Claims:We Claim:
1. A washer handling system (100) for picking up any one of a washer and a stack of washers (75) from a packing tray (80) and placing in a storage tray (90), the storage tray (90) having plurality of pins (85) for storing washers according to the size thereof; the washer handling system (100) comprising:
a pneumatic unit (50) having a main air line (10) connected to a pressure regulator (20) via a ball valve (15) and a direction control valve (35) connected to the pressure regulator (20); the pneumatic unit (50) being capable of supplying a pressurized and regulated air supply,
a coupling unit (60) having a female brass coupling and a male coupling screwed thereon, and pneumatically connected to the direction control valve (35) through a flexible airline; and
a hollow inflatable member (70) secured inside the female brass coupling and pneumatically connected to the direction control valve (35), wherein outer diameter of the hollow inflatable member (70) is matching with the inner diameter of washer when inflated;
wherein,
any one of the washer and the stack of washers (75) is picked up from the tablet packaging (80) by manually inserting the hollow inflatable member (70) there into; inflating the hollow inflatable member (70) with pressurized air and thereby gripping the stack of washers (75) thereon; and
any one of the washer and the stack of washers (75) is placed in the storage tray (90) by manually lifting the inflated hollow inflatable member (70) and aligning with a pin (85) from the plurality of pins of the storage tray (90), cutting the supply of pressurized air, thereby deflating the hollow inflatable member (70) and causing the stack of washers (75) to transfer on the pin (85).
2. The washer handling system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the washers are selected from copper washers, aluminum washers, plastic washers, oil seals, O rings, hollow glass objects and hollow plastic objects.
3. The washer handling system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hollow inflatable member (70) is a collared hollow rubber bush with outer diameter less than the inner diameter of the washer.
4. The washer handling system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the direction control valve (35) is a mechanically or electrically operated 3 x 2 pneumatic direction control valve.
5. The washer handling system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coupling unit (60) is a brass coupling unit.
6. A method (200) for picking up any one of a washer and a stack of washers (75) from a packing tray (80) and placing in a storage tray (90), the storage tray (90) having plurality of pins (85) for storing washers according to the size thereof; the method (200) comprising:
selecting the washer storage tray (90) matching the size of washers to be transferred there into;
selecting a hollow inflatable member (70) having outer diameter in deflated condition less than the inner diameter of washer and outer diameter in inflated condition matching the inner diameter of washer;
inserting the hollow inflatable member (70) inside a female coupling of a coupling unit (60) and screwing the female coupling to male coupling;
inserting the hollow inflatable member (70) inside any one of the washer and the stack of washers (75) till it touches the bottom;
inflating the hollow inflatable member (70) by supplying pressurized air;
lifting the stack of washers (75) gripped on the inflatable hollow member (75) and manually aligning it with the storage pin (85); and
deflating the hollow inflatable member (70) by cutting off the pressurized air supply making stack of washers (75) to transfer on storage pin (85).
7. The method (200) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the washers are selected from copper washers, aluminum washers, plastic washers, oil seals, O rings, hollow glass objects and hollow plastic objects.
8. The method (200) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the hollow inflatable member (70) is a collared hollow rubber bush with outer diameter less than the inner diameter of the washer.
9. The method (200) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the coupling unit (60) is a brass coupling unit.
Dated this 12th day of December, 2017,

Ashwini Kelkar,
(Agent for applicant), (IN/PA-2461)
, Description:“WASHER HANDLING SYSTEM AND METHOD THEREOF”
Field of the invention
The present invention generally relates to a system and method for handling washers, more particularly it relates to a system and method for picking up a stack of washers from packing tray and dropping it in a storage tray for further using in a engine assembly line.
Background of the invention
Copper washers are mainly used in oil lines for diesel engines. Copper being soft material fills the gap & creates a leak-proof joint. However utmost care is required to be taken while handling copper washer till its assembly as slightest dent, scratch mark on face of washer leads to oil leakage.
