EP4251797A1 - Apparatus and method for automation of textile handling - Google Patents

Apparatus and method for automation of textile handling

Info

Publication number
EP4251797A1
EP4251797A1 EP21898807.9A EP21898807A EP4251797A1 EP 4251797 A1 EP4251797 A1 EP 4251797A1 EP 21898807 A EP21898807 A EP 21898807A EP 4251797 A1 EP4251797 A1 EP 4251797A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
textile
cutting pattern
individualized
processing
furniture
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
EP21898807.9A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP4251797A4 (en
Inventor
Sandeep Gupta
Ingemar DU HANE
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Inter Ikea Systems BV
Original Assignee
Ikea Supply AG
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Ikea Supply AG filed Critical Ikea Supply AG
Publication of EP4251797A1 publication Critical patent/EP4251797A1/en
Publication of EP4251797A4 publication Critical patent/EP4251797A4/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • D06H—MARKING, INSPECTING, SEAMING OR SEVERING TEXTILE MATERIALS
    • D06H7/00—Apparatus or processes for cutting, or otherwise severing, specially adapted for the cutting, or otherwise severing, of textile materials
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K26/00—Working by laser beam, e.g. welding, cutting or boring
    • B23K26/36—Removing material
    • B23K26/38—Removing material by boring or cutting
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K26/00—Working by laser beam, e.g. welding, cutting or boring
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K26/00—Working by laser beam, e.g. welding, cutting or boring
    • B23K26/08—Devices involving relative movement between laser beam and workpiece
    • B23K26/0869—Devices involving movement of the laser head in at least one axial direction
    • B23K26/0876—Devices involving movement of the laser head in at least one axial direction in at least two axial directions
    • B23K26/0884—Devices involving movement of the laser head in at least one axial direction in at least two axial directions in at least three axial directions, e.g. manipulators, robots
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K26/00—Working by laser beam, e.g. welding, cutting or boring
    • B23K26/36—Removing material
    • B23K26/40—Removing material taking account of the properties of the material involved
    • B23K26/402—Removing material taking account of the properties of the material involved involving non-metallic material, e.g. isolators
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K37/00—Auxiliary devices or processes, not specially adapted for a procedure covered by only one of the other main groups of this subclass
    • B23K37/02—Carriages for supporting the welding or cutting element
    • B23K37/0211—Carriages for supporting the welding or cutting element travelling on a guide member, e.g. rail, track
    • B23K37/0229—Carriages for supporting the welding or cutting element travelling on a guide member, e.g. rail, track the guide member being situated alongside the workpiece
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K37/00—Auxiliary devices or processes, not specially adapted for a procedure covered by only one of the other main groups of this subclass
    • B23K37/04—Auxiliary devices or processes, not specially adapted for a procedure covered by only one of the other main groups of this subclass for holding or positioning work
    • B23K37/0408—Auxiliary devices or processes, not specially adapted for a procedure covered by only one of the other main groups of this subclass for holding or positioning work for planar work
    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • D06H—MARKING, INSPECTING, SEAMING OR SEVERING TEXTILE MATERIALS
    • D06H7/00—Apparatus or processes for cutting, or otherwise severing, specially adapted for the cutting, or otherwise severing, of textile materials
    • D06H7/24—Devices specially adapted for cutting-out samples
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B19/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B19/02—Program-control systems electric
    • G05B19/418—Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] or computer integrated manufacturing [CIM]
    • G05B19/4184—Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] or computer integrated manufacturing [CIM] characterised by fault tolerance, reliability of production system
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B19/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B19/02—Program-control systems electric
    • G05B19/418—Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] or computer integrated manufacturing [CIM]
    • G05B19/41875—Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] or computer integrated manufacturing [CIM] characterised by quality surveillance of production
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K2101/00—Articles made by soldering, welding or cutting
    • B23K2101/18—Sheet panels
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K2103/00—Materials to be soldered, welded or cut
    • B23K2103/30—Organic materials
    • B23K2103/38—Fabrics; Fibrous materials

Definitions

  • the invention relates to an apparatus and a method for automated processing of textiles, in particular furniture textiles.
  • the object of the present invention is to provide an improved method for automation of the processing of textiles.
  • the method for processing furniture textiles comprises receiving a digital map indicating defects in a textile sheet, generating, based on the digital map, an individualized cutting pattern for the textile sheet, cutting textile pieces from the textile sheet according to the cutting pattern using a first multifunctional robot at a first processing position, picking up the textile pieces using the first and/or a second multifunctional robot and moving the textile pieces to a second processing position.
  • the term “furniture textiles” refers to textiles used in the manufacture of furniture or furniture parts.
  • a furniture textile could be a loose textile cover for a sofa.
  • a furniture textile could be a fixed textile cover for a sofa, which means that the cover is attached to the sofa and intended to be removed from the sofa for e.g. washing.
  • Other examples of furniture textiles are bed textiles, window curtains, and textiles for chair pads.
  • it refers to textiles used in the manufacture of furniture covers such as loose or fixed covers for sofas, seats or other upholstered furniture.
  • the term “digital map” refers to a map in a digital format, i.e., in a format that is computer-readable.
  • the digital map indicating defects may be included in a computer-readable file.
  • the file may be a binary file. It may also be a text file. It may have any other suitable computer-readable format.
  • the digital map may be received by means of a network connection.
  • the network connection may be a wired or a wireless network connection.
  • the digital map may be received from an Internet connection.
  • the digital map may be received via a data carrier, for example, a USB stick, a CD, or a floppy disk.
  • the digital map may indicate the position of one or more defects on the respective sheet.
  • the digital map may also indicate the type and/or the size of one or more defects in addition to their position.
  • the map may be provided in the form of an array. It may also take the form of any other suitable data structure.
  • the term “cutting pattern” refers to a pattern that indicates how the textile sheet is to be cut.
  • the cutting pattern may indicate how many pieces of textile should be cut from a textile sheet.
  • textile pieces cut from the textile sheet are also be referred to as “panels”.
  • the cutting pattern may show at which position a respective panel may be cut from the textile sheet.
  • the cutting pattern may indicate one or more cutting paths for one or more panels. For example, it may indicate where the cut should begin, and how it should proceed.
  • An “individualized cutting pattern” is to be understood as a cutting pattern, which is generated specifically for an individual textile sheet.
  • the individualized cutting pattern may particularly differ from a default cutting pattern applied to textile sheets without defects.
  • An individualized cutting pattern may be stored and applied to one or more subsequent textile sheets.
  • the one or more subsequent textile sheets may have the same or a similar digital map indicating defects as the textile sheet for which the individualized cutting pattern was initially generated. The similarity may be measured based on a predetermined similarity measure.
  • the textile pieces provided from one textile sheet are not necessarily for one particular type of furniture. It may very well be that some textile pieces are for seats for chairs and other are for covers for sofa. This makes it possible to further optimize the individualized cutting pattern for the textile sheet as more allowable shapes of textile pieces are allowed which further increases the utilization of the textile sheet.
  • multifunctional robot is used here and in the following to indicate a robot that is configured to perform more than one task. It may be configured to perform these tasks simultaneously. It may also be configured to perform these tasks sequentially, i.e. one after another. In particular, the multifunctional robot may be configured to perform the cutting of a panel, and it may further be configured to pick up and move a panel. The multifunctional robot may be configured to perform further tasks. Such further tasks may, for example, comprise stitching and/or sewing. In the following, unless specified differently, the term “robot” always refers to a multifunctional robot.
  • a cutting of the textile sheet is performed. It is also possible that one or more of further steps for textile processing are performed at the first processing position.
  • the further steps may, for example, include inspection and/or sewing and/or stitching of the pieces of textile.
