KR20170092663A - Device for orienting parts, particularly for gripping by robots, automation means and the like - Google Patents

Abstract

A device (1) for orienting a part for gripping by means of a robot, an automation means and the like, comprises a motor means (5) for rotation about a rotational axis (6) substantially perpendicular to the supporting surface (3) And a support frame (2) defining a support surface (3) for rotatably supporting a movable pad (4). An artificial vision means for recognizing the parts to be picked up arranged on the movable pad 4 is additionally provided and is connected to the support frame 2 and is movable substantially in the correct and locally movable pads 4 Pulse generating means 15 operating on a movable pad 4 along a vertical operating line is additionally provided so that the orientation of the part to be picked up in a manner that allows the part to be picked up to be picked up by a robot, Modify it. As a result of the movement of the part to be picked up via the pulse generating means 15, the device can be used for easy ejection of the oil substance or dust present on the part to be picked up and subsequently transferred onto the movable pad 4 Further comprising a peripheral groove (22) defined on the support surface (3) in a manner radially outward of the movable pad (4).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a device for orienting a part for gripping by a robot, an automation device, etc. [0002]

In particular, the present invention relates to a device for orienting a part for gripping by a robot, an automation means and the like.

The present invention relates to any field suitable for the introduction of automated robotic systems in the field of industrial automation or in any case where there is an ever increasing need for a flexible robotic system capable of meeting most of the various requirements.

In particular, the industrial fields that are expected to be used for the devices according to the invention are rubber, plastics and other synthetic materials, glass, food industry, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, medical, automotive parts, electrical appliances, computers, , Woodworking industry and furniture accessories.

In fact, there is a growing need to supply different industrial automation systems in response to different production requirements.

Modern industrial products are characterized by an increasingly shorter life span, in fact, due to the reduction of production and the resulting demand for effort to minimize this adaptation cost while allowing the system to adapt quickly to changing production requirements.

Such installations for adaptation of the system to different production volumes and adjustment of production to different final products are often more expensive and slower but much more versatile and require a passive system that forces the enterprise to move production facilities to countries where labor is more comfortable And is the only economic reason to maintain an automated production system.

Feeder devices are known and are simply referred to as "feeder " and are controlled by a Cartesian coordinate robot, an anthropomorphic robot, a cylindrical robot, or the like.

Such a feeder is provided with an artificial vision system such as, for example, a linear camera, a matrix camera, a three-dimensional camera or the like, which can be used to transmit an image to image analysis software for recognizing the part to be recognized, Requiring such illumination conditions as having such an image of high contrast.

The lighting conditions may be generated through external illumination from above or a backlight device which is typically arranged below the pad on which the part lies.

Filling the feeder is performed from the outside, at time intervals, manually, through a hopper, by a belt elevator or other technically equivalent means.

The artificial vision system recognizes the parts loaded on the feeder required for production and the robot picks it up.

These conventional devices advance the components that make up the feed feed for the robot through linear movement obtained through mechanical shaking and / or motorized belts.

The problem with such a feeder is that if the part to be fed comprises at least one cylindrical part, it tends to roll, thereby feeding the part more frequently to the robot which can not be easily statistically gripped, It is a failure.

In this type of feeder, it is not possible to change the position and arrangement of the components on the surface in any case, in the case of linear advancing and / or vibrating types, thus slowing the production chain at a heavy cost for the final product .

Also, cleaning the backlighting system is more complicated because it is difficult to access internal components of conventional feeders, which reduces the quality of the vision system and hence the production efficiency.

In order to overcome the above mentioned disadvantages, a feeder device has been developed which can change the orientation of the part in a way that makes it easier to grip the part by the robot.

Such conventional devices involve the use of circular pads that are hit by the pulse generating means, such as rotating around their center and moving individual components until the individual components are in desired locations.

This conventional device also has no drawbacks, among other disadvantages, if the part is not oriented to the correct position for gripping, the system for feeding the device will saturate the surface of the movable pad by continually loading the part , So there is a risk that the movable pad will not perform its function.

In addition, these and other prior art devices can also be used in a variety of applications where the part to be operated has traces of oil or dust, such traces can be transferred to the moveable pads, But it has the disadvantage of preventing the lighting means from generating an appropriate visual contrast between the parts.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and system for effectively preventing the artificial vision means from identifying parts to be picked up and from effectively preventing the traces of oil or dust and also the overfeeding of the movable pads, Thereby eliminating the aforementioned drawbacks in conventional type feeder devices, such as those described above.

Within this aim, it is an object of the present invention to provide an orientation device that permits easy access to internal components, thereby simplifying the cleaning operation of the vision system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device that is easily sourced in the market and an orientable device that is easy to assemble and makes the device economically competitive by using materials conventionally used.

