An automated jewelry packaging apparatus and method of packaging

Abstract

This invention discloses an automated jewelry packaging device and method. The device includes a central control system, and identification and gripping devices, weighing devices, marking devices, and bagging devices, all connected to and controlled by the central control system. The identification and gripping device includes a six-axis robotic arm equipped with a compatible electric gripper, and a vision camera for product identification and positioning. The weighing device includes a primary weighing scale and a secondary weighing scale. The marking device includes a laser marking machine for marking the weight of the jewelry and printing the product logo. The laser marking machine has vision capabilities and, through linkage control with the central control system, can accurately print the weight marking and product logo onto designated areas of the jewelry. The bagging device is used to bag, seal, and code the products. The purpose of this invention is to provide an automated device capable of gripping, weighing, marking, cleaning, and packaging jewelry.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of automated equipment, and in particular relates to an automated jewelry packaging device and its packaging method. Background Technology

[0002] As society continues to develop and progress, people's demand for jewelry is increasing daily. Especially with the rapid development of e-commerce, the demand for single, blockbuster products is rising, requiring faster, larger-volume, and more accurate delivery. However, traditional jewelry manufacturing involves numerous packaging steps, requiring a significant amount of manual labor. For traditional jewelry manufacturers, organizing a large workforce to produce blockbuster orders in a short period poses a significant challenge to their production and delivery capabilities. After fulfilling these orders, a large number of workers become idle, directly increasing jewelry manufacturing costs considerably. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art described above, the purpose of this invention is to provide an automated device that can grasp, weigh, mark, clean and package jewelry.

[0004] This application provides an automated jewelry packaging device, including a central control system, and identification and gripping devices, weighing devices, marking devices, and bagging devices, each connected to and controlled by the central control system.

[0005] The identification and grasping device includes a six-axis robotic arm equipped with a compatible electric gripper, and a vision camera for product identification and positioning.

[0006] The weighing device includes a primary weighing scale and a secondary weighing scale;

[0007] The marking device includes a laser marking machine, which is used for marking the weight of jewelry and printing product logos. The laser marking machine has vision function and can be controlled by a central control system to accurately print the weight marking and product logo onto the designated area of ​​the jewelry.

[0008] The bagging device is used to bag, seal, and code products.

[0009] Furthermore, an automated jewelry packaging device is characterized in that the central control system includes a PLC linkage control module, a visual recognition and positioning module, a weighing module, a laser marking module, a bagging module, and a coding module.

[0010] Furthermore, the bagging device includes a bag feeding mechanism, a bag picking mechanism, a bag opening mechanism, a bag closing mechanism, a bag sealing mechanism, an adsorption positioning mechanism, and a coding mechanism.

[0011] A method for packaging jewelry using the above-mentioned equipment is also provided, comprising the following steps:

[0012] S1, the central control system sends a material picking command to the identification and grasping device. The identification and grasping device moves to the first product shooting position. After reaching the position, the identification and grasping device sends an identification and positioning command to the vision camera. The vision camera takes a picture and calculates the actual planar coordinates of the jewelry through the vision system algorithm on the vision recognition and positioning module. Let the actual planar coordinates be {(X+Xa),(Y+Yb)}. The offset is calculated according to the standard template variables {(X),(Y)} to obtain the actual horizontal offset of the product's corresponding compatible electric claw on the plane {(Xa),(Yb)}. The positioning control algorithm is used for positioning compensation and movement changes.

[0013] Furthermore, it also includes the following steps:

[0014] S2. After grabbing the product, the central control system sends the first weighing command to the identification and grabbing device. The identification and grabbing device moves to the first weighing electronic scale and places the product on the first weighing electronic scale. After the value before the hundredth or thousandth of the first weighing electronic scale stabilizes, the weight of the product is read multiple times in succession, and the average of the multiple readings is taken as α.

[0015] S3, the central control system sends a re-weighing command to the identification and grasping device. The identification and grasping device moves to the re-weighing electronic scale and places the product on the re-weighing electronic scale. After the value of the re-weighing electronic scale is stable before the hundredths or thousandths, the weight of the product is read multiple times in succession, and the average value of the multiple reads is β. The central control system compares α and β. When |α|-|β|≤K, the weight is less than the fluctuation range and is normal. Otherwise, an audible and visual alarm is triggered.