  • additional steps of the textile processing may be performed. These additional steps may include further cutting and/or sewing and/or stitching steps.
  • the digital map indicating the defects in a textile sheet in order to generate an individualized cutting pattern for that specific textile sheet, waste of material can be avoided.
  • the map can be generated such that the textile sheet is cut “around” the defects, such that the panels that should be used for further processing do not contain defects.
  • the material of each sheet can be used optimally.
  • the individualized cutting pattern may be generated in such a way that the amount of wasted material is minimized.
  • the pattern could be generated such that the defects are located inside smaller panels.
  • the pattern could be generated in such a way that the defects are located such that they will not be visible or less visible in the finished product.
  • the pattern could be generated such that the defects are located inside panels used for the backside of a furniture cover.
  • the generating of the individualized cutting pattern may take the position and/or the type and/or the size of the defect into account. In other words, the method may prioritize that the most noticeable defects (e.g., the largest defects) are not located inside panels, or in panels that will not be visible or less visible in the finished product.
  • the generating of the individualized cutting pattern may comprise generating an indicator for one or more panels of how visible the panels will be in the finished furniture textile product.
  • Such an indicator may indicate that the panel will be visible at all or not.
  • the indicator may indicate a category of visibility.
  • the panels may be classified depending on their visibility in the finished furniture textile product.
  • panels which will be located in highly visible locations on the finished furniture textile product may have an associated high visibility indicator which indicates that these panels belong to a “highly visible” category.
  • panels to be used for the topside of an arm rest may belong to this category.
  • panels which will be located in less visible locations on the finished furniture textile product may have an associated medium visibility indicator which indicates that these panels belong to a “less visible” category.
  • panels to be used for the inner sides of an arm rest may belong to this category.
  • panels which will be located in locations on the finished furniture textile product which are not visible may have an associated low visibility indicator which indicates that these panels belong to a “not visible” category.
  • panels to be used for the undersides of an arm rest may belong to this category.
  • only one textile sheet may be cut at a time. This way, it can be ensured that each sheet is cut in an optimal way based on its respective individualized cutting map.
  • first and a second multifunctional robot By employing a first and a second multifunctional robot, efficiency of the processing can be significantly improved. For example, it is possible that the first robot cuts a first panel from the sheet at the first processing position. The second robot may then pick up and move this piece to the second processing position while the first robot cuts a second panel from the sheet. It is also possible that the first and second robot cut, pick up, and move pieces concurrently.
  • the method may further comprise providing a third multifunctional robot at the first and/or second processing position, wherein the third multifunctional robot is configured to perform a cutting of textile pieces from the textile sheet and/or a picking up and moving of textile pieces.
  • Employing a third multifunctional robot may further increase the efficiency of the processing. Since each of the multifunctional robots may be configured to cut the textile sheet and to pick up and move the cut pieces of textile, the robots may be controlled such that the processing is performed in an optimized manner. In particular, the robots may be controlled based on the individualized cutting pattern. For example, the first robot may be controlled to perform cutting of the textile sheet in a first step.
  • the first robot may be controlled to pick up and move a panel, which may be the panel cut by the first robot in the first step. It may also be a panel that has been cut by another robot.
  • the individual steps of cutting and picking up and moving may be different for each robot. It is also possible that two robots may be used to cut the same panel at the same time. This is particularly advantageous for large pieces of textile, which are, for example, used in the manufacture of furniture covers.
  • three robots may be configured to simultaneously cut the same panel.
  • the plurality of textile pieces resulting from the cutting may all be picked up by one of the robots, or two or more robots may be configured to pick up different textile pieces. This means that cutting and picking up is done serially.
  • one or more robots may be configured to cut whilst one or more other robots are configured to pick up the textile pieces simultaneously with the cutting. This means that the cutting and the picking up is done in parallel.
  • two or more robots to simultaneously assist in picking up the same textile piece which may be beneficial if the textile pieces are comparably large.
  • Generating the individualized cutting pattern may comprise modifying a predetermined cutting pattern.
  • the predetermined cutting pattern may be predetermined based on the size of the sheet. For example, a sheet of a given size may comprise enough material for the individual pieces of a plurality of furniture parts, e.g. of two sofa covers. A predetermined cutting pattern may be generated for all sheets of this size, indicating the positions and shapes of the individual pieces. Then, the digital map indicating the defects of a particular sheet may be analyzed to identify which pieces would contain defects if the sheet were cut according to the predetermined cutting pattern.
  • the predetermined cutting pattern may be modified by moving or in other words rearranging the positions of the pieces on the sheet such that defects are ideally avoided or located inside panels that have, for example, a low visibility indicator.
  • the number and shapes of the pieces may remain unchanged during this modification. This way, the individualized cutting pattern for this particular sheet may be generated such as to optimally use the textile sheet.
  • the individualized cutting pattern may be a cutting pattern used in the manufacturing of a cover for a piece of furniture.
  • the method of the invention is particularly useful in the manufacture of these kind of covers, for example, sofa covers. This is because furniture covers, unlike garments such as T-Shirts, are sown or stitched together from a larger number of textile pieces of different sizes and require more material. For example, one textile sheet might be used for cutting out the individual pieces for several tens of T-Shirts, but it may only provide enough material for one or two sofa covers. Further, the largest panel to be used in the manufacture of a furniture cover is typically significantly larger than the largest panel used in the manufacture of a garment. Thus, by individualizing the cutting pattern, the optimal use of material for producing a furniture cover can be ensured.
  • the generation of the individualized cutting pattern may comprise generating a first individualized cutting pattern associated with a cover for a first piece of furniture based on the digital map, generating a second individualized cutting pattern associated with a cover for a second piece of furniture based on the digital map, and selecting the first individualized cutting pattern or the second individualized cutting pattern based on one or more properties of the first and second individualized cutting patterns.
  • the selection may be based on the comparison of the one or more properties of the first individualized cutting pattern and the second individualized cutting pattern.
  • a property of the first individualized cutting pattern and the second individualized cutting pattern may be the number of panels containing defects.
  • selecting the first individualized cutting pattern may result in a first number of panels that contain defects
  • selecting the second individualized cutting pattern may result in a second number of panels that contain defects. The selection may then be based on whether the first number is greater or smaller than the second number.
  • the individualized cutting pattern with the lower number may be selected.
  • a further property may be the visibility of one or more defects on a finished furniture textile product, in particular a finished furniture cover.
  • the selection of the individualized cutting pattern may then be based on the number of panels with defects with a certain visibility indicator and/or within a category of visibility. For example, the cutting pattern with the lowest number of panels containing defects in the highest visibility category may be selected. It is also possible that the selection is based on a sum and/or an average of the number of panels containing defects in a plurality of categories.
  • a further property of the first individualized cutting pattern and the second individualized cutting pattern may be the remaining amount of textile.
  • the remaining amount of textile is the amount of textile that is left after all panels have been cut from the textile sheet according to an individualized cutting pattern, i.e. the leftover.
  • cutting the textile sheet according to the first individualized cutting pattern may result in a first remaining amount of textile
  • cutting the textile sheet according to the second individualized cutting pattern may result in a second remaining amount of textile.
  • the selection may then be based on whether the first amount is greater or smaller than the second amount.
  • the individualized cutting pattern with the lower amount may be selected.
  • the selection may be based on a combination of one or more of the above-mentioned properties. The properties may be weighted differently in the selection process.
  • the weights for the properties may be fixed or variable. In the latter case, the weights may be selectable by a user.
