JP2015510472A - Flexible assembly line for tray packaging - Google Patents

Abstract

The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) for tray packaging includes a tray dispenser (32, 62) for providing trays (76, 80, 84, 88, 90) and a tray dispenser (32, 62). ) And loading stations (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234) for automatically placing food or non-food items on trays (76, 80, 84, 88, 90). 236, 238, 250).

Description

  This application relates to a flexible assembly line for tray assembly, quality vision inspection and packaging. The present application also relates to a method of using a flexible assembly line for tray packaging.

  In the food distribution industry, food and cutlery are often provided in trays. In addition, the various food products are typically provided in separate containers that are neatly arranged on the tray. When food is supplied in a large variety of products such as in the airline, military or hospital food / beverage industry, packaging of trays with food and cutlery is complicated and labor intensive. Consistency, flexibility and efficiency are important factors in the high quality catering industry when food needs to be continuously fed.

  The present invention seeks to provide a new and useful flexible assembly line for tray assembly, quality inspection and / or packaging. The present invention also aims to provide a new and useful method for using a flexible assembly line. The features necessary for the invention are provided by the independent claims, while other advantageous features of the invention are provided by the dependent claims. This application claims the priority of Singapore patent application SG201203203-6 filed on Jan. 10, 2012. The entire contents of the prior application are incorporated herein by reference.

  According to a first aspect of the invention, a flexible assembly line includes a tray dispenser for providing trays and a loading station near the tray dispenser. The loading station has a fixed tool for automatically placing food or non-food items on the tray. A tray dispenser is a device or machine for providing trays. For example, tray dispensers include carts, trolley shelves, or spaces that can hold trays or stacks of trays for dispensing. The tray is usually known as a flat, shallow container or container, usually with a slightly raised edge, and is used to carry, hold or display food articles / containers, glass, porcelain and the like. Unlike food containers, trays differ from food containers in that the tray does not usually come into direct contact with food material. The fixation tool can take many forms. For example, the fixed tool is a jig having a predetermined shaped orifice so that only food or non-food items having a matching shape can penetrate the orifice and fall onto the tray. The loading station can have various types of fixing tools or jigs so that the flexible assembly line can handle a variety of articles. Since the loading station can be operated automatically either by a computer with the appropriate software package installed or by one or more PLCs (programmable logic controllers), the flexible assembly line can operate continuously. When constantly providing a large amount of catering services known to be labor intensive, flexible assemblies provide an efficient and reliable catering solution and reduce manual mistakes in manual tray packaging. Therefore, the flexible assembly can provide food with improved freshness in the tray.

The flexible assembly line may further include a tray-to-cart loading station coupled to the loading station to remove the completed tray package from the loading station. A flexible assembly line is a production line for placing various food or non-food items on a tray according to a predetermined pattern / configuration, collectively known as a tray assembly or subassembly. The completed tray assembly can be removed from the flexible assembly line and properly stacked in the cart so that its end of the flexible assembly line is not clogged by the completed tray assembly. The tray-to-cart loading station can efficiently empty the end of the flexible assembly line, providing a cart full of completed tray assemblies. The cart can be wheeled or transported to a warehouse for temporary storage or to an aircraft for food distribution.

  The flexible assembly line may further include a conveyor that connects the tray dispenser, the loading station, the tray to cart loading station, or any combination thereof. A conveyor is a mechanical handling device that moves material from one position to another. The conveyor provides for quick and efficient transport of a wide variety of food items (eg, yoghurt cups) or non-food items (eg, cutlery packages). The conveyor can be a belt conveyor, a chain conveyor or a combination of both. The conveyor may be floor-mounted or ceiling-mounted, depending on the building conditions of the distribution center that houses the flexible assembly line.

  The flexible assembly line may further include an inspection and reject product station for checking the quality of food and non-food items. Tray, food or non-food items are inspected against predetermined quality standards. For example, the tray must be free of dust, scale and deformation in order to be suitable for carrying food or non-food items. There must be no dust or leaks in the cup of water sealed before being loaded onto the tray. Predetermined quality standards are pre-introduced in the inspection and reject station for tray packaging quality compliance. In one embodiment, the inspection and reject product station measures the weight of the tray assembly or subassembly against a predetermined range of acceptable weights that pass or fail.

  The flexible assembly line may further include one or more sorters for organizing food items or non-food items. Sometimes food or non-food items are randomly collected in containers / baskets. The sorter places the items in an organized state so that the loading station or operator can efficiently pick the items. The sorter may be a tilt tray sorter, a cross belt sorter, a carrier sorter, or any combination thereof.

The tray dispenser, loading station, tray to cart loading station, conveyor, inspection and rejects station, or any combination thereof may include an industrial robot for picking food or non-food items. Industrial robots are automatically controlled reprogrammable multipurpose manipulators that can be programmed in more than two axes. The industrial robot may be an articulated robot, a SCARA robot, a delta robot, or a Cartesian coordinate robot (also known as a gantry robot or an xyz robot). . Industrial robots can be reprogrammed to assemble various types of tray assemblies and can reach stations or conveyor belts at various distances. Thus, the flexible assembly line can be adapted to meet a wide variety of catering needs. For example, in an in-flight distribution center, an industrial robot can load a software program to provide 50 sets of western food tray assemblies, followed by another software program to provide vegetarian food tray assemblies. Can be loaded.

  Tray dispensers, loading stations, tray-to-cart loading stations, conveyors, inspection and rejection stations, industrial robots, robotic arms or any combination of these provide machine vision capabilities for recognizing various object shapes You may have a camera and a computer connected to have. Machine vision not only allows these machines to find objects, it also picks food or non-food items from a randomly scattered pile / pool of scattered items, Guide the movement of these machines so that the selected article in the formation can be moved onto the tray. In particular, machine vision or computer vision is aimed at identifying the location of a digital image where image brightness changes sharply or more formally has discontinuities in the area of feature detection and feature extraction. . The detected edges form an object boundary so that the machine can recognize whether the image captured by the camera is the food or non-food item desired for the tray package. Since image capture, image processing, and program execution can be efficiently performed by one or more computers, shape recognition can be performed quickly and packaging speed can be significantly improved.

  Tray dispensers, loading stations, tray-to-cart loading stations, conveyors, inspection and rejection stations, industrial robots or any combination of these to obtain machine vision performance for scanning the surface properties of various objects A camera and a computer connected to the computer. One or more of these machines can therefore report surface cracks in the packaging film of food or non-food articles and observe dust or dirt on either trays, food articles or non-food articles. Confirming pre-loaded quality standards, these machines can prevent the assembly of defective trays, food articles or non-food articles that are costly and waste time in providing tray assemblies.

  Machine vision image processing methods include pixel counting (counting bright or dark pixels), threshold processing (simply converting images containing gray tones into monochrome, or using segmentation based on grayscale values) Segmentation (dividing a digital image into multiple segments to simplify and / or modify the display of the image to make it more meaningful and easier to analyze) and blob detection and manipulation: concatenated pixels A discrete blob image is inspected as an image landmark) and pattern recognition (including template matching, detection, matching and / or counting of specific patterns). Or it may include positioning of objects that may be partially obscured by another object or of various sizes. Methods include color identification, barcode, data matrix and “two-dimensional barcode” display, optical character recognition (automatic reading of characters such as serial numbers), measurement: measurement of object dimensions (eg in pixels, inches or millimeters) ) And filtering (eg, morphological filtering).