[0016] Furthermore, it also includes the following steps:

[0017] S4, the central control system sends a marking instruction to the identification and grasping device. The identification and grasping device executes to the product's punching hole position. When the identification and grasping device reaches the punching hole position, it sends a hole-finding instruction to the vision camera to trigger the punching hole vision camera to take pictures. When the identification and grasping device receives "receive vision camera data 1[4]=1 and receive vision camera data 1[0]≠0" from the vision camera, it performs rotation shooting centered on the product by establishing a product tool coordinate system tool. It rotates 6 degrees each time until the hole is captured. After rotating to an empty position, it moves to the laser marking position near the marking device. The central control system triggers the laser marking machine to engrave the current weight on the product. Conversely, when the rotation exceeds a certain number of times, the robotic arm reaches the rotation limit. The robotic arm takes the product back to the material tray position and prompts an abnormality. The window prompts whether to continue or proceed to the next product.

[0018] The improvements in this application bring the following advantages: This application combines the different requirements for various types of jewelry packaging, and adopts an automated approach to replace manual labor. It integrates multiple processes of jewelry packaging, such as weighing, laser marking, cleaning, bagging, and inkjet coding, into a single automated machine. Through a six-axis robot PLC linkage control system, a product vision recognition and positioning system, an electronic scale weighing system, a laser marking system, a bagging control system, and an inkjet coding control system, it truly realizes automated, intelligent, and flexible production of jewelry packaging. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This application describes the process of packaging products using an automated jewelry packaging equipment according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0020] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an automated jewelry packaging equipment according to an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The following specific examples illustrate the implementation of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and various details in this specification can also be modified or changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0022] See Figure 1-2 As shown in the embodiment of this application, an automated jewelry packaging device includes a central control system, and identification and grasping devices, weighing devices, marking devices, cleaning devices, and bagging devices that are connected to and uniformly commanded and controlled by the central control system.

[0023] The central control system includes a PLC linkage control module, a vision recognition and positioning module, a weighing module, a laser marking module, a bagging module, and a coding module.

[0024] The identification and grasping device includes a six-axis robotic arm equipped with a compatible electric gripper, and a vision camera for product identification and positioning.

[0025] The weighing device includes a primary weighing scale and a secondary weighing scale.

[0026] The marking device includes a laser marking machine, which is used for marking the weight of jewelry and printing product logos. The laser marking machine has vision function and can accurately print weight marks and product logos onto designated areas of the jewelry through system linkage control.

[0027] The bagging device includes a bag feeding mechanism, a bag picking mechanism, a bag opening mechanism, a bag closing mechanism, a bag sealing mechanism, an adsorption positioning mechanism, and a coding mechanism.

[0028] An example of packaging jewelry using automated jewelry packaging equipment includes the following steps:

[0029] S100: The central control system sends a material-grabbing command to the identification and gripping device. The identification and gripping device moves to the first product shooting position. After reaching the position, the identification and gripping device sends an identification and positioning command to the vision camera. The vision camera takes a picture and calculates the actual planar coordinates of the jewelry using the vision system algorithm on the vision identification and positioning module. Let the corresponding standard template variables be {(X),(Y)}, and the actual planar coordinates be {(X+Xa),(Y+Yb)}. Offset calculation is performed to obtain the actual horizontal offset of the product's corresponding compatible electric claw on the plane {(Xa),(Yb)}. Positioning compensation is performed through the positioning control algorithm, and the movement is adjusted accordingly.

[0030] S200: After grabbing the product, the central control system sends a first weighing command to the identification and grabbing device. The identification and grabbing device moves to the first weighing electronic scale and places the product on the first weighing electronic scale. After the value before the percentile of the first weighing electronic scale stabilizes, the weight of the product is read multiple times in succession, and the average of the multiple reads is taken as α.