These and other objects which will become more apparent hereinafter and these and other objects are achieved in particular by a device for orienting a part for gripping by a robot, an automation means, etc., comprising a support frame defining a support surface, Comprises an artificial vision means for rotatably supporting a movable pad associated with motor means for rotation about an axis of rotation substantially perpendicular to said support surface and for recognizing the part to be picked up arranged on said movable pad Further provided is a pulse generating means connected to said support frame and operating on said movable pad along an actuation line substantially perpendicular to said movable pad in an accurate and local way, In a manner that allows the part to be picked up by a robot, Modifying the orientation of the component to be picked up and moving the component to be picked up through the pulse generating means as a result of movement of the component to be picked up and subsequently transferred onto the movable pad, And a peripheral groove defined on the support surface in a manner radially outward of the movable pad for easy ejection of the movable pad.

Additional features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of a device for orienting a part for gripping by robots, automation means, etc., in accordance with the present invention, Are illustrated in the accompanying drawings for a limited example.
1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an orientation device according to the present invention.
2 is a plan view from above the device shown in Fig.
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the device shown in Figure 2 taken along line III-III.
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the device shown in Figure 2 taken along line IV-IV.
5 is an enlarged view of the device shown in Fig.

Referring to the drawings, a device, generally designated by reference numeral 1, for orienting a component for gripping, in particular by robotics, automation means, etc., comprises a rotary shaft 6 substantially perpendicular to the support surface 3 And a support frame (2) defining a support surface (3) for rotatably supporting a movable pad (4) associated with motor means (5) for one rotation.

More specifically, the motor means 5 comprises an electric motor 7 such as, for example, an asynchronous motor, which is supported by the support frame 2 and fixed to the base 8 of the device 1 via a motor support 9 ).

In the proposed embodiment the movable pad 4 has a substantially circular shape and is directly associated with and locked to the drive shaft of the motor 7 so that it can move through the associated flange 11 and tightening flange 12 Rotates integrally with the drive shaft about a rotational axis 6, the flanges interlocking with each other in such a way that the movable pads 4 are clamped therebetween.

In this way, the center of the movable pad 4 lies on the rotary shaft 6.

Conveniently, the motor means 5 may comprise a driver motor 13 which is secured to the base 8 via an adapted bracket 14.

In this way, the motor 7 can be controlled and operated at variable speeds and / or accelerations depending on the characteristics of the part loaded into the device 1. [

In addition, an artificial vision means is provided for the recognition of the parts to be picked up arranged on the movable pad 4 and is connected to the support frame 2 and is arranged to be movable in a substantially and locally movable manner, A pulse generating means 15 operating on a movable pad 4 along a vertical operating line is provided to modify the orientation of the part to be picked up in a manner that allows the part to be picked up to be picked up by a robot, .

With respect to the artificial vision means, this can be located outside and above the device 1 and is conventional and will not be described or illustrated in detail.

In general, the artificial vision means comprises a support surface 3 in artificial vision means for backlighting of the part to be picked up arranged on the movable pad 4, in a manner that allows identification of the part to be picked up by the artificial vision means. Backlight means 16 and an optical video camera arranged on the opposite side from the movable pad 4 with respect to the support frame 2 and associated with the support frame 2.

Conveniently, the movable pad 4 is made of a material that transmits light and is resiliently flexible, and the support surface 3 is provided with a window 17 shaped like a substantially annular sector, There is provided an adapted glass for protection defined in the backlighting means in such a manner as to permit backlighting of the pad 4.

With respect to the pulse generating means 15 it operates on the lower surface 19 of the pad 4 which is movable through at least one opening 20 defined on the supporting surface 3 away from the window 17 And a repulsion magnet (18) connected to the support frame (2).

Conveniently, two mutually opposed openings 20 may be present in order to allow the installation of the pulse generating means 15 at two different points of the device 1 in accordance with the layout requirements of the device for picking up the part have.

Advantageously, the pulse generating means 15 is associated with the support frame 2 via a movable slider 21 which is adapted to allow movement of the repulsion magnet 18 along the radial direction with respect to the rotation axis 6.

Conveniently, the aperture 20 has a slot-like shape extending radially with respect to the axis of rotation 6 in correspondence with the movement of the repulsion magnet 18 through the movable slider 21. [

In this way, the repulsion magnet 18 can be placed in each instance at a peripheral position relative to the center of the movable pad 4 so as to be able to operate on the entire radial extension of the movable pad 4.

According to the present invention, as a result of the movement of the part to be picked up via the pulse generating means 15, it is possible to easily detect the presence of the oil substance or dust present on the part to be picked up and subsequently transferred onto the movable pad 4 There is a peripheral groove 22 defined on the support surface 3 in a manner radially outward of the movable pad 4 for ejection.

