Device and method for automatic labeling of power transformers

Abstract

The present invention discloses a device and method for automatically labeling power transformers. The device includes a gripper, a turntable, and a mobile robot. The gripper includes an outer shell, on which a positioning camera, a nameplate recognition camera, and a labeler are integrated. The positioning camera is used to identify the nameplate and locate the nameplate position. The nameplate recognition camera is used to identify the nameplate content to obtain manufacturer information. The labeler is used to absorb and apply the nameplate sticker. The turntable is used to drive the power transformer to rotate. The mobile robot is used to drive the gripper to move so that the labeler absorbs and applies the nameplate sticker. The present invention can quickly locate the nameplate position on transformers of various specifications, accurately identify the nameplate content, automatically erase the manufacturer information, and accurately cover the nameplate with a printed sticker by the gripper, ultimately achieving the purpose of automatic labeling and improving the efficiency of transformer labeling. Its use can not only reduce labor costs, but also improve production efficiency and eliminate human intervention in mixed inspections.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of labeling, and in particular relates to a device and method for automatic labeling of power transformers. Background Art

[0002] Transformer nameplates contain information such as the manufacturer. This information can affect the fairness of product testing during transformer testing. The purpose of mixed transformer testing is to perform performance tests on multiple brands of transformers currently on the market. Covering the nameplates with labels can further prevent human interference with the results of mixed testing. During the transformer mixed testing process, hundreds of transformers require dispatch and transportation. Even with the current maturity of automated transportation, automating nameplate identification and labeling remains difficult, especially given the large number of transformer manufacturers and the large size of the transformers. Locating, handling, and labeling nameplates all require significant human resources.

[0003] The traditional mixed inspection model involves manually re-labeling and covering the nameplates of various transformer brands in the warehouse. Due to the large size of transformers, workers are forced to locate the nameplates of various transformers in the warehouse, manually input key information, print the labels, and then manually cover the labels. This process is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also difficult to eliminate human intervention. Furthermore, this manual process inevitably leads to mislabeling and missing labels, and the large warehouse space makes locating nameplates time-consuming and labor-intensive, resulting in low efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a device and method for automatic labeling of power transformers, so as to solve the manpower and time consumption in the process of manually finding nameplates, making labels and covering labels during the mixed inspection of transformers.

[0005] The technical solutions of the present invention are as follows:

[0006] A device for automatic labeling of power transformers, comprising a gripper, a turntable and a mobile robot; wherein:

[0007] The gripper includes an outer shell, on which are integrated a positioning camera, a nameplate recognition camera, and a labeler; the positioning camera is used to identify the nameplate on the power transformer and locate the nameplate position; the nameplate recognition camera is used to identify the nameplate content to obtain manufacturer information; the labeler is used to absorb and stick the nameplate sticker;

[0008] The turntable is used to drive the power transformer to rotate so that the nameplate on the power transformer faces the positioning camera, nameplate recognition camera and labeler;

[0009] The mobile robot is used to drive the gripper to move so that the labeler can absorb and stick the nameplate sticker.

[0010] Furthermore, the device also includes a printer, which is used to print nameplate stickers.

[0011] Furthermore, the device also includes a light source, which is used to provide lighting for the positioning camera and the nameplate recognition camera.

[0012] A method for automatic labeling of power transformers implemented by using the above-mentioned device for automatic labeling of power transformers comprises the following steps:

[0013] The power transformer is placed on a turntable, and the mobile robot drives the gripper to move to the turntable;

[0014] The turntable drives the power transformer to rotate, while the positioning camera starts searching for the nameplate through the feature points at the four corners of the nameplate;

[0015] After the positioning camera finds the nameplate, the turntable starts to rotate at a small angle so that the nameplate faces the positioning camera, nameplate recognition camera and labeler;

[0016] The mobile robot moves to the nameplate recognition position, and the nameplate recognition camera recognizes the nameplate content to obtain the manufacturer information;

[0017] After obtaining the manufacturer's information, the mobile robot moves to the printing position, and the printer prints the nameplate sticker, which corresponds to the manufacturer's information one by one;

[0018] The labeler of the mobile robot absorbs the nameplate sticker and moves to the labeling position to stick the nameplate sticker; the turntable waits for the next power transformer to arrive.

[0019] Furthermore, the positioning camera identifies the nameplate of the power transformer through the rivets at the four corners of the nameplate.

