Material sorting system and method

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a material sorting system and method, the material sorting system including: a material management system, a transmission system and a sorting device; the transmission system is communicatively connected to the material management system, and is used to transfer a material box into and out of the sorting device, and the material box is used to carry a plurality of materials to be sorted; the sorting device has a temporary storage area, and the sorting device is communicatively connected to the material management system, and is used to sort out materials that match the material box and transfer them back to the material box when receiving a sorting instruction from the material management system, and to sort out materials that do not match the material box and temporarily store them in the temporary storage area. On the one hand, the embodiment of the present disclosure transmits materials through the material management system scheduling the transmission system, and on the other hand, stores the sorted materials in the temporary storage area of ​​the sorting device. In this way, it is possible to avoid people from carrying materials to the sorting device and placing materials in empty material boxes, thereby reducing manual operations and helping to improve material sorting efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of material production technology, and in particular to a material sorting system and method. Background Art

[0002] During the production process, materials are typically handled in boxes. Before leaving the factory, materials can be sorted to ensure that all items in a box belong to that box. Currently, sorting is primarily performed through machine scanning combined with manual judgment. If items are out of order, redundant, or missing, they are manually sorted into an empty box and then scanned for the next item. This process continues box by box until all items not in the original box have been removed and all items in the original box have been found. This process is not only time-consuming and inefficient, but also extremely labor-intensive and labor-intensive, especially when sorting large quantities of materials.

[0003] In the above-mentioned material sorting process, how to improve the material sorting efficiency is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a material sorting system and method to improve material sorting efficiency.

[0005] In one aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a material sorting system, comprising: a material management system, a transmission system, and a sorting device;

[0006] The transmission system is communicatively connected to the material management system and is used to transfer material boxes into and out of the sorting device, wherein the material boxes are used to carry a plurality of materials to be sorted;

[0007] The sorting device has a temporary storage area, and is communicatively connected to the material management system. When receiving a sorting instruction from the material management system, the sorting device is used to sort out materials that match the material box and return them to the material box, and to sort out materials that do not match the material box and temporarily store them in the temporary storage area.

[0008] Optionally, the material management system has pre-stored material information, and the sorting equipment is used to collect the material information of the material to be sorted and compare it with the pre-stored material information for sorting, wherein the material information includes at least one of the following: back engraving number, particle size, material contamination category, material contamination level, and material location.

[0009] Optionally, the sorting equipment further includes:

[0010] at least one loading port, docked to the transmission system, the loading port being used to load the material box;

[0011] A carrying platform, used for carrying the material;

[0012] An information collection unit is located above the carrying platform;

[0013] Sorting arms;

[0014] and a controller, which is communicatively connected to the information collection unit, the sorting arm and the material management system, and is used to control the information collection unit to collect material information of the material on the carrying platform when receiving a sorting instruction from the material management system, and to control the sorting arm to sort the material into the material box at the loading port or the temporary storage area.

[0015] Optionally, the information collection unit includes:

[0016] A visual scanner is used to collect back-engraved marks on the surface of the material located on the supporting platform.

[0017] Optionally, the information collection unit includes: a particle collection unit, wherein the particle collection unit includes:

[0018] a first horizontal emission sensor;

[0019] The second horizontal receiving sensor is opposite to the first horizontal transmitting sensor. The first horizontal transmitting sensor and the second horizontal receiving sensor are used to collect the particle size of the surface of the material located on the supporting platform.

[0020] Optionally, the supporting platform is a movable supporting platform that moves along a predetermined track.

[0021] Optionally, the shape of the predetermined track includes at least one of the following: S-type, Z-type.

[0022] Optionally, the material sorting system further comprises: a buffer area, which provides a transfer place for material boxes entering or leaving the sorting device.

[0023] Optionally, the transmission system includes:

[0024] a first transport unit, configured to transport the material box between the buffer area and the sorting device;

[0025] The second transport unit is configured to transport the material box in an area outside the transport area of ​​the first transport unit.

[0026] Optionally, the temporary storage area includes a first sub-storage area and a second sub-storage area, the first sub-storage area is used to store metal materials, and the second sub-storage area is used to store non-metallic materials.

[0027] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a material sorting method, which is applied to a material sorting system, wherein the material sorting system includes: a material management system, a transmission system communicatively connected to the material management system, and a sorting device having a temporary storage area;

[0028] The method comprises:

[0029] The material management system sends a transmission instruction and a sorting instruction to the transmission system and the sorting device respectively;

[0030] When receiving the transmission instruction, the transmission system transmits the material box to the sorting device;

[0031] The sorting device sorts the material in the material box upon receiving the material box and the sorting instruction;

[0032] When the material matches the material box, the sorting device transfers the material back to the material box;

[0033] When the material does not match the material box, the sorting device temporarily stores the material in the temporary storage area;

[0034] The transmission system transmits the material boxes sorted by the sorting device out of the sorting device.

[0035] Optionally, the material management system has pre-stored material information;

[0036] Upon receiving the material box and the sorting instruction, the sorting device sorts the material in the material box, including:

[0037] Collecting material information of the material, and calling the pre-stored material information in the material management system;

[0038] Comparing the material information of the material with the pre-stored material information to see if they are consistent;

[0039] If yes, determining that the material matches the material box;

[0040] If not, it is determined that the material does not match the material box;

[0041] The material information includes at least one of the following: back engraving number, particle size, material pollution category, material pollution level, and material location.

[0042] Optionally, the sorting method further comprises:

[0043] Continue to sort multiple materials to be sorted in the next material box, and determine whether the materials in the temporary storage area match the current material box;

[0044] When the material in the temporary storage area matches the current material box, the sorting device transfers the material in the temporary storage area back to the current material box;

[0045] When the material in the temporary storage area does not match the current material box, the sorting device continues to temporarily store the material in the temporary storage area.

