TWI761891B - Uninterrupted automation system and execution method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An uninterrupted automation system and execution method thereof is disclosed in the present invention. The uninterrupted automation system includes a convey with a scanning area, an artifact, a data collector, a side electronic device of the convey and a host. The data collector is positioned in the scanning area and collects the 3D module information of the artifact passing through the scanning area. The host includes a data base and a processing module. A motion information of the artifact moving alone the convey is stored in the data base of the host. A progress information of the side electronic device is generated via the processing module according to the 3D module information and the motion information of the artifact. According to the progress information, an operation instruction is executed via the side electronic device following the artifact moving alone the convey.

Description

Uninterrupted automation system and method of execution

The present invention relates to a conveyor line automation system, in particular to an uninterrupted conveyor line automation system that does not need to stop the workpiece at a fixed point for processing or inspection during the production process, and an implementation of the conveyor line uninterrupted automation system method.

On an automated conveyor line, an Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) machine is usually configured to detect whether semi-finished products or finished products meet quality control specifications. Whether it is an in-line or off-line automatic optical inspection machine, when performing inspection operations, in order to avoid distortion or low-contrast images, the object to be inspected must be placed in a static state. Under the image capture system, the conveyor line has to be forced to stop during the inspection process, and it takes time to wait for the completion of the automatic optical inspection before proceeding to the next process. There is a disadvantage that the production capacity cannot be increased due to interruption.

In addition, in order to carry out the automatic optical inspection operation smoothly, the objects to be inspected arranged on the conveyor line must be placed in a specific orientation, so that the operation process of how to correctly arrange the objects to be inspected on the conveyor line needs to be additionally planned on the conveyor line. recently In order to make the object to be inspected be placed on the conveyor line in any orientation, the operator installs a scanner on the automatic optical inspection body to collect the geometric structure and orientation of the object to be inspected, and then moves the image of the automatic optical inspection machine. Capture the camera in the system to the shooting position. Although the above technical means can improve the technical problem that the detected object needs to be placed in a specific orientation, however, when facing each detected object, the scanner always first collects the model information of the detected object and transmits it. After the automatic optical inspection machine, the camera will move to the shooting position. Since the camera needs to be moved many times in this technical method, it still cannot shorten the time of the detected object on the conveyor line, nor can it effectively increase the production capacity.

Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an uninterrupted automation system for conveying lines that can improve at least one disadvantage of the prior art, and an implementation method using the uninterrupted automation system for conveying lines.

Therefore, the uninterrupted automation system of the conveyor line of the present invention includes a conveyor line, a workpiece, an information collector, an electronic device, and a host.

The conveying line includes a scanning area. The workpiece moves on the conveyor line and through the scanning zone. The information collector is arranged in the scanning area and used to collect the three-dimensional model information of the workpiece. The electronic device is located on one side of the transmission line.

The host is electrically connected with the information collector and the electronic device. The host includes a database and a processing module electrically connected with the database. The database stores a motion information of the workpiece moving on the conveying line. The processing module is based on The three-dimensional model information of the workpiece and the motion information of the workpiece generate a process information of the electronic device.

Wherein, the electronic device moves with the workpiece on the conveying line according to the progress information, and executes a work instruction.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an execution method using the uninterrupted automation system of the conveying line.

Therefore, the implementation method of the uninterrupted automation system of the conveying line of the present invention is suitable for a conveying line including a scanning area, an electronic device located on one side of the conveying line, and a workpiece passing through the scanning area.

The execution method of the uninterrupted automation system of the conveying line includes collecting 3D model information of the workpiece when it passes through the scanning area; providing motion information of the workpiece on the conveying line; a process information of the electronic device; and using the electronic device to execute a work order on the workpiece according to the process information, wherein, in the process of executing the work order, the electronic device moves with the workpiece on the conveying line.

The effect of the present invention is: by collecting the three-dimensional model information of the workpiece and providing the motion information of the workpiece on the conveying line, the process information of the electronic device can be obtained, so that when the electronic device executes the work instruction, It can move with the workpiece on the conveyor line, thereby improving the previous electronic device to execute work instructions on the workpiece At the time, the conveying line has to be forced to stop, the present invention further shortens the time that the workpiece is on the conveying line, so the production capacity can be effectively improved.

