WO2022184734A1

WO2022184734A1 - Method for separating and transferring preliminary products, and apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2022184734A1
Application number: PCT/EP2022/055195
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andreas Ecker; Julian Burmeister
Original assignee: Rsg Verwaltungs Gmbh
Priority date: 2021-03-01
Filing date: 2022-03-01
Publication date: 2022-09-09
Also published as: DE102021104900A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for separating preliminary products and transferring them from a supply store, e.g. for the defined transfer of a preliminary product for subsequent installation in a more complex unit, and to a corresponding apparatus for implementing such a method. In order for a method of the aforementioned type to be developed such that, along with efficiency being increased, it is possible to realize a high degree of flexibility in respect of the preliminary products to be processed and in addition, along with being of a simple and low-maintenance construction, it is possible to use comparatively inexpensive components, it is proposed that at least one preliminary product should be ejected via a surface (4) of the belt conveyor (11), on the conveying belt (11a) of which a predefined region, forming part of the surface (4), is monitored by a camera system (6), by means of image recognition, to check that a preliminary product is located correctly as an acceptable item, and preliminary products which are not identified as being acceptable items should be conveyed back into the supply store (2, 2a, 2b) by the belt conveyor (11).

Description

Separation and transfer method for pre-products and device

The present invention relates to a separation and transfer method for pre-products from a storage facility, e.g. for the defined transfer of a pre-product for subsequent installation in a more complex unit, and a corresponding device for implementing such a method.

Various approaches for methods and devices for separating and transferring primary products as automated stations within a material flow of a production facility are known from the prior art, through which the relevant primary products are removed from a storage facility in a defined manner for subsequent installation or other further use within half of a more complex manufacturing process. Pre-products are taken from the store and usually handed over individually in a defined alignment and positioning and transferred in a defined way at an interface to a downstream device. Known approaches use continuous conveyors, such as vibrating, vibrating or drum conveyors, with connected sorting rail systems. Such devices lead the primary products in an ascending ramp or spiral path, with the constantly changing shape of a continuously ascending rail guide all parts fall back into a storage memory that are at least incorrectly aligned.

Alternatively, for the discontinuous promotion and transfer of preliminary products, 3D video systems with image recognition devices are used today to control at least one gripper arm that can be rotated very flexibly around several axes. Using this gripper arm, individual pre-products are then specifically removed from a storage facility and turned into a specified orientation and position. In less expensive devices, several precursors are arranged on a plate in such a way that they are shaken to new positions within a boundary by short pulses or take positions. Between these impulses, this plate is monitored by a 2D or, in the case of complex preliminary products, even a 3D video system in order to find correctly positioned preliminary products, which are then specifically removed by the gripper arm.

The disadvantages of these systems mentioned above by way of example lie either in their complex adaptation to a respective preliminary product, in a possible entanglement of several preliminary products with one another and/or in the still very high costs.

Preliminary products can be individual parts, but also assemblies. In the case of assemblies, preliminary products are of particular interest if they are a combination of metal, plastic and textile parts, in particular a metal fitting and/or a plastic part with a flexible material section fixed to it. In addition to several pre-products getting caught, in the case of assemblies of the type mentioned as an example, belt sections, for example, can also become tangled, entangled or even knotted. Nevertheless, it is customary and desirable for reasons of cost to also deliver such preliminary products as bulk material to a storage facility in an unordered manner.

DE 102012 020 981 A1 discloses a method and a system for separating small parts, in which small parts are removed as bulk material from a storage container and dropped onto a storage area for their separation. Small parts lying correctly on the storage area are then recognized by an image acquisition and evaluation device, removed from the storage area by a robot and transferred to a magazine.

It is the object of the present invention to develop a method of the type mentioned in such a way that with increased efficiency a high degree of flexibility with regard to the primary products to be processed can be realized with a simple and low-maintenance structure using comparatively inexpensive components.