[0046] Optionally, determining whether the material in the temporary storage area matches the current material box includes:

[0047] Recording material information of the materials in the temporary storage area;

[0048] Compare the material information of the material in the temporary storage area with the material information pre-stored in the material management system to see whether they are consistent.

[0049] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0050] obtaining a capacity of the temporary storage area, and sending a retransmission instruction to the transmission system when the capacity reaches a preset capacity threshold;

[0051] The transmission system transmits the target material box to which the materials in the temporary storage area belong to to the sorting device;

[0052] The sorting device sorts the materials in the temporary storage area into the target material box.

[0053] The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a material sorting system and method, which includes: a material management system, a transmission system and a sorting device; the transmission system is communicatively connected to the material management system, and is used to transfer material boxes into and out of the sorting device, and the material box is used to carry multiple materials to be sorted; the sorting device has a temporary storage area, and the sorting device is communicatively connected to the material management system, and is used to sort out materials that match the material box and transfer them back to the material box when receiving a sorting instruction from the material management system, and to sort out materials that do not match the material box and temporarily store them in the temporary storage area. On the one hand, the present disclosure can schedule the transmission system to transmit materials through the material management system, and on the other hand, the sorting device can store the sorted materials in the temporary storage area set in the sorting device. In this way, people can be prevented from carrying materials to the sorting device and placing materials in empty material boxes, which greatly reduces human operations and helps to improve material sorting efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0054] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0055] Figure 1 is a structural diagram of a material sorting system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0056] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the positional relationship between a particle collection unit and a carrier platform provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0057] Figure 3 The embodiment of the present disclosure provides Figure 2 A top view of

[0058] Figure 4 is another structural schematic diagram of the material sorting system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0059] Figure 5 This is a flow chart of the steps of a material sorting method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0060] Figure 6 is a detailed step flow chart of the material sorting method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0061] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a client layout provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0062] Figures 8 to 11 It is a dynamic schematic diagram of a sorting device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0063] The above drawings illustrate specific embodiments of the present disclosure, which will be described in more detail below. These drawings and the accompanying description are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way, but rather to illustrate the concepts of the present disclosure for those skilled in the art by reference to specific embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0064] Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail herein, with examples illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following description, when referring to the drawings, identical numerals in different figures represent identical or similar elements, unless otherwise indicated. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments are not intended to represent all possible implementations consistent with the present disclosure. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with certain aspects of the present disclosure, as detailed in the appended claims.

[0065] The disclosed embodiments are applied to a material sorting system. The material here can be any material, for example, unprocessed wafer raw material, semi-finished wafer, or finished wafer. During the material processing process, the material is typically handled in a material box. A material box is provided with a plurality of slots for placing materials, and the materials can be fixed in the slots. When the above-mentioned material is a wafer, the material box can be called a FOUP.

[0066] In actual application, materials that do not belong to the material box may be mixed into the material box. In this case, the materials that do not belong to the material box need to be sorted out from the material box.

[0067] The disclosed embodiments provide an automated material sorting system. This system allows a material management system to schedule the transport system for material delivery, while also enabling sorting equipment to store sorted materials in a temporary storage area within the sorting equipment. This eliminates the need for manual labor to transport materials to the sorting equipment or place them in empty material boxes, significantly reducing manual labor and improving material sorting efficiency.

[0068] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the material sorting system 100 provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1 As shown, the material sorting system 100 may include: a material management system 101 , a transmission system 102 and a sorting device 103 .

[0069] The material management (MM) system 101 is used to count and manage materials 106. It should be noted that the material management system 101 of the present disclosure pre-stores material information for all materials 106. Specifically, after a material 106 is produced, the material information is entered into the material management system 101. Each material 106 is assigned a unique identifier in the material management system 101, which is a natural number that increments as the number of materials 106 increases.

[0070] In the disclosed embodiment, the material management system 101, as the control system of the material sorting system 100, can send a transport instruction to the transport system 102 to control the transport system 102 to transport the material 106. The material management system 101 can also send a sorting instruction to the sorting device 103 to cause the sorting device 103 to sort the material 106 in the material box 104 delivered by the transport system 102.

[0071] The transmission system 102 is communicatively connected to the material management system 101. The transmission system 102 is used to transfer a material box 104 into and out of the sorting device 103. The material box 104 is used to carry a plurality of materials to be sorted.

[0072] In practical applications, the transport system 102 may include at least one of the following: a conveyor belt, a movable transport device, and the movable transport device may be a robot or an overhead crane.

[0073] When the material box 104 is ready to be sorted, the transport system 102 can transfer the material box 104 to the sorting device 103. When the material box 104 is completely sorted by the sorting device 103, the transport system 102 can transfer the material box 104 out of the sorting device 103.

[0074] The sorting device 103 includes a temporary storage area 1031 and is communicatively connected to the material management system 101. Upon receiving a sorting instruction from the material management system 101, the sorting device 103 is configured to sort out materials 106 that match the material box 104 and return them to the material box 104, and to sort out materials 106 that do not match the material box 104 and temporarily store them in the temporary storage area 1031.

[0075] It can be understood that the temporary storage area 1031 is set in the sorting device 103 of the present disclosure to improve the sorting efficiency. Moreover, it not only does not require additional space around the sorting device 103, but can save space around the sorting device 103. In addition, since the sorting device 103 is a relatively closed space, it can prevent the sorted materials 106 from being contaminated by the external environment, thereby ensuring the cleanliness of the materials 106.

[0076] In this case, if material 106 matches material box 104, it indicates that material 106 belongs to material box 104; otherwise, it indicates that material 106 does not belong to material box 104. Sorting device 103 can obtain material information from material 106 to be sorted and compare the material information on material 106 with the material information stored in material management system 101 to sort material 106. If the two match, it is determined that material 106 belongs to material box 104 and does not need to be sorted out of material box 104. If the two do not match, it is determined that material 106 does not belong to material box 104 and needs to be sorted out of material box 104.

[0077] The material information includes at least one of the following: back engraving number, particle size, material pollution category, material pollution level, and material location.