1: Conveyor line

11: Conveyor belt

111: Scanning area

12: Track

2: Workpiece

20: Infrared tracking module

21: The first workpiece

22: Second workpiece

3: Information Collector

4: Electronic device

41: The first electronic device

42: Second electronic device

5: Host

51:Database

511: Sports Information

512: First Sports Information

513: Second Movement Information

52: Processing modules

521: Process information

522: Work Order

523: First Process Information

524: Second process information

525: First Work Order

526: Second Work Order

61: Fixed part

62: End effector

621: Workspace

63: Camera

v: rate

S110, S120, S130, S140: Steps

S210, S220, S230, S240: steps

Other features and effects of the present invention will be clearly presented in the embodiments with reference to the drawings, wherein:

1 is a partial schematic diagram of a first embodiment of a conveyor line uninterrupted automation system of the present invention, illustrating the configuration relationship among a conveyor line, a workpiece, an information collector, an electronic device, and a host;

2 is a block diagram of the host of the first embodiment, illustrating that the host includes a database and a processing module that are electrically connected to each other;

Fig. 3 is a flow chart of the execution method of the first embodiment;

4 is a schematic diagram of the working range of the electronic device according to the first embodiment, illustrating that the electronic device moves with the workpiece within a working area;

5 is a schematic top view of a second embodiment of the conveyor line uninterrupted automation system of the present invention, illustrating a conveyor line, a first workpiece, a second workpiece, an information collector, a first electronic device, a second an electronic device, and a configuration relationship between a host;

Fig. 6 is a flow chart of the execution method of the second embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the host of the second embodiment; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic top view of a third embodiment of the uninterrupted automation system for the conveyor line of the present invention.

Before the present invention is described in detail, it should be noted that in the following description, similar elements are designated by the same reference numerals.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , the first embodiment of the uninterrupted automation system for conveyor lines of the present invention includes a conveyor line 1 , a workpiece 2 , an information collector 3 , an electronic device 4 , and a host 5 .

The conveyor line 1 includes a conveyor belt 11 . The conveyor belt 11 has a scanning area 111, and the conveyor belt 11 runs in a first direction and at a speed v.

The workpiece 2 moves on the conveyor line 1 and passes through the scanning area 111 . In this embodiment, the workpiece 2 passively moves along the conveyor belt 11 along the first direction.

The information collector 3 is disposed in the scanning area 111 . Specifically, the information collector 3 is located above the conveyor belt 11 . In this embodiment, the information collector 3 is a 3D scanner, which is used to collect the 3D model information of the workpiece 2 , and the collected data is in the form of a point cloud. Supplementary description, the 3D scanner records scanning data in the form of scanning points, and each scanning point contains data such as 3D coordinates, light intensity of the reflective surface, and color information. The three-dimensional coordinate information is mainly used, so as long as the purpose of collecting the three-dimensional coordinates of the workpiece can be achieved, the application of the present invention does not need to be limited to a three-dimensional scanner.

The electronic device 4 is located on one side of the transmission line 1 .

The host 5 is electrically connected to the information collector 3 and the electronic device 4 . The host 5 includes a database 51 and a processing module 52 electrically connected to the database 51 . In this embodiment, the host 5 is an industrial computer, but as long as the same purpose and effect can be achieved, the host 5 is not limited to this.

The database 51 stores a movement information 511 of the workpiece 2 moving on the conveying line 1 . The processing module 52 generates a process information 521 of the electronic device 4 according to the three-dimensional model information of the workpiece 2 and the motion information 511 of the workpiece 2 .

The electronic device 4 moves with the workpiece 2 on the conveying line 1 and executes a work instruction 522 according to the progress information 521 .

Referring to FIGS. 1 , 2 and 3 , when the aforementioned uninterrupted automation system for conveying lines is executed, at least the following steps S110 to S140 are included.