This object is achieved by the features of claim 1. A separation and transfer procedure for Pre-products in which at least one pre-product is taken from a storage facility and thrown over an area, a correctly positioned pre-product is recognized as a good part by a camera system using image recognition, a good part is removed by a gripper and set down in a defined manner, and as soon as no good part is detected and/or, upon a corresponding request, any remaining preliminary products are conveyed back to the store, is therefore characterized in that at least one preliminary product is dropped over a surface of a belt conveyor, on the conveyor belt of which a predetermined area forms part of the area is monitored by a camera system using image recognition for a correctly positioned pre-product as a good part, and the belt conveyor does not return pre-products recognized as good parts to the store.

Advantageously, the number of primary products taken from a store in the first method step is arbitrary within wide limits, as long as at least one of the primary products is dropped onto the conveyor belt of the belt conveyor. A scattering area has been enlarged and can be easily controlled in the form of a belt conveyor in order to analyze successive sections of scattered primary products and to transport all primary products that were not recognized as good parts back to the store.

A further advantage of a method according to the invention lies in the fact that the removed preliminary products are dropped or scattered over a predetermined area. This means that these preliminary products can also become untangled from one another or can also be released from mutual entanglements without damage to the preliminary products occurring.

Finally, a single image of the predetermined area is required, as well as its analysis by means of image recognition, in order to reliably localize all the pre-products that are correctly positioned as good parts, which are then subsequently removed individually from the predetermined area. All other preliminary products are transported back to the storage facility before being subsequently removed and discarded again. A renewed removal from the pantry memory with subsequent discarding has a variety of pre-products in terms of untangling and/or resolving mutual entanglements as faster and more effective than the use of vibrating tables, especially when used to enrich pre-products with at least one limp section, i.e. for example pre-products each with at least one thread or tape - or belt section.

A method according to the invention prepares a restart itself in that any remaining pre-products are transported back to the supply store as soon as no pre-product or good part recognized as being correctly positioned can be detected in the predetermined area. Alternatively or additionally, this step can also be carried out upon a corresponding request, in particular when a predetermined number of good parts has been reached. In any case, a clear and defined start scenario is achieved again and the process can be restarted.

Furthermore, with regard to the flexibility of a method according to the invention, it is very advantageous that, after a method run, at least one preliminary product does not necessarily have to be removed again from the same reservoir. As soon as all remaining primary products have been transported back to the associated supply store, other and different primary products can also be successively handed over individually and sorted as well as defined in a defined manner according to a method described above. For this purpose, with basically the same process sequence on the same device, it is only necessary to use a corresponding number of reservoirs with a single removal system and camera systems with image recognition that has been trained accordingly. Advantageously, a predetermined area or area for the scattered dropping of the respective at least one preliminary product can be used jointly over a number of different preliminary products in just one device.

Advantageous developments are the subject of the subclaims. Accordingly, the discharge is carried out at least over the area on the belt conveyor with the aim of scattering the extracted pre-products controlled. This counteracts the formation of a heap of meh eral precursors in a small section of the predetermined area, wherein the shedding can help to solve Ver hooking and to unravel several precursors. Overall, this separation simplifies image recognition, as does a subsequent removal of individual pre-products lying correctly oriented as so-called good parts.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one preliminary product is removed from the store using a gripper, preferably a mechanical or magnetic gripper. But also a suction gripper or the like can be used. A mechanical opening can be controlled just as slowly with the above-mentioned goal of a scattered dropping of removed preliminary products over the predetermined area as a decreasing excitation current of an electromagnetic gripper or a decreasing suction flow of a suction gripper.

Preferably, a predetermined area is used for a scattering and thus separating dropping of the preliminary products in a flat and horizontally lying surface. This means that once the preliminary products are in place, they can hardly change their location and position to be examined. Targeted removal is also easily possible after evaluating an image from the camera using connected pattern recognition or other image processing.