[0020] Furthermore, the offset of the feature point on the nameplate in the image is calculated to obtain the actual distance corresponding to a single pixel, that is, the pixel equivalent; it is known that the offset of the feature point in the photo is inversely proportional to the distance between the positioning camera and the nameplate. Through a large amount of data on the correspondence between the offset of the feature point and the distance between the nameplate and the camera, a mathematical equation is fitted, and then the distance of the nameplate relative to the camera is obtained through the offset of the feature point; then the number of horizontal and vertical pixels from the feature point of the nameplate to the center of the image cross is calculated, and the number of pixels is multiplied by the pixel equivalent to obtain the actual horizontal and vertical distances from the center of the camera to the feature point of the nameplate, thereby obtaining the spatial coordinates of the nameplate.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages and beneficial effects:

[0022] The present invention can quickly find the location of the nameplate on transformers of various specifications, accurately identify the content of the nameplate, automatically erase the manufacturer's information, and accurately cover the printed sticker on the nameplate through a gripper, thereby ultimately achieving the purpose of automatic labeling and improving the efficiency of transformer labeling. Its use can not only reduce labor costs, but also improve production efficiency and eliminate human intervention in mixed inspections. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 It is a structural diagram of the gripper of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 2 A perspective view of the gripper of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 3 This is a flow chart of the automatic labeling method of the present invention.

[0026] In the figure: 1-outer shell, 2-light source, 3-2D nameplate recognition camera, 4-2D positioning camera, 5-labeler. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only intended to illustrate the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, the technical features involved in the various embodiments of the present invention described below may be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0028] The present invention relates to the application of automatic labeling for mixed transformer inspection. In conjunction with products such as robots and vision systems, it can realize unmanned labeling of nameplates of different types of transformers to prepare for subsequent blind sample inspection.

[0029] In a warehouse environment, the present invention cooperates with robots and vision systems to solve the manpower and time consumption in the process of manually finding nameplates, making labels, and covering labels during the mixed inspection of transformers. In addition, human intervention in the labeling result cannot be avoided during the manual labeling process, and all labels cannot be printed in real time, which is time-consuming and ineffective.

[0030] The present invention provides a device and method for automatic labeling of power transformers, which can quickly find the location of nameplates on transformers of various specifications, accurately identify the content of the nameplates, and automatically erase the manufacturer's information. The suction cup gripper of the present invention accurately covers the printed stickers on the nameplates, thereby ultimately achieving the purpose of automatic labeling and improving the efficiency of transformer labeling. The use of the device and method can not only reduce labor costs, but also improve production efficiency and eliminate human intervention in mixed inspections.

[0031] The device for automatic labeling of power transformers of the present invention is as follows: Figure 1and Figure 2 As shown, the system comprises a gripper, a turntable, and a mobile robot. The turntable is used to rotate the power transformer. The gripper comprises an outer shell 1, to which a light source 2, a 2D nameplate recognition camera 3, a 2D positioning camera 4, and a labeler 5 are fixed by screws. The light source 2 provides illumination for the 2D nameplate recognition camera 3 and the 2D positioning camera 4. The 2D nameplate recognition camera 3 detects the text on the nameplate. The 2D positioning camera 4 detects the position of the nameplate on the transformer to facilitate labeling by the robot. The labeler 5 picks up labels from the marking machine and affixes them to the nameplate.

[0032] The robot drives the suction cup gripper. By locating the four corner feature points of the nameplate, i.e., the rivets, the nameplate can be quickly and accurately identified. The nameplate can be located in the photo within 500ms, and the transformer's turntable can be used to rotate the nameplate to face the robot. Because the suction cup gripper's 2D positioning camera has fixed coordinates relative to the robot flange, the algorithm determines the distance of the nameplate from the camera. By converting the 2D positioning to a 50mm lateral offset, the offset of the nameplate feature points in the image is calculated to obtain the actual distance corresponding to a single pixel, known as the pixel equivalent. Knowing that the offset of the feature points in the photo is inversely proportional to the distance between the camera and the nameplate, a mathematical equation is fitted based on a large amount of actual data on the feature point offset and the nameplate-camera distance. The feature point offset can then be used to determine the distance of the nameplate from the camera. The distance of the nameplate from the camera is then calculated by calculating the number of horizontal and vertical pixels from the nameplate feature point to the center of the image crosshairs. Multiplying this number of pixels by the pixel equivalent yields the actual horizontal and vertical distances from the camera center to the nameplate feature point, thus determining the spatial coordinates of the nameplate. The gripper obtains nameplate information through a 2D nameplate recognition camera and completes automatic printing and labeling.

