WO2010118742A1

WO2010118742A1 - A workpiece handling and positioning system and a method of handling and positioning workpieces

Info

Publication number: WO2010118742A1
Application number: PCT/DK2009/000094
Authority: WO
Inventors: Karsten Rasmussen; Michael Christensen
Original assignee: Jorgensen Engineering A/S
Priority date: 2009-04-17
Filing date: 2009-04-17
Publication date: 2010-10-21

Abstract

The present invention relates to a workpiece handling and positioning system comprising a loader (4) prepared for holding said workpieces at one or more predefined pick-up areas, and one or more handling systems (5) prepared for picking said workpieces individually from said predefined pick-up area and place the individual workpiece in a prepared container (7). The loader is further prepared for releasing the said individual workpieces one by one so that the individual workpiece can be removed by said handling systems. The invention also relates to a method of handling and positioning workpieces.

Description

A WORKPIECE HANDLING AND POSITIONING SYSTEM AND A METHOD OF HANDLING AND POSITIONING WORKPIECES

Background of the invention

The present invention relates to a workpiece handling and positioning system, a bundle of workpieces and a method of handling and positioning workpieces.

Description of the Related Art

Automated handling and packaging systems and processes are well known for the aim of obtaining workpieces and transporting them to the packaging device. An example of this is described in US 5,019,112.

Here a system for packing utensils is disclosed comprising means for obtaining the utensils and mobbing them to packaging means. The obtaining means includes end- effectors which seize the utensils which is stored in bins.

A well described method to selectively picking workpieces by a robot is to have the robot controlled by a vision system. One such system is described in EP 1 862 270.

It is furthermore known to combine the use a similar process of picking workpieces by a robot-controlled vision system with the feeding of work pieces by a feeding conveyor. An example of such system is described in EP 1 522 911.

One problem of the known art is that if for some reason the workpiece can not be identified and picked up by the robot, the workpiece must be either discarded or be re-cycled. Especially for the food industry, recycling is a major hygienic problem. It is an object of the present invention to provide an advantageous automated handling and packaging system and process without the above mentioned problems and especially with improved hygienic properties.

The invention

The present invention relates to a workpiece handling and positioning system comprising

- a loader prepared for holding said workpieces at one or more predefined pick-up areas, and

- one or more handling systems prepared for picking said workpieces individually from said predefined pick-up area and place the individual workpiece in a prepared container,

wherein

said loader is further prepared for releasing the said individual workpieces one by one so that the individual workpiece can be removed by said handling systems.

As the is picked by the one or more handling systems from a predefined pick-up area and the workpieces are only individually released one by one, an accurate and reliable handling of the workpieces is ensured.

It is further ensured that all the workpieces are picked the first time they are available for being picked which in turn ensures that workpieces are neither disposed nor "recycled" in the process of selecting and picking workpieces from a stack of workpieces. This ensures a high hygienic standard which is advantageous for the use within e.g. the food-industry. By the present invention it is furthermore ensured that the picking speed of the workpieces can be increased as a free workpiece is always available for the picker of the handling systems.

In one aspect of the invention, said handling system is an industrial robot. Hereby is it ensured that a suitable and wellknown technique is used. Furthermore industrial robots are easily re-configured which in turn is advantageous if the system is to be adapted to alternating processes or alternating workpieces.

In one aspect of the invention, said workpiece is a measuring spoon. The invention is particular advantageous for use within the nutrition and food-industri as the system ensures a high hygienic standard as the work-pieces e.g. a measuring spoon for measuring powdered milk, are not "re-cycled" one or more times for the purpose of it to be picked by e.g. a robot in the process of selecting and picking the spoon from a stack of spoons.

In another aspect of the invention said system further comprises one or more workpiece feeders prepared for receiving and transporting a plurality of workpieces to said loader. By using one or more feeders to supply workpieces to the loader it is ensured that the workpieces can be feed to the system at one or more locations away from the pick-up area. This is advantageous as there is handling activity in the pickup area and it is further advantageous for e.g. use in nutrition and food-industry in that the pick-up area is not "infected" by human interference.