In one embodiment of the invention, a gripper with a two-axis arm is used to remove a good part from the predetermined area. This is a simple, quick and inexpensive solution. In a further development, this gripper is used on a rotatable two-axis arm, so that it serves several predetermined areas under the control of several camera systems with respective image recognition or several sections of a predetermined area one after the other, in particular after a shift. Depending on the application, more than just one type of pre-product can be used in a number for subsequent processing steps in one required chronological order in a defined manner.

As will be illustrated below with the aid of a graphic representation of the drawing, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, different types of pre-products are provided in separate stores, these stores being e.g and separating a respective preliminary product from the respective storage facility, a predetermined area with an image recognition trained on a respective preliminary product and a gripper for recognized good parts are positioned. If a respective number of a respective preliminary product has been identified and removed from the predetermined area by the good part gripper, any remaining preliminary products are conveyed back to the associated store. According to a specification, a new store is positioned in such a way that the gripper for removing and separating the pre-product that has now been selected can work from the relevant store. The previously trained image recognition is loaded accordingly so that the gripper for recognized good parts is operated until a predefined number of good parts is reached again. Any remaining pre-products are then returned to the associated storage facility, and the process starts again with the shifting and positioning of the storage facility that is then determined.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the primary products scattered on the conveyor belt of the belt conveyor are aligned using a brush.

A pre-product removed by the gripper as a good part is preferably subjected to a quality check before it is positioned at a transfer position (8).

Furthermore, a device for implementing a method according to one of the preceding features is a solution to the task initially formulated, the device comprising the following elements: • a removal device for removing at least one preliminary product from a store, which is designed to be thrown over a surface,

• a camera system with image recognition that is designed to monitor the predetermined area for the presence of a correctly positioned preliminary product,

• a selection means for selectively removing a preliminary product that has been recognized as lying correctly from the area and

• a return device, which is designed to return any preliminary products that have remained on the surface to the store, preferably directly, and

• the device is further characterized in that a surface of a belt conveyor is provided as part of the surface that can be monitored by a camera system using image recognition for a correctly positioned pre-product as a good part and the belt conveyor is designed as a return conveyor device.

The removal device and the selection means are preferably formed together as only one at least three-axis gripper whose position within the entire device is optimized with short distances to all accessible positions.

In one embodiment of the invention, at least one brush is provided above the transport belt of the belt conveyor, which brush is designed to align the scattered primary products, preferably as a rotating brush with a particularly controllable direction of rotation.

A modified area is preferably formed as a chute or inclined ramp, or by an additional, preceding endless conveyor, which is designed to turn over the primary products before they lie on the conveyor belt.

A removal device, an area formed as a predetermined area on a conveyor belt of an endless conveyor, as well as a selection means for the targeted gripping of recognized pre-products in the sense of good parts are advantageously comparably simple components. A camera system that detects the predetermined area using image recognition correctly positioned preliminary product or good part has been known to the expert for a long time and is also available today in different designs on the market. Thus, a device according to the invention is made up of very simple and reliable parts and technical components and increases its efficiency compared to known methods and devices in that preliminary products have to be tracked and discarded comparatively less frequently from the storage and through the use of a Conveyor belt transport in de defined steps and in both directions is possible.

Further features and advantages of inventive ßer embodiments are explained in more detail with reference to a game Ausführungsbei based on the drawing. It shows in a schematic representation:

FIG. 1: a side view of a first exemplary embodiment of a device;

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the exemplary embodiment from FIG. 1 modified for the use of a plurality of reservoirs in a linear arrangement;

FIG. 3: a plan view of a further exemplary embodiment using a plurality of reservoirs; FIG. 4: a plan view of a further exemplary embodiment using a plurality of sorting lines, each with a storage facility for supplying various different types of primary products, each in larger numbers;

FIG. 5: a plan view of a further embodiment, with a modification of the embodiment of FIG. 4, with recourse to the embodiment of FIG. 1;

Figures 6a and 6b: a three-dimensional view and a side view of a further embodiment as a further development of the embodiment of Figure 1 and Figures 7a and 7b:

Side view of further embodiments as a further development of the embodiment of Figure 1. The same reference numbers are always used for the same elements and method steps throughout the various figures. In the following, without restricting the inventions, only an adaptation of a method according to the invention to pourable preliminary products is shown and described, whereby these can be made up of one part, but also of several parts or of several components.