Two or more of a tray dispenser, a loading station, a tray-to-cart loading station, a conveyor, an inspection and rejection station, an industrial robot, or any combination thereof may be coupled for neural network processing. Neural network processing allows the flexible assembly line to adjust the packaging speed of various machines and alerts the operator when a defect is encountered or requests to request various food or non-food items Is a weighted, self-trained multi-variable decision making. Thus, the flexible assembly line becomes intelligent and reduces the need for human intervention. Labor costs for using flexible assembly lines are reduced.

Tray dispenser, loading station, tray-to-cart loading station, conveyor, inspection and reject station, industrial robot or any combination of these can be used without affecting other parts of the flexible assembly line Can be modularly connected to the flexible assembly line so that they can be separated from each other. Modular design, or “modularity in design,” is smaller than flexible assembly lines can be made independently and can then be used to drive multiple functions in various flexible assembly lines. This is a technique of further dividing into parts (modules). A flexible assembly line with a modular design has the following characteristics:
I. Functional partitioning into isolated, adaptable, reusable modules, including isolated, self-contained functional elements,
II. Strict use of a well-defined modular interface, including an object-oriented description of the module functionality, and
III. Ease of change to achieve technology transparency, and the use of industry standards for key interfaces to the extent possible.

  The loading station may include a conveyor for supplying boxes with food items or non-food items and another conveyor for removing empty boxes. The conveyor is optionally connected to a main conveyor that connects the machine station and the robot in the flexible assembly line. Loading station conveyors supply input materials (eg, food articles) and finished materials (empty trays) so that the loading station can fully utilize its operational capacity without delay due to lack of supply. ) Is easy to remove.

  The flexible assembly line may further include a manual loading station for manually loading, unloading or inspecting food items or non-food items. An optional manual loading station may allow the flexible assembly line to further accommodate the packaging of some food items that are too fragile to handle by the robot end effector. Manual loading stations also allow for human intervention that may be required from time to time.

  The flexible assembly line may further include a shelving carousel having a movable loading tray for transporting food or non-food items. Shelving carousels are also known as automatic box stackers and carousels that may be manual or electric. The shelving carousel allows operators on both sides of the shelving carousel to load or retrieve food or non-food items without interfering with each other at their convenience. For example, an operator can load a cutlery package on an empty shelf on one side, while another operator can take a butterpack from the opposite side of the shelving carousel. Loading and unloading efficiencies using shelving carousels are significantly higher than those of fixed shelving.

  The flexible assembly line may further include a touch screen display connected to the main computer of the flexible assembly line for controlling the flexible assembly line. The touch screen provides an intuitive user interface that allows the operator to easily operate. The touch screen also avoids extra keyboards and mice that are often improperly placed, contaminated by food, or easily damaged by accidental collisions.

  The flexible assembly line may further include an automated guided vehicle (AGV) for taking tray assemblies after packaging or empty trays. The automated guided vehicle is programmed to go to various designated locations for picking up certain food items or non-food items so that the flexible assembly can be modified to package different types of tray packages according to different manuals May be. Human errors are reduced by programming the automated guided vehicle and connecting to a flexible assembly line.

  The flexible assembly line may further include an automatic food article dispenser that includes a rotatable food hopper, a diverter, and a conveyor. The rotatable food hopper has one or more compartments for storing food items. In use, the rotatable food hopper rotates and vibrates so that the various items in their respective compartments can be orderly dropped into the diverter. The conveyor has several lanes below to receive a wide variety of items. The diverter is aimed at the lane with its opening down so that the appropriate articles are each delivered to the indicated lane to wrap the tray assembly.

  The industrial robot may have an end effector for rotation. An end effector is a device at the end of a robot arm and is designed to interact with the surroundings. The end effector may include a gripper or tool (eg, a vacuum suction cup). The gripper can be of two fingers, three fingers, or even five fingers. When picking stacked cups, there may be a partial vacuum between the stacked cups. When the industrial robot lifts the upper cup, the lower cup or cups may also be lifted due to the partial vacuum. By rotation, the lower cup falls easily, avoiding double-picking mistakes in tray packaging.

  An industrial robot may have an end effector for vibration. When the end effector vibrates, the lower cup can be removed straight from the upper cup, again avoiding the problem of double picking by industrial robots.

  The industrial robot may have an end effector for heating. For example, the end effector can circulate hot air in the end effector so that the picked cup is rapidly heated. The “smooth cup” under the top cup appears to separate itself from the top cup due to the different thermal expansion between the two cups.

  The flexible assembly line may further include a cleaning and sterilization station for cleaning the end effector of the industrial robot. The cleaning and sterilization station includes a bucket containing one or more cleaning fluids such as water, pressurized air, disinfecting gels, foams and liquid solutions. The bucket may have an inlet and an outlet so that the cleaning fluid can circulate and is replaced for cleaning the end effector immersed therein.

  The flexible assembly line may further include a cleaning and drying station for cleaning the conveyor belt. Because the conveyor or conveyor belt contacts the tray or food container, the conveyor or belt may be contaminated with food particles. The cleaning and drying station provides cleaning / cleaning, drying or a combination of these to the conveyor or belt to prevent various food and non-food items from cross-contamination with each other. For example, water is sprayed onto a conveyor or belt and a stream of pressurized air is sprayed. The conveyor or belt can be further irradiated with infrared or ultraviolet light to control the bacteria. The conveyor or belt may be further wiped with a brush while the duster / trough is placed underneath for food residue recovery.

The flexible assembly line may include one or more pest control drawers. A drawer is a container that is attached or equipped next to one of the machines / stations such as a conveyor. The drawer is provided under the passage of the food article or non-food article so as to prevent the pest control drug in the drawer from accidentally falling onto the passage and causing food contamination. The pest control drawer is useful for preventing the entry of parasites and the like into the flexible assembly line.

  Application examples further include an in-machine laying center having one or more flexible assembly lines. The in-flight catering center provides meals in a post-packed tray assembly for serving to a number of airlines / flights at the airport. Since the flexible assembly line can operate continuously with great flexibility and efficiency, the work efficiency of the in-flight catering center and airport will be significantly improved.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a method of using a flexible assembly line for tray packaging. The method automatically includes a first step of receiving an empty or partially assembled / filled tray, a second step of providing a food or non-food article, and automatically placing the food or non-food article on the tray. A third step of loading. Since the loading is performed by one or more machines, the working efficiency, accuracy and reliability of the flexible assembly line is considerably higher than the manual assembly for tray packaging.

  The method may further include automatically inspecting the tray, food or non-food article, loaded tray by machine vision (MV). The machine vision operation sequence includes the acquisition of images by using one or more cameras, lenses and lights that provide the necessary identification for later processing. The machine vision software package therefore uses various digital image processing techniques to extract the necessary information and make a decision based on the extracted information (eg, pass / fail). Machine vision applications may be solved using 2D imaging, 3D imaging, or both. Machine vision provides feedback to the flexible assembly to achieve high accuracy, high efficiency and high quality tray packaging. Alternative or complementary feedback of the flexible assembly line may be provided by weight measurement of jigs, fixtures, predetermined shaped orifices, position switches and tray assemblies.

