US 11,702,298 B2
Sorting apparatus for sorting and stacking tiles
Maurizio Bardi, Formigine (IT); Roberto Stefani, Scandiano (IT); Federico Corazza, Bologna (IT); Mario Aldo Gianolio Lopez, Corticella (IT); and Paolo Uguzzoni, Spezzano di Fiorano (IT)
Assigned to SACMI TECH S.P.A., Imola (IT)
Appl. No. 17/610,359
Filed by SACMI TECH S.P.A., Imola (IT)
PCT Filed May 14, 2020, PCT No. PCT/IB2020/054560
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Nov. 10, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/230069, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 19, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 102019000006834 (IT), filed on May 14, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0242681 A1, Aug. 4, 2022
Int. Cl. B65G 47/91 (2006.01); B65G 29/00 (2006.01); B65G 57/04 (2006.01); B65G 47/84 (2006.01)
CPC B65G 47/914 (2013.01) [B65G 29/00 (2013.01); B65G 47/848 (2013.01); B65G 47/915 (2013.01); B65G 47/918 (2013.01); B65G 57/04 (2013.01)] 5 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A sorting apparatus for sorting and stacking slab-shaped elements, comprising:
a frame;
an inlet line for infeeding slab-shaped elements to be sorted and stacked;
a plurality of suction gripping units for gripping slab-shaped elements;
a sorting carousel which is rotatable with respect to a carousel axis and which comprises a plurality of carousel arms, the carousel arms of the plurality of carousel arms being mutually solidly constrained and each bearing a suction gripping unit of the plurality of suction gripping units;
a plurality of seats which are configured to receive the slab-shaped elements released by the plurality of suction gripping units, forming stacks of slab-shaped elements; and
a support crown which is solidly constrained to the frame;
wherein:
the carousel axis and the axis of the support crown coincide with one another;
the carousel arms of the plurality of carousel arms and the support crown are dimensioned with respect to one another in such a way that each carousel arm of the plurality of carousel arms is supported by the support crown at or in proximity of the relative free end; and
the sorting apparatus is configured in such a way that a first slab-shaped element coming from the inlet line can be gripped by a first suction gripping unit of the plurality of suction gripping units, rotated by a first carousel arm of the plurality of carousel arms which bears the first suction gripping unit and released by the first suction gripping unit on a first seat of the plurality of seats.