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a first exemplary embodiment of a device 1 for separating and sorting primary products (not shown) from a store 2, as is required in particular for delivery for subsequent installation in a more complex unit as part of an automated manufacturing process.

The device 1 described below implements a method comprising the following steps:

1. Reaching into the reservoir 2 and removal of at least one preliminary product by means of a gripper 3 movable in at least two axes;

2. Separation of gripped preliminary products over a predetermined area or area 4 as a dropping area;

3. Image evaluation of a section 5 from the area 4 by means of an image evaluation connected to a camera 6;

4. Control of a gripper 7 for removing a good part with its defined transfer or storage in a transfer position 8;

5. Emptying the area 4 with the return of any intermediate products remaining in the predetermined area directly into the storage container 2. Above at least one product was dropped over an area 4 formed on a conveyor belt 11 of an endless conveyor in the form of a belt conveyor 12 . In this case, a section 5 as part of the surface 4 is monitored by the camera system 6 by means of image recognition for a correctly positioned preliminary product as a good part. And the belt conveyor 12 conveys all the preliminary products that have not been recognized as good parts back into the storage 2. After step 5, step 1 is followed by a restart of the process. Even if, for example, more than 90% of the primary products dropped in area 4 are not positioned as good parts, these primary products are also moved against one another with sufficient force when being returned to storage memory 2, so that these primary products are also untangled from one another when they are removed again and unhooked as a good part in area 4 come to rest, can be recognized and removed.

The process described above is now extended by repeating step 4 so that, among other things, a specified number of required good parts of a specific pre-product is reached. Then an emptying of the surface 4 described above by the belt conveyor 12 can also be triggered by a system signal.

Figure 2 shows a plan view of an embodiment of the first exemplary embodiment with a modification for a sequential use of several storage stores 2, 2a, 2b and enables different preliminary products to be served in one and the same device 1 according to Figure 1. These several storage stores 2 , 2a, 2b can be slidably positioned at a removal position 10 on a rail 9 in a linear arrangement. A respective positioning of one of the reservoirs 2, 2a,

2b at the removal position 10 takes place according to the specification via a higher-level controller, not shown, according to the measure that is required at least once from various pre-products in a next production step or is to be specifically stocked in the transfer position 8. Accordingly, after step 5, with an emptying of the area 4 with return of any intermediate products that may have remained in the area 4 into the storage container 2 used here in the method, a displacement of the storage containers 2, 2a, 2b is carried out until a predetermined intermediate product in the context of a restart of the procedure described.

After step 5, step 6 follows: moving the storage containers 2, 2a, 2b in a row linearly to the extent that a specific preliminary product is now required in a predetermined position quantity can be removed. With a "new" reservoir 2a or 2b, a corresponding reloading of the recognition pattern in the image or pattern recognition connected to the camera 6 and a new specification of a number of good parts also takes place.

The removal of at least one preliminary product from the store 2 is carried out using a gripper 3, which is designed here as a mechanical gripper, whereby depending on the nature of the preliminary products, magnetic grippers or suction grippers can also be used without further explanation at the choice of the person skilled in the art . In all of the exemplary embodiments shown and described here, the ejection of primary products removed from the store 2 is controlled at least over the area 4 with the aim of scattering and separating the primary products removed. This is easily done, for example, by progressively opening or releasing the gripper

3 to realize.

