Handling system, work system, and program

• US 7,654,380 B2
• Filed: 06/22/2006
• Issued: 02/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Kikai Kabushiki Kaisha (Shibaura Machine Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Kikai Kabushiki Kaisha (Shibaura Machine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Nishihara, Yasunori, Nakane, Toshihiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Crawford; Gene
• Assistant Examiner(s): SINGH, KAVEL
• Application Number:
  US11/472,279
• Publication Number:
  US 20070007924A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,321 Days
• Field of Search: 198/349
• US Class Current: 198/349
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/0093 co-operating with conveyor means
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1697 Vision controlled systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4182 manipulators and conveyor only
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/39106 Conveyor, pick up article, object from conveyor, bring to test unit, place it
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40554 Object recognition to track object on conveyor
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

A handling system able to efficiently process information relating to a plurality of conveyed articles, the handling system provided with a conveyer for conveying workpieces, a visual sensor for detecting positions of workpieces by acquiring images of a plurality of tracking ranges obtained by dividing a belt into sections, an encoder for detecting an amount of movement of the belt, a tracking manager for monitoring amounts of movement of the plurality of tracking ranges based on the amount of movement detected by the encoder and specifying the tracking range passing through a workpiece detection area, a workpiece manager for selecting the article in the tracking range specified by the tracking manager, and a controller for controlling operations of robots so as to hold the workpiece selected by the workpiece manager.

Claims

1. A handling system comprising:

a conveying part for moving a carrying part on which a plurality of articles are carried along a conveyance path and thereby conveying said plurality of articles;

a visual sensor for repeating imaging of an imaging region set in said conveyance path at a predetermined time interval, acquiring an image of each of a plurality of tracking ranges obtained by dividing said carrying part in a conveyance direction, and detecting relative positions of articles within each tracking range with respect to each tracking range based on each acquired image;

a movement amount detecting part for detecting an amount of movement of said carrying part;

a tracking range monitoring part for monitoring the amounts of movement of said plurality of tracking ranges from said imaging region based on the amount of movement detected by said movement amount detecting part and specifying the tracking range passing through a predetermined detection area;

an article selecting part for selecting an article satisfying a predetermined selection condition within the tracking range specified by said tracking range monitoring part;

a handling part for following and selectively picking up articles selected by the article selecting part carried on said carrying part; and

a controlling part for controlling the operation of said handling part so as to follow and pick up the article selected by said article selecting part based on the amount of movement detected by said movement amount detecting part and the relative positions detected by said visual sensor;

wherein the system is further provided with a data managing part for generating a plurality of tracking data corresponding to individual tracking ranges and a storing part for storing said plurality of tracking data generated by said data managing part, said tracking data includes movement amount information able to specify the amount of movement of a corresponding tracking range from said imaging region, and, when there are any articles in the corresponding tracking range, further includes the same number of article data as the number of articles within the corresponding tracking range, said article data includes article position information able to specify the relative position of a corresponding article with respect to said tracking range, said data managing part updates said movement amount information stored in said storing part based on the amount of movement detected by said movement amount detecting part, the tracking range monitoring part monitors the amount movement of said tracking range from said imaging region with reference to said movement amount information of said tracking data and specifies the tracking data of the tracking range passing through said detection area, said article selecting part selects article data satisfying said selection condition with reference to the article data included in the tracking data specified by said tracking range monitoring part, and said controlling part specifies the relative position of said article with respect to said handling part based on said movement amount information included in the tracking data specified by said tracking range monitoring part and said article position information included in the article data selected by said article selecting part and makes said handling part follow said article.

2. A handling system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said visual sensor specifies additional information concerning the appearance of said article based on said image, said data managing part generates said tracking data so that said additional information of the article is included in the article data corresponding to the article, and said article selecting part selects the article data satisfying said selection condition with reference to said additional information of said article data included in the tracking data specified by said tracking range monitoring part.

3. A handling system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said visual sensor specifies additional information concerning the appearance of said article based on said image, said data managing part generates said tracking data so that said additional information of the article is included in the article data corresponding to the article, and said controlling part makes said handling part execute different operations in accordance with the content of the additional information with reference to the additional information of the article data selected by said article selecting part.

4. A handling system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the system is further provided with a display device for displaying predetermined information, said visual sensor specifies additional information concerning the appearance of said article based on said image, said data managing part generates said tracking data so that said additional information of the article is included in the article data corresponding to the article, and said display device displays the additional information of the article data selected by said article selecting part.

5. A handling system as set forth in claim 2, wherein said additional information is information able to specify the type of said article.

7. A handling system as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said tracking range monitoring part specifies one of said tracking ranges as a head tracking range and one of said tracking ranges as a tail tracking range; and

said article selecting part selects said article within a region from said head tracking range to said tail tracking range.

6. A work system comprising:

a conveying part for moving a carrying part on which a plurality of articles are carried along a conveyance path and thereby conveying said plurality of articles;

a visual sensor for repeating imaging of an imaging region set in said conveyance path at a predetermined time interval, acquiring an image of each of a plurality of tracking ranges obtained by dividing said carrying part in a conveyance direction, and detecting relative positions of articles within each tracking range with respect to each tracking range based on each acquired image;

a movement amount detecting part for detecting an amount of movement of said carrying part;

a tracking range monitoring part for monitoring the amounts of movement of said plurality of tracking ranges from said imaging region based on the amount of movement detected by said movement amount detecting part and specifying the tracking range passing through a predetermined detection area;

an article selecting part for selecting an article satisfying a predetermined selection condition within the tracking range specified by said tracking range monitoring part;

a work part for selectively performing work on the article selected by the article selecting part carried on said carrying part; and

a controlling part for controlling the operation of said work part so as to perform work on the article selected by said article selecting part based on the amount of movement detected by said movement amount detecting part and the relative positions detected by said visual sensor;

wherein the system is further provided with a data managing part for generating a plurality of tracking data corresponding to individual tracking ranges and a storing part for storing said plurality of tracking data generated by said data managing part, said tracking data includes movement amount information able to specify the amount of movement of a corresponding tracking range from said imaging region, and, when there are any articles in the corresponding tracking range, further includes the same number of article data as the number of articles within the corresponding tracking range, said article data includes article position information able to specify the relative position of a corresponding article with respect to said tracking range, said data managing part updates said movement amount information stored in said storing part based on the amount of movement detected by said movement amount detecting part, the tracking range monitoring part monitors the amount movement of said tracking range from said imaging region with reference to said movement amount information of said tracking data and specifies the tracking data of the tracking range passing through said detection area, said article selecting part selects article data satisfying said selection condition with reference to the article data included in the tracking data specified by said tracking range monitoring part, and said controlling part specifies the relative position of said article with respect to said handling part based on said movement amount information included in the tracking data specified by said tracking range monitoring part and said article position information included in the article data selected by said article selecting part and makes said handling part follow said article.

8. A work system as set forth in claim 6 wherein:

said tracking range monitoring part specifies one of said tracking ranges as a head tracking range and one of said tracking ranges as a tail tracking range; and

said article selecting part selects said article within a region from said head tracking range to said tail tracking range.