  • the weights may be different for different types of furniture textile product. For example, for a first type of furniture textile product, it may be important that as few defects as possible are visible. In this case, for example, a property “visibility of defects” may be assigned the highest weight. Conversely, for a second type of furniture textile product, it may be more important to waste as little textile material as possible. In this case, for example, a property “remaining amount of textile” may be assigned the highest weight.
  • the use of the textile sheet can further be optimized.
  • One or more of the multifunctional robots may be configured to cut the textile sheet by means of a laser.
  • This method of cutting is advantageous, since it does not require direct contact with the textile. Therefore, movement of the textile sheet during cutting can be avoided. This is important in the case of cutting pieces for a furniture cover, since this involves cutting a number of different pieces with different sizes and shapes. A movement of one piece or even the entire textile sheet during cutting might negatively affect the cutting of the other pieces.
  • one or more of the multifunctional robots may comprise an arm that is rotatable around at least two axes.
  • the arm may be configured to pick up and move the textile pieces.
  • the arm may be rotatable around a first axis that is substantially normal, in other words perpendicular, to a cutting surface on which the textile sheet is located during the cutting process. This may allow the arm to access different sections of the sheet. It may also allow the robot to turn in such a way that the arm is no longer located over the textile sheet. In particular, it may allow the robot to turn the arm from the first processing position to the second processing position.
  • the arm may further be rotatable around a second axis that is parallel to the cutting surface. This may allow the robot to move the arm towards and away from the textile sheet, respectively. For example, the arm may be moved towards the textile sheet in order to pick up a piece that has been cut from the textile sheet.
  • the arm is rotatable around further axes. This may increase the reach and flexibility of the arm.
  • one or more of the robots are movable.
  • they may be movable parallel to a cutting surface on which the textile sheet is located during cutting.
  • the robots may be located on a rail system. This may further increase the operating radius of the robots. It may further enable the processing of larger textile sheets without having to provide additional robots.
  • the method may further comprise generating the digital map indicating defects in the textile sheet.
  • the generating of the digital map may comprise recording an image of the textile sheet, and applying digital pattern recognition methods to the image of the textile sheet.
  • the generating of the digital map may be performed in-situ when the textile sheet is already placed on the cutting surface. This way, it can be ensured that the position of the defects is determined correctly within the reference frame of the cutting surface.
  • the invention further provides an apparatus for processing textiles, comprising means for receiving a digital map indicating defects in a textile sheet, means for generating, based on the digital map, an individualized cutting pattern for the textile sheet, a first multifunctional robot at a first processing position configured for cutting textile pieces from the textile sheet according to the cutting pattern, wherein the first multifunctional robot is further configured for picking up the textile pieces and moving them to a second processing position, and/or wherein the apparatus further comprises a second multifunctional robot configured for picking up the textile pieces and moving them to a second processing position.
  • the means for receiving the digital map may comprise means to connect to a network.
  • the network may be the Internet.
  • the means to connect to the network may configured to connect the network in a wired or a wireless way.
  • means for receiving the digital map may comprise means to access a data carrier, for example, a USB stick, a CD, or a floppy disk.
  • a cutting of the textile sheet is performed. It is also possible that one or more of further steps for textile processing are performed at the first processing position.
  • the further steps may, for example, include inspection and/or sewing and/or stitching of the pieces of textile.
  • additional steps of the textile processing may be performed. These additional steps may include further cutting and/or sewing and/or stitching steps.
  • the digital map indicating the defects in a textile sheet in order to generate an individualized cutting pattern for that specific textile sheet, waste of material can be avoided.
  • the map can be generated such that the textile sheet is cut “around” the defects, such that the panels that should be used for further processing do not contain defects.
  • the material of each sheet can be used optimally.
  • efficiency of the processing can be significantly improved. For example, it is possible that the first robot cuts a first panel from the sheet at the first processing position. The second robot may then pick up and move this panel to the second processing position while the first robot cuts a second panel from the sheet. It is also possible that the first and second robot cut, pick up, and move panels concurrently.
  • the apparatus may further comprise a third multifunctional robot at the first and/or second processing position, wherein the third multifunctional robot is configured to perform a cutting of textile pieces from the textile sheet and/or a picking up and moving of textile pieces.
  • Employing a third multifunctional robot may further increase the efficiency of the processing. Since each of the multifunctional robots may be configured to cut the textile sheet and to pick up and move the panels, the robots may be controlled such that the processing is performed in an optimized manner.
  • the means for generating of the individualized cutting pattern may be configured to generate an indicator for one or more panels of how visible the panels will be in the finished furniture textile product.
  • Such an indicator may indicate that the panel will be visible at all or not.
  • the indicator may indicate a category of visibility.
  • the panels may be classified depending on their visibility in the finished furniture textile product.
  • panels which will be located in highly visible locations on the finished furniture textile product may have an associated high visibility indicator which indicates that these panels belong to a “highly visible” category.
  • panels to be used for the topside of an arm rest may belong to this category.
  • panels which will be located in less visible locations on the finished furniture textile product may have an associated medium visibility indicator which indicates that these panels belong to a “less visible” category.
  • panels to be used for the inner sides of an arm rest may belong to this category.
  • panels which will be located in locations on the finished furniture textile product which are not visible may have an associated low visibility indicator which indicates that these panels belong to a “not visible” category.
  • panels to be used for the undersides of an arm rest may belong to this category.
  • the means for generating an individualized cutting pattern may be configured to generate the individualized cutting pattern by modifying a predetermined cutting pattern.
  • the predetermined cutting pattern may be predetermined based on the size of the sheet.
  • a sheet of a given size may comprise enough material for the individual pieces of a plurality of furniture parts, e.g. of two sofa covers.
  • a predetermined cutting pattern may be generated for all sheets of this size, indicating the positions and shapes of the individual pieces. Then, the digital map indicating the defects of a particular sheet may be analyzed to identify which pieces would contain defects if the sheet were cut according to the predetermined cutting pattern.
  • the predetermined cutting pattern may be modified by moving or in other words rearranging the positions of the panels on the sheet such that defects are ideally avoided and/or located in panels with a low visibility indicator.
  • the number and shapes of the panels may remain unchanged during this modification. This way, the individualized cutting pattern for this particular sheet may be generated such as to optimally use the textile sheet.
  • the means for generating an individualized cutting pattern may be configured to generate an individualized cutting pattern used in the manufacturing of a cover for a piece of furniture.
  • the means for generating an individualized cutting pattern may be configured to generate a first individualized cutting pattern associated with a cover for a first piece of furniture based on the digital map, generate a second individualized cutting pattern associated with a cover for a second piece of furniture based on the digital map, and select the first individualized cutting pattern or the second individualized cutting pattern based on one or more properties of the first and second individualized cutting patterns. In particular, the selection may be based on the comparison of the one or more properties of the first individualized cutting pattern and the second individualized cutting pattern.
  • the properties of the first individualized cutting pattern and the second individualized cutting pattern may be one or more of the properties described herein above.
  • One or more of the multifunctional robots may be configured to cut the textile sheet by means of a laser, and/or one or more of the multifunctional robots may comprise an arm that is rotatable around at least two axes, in particular wherein the arm is configured to pick up and move the textile pieces.
  • the arm may be rotatable around a first axis that is substantially normal, in other words perpendicular, to a cutting surface on which the textile sheet is located during the cutting process, and it may further be rotatable around a second axis that is parallel to the cutting surface.
  • the arm is rotatable around further axes. This may increase the reach and flexibility of the arm.
  • one or more of the robots are movable. In particular, they may be movable parallel to a cutting surface on which the textile sheet is located during cutting.
  • the robots may be located on a rail system. This may further increase the operating radius of the robots. It may further enable the processing of larger textile sheets without having to provide additional robots.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for generating the digital map indicating defects in the textile sheet.