The area 4 for the scattered dropping of primary products taken from the storage storage device 2 is used as an area lying in a flat and horizontally aligned area. The predetermined release area is already shown in FIG. 1 as a surface

4 is formed on an upper portion of a conveyor belt 11 of an end losförderers 12. Here - with the transport belt 11 stationary - only the section 5 of the surface 4 is examined by the camera 6 with connected image evaluation for a preliminary product that is present and in the correct position, which is then removed as a good part by the gripper 7 and transferred to the transfer position 8 spent and handed over there in a defined manner. The illustration in FIG. 1 already shows that the predetermined area 4 is significantly larger than that provided by the camera

6 evaluated section is 5. In a further exemplary embodiment, a step 4a is inserted after step 4: moving the conveyor belt 11 of the endless conveyor 12 to evaluate at least one further section 5a of the predetermined area and subsequent evaluation with possible removal of at least one good part. If there is no good part in the section 5a, a further displacement takes place until the predetermined area 4 has been used up, so to speak all pre-products that are not used as good parts have been conveyed back to storage store 2.

The conveyor belt 11 used in the endless conveyor 12 is characterized by a surface which, due to its nature and in particular its color, forms the highest possible contrast with the preliminary products lying in the section 5 evaluated by the camera 6 . For this purpose, this section 5 is also appropriately illuminated in coordination with a camera 6 used in each case. For this purpose, light from an invisible range of the spectrum is used in this exemplary embodiment to increase the contrasts.

The illustration in FIG. 3 shows a plan view of a further exemplary embodiment using a plurality of stores 2,

2a, 2b. Here, in contrast to the previous Ausfüh exemplary examples, however, the camera 6 is limited to a section 5 of the surface 4 on the conveyor belt 11 of the endless conveyor 12, this section 5 being adjacent directly to a litter 13 from precursors in the relevant reservoir 2, 2a , 2b is arranged back to the removal position 10, which here is a protruding end of the endless conveyor 12, but can also be a passive chute 13 etc. By moving the conveyor belt 12, several sections - here, for example, three partially overlapping sections 5, 5a, 5b - can be set up on the endless conveyor 12 after the predetermined discharge area 4 has been loaded once, as indicated by the three differently dashed arrows in FIG. After no good part is detected anymore, or a predetermined number of good parts of a respective pre-product is reached, any pre-products remaining in each of the sections 5, 5a, 5b are transported via the ejector 13 over a short distance and directly into the respective storage store 2, 2a, 2b poured back into it. From there, these preliminary products are available for renewed removal with the chance of a correspondingly predetermined positioning as a good part in one of the sections 5, 5a, 5b within the predetermined area 4 on the endless conveyor 12. The embodiment of Figure 3 also shows the use of only one gripper 14 for the function of the gripper 3 for removing preliminary products from a storage facility and the tasks of the gripper 7 for gripping and defined delivery of a good part from the section 5 in the transfer position 8. The transfer position 8 can include, in a manner not shown, each Weil adapted to a pre-product receptacles in which a respective pre-product is held in a defined orientation for further processing by a gripper, not shown, of a subsequent processing unit that can be easily removed.

Furthermore, the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 is distinguished by a shift in the position of this one gripper 14 next to the endless conveyor 12 . From this new position, the reservoir 2, 2a, 2b that is currently waiting for a removal at the removal position 10, the section 5 and also the transfer positions 8, 8a, 8b of a respective good part from the various preliminary products can be optimally reached with short distances, such as indicated by the positions of a gripper arm of the gripper 13 in FIG. 3 shown in different dashed lines. Furthermore, only in FIG. 3 is a protective wall 15 indicated over an area of the removal position 10, through which an operating area of the gripper 3 is separated from an outside area. In this way, the active reservoir 2 can also be safely filled up for operating personnel from the outside during operation. The arrangement of the individual devices, such as the transfer positions 8, 8a, 8b, is also shown in FIG. 3 for the sake of clarity

Figure and a space available as an optimization of process time etc. owed, as immediately recognizable for the person skilled in the art.