[0033] The suction cup gripper's 2D positioning camera is used to quickly find the nameplate location on transformers of different specifications; the suction cup gripper's 2D nameplate recognition camera is used to identify manufacturer information; and the labeler is used to absorb and stick nameplate stickers.

[0034] like Figure 3 As shown, the usage steps are as follows:

[0035] The power transformer is placed on a turntable, and the mobile robot drives the gripper to move to the turntable;

[0036] The turntable drives the power transformer to rotate, while the positioning camera starts searching for the nameplate through the feature points at the four corners of the nameplate;

[0037] After the positioning camera finds the nameplate, the turntable starts to rotate at a small angle so that the nameplate faces the positioning camera, nameplate recognition camera and labeler;

[0038] The mobile robot moves to the nameplate recognition position, and the nameplate recognition camera recognizes the nameplate content to obtain the manufacturer information;

[0039] After obtaining the manufacturer's information, the mobile robot moves to the printing position, and the printer prints the nameplate sticker, which corresponds to the manufacturer's information one by one;

[0040] The labeler of the mobile robot absorbs the nameplate sticker and moves to the labeling position to stick the nameplate sticker; the turntable waits for the next power transformer to arrive.

[0041] In summary, the present invention proposes a suction cup gripper and method for automatic labeling of power transformers, which meets the needs of automated transformer labeling. At the same time, the labeling suction cup gripper based on vision guidance is also the execution end, which can realize automatic labeling.

[0042] It should be pointed out that, according to the needs of implementation, the various steps / components described in this application can be split into more steps / components, or two or more steps / components or partial operations of steps / components can be combined into new steps / components to achieve the purpose of the present invention.

[0043] It will be easily understood by those skilled in the art that the above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A device for automatic labeling of power transformers, characterized in that: The device includes a gripper, a turntable, a printer and a mobile robot; wherein: The gripper includes an outer shell, on which are integrated a positioning camera, a nameplate recognition camera, and a labeler; the positioning camera is used to identify the nameplate on the power transformer and locate the nameplate position; the nameplate recognition camera is used to identify the nameplate content to obtain manufacturer information; the labeler is used to absorb and stick the nameplate sticker; The turntable is used to drive the power transformer to rotate so that the nameplate on the power transformer faces the positioning camera, nameplate recognition camera and labeler; The printer is used to print nameplate stickers; The mobile robot is used to drive the gripper to move so that the labeler can absorb and stick the nameplate sticker; The method for automatic labeling of power transformers implemented by the device comprises the following steps: The power transformer is placed on a turntable, and the mobile robot drives the gripper to move to the turntable; The turntable drives the power transformer to rotate, while the positioning camera starts searching for the nameplate through the feature points at the four corners of the nameplate; After the positioning camera finds the nameplate, the turntable starts to rotate at a small angle so that the nameplate faces the positioning camera, nameplate recognition camera and labeler; The mobile robot moves to the nameplate recognition position, and the nameplate recognition camera recognizes the nameplate content to obtain the manufacturer information; After obtaining the manufacturer's information, the mobile robot moves to the printing position, and the printer prints the nameplate sticker, which corresponds to the manufacturer's information one by one; The labeler of the mobile robot absorbs the nameplate sticker and moves to the labeling position to stick the nameplate sticker; the turntable waits for the next power transformer to arrive; Among them, the positioning camera calculates the offset of the feature point on the nameplate in the image to obtain the actual distance corresponding to a single pixel, that is, the pixel equivalent; it is known that the offset of the feature point in the photo is inversely proportional to the distance between the positioning camera and the nameplate. Through a large amount of actually collected data on the correspondence between the feature point offset and the distance between the nameplate and the camera, it is fitted into a mathematical equation, and then the distance of the nameplate relative to the camera is obtained through the offset of the feature point; then the number of horizontal and vertical pixels from the feature point of the nameplate to the center of the image cross is calculated, and the number of pixels is multiplied by the pixel equivalent to obtain the actual horizontal and vertical distances from the center of the camera to the feature point of the nameplate, thereby obtaining the spatial coordinates of the nameplate.

2. The device for automatic labeling of power transformers according to claim 1, characterized in that: The device also includes a light source, which is used to provide lighting for the positioning camera and the nameplate recognition camera.

3. The device for automatic labeling of power transformers according to claim 1, characterized in that: The positioning camera identifies the nameplate of the power transformer through the rivets at the four corners of the nameplate.

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