  The method may further include the step of transferring the loaded or completed tray to a cart for transport. Either completed or unacceptable tray assemblies are quickly stacked in a cart for shipment to a temporary storage facility or aircraft. The implementation of the transport prevents the flexible assembly line from becoming crowded during operation, which is highly desirable for the catering center to provide large quantities of food.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the application provides a method for introducing a flexible assembly line for tray packaging. The method comprises providing a tray dispenser for presenting the tray and a fixed tool (eg, a robot arm or an industrial robot) to automatically place food or non-food items on the tray Presenting a tray dispenser in the vicinity of the loading station. A plurality of flexible assembly lines may be introduced and connected to each other in the catering center in order to supply a large quantity and a wide variety of foods.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the application provides a method for constructing a flexible assembly line for tray packaging. The method includes installing a software package for machine vision image processing. The software package can be used to control the operation of various stations, the machine vision of the flexible assembly line or the packaging menu of the tray assembly.

  The accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments and serve to illustrate the principles of the disclosed embodiments. It should be understood, however, that these figures are shown for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to define the scope of the related invention to be defined.

Fig. 2 shows a first flexible assembly line for tray packaging. FIG. 4 shows a process flow diagram for using the first flexible assembly line. 2 shows a second flexible assembly line for tray packaging. The perspective view of the 2nd flexible assembly line is shown. 3 shows a third flexible assembly line for tray packaging. FIG. 8 shows another view of the third flexible assembly line. A non-food vision robot module is shown. Fig. 2 shows another non-food vision robot module. A vision robot module for food is shown. Another food vision robot module is shown. Fig. 2 shows an automatic carousel for one of the flexible assembly lines. 2 shows a portion of a first flexible assembly line. Automatic box stacker and carousel are shown. Figure 2 shows a process flow diagram for using an automatic box stacker and carousel. Fig. 3 shows a robotic arm picking two stacked cups. Shows a robotic arm that twists to shake off the attached cup. Fig. 4 shows a robot arm that vibrates to shake off an attached cup. Figure 3 shows a robotic arm that heats to remove an attached cup.

  Exemplary, non-limiting embodiments of the present application will now be described with reference to the above figures.

  Both FIGS. 1 and 2 relate to one embodiment of the present invention. In particular, FIG. 1 shows a flexible assembly line 30 for tray packaging, alternatively known as the first flexible assembly line for tray packaging 30. The flexible assembly line 30 includes a number of stations 32-44 that are sequentially connected by a conveyor 46. These stations include a tray dispenser 32, a first loading station 34, a second loading station 36, a third loading station 38, a manual loading station 40, an inspection and rejection station 42, and a tray to cart loading. Station 44. However, the inspection and rejection station 42 and the tray-to-cart loading station 44 are located together on both sides of the conveyor 46. A main computer 48 for controlling the entire flexible assembly line 30 is connected to all these stations 32-44. The main computer 48 has two touch screen displays 50, 52, a first display 50 and a second display 52, at both ends of the conveyor 46. The loading stations 34, 36, 38 are also known as robot modules that can add or remove them depending on the workload. In other words, the loading stations 34, 36, 38 are similar to units of a plug and play system that can be selectively installed / coupled or removed / separated to package various tray assemblies at various packaging speeds.

  The first box stacker 54 is disposed in the vicinity of the first loading station 34 and next to the conveyor 46. More specifically, the first box stacker 54 is disposed on the other side of the conveyor 46 opposite the first loading station 34. The second box stacker 56 is disposed in the vicinity of the second loading station 36 and also in the vicinity of the conveyor 46. The vibrating bowl sorter 58 is disposed in the vicinity of the third loading station 38 in the vicinity of the conveyor 46. In other words, the first box stacker 54, the second box stacker 56, and the third box stacker 58 are continuously arranged along the conveyor 46 having the belt 60 having a long shape.

  FIG. 1 also shows an object that interacts with the flexible assembly line 30. For example, the trolley 62 filled with trays is parked next to the tray dispenser 32 at the front end 64 of the belt 60. The trolley 62 is designed with an internal slot for receiving the tray horizontally. When the trolley 62 is stopped at the tray dispenser 32 near the front end 64, a fork mechanism (not shown) can lift / index the trolley 62 stepwise vertically upward as the tray is progressively removed. The trolley 62 is packed with clean trays ready to receive food and cutlery. At the rear end 66 of the belt 60 there are two carts 68 near the tray to cart loading station 44 for receiving the tray assembly. A first operator 70 and a second operator 72 are also shown in FIG. The first operator 70 stands near both the main computer 48 and the front end 64, while the second operator 72 stands near the manual loading station 40.

The flexible assembly line 30 is designed to assemble many types of food and utensils on the tray. The installed / completed tray assembly includes the following food and non-food items with containers.
A. Tray i. Half tray ii. Small tray iii. Long side plate made of plastic Cup i. Plastic tea cup ii. Drinking glass iii. Dessert dish with fruit iv. Pre-cup water v. Pre-cupted yogurt C.I. Cutlery pack i. Pepper sachet ii. Salt sachet iii. Sugar sachet Seasoning i. Butter pack ii. Jam Pack iii. Milk screamer iv. Chile Pack E. Bakery goods i. Bread in a package ii. Biscuits iii. Cracker iv. muffin

  According to FIG. 1, the tray dispenser 32 is a robot having an arm 74 with a suction cup (end effector) at its end. The tray dispenser 32 is secured to the front end 64 so that an arm 74 can pick an empty tray 76 from the trolley 62 onto the belt 60. Arm 74 has six axes of freedom of operation so that arm 74 can reach empty trays 76 of varying heights or distances. The arm 74 further comprises an intelligent vision guided system (not shown) in the vicinity of the suction cup for checking the empty tray 76 before transferring it onto the belt 60. When the intelligent vision guided system detects dust, dirt or defects on the tray 76, the tray dispenser 32 carries the empty tray 76 to a reject box (not shown). The arm 74 may also have a gripper or a combination of gripper and suction cup (s) as its end effector.

  The first loading station 34 has a first four-axis robot 78 for transporting non-food items onto a clean empty tray 80. Clean empty tray 80 is transported from trolley 62 to first loading station 34 by tray dispenser 32 and conveyor 46. After the machine vision inspection, quality-compliant non-food items are picked up from the first box stacker 54 in which these non-food items are neatly stacked. The first loading station 34 also has an intelligent vision guided system (not shown) for inspecting incoming trays and loaded non-food items. When a non-compliant article such as a tea cup is found, the first four-axis robot 78 grabs the non-compliant article and rejects the compliant article against the quality (not shown). Move in. Instead of the first 4-axis robot 78, a 5-axis or 6-axis industrial robot may be used.