[0031] A key technology in automated packaging equipment and methods for jewelry is replacing manual weighing with automated weighing. Weighing is a crucial step in the production of precious metal jewelry, as even a 0.01-gram error can affect several dollars in value, and insufficient weighing accuracy severely impacts cost management. Traditionally, weighing is done manually. During weighing, the operator needs to monitor the scale's fluctuations and, through experience, judge its accuracy. If inaccuracy is detected, the scale can be manually calibrated. However, scales with an accuracy of 0.001 grams or even 0.01 grams are susceptible to weighing deviations due to various factors such as airflow, changes in ambient temperature and humidity, excessively frequent irregular use, unstable power supply voltage, slight vibrations of the platform, and sensor malfunctions. According to the inventor's observations and research, in the weighing of heavy metals, this deviation manifests as follows: For a normal electronic scale, the value before the hundredths or thousandths place remains stable (e.g., the tens, ones, and tenths places remain unchanged). However, the value at the hundredths or thousandths place and beyond often fluctuates due to the aforementioned factors. This deviation caused by the fluctuations in the hundredths or thousandths places is normal and difficult to avoid. However, if the electronic scale exhibits unstable fluctuations in the tenths or even ones place for an extended period, it can be manually judged as a malfunction and inaccuracy. This abnormality can be avoided manually through the operator's experience and by timely adjustment or replacement with a more accurate electronic scale to reduce weighing errors. However, existing automated weighing equipment does not possess this judgment capability.

[0032] Therefore, in order to avoid the disadvantage that automated weighing cannot independently determine the accuracy of electronic scales like manual weighing, this application reads the weight of the product multiple times only after the value before the hundredths or thousandths of the electronic scale has stabilized, and averages the data from the multiple reads to ensure the accuracy of automated weighing and avoid the above-mentioned abnormal situations that the automated equipment cannot detect, thereby reducing weighing errors.

[0033] Furthermore, in an automated equipment environment, weighing errors that may be caused by human factors such as airflow, changes in ambient temperature and humidity, excessively frequent irregular use, and slight vibrations of the platform can be easily avoided. The frequency at which the robot picks up products can be set, ensuring that the electronic scale will not deviate from its readings due to excessively frequent or irregular use.

[0034] S300: The central control system sends a re-weighing command to the identification and grasping device. The identification and grasping device moves to the re-weighing electronic scale and places the product on the re-weighing electronic scale. After the value of the re-weighing electronic scale is stable before the percentile, the weight of the product is read multiple times and the average of the multiple reads is taken as β. The central control system compares α and β. When |α|-|β|≤K, the weight is less than the fluctuation range and is normal. Otherwise, an audible and visual alarm is triggered.

[0035] S400, the central control system sends a marking instruction to the identification and grasping device. The identification and grasping device executes to the product's punching hole position. When the identification and grasping device reaches the punching hole position, it sends a hole-finding instruction to the vision camera to trigger the punching hole vision camera to take pictures. When the identification and grasping device receives "receive vision camera data 1[4]=1 and receive vision camera data 1[0]≠0" from the vision camera, it performs rotation shooting centered on the product by establishing a product tool coordinate system tool. It rotates 6 degrees each time until the hole is captured. After rotating to an empty position, it moves to the laser marking position near the marking device. The central control system triggers the laser marking machine to engrave the current weight on the product. Conversely, when the rotation exceeds a certain number of times, the robotic arm reaches the rotation limit. The robotic arm takes the product back to the material tray position and prompts an abnormality. The window prompts whether to continue or proceed to the next product.

[0036] Equipment Operation Example

[0037] The equipment is started, and the tray containing the jewelry is placed at the detection position. The system detects the tray's arrival via a photoelectric sensor. The central control system sends the command "K1" to the recognition and gripping device, whose vision camera identifies and locates the jewelry's position. Then, the six-axis robotic arm grips the jewelry. Specifically, after receiving the gripping command "K1," the recognition and gripping device moves to the first product shooting position. After reaching the position, the recognition and gripping device sends the command "T1," and the vision camera clears the received vision camera data 1 = [0,0,0,0,0]. The vision camera takes a picture, and the actual planar coordinates of the jewelry are calculated using the vision system algorithm on the vision recognition and positioning module. Assuming the actual planar coordinates are {(X+Xa),(Y+Yb)}, the offset is calculated based on the standard template variables {(X),(Y)} to obtain the actual horizontal offset of the product's corresponding compatible electric gripper on the plane {(Xa),(Yb)}. Positioning compensation is achieved through positioning control algorithm, and movement changes are made to realize the automatic control of the six-axis robotic arm's gripping to ensure stable and efficient equipment operation.

