Programmable load forming system, components thereof, and methods of use

• US 20060106487A1
• Filed: 09/28/2005
• Published: 05/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alliance Machine Systems International LLC (Barry-Wehmiller Group Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: J&L Group International, LLC
• Inventors: Allen, Robert M., Vershum, Lynn E., Holt, Andrew B., Brown, Kevin P.
• Granted Patent: US 8,000,837 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/213
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 61/00 Use of pick-up or transfer devices or of manipulators for stacking or de-stacking articles not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40006 Placing, palletize, un palletize, paper roll placing, box stacking
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/2037 In stacked or packed relation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/204 Stacker sweeps along product support
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/2057 Including means to deliver individual pieces to a stack holder

Abstract

Programmable load forming systems, components thereof, and methods of use are disclosed. In one aspect, a programmable load forming system is programmed to perform the method of downloading a calculated path from the computer to the robot controller, moving one or more bundles along the calculated path to position the one or more bundles in a predetermined stacking position of a stacking pattern using the robot, and determining if the robot has completed moving along the calculated path. The calculated path is defined, in part, by the stacking pattern and other parameters such as, for example, bundle geometry, bundle levelness, bundle compressibility, among other parameters. In another aspect, the system is programmed to perform a method of sensing the top of a bundle and controllably placing a bundle. Additional aspects are directed to systems and methods of safely operating the robot and an inventive hopper design for holding bottom/tie sheets.

Claims

1. A programmable load forming system, comprising:

a robot comprising;

a moveable arm configured to carry at least one bundle; and

a robot controller;

a computer operably coupled to the robot controller, the computer programmed with instructions and operable to communicate the instructions to the robot controller, the instructions comprising;

downloading a calculated path from the computer to the robot controller, the calculated path defined, in part, by the stacking pattern;

moving at least one bundle along the calculated path to position the at least one bundle in a predetermined stacking position of a stacking pattern using the robot; and

determining if the robot has completed moving along the calculated path.

2. The programmable load forming system of claim 1 wherein the act of determining if the robot has completed moving along the calculated path comprises the computer continuously polling the robot controller to determine if the robot has completed moving along the calculated path.

3. The programmable load forming system of claim 1 wherein the instructions further comprise:

if the robot has completed moving along the calculated path, downloading at least another calculated path from the computer to the robot controller while the robot returns to pick-up at least one additional bundle, the at least another calculated path defined, in part, by the stacking pattern; and

moving the at least one additional bundle along the at least another calculated path to position the at least one additional bundle in at least another predetermined stacking position of the stacking pattern using the robot.

4. The programmable load forming system of claim 1 wherein:

the moveable arm comprises a gripping mechanism configured to carry the at least one bundle; and

the act of moving at least one bundle using the robot along the calculated path to position the at least one bundle in a stacking position of the stacking pattern comprises supporting the at least one bundle with a gripping mechanism of the robot.

5. The programmable load forming system of claim 1 wherein:

the programmable load forming system further comprises a build zone conveyor defining the build zone; and

the act of moving at least one bundle along the calculated path to position the at least one bundle in a predetermined stacking position of the stacking pattern using the robot comprises placing the at least one bundle at the predetermined stacking position over the build zone conveyor.

6. The programmable load forming system of claim 1 wherein the instructions further comprise repeating the acts of downloading a calculated path, moving at least one bundle, and determining if the robot has completed moving along the calculated path to form a stack of a plurality of the at least one bundles arranged in the stacking pattern.

7. The programmable load forming system of claim 1, further comprising:

a conveyor operable to transport the at least one bundle to a location in which the moveable arm can pick-up the at least one bundle; and

a detector operable to detect the presence of the at least one bundle when the at least one bundle is at the location in which the moveable arm can pick-up the at least one bundle.

8. The programmable load forming system of claim 7 wherein the detector comprises one of an optical detector and an encoder.

9. The programmable load forming system of claim 1 wherein the computer includes a user interface configured for a user to input the stacking pattern.