In yet another aspect of the invention, said one or more workpiece feeders are prepared for receiving and transporting a stacked plurality of workpieces. By stacking the workpieces it is ensured that the space used for transporting and temporally storing the workpieces is significantly reduced compared to when they are randomly placed. In a further aspect of the invention, said stacked plurality of workpieces are received in bundles of a substantially equally number of workpieces. By stacking the workpieces in bundles it is ensured that the space used for transporting and temporally storing the workpieces is significantly reduced compared to when they are randomly placed. The invention is furthermore advantageous in that the space used for transport and storage before the workpieces are feed to the system is excessively decreased which in turn reduces transportation and storage costs.

In an even further aspect of the invention, said bundles of workpieces are held in place by a tied band. Hereby it is ensured that the workpieces are held correct in place in the bundle. Even further it is ensured that the workpieces can be stacked and bundled at locations external to the system and that the workpieces in the stack does not loose e.g. their orientation relative to each other which is advantageous when they are loaded to the said feeder.

In another aspect of the invention, said tied band is made of a polymer. Hereby it is ensured that the tied band is made of a strong material which easily holds the workpieces in the bundle.

In another aspect of the invention, said the number of workpieces in said bundles is in the range of 50 to 250 preferable in the range of 140 to 180 such as 160. Hereby it is ensured that an appropriate number of workpieces are stacked together in each bundle.

In yet another aspect of the invention, the system further comprises one or more magazines prepared for holding a plurality of said bundles of workpieces and for sequentially supplying the individual bundles of workpieces to said feeder. This is advantageous in that the system can be supplied with a high number of workpieces which automatically is supplied to the feeder without requiring continuously intervention of an operator. Hereby it is ensured that the system can be loaded an sufficiently amount of workpieces such as to operate for approximately 0.5 hours at a time.

In a further aspect of the invention, the magazine comprises means for detecting physical properties of the spoons, such as the orientation of the workpiece. This invention is advantageous e.g. in that it is ensured that workpieces are correctly located in the magazine, that the magazine is loaded with the correct workpieces, that the orientation of the workpieces in the magazine is correct etc. In general this aspect minimizes the risk of errors possible in the process of operating the magazine.

In an even further aspect of the invention, every second of the individual workpieces in said bundles of workpieces are oriented in a mirrored position in relation to the others with a part of the workpieces overlapping each others. This is advantageous in that, dependent of the physical outline of the workpiece, this alternating orientation results in that the total size of the bundle of workpieces is minimized in relation to no alternating orientation. It is furthermore ensured that, dependent on the loader, the workpieces are correctly oriented to fit the loader, if this loader requires so.

In another aspect of the invention, the said plurality of workpieces forms an endless stack of workpieces.

In yet another aspect of the invention said loader comprises one or more workpiece holders adapted for applying pressure on the end-workpiece of said stack of workpieces. Hereby it is ensured that the workpieces in the loader are held in the correct position until it is released by the loader. By applying a constant pressure on the stack of workpieces it is further ensured that the stack does not get "disconnected" so that disorientation of single workpieces can occur.

In a further aspect of the invention, the said feeder comprises means for detecting physical properties of the workpieces in the feeder, such as the colour of the workpiece. This is advantageous e.g. in that it is ensured that workpieces are correctly located in the feeder, that the feeder is loaded with the correct workpieces, that the orientation of the workpieces in the feeder is correct etc. In general this aspect minimizes the risk of errors possible in the process of operating the feeder.

In a further aspect of the invention, the system comprises a conveyor adapted to holding said prepared containers. Holding the prepared containers is advantageous in that the exact position of the containers is known.

In an even further aspect of the invention said conveyor comprises holding means such as magnets so that the prepared containers are maintained in position when passing the said handling systems. Hereby it is ensured that the exact position of every container is known which is crucial in order for the handling system to correctly position the workpiece in the container.