[0078] When the material information is a back-marked number (i.e., an identification code that identifies a specific wafer), the material management system 101 pre-stores the back-marked number of each material 106 in each material box 104. Therefore, when the scheduling transmission system 102 transmits one of the material boxes 104 to the sorting device 103, the material management system 101 can send the back-marked number of each material 106 in the material box 104 to the sorting device 103. The sorting device 103 can compare the back-marked number on the device 103 to be sorted (which can be referred to as the first back-marked number) with the multiple back-marked numbers (which can be referred to as the second back-marked numbers) sent by the material management system 101. If the first back-marked number and the second back-marked number are consistent, the sorting device 103 determines that the material to be sorted belongs to the material box 104 and does not sort the material to be sorted out of the material box 104. If the first back engraved mark is inconsistent with the second back engraved mark, the sorting device 103 determines that the material to be sorted does not belong to the material box 104 , and thus sorts the material to be sorted 106 out of the material box 104 .

[0079] It is understandable that, since the associated back-marked materials 106 are usually produced in one batch, the embodiment of the present disclosure can ensure that the materials 106 in one material box 104 are from the same batch through the above method, which is helpful for production management.

[0080] When the material information is particle size, the material management system 101 pre-stores the permitted particle sizes for each material box 104. For example, the permitted particle size can be a maximum particle size or a particle size range. Thus, when the dispatching transport system 102 transfers one of the material boxes 104 to the sorting device 103, the material management system 101 can send the permitted particle size for that material box 104 to the sorting device 103. The sorting device 103 can identify the particle size on the surface of the device 103 to be sorted (which can be referred to as the first particle size) and compare it with the permitted particle size (which can be referred to as the second particle size) sent by the material management system 101. If the first particle size is within the permitted particle size range, the sorting device 103 determines that the material 106 to be sorted belongs to that material box 104 and does not sort the material from that material box 104. If the first particle size is not within the permitted particle size range, the sorting device 103 determines that the material to be sorted does not belong to the material box 104 and sorts the material to be sorted from the material box 104. Optionally, the permitted particle sizes of the various material boxes 104 can be the same or different. For example, the permitted particle size of each material box 104 can be set to be less than or equal to a maximum particle size, so that the sorted material 106 contains material with a particle size larger than the maximum particle size. This portion of material 106 requires cleaning.

[0081] Of course, in other embodiments, the card-controlled particle size can be set only in the material management system 101, without requiring the material box 104 to allow particles of a specific size. In this way, the sorting process can be simplified, and further sorting can be carried out in conjunction with other material information, such as sorting in conjunction with the back engraving. When the first back engraving on the material 106 is consistent with the second back engraving pre-stored in the material management system 101, but the particle size on its surface does not meet the card-controlled particle size, the sorting device 103 sorts it to the internal temporary storage area 1031.

[0082] The disclosed embodiments can sort materials 106 of different sizes based on different requirements. For larger materials 106, a more relaxed tolerance for particle size is provided, thereby avoiding the need to clean particles on the larger materials 106 that do not affect the normal use of the materials 106, thereby reducing the amount of material that requires cleaning. Conversely, for smaller materials 106, stricter particle size requirements are imposed, and even smaller particles on the smaller materials need to be cleaned, thereby ensuring the normal use of the smaller materials 106.

[0083] When the material information is a material contamination category, the material management system 101 pre-stores the material contamination category of each material box 104. Therefore, when the dispatching and transporting system 102 transfers a material box 104 to the sorting device 103, the material management system 101 can send the material contamination category of the material box 104 to the sorting device 103. The sorting device 103 can identify the material contamination category of the material box 103 to be sorted (hereinafter referred to as the first material contamination category) and compare it with the material contamination category sent by the material management system 101 (hereinafter referred to as the second material contamination category). If the first material contamination category and the second material contamination category are the same, the sorting device 103 determines that the material to be sorted belongs to the material box 104 and does not sort the material to be sorted from the material box 104. If the first material contamination category and the multiple second material contamination categories are different, the sorting device 103 determines that the material to be sorted 106 does not belong to the material box 104 and sorts the material to be sorted from the material box 104.

[0084] The contamination category is related to the type of material 106, and there may be cross-contamination between different types of materials 106. For example, there may be cross-contamination between metal materials and non-metal materials, and the contamination category may be whether the material 106 is a metal material or a non-metal material.

[0085] The disclosed embodiment can use the above method to sort out non-metallic materials from the material box 104 for storing metal materials, and to sort out metal materials from the material box 104 for storing non-metallic materials. In this way, cross contamination between materials of different contamination types can be avoided.

[0086] Accordingly, the temporary storage area 1031 can also be divided into a first sub-storage area and a second sub-storage area, where the first sub-storage area is used to store metal materials and the second sub-storage area is used to store non-metallic materials. In this way, cross contamination between different types of materials in the temporary storage area 1031 can be avoided.

[0087] When the material information is a material contamination level, the material management system 101 pre-stores the material contamination level for each material box 104. Therefore, when the dispatching and transporting system 102 transfers a material box 104 to the sorting device 103, the material management system 101 can send the material contamination level of that material box 104 to the sorting device 103. The sorting device 103 can identify the material contamination level of the material box 103 to be sorted (which may be referred to as the first material contamination level) and compare it with the material contamination level sent by the material management system 101 (which may be referred to as the second material contamination level). If the first material contamination level matches the second material contamination level, the sorting device 103 determines that the material to be sorted belongs to the material box 104 and does not sort the material to be sorted from the material box 104. If the first material contamination level does not match the second material contamination level, the sorting device 103 determines that the material to be sorted does not belong to the material box 104 and sorts the material to be sorted from the material box 104.

[0088] The material pollution level is used to indicate the degree of contamination of the material, for example, high pollution level, medium pollution level, and low pollution level. Furthermore, the pollution level can be identified, for example, by a pollution source label.