In the current practice copper washers are received from vendor in plastic tablet packing. These packings cannot be put directly on assembly stages as it is impossible to pick up washers manually from the tablet packing for assembly purpose. Hence the washers are dumped in storage bins kept on assembly stages. One has to pick up the copper washers from bins & assemble on to the engine parts. In this practice, due to cleanliness issue of bins, copper washers get damaged. The damage also happens due to sockets, spanners kept in bins.
Hence, there exists a need to provide a system for handling the copper washers from storage to assembly line that will overcome the above mentioned drawbacks in the prior art.
Objects of the invention
An object of the present invention is to provide a pneumatic system for picking up washers from packaging and placing them in a pin storage tray, without manual handling of washers.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for picking up washers from packaging and placing them in a pin storage tray, without manual handling of washers.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a damage free system for handling preferably copper washers from their storage to the assembly line of diesel engine.
Yet another object of the present invention is to eliminate the possibility of foreign material adherence onto the washer till it is assembled on engine.
Summary of the invention
In one aspect, the present invention provides a washer handling system, which is a pneumatic system for picking up the washers from a packaging and placing them in a pin storage tray. The system is used for handling washers used in the oil lines of diesel engines. Stacks of washers are packed in a tablet packing. A collared hollow rubber bush with outer diameter less than the washer inner diameter is inserted in the stack of copper washers kept in tablet packing. Pressurized air is filled inside bush causing it to expand. The expanded rubber exerts a gripping force on washers. Entire stack of washers is lifted out of tablet packing & unloaded on pins of storage tray by deflating rubber bush.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a method for handling washers, in particular, a method for picking up washers from packing tray and placing them in a storage tray. The tablet packing with stacks of washers is kept on a stand and a type of storage tray suitable for the type of washers is selected. Then a hollow inflatable rubber bush having an inner diameter less than the washer is inserted into the female coupling member of the coupling unit. The hollow inflatable rubber bush is inserted into the stack of washers and the air pressure is adjusted according to the type of rubber bush. The inflated rubber bush along with the stack of washers gripped thereon is lifted and aligned with the storage pin. The air supply is then cut off allowing the inflated rubber bush to deflate and transfer the washers on to the storage pin. The steps are repeated till all the stacks of washers are transferred to the storage tray.
Brief description of the drawings
The objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent when the disclosure is read in conjunction with the following figures, wherein
Figures 1 and 2 show a block diagram of a pneumatic circuit of a washer handling system, in accordance with the present invention;
Figures 3, 4 and 5 show various steps for picking up washers from the packaging tray in accordance with the present invention;
Figures 6 and 7 show various steps for placing washers in the storage tray, in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 8 shows a line diagram depicting all the details of the washer handling system with process flow, in accordance with the present invention; and
Figure 9 shows the flow chart of the washer handling method, in accordance with the present invention.
Detailed description of the embodiments
The foregoing objects of the present invention are accomplished and the problems and shortcomings associated with the prior art, techniques and approaches are overcome by the present invention as described below in the preferred embodiments.
The present invention provides a washer handling system and method for picking up the washers from a tablet packaging and placing them in a pin storage tray. The system comprises of a hollow inflatable member, a coupling unit and a pneumatic unit. The hollow inflatable member is preferably a collared hollow rubber bush secured to the brass coupling unit. The collared hollow rubber bush is having its outer diameter less than the inner diameter of washer when in deflated condition whereas, outer diameter of the inflated rubber bush matches with the inner diameter of washer. The rubber bush is first inserted into the stack of washers in the packing. The rubber bush is then inflated using the pressurized and regulated air supply from the pneumatic unit. Thus, stack of washers is gripped on the inflated rubber bush, which is further aligned with the pin from the storage tray and the air supply is cut of, causing the rubber bush to deflate and thereby causing transfer of the stack of washers onto the storage tray pin.
The present invention is illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, throughout which reference numbers indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. These reference numbers are shown in bracket in the following description.
