Food product positioning system and method

• US 9,181,039 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2013
• Issued: 11/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Provisur Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Formax Incorporated
• Inventors: Lindee, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): HARP, WILLIAM RAY
• Application Number:
  US14/095,256
• Publication Number:
  US 20140090956A1
• Time in Patent Office: 707 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 17/0266 comprising more than two actuating or connecting rods
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/0051 with kinematics chains of the type rotary-universal-universal or rotary-spherical-spherical, e.g. Delta type manipulators
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/0093 co-operating with conveyor means
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 5/007 Control means comprising cameras, vision or image processing systems
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 5/34 scanning being effected by a photosensitive device
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/32 for conveying or stacking cut product means for removing cut-out material or waste B26D7/18
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 25/065 of meat
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 35/04 with buffer storage devices
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 35/58 Turning articles by positively-acting means, e.g. to present labelled portions in uppermost position
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 5/068 in trays B65B5/061 - B65B5/065 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 57/14 and operating to control, or stop, the feed of articles or material to be packaged
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/244 by turning them about an axis substantially perpendicular to the conveying plane
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/256 removing incorrectly orientated articles
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/90 Devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4182 manipulators and conveyor only
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/0448 With subsequent handling [i.e., of product]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/2022 Initiated by means responsive to product or work
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/2033 Including means to form or hold pile of product pieces
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/2037 In stacked or packed relation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/2192 : Endless conveyor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/2194 : And means to remove product therefrom
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/748 : With work immobilizer

Abstract

A food handling system having a positioning system and method. The positioning system includes a main conveying surface, an electronic sensor, a controller and a robot. The main conveying surface is configured to move food products. The electronic sensor is configured to capture position data about one or more food products on the main conveying surface within a sensor range of the sensor. The controller is signal-connected to the electronic sensor and the robot. The controller is configured to receive data captured by the sensor and is configured to instruct the robot to move a food product to a destination position. The robot is configured to reposition one or more food products on the conveying surface according to instructions sent by the controller. The robot has a longitudinal and a lateral working range. The food product may include formed meat patties or sliced meat or cheese products.

Claims

1. A method of aligning food products on a conveyor, comprising the steps of:

providing a food product on a conveyor;

detecting a position of the food product with a sensor; and

moving a mis-positioned food product from an original position on the conveyor to a destination position on the conveyor with a robot;

wherein the step of detecting is defined in that the position is a vertical alignment position of food products in a food product stack; and

wherein the step of moving includes positioning, with the robot, food products within the food product stack to bring the food product stack into a predefined vertical alignment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the moving step comprises the steps of:

lifting the food product from the original position on the conveyor; and

placing the food product down on a destination position on the conveyor with the robot.

3. The method of claim 1, after the step of detecting and before the step of moving, further comprising the steps of:

determining whether a food product is robot-correctable food product with a controller; and

wherein the step of moving is further defined in that only robot-correctable mis-positioned or mis-orientated food products are moved by the robot.

4. A method of aligning food products on a conveyor, comprising the steps of:

providing a food product on a conveyor;

detecting a position of the food product with a sensor; and

moving a mis-positioned food product from an original position on the conveyor to a destination position on the conveyor with a robot;

after the step of detecting, comprising the following steps;

sending a measured position value corresponding to the food product position detected by the sensor to a controller; and

determining with the controller whether the food product is mis-positioned by comparing the measured position value one or more predefined position values.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of detecting is defined in that the position is an orientation of the food product;

and wherein the step of moving includes rotating a misorientated food product from an original orientation on the conveyor to a destination orientation on the conveyor with the robot.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of detecting is defined in that the position is an orientation of the food product;

and wherein the step of sending is defined in that the measured position value is a measured orientation value corresponding to the food product orientation; and

wherein the step of determining is determining with the controller whether the food product is misorientated by comparing the measured orientation value with one or more predefined orientation values; and

wherein the step of moving includes rotating a misorientated food product from an original orientation on the conveyor to a destination orientation on the conveyor with the robot.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of providing comprises providing a stream of food products on a moving conveyor;

and

wherein the step of detecting comprises detecting a position of each food product within a row width with the sensor;

wherein sending comprises sending a position value corresponding to a position of each food product in the row width to a controller; and

wherein the step of determining comprises determining a properly aligned position for each misaligned food product within the width row; and

wherein the step of moving comprises moving each a misaligned food product from an original position on the conveyor to a destination position corresponding to the properly aligned position on the conveyor with a robot.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the moving step comprises the steps of:

lifting the food product from the original position on the conveyor; and

placing the food product down on a destination position on the conveyor with the robot.

9. The method of claim 4, after the step of detecting and before the step of moving, further comprising the steps of:

determining whether a food product is robot-correctable food product with a controller; and

wherein the step of moving is further defined in that only robot-correctable mis-positioned or mis-orientated food products are moved by the robot.

10. A method of aligning food products on a conveyor, comprising the steps of:

providing a food product on a conveyor;

detecting a position of the food product with a sensor; and

moving a mis-positioned food product from an original position on the conveyor to a destination position on the conveyor with a robot;

after the step of detecting, further comprising the steps of;

sending to a controller the measured position value corresponding to the food product position as measured by the sensor;

determining whether a food product is robot-correctable food product by determining whether the position value is within a predefined correctable position range;

routing a non-robot-correctable food products to a correction station; and

manually correcting the non-robot-correctable food products that are manually correctable.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the moving step comprises the steps of:

lifting the food product from the original position on the conveyor; and

placing the food product down on a destination position on the conveyor with the robot.