Workpiece picking device and method
First Claim
1. A workpiece picking device, comprising:
- a camera adapted to capture an image of a plurality of the same kind of disorderly piled workpieces so that the workpieces are within a field view of the camera;
a memory adapted to store the image captured by the camera;
a workpiece detecting part adapted to detect one or more workpieces in the image stored in the memory;
a workpiece selecting part adapted to select a workpiece to be picked among one or more workpieces detected by the workpiece detecting part;
a robot manipulator adapted to pick the workpiece selected by the workpiece selecting part; and
a stacked condition judging part adapted to judge whether the stacked condition of the plurality of piled workpieces is changed by the picking operation of the robot manipulator,wherein the camera does not capture an image of the piled workpieces in the next picking operation when the stacked condition judging part determines that the stacked condition of the workpieces is unchanged, at least around a workpiece to be picked in the next operation, in which case the workpiece detecting part detects a workpiece from the image captured by the camera in the previous operation.
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Abstract
A workpiece picking device and method for reducing the cycle time of a picking operation of workpieces, by omitting or reducing the movement of a robot manipulator when an image of the workpieces is captured. An image processor of the picking device includes a camera controlling part for reading image data from a camera, a memory for storing the image data, a workpiece detecting part for extracting one or more images from the memory and detecting one or more workpieces in the image, and a workpiece selecting part for selecting a workpiece to be picked among the workpieces detected by the workpiece detecting part. The image processor further includes a stacked condition judging part for determining whether the condition of the stacked workpieces in a container is changed.
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Citations
9 Claims
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1. A workpiece picking device, comprising:
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a camera adapted to capture an image of a plurality of the same kind of disorderly piled workpieces so that the workpieces are within a field view of the camera; a memory adapted to store the image captured by the camera; a workpiece detecting part adapted to detect one or more workpieces in the image stored in the memory; a workpiece selecting part adapted to select a workpiece to be picked among one or more workpieces detected by the workpiece detecting part; a robot manipulator adapted to pick the workpiece selected by the workpiece selecting part; and a stacked condition judging part adapted to judge whether the stacked condition of the plurality of piled workpieces is changed by the picking operation of the robot manipulator, wherein the camera does not capture an image of the piled workpieces in the next picking operation when the stacked condition judging part determines that the stacked condition of the workpieces is unchanged, at least around a workpiece to be picked in the next operation, in which case the workpiece detecting part detects a workpiece from the image captured by the camera in the previous operation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for picking a workpiece, comprising the steps of:
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capturing an image of a plurality of the same kind of disorderly piled workpieces by using a camera so that the workpieces are within a field view of the camera; storing the image captured by the camera; detecting one or more workpieces in the stored image; selecting one workpiece to be picked among the one or more detected workpieces; picking the selected workpiece by using a robot manipulator; judging whether the stacked condition of the plurality of piled workpieces is changed by the picking operation of the robot manipulator; and detecting a workpiece from the stored image in the previous operation, without capturing a new image of the piled workpieces in the next picking operation, when the stacked condition of the workpieces is judged to be unchanged, at least around the workpiece to be picked in the next operation.
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Specification