In step S110 , the three-dimensional model information of the workpiece 2 passing through the scanning area 111 is collected. In this embodiment, the three-dimensional model information of the workpiece 2 is collected through the information collector 3 , so the collected information is denoted as ^s O _o in the coordinate system from the viewpoint of the information collector 3 , and the three-dimensional model of the workpiece 2 Information ^s O _o can be stored in the database 51 of the host 5 .

In step S120, the motion information 511 of the workpiece 2 on the conveying line 1 is provided. In this step, according to an OS conversion formula preset in the database 51, denoted as ^o T _s , the 3D model information collected from the information collector 3 when the workpiece 2 passes through the scanning area 111 is converted into the world The 3D model information under the World Coordinate System is denoted as ^o O _o , and the conversion relationship is as follows:

^o O _o = ^o T _s . ^s O _o

Wherein, the OS conversion formula ^o T _s can be determined by the following methods:

It is assumed that the base axis of the electronic device 4 is selected from the same world coordinate system, and it is assumed that the local part of the electronic device 4 can be represented by m sampling positions, and the coordinate system from the point of view of the electronic device 4 It is denoted as ^o P _m =[X _m ,Y _m ,Z _m ,1] ^T , and these same sampling positions are denoted as ^s P _m =[X _m ,Y _m , in the coordinate system from the point of view of the information collector 3 , Z _m ,1] ^T , these two sets of coordinates must satisfy the following relation in the transformation relationship:

^o P _m = ^o T _s . ^s P _m , the left-hand form can be rewritten as follows:

Since all m sampling locations must satisfy the above equation, the following equation can be derived:

Therefore, the OS conversion formula ^o T _s can be determined by using the Least Square Approximation (LSA) as follows:

Since there are 12 unknowns in the OS conversion formula ^o T _s , in order to obtain a more accurate OS conversion between the coordinate system from the point of view of the electronic device 4 and the coordinate system from the point of view of the information collector 3 formula ^o T _s , at least m>12 sampling positions are required.

In step S130, according to the three-dimensional model information of the workpiece 2 and the motion information 511 of the workpiece 2, a process information 521 of the electronic device 4 is generated. In this step, under the condition that the moving speed of the conveyor belt 11 is v and it only advances in the first direction, assuming that the current time when the workpiece 2 passes through the information collector 3 is t ₀ , then at the time point t _k , the motion information 511 of the workpiece 2 in the world coordinate system can be obtained as follows:

^o O _o (t _k ) = ^o O _o (t ₀ )+v. (t _k -t ₀ ).........(1)

Moreover, because the base axis of the electronic device 4 is selected from the same world coordinate system, the equation (1) is already the process information 521 that the electronic device 4 can identify, that is, the electronic device 4 The device 4 can follow the workpiece 2 along the conveying line 1 in the whole process according to the progress information 521 . It is worth mentioning that because The process information 521 has taken into account the three-dimensional model information when the workpiece 2 passes through the scanning area 111 , so the placement orientation of the workpiece 2 has been covered. Therefore, regardless of the orientation of the workpiece 2 passing through the scanning area 111, the present invention The electronic device 4 can obtain the corresponding process information 521 , so the present invention also has the advantage that the workpiece 2 can be placed on the conveying line 1 in any orientation.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, in practical application, for example, taking automatic optical inspection as an example, the electronic device 4 may be a robotic arm. In this embodiment, the robotic arm is a six-axis robotic arm as an example, However, as long as the same function and purpose can be achieved, the robotic arm can also be a four-axis or five-axis robotic arm, which is not particularly limited. The robotic arm includes a fixed portion 61 , an end effector 62 that freely rotates relative to the fixed portion 61 , and a camera 63 disposed on the end effector 62 .

Based on the relative positional relationship between the above-mentioned components, the basic axis of the fixed part 61 of the robot arm is set to be selected from the coordinate system that is the same as the world coordinate system and takes the camera 63 as a point of view. The coordinate system and the conversion relationship between the world coordinate system Under the known conditions, that is, an OC conversion formula ^o T _c is known, then according to the equation (1), the following equation can be obtained:

^o O _c (t _k ) = ^o T _c . ^o O _o (t _k )

Among them, ^o O _c (t _k ) represents the position coordinate to which the camera 63 needs to move at the t _k th time point under the world coordinate system, so that the three-dimensional model information of the workpiece 2 under the world coordinate system can be obtained Converted into three-dimensional model information from the viewpoint of the electronic device 4 (here, the camera 63 ).

