WO2023172128A1

WO2023172128A1 - Device for assembling products

Info

Publication number: WO2023172128A1
Application number: PCT/NL2023/050098
Authority: WO
Inventors: Joris Gerrit KUIPER; Johan Clemens Carel KREEFT; Sylvester NOORDAM
Original assignee: Gearbox Bv.
Priority date: 2022-03-05
Filing date: 2023-03-01
Publication date: 2023-09-14
Also published as: NL2031169B1

Abstract

A device 11 for assembling products 1 has a supply device 3 for products 1, as well as an assessment device 5 for assessing each product, and a buffer 7 provided with containers 9 for the products. The device 11 furthermore has a robot arm 17 for taking the products from the supply device 3 and placing them in the holders 9, and a control unit 13 which keeps track of the assessment and the position in the buffer 7 of each assessed product. The control unit 13 controls the robot arm 17 to place an assessed product in an empty container 9 or in a container in which one or more products are already present, wherein the products present in a container meet a criterion. The buffer 7 is ring-shaped so that more products are within reach of a robot arm and therefore better combinations of products can be made.

Description

Device for assembling products

DESCRIPTION:

Field of the invention

The invention relates to a device for assembling products according to a criterion, which products are then processed together, comprising: a supply device for supplying the products to be processed, an assessment device for assessing each individual product supplied, an annular buffer in which assessed products can be placed, displacement means for taking the products from the supply device and placing the products in the buffer, which displacement means comprise a robot arm which is positioned close to the buffer and can reach into the annular buffer, a control unit that keeps track of the assessment and the position in the buffer of each assessed product and that: selects from the products placed in the buffer the products that can be processed together according to the criterion and controls the displacement means or further displacement means to bring the selected products together for processing together, or places a product that has just been assessed in a free space in the buffer or places it in a space in the buffer in which one or more products are already present, whereby the products placed together in the buffer meet the criterion, and controls the displacement means or further displacement means to remove the products brought together from the spaces for further processing, a discharge device for discharging the products brought together for further processing.

The supply device can be, for example, a supply conveyor belt. The buffer can be provided with a surface on which the products are placed separately or with products already present, or the buffer can be provided with holders in which the products are placed separately or with products already present. The holders can be separate holders that can be taken out of the buffer or the holders can form an integral part of the buffer.

Processing the assembled products can be packaging of the products. An assessment device can be a weighing device. In that case, the criterion may be that the products to be processed (packed) together must have a minimum weight and be as little heavier than said minimum weight as possible.

State of the art

An apparatus for assembling products according to the preamble of claim 1 is known from W02020/230067A1. This known device has several robot arms for taking the products to be sorted from the supply device and placing them in the buffer. Furthermore, US2019/022705A1 discloses a device in which sorted products are placed in bins present in a circle. As soon as a bin is full of sorted products, it is moved to a position outside the circle and exchanged there with an empty bin, which is then placed back in the circle.

Summary of the invention

An object of the invention is to provide a device of the type described in the preamble in which products can be selected and assembled in an efficient manner. To this end the device according to the invention is characterized in that the device comprises, in addition to said buffer, at least one further annular buffer, wherein: the buffers are concentric, and in the buffer the products are placed separately and in the further buffer the products to be processed together that meet the criterion are placed together by the displacement means or further displacement means, or the annular buffers are present next to each other, wherein the device comprises in addition to the supply device one or more further supply devices, whereby close to each buffer displacement means are present that take supplied products from the relevant supply device and place them in the buffer, whereby the displacement means or further displacement means controlled by the control unit place products present in the buffers on a discharge device, whether or not together with products previously placed on the discharge device. By providing the device with more than one ring-shaped buffer and using the ring-shaped buffers effectively, the efficiency of the processing process can be increased.

The device preferably comprises further drive means for rotating the further buffer or the further buffers in order to make the assembly proceed even more efficiently.

The robot arm can, for example, be the arm of a delta robot or, for example, a cylindric, polar/sphere, cartesian, SCARA or 6D0F robot arm.

The advantage of an annular buffer over a traditional linear buffer (conveyor belt) is that many more products can be within reach of a robot arm. The range of many types of robot arms is limited by a circle. When there are more products within reach of the robot arm, more and therefore better combinations of products can be made, so that, for example, the overweight (above the minimum weight according to the criterion) can be reduced.