In another aspect of the invention, said holding means are located underneath the conveyor.

In yet another aspect of the invention, said workpieces are received at the said loader in a predefined spatial orientation. Hereby it is ensured that the exact position and orientation of the workpieces is known which is crucial for ensuring a secure pick-up of the workpiece.

The invention also relates to a bundle of workpieces adapted to be used in a workpiece handling and positioning system.

In one aspect of the invention said workpiece is a measuring spoon.

In another aspect of the invention said bundles of workpieces are held in place by a tied band. Hereby it is ensured that the workpieces are held correct in place in the bundle. Even further it is ensured that the workpieces can be stacked and bundled at locations external to the system and that the workpieces in the stack does not loose e.g. their orientation relative to each other which is advantageous when they are loaded to the said feeder.

In yet another aspect of the invention, said tied band is made of a polymer. Hereby it is ensured that the tied band is made of a strong material which easily holds the workpieces in the bundle.

In a further aspect of the invention, the number of workpieces in said bundle is in the range of 50 to 250 preferable in the range of 140 to 180 such as 160. Hereby it is ensured that an appropriate number of workpieces are stacked together in each bundle.

In an even further aspect of the invention, every second of the individual workpieces in the bundle is oriented in a mirrored position in relation to the others with a part of the workpieces overlapping each others. This is advantageous in that, dependent of the physical outline of the workpiece, this alternating orientation results in that the total size of the bundle of workpieces is minimized in relation to no alternating orientation. It is furthermore ensured that, dependent on the loader of the system in which the workpieces are used, the workpieces are correctly oriented to fit the loader, if this loader requires so.

The invention also relates to a method of handling and positioning workpieces, said method comprising the steps of:

- holding said workpieces at one or more predefined pick-up areas,

- releasing the said workpieces one by one,

- picking said released workpieces individually from said predefined pick-up areas, and - placing the said individual workpieces in a prepared container.

This method of handling and positioning workpieces is advantageous in that it ensures in an exact and fast procedure for placing individual workpieces in a prepared container.

The method is especially advantageous in that it ensures only one workpiece is released in the pick-up area at a time and in that this workpiece is removed from the pick-up area before the next workpiece is released.

In one aspect of the invention said workpiece is a measuring spoon. This method is advantageous in that for use within the nutrition and food-industri, the system ensures a high hygienic standard as the work-pieces e.g. said measuring spoon for e.g. measuring powdered milk, are not "re-cycled" one or more times for the purpose of it to be picked by e.g. a robot in the process of selecting and picking the spoon from a stack of spoons.

In one aspect of the invention the method further comprises the step of receiving and transporting a stacked plurality of workpieces to one or more loaders prepared for holding said workpieces at said one or more predefined pick-up areas. By supplying workpieces to the loader it is ensured that the workpieces can be feed to the system at one or more locations away from the pick-up area. This is advantageous as there is handling activity in the pick-up area and it is further advantageous for e.g. use in nutrition and food-industry in that the pick-up area is not "infected" by human interference.

In another aspect of the invention said stacked plurality of workpieces are received in bundles of a substantially equally number of workpieces. By stacking the workpieces in bundles it is ensured that the space used for said transporting and temporally storing the workpieces is significantly reduced compared to when they are randomly placed. The method is furthermore advantageous in that the space used for transport and storage before the workpieces are feed to the system is excessively decreased which in turn reduces transportation and storage costs.

In yet another aspect of the invention said bundles of workpieces are held in place by a tied band. Hereby it is ensured that the workpieces are held correct in place in the bundle. Even further it is ensured that the workpieces can be stacked and bundled at locations external to the system and that the workpieces in the stack does not loose e.g. their orientation relative to each other which is advantageous when they are loaded to the said feeder.

In a further aspect of the invention the method further comprises the step of removing the said tied band. Hereby it is ensured that the workpieces are released so that they individually can be picked by the handling system at the loader in the pickup area.