[0038] After the six-axis robotic arm completes picking up the material, it responds with the command "K1". The central control system then sends the command "K2". The six-axis robotic arm executes the command to move to the first weighing scale and place the material. After placing the material, the six-axis robotic arm responds with the command "K2". After the six-axis robotic arm places the jewelry on the scale tray, the PLC controller of the central control system sends ESC PCR LF (acquire weighing data). After the scale data stabilizes, the response data is a series of continuous or discontinuous strings. Through the SBI protocol, the data is converted according to fixed parsing rules. If the acquired 16-bit byte data without ID is defined with the starting number of the soft element as (s), and the starting number of the register after conversion is (d), the PLC controller control command converts the string stored after the soft element number specified in (s) into a single-precision real number and stores it in the soft element specified in (d).

[0039] To ensure reliable and stable data, each electronic scale (including the first and second weighings) acquires data once after the values ​​before the hundredths place stabilize, stores it in the Dn repeater, and retains 3 decimal places. Then, it acquires another stable data and stores it in the Dn+2 repeater. This process is repeated three times, and the acquired data is then averaged.

[0040] After the initial weighing is completed, the central control system sends a "K3" command to the identification and grasping device. The six-axis robotic arm grasps the product and places it on the repeat weighing scale. Upon receiving "K3," the central control PLC sends an ESC PCR LF command through port 2. Similar to the initial weighing, three data acquisitions are performed, and the data is averaged. When |αX|-|βX|≤K (|αX| is the average weight of the initial weighing, and |βX| is the average weight of the repeat weighing), the weight is within the fluctuation range and is normal; if it exceeds this range, an audible and visual alarm is triggered. The central control system receives the weight data, stores it along with the timestamp of the acquisition in the central control system's database, and generates reports for easy retrieval of historical records.

[0041] When the result is less than the floating range, the central control system sends the “K4” command to the recognition and grasping device. The recognition and grasping device executes to the product's punch hole position. When the recognition and grasping device reaches the punch hole position, it responds with “K4”. At this time, the recognition and grasping device sends the “T2” command to trigger the punch hole vision camera to take pictures. When the recognition and grasping device receives “received vision camera data 1[4]=1 and received vision camera data 1[0]≠0” from the vision camera, it performs rotation shooting centered on the product by establishing the product tool coordinate system tool. Each rotation is 6 degrees until the hole is captured. After rotating to the empty position, it moves to the laser marking position near the marking device. The central control system triggers the laser marking machine to engrave the current weight on the product. Conversely, when the rotation exceeds 25 times, the six-axis robotic arm reaches the rotation limit. The six-axis robotic arm takes the product back to the material tray position and prompts an abnormality. The window prompts whether to continue or proceed to the next product.

[0042] After the engraving is completed, the laser marking machine responds that the engraving is complete. The central control system sends the command "K6" to the recognition and gripping device. The six-axis robotic arm transfers the product to the cleaning station. Once the position is reached, it responds with "K6", and the stepper motor with the cleaning brush will perform the cleaning action.

[0043] After cleaning is completed, the central control system sends the command "K7" to the identification and grasping device. The six-axis robotic arm then moves to the vicinity of the bagging device to complete the bagging action. Once the bagging is complete, it responds with "K7". The inkjet printer then prints ink. Once the inkjet printing is complete, it sends the command "K8" to execute the six-axis robotic arm to pick up the bag. Once the six-axis robotic arm has picked up the bag, it responds with "K8".

[0044] The central control system operates the six-axis robotic arm to perform the swivel action. After the swivel action is completed, it responds with "K8", indicating that the entire process is completed and the system automatically moves on to the next product.

[0045] Anomaly identification, judgment and handling

[0046] The identification and gripping device, weighing device, marking device, cleaning device, and bagging device are all independent units, but are centrally controlled through a central control system. When equipment malfunctions, feedback can be promptly sent to the central control system. For example, if the vision camera of the identification and gripping device captures an abnormal image, the device can notify the central control system, which will then display an alarm and provide solutions to the problem.

[0047] Assume the identification of the grasping device is as follows: abnormal image capture is marked as M100, abnormal electric gripper is marked as M101, abnormal robotic arm is marked as M102, etc.

