading station.

It is easy to imagine how the expandable structure of the invention offers particular, substantial advantages in the case of accumulation apparatus of the type as described above and being the scope of the parallel patent application in the name of the applicant. As a matter of fact nearly all the elements of the apparatus supported by the structure 10, including the propulsion of the deflection wheels not shown for representation facility reasons, are included in the bottom part of the structure below the cross beam 13d and in particular below the delimitation line, 40, of the guard of the apparatus schematically shown in the figures. Thus in configuration of minimum footprint it is sufficient to disconnect the transmission means 14 and 15 in order to reduce the length and to carry out the operations for closing the structure 10. So the times for dismantling and mounting of the structure and of the respective apparatus are extremely short and not in the least comparable to the long assembly and setting up times for the accumulation apparatus of the known technology. A further substantial advantage of the solution exposed above lies in the capacity of being able to substantially increase the loading capacity of such apparatus as the limit of the height of the structure is only given

by the height of the construction at the inside of which it shall be arranged.

The advantages in connection with the use of the above described expandable supporting structure obviously still will stay in place also in the presence of variants or changes of it.

Figure 5 for example shows a supporting structure, 10, including hydraulic jacks, 36, anchored to the structure itself by special connecting arms, 37. The presence of these hydraulic propulsion means allows for the complete or partial automation of the operations for expanding the structure.

The jack 36 acts from time to time between the telescopic elements 12'd, anchored to the floor, and the cross beams 13'a, 13'b and 13'c, and finally by extensions applied between the upper and of the jack and the cross beams themselves, thus allowing for the expansion of the structure without the use of lifting means external to the structure itself. Certainly other lifting means could be provided instead of the hydraulic jacks 36, such as pneumatic cylinders, gear systems between the various telescopic elements or still other means. Besides that the expandability of the structure could be achieved by other structural elements than the telescopic columns 1 1. A modular structure could be considered for example wherein the upper elements, such as columns, cross beams or diagonal tie rods engage by snap-on locking systems or other quick action connections. Still differently, the upper elements could be connected by hinges to the lower ones so that

the columns can be tilted in the plane of the cross beams in order to reduce the height required.

The expansion may be achieved by still other means, such as toggle systems or pantograph elements driven either by own hydraulic and/or mechanical means or manually integrated by special devices or still other means , which are all easily to be designed by a technical specialist of the trade.

These and other variants or changes may be applied to the supporting structure for industrial machinery according to the invention, always within the protected scope defined by the following claims.