[0089] The disclosed embodiment can ensure that the materials 106 in each material box 104 are of the same contamination level through the above method, thereby further avoiding cross contamination between materials.

[0090] Reference Figure 1 As shown, in addition to the above-mentioned temporary storage area 1031, the sorting equipment 103 may also include: at least one loading port 1032 connected to the above-mentioned transmission system 102, a carrying platform 1033 for carrying materials 106, an information collection unit 1034 located above the carrying platform 1033, a sorting arm 1035 and a controller 1036.

[0091] Among them, the above-mentioned loading port 1032 is used to load the material box 104. The transmission system 102 transmits the material box 104 to the sorting device 103, that is, the transmission system 102 loads the material box 104 into the loading port 1032. Each loading port 1032 can load one or more material boxes 104. The loading port 1032 can fix the material box 104 to prevent the material box 104 from moving and affecting the material 106.

[0092] The controller 1036 is communicatively connected to the information collection unit 1034, the sorting arm 1035, and the material management system 101. Upon receiving instructions from the material management system 101, the controller 1036 controls the information collection unit to collect material information about the material 106 on the carrier 1033 and controls the sorting arm 1035 to sort the material 106 into the material box 104 at the loading port 1032 or the temporary storage area 1031.

[0093] Specifically, the material box 104 in the loading port 1032 is fixed in the loading port 1032, so that the controller 1036 can implement the sorting of a material 106 through the following steps:

[0094] S1: The controller 1036 controls the sorting arm 1035 to take a material 106 from the material box 104 and place it on the carrier 1033. Figure 8 As shown, the sorting arm 1035 first reaches the material box 104 in the loading port 1032 to take out the material 106 from the material box 104, and then sorts the material 106 according to the Figure 8 Move to the carrier 1033 in the direction indicated by the arrow 10351 to place the material 106 on the carrier 1033.

[0095] S2: After the material 106 is placed on the carrier 1033 , the controller 1036 controls the information acquisition unit 1034 above the carrier 1033 to scan the material 106 on the carrier 1033 to obtain material information of the material 106 on the carrier 1033 .

[0096] S3: After the material information of the material 106 on the carrier 1033 is collected, the controller 1036 may compare the material information with the material information sent by the material management system 101 .

[0097] If the two are consistent, the controller 1036 determines that the material 106 to be sorted on the carrier 1033 matches the material box 104, and the controller 1036 controls the sorting arm 1035 to put the material 106 on the carrier 1033 back into the material box 104 in the loading port 1032. Figure 9 As shown, the sorting arm 1035 picks up the material 106 from the carrier 1033, and then Figure 9 Move in the direction indicated by the arrow 10352 into the material box 104 of the loading port 1032 to place the material 106 into the material box 104.

[0098] If the two are inconsistent, it is determined that the material to be sorted 106 on the carrier 1033 does not match the material box 104, and the controller 1036 controls the sorting arm 1035 to put the material 106 on the carrier 1033 into the temporary storage area 1031. Figure 10 As shown, the sorting arm 1035 picks up the material 106 from the carrier 1033, and then Figure 10 Move in the direction indicated by the arrow 10353 to the temporary storage area 1031 to place the material 106 into the temporary storage area 1031.

[0099] After the above-mentioned process from S1 to S3, the sorting device 103 completes the sorting of one material 106 in one material box 104. The sorting device 103 can sort all the materials 106 in one material box 104 by cyclically executing S1 to S3.

[0100] Of course, after the sorting device 103 finishes sorting a material box 104 , the controller 1036 may send a sorting completion instruction to the material management system 101 to notify the material management system 101 that the current material box 104 has been sorted.

[0101] When receiving the sorting completion instruction, the material management system 101 may control the transport system 102 to transfer the material box 104 out of the sorting device 103 from the loading port 1032 of the sorting device 103 .

[0102] Of course, after the material box 104 is transferred out of the sorting device 103 by the transmission system 102 , the material management system 101 may continue to send a sorting instruction to the next material box 104 , so as to sort the material 106 in the next material box 104 in the aforementioned manner.

[0103] As can be seen from the aforementioned sorting process, information collection unit 1034 is used to collect material information. Different material information requires different collection methods, and thus different information collection units 1034. In practical applications, information collection unit 1034 may include at least one of a particle collection unit and a visual scanner.

[0104] In an example of an embodiment of the present disclosure, the visual information on the surface of the material 106 can be collected by a visual scanner. The visual information can be information such as back engraved numbers and pictures on the surface of the material 106.

[0105] The visual scanner may be any device for collecting images, such as a camera or an image sensor.

[0106] In another example of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the information collection unit 1034 may include a particle collection unit. Figure 2 1 is a schematic diagram of the positional relationship between a particle collection unit and a carrier 1033 provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2As shown, the particle collection unit is located above the carrier 1033, on which the material 106 is placed. The particle collection unit may include a first horizontal transmitting sensor 10341 and a second horizontal receiving sensor 10342, both of which are located above the carrier 1033. The first horizontal transmitting sensor 10341 and the second horizontal receiving sensor 10342 are arranged opposite each other. The first horizontal transmitting sensor 10341 transmits a signal toward the material 106 on the carrier 1033, and the signal is reflected by the material 106 and received by the second horizontal receiving sensor 10342.

[0107] It is understood that, while the signal emitted by the first horizontal transmitting sensor 10341 is constant, the signal received by the second horizontal receiving sensor 10342 may vary due to differences in the surface flatness of the material 106, that is, due to differences in the particle size on the surface of the material 106. Therefore, the particle size on the surface of the material 106 can be determined based on the difference between the signal received by the second horizontal receiving sensor 10342 and a standard signal, which is the signal received by the second horizontal receiving sensor 10342 when the surface flatness of the material 106 is constant.

[0108] The embodiment of the present disclosure can collect the particle size of the surface of the material 106 located on the supporting platform 1033 through the above-mentioned first horizontal transmitting sensor 10341 and second horizontal receiving sensor 10342, so that the material 106 can be sorted according to the particle size.