The supplied products can first be assessed and then placed in the buffer or the supplied products can first be placed in the buffer and then assessed. The annular buffer is preferably circular.

An embodiment of the device according to the invention is characterized in that products rejected by the assessment device are taken from the supply device by the displacement means or further displacement means and placed on a further discharge device for rejected products or fall, at the end of the supply device, on the further discharge device for rejected products.

The device preferably comprises drive means for rotating the buffer so that the device can operate even more efficiently.

A further embodiment of the device according to the invention is characterized in that the further displacement means are present at a fixed position next to the buffer and take the products present together in the buffer which meet the criterion, from the revolving buffer and bring them into the discharge device for processing. Assembled products can thus be efficiently removed for processing. The buffer can be provided with fixed containers or loose containers can be present in the buffer. In this case, the products can be taken out of the container or the container with the products in it can be taken out of the buffer and another empty container can be placed at that place in the buffer. The discharge device can also be designed as a conveyor belt on which loose or fixed trays are present, into which the products can be placed, or on which the holders with the products therein can be placed.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will be explained in more detail below on the basis of exemplary embodiments of the device according to the invention shown in the drawings. Hereby shows:

Figure 1 a first embodiment of the device according to the invention with fixed containers in the buffer;

Figure 2 a second embodiment of the device according to the invention with loose containers in the buffer;

Figure 3 a third embodiment of the device according to the invention with two concentric buffers;

Figure 4 a fourth embodiment of the device according to the invention with three buffers present side by side; and

Figure 5 a fifth embodiment of the device according to the invention with a different arrangement of the parts.

Detailed description of the drawings

Figure 1 shows schematically a first embodiment of the device according to the invention. The device 101 is configured to assemble three products in such a way that they jointly have a certain minimum weight, whereby the weight is as little as possible above this minimum weight. The products selected according to this criterion are then packed together.

The device 101 is provided with a supply device 3, designed as a conveyor belt, for supplying the products 1 to be processed, as well as an assessment device 5, designed as a weighing device, for determining the weight of each product 1 supplied separately. The device 101 has a circular buffer 7 provided with a number of containers 9 arranged next to each other in a circle, in which one or more of the assessed products 1 can be placed. The holders 9 are permanently present in the buffer. The buffer 7 can be rotated by a drive motor 19. The supply conveyor belt extends under the buffer into the circular buffer.

The device 101 furthermore has displacement means 11 provided with a robot arm 17, for taking the products 1 one by one from the supply device 3 and placing the products 1 in the containers 9. The displacement means 11 are located in the center of the buffer 7 so that the robot arm 17 can reach all containers 9. The device furthermore has a control unit 13 which keeps track of the assessment and its position in the buffer 7 of each assessed product 1. The control unit 13 controls the robot arm 17 to place an assessed product 1 in an empty container 9 or in a container 9 in which there are already one or more products. It is hereby ensured that the products present in the a containers 9 meet the criterion of minimum weight.

The control unit 13 further controls further moving means 15 which are present at a fixed position next to the buffer 7 and which take the products 1 present in a a container 9 that meet the criterion from the revolving buffer 7 and bring them into a discharge device 21 for transport to a packaging facility. The discharge device 21 is also designed as a conveyor belt.

Products rejected by the assessment device 5 are not taken by the displacement means 11 of the supply device 3 and at the end of the supply device 3 fall onto a further discharge device 37 for rejected products, which discharges these products for further processing as second choice.

Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of the device according to the invention. All components which are identical to those of the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals. In this device 102 the buffer 7 has loose containers 10 which can be taken out of the buffer. The further displacement means 15 here take a container 9 in which products 1 are present that meet the criterion, from the revolving buffer 7 and place them on the discharge device 21. At the same time an empty container is placed back in the buffer.

Figure 3 shows a third embodiment of the device according to the invention. Here too, all components which are identical to those of the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals. In addition to the buffer 7, this device 103 has a further annular buffer 23 provided with further containers 25. The two buffers 7 and 23 are concentric, with the buffer 23 being present around the buffer 7. A maximum of one product is placed in each container 9 in the buffer 7, the products which together meet the criterion, are placed together in the containers 25. The further displacement means 15 are herein arranged next to the buffer 23 in order to take the products from the buffer 23 and place them on the discharge device 23. The buffer 23 is also rotated by a drive motor 27.