In step S140 , the electronic device 4 is controlled to execute a work instruction 522 on the workpiece 2 according to the process information 521 (as shown in FIG. 2 ). In this step, the processing module 52 obtains control parameters for controlling the electronic device 4 (eg, the end effector 62 ) to move along the conveying line 1 with the workpiece 2 according to inverse kinematics analysis.

In this embodiment, the end effector 62 of the robotic arm moves with the workpiece 2 and completes the work instruction 522 in a work area 621 (the area surrounded by the dotted line in FIG. 4 ) according to the process information 521 . It is added that the work instruction 522 may be an action such as taking a picture, photographing, or performing processing. In addition, the one-dot chain line in FIG. 4 is the movement path of the camera 63 .

Through the above description, the advantages of the uninterrupted automation system for the conveyor line of the present invention can be summarized as follows:

1. In the process of executing the work instruction 522 in the present invention, the electronic device 4 still moves on the conveying line 1 along with the workpiece 2, so it can be improved that the conveying line must be forced to stop when the electronic device executes the work instruction on the workpiece in the past. downsides.

2. The present invention does not need to place the workpiece 2 on the conveying line 1 in a specific orientation, so the additional operation process of arranging the workpiece on the conveying line in a specific orientation can be avoided.

5, 6, and 7, it is the second embodiment of the uninterrupted automation system for the conveyor line of the present invention. The second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, and the second embodiment and the first embodiment are mainly The difference is:

According to steps S210, S220, S230 and S240, the uninterrupted automation system of the conveying line 1 includes two electronic devices and two workpieces of different sizes or shapes. For convenience of description, one of the electronic devices is defined as the first electronic device 41 and the other is the second electronic device 42 , and one of the workpieces is the first workpiece 21 and the other is the second workpiece 22 .

First, after the first workpiece 21 and the second workpiece 22 of different sizes or shapes pass through the information collector 3 , the database 51 of the host computer 5 will store the first workpiece 21 and the second workpiece 22 3D model information. Then, the processing module 52 of the host 5 obtains a first motion information 512 and a second motion information stored in the database 51 respectively according to the three-dimensional model information of the first workpiece 21 and the second workpiece 22 motion information 513 , and then generate a first process information 523 corresponding to the first electronic device 41 according to the 3D model information of the first workpiece 21 and the first motion information 512 , and generate a first process information 523 according to the 3D model information of the second workpiece 22 The model information and the second motion information 513 generate a second process information 524 corresponding to the second electronic device 42 .

Then, the first electronic device 41 moves with the first workpiece 21 on the conveying line 1 according to the first process information 523 and completes a first work order 525 , similarly, the second electronic device 42 moves with the second workpiece 22 on the conveying line 1 according to the second process information 524 and completes a second work order 526 .

It is worth mentioning that when the uninterrupted automation system of the conveyor line includes more than three electronic devices and more than three workpieces, since its operation principle is the same as that of the second embodiment, it can be deduced by analogy, so it will not be repeated one by one. .

For example, the second embodiment can be applied to a picking conveyor line, so that unsorted workpieces can be diverted to the respective next site. The second embodiment can not only widely execute different work instructions for different types of workpieces, but also achieve the same effect and purpose as the first embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 8, it is the third embodiment of the uninterrupted automation system for the conveyor line of the present invention. The third embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, and the main differences between the third embodiment and the first embodiment are:

The conveying line 1 includes a rail 12, the rail 12 has the scanning area 111, in practical application, the rail 12 can be set on the ground with black tape or black paint. The workpiece 2 includes an infrared tracking module 20 , and the workpiece 2 moves on the track 12 at a speed v through the infrared tracking module 20 . In this embodiment, the workpiece 2 is actively moved forward on the conveying line 1 at a speed v, which is different from that in the first embodiment, which is passively moved with the conveying belt 11 (as shown in FIG. 1 ). shown) to advance at velocity v.