  • the means for generating the digital map may be configured to record an image of the textile sheet, and apply digital pattern recognition methods to the image of the textile sheet.
  • Figure 1 schematically shows an apparatus for processing textiles in plane view
  • Figure 2 schematically shows an apparatus for processing textiles in side view
  • Figure 3 schematically shows a predetermined cutting pattern on a textile sheet which contains defects
  • Figure 4 schematically shows an individualized cutting pattern on a textile sheet which contains defects
  • Figure 5 schematically shows a defect map for a textile sheet.
  • Figure 1 schematically shows an apparatus 1 for processing textiles in plane view.
  • the apparatus 1 comprises two multifunctional robots 101a and 101 b.
  • the robot 101a comprises an arm 102a.
  • the robot 101 b comprises an arm 102b.
  • Figure 1 further shows a textile sheet 103, which is arranged on a surface 100 of the apparatus 1 at a first processing position.
  • the arrows in Figure 1 indicate that the robots 101a and 101 b can be moved parallel to the textile sheet 103, and that the arms 102a and 102b are rotatable around an axis that is perpendicular to the surface 100.
  • the robots 101 a and 101b are configured to cut the textile sheet 103 into individual pieces of textile 104.
  • the robots 101a and 101 b are further configured to pick up the individual pieces of textile 104 and move them to one or more second processing positions.
  • the one or more second processing position may be located to the left or to the right of the first processing position shown in Figure 1 . They may also be located to the top or to the bottom of the first processing position shown in Figure 1 .
  • Not all second processing positions may be accessible by both the robot 101 a and the robot 101 b.
  • one second processing position may be located to the right of the surface 100. This second processing position may be accessible to the robot 101 a and the robot 101b, since both can be moved to the right side of the surface 100.
  • Another second processing position may be located to the bottom of the surface 100. This second processing position may only be accessible by the robot 101a.
  • Figure 2 schematically shows an apparatus 1 for processing textiles in side view.
  • the apparatus 1 shown in Figure 2 may correspond to the apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1 when viewed from the left side of Figure 1 .
  • the textile sheet 103 is arranged on the surface 100 of the apparatus 1 .
  • the arrows in Figure 2 indicate that the arms 102a and 102b of the robots 101 a and 101b are each rotatable around an axis that is oriented along the viewing direction.
  • Figure 2 further shows that the arms 102a and 102b comprise a head 105a and 105b at their respective distal ends.
  • the heads 105a and 105b comprise a respective laser 106a and 106b.
  • the lasers 106a and 106b can be used to cut the textile sheet 103.
  • the heads 105a and 105b comprise a gripping element 107a and 107b.
  • the gripping elements 107a and 107b can be used to pick up pieces that have been cut from the textile sheet 103.
  • the gripping elements 107a and 107b can, for example, comprise one or more claws.
  • Figure 3 schematically shows a textile sheet 103 with a predetermined cutting pattern illustrated by the broken lines. It can be seen that the predetermined cutting pattern indicates the shapes and position of individual textile pieces 104. Figure 3 further shows that the textile sheet 103 contains a number of defects 108a to 108d. In the illustrated embodiment, the defect 108b has a different type than the defects 108a, 108c, and 108d. For example, the defect 108b could be a small hole in the textile sheet 104, whereas the defects 108a, 108c, and 108d are small knots.
  • Figure 3 shows that the defects 108a, 108c, and 108d are each located inside a piece 104. Thus, if the textile sheet 103 is being cut according to the predetermined cutting pattern, these pieces will each contain a defect and might have to be discarded.
  • Figure 4 schematically shows the textile sheet 103 of Figure 3.
  • the broken lines in Figure 4 indicate an individualized cutting pattern that has been generated based on a defect map, which indicates the position of the defects 108a to 108d. It can be seen that that the size and number of the individual pieces 104 is the same as in Figure 3. Flowever, the positions have been rearranged such that none of the defects 108a to 108d is located inside one of the pieces 104. Such, when cutting the textile sheet 103 according to the individualized cutting map, none of the pieces 104 has to be discarded. It should be noted that it may not always be possible to modify the predetermined cutting pattern such that none of the pieces 104 contains a defect.
  • the individualized cutting pattern may be generated in such a way that the amount of wasted material is minimized.
  • the pattern could be generated such that the defects are located inside smaller pieces. Additionally or alternatively, the pattern could be generated in such a way that the defects are located at positions, which will not be visible in the finished product. It is also possible that the type of defect is taken into account when generating the individualized cutting pattern.
  • Figure 5 schematically shows an embodiment of a representation of a defect map 500 for a textile sheet.
  • the defect map 500 shown in Figure 5 comprises four entries 501a, 501 b, 501 c, and 501 d, each of which associated with one defect.
  • Figure 5 shows that each in the illustrated embodiment, each entry comprises three data fields 502, 503, and 504.
  • the data field 502 is used to store a number or identifier for the respective defect.
  • the data field 503 is used to store the coordinates of the position for the respective defect.
  • the coordinates may be coordinates in the reference frame of the textile sheet.
  • the coordinates may be chosen such that their origin lies in the middle or at one of the corners of the textile sheet.
  • the coordinates may be coordinates in the reference frame of an apparatus for processing textiles, for example the apparatus illustrated in Figure 1 . While the embodiment shown in Figure 5 only includes one data field for the coordinates, it is evident that the coordinates could be stored in one or more separate data fields. It is also possible that additional data fields store the position of the respective defect for different reference frames.
  • the data field 503 is used to store an indicator for the type of defect. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, a “1” might indicate a knot in the textile, while a “2” might indicate a hole. It is possible that the indicator alternatively or additionally indicates the size of the defect. It is also possible that one or more further data fields are used to store additional information about each defect.
  • the representation of the defect map shown in Figure 5 may be stored as a digital defect map in any known machine-readable format.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Optics & Photonics (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
  • Textile Engineering (AREA)
  • Quality & Reliability (AREA)
  • Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Robotics (AREA)
  • Treatment Of Fiber Materials (AREA)
  • Control Of Cutting Processes (AREA)

Abstract

Apparatus and method for automation of textile handling The invention concerns a method for processing furniture textiles, comprising receiving a digital map indicating defects (108a, 108b, 108c, 108d) in a textile sheet (103), generating, based on the digital map, an individualized cutting pattern for the textile sheet (103), cutting textile pieces (104) from the textile sheet (103) according to the cutting pattern using a first multifunctional robot (101a) at a first processing position, picking up the textile pieces (104) using the first (101a) and/or a second multifunctional robot (101b) and moving the textile pieces (104) to a second processing position.

Description

Apparatus and method for automation of textile handling
Field of the invention
The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for automated processing of textiles, in particular furniture textiles.
Background
While the general trend in many sectors of industry has been towards increased automation, a lot of work in the processing of textiles is still performed manually. This includes, for example, the cutting of sheets of textile and the subsequent sewing of the cut pieces to obtain the finished product (e.g., a garment). The cutting is often performed on a stack of many sheets in order to increase productivity. However, this can lead to a waste of material. Often, defects are introduced into a textile material during its manufacture, and the positions of these defects normally vary. Therefore, when several sheets are cut at the same time, the pieces that contain defects are typically not the same in each stack, and have to be identified and discarded individually.
It is known to generate, for each sheet, a “defect map” in advance of cutting the sheets by inspecting the sheet and noting the position of each defect. This can make it easier to identify and discard the pieces of textile containing defects after the cutting process. Typically, this map is generated manually by a person looking at the sheet and writing down the position and type of the defect. However, automatic methods using cameras and image processing software have also been developed. Further, it has been contemplated to cut sheets individually instead of multiple sheets at the same time.