In another aspect of the invention the number of workpieces in said bundles is in the range of 50 to 250 preferable in the range of 140 to 180 such as 160.

In yet another aspect of the invention the system further comprises one or more magazines prepared for holding a plurality of said bundles of workpieces and are sequentially supplying the individual bundles of workpieces to said feeder. This is advantageous in that the system can be supplied with a high number of workpieces which automatically is supplied to the feeder without requiring continuously intervention of an operator. Hereby it is ensured that the system can be loaded an sufficiently amount of workpieces such as to operate for approximately 0.5 hours at a time.

In a further aspect of the invention the method further comprises the step of detecting physical properties of the spoons in the magazine, such as the orientation of the workpiece. This method is advantageous e.g. in that it is ensured that workpieces are correctly located in the magazine, that the magazine is loaded with the correct workpieces, that the orientation of the workpieces in the magazine is correct etc. In general this aspect minimizes the risk of errors possible in the process of operating the magazine.

In an even further aspect of the invention every second of the individual workpieces in said bundles of workpieces are oriented in a mirrored position in relation to the others with a part of the workpieces overlapping each others. This is advantageous in that, dependent of the physical outline of the workpiece, this alternating orientation results in that the total size of the bundle of workpieces is minimized in relation to no alternating orientation. It is furthermore ensured that, dependent on the loader, the workpieces are correctly oriented to fit the loader, if this loader requires so.

In another aspect of the invention the method further comprises the step of applying pressure on the end-workpiece of said stack of workpieces in said loader by one or more workpiece holders. This is advantageous in that the stack of workpieces is held in place in the loader and only released one by one when required by the process. It is further ensued that the stack does not get "disconnected" so that disorientation of single workpieces can occur.

In yet another aspect of the invention the method further comprises the step of detecting physical properties of the workpiece in the feeder, such as the colour of the workpiece in said feeder. This is advantageous e.g. in that it is ensured that workpieces are correctly located in the feeder, that the feeder is loaded with the correct workpieces, that the orientation of the workpieces in the feeder is correct etc. In general this aspect minimizes the risk of errors possible in the process of operating the feeder.

In a further aspect of the invention the method further comprises the step of to holding said prepared containers on a conveyor. Holding the prepared containers is advantageous in that the exact position of the containers is known. In an even further aspect of the invention said conveyor comprises holding means such as magnets so that the prepared containers are maintained in position when passing the said handling systems. Hereby it is ensured that the exact position of every container is known which is crucial in order for the handling system to correctly position the workpiece in the container.

In another aspect of the invention the method comprises the step of receiving said workpieces at the said loader in a predefined spatial orientation. Hereby it is ensured that the exact position and orientation of the workpieces is known which is crucial for ensuring a secure pick-up of the workpiece.

Figures

The invention will be described in the following with reference to the figures in which

fig. 1 a illustrates schematically the main components of an automated handling and packaging system from a side view according to one embodiment of the present invention,

fig. Ib illustrates schematically the main components of an automated handling and packaging system from a top-view according to one embodiment of the present invention,

fig. 2 illustrates schematically a container with separated chambers prepared to be used with the present invention,

fig. 3 a illustrates schematically a bundle of measuring spoons according to various embodiments of the present invention, fig. 3b illustrates schematically a bundle of measuring spoons held in place by a tied band according to various embodiments of the present invention,

fig. 4a illustrates schematically a measuring spoon correctly sited in a suitable container as seen from a perspective according to various embodiments of the invention,

fig. 4b illustrates schematically a measuring spoon correctly sited in a suitable container as seen from a side view according to various embodiments of the invention,

fig. 4c illustrates schematically a measuring spoon in-correctly sited with the spoon-handle placed on the rim of a suitable container according to various embodiments of the invention,

fig. 4d illustrates schematically a measuring spoon in-correctly sited in a suitable bin, the spoon lying on its one side according to various embodiments of the invention,

fig. 5 a illustrates schematically one embodiment of a loader according to the present invention as seen from a top view, and

fig. 5b illustrates schematically one embodiment of a loader according to the present invention as seen from a side view.