Figure 4 shows a top view of a further Ausführungsbei game. Here, a good part gripper 14 is used over several sorting lines L0, LI, L2, ... each with its own storage facility 2, in order to handle different primary products in larger numbers compared to the To be able to serve embodiment of Figure 3 little additional space. Compared to the embodiments of Figures 2 and 3, this device 1 is for serving various different types Pre-products are formed in larger numbers in that each pre-product has its own line L0, LI, L2, ..., each consisting of a store 2, a camera 6 with a learned image evaluation system and its own endless conveyor 12 with surfaces 4 as a predetermined drop -Areas for receiving a variety of the respective preliminary products and a respective transfer area 8 are available. Furthermore, a gripper 14 is used for separating the respective preliminary products from the respective reservoirs 2 in the predetermined areas 4 on the endless conveyors 12 - again with the above-described formation of sections 5, 5a, 5b of the predetermined area 4 - and a removal each respective good parts under control of a respective camera 6 with connected image evaluation system limited to a Be rich 5 built. Compared to the exemplary embodiment in FIG renounces

FIG. 5 shows a plan view of a further exemplary embodiment with a modification of the exemplary embodiment from FIG. 4 and recourse to the exemplary embodiment from FIG. 1. In accordance with the exemplary embodiment from FIG. each with its own reservoir 2 provided. As in the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 1, a separate, simply constructed, 2-axis gripper 3 is provided for each of the sorting lines L0, LI, L2, . . . . This ensures that the respective areas 4 on the sorting lines L0, LI, L2, ... are fed independently of one another and without causing a disruption or delay in the selection and removal of respective good parts with respective preliminary products from an associated store 2 be able. A multi-axis gripper 7' is provided for the selection and removal of respective good parts from the sorting lines L0, LI, L2, ... towards a transfer position 8 on each of the sorting lines L0, LI, L2, ... the Grei fer 7 of Figure 1 by a mobility over the sorting lines L0, LI, L2, ... has been expanded. FIG. 4 shows the gripper 7′ of the robot arm for the line L2 in two positions: gripping a good part and its subsequent deposit at an associated transfer point 8 with paths that are shortened compared to the embodiment of FIG. Shifting along the indicated double arrow, this process is then carried out at any of the sorting lines L0, LI,

L2, . . . repeated according to a specification that is generated in a logistics unit that is superordinate to the process described.

Optimizations known to those skilled in the art, e.g. according to "just in time" or needs-based stocking of good parts, then have an influence on the processes described above.

6a shows a three-dimensional view and FIG. 6b shows a side view of a further embodiment as a further development of the embodiment of FIG pass through the isolated preliminary products on the conveyor belt 11 . In this exemplary embodiment, the brushes 16, which rotate counter to the direction of transport, sweep over the preliminary products and thus produce improved alignment, especially if the preliminary products to be served in a defined manner are those that have a strip-shaped section made of a textile or something else include limp Ma material.

In contrast to the exemplary embodiments described so far, the endless conveyor 12 does not run towards the store 2 here, but away from it under the brushes. As soon as no more good parts are recognized by the camera 6, the end conveyor 12 is driven in the opposite direction here in order to allow the precursors remaining on the conveyor belt to fall into the supply memory 2 again. The brushes 16 are raised on a returning conveyor belt 11 to avoid a possible obstruction of products remaining on the conveyor belt 11, as indicated by the double arrow in FIG. 7a. In addition, after a good part has been removed from the conveyor belt 11 by the gripper 7, an optical quality test is provided, which is not further indicated in the illustrations of the drawing. If a preliminary product fails here, it is transferred via a chute into a N.OK container for defective preliminary products. Only good parts recognized as error-free are taken to transfer position 8 as a system interface for subsequent processing.

7a and 7b show schematic side views of further exemplary embodiments as a further development of the exemplary embodiment from FIG 3 and 4 combines the functions of the grippers 3 and 7 in one, whereby the process steps of separating preliminary products from the storage store 2 over the surface 4 of the conveyor belt 11 on the one hand can now be carried out while saving costs in principle and the gripping and transferring of good parts from the section 5 of the conveyor belt 11 evaluated by the camera 6 can no longer be carried out simultaneously in terms of time. From the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 7a, therefore, the overall operation is somewhat slower with regard to an accumulation of good parts to a transfer station 8.