However, the currently used methods for the processing of textiles still lack in efficiency or lead to wasted material.
In light of this, the object of the present invention is to provide an improved method for automation of the processing of textiles.
Summary of the invention
This object is achieved with a method according to claim 1 . Preferred embodiments are specified in the dependent claims.
The method for processing furniture textiles comprises receiving a digital map indicating defects in a textile sheet, generating, based on the digital map, an individualized cutting pattern for the textile sheet, cutting textile pieces from the textile sheet according to the cutting pattern using a first multifunctional robot at a first processing position, picking up the textile pieces using the first and/or a second multifunctional robot and moving the textile pieces to a second processing position.
Herein, the term “furniture textiles” refers to textiles used in the manufacture of furniture or furniture parts. A furniture textile could be a loose textile cover for a sofa. In addition a furniture textile could be a fixed textile cover for a sofa, which means that the cover is attached to the sofa and intended to be removed from the sofa for e.g. washing. Other examples of furniture textiles are bed textiles, window curtains, and textiles for chair pads. In particular, it refers to textiles used in the manufacture of furniture covers such as loose or fixed covers for sofas, seats or other upholstered furniture.
In the context of this invention, the term “digital map” refers to a map in a digital format, i.e., in a format that is computer-readable. In particular, the digital map indicating defects may be included in a computer-readable file. The file may be a binary file. It may also be a text file. It may have any other suitable computer-readable format.
The digital map may be received by means of a network connection. The network connection may be a wired or a wireless network connection. For example, the digital map may be received from an Internet connection. Additionally or alternatively, the digital map may be received via a data carrier, for example, a USB stick, a CD, or a floppy disk.
The digital map may indicate the position of one or more defects on the respective sheet. The digital map may also indicate the type and/or the size of one or more defects in addition to their position. The map may be provided in the form of an array. It may also take the form of any other suitable data structure.
In the context of this invention, the term “cutting pattern” refers to a pattern that indicates how the textile sheet is to be cut. The cutting pattern may indicate how many pieces of textile should be cut from a textile sheet. In the following, textile pieces cut from the textile sheet are also be referred to as “panels”. Additionally or alternatively, the cutting pattern may show at which position a respective panel may be cut from the textile sheet. Further, the cutting pattern may indicate one or more cutting paths for one or more panels. For example, it may indicate where the cut should begin, and how it should proceed.
An “individualized cutting pattern” is to be understood as a cutting pattern, which is generated specifically for an individual textile sheet. The individualized cutting pattern may particularly differ from a default cutting pattern applied to textile sheets without defects. An individualized cutting pattern may be stored and applied to one or more subsequent textile sheets. In this case, the one or more subsequent textile sheets may have the same or a similar digital map indicating defects as the textile sheet for which the individualized cutting pattern was initially generated. The similarity may be measured based on a predetermined similarity measure.
The textile pieces provided from one textile sheet are not necessarily for one particular type of furniture. It may very well be that some textile pieces are for seats for chairs and other are for covers for sofa. This makes it possible to further optimize the individualized cutting pattern for the textile sheet as more allowable shapes of textile pieces are allowed which further increases the utilization of the textile sheet.
The term “multifunctional robot” is used here and in the following to indicate a robot that is configured to perform more than one task. It may be configured to perform these tasks simultaneously. It may also be configured to perform these tasks sequentially, i.e. one after another. In particular, the multifunctional robot may be configured to perform the cutting of a panel, and it may further be configured to pick up and move a panel. The multifunctional robot may be configured to perform further tasks. Such further tasks may, for example, comprise stitching and/or sewing. In the following, unless specified differently, the term “robot” always refers to a multifunctional robot.
At the first processing position, a cutting of the textile sheet is performed. It is also possible that one or more of further steps for textile processing are performed at the first processing position. The further steps may, for example, include inspection and/or sewing and/or stitching of the pieces of textile. At the second processing position, additional steps of the textile processing may be performed. These additional steps may include further cutting and/or sewing and/or stitching steps.
By using the digital map indicating the defects in a textile sheet in order to generate an individualized cutting pattern for that specific textile sheet, waste of material can be avoided. Ideally, the map can be generated such that the textile sheet is cut “around” the defects, such that the panels that should be used for further processing do not contain defects. Thus, the material of each sheet can be used optimally.
Even if it may not always be possible to generate an individualized cutting pattern such that none of the cut pieces of textile contains a defect, waste of material can still be minimized. For example, the individualized cutting pattern may be generated in such a way that the amount of wasted material is minimized. For example, the pattern could be generated such that the defects are located inside smaller panels. Additionally or alternatively, the pattern could be generated in such a way that the defects are located such that they will not be visible or less visible in the finished product. For example, the pattern could be generated such that the defects are located inside panels used for the backside of a furniture cover. In particular, the generating of the individualized cutting pattern may take the position and/or the type and/or the size of the defect into account. In other words, the method may prioritize that the most noticeable defects (e.g., the largest defects) are not located inside panels, or in panels that will not be visible or less visible in the finished product.
The generating of the individualized cutting pattern may comprise generating an indicator for one or more panels of how visible the panels will be in the finished furniture textile product. Such an indicator may indicate that the panel will be visible at all or not. In particular, the indicator may indicate a category of visibility. In other words, the panels may be classified depending on their visibility in the finished furniture textile product. In particular, panels which will be located in highly visible locations on the finished furniture textile product may have an associated high visibility indicator which indicates that these panels belong to a “highly visible” category. For example, panels to be used for the topside of an arm rest may belong to this category. Further, panels which will be located in less visible locations on the finished furniture textile product may have an associated medium visibility indicator which indicates that these panels belong to a “less visible” category. For example, panels to be used for the inner sides of an arm rest may belong to this category. Further, panels which will be located in locations on the finished furniture textile product which are not visible may have an associated low visibility indicator which indicates that these panels belong to a “not visible” category. For example, panels to be used for the undersides of an arm rest may belong to this category.
In particular, only one textile sheet may be cut at a time. This way, it can be ensured that each sheet is cut in an optimal way based on its respective individualized cutting map.
By employing a first and a second multifunctional robot, efficiency of the processing can be significantly improved. For example, it is possible that the first robot cuts a first panel from the sheet at the first processing position. The second robot may then pick up and move this piece to the second processing position while the first robot cuts a second panel from the sheet. It is also possible that the first and second robot cut, pick up, and move pieces concurrently.
The method may further comprise providing a third multifunctional robot at the first and/or second processing position, wherein the third multifunctional robot is configured to perform a cutting of textile pieces from the textile sheet and/or a picking up and moving of textile pieces. Employing a third multifunctional robot may further increase the efficiency of the processing. Since each of the multifunctional robots may be configured to cut the textile sheet and to pick up and move the cut pieces of textile, the robots may be controlled such that the processing is performed in an optimized manner. In particular, the robots may be controlled based on the individualized cutting pattern. For example, the first robot may be controlled to perform cutting of the textile sheet in a first step. In a subsequent step, the first robot may be controlled to pick up and move a panel, which may be the panel cut by the first robot in the first step. It may also be a panel that has been cut by another robot. The individual steps of cutting and picking up and moving may be different for each robot. It is also possible that two robots may be used to cut the same panel at the same time. This is particularly advantageous for large pieces of textile, which are, for example, used in the manufacture of furniture covers.
It should be mentioned that also three robots may be configured to simultaneously cut the same panel. The plurality of textile pieces resulting from the cutting may all be picked up by one of the robots, or two or more robots may be configured to pick up different textile pieces. This means that cutting and picking up is done serially. Alternatively, one or more robots may be configured to cut whilst one or more other robots are configured to pick up the textile pieces simultaneously with the cutting. This means that the cutting and the picking up is done in parallel. It should be mentioned that is it also feasible for two or more robots to simultaneously assist in picking up the same textile piece which may be beneficial if the textile pieces are comparably large.