Detailed description of the invention

Within the food industry, conventionally a plurality of robots are arranged along a feeding line of a conveyor where work pieces such as measuring spoons are moved from one feeding conveyor carrying the spoons from a bin of spoons to another conveyor carrying e.g. rows of containers and where the robots are carefully placing the spoons in the correct position in the containers.

The robots can take the spoons e.g. by gripping or sucking the spoons conveyed by the feeding conveyor supported by a visual camera system facilitating pattern recognition of the spoons on the feeding conveyor. The processing of the visual camera signals ensures that only correctly and freely positioned spoons are gripped and not spoons which are physically overlapping or spoons which are positioned edgewise on the conveyor.

This method of handling work pieces has the drawback that in the process when the work pieces are fed from the bin to the feeding conveyor, the work pieces are being more or less random positioned on the conveyor and the exact positioning is not known. This has the drawback that in order to ensure that the visual camera guided robots are gripping a work piece every time they attempt to do so, only correctly and freely positioned work pieces can be gripped.

If e.g. two work pieces are overlapping on the feeding conveyor it is very difficult to process from the camera images, which work piece is on top and which is below the other. Therefore if the robot tries to grip one of the work pieces, it might grip the lower and the upper will thereby be pushed to another (uncontrollable) position.

Consequently for various embodiments of known art, the spoons which are not correctly and freely positioned on the conveyor are transported back to the bin and re-fed from the bin to the feeding conveyor. In this way the single spoon can easily be circulated a plurality of times which constitute a hygienic problem.

Fig. Ia illustrates schematically the main components of an automated handling and packaging system according to one embodiment of the present invention as seen from a side view. Fig. Ib illustrates schematically the main components of an automated handling and packaging system according to one embodiment of the present invention as seen from a top-view.

For these embodiments the work piece to be handled is a spoon. Furthermore in general for the description and for the purpose of clarification, the specific group of industrial robots are used in the description as a representative of various suitable handling systems according to embodiments of the invention. Other suitable handling systems could e.g. be servo systems.

A specialized container is provided which is divided into at least two separated chambers i.e. one closed chamber for holding e.g. nutrition and another chamber prepared for receiving and storing a measuring spoon according to the present invention. Fig. 2 illustrates schematically one embodiment of such a container with separated chambers.

In general for the embodiments of the present invention as illustrated in figs. Ia and b, a magazine 1 holds bundled spoons 2 which are prepared for being supplied to a feeder 3 via a conveyor 9. The feeder 3 has the function of supplying the spoons to loader 4 from where a robot 5 picks individual spoons one at a time by pickup means 6 and moves the picked spoon to a specific container 7 passing the robot on a container conveyor 8. When the spoon has been correctly placed in the container 7, the spoon is released from pickup means 6 and the container is moved further forward on the conveyor 8. For various embodiments of the invention, the containers passing the robot may form a split lane so as to adapt the number of containers passing the robot to the maximum picking speed of the robot.

Bundled spoons and magazine:

As previously mentioned one of the disadvantages of known art is that the work pieces are fed to be picked up by the robots in a somewhat random way as they are simply poured from a bin to the feeding conveyor. For various embodiments of the present invention the spoons are fed to the system in an arranged way such as in bundles as illustrated in fig. 3a. Each bundle comprises a plurality of spoons such as 160 spoons and the spoons in the bundle may for various embodiments be held in place by a tied band 14 as illustrated in fig. 3b.

The spoons are designed in a way that they are easily separated from each other even if they are stacked i.e. the friction between the stacked spoons is very low.

For various embodiments the spoons may be stacked with alternating orientation i.e. with overlapping handles but for every second spoon in the bundle with the spoon- cup arranged opposite to each other. Consequently a bundle height is defined by height of handle (height of handle x number of spoons + 1 cup height)

The tied band 14 may be made of various materials for different embodiments of the invention, such as a Polymer, paper etc.