  The second loading station 36 has a second 4-6 axis robot 82 designed to carry other non-food items from the first loading station 34 onto the tray 84. Other non-food items are stored in the second box stacker 56. The second loading station 36 is equipped with an intelligent vision guided system (not shown) that is used to inspect other non-food items. The second loading station 36 carries the non-conforming article to a reject box (not shown). Similarly, a 5-axis or 6-axis robot may be used instead of the second 4-axis robot 82.

  In contrast, the third loading station 38 includes a third four-axis robot 86 implemented to pick food items from the vibratory bowl sorter 58 and place them on a tray 88 from the second loading station 36. Have. An intelligent vision guided system (not shown) at the third loading station 38 inspects the completed tray 90 at the third loading station 38, and the third four-axis robot 86 replaces the nonconforming article with a reference conforming article. A 5-axis or 6-axis robot may be used instead of the second robot 80.

  Manual loading station 40 provides a seat (not shown) to an operator for loading fragile items that have proven difficult to process by robots 78, 82, 86. In particular, the manual loading station 40 provides a seat next to the belt 60 to facilitate loading. In use, the operator places fragile items from the carousel shelf 91 of the third loading station 38 onto the tray 90. For example, an operator can pick soft rice packs and place them in a half tray. A carousel shelf 91 is next to the operator's seat for easy access.

The inspection and rejection station 42 has several cameras directed toward the tray coming from the manual loading station 40. The inspection and rejection station 42 performs a final vision inspection on the completed tray assembly. Next to the inspection and failure station 42, the automatic failure station 43 removes the inspection failed tray assembly from the belt 60.

  In contrast, the tray-to-cart station 44 has an industrial robot (not shown) with an arm (not shown) for taking the finished tray assembly. The industrial robot can grab the completed tray assembly and insert it into the appropriate slot of the cart 68 parked next to the rear end 66. The cart 68 is fully loaded with the finished tray assembly and, after leaving, an empty cart is supplied.

  Functionally, the tray dispenser 32 can automatically transfer empty trays from the trolley 62 to the conveyor 46. A clean empty tray 76 is loaded into the trolley 62. When the tray 76 of the trolley 62 is used up, another trolley 62 full of empty clean trays is supplied for replacement with an empty trolley. When replacing the trolley 62, the flexible assembly line 30 can operate without interruption.

  The vibratory bowl / conveyor sorter 58 can classify food articles to the side that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction 92 of the belt 60 and also the process flow direction 92 of the first flexible assembly line 30. The vibratory bowl sorter 58 shakes the selected food article (eg, butter pack) so that the selected food article is returned to its original state for picking and placement and is automatically organized in a uniform orientation. .

  Each of the three loading stations 34, 36, 38 can inspect the object for pass or fail. The vision components of the three loading stations 34, 36, 38 (eg, the camera and its connected computer) inspect the object for possible dirt, cracks, defects, foreign objects and other unacceptable defects. Fail and pass quality standards are stored in the three loading stations 34, 36, 38 to ensure high accuracy and consistency of the tray packaging. Articles that do not meet the criteria are moved to a reject box (not shown) by corresponding robots 78, 82, 86. The three loading stations 34, 36, 38 have a fly-by inspection function so that the bottom surfaces of their picked items are also inspected before placing them on the trays 84, 88, 90. The fly-by inspection function is provided by the vision component described below.

  The inspection and rejection station 42 not only screens the completed tray assembly according to predetermined criteria (quality standards), but the inspection and rejection station 42 is also compressed and filtered for cleaning, if necessary. The clean air is discharged onto the finished tray assembly.

The main computer 48 is connected to the vision stations and robots 32, 34, 36, 38, 42, 43, 44 for the purpose of adjusting the workload and for these machines / workstations 32, 34, 36, 38. , 42, 43, 44 are linked. The main computer 48 can also adjust the speed of the conveyor 46 by means of a PLC (programmable logic controller) or a personal computer (PC). Along with the loading stations 34, 36, 38, the inspection and rejection station takes an image of the defective article for future analysis. Packaging production images and statistical data are retained for at least 30 days for review. The statistical data is also available online (eg, via a secure intranet or the Internet) by the main computer 48 for production performance KPI (Key Performance Indicator) management, character / table reporting and graphical display and maintenance planning. Is done. The main computer 48 can also send production statistics and KPIs to a remote mainframe / central computer (not shown) for recording, analysis, monitoring and reporting. The main computer 48 is provided with a modem for remote communication for fault handling and the like. When an abnormal situation occurs in the flexible assembly line 30, an alarm signal is transmitted. The two displays 50, 52, both connected to the main computer 48, have an easy-to-use interface for updating production menus and tray floor plans.

  The flexible assembly line 30 has the function of maintaining the high quality food hygiene of the tray packaging. For example, each of the loading stations 34, 36, 38 includes a static detection and anti-static ionic air blower to minimize the entry of foreign objects such as dust and hair. Surrounded by HEPA (high performance particulate air) air cleaners. The belt 60 is sealed with a transparent cover (not shown) in order to avoid falling foreign matter. The belt 60 is further continuously wiped with a brush as the belt 60 moves. Each part of the flexible assembly line 30 has a cleaning process schedule for regular maintenance and cleaning. The warm and dark compartment of the flexible assembly line 30 has clear labels / signs to indicate potential pest pockets, periodic cleaning and periodic inspections. The flexible assembly line 30 employs non-lubricated design features for most machine components above the belt 60. If lubrication is essential and the lubrication is above the belt 60 height, food grade lubricants are used. While the wet area of the flexible tray assembly line 30 is made to be of S / S316 material, other areas are compliant with S / S304 or have food grade. The flexible assembly line 30 has an on-line bacterial count function to monitor its hygiene quality.

  The flexible assembly line 30 has many functions for ensuring safety in use of the flexible assembly line 30. For example, the robot arm and moving parts are sealed by a shield or cover. Mounted doors, safety interlocks, and safety light curtains are attached to the motion areas of the machine that require operator access. Sensors that detect forbidden movement or contact are mounted in the vicinity of the movable parts and critical locations so that the corresponding machine parts are stopped when the sensors detect dangerous approaches. Safety and warning labels are affixed to the flexible assembly line 30 to alert the machine user. For electrical safety, the flexible assembly line 30 is securely grounded and its electrical wiring is connected to the circuit breaker.

  At the time of use, in the preparation stage according to the method of the tray packaging 100, the operators 70 and 72 input the flight number to the main computer 48 via the first display 50, whereby the main computer 48 responds to the corresponding meal menu, food utensil 104 retrieves the type and quantity of the tool, the requirements for the tooling and other relevant information. The main computer 48 further uploads 106 the tray floorplan, the specific shape, size, hygiene standards and weight of the food and non-food items to the robots 78, 82, 86. At the airline in-flight distribution center, authorized operators 70, 72 enter the flight number, desired production volume, tray packaging time and other relevant data. Authorized operator 70, 72 has a user identification code and password that allows him / her to set these manufacturing parameters. Various levels of user authentication are made available to the main computer 48 for maintenance, production management and other purposes. For example, authorized users 70 and 72 can upload, change and delete the menu of the tray package according to the flight number. On the other hand, when a production instruction is input, a trolley full of empty trays 62, box stackers 54, 56 full of non-food items, and a vibratory bowl sorter 58 occupied by selected food items and empty cart 68, Are moved 108 to the flexible assembly line 30.