Generating the individualized cutting pattern may comprise modifying a predetermined cutting pattern. In particular, the predetermined cutting pattern may be predetermined based on the size of the sheet. For example, a sheet of a given size may comprise enough material for the individual pieces of a plurality of furniture parts, e.g. of two sofa covers. A predetermined cutting pattern may be generated for all sheets of this size, indicating the positions and shapes of the individual pieces. Then, the digital map indicating the defects of a particular sheet may be analyzed to identify which pieces would contain defects if the sheet were cut according to the predetermined cutting pattern. Subsequently, the predetermined cutting pattern may be modified by moving or in other words rearranging the positions of the pieces on the sheet such that defects are ideally avoided or located inside panels that have, for example, a low visibility indicator. In particular, the number and shapes of the pieces may remain unchanged during this modification. This way, the individualized cutting pattern for this particular sheet may be generated such as to optimally use the textile sheet.
The individualized cutting pattern may be a cutting pattern used in the manufacturing of a cover for a piece of furniture. The method of the invention is particularly useful in the manufacture of these kind of covers, for example, sofa covers. This is because furniture covers, unlike garments such as T-Shirts, are sown or stitched together from a larger number of textile pieces of different sizes and require more material. For example, one textile sheet might be used for cutting out the individual pieces for several tens of T-Shirts, but it may only provide enough material for one or two sofa covers. Further, the largest panel to be used in the manufacture of a furniture cover is typically significantly larger than the largest panel used in the manufacture of a garment. Thus, by individualizing the cutting pattern, the optimal use of material for producing a furniture cover can be ensured.
The generation of the individualized cutting pattern may comprise generating a first individualized cutting pattern associated with a cover for a first piece of furniture based on the digital map, generating a second individualized cutting pattern associated with a cover for a second piece of furniture based on the digital map, and selecting the first individualized cutting pattern or the second individualized cutting pattern based on one or more properties of the first and second individualized cutting patterns. In particular, the selection may be based on the comparison of the one or more properties of the first individualized cutting pattern and the second individualized cutting pattern.
A property of the first individualized cutting pattern and the second individualized cutting pattern may be the number of panels containing defects. In other words, selecting the first individualized cutting pattern may result in a first number of panels that contain defects, and selecting the second individualized cutting pattern may result in a second number of panels that contain defects. The selection may then be based on whether the first number is greater or smaller than the second number. The individualized cutting pattern with the lower number may be selected.
A further property may be the visibility of one or more defects on a finished furniture textile product, in particular a finished furniture cover. The selection of the individualized cutting pattern may then be based on the number of panels with defects with a certain visibility indicator and/or within a category of visibility. For example, the cutting pattern with the lowest number of panels containing defects in the highest visibility category may be selected. It is also possible that the selection is based on a sum and/or an average of the number of panels containing defects in a plurality of categories.
A further property of the first individualized cutting pattern and the second individualized cutting pattern may be the remaining amount of textile. Flere, the remaining amount of textile is the amount of textile that is left after all panels have been cut from the textile sheet according to an individualized cutting pattern, i.e. the leftover. In other words, cutting the textile sheet according to the first individualized cutting pattern may result in a first remaining amount of textile, and cutting the textile sheet according to the second individualized cutting pattern may result in a second remaining amount of textile. The selection may then be based on whether the first amount is greater or smaller than the second amount. The individualized cutting pattern with the lower amount may be selected. The selection may be based on a combination of one or more of the above-mentioned properties. The properties may be weighted differently in the selection process. The weights for the properties may be fixed or variable. In the latter case, the weights may be selectable by a user. The weights may be different for different types of furniture textile product. For example, for a first type of furniture textile product, it may be important that as few defects as possible are visible. In this case, for example, a property “visibility of defects” may be assigned the highest weight. Conversely, for a second type of furniture textile product, it may be more important to waste as little textile material as possible. In this case, for example, a property “remaining amount of textile” may be assigned the highest weight.
By selecting the individualized cutting pattern as described above, the use of the textile sheet can further be optimized.
One or more of the multifunctional robots may be configured to cut the textile sheet by means of a laser. This method of cutting is advantageous, since it does not require direct contact with the textile. Therefore, movement of the textile sheet during cutting can be avoided. This is important in the case of cutting pieces for a furniture cover, since this involves cutting a number of different pieces with different sizes and shapes. A movement of one piece or even the entire textile sheet during cutting might negatively affect the cutting of the other pieces.
Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the multifunctional robots may comprise an arm that is rotatable around at least two axes. In particular, the arm may be configured to pick up and move the textile pieces. In particular, the arm may be rotatable around a first axis that is substantially normal, in other words perpendicular, to a cutting surface on which the textile sheet is located during the cutting process. This may allow the arm to access different sections of the sheet. It may also allow the robot to turn in such a way that the arm is no longer located over the textile sheet. In particular, it may allow the robot to turn the arm from the first processing position to the second processing position. The arm may further be rotatable around a second axis that is parallel to the cutting surface. This may allow the robot to move the arm towards and away from the textile sheet, respectively. For example, the arm may be moved towards the textile sheet in order to pick up a piece that has been cut from the textile sheet.
It is possible that the arm is rotatable around further axes. This may increase the reach and flexibility of the arm.
It is further possible that one or more of the robots are movable. In particular, they may be movable parallel to a cutting surface on which the textile sheet is located during cutting. For example, the robots may be located on a rail system. This may further increase the operating radius of the robots. It may further enable the processing of larger textile sheets without having to provide additional robots.
The method may further comprise generating the digital map indicating defects in the textile sheet. In particular, the generating of the digital map may comprise recording an image of the textile sheet, and applying digital pattern recognition methods to the image of the textile sheet. In particular, the generating of the digital map may be performed in-situ when the textile sheet is already placed on the cutting surface. This way, it can be ensured that the position of the defects is determined correctly within the reference frame of the cutting surface.
The invention further provides an apparatus for processing textiles, comprising means for receiving a digital map indicating defects in a textile sheet, means for generating, based on the digital map, an individualized cutting pattern for the textile sheet, a first multifunctional robot at a first processing position configured for cutting textile pieces from the textile sheet according to the cutting pattern, wherein the first multifunctional robot is further configured for picking up the textile pieces and moving them to a second processing position, and/or wherein the apparatus further comprises a second multifunctional robot configured for picking up the textile pieces and moving them to a second processing position.
The means for receiving the digital map may comprise means to connect to a network. In particular, the network may be the Internet. The means to connect to the network may configured to connect the network in a wired or a wireless way. Additionally or alternatively, means for receiving the digital map may comprise means to access a data carrier, for example, a USB stick, a CD, or a floppy disk.
At the first processing position, a cutting of the textile sheet is performed. It is also possible that one or more of further steps for textile processing are performed at the first processing position. The further steps may, for example, include inspection and/or sewing and/or stitching of the pieces of textile. At the second processing position, additional steps of the textile processing may be performed. These additional steps may include further cutting and/or sewing and/or stitching steps.
By using the digital map indicating the defects in a textile sheet in order to generate an individualized cutting pattern for that specific textile sheet, waste of material can be avoided. In particular, the map can be generated such that the textile sheet is cut “around” the defects, such that the panels that should be used for further processing do not contain defects. Thus, the material of each sheet can be used optimally. Further, by employing a first and a second multifunctional robot, efficiency of the processing can be significantly improved. For example, it is possible that the first robot cuts a first panel from the sheet at the first processing position. The second robot may then pick up and move this panel to the second processing position while the first robot cuts a second panel from the sheet. It is also possible that the first and second robot cut, pick up, and move panels concurrently.