Referring to figures 1 to 8, a washer handling system (100), hereinafter referred to as “the system (100)”, is disclosed. The system (100) is a pickup and place system for picking up a washer or a stack of washers (75) from a tablet packing (80) and placing it in a storage tray (90). The storage tray (90) is having a plurality of storage pins (85) for storing washers according to the size thereof. The system (100) comprises of a pneumatic unit (50), a coupling unit (60) and an inflatable hollow member (70). In an embodiment, the washers to be transferred can be copper washers, aluminum washers, plastic washers, oil seals or O rings. Hollow glass objects and hollow plastic objects can also be picked up and placed using the system (100).
The pneumatic unit (50) is having a main air line (10) connected to a pressure regulator (20) via a ball valve (15). A direction control valve (35) is connected to the pressure regulator (20). The ball valve (15) is used for cutting off the air supply. A pressure gauge (30) is provided on the air line connecting the pressure regulator (20) and the direction control valve (35), for reading the air pressure. The direction control valve is an electrically or mechanically operated 3 x 2 pneumatic direction control valve. The pneumatic unit (50) is capable of supplying a pressurized and regulated air supply.
The coupling unit (60) is having a female coupling with a male coupling screwed thereon. The coupling unit (60) is pneumatically connected to the direction control valve (35) through a flexible airline. In an embodiment, the coupling unit (60) is a brass coupling unit.
The hollow inflatable member (70) is secured inside the female brass coupling and it is pneumatically connected to the direction control valve (35). The hollow inflatable member (60) is such that, its outer diameter is less than the inner diameter of washer when it is in deflated condition, whereas its outer diameter is matching the inner diameter of a washer when it is inflated. In an embodiment, the hollow inflatable member (70) is a collared hollow rubber bush.
The tablet packing (80) with stack of washers (75) is kept on a stand and the hollow inflatable member (70) having outer diameter less than the inner diameter of washers is secured to the coupling unit (60). The hollow inflatable member (70) is manually inserted into the stack of washers (75) till it touches the bottom of packing (80). Air pressure is set to suit the type of washer and pressurized air of 1.5 to 2 bar pressure, depending on the type of washer is supplied to the hollow inflatable member (70) by means of a pressure regulator (20), causing the hollow inflatable member (70) to inflate and also causing the stack of washers (75) to grip thereon. The hollow inflatable member (70) along with the stack of washers (75) gripped thereon is then manually aligned with the storage pin (85) of the storage tray (90) and the air supply is cut off. Once the air supply is cut off, the hollow inflatable member (70) deflates and the stack of washers (75) is transferred to the storage pin (85). These steps are repeated till all washers from the tablet packing (80) are transferred to the storage tray (90). Later on, the storage trays (90) are then transported to various washer assembly stages. Associate picks up washers from pins & assemble them on engine.
The present invention also provides a method (200) for picking up a stack of washers (75) from a tablet packing (80) and placing it in a storage tray (90).
At step (110), the method (200) comprises of selecting the type of washer to be transferred on the storage tray (90).
At step (120), the method (200) comprises of selecting the type of storage tray (90) suitable to the type of washers selected.
At step (130), the method (200) comprises of selecting a hollow inflatable member (70) suitable for the washers. The hollow inflatable member (70) is selected such that its outer diameter is less than the inner diameter of washer. When inflated, the outer diameter of hollow inflatable member (70) should match with the inner diameter of the washer.
At step (140), the method (200) comprises of inserting the suitable hollow inflatable member (70) inside the female coupling of the coupling unit (60) and screwing the female coupling to male coupling.
At step (150), the method (200) comprises of inserting the hollow inflatable member (70) inside the stack of washers (75) till it touches the bottom.
At step (160), the method (200) comprises of operating the ball valve (15) to start the air supply and adjusting the pressure so as to inflate the hollow inflatable member (70).
At step (170), the method (200) comprises of lifting the stack of washers (75) gripped on the inflatable hollow member (75) and aligning it with the storage pin (85).
At step (180), the method (200) comprises of operating the ball valve t (15) to stop the air supply and deflate the hollow inflatable member making stack of washers (75) to transfer on storage pin (85).
At step (190), the method (200) comprises of repeating the steps (140) to (180) to transfer balance stack of washers on pins.
Advantages of the invention
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present invention and its practical application, and to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the present invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is understood that various omissions and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, but such omissions and substitutions are intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims of the present invention