10. The programmable load forming system of claim 9 wherein the user interface comprises a visual CAD interface.

11. A method of stacking bundles in a stacking pattern using a programmable load forming system, comprising:

downloading a calculated path from a computer to a robot controller of a robot, the calculated path defined, in part, by the stacking pattern;

moving at least one bundle along the calculated path to position the at least one bundle in a predetermined stacking position of the stacking pattern using the robot; and

determining if the robot has completed moving along the calculated path.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the act of determining if the robot has completed moving along the calculated path comprises the computer continuously polling the robot controller to determine if the robot has completed moving along the calculated path.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

if the robot has completed moving along the calculated path, downloading at least another calculated path from the computer to the robot controller while the robot returns to pick-up at least one additional bundle, the at least another calculated path defined, in part, by the stacking pattern; and

moving the at least one additional bundle along the at least another calculated path to position the at least one additional bundle in at least another predetermined stacking position of the stacking pattern using the robot.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein:

the robot includes a gripping mechanism configured to support the at least one bundle; and

the act of moving at least one bundle along the calculated path to position the at least one bundle in a stacking position of the stacking pattern using the robot comprises supporting the at least one bundle with the gripping mechanism of the robot.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein the act of moving at least one bundle along the calculated path to position the at least one bundle in a stacking position of the stacking pattern using the robot comprises placing the at least one bundle at the stacking position over a build zone conveyor.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising repeating the acts of downloading a calculated path, moving at least one bundle, and determining if the robot has completed moving along the calculated path to form a stack of a plurality of the at least one bundles arranged in the stacking pattern.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

prior to the act of moving at least one bundle along the calculated path to position the at least one bundle in a predetermined stacking position of the stacking pattern using the robot, detecting the presence of the at least one bundle on a conveyor in a position in which the robot can pick-up the at least one bundle on a gripping mechanism thereof.

18. The method of claim 11 wherein the act of detecting the presence of the at least one bundle on a conveyor in a position in which the robot can pick-up the at least one bundle on a gripping mechanism thereof comprises detecting the presence of the at least one bundle on the conveyor using one of an optical detector and an encoder that is operably coupled to the robot controller.

19. A programmable load forming system, comprising:

a robot comprising;

a moveable arm configured to carry at least one bundle; and

a robot controller;

a computer readable medium containing instructions to cause the robot to perform a method comprising;

lowering the at least one bundle onto the lower bundle using a gripping mechanism of a robot;

allowing the gripping mechanism to move vertically a set distance responsive to the at least one bundle being lowered onto the lower bundle, upon the gripping mechanism moving the set distance the act of lowering the at least one bundle is stopped; and

moving the gripping mechanism having the at least one bundle retained thereon upwardly a predetermined distance.

20. The programmable load forming system of claim 19 wherein the computer readable medium is included in the robot controller.

21. The programmable load forming system of claim 19, further comprising a computer including the computer readable medium, the computer operable to transmit the instructions to the robot controller.

22. The programmable load forming system of claim 19 wherein the act of moving the gripping mechanism having the at least one bundle retained thereon upwardly a predetermined distance is responsive to instructions from an operator.

23. The programmable load forming system of claim 19 wherein the act of moving the gripping mechanism having the at least one bundle retained thereon upwardly a predetermined distance occurs automatically upon the gripping mechanism floating the set distance.

24. The programmable load forming system of claim 19 wherein the instructions further comprise storing the predetermined distance in a memory of the programmable load forming system.

25. The programmable load forming system of claim 19 wherein the act of allowing the gripping mechanism to move vertically a set distance responsive to the at least one bundle being lowered onto the lower bundle comprises using an air cylinder to move the gripping mechanism vertically.

26. The programmable load forming system of claim 19, further comprising placing at least another bundle onto the lower bundle at a height determined at least, in part, from the predetermined distance.

31. The method of claim 24 wherein the act of allowing the gripping mechanism to move vertically a set distance responsive to the at least one bundle being lowered onto the lower bundle comprises using an air cylinder to move the gripping mechanism vertically.