In this device, products rejected by the assessment device 5 are taken by the displacement means 11 from the supply device 3 and placed on the further discharge device 37 for rejected products, which discharges these products for further processing as second choice.

Figure 4 shows a fourth embodiment of the device according to the invention. Here too, all components which are identical to those of the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals. In addition to the annular buffer 7, this device 104 has two further annular buffers 29 and 31. The buffers are present next to each other and each cooperate with a separate supply device 3, 33 and 35. A different product is supplied via each supply device. The further displacement means 16 place a product in each holder of the buffer after it has been weighed by the weighing device 5. Drive means 19 for buffer 7 and further drive means 27 for buffers 29 and 31 rotate the buffers one container further each time.

The device 104 assembles sets of three different products, which together again must have a minimum weight. From the first buffer 7, a product with a known weight is placed on the discharge conveyor belt 21. This conveyor belt 21 is located below the buffers. From the second buffer 33, a second product with a known weight is placed on the conveyor belt 21 next to the first product. The control unit 13 determines the missing weight to arrive at the minimum weight and selects the suitable product from the third buffer 35 and places it on the conveyor belt 21 with the previous two products.

Figure 5 shows a fifth embodiment of the device according to the invention. Here too, all components which are identical to those of the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals. In this device 105, the assessment device 5 is not located in the supply device 3, but at a location above, below and/or next to the buffer 7. The robot arm 17 takes the products from the supply conveyor belt 3 and places each product at a separate location in the buffer. After the products have been weighed, the robot arm 17, controlled by the control unit 13, takes three products that together meet the criterion one by one from the buffer and places them on the discharge conveyor belt 21, which, like the supply conveyor belt 3, is present under the buffer 7. The products can then be packed together.

Although the invention has been elucidated in the foregoing with reference to the drawings, it should be noted that the invention is by no means limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings. The invention also extends to all embodiments deviating from the embodiments shown in the drawings within the scope defined by the claims.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. Device for assembling products (1) according to a criterion, which products (1) are then processed together, comprising: a supply device (3) for supplying the products to be processed (1), an assessment device (5) for assessing each individual product (1) supplied, an annular buffer (7) in which assessed products (1) can be placed, displacement means (11) for taking the products (1) from the supply device (3) and placing the products (1) in the buffer (7), which displacement means (11) comprise a robot arm (17) which is positioned close to the buffer (7) and can reach into the annular buffer (7), a control unit (13) that keeps track of the assessment and the position in the buffer (7) of each assessed product (1) and that: selects from the products (1) placed in the buffer (7) the products that can be processed together according to the criterion and controls the displacement means (11) or further displacement means (15) to bring the selected products together for processing together, or places a product (1) that has just been assessed in a free space in the buffer (7) or places it in a space in the buffer (7) in which one or more products are already present, whereby the products placed together in the buffer (7) meet the criterion, and controls the displacement means (11) or further displacement means (15) to remove the products brought together from the spaces for further processing, a discharge device (21) for discharging the products brought together for further processing, characterized in that the device comprises, in addition to said buffer (7), at least one further annular buffer (23; 29, 31), wherein: the buffers (7, 23) are concentric, and in the buffer (7) the products are placed separately and in the further buffer (23) the products to be processed together that meet the criterion are placed together by the displacement means (11) or further displacement means (15), or the annular buffers (29, 31) are present next to each other, wherein the device comprises in addition to the supply device (3) one or more further supply devices (33, 35), whereby close to each buffer (7, 29, 31) displacement means (11) are present that take supplied products (1) from the relevant supply device (3, 33, 35) and place them in the buffer (7, 29, 31), whereby the displacement means (11) or further displacement means controlled by the control unit (13) place products present in the buffers on a discharge device (21), whether or not together with products (1) previously placed on the discharge device (21).

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the device comprises further drive means (27) for rotating the further buffer (23) or the further buffers (29, 31).

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that products rejected by the assessment device (5) are removed from the supply device (3) by the displacement means (11) or further displacement means and are placed on a further discharge device (37) for rejected products, or fall at the end of the supply device (3) onto the further discharge device (37) for rejected products.

4. Device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the device comprises drive means (19) for rotating the buffer (7).

5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the further displacement means (15) are present at a fixed position next to the buffer (7) and remove the products (1) being together in the buffer (7) and meeting the criterion, from the rotating buffer (7) and put them into the discharge device (21) for processing.