The embodiment of Figure 7b shows as a further development of the embodiment of Figure 1, the use of brushes 16 and a reversal of the running direction of the conveyor belt 11. In this embodiment, upstream of the brushes 16 is now a modified area, which here is a chute or the inclined ramp 17 is indicated, but can also be formed by an additional, preceding endless conveyor. Furthermore, there is a basic isolation of Vorproduk th by dropping out of the gripper 3 out. However, there are pre-products with such a one-sided weight distribution that these pre-products always come to rest on one and the same side after being dropped onto the conveyor belt 11 . If positioning on the opposite side is required for a good part, the individual pre-products must all be turned over. This turning is achieved by the ramp 17 indicated in FIG. 7b with a step or fall height to be set for each preliminary product in order to obtain correspondingly aligned good parts.

Seen over all components of a device 1, a gripper 7, 7' is the most expensive individual element. These multi-axis grippers 7, 7' work very precisely and at high speed. A device 1 according to the embodiment of FIG. 5 is superior to a pure parallel connection of a corresponding number of devices 1 according to the embodiment of FIG.

Mixtures of the exemplary embodiments described above are of course also possible, depending on the application, the type of the respective preliminary products and the required quantities of the different preliminary products. In any case, even more complex pre-products, which have, for example, a metal or plastic part with a strip section fixed thereto, are reliably processed by devices according to the invention for a defined service for subsequent steps of an automated processing process. Such products of a multi-stage preliminary process are particularly problematic in their automated handling for delivery, since precisely these preliminary products not only get caught in one another, but can also become tangled, intertwined or even knotted. In each of the above-described exemplary embodiments according to the present invention, the handling of the removal from a storage facility, as well as a separation with scattered waste and a return to the relevant storage facility, also without further active aids, prove to be helpful in disentangling and/or other things Separation of similar preliminary products. This property also makes the exemplary embodiments described clearly superior to known devices for separating and sorting of preliminary products, beyond their flexible adaptation to a wide variety of preliminary products. LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS Storage memory device

2a, 2b store with different pre-products gripper area/predetermined discharge area Section of area 4

5a, 5b following sections of area 4 camera with attached image evaluation or image recognition gripper for a good part

7' additional gripper, which can be moved in parallel, transfer position

8a, 8b Transfer positions of other preliminary products Rail for moving the storage 2, 2a, 2b 0 Removal position of the storage 2, 2a, 2b 1 Conveyor belt 2 Endless conveyor / belt conveyor 3 Dropping / chute of preliminary products from the endless conveyor 12 back into the relevant storage 2,2a ,2b 4 gripper as a replacement for grippers 3 and 7 5 protective wall as a safety device for safe refilling of a storage tank 2, 2a, 2b, also in the area of the removal position 10 during operation 6 brush, rotatable, direction of rotation can be controlled 7 ramp / chute for turning the Primary products on the conveyor belt 11

L0, LI, L2, L3 Line with storage 2, endless conveyor 11, camera 6 with connected image recognition for a section 5 and transfer position 8 for each of the various preliminary products.

N.OK Container for defective pre-products

Claims

Expectations

1. Separation and transfer process for pre-products, whereby

• at least one preliminary product is taken from a store (2, 2a, 2b) and

• is dropped over an area (4),

• a correctly positioned preliminary product is recognized as a good part by a camera system (6) using image recognition,

• a good part is removed by a gripper (7) and deposited in a defined manner, and

• as soon as no good part can be recognized and/or upon a corresponding request, any pre-products remaining on the area (4) into the store (2, 2a,

2b) are conveyed back, characterized in that at least one preliminary product is dropped over a surface (4) of a belt conveyor (12), on the conveyor belt (11) of which a section (5) as part of the surface (4) is captured by a camera system (6 ) is monitored by image recognition for a correctly positioned pre-product as a good part, and the belt conveyor (12) returns all pre-products that have not been recognized as good parts to the store (2, 2a, 2b).