The apparatus may further comprise a third multifunctional robot at the first and/or second processing position, wherein the third multifunctional robot is configured to perform a cutting of textile pieces from the textile sheet and/or a picking up and moving of textile pieces. Employing a third multifunctional robot may further increase the efficiency of the processing. Since each of the multifunctional robots may be configured to cut the textile sheet and to pick up and move the panels, the robots may be controlled such that the processing is performed in an optimized manner.
The means for generating of the individualized cutting pattern may be configured to generate an indicator for one or more panels of how visible the panels will be in the finished furniture textile product. Such an indicator may indicate that the panel will be visible at all or not. In particular, the indicator may indicate a category of visibility. In other words, the panels may be classified depending on their visibility in the finished furniture textile product. In particular, panels which will be located in highly visible locations on the finished furniture textile product may have an associated high visibility indicator which indicates that these panels belong to a “highly visible” category. For example, panels to be used for the topside of an arm rest may belong to this category. Further, panels which will be located in less visible locations on the finished furniture textile product may have an associated medium visibility indicator which indicates that these panels belong to a “less visible” category. For example, panels to be used for the inner sides of an arm rest may belong to this category. Further, panels which will be located in locations on the finished furniture textile product which are not visible may have an associated low visibility indicator which indicates that these panels belong to a “not visible” category. For example, panels to be used for the undersides of an arm rest may belong to this category.
The means for generating an individualized cutting pattern may be configured to generate the individualized cutting pattern by modifying a predetermined cutting pattern. In particular, the predetermined cutting pattern may be predetermined based on the size of the sheet. For example, a sheet of a given size may comprise enough material for the individual pieces of a plurality of furniture parts, e.g. of two sofa covers. A predetermined cutting pattern may be generated for all sheets of this size, indicating the positions and shapes of the individual pieces. Then, the digital map indicating the defects of a particular sheet may be analyzed to identify which pieces would contain defects if the sheet were cut according to the predetermined cutting pattern. Subsequently, the predetermined cutting pattern may be modified by moving or in other words rearranging the positions of the panels on the sheet such that defects are ideally avoided and/or located in panels with a low visibility indicator. In particular, the number and shapes of the panels may remain unchanged during this modification. This way, the individualized cutting pattern for this particular sheet may be generated such as to optimally use the textile sheet.
The means for generating an individualized cutting pattern may be configured to generate an individualized cutting pattern used in the manufacturing of a cover for a piece of furniture.
The means for generating an individualized cutting pattern may be configured to generate a first individualized cutting pattern associated with a cover for a first piece of furniture based on the digital map, generate a second individualized cutting pattern associated with a cover for a second piece of furniture based on the digital map, and select the first individualized cutting pattern or the second individualized cutting pattern based on one or more properties of the first and second individualized cutting patterns. In particular, the selection may be based on the comparison of the one or more properties of the first individualized cutting pattern and the second individualized cutting pattern.
The properties of the first individualized cutting pattern and the second individualized cutting pattern may be one or more of the properties described herein above.
One or more of the multifunctional robots may be configured to cut the textile sheet by means of a laser, and/or one or more of the multifunctional robots may comprise an arm that is rotatable around at least two axes, in particular wherein the arm is configured to pick up and move the textile pieces. In particular, as described further above, the arm may be rotatable around a first axis that is substantially normal, in other words perpendicular, to a cutting surface on which the textile sheet is located during the cutting process, and it may further be rotatable around a second axis that is parallel to the cutting surface.
It is possible that the arm is rotatable around further axes. This may increase the reach and flexibility of the arm.
It is further possible that one or more of the robots are movable. In particular, they may be movable parallel to a cutting surface on which the textile sheet is located during cutting. For example, the robots may be located on a rail system. This may further increase the operating radius of the robots. It may further enable the processing of larger textile sheets without having to provide additional robots. The apparatus may further comprise means for generating the digital map indicating defects in the textile sheet. In particular, the means for generating the digital map may be configured to record an image of the textile sheet, and apply digital pattern recognition methods to the image of the textile sheet.
Brief description of the drawings
Advantageous embodiments will now be described in combination with the enclosed figures.
Figure 1 schematically shows an apparatus for processing textiles in plane view;
Figure 2 schematically shows an apparatus for processing textiles in side view;
Figure 3 schematically shows a predetermined cutting pattern on a textile sheet which contains defects;
Figure 4 schematically shows an individualized cutting pattern on a textile sheet which contains defects; and
Figure 5 schematically shows a defect map for a textile sheet.
Detailed description of the invention
Figure 1 schematically shows an apparatus 1 for processing textiles in plane view. The apparatus 1 comprises two multifunctional robots 101a and 101 b. The robot 101a comprises an arm 102a. The robot 101 b comprises an arm 102b. Figure 1 further shows a textile sheet 103, which is arranged on a surface 100 of the apparatus 1 at a first processing position. The arrows in Figure 1 indicate that the robots 101a and 101 b can be moved parallel to the textile sheet 103, and that the arms 102a and 102b are rotatable around an axis that is perpendicular to the surface 100.
The robots 101 a and 101b are configured to cut the textile sheet 103 into individual pieces of textile 104. The robots 101a and 101 b are further configured to pick up the individual pieces of textile 104 and move them to one or more second processing positions. The one or more second processing position may be located to the left or to the right of the first processing position shown in Figure 1 . They may also be located to the top or to the bottom of the first processing position shown in Figure 1 .
Not all second processing positions may be accessible by both the robot 101 a and the robot 101 b. For example, one second processing position may be located to the right of the surface 100. This second processing position may be accessible to the robot 101 a and the robot 101b, since both can be moved to the right side of the surface 100. Another second processing position may be located to the bottom of the surface 100. This second processing position may only be accessible by the robot 101a.
Figure 2 schematically shows an apparatus 1 for processing textiles in side view. The apparatus 1 shown in Figure 2 may correspond to the apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1 when viewed from the left side of Figure 1 . In Figure 2, it can be seen that the textile sheet 103 is arranged on the surface 100 of the apparatus 1 . The arrows in Figure 2 indicate that the arms 102a and 102b of the robots 101 a and 101b are each rotatable around an axis that is oriented along the viewing direction.
Figure 2 further shows that the arms 102a and 102b comprise a head 105a and 105b at their respective distal ends. In the illustrated embodiment, the heads 105a and 105b comprise a respective laser 106a and 106b. The lasers 106a and 106b can be used to cut the textile sheet 103.
It can further be seen that the heads 105a and 105b comprise a gripping element 107a and 107b. The gripping elements 107a and 107b can be used to pick up pieces that have been cut from the textile sheet 103. The gripping elements 107a and 107b can, for example, comprise one or more claws.
Figure 3 schematically shows a textile sheet 103 with a predetermined cutting pattern illustrated by the broken lines. It can be seen that the predetermined cutting pattern indicates the shapes and position of individual textile pieces 104. Figure 3 further shows that the textile sheet 103 contains a number of defects 108a to 108d. In the illustrated embodiment, the defect 108b has a different type than the defects 108a, 108c, and 108d. For example, the defect 108b could be a small hole in the textile sheet 104, whereas the defects 108a, 108c, and 108d are small knots.
Figure 3 shows that the defects 108a, 108c, and 108d are each located inside a piece 104. Thus, if the textile sheet 103 is being cut according to the predetermined cutting pattern, these pieces will each contain a defect and might have to be discarded.
