Particle-free storage for articles
First Claim
1. Apparatus for storing articles comprisingwalls defining a bin enclosure having an opening for transporting articles therethrough,a support for supporting articles in an article storage region in said enclosure,a transport mechanism for transporting said articles into and out of said storage region, said transport mechanism having two arms that can engage said articles between them and are movable along an axis into and out of said storage region,an energy beam vision system carried by said transport mechanism that directs an energy beam along a path that is close to but spaced from an outer boundary of a properly located and oriented article in said article storage region, andmeans for determining if said beam is blocked by said article.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus for storing articles including walls defining a bin enclosure having an opening for transporting articles therethrough, a support for supporting articles in an article storage region in the enclosure, and a source of pressurized particle-free air to the region to provide a higher pressure in the article storage region than outside of the enclosure. Also disclosed are an energy beam vision system that is carried by a transport system and interfaces with the walls and a controller that controls the transport mechanism in order to properly align the relative positions of the transport mechanism and the enclosure.
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Citations
11 Claims
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1. Apparatus for storing articles comprising
walls defining a bin enclosure having an opening for transporting articles therethrough, a support for supporting articles in an article storage region in said enclosure, a transport mechanism for transporting said articles into and out of said storage region, said transport mechanism having two arms that can engage said articles between them and are movable along an axis into and out of said storage region, an energy beam vision system carried by said transport mechanism that directs an energy beam along a path that is close to but spaced from an outer boundary of a properly located and oriented article in said article storage region, and means for determining if said beam is blocked by said article.
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9. Apparatus for storing articles comprising
walls defining a bin enclosure having an opening for transporting articles therethrough, a support for supporting articles in an article storage region in said enclosure, a transport mechanism for transporting said articles into and out of said storage region, said transport mechanism having two arms that can engage said articles between them and are movable along an axis into and out of said storage region, a transverse vision system that is carried by said arms and passes an energy beam between the arms along a path that is transverse to said axis to detect the presence of objects between the arms, and means for sensing blocking of said beam as a function of position of said arms as said arms are removed from said storage region to determine if said article has been dragged after it has been dropped off.
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10. A method of placing an article at a desired location and in a desired orientation on a support in an article storage region comprising
engaging said article with a transport mechanism that has two arms that are spaced from each other and engage said article in the space between said arms, said arms carrying a transverse vision system that passes an energy beam along a path between the arms to detect the presence of objects between the arms, moving said transport mechanism and engaged article along an axis that is transverse to said path into a position over said desired location, disengaging said article so as to place it on said support, and retracting said transport mechanism along said path and simultaneously sensing blocking of said beam as a function of position of said arms to determine if said article has been dragged after it has been dropped off.
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11. A method of placing an article at a desired location and in a desired orientation on a support in an article storage region comprising
engaging said article with a transport mechanism that carries an energy beam vision system, moving said transport mechanism and engaged article into a position over said desired location, disengaging said article so as to place it on said support, retracting said transport mechanism, directing a beam of said energy beam vision system along a path that is close to but spaced from an outer boundary of a properly located and oriented article in said article storage region, and detecting whether said beam is intersected by said article, thereby indicating improper placement or orientation.
Specification