Apparatus for the automated removal of workpieces arranged in a bin

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10507989-B2
Application number	US-201815876012-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 19, 2018
Priority date	Jan 20, 2017
Publication date	Dec 17, 2019
Grant date	Dec 17, 2019

Abstract

The present disclosure shows an apparatus for the automated removal of workpieces arranged in a bin, said apparatus having a first object recognition device for detecting the workpieces in the bin; a first picker for picking and removing the workpieces from the bin; a controller for evaluating the data of the first object recognition device, for path planning and for controlling the first picker; a buffering station on which the first picker places the workpieces after the removal from the bin and a positioning apparatus that more accurately positions and/or isolates the workpieces starting from the buffering station. Provision is made that the buffering station has at least one tiltable placement area that is tiltable into a slanted position via a tilting mechanism.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus for automated removal of workpieces arranged in a bin,
having a first object recognition device for detecting the workpieces in the bin;
a first picker for picking and removing the workpieces from the bin;
a controller for evaluating data of the first object recognition device, for path planning and for controlling the first picker;
a buffering station on which the first picker places the workpieces after the removal from the bin; and
a positioning apparatus that positions and/or isolates the workpieces, starting from the buffering station,
wherein the buffering station has at least one tiltable placement area that is tiltable into a slanted position via a tilting mechanism,
wherein the buffering station comprises a transport device that transports the workpieces from a placement region to a removal region where the workpieces are positioned and/or isolated by the positioning apparatus,
wherein the tiltable placement area is arranged at the transport device; wherein the transport device has a plurality of separately tiltable placement areas.

2. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the tiltable placement area is arranged at a turntable; and wherein the turntable has a plurality of separately tiltable placement areas.

3. An apparatus for automated removal of workpieces arranged in a bin,
having a first object recognition device for detecting the workpieces in the bin;
a first picker for picking and removing the workpieces from the bin;
a controller for evaluating data of the first object recognition device, for path planning and for controlling the first picker;
a buffering station on which the first picker places the workpieces after the removal from the bin; and
a positioning apparatus that positions and/or isolates the workpieces, starting from the buffering station, wherein the buffering station has at least one tiltable placement area that is tiltable into a slanted position via a tilting mechanism,
wherein the buffering station comprises a transport device that transports the workpieces from a placement region to a removal region where the workpieces are positioned and/or isolated by the positioning apparatus,
wherein the tiltable placement area is arranged such that a workpiece placed on the tiltable placement area slides onto the transport device by tilting the tiltable placement area; wherein the apparatus has a sensor that recognizes whether more than one workpiece has been picked; and wherein the controller controls the first picker when more than one picked workpiece was detected such that the workpieces are placed on the tiltable placement surface and slide onto the transport device by tilting the placement area.

4. An apparatus for automated removal of workpieces arranged in a bin,
having a first object recognition device for detecting the workpieces in the bin;
a first picker for picking and removing the workpieces from the bin;
a controller for evaluating data of the first object recognition device, for path planning and for controlling the first picker;
a buffering station on which the first picker places the workpieces after the removal from the bin wherein the buffering station has at least one tiltable placement area that is tiltable into a slanted position via a tilting mechanism;
a positioning apparatus that positions and/or isolates the workpieces, starting from the buffering station, and
an expulsion apparatus that is arranged such that a workpiece placed on the tiltable placement area slides to the expulsion apparatus by tilting the placement area; wherein the expulsion apparatus is a drawer; and wherein the drawer is operated from outside a protective enclosure of the apparatus.

5. The apparatus in accordance with claim 4 , wherein the tiltable placement area is configured such that a workpiece placed on the tiltable placement area slides off the tiltable placement area due to the tilting.

6. The apparatus in accordance with claim 4 , wherein the buffering station comprises a transport device that transports the workpieces from a placement region into a removal region.

7. The apparatus in accordance with claim 6 , wherein the transport device is a turntable.

8. The apparatus in accordance with claim 4 , wherein the positioning apparatus picks up the workpieces from the buffering station and places them on a second buffering station and/or on an end placement area; wherein the positioning apparatus is used to pick up the workpieces from the buffering station and to selectively place them on the second buffering station and on the end placement area; wherein a second object recognition device is provided that determines an orientation of the workpiece on the buffering station; and wherein the controller decides with reference to the data of the second object recognition device whether a workpiece moves directly to the end placement area or first to the second buffering station.

9. The apparatus in accordance with claim 8 , and/or wherein the second buffering station is a repicking location that permits a picking of the workpiece with a changed orientation relative to the first picker.

10. The apparatus in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the placing of a first workpiece on the turntable by the picker, the detection of a second workpiece on the turntable by the second object recognition device, and the picking back up again of a third workpiece from the turntable by the positioning apparatus takes place simultaneously.

11. An apparatus for the automated removal of workpieces arranged in a bin,
having a first object recognition device for detecting the workpieces in the bin;
a first picker for picking and removing the workpieces from the bin;
a controller for evaluating the data of the first object recognition device, for path planning and for controlling the first picker;
a buffering station on which the first picker places the workpieces after the removal from the bin, with an intermediate station comprising a turntable that transports the workpieces from a placement region into a removal region;
a positioning apparatus that positions and/or isolates the workpieces, starting from the buffering station; and
a second object recognition device for detecting the workpieces on the turntable, wherein
the second object recognition device is arranged above the turntable such that, on a movement from the placement region into a removal region, a workpiece moves into a detection region where it is detected by the second object recognition device before it is moved further toward the removal region by rotation of the turntable,
wherein the turntable has at least three placement areas; wherein, whenever a first placement area is arranged in the placement region, a second placement area is located in the detection region and a third placement area is located in the removal region; and wherein a placing of a first workpiece on the turntable by the first picker, a detection of a second workpiece on the turntable by the second object recognition device, and a picking back up again of a third workpiece form the turntable by the positioning apparatus takes place.

12. The apparatus in accordance with claim 11 , wherein the turntable works in a cycled manner and has at least three rotational positions; wherein a first placement area of the turntable is arranged in the placement region in the first rotational position, in the detection region in the second rotational position, and in the removal region in the third rotational position; and wherein the placement of a workpiece on the turntable by the first picker, the detection of the workpiece on the turntable by the second object recognition

Assignees

• Liebherr Verzahntech Gmbh

Inventors

• Zollitsch Markus
• Haenschke David
• Riedmiller Bernhard
• Mattern Thomas

Classifications

• B25J19/023

  including video camera means · CPC title

• B25J9/0096

  co-operating with a working support, e.g. work-table · CPC title

• Y10S901/47

  Optical · CPC title

• B25J9/1697

  Vision controlled systems · CPC title

• B25J9/1664

  characterised by motion, path, trajectory planning · CPC title