[0109] It should be noted that when the information collection unit 1034 includes both a visual scanner and a particle collection unit, it is possible to collect the particle size while collecting the back engraving number, thereby enabling sorting based on the two types of information, avoiding sorting twice, reducing the number of sorting times, helping to improve sorting efficiency, reduce sorting costs, and also ensuring a high utilization rate of the material 106 in the sorted material box 104.

[0110] During the process of collecting material information by the information collection unit 1034, if the relative positional relationship between the material 106 and the information collection unit 1034 is fixed, the information collection unit 1034 may only collect material information from a portion of the surface of the material 106, resulting in omission of material information. To ensure that the information collection unit 1034 does not omit material information, the relative positional relationship between the material 106 and the information collection unit 1034 may be changed during the process of collecting material information, so that the information collection unit 1034 can scan all surfaces of the material 106.

[0111] In order to change the relative position between the material 106 and the information collection unit 1034, the support platform 1033 can be a movable support platform to move the material 106 along a predetermined track. The predetermined track is an arbitrary track that allows each surface of the material 106 to pass through the collection direction of the information collection unit 1034 one by one.

[0112] To further improve sorting efficiency, it is possible to shorten the time it takes for the information collection unit 1034 to collect material information, thereby minimizing the length of the motion trajectory of the carrier 1033. Based on this consideration, the embodiment of the present disclosure can set the shape of the predetermined trajectory to at least one of the following: S-shaped or Z-shaped. Figure 3 The embodiment of the present disclosure provides Figure 2 Refer to the top view of Figure 3 As shown in the top view, the predetermined track is Z-shaped, so that the carrier 1033 moves along the Z-shaped track with the material 106. Of course, the collection direction of the information collection unit 1034 is the same as that of the data collection unit 1034. Figure 3 The tracks are shown intersecting at one location so that every area of ​​the material 106 can be scanned as it passes through that location.

[0113] Figure 4 1 is another structural diagram of the material sorting system 100 provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 4 As shown, the material sorting system 100 may further include a buffer area 105, which provides a transfer location for material boxes 104 entering or leaving the sorting device 103. Thus, multiple material boxes 104 can be placed in the buffer area 105 at once, so that the multiple material boxes 104 in the buffer area 105 can be sorted one by one. In other words, each time a material box 104 is taken from the buffer area 105 and passed to the sorting device 103, and after the sorting device 103 has sorted the material box 104, the next material box 104 is taken from the buffer area 105, until all the material boxes 104 in the buffer area 105 have been sorted.

[0114] On the one hand, the material box 104 in the buffer area 105 is the material box to be sorted. In this way, when the material box 104 needs to be sorted, it is only necessary to take the material box 104 from the buffer area 105, which can save the time required to transport the material box 104 from other remote locations to the sorting equipment 103, thereby further improving the material sorting efficiency.

[0115] On the other hand, there are scenarios where a material box 104 is passed into and out of the sorting device 103 multiple times. For example, after a material box B1 is first passed into the sorting device 103, the material 106 in the material box B1 that does not match the material box B1 is sorted from the material box B1 into the temporary storage area 1031 of the sorting device 103. After the next material box B2 is passed into the sorting device 103, the material 106 in the next material box B2 that does not match the material box B2 is sorted from the material box B2 into the temporary storage area 1031. If the material 106 sorted from the material box B2 matches B1, the material box B1 can be passed into the sorting device 103 again to place the material 106 sorted from B2 in the temporary storage area 1031 into the material box B1.

[0116] In the scenario described above where the material box B1 is transferred to and from the sorting device 103 multiple times, after leaving the sorting device 103, it can be temporarily stored in the buffer area 105. This way, when the material box B1 is needed again, it can be directly transferred from the buffer area 105 to the sorting device 103 without having to be transferred from the warehouse. This saves the time required to transport the material box 104 from a remote location to the sorting device 103, further improving material sorting efficiency.

[0117] The buffer area 105 may be an empty area or a device for placing items, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0118] It can be seen that based on the above-mentioned buffer area 105, the transmission path of the material box 104 is divided into two sections: the transmission section between the buffer area 105 and the sorting device 103, and the transmission section between the buffer area 105 and other areas.

[0119] Corresponding to the two transmission segments above, the transmission system 102 also corresponds to two parts: Figure 4 The first transport unit 1021 and Figure 4 The second transport unit 1022 in.

[0120] The first transport unit 1021 is used to transport the material boxes 104 between the buffer area 105 and the sorting device 103. Specifically, the first transport unit 1021 can transport the material boxes 104 to be sorted from the buffer area 105 to the sorting device 103, and transport the sorted material boxes 104 from the sorting device 103 back to the buffer area 105.

[0121] The second transport unit 1022 is used to transport the material boxes 104 outside the transport area of ​​the first transport unit 1021. Specifically, the second transport unit 1022 can transport the material boxes 104 to be sorted from the warehouse or other locations to the buffer area 105, and transport the sorted material boxes 104 from the buffer area 105 back to the warehouse or other locations. The other locations here can be Figure 4 Any location outside of the material sorting system 100 shown in .

[0122] It can be seen that the embodiment of the present disclosure can set the first conveying unit 1021 and the second conveying unit 1022 according to the buffer area 105. In this way, the first conveying unit 1021 and the second conveying unit 1022 can carry out the conveying of the material box 104 in parallel, and it can also ensure that the conveying of the material box 104 between the buffer area 105 and the sorting device 103 is carried out in parallel with the conveying of the material box 104 in other areas, which helps to improve the conveying efficiency and further improve the sorting efficiency.

[0123] Figure 5 This is a flow chart of the steps of a material sorting method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, which can be applied to the aforementioned Figure 1 or Figure 4 In the material sorting system 100 shown. Figure 5 , the above method includes:

[0124] S201: The material management system 101 sends a transmission instruction and a sorting instruction to the transmission system 102 and the sorting device 103 respectively.