Figure 4 schematically shows the textile sheet 103 of Figure 3. In contrast to Figure 3, the broken lines in Figure 4 indicate an individualized cutting pattern that has been generated based on a defect map, which indicates the position of the defects 108a to 108d. It can be seen that that the size and number of the individual pieces 104 is the same as in Figure 3. Flowever, the positions have been rearranged such that none of the defects 108a to 108d is located inside one of the pieces 104. Such, when cutting the textile sheet 103 according to the individualized cutting map, none of the pieces 104 has to be discarded. It should be noted that it may not always be possible to modify the predetermined cutting pattern such that none of the pieces 104 contains a defect. In such a case, the individualized cutting pattern may be generated in such a way that the amount of wasted material is minimized. For example, the pattern could be generated such that the defects are located inside smaller pieces. Additionally or alternatively, the pattern could be generated in such a way that the defects are located at positions, which will not be visible in the finished product. It is also possible that the type of defect is taken into account when generating the individualized cutting pattern.
Figure 5 schematically shows an embodiment of a representation of a defect map 500 for a textile sheet. The defect map 500 shown in Figure 5 comprises four entries 501a, 501 b, 501 c, and 501 d, each of which associated with one defect. Figure 5 shows that each in the illustrated embodiment, each entry comprises three data fields 502, 503, and 504. The data field 502 is used to store a number or identifier for the respective defect.
The data field 503 is used to store the coordinates of the position for the respective defect. In particular, the coordinates may be coordinates in the reference frame of the textile sheet. For example, the coordinates may be chosen such that their origin lies in the middle or at one of the corners of the textile sheet. Alternatively, the coordinates may be coordinates in the reference frame of an apparatus for processing textiles, for example the apparatus illustrated in Figure 1 . While the embodiment shown in Figure 5 only includes one data field for the coordinates, it is evident that the coordinates could be stored in one or more separate data fields. It is also possible that additional data fields store the position of the respective defect for different reference frames.
The data field 503 is used to store an indicator for the type of defect. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, a “1” might indicate a knot in the textile, while a “2” might indicate a hole. It is possible that the indicator alternatively or additionally indicates the size of the defect. It is also possible that one or more further data fields are used to store additional information about each defect.
The representation of the defect map shown in Figure 5 may be stored as a digital defect map in any known machine-readable format.
Although the previously discussed embodiments and examples of the present invention have been described separately, it is to be understood that some or all of the above-described features can also be combined in different ways. The above discussed embodiments are particularly not intended as limitations, but serve as examples, illustrating features and advantages of the invention.

Claims

Claims
1. Method for processing furniture textiles, comprising: receiving a digital map indicating defects (108a, 108b, 108c, 108d) in a textile sheet (103); generating, based on the digital map, an individualized cutting pattern for the textile sheet (103); cutting textile pieces (104) from the textile sheet (103) according to the cutting pattern using a first multifunctional robot (101a) at a first processing position; picking up the textile pieces (104) using the first (101a) and/or a second multifunctional robot (101b) and moving the textile pieces (104) to a second processing position.
2. Method for processing furniture textiles according to claim 1 , wherein method further comprises providing a third multifunctional robot at the first and/or second processing position, wherein the third multifunctional robot is configured to perform a cutting of textile pieces (104) from the textile sheet (103) and/or a picking up and moving of textile pieces (104).
3. Method for processing furniture textiles according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein generating the individualized cutting pattern comprises modifying a predetermined cutting pattern.
4. Method for processing furniture textiles according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the individualized cutting pattern is a cutting pattern used in the manufacturing of a cover for a piece of furniture.
5. Method for processing furniture textiles according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the generating an individualized cutting pattern comprises: generating a first individualized cutting pattern associated with a cover for a first piece of furniture based on the digital map; generating a second individualized cutting pattern associated with a cover for a second piece of furniture based on the digital map; and selecting the first individualized cutting pattern or the second individualized cutting pattern based on one or more properties of the first individualized cutting pattern and/or the second individualized cutting pattern.
6. Method for processing furniture textiles according to one of the preceding claims, wherein one or more of the multifunctional robots (101a, 101b) are configured to cut the textile sheet by means of a laser (106a, 106b), and/or wherein one or more of the multifunctional robots comprise an arm (102a, 102b) that is rotatable around at least two axes, in particular wherein the arm is configured to pick up and move the textile pieces (104).
7. Method for processing furniture textiles according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising: generating the digital map indicating defects (108a, 108b, 108c, 108d) in the textile sheet (103).
8. Method for processing furniture textiles according to claim 6, wherein generating the digital map comprises recording an image of the textile sheet (103), and applying digital pattern recognition methods to the image of the textile sheet.
9. Apparatus for processing furniture textiles, comprising: means for receiving a digital map indicating defects (108a, 108b, 108c, 108d) in a textile sheet (103); means for generating, based on the digital map, an individualized cutting pattern for the textile sheet (103); a first multifunctional robot (101a) at a first processing position configured for cutting textile pieces (104) from the textile sheet (103) according to the individualized cutting pattern, wherein the a first multifunctional robot (101a) is further configured for picking up the textile pieces (104) and moving them to a second processing position; and/or further comprising a second multifunctional robot (101b) configured for picking up the textile pieces (104) and moving the textile pieces (104) to a second processing position.
10. Apparatus for processing furniture textiles according to claim 9, further comprising a third multifunctional robot at the first and/or second processing position, wherein the third multifunctional robot is configured to perform a cutting of textile pieces (104) from the textile sheet (103) and/or a picking up and moving of textile pieces (104).
11. Apparatus for processing furniture textiles according to claim 9 or claim 10, wherein the means for generating an individualized cutting pattern are configured to generate the individualized cutting pattern by modifying a predetermined cutting pattern.
12. Apparatus for processing furniture textiles according to any of the claims 9 to 11 , wherein the means for generating an individualized cutting pattern are configured to generate an individualized cutting pattern used in the manufacturing of a cover for a piece of furniture.
13. Apparatus for processing furniture textiles according to any of the claims 9 to 12, wherein the means for generating an individualized cutting pattern are further configured to: generate a first individualized cutting pattern associated with a cover for a first piece of furniture based on the digital map; generate a second individualized cutting pattern associated with a cover for a second piece of furniture based on the digital map; and select the first individualized cutting pattern or the second individualized cutting pattern based on one or more properties of the first individualized cutting pattern and/or the second individualized cutting pattern.
14. Apparatus for processing furniture textiles according to any of the claims 9 to 13, wherein one or more of the multifunctional robots (101a, 101b) are configured to cut the textile sheet by means of a laser (106a, 106b), and/or wherein one or more of the multifunctional robots (101a, 101b) comprise an arm (102a, 102b) that is rotatable around at least two axes, in particular wherein the arm (102a, 102b) is configured to pick up and move the textile pieces (104).
15. Apparatus for processing furniture textiles according to any of the claims 9 to 14, further comprising: means for generating the digital map indicating defects (108a, 108b, 108c, 108d) in the textile sheet (103).
16. Apparatus for processing furniture textiles according to claim 15, wherein the means for generating the digital map are configured to record an image of the textile sheet (103), and apply digital pattern recognition methods to the image of the textile sheet (103).
EP21898807.9A 2020-11-27 2021-11-26 DEVICE AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATION OF TEXTILE HANDLING Pending EP4251797A4 (en)

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SE2051381A SE2051381A1 (en) 2020-11-27 2020-11-27 Apparatus and method for automation of textile handling
PCT/SE2021/051178 WO2022115028A1 (en) 2020-11-27 2021-11-26 Apparatus and method for automation of textile handling

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SE2051381A1 (en) 2022-05-28
CN116568452A (en) 2023-08-08
WO2022115028A1 (en) 2022-06-02

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