For various embodiments of the invention, a magazine 1 holds a plurality of bundles of spoons 2. The function of the magazine 1 is to supply the bundled spoons to a feeder 3 via a conveyor 9 by an automated process. An operator can feed the magazine 1 with a plurality of bundles of spoons 2 which in turn is delivered to the feeder 3 when required. The magazine 1 may be prepared to hold e.g. 28 bundles and the system may comprise more than one magazine. Hereby the system can be loaded with such an amount of spoons that one operator can operate more than one machine at a time without the machines runs out of spoons.

For various embodiments of the invention, the magazine comprises means for detecting physical properties of the spoons in the feeder, such as size of the measuring spoons, colour, material, orientation etc. so as to ensure that the magazine is loaded with the correct bundle of spoons and that the bundle is correctly oriented and to detect further possible errors of the person loading the magazine with bundle of spoons.

Feeder: The feeder 3 has the function of supplying spoons to loader 4 i.e. to transport the spoons from a storage area to a robot near area. For various embodiments of the invention, the feeder 3 receives bundled spoons 2 held in a tied band 14.

Within the feeder the received bundles of spoons are concatenated end-to-end so as to form an endless stack of spoons. Furthermore the endless stack of spoons is moved towards the loader with a speed that fits the speed at which they are removed from the loader.

For one embodiment e.g. as illustrated in fig. Ia and Ib, the feeder takes a curved path that facilitates that the spoons are feed to the loader from below the space in which the one or more robots are operating.

For the embodiments where the feeder receives bundles with a tied band, the band must be removed from the bundle before spoons reaches the loader 4. This is done by means that cuts the band and removes it e.g. by vacuum or by mechanical removal. These means are not illustrated on the figures.

For various embodiments of the invention, the system comprises more than one of said feeder and/or more than magazine e.g. as to feed more than one loader.

For various embodiments of the invention, the feeder comprises means for detecting physical properties of the spoons in the feeder, such as size of the measuring spoons, colour, material etc. so as to ensure that the feeder is loaded with the correct spoons and to detect possible errors of the person loading the magazine with bundle of spoons. Robot:

For various embodiments of the invention, the number of robots provided for the process of picking individual spoons one at a time by pickup means and moving the picked spoons to specific containers passing the robot on a container conveyor may be more than one.

For various embodiments the capacity of each of the one or more robots are up to approx. 80 transfers of spoons per minute. This implies that if two robots pick spoons from the same loader, the loader must be fed with up to 160 spoons/min.

However if more that two robots are placed to pick from the same loader, the robots must, at least partly, operate within the same physical space and if collision may occur. Consequently this must be taken into account when programming the robots e.g. by implementing pause sequences in the robots operating sequences, or slow down their speed of movement. This in turn may introduce a limiting parameter on the capacity of the system.

For various embodiments of the invention the containers on the conveyor are continuously passing the one or more robots while the said one or more robots move the picked spoons to a specific container. In order to improve the proficiency of the system, the said one or more robots may be programmed to follow the movement of the container on the conveyor.

Loader: The feeder 3 supplies spoons to loader 4 from where one or more robots 5 pick individual spoons one at a time.

The loader has the function to hold the spoons accurately in a well defined position so that the robot with its pick-up means securely can pick a single spoon every time it intents to. One embodiment of such loader according to the present invention is schematically illustrated from a top and side view in figs. 5a and 5b respectively.

The spoons received from the feeder are held in position by guides 16 and spoon holders 15. For the illustrated embodiment, the loader comprises two spoon holders

15 which have the function of holding in position the stack of spoons and at the same time enabling one spoon at the time to be picked. The spoon holders 15 alternates between two positions: A holding position where it is placed over the cups of the spoons, and an open position where it is away from the spoons. The two spoon holders illustrated in the figure always takes opposite positions. When the spoon holder takes an open position, it allows the next spoon in the stack to be picked.