[0125] The transfer instruction may include identifications of one or more to-be-sorted material boxes 104 , and is used to instruct the transfer device to transfer the to-be-sorted material boxes 104 to the sorting device 103 .

[0126] The sorting instruction may carry material information pre-stored in the material management system 101, which may be material information of the to-be-sorted material box 104. The sorting instruction is used to instruct the sorting device 103 to sort the material 106 in the to-be-sorted material box 104 according to the pre-stored material information.

[0127] S202 : upon receiving the transmission instruction, the transmission system 102 transfers the material box 104 to the sorting device 103 .

[0128] Specifically, the transport system 102 can transport the material box 104 from any area outside the material sorting system 100 to the sorting device 103. For example, the any area can be a warehouse.

[0129] S203: Upon receiving the material box 104 and the sorting instruction, the sorting device 103 sorts the material 106 in the material box 104. When the material 106 matches the material box 104, the sorting device 103 transfers the material 106 back to the material box 104. When the material 106 does not match the material box 104, the sorting device 103 temporarily stores the material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031.

[0130] The material 106 can be matched with the material box 104 by material information, which includes at least one of the following: back engraving number, particle size, material contamination category, material contamination level, and material location.

[0131] Based on the above material information, the sorting process may include but is not limited to: first, the sorting device 103 collects the material information of the material 106 and receives the pre-stored material information sent by the material management system 101; then, the sorting device 103 compares the material information of the material 106 with the pre-stored material information to see whether they are consistent. If the two material information are consistent, the sorting device 103 determines that the material 106 matches the material box 104; if the two material information are inconsistent, the sorting device 103 determines that the material 106 does not match the material box 104.

[0132] The comparison process of each material information can refer to the corresponding description of the material sorting system 100 mentioned above, which will not be repeated here.

[0133] S204 : The transport system 102 transports the material box 104 sorted by the sorting device 103 out of the sorting device 103 .

[0134] It is understandable that if there are multiple material boxes 104 to be sorted, the above-mentioned sorting device 103 can sort the material boxes 104 one by one. After sorting one material box 104, the sorting device 103 can continue to sort multiple materials 106 to be sorted in the next material box 104. When sorting the next material box 104, the sorting device 103 not only needs to sort according to the steps of S203, but also needs to determine whether the material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031 matches the current material box 104. When the material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031 matches the current material box 104, the sorting device 103 transfers the material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031 back to the current material box 104. Figure 11 As shown, the sorting arm 1035 takes out the material 106 from the temporary storage area 1031, and then sorts it according to Figure 11 Move in the direction indicated by the arrow 10354 to the material box 104 of the loading port 1032 to place the material 106 into the material box 104.

[0135] When the material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031 does not match the current material box 104 , the sorting device 103 continues to temporarily store the material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031 .

[0136] Of course, if the material 106 does not exist in the temporary storage area 1031, it is not necessary to determine whether the material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031 matches the current material box 104. For example, for the first material box 104 that is passed into the sorting device 103, since the material box 104 does not exist in the temporary storage area 1031 at this time, it is not necessary to determine whether the material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031 matches the current material box 104.

[0137] It can be seen that the embodiment of the present disclosure can simultaneously perform two sorting operations on a material box 104 in the above manner. The first sorting operation is to place the materials 106 that do not belong to the current material box 104 into the temporary storage area 1031. The second sorting operation is to place the materials 106 that belong to the current material box 104 into the current material box 104. In this way, it is equivalent to performing two sorting operations on a single transport of the material box 104.

[0138] The embodiment of the present disclosure can avoid the situation where, after a material box 104 is introduced into the sorting device 103, all materials 106 that do not belong to the material box 104 are sorted out, the material box 104 is then transferred out of the sorting device 103 so that the next material box 104 can be introduced into the sorting device 103 for sorting, and this cycle is repeated until all materials 106 that do not belong to the material box 104 in all material boxes 104 are sorted out; then, for each sorted material 106, its corresponding material box 104 is introduced into the sorting device 103 again and placed into the material box 104, and then the material box 104 is transferred out of the sorting device 103, and the material box 104 of the next material 106 is introduced into the sorting device 103, and this cycle is repeated until all sorted materials 106 are placed into the material boxes 104. This method in the prior art requires the material boxes 104 to be constantly transferred in and out, resulting in low sorting efficiency.

[0139] The method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can reduce the number of times the material box 104 is transferred, and can further improve the sorting efficiency.

[0140] To compare the material information of the material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031 with the pre-stored material information, the sorting device 103 must pre-record the material information of the material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031. Specifically, each time an item 106 that does not match the current material box 104 is identified, not only is the item 106 placed in the temporary storage area 1031, but the controller 1036 of the sorting device 103 can also record the material information of the item 106. In this way, after sorting multiple items 106, the controller 1036 can store one or more items of material information.

[0141] Of course, after the material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031 is placed in a material box 104, the controller 1036 can delete the recorded material information. In this way, when the material information of the material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031 is subsequently compared with the pre-stored material information, the material 106 placed in the material box 104 is no longer compared, reducing the number of materials to be compared, which helps to further improve material sorting efficiency.

[0142] In actual applications, the temporary storage area 1031 has a maximum capacity, which can be referred to as a preset capacity threshold. This capacity threshold can be the maximum number of materials that the temporary storage area 1031 can accommodate. For example, a maximum of 20 materials 106 can be placed. Therefore, the sorting device 103 must clear the materials 106 in the temporary storage area 1031 when the capacity reaches this capacity threshold to ensure smooth sorting of subsequent material boxes 104.

[0143] Specifically, the sorting device 103 obtains the capacity of the temporary storage area 1031 and sends a retransmission instruction to the transmission system 102 when the capacity reaches a preset capacity threshold; then, the transmission system 102 transmits the target material box 104 to which the material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031 belongs to the sorting device 103; finally, the sorting device 103 sorts the material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031 into the target material box 104.