  Prior to picking up the empty tray 76 from the trolley 62, the trolley dispenser 32 inspects 110 the empty tray 76 and compares 112 the image of the empty tray 76 with stored data (quality criteria). The stored data includes sanitary standards for tray 76 and 3D template images (eg, color, size, etc.) of the reference empty tray. If the scanned / inspected empty tray 76 meets quality standards, the trolley dispenser 32 uses its suction cup to catch 114 the empty tray 76 and move the empty tray 76 over the camera to inspect its bottom surface. . Thus, if the tray 76 meets all acceptance / quality criteria, the trolley dispenser 32 commands and guides the robot arm of the trolley dispenser to place 116 an empty tray 76 in a predetermined orientation on the front end 64 of the belt 60. To do. If the empty tray 76 does not meet one or more of the acceptance criteria, the empty tray 76 is dropped into a reject box for manual counter checking. The reason for the failure and the image of the rejected empty tray 76 are recorded for further study.

  A clean empty tray 80 advances 120 along the belt 60 from the front end 64 toward the first loading station 34. The first loading station 34 detects 124 the incoming clean empty tray 80 and identifies 122 the position, speed (by an encoder mounted on the conveyor 46) and orientation of the clean empty tray 80. The vision system of the first robot 78 captures 126 rectangular plates previously stored and stacked within the first box stacker 54. If the rectangular plate passes the acceptance criteria for vision inspection (360 degrees around the longitudinal axis of the tableware), the first robot 78 picks up the bottom surface of the rectangular plate for bottom inspection and Move to. If the rectangular plate also passes the acceptance criteria, the first robot 78 places the rectangular plate on a clean empty tray 80 according to the tray floor plan 128. If not, the first robot 78 rejects the article and sends it to a reject station (not shown). The first loading station 34 includes a pre-inspected buffer station (not shown). This buffer station provides a backup during refilling to reduce downtime of the flexible assembly line 30. The buffer station stores a plate that replaces the rejected plate. Repeated failures can delay the packaging of the tray assembly. The buffer station is refilled when the first robot 78 has play / reserve time.

  The quality compliant tray 84 is further advanced 120 to the second loading station 36. The second loading station 36 confirms 136 the position, speed and orientation of the tray 84 near its entrance. The second four-axis robot 82 extends its arm 138 and grabs the tool pack 141 from the second box stack 56 140. The cutlery pack 141 is then lifted 142 onto the tray 84 by the second four-axis robot 82. The second loading station 36 (i.e., robot assembly module) takes an image 144 around the loaded tray 88 and compares 132 against a pre-loaded standard for quality inspection. Images are taken at 360 degrees around the longitudinal axis of the loaded tray 88. The loaded tray 88 is allowed to advance 120 on the belt 60 if all relevant quality criteria are met. If the loaded tray 88 does not meet the pre-loaded criteria, the cutlery pack 141 is replaced 148 with another cutlery pack 141 of the second box stacker 56. The second robot 82 can instead be a 5-axis robot or a 6-axis robot.

The third loading station 38 detects 150 the tray 88 at its inlet. The third loading station 38 further checks 152 the position, velocity and orientation of the tray 88. The third four-axis robot 86 extends its arm 154 to the vibrating bowl sorter 58 and grips 156 a fruit dish (not shown). The fruit dish is then placed 160 on tray 88. Similar to the first and second loading stations 34, 36, the third loading station 38 takes 162 an image of the tray 90 with fruit dishes viewed from above. The camera at the third loading station 38 takes 162 an image of the upper hemisphere about the longitudinal axis of the tray 90. The image is processed 164 by comparing with pre-installed criteria. If all of the criteria are met, the tray 90 is allowed to 166 away from the third loading station 38. However, if the fruit dish does not meet one or more of the pre-loaded criteria, the fruit dish is removed 168 from the tray 88. For example, if the fruit plate is cracked and has sharp edges, the fruit plate is replaced 170 with another. The type and order of the tableware to be loaded at the loading stations 34, 36, 38 is changed according to the serving requirements.

  Several operators 70, 72 are located in the manual loading station 40 immediately adjacent to the third loading station 38. Operators 70, 72 pick up 172 soft and fragile items from manual loading station 40 and place them 174 at designated locations on incoming tray 90. Soft and brittle articles include chili packs, wrapped bread, yogurt packs and others. Upon placing 174 these items, the operator also closely checks 176 for any broken, spilled or contaminated food or non-food items. Non-compliant articles are removed 178 from belt 60 for rework. Operators 70, 72 periodically view second display 52 180 to adjust the speed and condition of the tray packaging. If necessary, the operators 70, 72 may intervene 182 in the production of the flexible assembly line 30 for immediate repair or regular maintenance. The second display 52 provides an alternative to the first display 50 so that the operators 70, 72 can interact with the main computer 48 in two positions.

  The (final) inspection and rejection station 42 and the automatic rejection station 43 have machine vision capabilities for analyzing the finished tray assembly. The completed tray assembly includes food items and non-food items for serving meals. For example, the finished tray assembly may include a food tray 76 as its base, a rectangular filled with rice packs, a fruit dish, a tea cup holding a sealed yogurt cup, and cutlery. It has a pack, salad on a plate, wrapped muffins, cracker packs and others. In operation, the inspection and rejection station 42 takes 184 continuous pictures of the finished tray assembly, and the continuous pictures are pre-loaded images of the finished tray assembly, which is a quality standard for acceptance. 186 for comparison.

  The reject station 43 holds 188 completed tray assemblies that do not meet the pre-loaded criteria and stacks 190 rejected tray assemblies in a reject box (not shown). In contrast, an auto-fail product station 43 is a completed tray assembly if the inspection and reject station 42 is satisfied with the finished tray assembly because all pre-installed standards are compliant. Take no action against.

The tray to cart loading station 44 receives 192 the completed tray assembly at the rear end 66 of the belt 60. The tray to cart loading station 44 is an industrial robot or mechanical tray pusher and is similar to the tray dispenser 32. In operation, the automated tray to cart loading station 44 reaches the belt 60 194 and holds 196 the finished tray assembly securely. The tray-to-cart loading station 44 identifies an appropriate slot 198 in the cart 68 adjacent to the rear end 66 and inserts the completed tray fully 200 into the slot. The tray to cart loading station 44 inserts the next completed tray assembly into the next available slot in the cart 68. If the cart 68 is nearly full of completed tray assemblies, the tray to cart loading station 44 sends a warning signal to the main computer 48. The main computer 48 displays 204 a message for requesting an empty cart 68 on the displays 50, 52. An empty cart 68 is supplied to the cart loading station 44 as required. The cart-to-tray loading station 44 applies a label 206 to the cart loaded with the completed tray assembly for later identification. The label includes one or more of a bar code, a quick response (QR) code, a wireless ID (RFID) code, and characters for both human and machine reading. The tray to cart loading station 44 may alternatively be a mechanical tray pusher.