A shoulder ring 23 which is arranged radially outside the movable pad 4 and adapted to radially hold the part to be picked up and a vertical retention of the part to be picked up as a result of the operation of the pulse generating means 15, There may be a cover element 24 arranged on the movable pad 4 in the pulse generating means 15 and integrated with the support frame 2. [

In this way, the device 1 according to the invention can be used to load parts through at least one part picking sector defined in the artificial vision means, at least one parting sector defined in the pulse generating means 15, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > sector. ≪ / RTI >

Hereinafter, the operation of the device 1 for orienting a part for gripping by a robot, an automation means or the like will be described.

Through the hopper with the belt elevator by hand or by other conventional means, the device 1 can be filled from the outside with a component which is oriented to be picked up later by the robot or the like, at predetermined time intervals.

The component is unloaded from the loading sector onto the movable pad 4 in a random position and arranged in the pick-up sector due to the rotation of the movable pad 4, where the robot, when the component is recognized by the artificial vision means I will pick them up one after another.

In order to statically increase the likelihood of gripping by the robot, the swinging motion of the pad 4, which is movable about the rotary shaft 6, is also applied to the rotary shaft 6 in order to ensure that the component is provided to the robot with different sides. Lt; / RTI >

In this way it is possible to modify the position of the part on the movable pad 4 during rotation and to favor gripping of the robot as mentioned.

Due to the shoulder ring 23, there is no danger of leaving the movable pad 4 due to the centrifugal force developed by the rotation of the part.

For example, in the case of a special part having a very round shape characteristic, or in the case of a very fragile part which can only be gripped by the robot in one part only, the rotational-swinging movement of the movable pad 4 is not slow It may not be sufficient to prevent the problem.

In such a case, it is possible to operate the pulse generating means 15, and in the solution described here, the pulse generating means 15 include a repulsion magnet 18, so that after impact the parts change their orientation Push one or more of the parts.

There is no risk that the component will protrude out of the device 1 due to the cover element 24.

The repulsion magnet 18 can be controlled by the operator via the vision means and the relative position of the repulsion magnet to the support frame 2 can be changed by operating the movable slider 21. [

Preferably, in order to prevent malfunction of the device 1 with respect to each rod of the part and / or the rotation of the movable pad 3, a repetitive cycle of the following steps is set:

First, a part of the movable pad 4 arranged in the part pick-up sector is photographed through artificial vision means, and subsequently the image photographed at this step is analyzed so that the movable pad 4 arranged in the part pick- To identify the part to be picked up present in the part of the picked-up part, and identifies whether such part is correctly arranged for pick-up.

At the time of identification of the component to be picked up which is accurately oriented, the part is picked up by a robot, an automation means and the like.

In the identification of the part to be picked which is not exactly oriented by an amount less than a preset value, the movable pad 4 is pre-loaded in the part loading sector to load a new part to be picked up on the movable pad 4 via a hopper or the like And is rotated until the photographed portion is arranged.

Finally, at the time of identification of the parts to be picked up that are not correctly oriented by an amount greater than the preset value, the movable pad 4 is moved in an accurate, localized manner, Until the previously photographed portions are arranged in the component orientation sector, in order to correct the orientation of the component to be picked up through the operation of the pulse generating means 15.

Advantageously, in the image analysis step, the comparison of the amount of parts to be picked up that are not correctly oriented with a preset value is made by comparing the ratio of the number of white pixels to the number of black pixels in the image to the threshold preset by the user And the acquired image is of the black and white type.

Subsequently, this step is repeated in an iterative fashion with the rotation of the movable pad 4 until the previously taken portions in the parts pick-up sector are again arranged to repeat the preceding steps.

Actually, according to the present invention, a device for orienting a part for gripping by a robot, an automation means, etc. in particular makes it possible to statistically favor gripping by a robot, and also to arbitrarily select an oil or dust In order to make it possible to change the position of the part to be picked up in order to efficiently discharge the remainder of the object to be picked up.

In particular, the provision of the pulse generating means for vertically pushing the movable pad on which the part to be picked up lies, ensures that the arrangement of the parts can also be modified as desired.

In addition, providing movement of the aforementioned pulse generating means in the radial direction relative to the center of the movable pad is also advantageous, in accordance with the present invention, of using a device for a wider type of part varying in both material and geometry Lt; / RTI >

Another advantage of the present invention is that the availability of a system that makes it possible to change the location and arrangement of each part requires minimal agitation of the part, And the fact that the device feeder for automation means and the like is particularly suitable for manipulating parts with weak portions or formed of particularly fragile materials.

In addition, minimizing agitation lowers the noise threshold and thus improves the quality of the work in which the device is used.

Another advantage of a feeder for a robot according to the present invention is that it provides, in at least the described embodiment, more space for the vision means inside the device and thus facilitates access to the interior of the device, .