[0144] The capacity of the temporary storage area 1031 has the same unit as the preset capacity threshold. For example, when the capacity threshold is the maximum number of materials that the temporary storage area 1031 can accommodate, the capacity of the temporary storage area 1031 can be the number of materials currently placed in the temporary storage area 1031. The number of materials currently placed in the temporary storage area 1031 is consistent with the material information recorded in the controller 1036. For example, each time the controller 1036 records the material information of a material 106 that does not match the current material box 104, the capacity of the temporary storage area 1031 can be increased by 1. Correspondingly, each time the sorting device 103 places a material 106 that matches the current material box 104 into the current material box 104, the capacity of the temporary storage area 1031 is decreased by 1.

[0145] Figure 6 This is a detailed flow chart of the material sorting method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 6 As shown, the material sorting method includes:

[0146] S301: The user inputs the identification of a batch of material boxes 104 to be sorted on the client.

[0147] The client may provide an interface for the user to input the identifier of the to-be-sorted material box 104 in the interface.

[0148] Of course, the client can also display the material sorting status, including but not limited to: all material boxes 104 to be sorted, sorted material boxes 104, material boxes 104 being sorted, and unsorted material boxes 104.

[0149] Figure 7 This is a client layout diagram provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 7 As shown, the client can support inputting up to 20 material boxes 104 at a time, and the client includes the following information: number prompt information 401 , input area 402 , interface prompt information 403 , status prompt icon 404 , first control 405 and second control 406 .

[0150] The number prompt information 401 is used to prompt which material box 104 the currently input material box 104 is. Figure 7 There are 20 such number prompt information LOT1 to LOT20, corresponding to the first material box 104 to the 20th material box 104 respectively.

[0151] The input area 402 corresponds to the number prompt information and is used to receive the identifier of the material box 104 input by the user.

[0152] The interface prompt information 403 is used to prompt the user of the function of the client. For example, the interface prompt information may be “Please enter the ID of the material box”.

[0153] Status prompt icon 404 is used to indicate the sorting status of material box 104, including but not limited to: waiting to be sorted, sorting in progress, and sorting completed. For example, when status prompt icon 404 is green, it indicates that the corresponding material box 104 has been sorted. When status prompt icon 404 is yellow, it indicates that the corresponding material box 104 is being sorted. When status prompt icon 404 is red, it indicates that the corresponding material box 104 is being sorted.

[0154] The first control 405 is used to submit the identification of the material box 104 , and a prompt message “Submit” may also be displayed on the first control.

[0155] The second control 406 is used to cancel the identification of the material box 104, and a prompt message "Cancel" may also be displayed on the second control.

[0156] S302 : The client sends the identification of the material box 104 to the material management system 101 .

[0157] The material boxes 104 input by the user can be sorted in batches, which is suitable for a scenario where a large number of material boxes 104 are input by the user.

[0158] S303 : the material management system 101 sends a transmission instruction for a batch of material boxes 104 to the transmission system 102 , and sends a sorting instruction for the batch of material boxes 104 to the sorting device 103 .

[0159] S304 : The transport system 102 transfers the batch of material boxes 104 to the sorting device 103 .

[0160] S305: The controller 1036 of the sorting device 103 determines whether the materials 106 in the material box 104 have been sorted.

[0161] Specifically, if yes, proceed to S306 , and if no, proceed to S309 .

[0162] S306 : The controller 1036 notifies the transport system 102 to transfer the material box 104 out of the sorting device 103 .

[0163] S307: The controller 1036 determines whether this batch of material boxes 104 has been sorted.

[0164] Specifically, if no, proceed to S305, and if yes, proceed to S308.

[0165] S308: The controller 1036 determines whether there is a next batch of material boxes 104 to be sorted.

[0166] Specifically, if yes, then go to S303. Of course, the transmission instruction and sorting instruction sent in S303 are for the next batch of material boxes 104. If no, then go to S316.

[0167] S309 : The controller 1036 controls the sorting arm 1035 to take a material 106 from the material box 104 and place it on the carrier 1033 , so that the information collection unit 1034 collects material information on one of the materials 106 in the material box 104 .

[0168] S310: The controller 1036 of the sorting device 103 determines whether the material information on the material 106 is consistent with the pre-stored material information.

[0169] Specifically, if they are consistent, proceed to S311; if they are inconsistent, proceed to S312.

[0170] S311 : The controller 1036 controls the sorting arm 1035 in the sorting device 103 to place the material 106 into the material box 104 .

[0171] S312 : The controller 1036 controls the sorting arm 1035 in the sorting device 103 to place the material 106 into the temporary storage area 1031 of the sorting device 103 .

[0172] S313: The controller 1036 determines whether the material information of the material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031 is consistent with the pre-stored material information.

[0173] Specifically, if they are consistent, the process proceeds to S314 ; if they are inconsistent, no processing is performed, that is, the process proceeds to S315 .

[0174] S314 : The controller 1036 controls the sorting arm 1035 to place the material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031 into the material box 104 .

[0175] S315: Keep the material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031 in the temporary storage area 1031.

[0176] S316: Sorting is completed.

[0177] As can be seen, S308 to S314 is the sorting process for a single item 106. The first process, consisting of S308 to S311, and the second process, consisting of S312 to S314, can be performed in parallel, or the second process can be performed first and then the first process. Of course, if the material box 104 is full, S308 to S313 must be performed first to clear space in the material box 104. If the material box 104 is still full after S308 to S313, it can be determined that all items 106 in the material box 104 are already there, and the second process, S312 to S313, is no longer necessary.

[0178] In combination with the above material sorting process, an example of a material sorting process is given below.

[0179] The material management system 101 can record the material information of each material box 104. After the material box 104 is transferred by the transport system 102 to the loading port 1032 of the sorting device 103, the sorting device 103 can read the material information of the material box 104. The controller 1036 of the sorting device 103 then calls a pre-set information retrieval function to retrieve the material information of the current material box 104 from the material management system 101. The controller 1036 of the sorting device 103 then calls a pre-set comparison function to compare the material information in the material management system 101 with the material information read by the sorting device 103.