[0048] The communication type with each sub-device is set through the CPU communication protocol of the central control system. If the system identifier for the abnormal shooting of the grabbing device is M100, and the transmission source is M100, then the data transmission target is the central control system. The system identifier for the abnormal shooting of the central control system can also be defined as M100. In this case, the communication type is bit soft element reading, and the program specifies the execution interval of data reading. When the abnormal shooting of the grabbing device is detected, the system identifier M100 is turned on. At this time, the central control system knows that an abnormal situation has occurred in the grabbing device segment and issues a corresponding alarm. Similarly, as long as any other system abnormality identifier is turned on, the abnormal status of the corresponding location can be known.

[0049] If the identification and capture device is to be cleared of an anomaly, assuming that the system identifier for the identification and capture device to trigger the anomaly clearance is M1000 and that is the data transmission source, then the data transmission target is the identification and capture device. When the central control system performs the anomaly clearance operation, the communication type is bit soft element write.

[0050] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for automated packaging of jewelry, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1, the central control system sends a material picking command to the identification and gripping device. The identification and gripping device moves to the first product shooting position. After reaching the position, the identification and gripping device sends an identification and positioning command to the vision camera. The vision camera takes a picture and calculates the actual planar coordinates of the jewelry through the vision system algorithm on the vision recognition and positioning module. Let the corresponding standard template variables be {(X),(Y)}, and the actual planar coordinates be {(X+Xa),(Y+Yb)}. Offset calculation is performed to obtain the actual horizontal offset of the product's corresponding compatible electric claw on the plane {(Xa),(Yb)}. Positioning compensation is performed through the positioning control algorithm, and movement changes are made. S2. After grabbing the product, the central control system sends the first weighing command to the identification and grabbing device. The identification and grabbing device moves to the first weighing electronic scale and places the product on the first weighing electronic scale. After the value before the hundredth or thousandth of the first weighing electronic scale stabilizes, the weight of the product is read multiple times in succession, and the average of the multiple readings is taken as α. S3, the central control system sends a re-weighing command to the identification and grasping device. The identification and grasping device moves to the re-weighing electronic scale and places the product on the re-weighing electronic scale. After the value of the re-weighing electronic scale is stable before the hundredths or thousandths, the weight of the product is read multiple times in succession, and the average value of the multiple readings is β. The central control system compares α and β. When |α|-|β|≤K, the weight is less than the fluctuation range, which is normal. Otherwise, an audible and visual alarm is triggered. S4, the central control system sends a marking instruction to the identification and grasping device. The identification and grasping device executes to the product's punching hole position. When the identification and grasping device reaches the punching hole position, it sends a hole-finding instruction to the vision camera to trigger the punching hole vision camera to take pictures. When the identification and grasping device receives "receive vision camera data 1[4]=1 and receive vision camera data 1[0]≠0" from the vision camera, it performs rotation shooting centered on the product by establishing a product tool coordinate system tool. It rotates 6 degrees each time until the hole is captured. After rotating to an empty position, it moves to the laser marking position near the marking device. The central control system triggers the laser marking machine to engrave the current weight on the product. Conversely, when the rotation exceeds a certain number of times, the robotic arm reaches the rotation limit. The robotic arm takes the product back to the material tray position and prompts an abnormality. The window prompts whether to continue or proceed to the next product.

2. An apparatus for automated packaging of jewelry using the method described in claim 1, characterized in that, This includes a central control system, and identification and grasping devices, weighing devices, marking devices, and bagging devices, each connected to and controlled by the central control system; among which, The identification and grasping device includes a six-axis robotic arm equipped with a compatible electric gripper, and a vision camera for product identification and positioning. The weighing device includes a primary weighing scale and a secondary weighing scale; The marking device includes a laser marking machine, which is used for marking the weight of jewelry and printing product logos. The laser marking machine has vision function and can be controlled by a central control system to accurately print the weight marking and product logo onto the designated area of ​​the jewelry. The bagging device is used to bag, seal, and code products.

3. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The central control system includes a PLC linkage control module, a vision recognition and positioning module, a weighing module, a laser marking module, a bagging module, and a coding module.

4. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The bagging device includes a bag feeding mechanism, a bag picking mechanism, a bag opening mechanism, a bag closing mechanism, a bag sealing mechanism, an adsorption positioning mechanism, and a coding mechanism.

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