Finally, but also importantly, the use of easily sourced materials and simple mechanical construction makes the device feeder for robots, automation means, etc. according to the invention also competitive in economic terms.

Many modifications and variations of the device for orienting components for gripping by such robots, automation means, etc., as devised in this manner are possible, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims.

Further, all details may be replaced by other elements that are technically equivalent.

Indeed, the materials used and the associated dimensions and shapes may be arbitrary in accordance with the requirements and the state of the art.

The disclosure of Italian Patent Application No. AR2014A000058 (102014902314778), to which this application claims priority, is incorporated herein by reference.

Where reference is made to the technical features mentioned in any claim, such reference symbols are included solely for the purpose of increasing the clarity of the claims, and such reference signs are, for example, But has no restrictive effect on the interpretation of each element.

Claims (9)

A device (1) for orienting a component for gripping by a robot, an automation means, etc.,
Characterized in that the device 1 comprises a support frame 2 forming a support surface 3 and the support surface 3 is for rotation about a rotation axis 6 which is substantially perpendicular to the support surface 3, Rotatably supporting a movable pad (4) associated with the motor means (5)
An artificial vision means for recognizing the parts to be picked up arranged on the movable pad 4 is additionally provided,
Pulse generating means (15) connected to said support frame (2) and operating on said movable pad (4) along an operating line which is substantially perpendicular to said movable pad (4) To modify the orientation of the part to be picked up in such a manner as to allow the part to be picked up to be picked up by a robot,
As a result of the movement of the part to be picked up via the pulse generating means 15, an easy discharge of the oil substance or dust present on the part to be picked up and subsequently transferred onto the movable pad 4 Further comprising a peripheral groove (22) formed on said support surface (3) in a manner radially outward of said movable pad (4) for said support surface (3). 3. The method of claim 2,
(3) in the artificial vision means for backlighting of the part to be picked up arranged on the movable pad (4) in such a way as to allow identification of the part to be picked up by the artificial vision means And a backlight means (16) arranged on the opposite side from said movable pad (4) and associated with said support frame (2), said movable pad (4) being a light transmissive, Wherein the support surface (3) is provided with a window (17) formed in the backlighting means (16) in a manner to allow backlighting of the movable pad (4) Device (1). 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Characterized in that the pulse generating means (15) is operated on the lower surface (19) of the movable pad (4) through at least one opening (20) formed in the supporting surface (3) Wherein the at least one opening (20) is formed remote from the window (17). A device (1) for orienting a component. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Wherein the pulse generating means 15 is associated with the support frame 2 via a movable slider 21 configured to permit movement of the repulsion magnet 18 along a radial direction with respect to the rotation axis 6, At least one opening 20 has a slotted shape extending radially with respect to the axis of rotation 6 in correspondence with the movement of the repulsion magnet 18 through the movable slider 21, (1). 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Wherein the movable pad (4) has a substantially circular shape centered on the axis of rotation (6) and the window (17) is substantially shaped like an annular sector. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
Characterized in that the pulse generating means (15) is arranged on the movable pad (4) and is integral with the support frame (2) for vertical retention of the part to be picked up as a result of the operation of the pulse generating means (15) (24). ≪ / RTI > 7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
At least one component picking sector defined in said artificial vision means, at least one component orientation sector defined in said pulse generating means (15), and at least one sector for loading a part through a hopper or the like. (1). 8. A pickup and loading method of a component orientation device (1) for gripping by a robot, an automation means, etc. according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
Photographing a portion of the movable pad (4) arranged in the at least one component pickup sector via the artificial vision means,
To identify the part to be picked up present in said part of said movable pad (4) arranged in said at least one part pick-up sector, and to identify whether it is correctly oriented for pick- Analyzing step,
Picking up said part on a part of said robot, automation means, etc., upon identification of said part to be picked up which is correctly oriented,
To the at least one component loading sector to load a new component to be picked up on the movable pad (4) through the hopper or the like, upon identification of the part to be picked up which is not correctly oriented by an amount less than a preset value Rotating said movable pad (4) until a previously photographed portion is arranged,
(15) along an operating line which is substantially perpendicular to the movable pad (4) in an accurate and localized manner in the identification of the part to be picked up which is not correctly oriented by an amount greater than a predetermined value, Rotating the movable pad (4) until the pre-imaged portion is arranged in the at least one component orientation sector to correct the orientation of the component to be picked up by actuation of the at least one component orientation sector,
Rotating the movable pad (4) until the previously photographed portion is once again arranged in the at least one component pick-up sector to repeat the preceding steps, and Loading method. 9. The method of claim 8,
In the step of analyzing the image, the comparison of the amount of the component to be picked up that is not correctly oriented with the predetermined value is made by comparing the ratio of the number of white pixels to the number of black pixels of the image, Wherein the image is of black and white type. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 12 >

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