[0180] If the material information read from the material 106 by the sorting device 103 is consistent with the material information retrieved from the material management system 101, the controller 1036 of the sorting device 103 controls the sorting arm 1035 to transfer the material 106 back to the material box 104 of the loading port 1032, so that the transmission system 102 transfers the material box 104 out of the sorting device 103.

[0181] If the material information read from material 106 by the sorting device 103 is inconsistent with the material information retrieved from the material management system 101, the controller 1036 of the sorting device 103 controls the sorting arm 1035 to sort the inconsistent material 106 into the temporary storage area 1031 within the sorting device 103. The controller 1036 also automatically records the location and material information of the inconsistent material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031. This allows the controller 1036 to call the material box 104 retrieval function to retrieve the material box information corresponding to the material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031 from the material management system 101. The controller 1036 can also control the transport system 102 to transport the material box 104 corresponding to the material box information to the sorting device 103, so that the material 106 in the temporary storage area 1031 belonging to the material box 104 can be sorted into the material box 104.

[0182] The above method embodiment is an embodiment corresponding to the above system embodiment and has the same technical effects as the system embodiment. The detailed description of the method embodiment can refer to the detailed description of the above system embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0183] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprises," "includes," or any other variations thereof are intended to encompass non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus comprising the element.

[0184] The serial numbers of the above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure are for description only and do not represent the advantages or disadvantages of the embodiments.

[0185] The above are only preferred embodiments of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the description and drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A material sorting system, characterized in that: include: Material management systems, conveying systems, sorting equipment and buffer areas; The buffer area provides a transfer place for material boxes entering or leaving the sorting device; The transmission system is communicatively connected to the material management system and is used to transfer material boxes into and out of the sorting device, wherein the material boxes are used to carry a plurality of materials to be sorted; The sorting device has a temporary storage area, which includes a first sub-storage area and a second sub-storage area. The first sub-storage area is used to store metal materials, and the second sub-storage area is used to store non-metallic materials. The sorting device is communicatively connected to the material management system and is used to sort out materials that match the material box and return them to the material box when receiving a sorting instruction from the material management system, and sort out materials that do not match the material box and temporarily store them in the temporary storage area.

2. The material sorting system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material management system has pre-stored material information, and the sorting device is used to collect the material information of the material to be sorted and compare it with the pre-stored material information for sorting, wherein the material information includes at least one of the following: back engraving number, particle size, material contamination category, material contamination level, and material location.

3. The material sorting system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sorting equipment further comprises: at least one loading port, docked to the transmission system, the loading port being used to load the material box; A carrying platform, used for carrying the material; An information collection unit is located above the carrying platform; Sorting arms; and a controller, which is communicatively connected to the information collection unit, the sorting arm and the material management system, and is used to control the information collection unit to collect material information of the material on the carrying platform when receiving a sorting instruction from the material management system, and to control the sorting arm to sort the material into the material box at the loading port or the temporary storage area.

4. The material sorting system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The information collection unit includes: A visual scanner is used to collect back-engraved marks on the surface of the material located on the supporting platform.

5. The material sorting system according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The information collection unit includes: a particle collection unit, wherein the particle collection unit includes: a first horizontal emission sensor; The second horizontal receiving sensor is opposite to the first horizontal transmitting sensor. The first horizontal transmitting sensor and the second horizontal receiving sensor are used to collect the particle size of the surface of the material located on the supporting platform.

6. The material sorting system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The supporting platform is a movable supporting platform that moves along a predetermined track.

7. The material sorting system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The shape of the predetermined track includes at least one of the following: S-shape and Z-shape.

8. The material sorting system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transmission system comprises: a first transport unit, configured to transport the material box between the buffer area and the sorting device; The second transport unit is configured to transport the material box in an area outside the transport area of ​​the first transport unit.

9. A material sorting method, characterized in that: Applied to a material sorting system, the material sorting system comprises: a material management system, a transmission system communicatively connected to the material management system, and a sorting device with a temporary storage area; The method comprises: The material management system sends a transmission instruction and a sorting instruction to the transmission system and the sorting device respectively; When receiving the transmission instruction, the transmission system transmits the material box to the sorting device; The sorting device sorts the material in the material box upon receiving the material box and the sorting instruction; When the material matches the material box, the sorting device transfers the material back to the material box; When the material does not match the material box, the sorting device temporarily stores the material in the temporary storage area; The transmission system transmits the material boxes sorted by the sorting device out of the sorting device; Continue to sort multiple materials to be sorted in the next material box, and determine whether the materials in the temporary storage area match the current material box; When the material in the temporary storage area matches the current material box, the sorting device transfers the material in the temporary storage area back to the current material box; When the material in the temporary storage area does not match the current material box, the sorting device continues to temporarily store the material in the temporary storage area.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The material management system has pre-stored material information; Upon receiving the material box and the sorting instruction, the sorting device sorts the material in the material box, including: Collecting material information of the material, and calling the pre-stored material information in the material management system; Comparing the material information of the material with the pre-stored material information to see if they are consistent; If yes, determining that the material matches the material box; If not, it is determined that the material does not match the material box; The material information includes at least one of the following: back engraving number, particle size, material pollution category, material pollution level, and material location.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The determining whether the material in the temporary storage area matches the current material box includes: Recording material information of the materials in the temporary storage area; Compare the material information of the material in the temporary storage area with the material information pre-stored in the material management system to see whether they are consistent.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that The method further comprises: obtaining a capacity of the temporary storage area, and sending a retransmission instruction to the transmission system when the capacity reaches a preset capacity threshold; The transmission system transmits the target material box to which the materials in the temporary storage area belong to to the sorting device; The sorting device sorts the materials in the temporary storage area into the target material box.

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