2. Method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the dropping of primary products is controlled with the aim of scattering the removed primary products at least over the surface (4) on the belt conveyor (11).

3. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the removal of at least one preliminary product from the store (2, 2a, 2b) is carried out using a gripper (3, 14), preferably a mechanical or magnetic gripper or a suction gripper.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a predetermined area as a surface (4) a flat and horizontally lying section on the transport belt (11) of the belt conveyor (12) is used.

5. The method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that an area (4) is used that is larger than a section (5) that is recorded and evaluated by the camera (6), and the conveyor belt (11) of the endless conveyor (12) for evaluation of at least one further section (5a) of the surface (4) and subsequent evaluation with possible removal of at least one good part is pushed, preferably to a discharge area (13) of the endless conveyor (12) in the store (2, 2a, 2b).

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a gripper (7, 13) with an arm designed with at least two axes is used to remove a good part from the surface (4), which defines the good part in a transfer position (8, 8a, 8b) hands over.

7. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that for each preliminary product from a number of different preliminary products, a line (L0, LI, L2, ...) is used, in which an endless conveyor (12) with a surface ( 4) is used with evaluation of a region (5) of this area (4) by a camera (6) with image recognition trained on the respective preliminary product.

8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the scattered on the conveyor belt (11) of the belt conveyor (12) dropped primary products are aligned using a brush (16).

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a pre-product removed as a good part by the gripper (7) is subjected to a quality check before it is positioned at a transfer position (8).

10. Device for implementing a method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the device (1) comprises: a removal device for removing at least one preliminary product from a store (2, 2a, 2b), which is designed to drop or scatter over an area (4), a camera system (6) with image recognition, which is designed for this purpose, the Area (4) or a section (5, 5a,

5b) to examine it for the presence of a correctly positioned preliminary product as a good part, a selection means for selectively removing a correctly positioned preliminary product or good part from the area (4) or section (5, 5a, 5b) and a return conveyor device designed for this purpose is to transport any preliminary products remaining in the area (4) back to the store (2, 2a, 2b) upon request, characterized in that an area of a belt conveyor (12) is provided as part of the area (4). , which is designed to be monitored by a camera system (6) by means of image recognition for a correctly positioned preliminary product as a good part, and the belt conveyor (12) is designed as a return conveyor device.

11. Device according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the removal device is designed as a mechanical gripper (3, 13), in particular as a gripper on a two-axis arm, the removal device and the selection means preferably being designed as at least three-axis gripper (7th , 7', 13) are formed.

12. Device according to one of the preceding one of the preceding claims 10-11, characterized in that a number of reservoirs (2, 2a, 2b) are provided, which are designed to be movable by being controlled to a removal position (10).

13. Device according to one of the preceding claims 10 - 12, characterized in that a separate line (L0, LI, L2, ...) is provided for each preliminary product from a number of different preliminary products, each line (L0, LI, L2, ...) an endless conveyor (11) with a predetermined area (4) and a camera (6) with image recognition adapted to the respective preliminary product for evaluating an area (5) and a transfer area (8), the lines (L0, LI, L2, ...) is assigned a gripper (7', 13) which is designed to be movable over the lines (L0, LI, L2, ...).

14. Device according to one of the preceding claims 10 -

13, characterized in that at least one brush (16) is provided above the transport belt (11) of the belt conveyor (12), which is designed to align the scattered primary products thrown off, preferably as a rotating brush (16) with a controllable direction of rotation in particular .

15. Device according to one of the preceding claims 10 -

14, characterized in that a modified area is formed as a chute or inclined ramp (17), or by an additional, preceding endless conveyor, which is designed to turn over the preliminary products before they lie on the conveyor belt (11).