Automated system for locating and transferring objects on a conveyor belt
First Claim
1. A method for picking up objects from a moving conveyor belt and transferring them to a destination, comprising:
- receiving a pixel image of a first vision window image portion of said belt containing images of said objects using first image-receiving means;
digitizing said first vision window image by assigning a gray scale level and a coordinate location to the pixels in said first vision window image;
electronically determining and transmitting, utilizing first data transmission means, the locations of at least one of said objects represented by object images in said first vision window image to a first motion controller directing a first robot means associated with said first image-receiving means located in the direction of belt travel with respect to said first image-receiving means;
picking up at least one of said objects represented by object images in said first vision window image, the locations of which were transmitted to said first motion controller, using said first robot means;
transmitting, utilizing second data transmission means, the locations of at least one of the objects represented by object images in said first vision window image which were not picked up by said first robot means, from said first motion controller to a second motion controller directing a second robot means associated with said first image-receiving means located in the direction of belt travel with respect to said first robot means; and
picking up at least one of said objects represented by object images in said first vision window image, the locations of which were transmitted to said second motion controller, using said second robot means.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for picking up and manipulating randomly oriented and randomly positioned objects moving on a belt. An image processing unit using a vision system identifies and locates objects in successive overlapping vision windows up to a predetermined optimum number of objects. The locations of those objects is entered in an output queue which is transmitted to the object location queue of a first robot motion controller. The first robot picks up and deposits all the objects it can in the time available while the objects pass, and enters the locations of the objects not picked up in an output queue which is transmitted to the object location queue of a second robot motion controller. The robots can be arranged in a series of any number and the image processing units and vision systems can also be arranged in a series.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method for picking up objects from a moving conveyor belt and transferring them to a destination, comprising:
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receiving a pixel image of a first vision window image portion of said belt containing images of said objects using first image-receiving means; digitizing said first vision window image by assigning a gray scale level and a coordinate location to the pixels in said first vision window image; electronically determining and transmitting, utilizing first data transmission means, the locations of at least one of said objects represented by object images in said first vision window image to a first motion controller directing a first robot means associated with said first image-receiving means located in the direction of belt travel with respect to said first image-receiving means; picking up at least one of said objects represented by object images in said first vision window image, the locations of which were transmitted to said first motion controller, using said first robot means; transmitting, utilizing second data transmission means, the locations of at least one of the objects represented by object images in said first vision window image which were not picked up by said first robot means, from said first motion controller to a second motion controller directing a second robot means associated with said first image-receiving means located in the direction of belt travel with respect to said first robot means; and picking up at least one of said objects represented by object images in said first vision window image, the locations of which were transmitted to said second motion controller, using said second robot means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for picking up objects from a moving conveyor belt and moving them to a destination, comprising:
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receiving a series of overlapping images of vision window portions of said belt using image-receiving means, said windows being fixed on the belt and moving therewith; digitizing each of the vision window images in said series, said digitizing including assigning a coordinate location to pixels in said image; electronically determining and transmitting, utilizing first data transmission means, the locations of at least some of said objects to a first motion controller directing a first robot means, said determining and transmitting being done a vision window image at a time for each vision window image in said series; picking up at least one of said objects using said first robot means at the time it moves within the reach of said first robot means; transmitting, utilizing second data transmission means, the locations of at least one of the objects which were not picked up by said first robot means from said first motion controller to a second motion controller directing a second robot means located in the direction of belt travel with respect to said first robot means; and picking up at least one of said objects using said second robot means at the time the object moves within the reach of said second robot means.
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19. A system for picking up and transferring objects located on a moving conveyor belt, comprising:
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image-receiving means to receive pixel images of a series of vision window portions of said belt; image processing means electronically connected with said image receiving means for assigning a location to objects represented in said images; a plurality of robot means in series adjacent to said belt, each with a directing motion controller, wherein the motion controller directing the first robot means receives the locations of objects from said image processing means and the motion controller directing each subsequent robot means receives the locations of objects not picked up by any preceding robot means from the motion controller directing the immediately preceding robot means; and means associated with each motion controller for directing each robot which the motion controller directs, to pick up at least some of the objects not picked up by any preceding robot. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification