Device and method for separating piece goods

Abstract

The invention relates to a device and a method for separating piece goods, in particular pharmaceutical packages, to be stored in a sorting device. With known devices for separation, it is not possible to provide the pharmaceutical packages in a state of being separated and lying flat on a predetermined side. The device according to the invention comprises: a conveying device for piece goods, a detection device (20) for detecting a 3D image of the piece goods (2, 3), a control device (30) for evaluating the 3D image and for determining the piece goods (3) to be picked up, a conveying device (40) for picking up the piece goods (2), a storage surface (50) and a lateral detection device (60). The control device is configured so that the orientation of the picked up piece goods is measured and a preferred storage surface is determined, and the conveying device (40) is controlled so that the picked up piece goods are arranged on the storage surface (50) with the preferred storage surface.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a device and a method for separating piece goods to be stored in a sorting device, and in particular for separating pharmaceutical packages to be stored in a pharmacy sorting device. Background Art

[0002] In modern pharmacy sorting systems, a large number of different medication packages are stored according to the principle of chaotic storage and are removed from storage when needed using a control device. In this case, medication packages are stored in the sorting system according to available storage locations. Under the chaotic storage principle, medication packages are not stored according to medication type, i.e., when storing medication of this type, the packages are not stored in the same category. To store medication packages, a user can place them onto, for example, an inbound belt, which then uses the belt to move the medication packages into the sorting system. The sorting system's control device then removes the medication packages from the inbound belt, moves them to a storage location predetermined by a control device, and arranges them there. Depending on the number of medication packages to be stored, the process of storing a certain number of medication packages can be relatively time-consuming. Therefore, it is known in the prior art to combine pharmacy sorting systems with automated equipment for separating piece goods. These equipment provide separated piece goods from a plurality of piece goods, which are then identified and stored.

[0003] Devices for separating piece goods are known from the prior art. WO 2012 / 167846 A1, for example, discloses a device for separating piece goods that includes a device for transferring piece goods from a stock of piece goods to a support surface of a receiving device. The transfer device separates the piece goods by moving an obliquely arranged slide beneath the stock of piece goods to the support surface. However, depending on the size of the slide and the size of the piece goods in the stock, it may be possible for two or even three piece goods to be transferred to the support surface instead of just one. This also depends on the orientation of the piece goods in the stock, i.e., whether, for example, multiple piece goods are present in the stock lying flat on their narrowest sides, which are then all transferred to the support surface by the movement of the slide. This results in the piece goods being arranged on the support surface in any arbitrary orientation, meaning that with known devices, it is impossible to provide the piece goods separated and lying flat on a predetermined side. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a device and a corresponding method by means of which it is possible to provide piece goods in a separated state lying on predetermined sides.

[0005] This object is achieved by an apparatus according to the present invention for separating piece goods to be stored in a sorting system and a method according to the present invention for separating piece goods to be stored in a sorting system. The apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a conveyor device for providing a plurality of unseparated piece goods in a pickup area, the pickup area extending in the X and Y directions of the apparatus; an upper 3D detection device arranged above the conveyor device in a Z direction orthogonal to the X and Y directions, for detecting a 3D image of the piece goods arranged on the conveyor device in the pickup area; and a control device coupled to the upper 3D detection device for evaluating the 3D image detected by the upper 3D detection device and determining a piece good to be picked up from the plurality of piece goods. The 3D image is evaluated using conventional image processing software, with the goal of detecting various objects (i.e., piece goods) in the 3D image and determining which piece good can be picked up or has been picked up as the next piece good. For example, it is conceivable that some of the multiple piece loads overlap, so that the underlying piece load is covered by, for example, a flat piece load. This results in only being able to pick up the partially flat piece load, while the underlying piece load cannot be picked up. The precise manner in which image processing is performed and the piece load to be picked up is determined is irrelevant to the present invention; all approaches known to those skilled in the art, particularly those known under the term "machine vision," can be used.

[0006] The apparatus according to the present invention further comprises: a conveyor device coupled to a control device, comprising a gripper rotatable about a Z-axis (i.e., a vertical axis) for picking up a piece load determined by the control device from a plurality of piece loads; a storage surface arranged downstream of the pickup area in the X-direction for placing the piece load picked up by the conveyor device; and a lateral detection device for generating at least one image of the piece load picked up by the conveyor device. According to the present invention, the control device is configured to process the at least one image generated by the lateral detection device to determine the dimensions of the picked up piece load. If, during processing, it is determined that not all dimensions of the picked up piece load cannot be determined from the image, the picked up piece load is rotated by a predetermined angle about the Z-axis, another image is generated, and this image is then processed accordingly, with this process being repeated until all dimensions of the piece load have been determined. The control device specifies the angle by which the picked up piece load is rotated, where this value can be a fixed, programmed value or determined based on processing of a previous image. Based on the results of image processing or the dimensions of the picked piece goods, the orientation of the picked piece goods is determined, and the preferred storage surface for the picked piece goods is determined according to the control device. The control device then controls the conveyor device based on the orientation and preferred storage surface so that the picked piece goods are placed on the storage surface using the preferred storage surface.

[0007] Therefore, the device according to the present invention includes not only a 3D detection device for determining the next piece load to be removed from the inventory, but also a further detection device that generates one or more images of the picked piece load. The image or images can be used to determine the dimensions of the picked piece load and, therefore, its orientation. Since the upper 3D detection device cannot guarantee that the entire piece load is detected, the dimensions of the picked piece load cannot be easily determined based on the 3D images of the upper 3D detection device. Furthermore, the upper 3D detection device generally cannot determine the height of the piece load to be picked up or already picked up. However, using a lateral detection device, the three dimensions of the picked piece load can be easily determined. This allows the orientation of the picked piece load to be determined, for example, whether the maximum support surface of the piece load is located at the bottom, on one side, or on the end face of the piece load. The lateral detection device can be a 2D or 3D detection device. When using a 2D inspection device, the picked-up piece goods must be rotated around the vertical axis to determine all dimensions, and at least two images must then be created and evaluated. If a 3D inspection device is used, then if the 3D inspection device is positioned accordingly, one image may be sufficient to determine all dimensions of the picked-up piece goods; however, rotation around the Z axis is usually also required in this case.

[0008] For example, a 3D camera can be used as a 3D detection device. A 3D camera is a camera system that allows the distance of the entire scene to be represented as an image. The term "3D camera" should specifically cover the following systems:

[0009] Stereo cameras, in which the surroundings are recorded simultaneously with two cameras, the spacing of the camera lenses usually corresponding to the interpupillary distance of a person. The resulting image pairs can be processed in a computer (of the control system) and a depth map created therefrom.

[0010] - Triangulation systems, where a light source projects a defined pattern onto an object. A camera records this pattern from another perspective and calculates the distance or depth map based on the distortion.

[0011] -TOF cameras (time of flight cameras), which infer distance by measuring the arrival time of light.

[0012] - Interferometry systems, which operate by interference between a measurement beam and an object beam.

[0013] - Light field cameras, in which, at the expense of resolution, the direction of the light beam leading to the pixel is recorded in addition to the brightness of the pixel with the help of a microlens array, wherein a depth map can then be calculated from these data.

[0014] If the orientation of the picked piece goods is known and the preferred inbound surface specified by the control unit is taken into account (which is usually the largest support surface for the piece goods), the piece goods can then be placed on the storage surface precisely using this inbound surface. Depending on the orientation of the picked piece goods, if the piece goods are picked up on the preferred inbound surface, simply placing the piece goods on the storage surface may be sufficient. If, for example, the preferred support surface is provided by the side of the picked piece goods, the piece goods must be tilted after being placed on the storage surface. This can be accomplished, for example, by a conveyor device. To this end, the conveyor device can be positioned next to the piece goods and then used to tilt the piece goods.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention, the lateral detection device is designed as a 3D detection device. As already explained above, the use of a 3D detection device reduces the number of images required to determine all dimensions after picking up - in the ideal case, one 3D image is sufficient to determine all dimensions.

[0016] How exactly the conveying device is designed depends in particular on the desired size and weight of the piece goods to be separated. In the case of pharmacy sorting plants, these sizes and weights are relatively low on the one hand and fluctuate relatively little on the other. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment, it is provided that the conveying device is designed as a suction gripper that can be moved in the X-, Y- and Z-directions, which comprises at least one suction head that can be rotated about the Z-axis. The use of a suction gripper also makes it possible to pick up piece goods that would otherwise be hindered or difficult to pick up due to unfavorable arrangements of adjacent piece goods. Only the suction head itself is rotatable, whereby the rotatability of the suction head about the Z-axis can be achieved; alternatively, the entire suction gripper or the component that carries the suction head can also be rotatable about the Z-axis and thereby "drive" the suction head in rotation.

[0017] In order to adapt the collection of piece goods to their size, a preferred embodiment of the sorting system according to the present invention provides for the suction gripper to include two suction heads of different sizes. This allows the selection of the suction head that best suits the next piece of goods to be collected, depending on the situation. Thus, it is possible to select a piece of goods with a very narrow collection surface that can only be reasonably grasped with a small suction head as the next piece of goods. In other cases, it may be advantageous to select a larger suction head to ensure the stability of the collected piece of goods on the suction head.

[0018] In order to enable a quick selection between at least two different suction heads, a preferred embodiment of the sorting system provides for the suction gripper to include a rotating body on which the suction heads are arranged, wherein the rotating body is rotatable about a horizontally extending rotation axis. This design of the suction gripper makes it possible to quickly and structurally simply switch between suction heads of different sizes.

[0019] In a preferred embodiment of the sorting device according to the invention, it is provided that the storage surface is designed to be rotatable, so that the deposited piece goods can be better prepared for subsequent storage or for preliminary removal from the storage surface.

[0020] According to the present invention,

[0021] a) placing a plurality of unseparated piece goods in a pickup area extending in the X direction and the Y direction by a conveyor device;

[0022] b) creating at least one 3D image of the plurality of unseparated piece goods by an upper 3D detection device arranged above the conveying device in a Z direction orthogonal to the X and Y directions;

[0023] c) processing the at least one 3D image by a control device coupled to the 3D detection device to determine the position of the unseparated piece goods and to determine which piece goods to pick up next from the plurality of piece goods. Once such piece goods are determined,

[0024] d) picking up the piece goods by a grabbing tool of a conveyor device that can rotate about the Z axis;

[0025] e) creating at least one image of the picked-up piece goods by means of a lateral detection device coupled to the control device; and

[0026] f) processing at least one image created by the lateral detection device to determine the dimensions of the picked-up piece goods;

[0027] g) when all dimensions of the picked-up piece goods cannot be determined, rotating the picked-up piece goods around the Z axis by a predetermined angle, and repeating steps e) and f) until all dimensions of the picked-up piece goods are determined; and

[0028] h) Based on the result of image processing, the orientation of the picked-up piece goods is determined, and according to the provisions of the control device, the preferred storage surface of the picked-up piece goods is determined.

[0029] i) moving the picked-up piece goods toward a storage surface arranged downstream of the picking-up area in the X direction; and

[0030] j) Arranging it on the storage surface with the preferred inlet surface determined in method step f).

[0031] As already noted above, depending on the orientation of the piece goods being picked up, it may be sufficient to place the piece goods as they were picked up; this is sufficient if the piece goods are being picked up on the inbound surface. If this is not the case, the piece goods can be repositioned after the initial placement. To this end, a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention provides for placing the picked up piece goods on the inbound surface by first placing them on their other side on the storage surface and then tilting them onto the inbound surface. This can be done simply by the conveyor, for example, by moving the conveyor next to the piece goods and using the conveyor to tilt the piece goods.

[0032] A preferred embodiment of the method provides for the creation of a 3D image of the picked-up piece goods using the lateral inspection device. This reduces the number of images required to determine the dimensions of the picked-up piece goods. Ideally, a single 3D image is sufficient to determine all three dimensions.

[0033] To increase flexibility when placing piece goods on the storage surface, a preferred embodiment of the method provides for rotating the picked-up piece goods about the Z axis (i.e., the vertical axis) as specified by the control device before placement on the storage surface. This allows for an optimal orientation for subsequent storage, where the "optimal" orientation can depend, for example, on the available storage spaces in the sorting system.

[0034] In another preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, the picked-up piece goods are rotated about the Z axis to determine their identifiers, and in the process, they are scanned by a lateral detection device. If this identifier can be detected, the subsequent method step of identifying the piece goods, which is generally not relevant for the separation itself, can be skipped, which speeds up the entire storage process. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] In the following, preferred embodiments of the device according to the invention and the method according to the invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

[0036] Figure 1a and Figure 1b An oblique view of a preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention is shown, wherein Figure 1b Omitted Figure 1a The detection range of the detection device marked in the middle;

[0037] Figure 2 Another oblique view of the preferred embodiment is shown, which includes piece goods;

[0038] Figure 3 A top view of the preferred embodiment is shown, including piece cargo;

[0039] Figure 4 This embodiment is shown from the rear, i.e. from a perspective looking towards the conveyor;

[0040] Figure 5a and Figure 5b shows an oblique view and a rear view of a first method scenario of a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention;

[0041] Figure 6a and Figure 6b A second method scenario according to a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention is shown;

[0042] Figures 7a to 7c A front view showing further method aspects of a preferred embodiment of the method, more specifically the placement and tipping of piece goods picked up on a storage surface;

[0043] Figure 8a and Figure 8b side views showing different method scenarios; and

[0044] Figure 9 A flow chart showing a preferred embodiment of the method is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] Figure 1a and Figure 1b A preferred embodiment of the device 1 according to the invention for separating piece goods to be stored in a sorting system is shown in an oblique view, wherein the piece goods are, in particular, pharmaceutical packages to be stored in a pharmacy sorting system or a hospital sorting system. The embodiment shown comprises a conveyor device 10 which, in the embodiment shown, comprises a conveyor belt 13 with two side panels 12, wherein the side panels are intended to prevent the piece goods from slipping off. Figure 1b In the "left" section of the conveyor belt, designated as "in the figure," an area 11 is provided. This area is the pickup area 11, where piece goods are placed, as can be seen in the subsequent figures. The pickup area 11 extends in the X and Y directions of the system, where the X and Y directions define a plane. A 3D detection device 20 with a detection range 21 is arranged above the conveyor device 10 in the Z direction, perpendicular to the plane spanned by the X and Y directions. This 3D detection device creates a 3D image of the piece goods placed in the pickup area 11.

[0046] The illustrated embodiment of the sorting device 1 according to the invention also includes a guide frame 5 arranged laterally to the conveying device 10, on which a transfer device 40 is movably arranged, which in the illustrated embodiment is designed as a suction gripper. The suction gripper comprises a Z guide 43, which itself can move in the X direction on the guide frame 5. On this Z guide 43, a Y guide 44 can move in the Z direction, wherein on the Y guide 44, a support 45 can in turn move in the Y direction. A rotating body 42 is fixed to the support 45 (or the rotating body support 46 shown in the subsequent figures), on which two gripping tools designed as suction heads are arranged, as shown more precisely with reference to the subsequent figures.

[0047] A lateral detection device 60 with a detection range 61 is arranged upstream of the conveyor device 40, and a storage surface 50 for placing piece goods picked up by the conveyor device 40 is arranged downstream of the transport device 10. Finally, the sorting device 1 includes a control device 30, which is coupled to the upper 3D detection device 20, the lateral detection device 60, the conveyor device 40, and, if necessary, the transport device 10 via unillustrated wires. According to the present invention, the control device 30 is configured to process the image generated by the lateral detection device 60 in order to determine the dimensions of the picked-up piece goods.

[0048] The processing and number of images depends on the type and configuration of the lateral inspection device. If a 3D inspection device is used, as in the illustrated embodiment, then, given a correspondingly positioned inspection device, simply creating and processing an image of the picked-up piece goods in the pickup area 11 is sufficient to determine all three dimensions. However, even when using a 3D inspection device, multiple 3D images are typically required to determine all dimensions. Before creating the subsequent image, the picked-up piece goods are rotated by a predetermined angle X. This process is repeated until all three dimensions of the piece goods have been determined. If a 2D inspection device is used, at least two images must be created in each case, each representing the picked-up piece goods from different perspectives. To achieve this, the piece goods can be rotated, for example, by 90° about the Z axis after creating the first image.

[0049] Based on the results of the image processing, the orientation of the picked-up piece goods is determined. Based on the orientation of the picked-up piece goods, for example, the position of the maximum support surface of the picked-up piece goods is determined. Depending on the arrangement of the piece goods before they were picked up, this orientation may represent the suction surface (and its mating surface) of the piece goods. However, it is also possible that a side surface or an end surface (with respect to the X-direction of the device) represents the maximum support surface of the piece goods.

[0050] Based on a control device's specifications, which can be obtained from the control device of the sorting system into which the piece goods are to be deposited, a preferred entry surface for the picked piece goods is determined. This preferred entry surface is typically the maximum support surface for the picked piece goods. The control device of the device for separating the piece goods then controls the conveyor device so that the picked piece goods are arranged on the storage surface 50 using the preferred entry surface, which will be described in more detail with reference to the subsequent figures.

[0051] Figure 2 、 Figure 3 and Figure 4 The preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention is shown in oblique views, top views and rear views, wherein Figures 2 to 4 In FIG. 1 , four piece goods are arranged in the pickup area 11 of the conveyor device 10. Two of the piece goods, which are marked with reference numeral 2, are arranged in isolation in the pickup area, and piece goods 2 ″ are partially covered by piece goods 2 ′, as shown in particular in FIG. Figure 4 . In this rear view, the view is "from the rear" across the conveyor device 10 in the X direction toward the storage surface 50; in contrast, in the front view, the view is from the storage surface 50 toward the conveyor device 10 in the X direction. In the embodiment shown, the X direction is determined by the transport direction of the piece goods from the pickup area 11 to the downstream storage surface 50.

[0052] Figure 5a 、 Figure 5b and Figure 6a 、 Figure 6b The oblique view and rear view respectively show different methods of separating piece goods. Figure 5a and Figure 5b In the case of the method shown in FIG, the suction head 41a of the suction gripper is placed on the upper side of the piece goods 3. Figure 5b As can be seen in the figure, in the embodiment shown, the suction gripper comprises a central rotating body 42, which is rotatably supported about a horizontally designed rotation axis on a rotating body mounting frame 46. Two suction heads are arranged on the rotating body 42, more precisely, a suction head 41a that is in close contact with the piece goods 3 and a suction head 41b that is arranged opposite. Figure 5b (and Figure 6b ) it can be seen that the diameter of the suction head 41a is larger than the diameter of the suction head 41b, that is, the suction head 41a is preset for picking up larger piece goods or for placing on a larger surface of the piece goods.

[0053] exist Figure 6a 、 Figure 6b, a further method scenario is shown in which the suction gripper continues to move upwards on the Y guide 44, wherein the piece goods 3 are lifted out of the pick-up area 11 due to the suction effect of the suction gripper on the upper side. Figure 5a and Figure 6a As can be seen from the previous figures, the piece goods 3 are freely arranged in the pickup area 11 , so that no other piece goods hinder the picking up of the piece goods 3 .

[0054] Figure 7a 、 Figure 7b and Figure 7c A front view of further process scenarios is shown according to a preferred embodiment of the process according to the invention. Figure 7a In the embodiment, the piece goods 3 are placed on the storage surface 50, more precisely on the "left" part of the storage surface. Figure 7a As can be seen from the previous figures, for piece goods 3, the maximum supporting surface is the lateral surface of the piece goods oriented in the X direction, and in the preferred embodiment described here, this maximum side is determined as the entry surface. At this time, in order to place the piece goods 3 on the entry surface, the conveyor 40 moves so that the suction head 41a is arranged on the left side of the piece goods 3, so that the suction head is located below the upper edge of the piece goods 3. In order to move the piece goods to the entry surface, the suction gripper moves to the right on the Y guide 44, so that the piece goods 3 is knocked down by the suction head 41a. The result is: as shown Figure 7c As shown in the figure, the piece goods are placed flat on the largest side, which is determined as the inbound surface. Then, in this orientation, they can be moved by a (not shown) handling device, for example, to the inbound belt of a sorting device (also not shown), from where they are then moved to the final storage location.

[0055] Figure 8a and Figure 8b Shown Figure 7a and Figure 7c An oblique view of the method situation is shown in order to visually illustrate it.

[0056] In the following, with the help of Figure 9The flowchart of FIG1 describes a preferred embodiment of the method according to the present invention for separating piece goods to be deposited into a sorting system. First, in step 100, as described in more detail in the previous figures, a plurality of unseparated piece goods are provided in the pickup area 11 of the conveyor device 10. The piece goods can particularly be pharmaceutical packaging, which will be deposited into the pharmacy sorting system after being separated by the device according to the present invention. Once the piece goods have been provided, a 3D detection device (e.g., a simple 3D camera) arranged above the conveyor device records a 3D image of the plurality of piece goods in step 110. In step 120, a control device 30 coupled to the 3D detection device processes this 3D image and determines the position of the individual piece goods. Based on this, the next piece goods to be picked up are then determined, typically those not covered by other piece goods. In the previous figures, this is, for example, the piece goods 3 that have been picked up. Subsequently, in step 130, the suction head 41a of the suction gripper grabs the previously determined piece good, specifically on the side of the piece good that is best accessible to the suction gripper. Once the piece good has been picked up, a laterally positioned 3D detection device, which can also be a 3D camera, creates a 3D image of the picked up piece good in step 140. This 3D image is processed in step 150, specifically to determine the dimensions of the picked up piece good. If all three dimensions cannot be determined using the 3D image, the picked up piece good is rotated about the Z axis by a predetermined value, and another 3D image is created, which then undergoes the corresponding processing according to step 150. This process is repeated until all dimensions have been determined. In step 160, the orientation of the piece good is determined based on its dimensions. This allows, for example, to determine where the maximum support surface for the piece good is located. Thus, for example, it is conceivable to pick up piece goods on the largest picking surface arranged laterally or in the end face (with respect to the X direction). After the orientation has been determined, in step 170, the preferred storage surface is determined based on the provisions of the control device. The control device of the device according to the invention is usually coupled to the control device of the sorting device to be stored in the piece goods, and depending on the available storage spaces, the control device of the sorting device can, for example, stipulate that all piece goods are stored in such a way that their longest side can be aligned, for example in the Y direction. If there are no restrictions with regard to the storage spaces, it is usually the case that the largest support surface for the piece goods is also the preferred storage surface, because this ensures that the piece goods can be stored in the sorting device safely and without the risk of tipping. After or during the determination of the preferred inbound surface, in step 180 the picked-up piece goods are moved in the X direction to the storage surface 50; in step 190 the picked-up piece goods are arranged on the storage surface with the preferred inbound surface, wherein, if the preferred inbound surface is arranged, for example, laterally, the piece goods are arranged by tilting the piece goods with a suction gripper after the initial placement.

Claims

1. A device (1) for separating piece goods (2) to be stored in a sorting device, comprising: a conveying device (10) for providing a plurality of unseparated piece goods in a pickup area (11), the pickup area extending in the X direction and the Y direction of the device; an upper 3D detection device (20) arranged above the conveying device (10) in a Z direction orthogonal to the X and Y directions, and configured to detect a 3D image of piece goods arranged in the pickup area (11) on the conveying device (10); a control device (30) coupled to the upper 3D detection device (20), the control device being configured to evaluate the 3D image created by the upper 3D detection device (20) and to determine a piece load to be picked up from a plurality of piece loads; a conveying device (40) coupled to the control device (30), the conveying device including a gripping tool rotatable about a Z axis for picking up a piece of goods (2) determined by the control device (30) from a plurality of piece goods; a storage surface (50) arranged downstream of the pickup area (11) in the X direction, the storage surface being used to place piece goods picked up by the conveying device (40); and a lateral detection device (60) for creating at least one image of the piece goods picked up by the conveying device (40), wherein the control device is configured to process at least one of the images created by the lateral detection device (60) to determine the dimensions of the picked up piece goods, and wherein when all dimensions of the picked up piece goods cannot be determined, the picked up piece goods are rotated by a predetermined angle around the Z axis and another image is created; and determining the orientation of the picked-up piece goods based on the image processing result, and determining the preferred storage surface for the picked-up piece goods according to the specification of the control device; The conveying device (40) is controlled according to the orientation and the preferred storage surface so that the picked-up piece goods are arranged on the storage surface (50) with the preferred storage surface.

2. The device (1) for separating piece goods (2) to be stored in a sorting device according to claim 1, characterized in that The lateral detection device (60) is designed as a 3D detection device.

3. The device (1) for separating piece goods (2) to be stored in a sorting device according to claim 1, characterized in that The conveying device (40) is designed as a suction gripper that can move in the X direction, the Y direction and the Z direction, and the suction gripper includes at least one suction head that can rotate around the Z axis.

4. The device (1) for separating piece goods (2) to be stored in a sorting device according to claim 3, characterized in that The suction gripper includes two suction heads of different sizes.

5. The device (1) for separating piece goods (2) to be stored in a sorting device according to claim 4, characterized in that The suction gripper comprises a rotating body (42) on which the suction head is arranged, wherein the rotating body (42) is rotatable about a horizontally extending rotation axis.

6. A device (1) for separating piece goods (2) to be stored in a sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The storage surface (50) is designed to be rotatable.

7. A method for separating piece goods (2) to be stored in a sorting device, wherein a) arranging a plurality of unseparated piece goods (2) in a pick-up area (11) by means of a conveying device (10), wherein the pick-up area extends in an X direction and a Y direction; b) creating at least one 3D image of a plurality of unseparated piece goods (2) by an upper 3D detection device (20) arranged above the conveying device (10) in a Z direction orthogonal to the X and Y directions; c) processing at least one of the 3D images by a control device (30) coupled to the 3D detection device (20) to determine the position of the unseparated piece goods (2) and to determine which piece goods to pick up next from a plurality of the piece goods; d) picking up the piece goods measured in step c) by a gripping tool of the conveying device (40) that can rotate around the Z axis; e) creating at least one image of the picked-up piece goods by means of a lateral detection device (60) coupled to the control device (30); f) processing at least one of the images created by the lateral detection device (60) to determine the dimensions of the piece of cargo picked up; g) when all dimensions of the picked-up piece goods cannot be determined, rotating the picked-up piece goods around the Z axis by a predetermined angle, and repeating steps e) and f) until all dimensions of the picked-up piece goods are measured; h) determining the orientation of the picked-up piece goods based on the image processing results, and determining a preferred storage surface for the picked-up piece goods according to the provisions of the control device; i) moving the picked-up piece goods toward a storage surface (50) arranged downstream of the picking area (11) in the X direction; and j) Arranging the picked-up piece goods on the storage surface (50) with a preferred storage surface.

8. The method for separating piece goods (2) to be stored in a sorting device according to claim 7, characterized in that The picked-up piece goods are placed on the preferred storage surface by first placing the picked-up piece goods with their other side on the storage surface (50) and then tilting them onto the preferred storage surface.

9. The method for separating piece goods (2) to be stored in a sorting device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that A 3D image of the picked-up piece goods is created by the lateral detection device (60).

10. The method for separating piece goods (2) to be stored in a sorting device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that Before being placed on the storage surface, the picked-up piece goods are rotated about the Z axis as specified by the control device.

11. The method for separating piece goods (2) to be stored in a sorting device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that The picked-up piece goods are rotated about the Z axis to determine the identifier and are scanned by the lateral detection device during the process.

Images