Apparatus for Placing Battery Plates

Abstract

This invention relates to apparatus for placing battery plates in a line from a stack of plates including an elevator for receiving a stack of plates and sequentially elevating the stack to maintain, in use, the uppermost plate in the stack in a datum region lying between two parallel generally horizontal planes and a plurality of vacuum heads arranged in a closed loop for sequentially passing over the elevator with a fixed gap from the upper plane of the datum range for picking up the uppermost plate and for subsequently releasing the plate at a release position.

1 . Apparatus for placing battery plates in a line from a stack of plates including an elevator for receiving a stack of plates and sequentially elevating the stack to maintain, in use, the uppermost plate in the stack in a datum region lying between two parallel generally horizontal planes and a plurality of vacuum heads arranged in a closed loop for sequentially passing over the elevator with a fixed gap from the upper plane of the datum range for picking up the uppermost plate and for subsequently releasing the plate at a release position. 
     
     
         2 . Apparatus as claimed in  claim 1  further including a carrier rotatable about a generally vertical axis and wherein the vacuum heads are mounted on the carrier and spaced around the axis. 
     
     
         3 . Apparatus as claimed in  claim 2  further including an evacuable plenum and wherein each vacuum head is connectable to the plenum by a respective valve. 
     
     
         4 . Apparatus as claimed in  claim 3  further including a control for opening a valve, associated with a head, as the head approaches the elevator and for closing the valve when the head is the release position. 
     
     
         5 . Apparatus as claimed in  claim 1  including an output conveyor extending beneath the release position. 
     
     
         6 . Apparatus as claimed in  claim 1  including an input conveyor for delivering stacks of plates to the elevator. 
     
     
         7 . Apparatus as claimed in  claim 1  including a plurality of elevators moveable between an inactive position and an active position. 
     
     
         8 . Apparatus as claimed in  claim 7  wherein only one elevator can be in an active position at any one time. 
     
     
         9 . Apparatus as claimed in  claim 2  wherein there are two elevators moveable between an inactive position and an active position, the two elevators arranged diametrically relative to the axis and the apparatus including an input conveyor extending along the diameter of the carrier. 
     
     
         10 . Apparatus as claimed in  claim 7  wherein two elevators can be active during an overlap period. 
     
     
         11 . Apparatus as claimed in  claim 10  wherein there are two input elevators arranged diametrically relative to a vertical axis and the apparatus including an input conveyor extending along the axis. 
     
     
         12 . Apparatus as claimed in  claim 7  including at least one buffer elevator for temporarily halting travel of a stack along an input conveyor. 
     
     
         13 . Apparatus as claimed in  claim 1  further including a turntable for rotating a stack. 
     
     
         14 . Apparatus as claimed in  claim 13  wherein the turntable is an elevator. 
     
     
         15 . Apparatus as claimed in  claim 10  wherein the one conveyor is the most downstream conveyor. 
     
     
         16 . Apparatus for placing battery plates in a line from stacks of plates including a plurality of vacuum heads for picking up, in a pick-up position, a topmost plate from a stack and subsequently releasing it at a release position and a carrier for carrying the heads and moving them between the pick-up and release positions, wherein in the pick-up position there is a space, in use, between the uppermost plate and the associated vacuum head whereby the plate moves to the head. 
     
     
         17 . Apparatus as claimed in  claim 16  wherein the valves are controlled by a servomotor.