For various embodiments of the invention, in order to ensure that the spoons are kept in place even after the respective spoon holder have moved to its open position, the spoons may be held in place by e.g. a passive spoon shaft holder 17. For the present embodiment each spoon shaft holder is made of two rods which are crossed such as illustrated in the figure. The weight, and for other embodiments also an acting feather, is relatively slightly pressing on the shaft of the free spoon on the top of the stack. When the spoon is picked, the force with which it is removed from the stack by the robot, overcomes the holding force from the spoon shaft holder.

For various embodiments of the invention, the system is installed with more than one loader.

Pickup/move:

The free spoon in the stack of spoons is picked up by pickup means 6 positioned on the distal end of the robot arm. For various embodiments of the invention, the spoon can be picked by a jaw, by suction or the like. By picking up the spoons from the loader it is ensured that the exact position and orientation of the spoon in the pickup means is known. This is very essential as the spoon must be accurately positioned in the container.

Furthermore the exact position of the container on the conveyor must be known. Therefore, for various embodiments of the invention, the system may comprise means for detecting the position of the container on the conveyor, such as photo cells, camera system etc. Information of the exact position of the container on the conveyor may be provided for the control of the robot which is selected to position a spoon in the container.

Even further in order to ensure that the position of the container is not altered from the above detection of position to the time where a spoon is to be positioned in the container, holding means such as magnets, jaws etc. may be used to maintain the container in position. The magnets may be passive or active (e.g. electromagnets) and may be positioned underneath the conveyor.

Figs. 4a and 4b illustrate a spoon correctly positioned in the container. Figs. 4c and 4d respectively illustrate two in-correctly positioned spoons in containers.

List

1. Magazine

2. Bundled spoons 3. Feeder for loader

4. Loader

5. Robot

6. Pickup means

7. Container 8. Container conveyor

9. Bundled spoons conveyor

10. Measuring spoon

11. Nutrition chamber of container

12. Spoon storage chamber of container 13. Separation foil

14. Tied band

15. Spoon holder

16. Guide

17. Spoon shaft holder

Claims

1. A workpiece handling and positioning system comprising

wherein

2. A workpiece handling and positjoning system according to claim 1, wherein said handling system is an industrial robot.

3. A workpiece handling and positioning system according to any of claims 1 or 2, wherein said workpiece is a measuring spoon.

4. A workpiece handling and positioning system according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein said system further comprises one or more workpiece feeders prepared for receiving and transporting a plurality of workpieces to said loader.

5. A workpiece handling and positioning system according to claim 4, wherein the said one or more workpiece feeders are prepared for receiving and transporting a stacked plurality of workpieces.

6. A workpiece handling and positioning system according to claim 5, wherein said stacked plurality of workpieces are received in bundles of a substantially equally number of workpieces.

7. A workpiece handling and positioning system according to claim 6, wherein said bundles of workpieces are held in place by a tied band.

8. A workpiece handling and positioning system according to claim 7, wherein said tied band is made of a polymer.

9. A workpiece handling and positioning system according to any of claims 6 to 8, wherein said the number of workpieces in said bundles is in the range of 50 to 250 preferable in the range of 140 to 180 such as 160.

10. A workpiece handling and positioning system according to any of the preceding claims 6 to 9, wherein the system further comprises one or more magazines prepared for holding a plurality of said bundles of workpieces and for sequentially supplying the individual bundles of workpieces to said feeder.

11. A workpiece handling and positioning system according to claim 10, wherein the magazine comprises means for detecting physical properties of the spoons, such as the orientation of the workpiece.

12. A workpiece handling and positioning system according to any of the preceding claims 6 to 11, wherein every second of the individual workpieces in said bundles of workpieces are oriented in a mirrored position in relation to the others with a part of the workpieces overlapping each others.

13. A workpiece handling and positioning system according to any of the preceding claims 1 to 12, wherein the said plurality of workpieces forms an endless stack of workpieces.