  FIG. 3 shows a second flexible assembly line for tray packaging 210. The second flexible assembly line 210 has parts or operational steps similar to those of the first flexible assembly line 30. Similar parts or method steps bear the same or similar reference signs. Descriptions of similar parts or steps are incorporated herein by reference as appropriate.

  The second flexible assembly line 210 provides a clearer explanation regarding the concept of modular design. In particular, the second flexible assembly line 210 includes a tray dispenser 32, a first loading station 34, a second loading station 36, a third loading station 38, a manual loading station 40, a carousel shelf 91, an inspection and A reject station 42, an automatic reject station 43, and a tray-to-cart loading station 44, most of which are arranged linearly along the conveyor 46. These stations are designed modularly so that they can be operated alone and are further coupled together for operation. For example, the first loading station 34, the second loading station 36, and the third loading station 38 are industrial robots having machine vision performance and can be attached or removed without affecting each other.

  FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the second flexible assembly line 210. The second flexible assembly line 210 may be modified by including four lanes for automatic non-food item picking by an industrial robot with machine vision. The second flexible assembly line 210 may also be modified by including three lanes for automatic picking of food articles by an industrial robot with machine vision and operates as two modules. The second flexible assembly line 210 may be further modified by including three lanes and ten racks with carousel shelves 91 for manual picking by operators 70, 72 as a module. Operate.

  FIG. 5 shows a third flexible assembly line 212 for tray packaging. The third flexible assembly line 212 has parts or operational steps similar to the other flexible assembly lines 30, 210. Similar parts or method steps bear the same or similar reference signs. Descriptions of similar parts or steps are incorporated herein by reference as appropriate.

Each of the first loading station 34, the second loading station 36, and the third loading station 38 incorporates four-axis robots 78, 82, 84, respectively. Both the first loading station 34 and the second loading station 36 incorporate their box stackers 54, 56, respectively, while the third loading station 38 incorporates a vibratory bowl sorter 58. The first loading station 34, the second loading station 36, and the third loading station 38 are all arranged in order on one side of the conveyor 46, while the fourth loading station 214 of the third flexible assembly line 212, The fifth loading station 216 and the sixth loading station 218 are on the other side of the conveyor 46 opposite the first loading station 34, the second loading station 36, and the third loading station 38, respectively. 4th
Both loading station 214 and fifth loading station 216 have similar parts and functions as first loading station 34 and second loading station 36. The sixth loading station 218 has similar parts and functions as the third loading station 38.

  FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the third flexible assembly line 212. The third flexible assembly line 212 may be modified by including eight lanes for automatic non-food item picking by an industrial robot with machine vision and operates as four modules. The third flexible assembly line 212 may also be modified by including six lanes for automatic food article picking by an industrial robot with machine vision and operates as two modules. The third flexible assembly line 212 may be further modified by including three lanes and ten racks with carousel shelves 91 for manual picking by operators 70, 72 as one module. Operate.

  FIG. 7 shows a non-food vision robot module 234 also known as a first loading station 34 or a second loading station 36. Plan / top and side views of non-food vision robot modules 34, 36 are provided. The non-food vision robot modules 34, 36 include a reject conveyor 220 for removing tableware that fails the vision inspection. FIG. 7 further shows a first box 222 and a second box 224 loaded with non-food items (eg, cups) and disposed on one side of the 4-axis robot 78, 82. The 4-axis robots 78 and 82 are floor-mounted. The third box 226 and the fourth box 228 empty carts 222, 226 are empty and are on the other side of the 4-axis robots 78,82. The 4-axis robots 78, 82 remove non-food items from the first box 222 and the second box 224, while the used boxes 226, 228 are removed by the conveyor 230. In contrast, the first box 222 and the second box 224 are conveyed to the 4-axis robots 78, 82 by another conveyor 232.

  FIG. 8 shows another non-food vision robot module 236, also known as first loading station 34 or first loading station 34. Compared to the previous four-axis robots 78 and 82, the four-axis robots 78 and 82 are ceiling mounted.

  FIG. 9 shows a food vision robot module 238 similar to the third loading station 38. The food vision robot module 238 includes a conveyor 240 for supplying food articles 242 (e.g., cheese) and another conveyor 244 for removing food articles 246 that are of opposite quality. The third four-axis robot 86 is ceiling mounted. Failed food items 246 that fail the vision inspection are taken to a failure box 248 for manual inspection.

  FIG. 10 shows another food vision robot module 250 that includes an automatic food article dispenser 252. Automatic food article dispenser 252 includes a rotatable food hopper 254, a diverter 256, and a conveyor 258 that are vertically and sequentially aligned. Each rotatable food hopper 254 is separated into compartments for containing food articles (eg, cheese, yogurt). In use, the rotatable food hopper 254 vibrates to dispense food items into the lower diverter 256. The diverter 256 has a predetermined shaped opening that allows the corresponding food item to fall on the lower conveyor 258 for processing by the third four-axis robot 86.

FIG. 11 shows an automated carousel 91 for one of the flexible assembly lines 30, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218. The automatic carousel 91 includes an upper sprocket gear 260 and a bottom sprocket gear 262 coupled via a chain 264 that forms a roller chain, drive chain or transmission chain 266. The automatic carousel 91 has a loading tray 268 that is horizontally disposed and carried by a chain 264. An operator 70 on one side 270 of the automated carousel 91 loads food items onto a suitable loading tray 268 while another operator 72 on the other side 272 removes food items from the loading tray 268.

  FIG. 12 shows a part of the first flexible assembly line 30. The first flexible assembly line 30 includes an automatic guided vehicle (AGV) 274 for transporting objects from or to the flexible assembly line 30. For example, AGV 274 transports a cart fully loaded with tray assemblies to an in-flight center warehouse and moves an empty cart to flexible assembly line 30. The AGV can also carry food or non-food items to the flexible assembly line 30 according to a predetermined route, avoiding the use of operators 70, 72 to move these items. AVG 274 is more reliable and cost-effective in the continuous conveyance of normal articles.

  FIG. 13 shows an automatic box stacker and carousel 278 that are parts of a simple flexible assembly line for tray packaging 276. The flexible assembly line 276 includes an automatic box stacker and carousel 278. The automatic box stacker and carousel 278 is first configured so that the box 280 on the automatic box stacker and carousel 278 automatically rotates in cooperation with the first four-axis robot 78 for picking the desired non-food item. Connected to the loading station 34.

  FIG. 14 shows a process flow diagram 282 for using an automatic box stacker and carousel 278 including several method steps. In a first step 284, the operator inspects incoming empty trays for quality compliance (eg, hygiene). The top surface of the tray in which the robot assembly module (first loading station) 34 enters is inspected for further inspection. This is the second step 286. As a third step 288, a 360 degree all round vision inspection (360 degree all round vision inspection) leading to a more complete inspection is performed instead of the surface vision inspection. May be performed. After the non-food items are loaded by the robot assembly module 34, the partially completed tray assembly is transported to the manual loading station 40. The operator 70 further loads the food articles onto the partially completed tray assembly to provide a completed tray assembly. In a fourth step 290, the completed tray assembly is further manually checked for quality compliance.