27. A method of placing at least one bundle on a lower bundle using a programmable load forming system, comprising:

lowering the at least one bundle onto the lower bundle using a gripping mechanism of a robot;

allowing the gripping mechanism to move vertically a set distance responsive to the at least one bundle being lowered onto the lower bundle, upon the gripping mechanism moving the set distance the act of lowering the at least one bundle is stopped; and

moving the gripping mechanism having the at least one bundle retained thereon upwardly a predetermined distance.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the act of moving the gripping mechanism having the at least one bundle retained thereon upwardly a predetermined distance is responsive to instructions from an operator.

29. The method of claim 27 wherein the act of moving the gripping mechanism having the at least one bundle retained thereon upwardly a predetermined distance occurs automatically upon the gripping mechanism floating the set distance.

30. The method of claim 27, further comprising storing the predetermined distance in a memory of the programmable load forming system.

32. The method of claim 27, further comprising placing at least another bundle onto the lower bundle at a height determined at least, in part, from the predetermined distance.

33. A programmable load forming system, comprising:

a robot comprising;

a moveable arm configured to carry at least one bundle; and

a robot controller;

computer readable medium containing instructions to cause the robot to perform a method comprising;

stopping the moveable arm from moving along a path that the robot was instructed to move along; and

moving the gripping mechanism from a first location to a reference location in which the gripping mechanism can be rotated without physical interference from a part of the programmable load forming system without an operator determining the path that the gripping mechanism moves along.

34. The programmable load forming system of claim 33 wherein the computer readable medium is included in the robot controller.

35. The programmable load forming system of claim 33, further comprising a computer including the computer readable medium, the computer operable to transmit the instructions to the robot controller.

36. The programmable load forming system of claim 33, further comprising rotating the gripping mechanism while the gripping mechanism is positioned at the reference location.

37. The programmable load forming system of claim 33 wherein the act of stopping the moveable arm from moving along a path that the robot was instructed to move along is initiated when the operator toggles a joystick of the programmable load forming system.

38. The programmable load forming system of claim 33 wherein the act of moving the gripping mechanism from a first location to a reference location is terminated when the operator releases a joystick of the programmable load forming system.

39. A method of manipulating a moveable arm of a robot included in a programmable load forming system, comprising:

stopping the moveable arm from moving along a path that the robot was instructed to move along; and

moving the gripping mechanism from a first location to a reference location in which the gripping mechanism can be rotated without physical interference from a part of the programmable load forming system without an operator determining the path that the gripping mechanism moves along.

40. The method of claim 39, further comprising rotating the gripping mechanism while the gripping mechanism is positioned at the reference location.

41. The method of claim 39 wherein the act of stopping the moveable arm from moving along a path that the robot was instructed to move along is initiated when the operator toggles a joystick of the programmable load forming system.

42. The method of claim 39 wherein the act of moving the gripping mechanism from a first location to a reference location is terminated when the operator releases a joystick of the programmable load forming system.

43. A hopper for holding tie/bottom sheets and configured for use in a programmable load forming system, the hopper positioned adjacent to a tie/bottom sheet build zone conveyor of the programmable load forming system, the hopper comprising:

a shelf structure including a plurality of shelves spaced apart from each other, each of the shelves not being enclosed at one end to facilitate operator access thereto; and

a plurality of cantilevered arms, each of the shelves is associated with one of the cantilevered arms, each of the cantilevered arms including an arm positioned over one of the shelves, each of the arms carries a sheet retention device operable to lift a tie/bottom sheet so that a sheet arm of the programmable load forming system can transport the tie/bottom sheet to the tie/bottom sheet build zone conveyor.

44. The hopper of claim 43 wherein each of the sheet retention devices comprises a plurality of suction devices.

45. The hopper of claim 43, further comprising a plurality of actuators, each of the actuators is operable to actuate a corresponding one of the cantilevered beams.