14. A workpiece handling and positioning system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said loader comprises one or more workpiece holders adapted for applying pressure on the end- workpiece of said stack of workpieces.

15. A workpiece handling and positioning system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the said feeder comprises means for detecting physical properties of the workpiece in the feeder, such as the colour of the workpiece.

16. A workpiece handling and positioning system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the system comprises a conveyor adapted to holding said prepared containers.

17. A workpiece handling and positioning system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said conveyor comprises holding means such as magnets so that the prepared containers are maintained in position when passing the said handling systems.

18. A workpiece handling and positioning system according to claim 17, wherein said holding means are located underneath the conveyor.

19. A workpiece handling and positioning system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said workpieces are received at the said loader in a predefined spatial orientation.

20. A bundle of workpieces adapted to be used in a workpiece handling and positioning system according to claims 1 to 19.

21. A bundle of workpieces according to claim 20, wherein said workpiece is a measuring spoon.

22. A bundle of workpieces according to any of claims 20 or 21, wherein said bundles of workpieces are held in place by a tied band.

23. A bundle of workpieces according to claim 22, wherein said tied band is made of a polymer.

24. A bundle of workpieces according to any of claims 20 to 23, wherein the number of workpieces in said bundle is in the range of 50 to 250 preferable in the range of 140 to 180 such as 160.

25. A bundle of workpieces according to any of claims 20 to 24, wherein every second of the individual workpieces in the bundle is oriented in a mirrored position in relation to the others with a part of the workpieces overlapping each others. ,

26. A method of handling and positioning workpieces, said method comprising the steps of:

- holding said workpieces at one or more predefined pick-up areas,

- releasing the said workpieces one by one,

- picking said released workpieces individually from said predefined pick-up areas, and

- placing the said individual workpieces in a prepared container.

27. A method of handling and positioning workpieces according to claim 26, wherein said workpiece is a measuring spoon.

28, A method according to any of claims 26 or 27, wherein the method further comprises the step of receiving and transporting a stacked plurality of workpieces to one or more loaders prepared for holding said workpieces at said one or more predefined pick-up areas.

29. A method according to any of the preceding claims 26 to 28, wherein said stacked plurality of workpieces are received in bundles of a substantially equally number of workpieces.

30. A method according to any of the preceding claims 26 to 29, wherein said bundles of workpieces are held in place by a tied band.

31. A method according to any of the preceding claims 26 to 30, wherein the method further comprises the step of removing the said tied band.

32. A method according to any of the preceding claims 26 to 31, wherein the number of workpieces in said bundles is in the range of 50 to 250 preferable in the range of

140 to 180 such as 160.

33. A method according to any of the preceding claims 26 to 32, wherein the system further comprises one or more magazines prepared for holding a plurality of said bundles of workpieces and is sequentially supplying the individual bundles of workpieces to said feeder.

34. A method according to any of the preceding claims 26 to 33, wherein the method further comprises the step of detecting physical properties of the spoons in the magazine, such as the orientation of the workpiece.

35. A method according to any of the preceding claims 26 to 34, wherein every second of the individual workpieces in said bundles of workpieces are oriented in a mirrored position in relation to the others with a part of the workpieces overlapping each others.

36. A method according to any of the preceding claims 26 to 35, wherein the method further comprises the step of applying pressure on the end-spoon of said stack of spoons in said loader by one or more spoon holders.

37 A method according to any of the preceding claims 26 to 36, wherein the method further comprises the step of detecting physical properties of the spoons in the feeder, such as the colour of the workpiece in said feeder.

38. A method according to any of the preceding claims 26 to 37, wherein the method further comprises the step of to holding said prepared containers on a conveyor.

39. A method according to claim 38, wherein said conveyor comprises holding means such as magnets so that the prepared containers are maintained in position when passing the said handling systems.

40. A method according to any of the preceding claims 26 to 39, wherein the method comprises the step of receiving said workpieces at the said loader in a predefined spatial orientation.