  FIG. 15 shows a robotic arm 292 that picks two stacked cups 294,296. The robot arm 292 is a four-axis robot similar to the first four-axis robot 78 and the second four-axis robot 82. FIG. 15 shows a typical picking failure of the suction cup 298 as its end effector, with the two stacked cups 294, 296 lifted and the third cup 300 separated. Due to the partial vacuum between the two cups 294, 296, the second / lower cup 296 adheres to the first / upper cup 294.

The robot arm 292 is a robot capable of machine vision, and includes a tray dispenser 32, an inspection and rejection article station 42, an automatic rejection station 43, a tray-to-cart loading station 44, and a first four axes. Similar to the robot 78, the second four-axis robot 82, the third four-axis robot 86, the fourth loading station 214, the fifth loading station 216, and the sixth loading station 218. The robotic arm 292 inspects the cleaning quality (free of scale or dust) and surface integrity of food items, non-food items and trays and the profile integrity (eg, lack of chipping) of these items. Thus, 2D and 3D machine vision is enabled such that its machine vision (MV) provides image-based automated inspection and analysis. The robot arm 292 can acquire an image of an object (eg, cups 294, 298, 300) with a camera (not shown) under appropriate illumination. Since a software package is installed in the robot arm 292, necessary information is extracted using various digital image processing techniques, and a determination is made based on the extracted information (for example, pass / fail). For example, the robot arm 292 uses a pattern recognition technique that detects, matches and / or counts specific patterns based on pre-mounted templates of cups 294, 296, 300. The position, angle and orientation of the imaged object (eg, tray) may be rotated, partially hidden by another object, or different in size. Additionally, the robot arm 292 has edge detection capability to confirm the size and contour properties of the scanned / captured object (eg, cup). Broken, chipped, deformed or crushed food or non-food items can thus be detected prior to packaging to avoid waste during operation.

  Techniques for processing camera-captured images include pixel counting, segmentation, pattern recognition (eg, template matching, detection, matching and / or counting of specific patterns), measurement (ie, measurement of object dimensions), Includes edge detection, neural network processing (ie weighted and self-training multivariate decision making).

  More specifically, the robot arm 292 performs an automatic optical inspection (AOI) on the picked object (eg, trays 84, 88, 90, cups 294, 296, 300). When the object is illuminated by several light sources, the AOI can visually scan the surface of the object. This makes it possible to monitor the entire external area of the picked object even if it is hidden by other components in one direction. Common defects in food and non-food articles include scratches, cuts, scales, food residues, deformations, liquid leaks and dust deposits, and discoloration.

  Stations / robots 32, 42, 43, 44, 78, 82, 86, 214, 216, 218 enabled for machine vision are able to perform neural net processing, they are weighted and self-training Linked together to allow formula multivariate decision making

  FIG. 16 shows a robot arm 292 that twists to shake off the attached cup 296. In particular, the suction cup 298 rotates and shakes when the first cup 294 is lifted. The second cup 296 is thus shaken off from the first cup 294.

  FIG. 17 shows a robot arm 292 that vibrates to shake off the attached cup 296. Suction cup 298 holds first cups 294 together such that they both vibrate vertically, horizontally, or both. The second cup 296 thus falls onto the underlying third cup 300.

  FIG. 18 shows a robot arm 292 that heats to remove the attached cup 296. The suction cup 298 has an embedded heating element (not shown) that transfers heat onto the picked cup 294. The first cup 294 is therefore easily removed from the second cup 296 due to its thermal expansion. 15-18, cups 294, 296, 300 have their openings facing the top or end effector 298. The robot arm 292 can pick and vibrate these cups 294, 296, 300 equally when they face down.

  The end effector 298 is connected to other industrial robots or machine stations 32, 34, 36, 38, 62, 74, 78, 82, 86, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238, 250 Similarly, it can be cleaned or repeatedly cleaned during tray packaging operations. In practice, these industrial robots or machine stations 32, 34, 36, 38, 62, 74, 78, 82, 86, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238, 250 can be A sterilization station (not shown) is provided. For example, a cleaning and sterilization station includes a water tank with an inlet and an outlet. Clean water is injected into the water tank, while dirty / used water is drained from the water tank. The end effector 298 is periodically immersed in a water tank so that the robot arm 292 is kept clean throughout the continuous packaging operation, and blown dry during the packaging operation. The end effector water wash may be supplemented or replaced by a rinse / spray of the end effector 298 with a cleaning agent. End effector cleaning may be further enhanced by irradiating the end effector 298 with ultraviolet light.

  The conveyors 46, 232, 242 of the flexible assemblies 30, 210, 212, 276 may be cleaned continuously or periodically as the tray assembly is packaged. For example, water is sprayed onto the belt 60 from below so that the water after the belt 60 is rinsed is collected by a lower drain pan. The conveyor 46, 232, 242 or belt 60 may further be exposed to infrared, ultraviolet or brushes so that the conveyor 46, 232, 242 or belt 60 is kept clean and clean throughout the tray packaging operation. Cleaning devices (eg, spray heads, cleaning nozzles / pumps, light bulbs and brushes) may be individually or collectively attached to any machine station of the flexible assembly line 30, 210, 212, 276.

  Throughout the specification several similar parts or operational steps are given similar or identical reference signs. Descriptions for similar or identical reference signs are incorporated herein by reference as appropriate.

  In this application, unless stated otherwise, the terms "comprising", "comprise" and grammatical variations thereof include the elements listed, but are also subject to additional implications. It is intended to indicate an “open” or “inclusive” language so as to be able to include enumerated elements.

  As used herein, the term “about” in the context of the concentration of a component of a formulation is typically +/− 5% of the stated value, more typically +/− 4%, more typically +/− 3% of the stated value, more typically +/− 2% of the stated value, even more typically +/− 1% of the stated value, and Even more typically, it means +/− 0.5% of the stated value.

  Throughout this disclosure, certain embodiments may be disclosed in a range format. The description in range format is merely for convenience and brevity and should not be construed as an inflexible constraint on the disclosed range range. Accordingly, the description of a range should be considered to have specifically disclosed all the possible subranges as well as individual numerical values within that range. For example, the description of a range such as 1 to 6 includes subranges such as 1 to 3, 1 to 4, 1 to 5, 2 to 4, 2 to 6, 3 to 6, etc., and individual numbers within the range. For example, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 should be considered as specifically disclosed. This applies regardless of the width of the range.

Upon reading the foregoing disclosure, various other modifications and adaptations of this application will become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of this application, and any such modifications and adaptations may be Apparently, it is intended to be within the scope of the claims.