In this way, the third embodiment can also achieve the same functions and objectives as the first embodiment.

To sum up, the present invention obtains the process information of the electronic device by collecting the three-dimensional model information of the workpiece and providing the motion information of the workpiece on the conveying line, thereby enabling the electronic device to execute the work instruction. , can move with the workpiece on the conveying line, so as to improve the shortcoming that the conveying line has to be forced to stop in the past, the present invention further shortens the time that the workpiece is located on the conveying line, thereby increasing the production capacity, so it can indeed achieve the purpose of the present invention .

However, the above are only examples of the present invention, and should not limit the scope of the present invention. Any simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the application for patent of the present invention and the content of the patent specification are still within the scope of the present invention. within the scope of the invention patent.

1: Conveyor line

11: Conveyor belt

111: Scanning area

2: Workpiece

3: Information Collector

4: Electronic device

5: Host

61: Zhou Ding Department

62: End effector

63: Camera

v: rate

Claims (8)

An uninterrupted automation system for a conveyor line, comprising: a conveyor line, including a track, the track has a scanning area; a workpiece, including an infrared tracking module, the workpiece passes through the infrared tracking module at a speed in the moving on the track of the conveying line and passing through the scanning area; an information collector arranged in the scanning area and used to collect the three-dimensional model information of the workpiece; an electronic device located on one side of the conveying line; and a host, It is electrically connected with the information collector and the electronic device, and includes a database and a processing module electrically connected with the database, the database stores a movement information of the workpiece moving on the conveying line, the The processing module generates a process information of the electronic device according to the three-dimensional model information of the workpiece and the motion information of the workpiece, wherein the electronic device moves with the workpiece on the conveying line and executes a work instruction according to the process information. The uninterrupted automation system for a conveyor line as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a robotic arm, the robotic arm includes a fixed portion, and an end effector that freely rotates relative to the fixed portion, and the end of the robotic arm The executor moves with the workpiece in a work area according to the process information and completes the work order. The uninterrupted automation system for a conveyor line according to claim 2, wherein the robotic arm further comprises a camera disposed on the end effector. The uninterrupted automation system for a conveyor line according to claim 1, wherein the information collector is a three-dimensional scanner, and the collected data is in the form of a point cloud. A method for implementing an uninterrupted automation system for a conveyor line is applicable to a conveyor line including a scanning area, an electronic device located on one side of the conveyor line, and a workpiece passing through the scanning area, the conveyor line further comprising a track, The workpiece includes an infrared tracking module, and the execution method of the uninterrupted automation system for the conveying line includes: collecting three-dimensional model information when the workpiece passes through the scanning area; providing the workpiece to pass through the infrared tracking module at a speed. Motion information of the movement on the track of the conveying line; according to the three-dimensional model information of the workpiece and the motion information of the workpiece, generate a process information of the electronic device; and control the electronic device to execute a work order on the workpiece according to the process information , wherein, in the process of executing the work instruction, the electronic device moves along the conveying line with the workpiece. The execution method of the uninterrupted automation system of the conveyor line as claimed in claim 5, wherein the step of providing the motion information of the workpiece moving on the track of the conveyor line at the speed through the infrared tracking module comprises: The three-dimensional model information when the workpiece passes through the scanning area is converted into the three-dimensional model information under the world coordinate system according to an OS conversion formula; and according to the three-dimensional model information of the workpiece under the world coordinate system and the speed, generate the Information about the sport. The execution method of the uninterrupted automation system of the conveyor line according to claim 6, wherein the step of generating the process information of the electronic device comprises: according to an OC conversion formula, a three-dimensional model of the workpiece in the world coordinate system The information is converted into three-dimensional model information from the viewpoint of the electronic device. The execution method of a conveyor line uninterrupted automation system according to claim 7, wherein the step of controlling the electronic device to execute the work instruction on the workpiece according to the process information comprises: obtaining control of the electronic device according to inverse kinematics analysis Control parameters for the movement of the device on the conveyor line with the workpiece.

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