Reference number 30 Flexible assembly line 32 Tray dispenser 34 First loading station 36 Second loading station 38 Third loading station 40 Manual loading station 42 Inspection and rejection station 43 Automatic rejection station 44 Tray-to-cart loading station 46 Conveyor 48 Main computer 50 First display 52 Second display 54 First box stacker 56 Second box stacker 58 Vibrating bowl sorter 60 Belt 62 Trolley 64 Front end 66 Rear end 68 Cart 70 First operator 72 Second operator 74 Arm 76 Empty tray 78 First 4-axis robot 80 Clean empty tray 82 Second 4-axis robot 84 Tray 86 Third 4-axis robot 88 Tray 90 Tray 91 Carousel shelf 2 Longitudinal 100 Method 102 Input 104 Extract 106 Upload 108 Move 110 Inspect 112 Compare 114 Capture 114 Place 116 Place 118 Drop 119 Enable 120 Advance 122 Identify 124 Detect 126 Capture 128 Place 130 Scan 132 Compare 134 Replace 136 Check 138 Extend 140 Grab 141 Cutlery tray pack 142 Lift 144 Shoot 146 Move 148 Replace 150 Detect 152 154 Extend 156 Grasp 158 Move 160 Place 162 Take 164 Process 166 leave 168 remove 170 replace 172 pick 174 place 176 closely examine 178 remove 180 see 182 intervene 18 Take 186 Compare 188 Hold 190 Stack 192 Receive 194 Reach 196 Hold 198 Hold 198 Identify 200 Insert 202 Send 204 Show 206 Label 210 Second flexible assembly line 212 Third flexible assembly line 214 Fourth loading station 216 First 5 loading station 218 6th loading station 220 reject conveyor 222 first box 224 second box 226 third box 228 fourth box 230 conveyor 232 conveyor 234 non-food vision robot module 236 non-food vision robot module 238 Vision Robot Module 240 for Food 240 Conveyor 242 Food Product 244 Conveyor 244
246 Food object 248 against quality compliant Fail box 250 Food vision robot module 252 Automatic food item dispenser 254 Rotatable food hopper 256 Diverter 258 Conveyor 260 Top sprocket gear 262 Bottom sprocket gear 264 Chain 266 Roller chain 268 Loading tray 270 One side 272 Another side 274 Automated guided vehicle 276 Flexible assembly line 278 Automatic box stacker and carousel 280 Box 282 Method 284 First step 286 Second step 288 Third step 290 Fourth step 292 Robot arm 294 First cup 296 First 2 cup 298 suction cup 300 3rd cup

Claims (27)

Flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) for tray packaging,
Tray dispensers (32, 62) for providing trays (76, 80, 84, 88, 90);
A loading station (34, 36, 38) in the vicinity of the tray dispenser (32, 62) for automatically placing food or non-food items on the tray (76, 80, 84, 88, 90). 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238, 250),
A flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276).   Connected to the loading station (34, 36, 38, 218, 234, 236, 238) to remove the finished tray package from the loading station (34, 36, 38, 218, 234, 236, 238). The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) of claim 1, further comprising a tray-to-cart loading station (44, 68).   Connect the tray dispenser (32, 62), the loading station (34, 36, 38, 218, 234, 236, 238), the tray to cart loading station (44, 68), or any combination thereof. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a conveyor (46).   The flexible assembly line (30,) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising an inspection and reject station (42, 43) for checking the quality of the food and non-food items (242). 210, 212, 276).   The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 5) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising at least one sorter (54, 56, 58) for organizing the food article or the non-food article. 212, 276).   The tray dispenser (32, 62), the loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238), the tray to cart loading station (44, 68), the conveyor (46 ), The inspection and reject product station (42, 43) or any combination thereof, the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292) for picking the food item or non-food item (242). The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) according to any one of claims 1-5.   The tray dispenser (32, 62), the loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238), the tray to cart loading station (44, 68), the conveyor (46 ), Machine vision for the inspection and reject station (42, 43), the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292) or any combination thereof to recognize the shape of various objects The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising: The tray dispenser (32, 62), the loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238), the tray to cart loading station (44, 68), the conveyor (46 ), The inspection and rejection station (42, 43), the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292) or any combination thereof has machine vision for the surface texture of various objects, The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) according to any one of claims 1 to 7.   The tray dispenser (32, 62), the loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238), the tray to cart loading station (44, 68), the conveyor (46 ), At least two of the inspection and reject station (42, 43), the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292) or any combination thereof are coupled for neural network processing. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218) according to any one of claims 1 to 8.   The tray dispenser (32, 62), the loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238), the tray to cart loading station (44, 68), the conveyor (46 ), The inspection and reject product station (42, 43), the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292) or any combination thereof, the flexible assembly without affecting the others. Modularly connected to the flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218) so that it can be separated from other parts of the line (30, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218) The flexible assembly line (30, 21) according to any one of claims 1 to 9. , 212,276).   The loading station (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238) includes a conveyor (232) for supplying food or non-food items (242) to the boxes (222, 224); A flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a further conveyor (230) for removing empty boxes (226, 228).   The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 12) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a manual loading station (40) for manually loading, unloading or inspecting food items or non-food items (242). 212, 276).   The flexible assembly line (30, 210,) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a shelving carousel having a movable loading tray (268) for transporting food or non-food items (242). 212, 276).   The touch screen display (50, 52) of the flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218) connected to the main computer (48) for control. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, 276) according to any one of the above.   15. The flexible assembly line (30,) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising an automated guided vehicle (274) for taking a tray assembly or an empty tray (76, 84, 88, 90) after packaging. 210, 212, 276). An automatic food article dispenser (252) comprising a rotatable food hopper (254), a diverter (256) and a conveyor (46, 258), wherein the rotatable food hopper (254) The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising an automatic food article dispenser (252) having at least one compartment for storing the articles (242). 276).   The flexible assembly line (30, 210, 212, according to any one of claims 6 to 10, wherein the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292) has an end effector (298) for rotation. 276).   18. The flexible assembly line (30, 210, according to claim 6, wherein the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292) has an end effector (298) for vibration. 212, 276).   The flexible assembly line (30, 19) according to any one of claims 6 to 10 and 17, 18 wherein the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292) has an end effector (298) for heating. 210, 212, 276).   20. A flexible assembly line according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a cleaning and sterilization station for cleaning an end effector (298) of the industrial robot (32, 78, 82, 86, 292). (30, 210, 212, 276).   21. A flexible assembly line (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a washing and drying station for washing the belt (60) of the conveyor (46, 220, 230, 232, 240, 258). 30, 210, 212, 276).   A laying center having one or more of said flexible assembly lines (30, 210, 212, 276). A method (100) of using a flexible assembly line for tray packaging, comprising:
Receiving trays (76, 80, 84, 88, 90);
Providing a food or non-food article (242);
Automatically loading the food or non-food item (242) onto the tray (76, 80, 84, 88, 90);
Including a method.   Inspecting the trays (76, 80, 84, 88, 90), the food or non-food items (242), and the loaded trays (84, 88, 90) by machine vision further. Item 24. The method (100) according to Item 23.   25. A method (100) according to claim 23 or 24, further comprising the step of transferring a loaded tray (84, 88, 90) into a cart (68) for transport. A method (100) of installing a flexible assembly line for tray packaging (30, 210, 212, 276), comprising:
Providing a tray dispenser (32, 62) for presenting the tray (76, 80, 84, 88, 90);
A loading station in the vicinity of the tray dispenser (32, 62) (with fixed tools) for automatically placing food or non-food items on the tray (76, 80, 84, 88, 90) Presenting (34, 36, 38, 214, 216, 218, 234, 236, 238, 250);
Including a method. A method (100) of configuring a flexible assembly line for tray packaging (30, 210, 212, 276) comprising mounting a software package for machine vision image processing.

Images