A pipelined bottle inversion removal control system and apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of robots, and in particular to a pipeline inverted bottle moving-out control system, comprising: an image processing module, configured to acquire image data in real time, and derive position data and attitude data of the bottle-shaped container; a robot control module, configured to acquire robot-related data; a constraint control solving module, configured to calculate impedance control quantity according to the robot-related data and the attitude data of the bottle-shaped container; the robot control module is further configured to generate a control instruction according to the impedance control quantity and the position data of the bottle-shaped container, and send the control instruction to a robot controller, so that the robot moves the inverted bottle away from the remaining bottle-shaped containers by wriggling displacement according to the control instruction, and then picks up the inverted bottle. It can be understood that the technical solution shown in the present application can automatically separate the inverted bottle in the dense bottle-shaped container group without secondary collision, thereby avoiding causing secondary inversion of the normal bottle-shaped container.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of robots, in particular to a pipeline bottle overturning removal control system and device. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the pipeline, the bottle-shaped container originally standing upright may be overturned. The current solutions to the overturned bottle-shaped container mainly include manual removal, removal by using a clever mechanical structure, and direct grabbing removal by a robot.

[0003] For a production workshop with high cleanliness requirements, manual removal is generally used. At this time, workers are required to wear closed clean work clothes to enter the workshop and hold or remove the overturned medicine bottles through the rubber gloves around the automatic closed production line. The whole working process is not intensive, but requires long-term duty and clean treatment when entering and leaving the workshop.

[0004] Mechanical structure removal usually uses a bottle kicking device such as the bottle kicking device for a beverage bottle conveying line disclosed in CN210029097U, and a clever structure such as the veterinary medicine bottle conveying device with a bottle overturning removal function disclosed in CN219429072U. Such a method has a simple structure, but cannot solve the problem of automatic pipeline stoppage after the glass bottle is overturned.

[0005] With the development of robot technology, a direct grabbing solution using a robot has appeared. Common robot end effectors include air pump suction heads and robot claws. Compared with the previous solutions, the robot end effectors indeed have great progress in automation level and precision, but in the case of dense bottle-shaped containers, direct grabbing, whether by fingers or by air suction, will cause small movements of the grabbed bottle-shaped containers, thereby easily interfering with the surrounding normal bottle-shaped containers and causing secondary overturning of the normal bottle-shaped containers. SUMMARY

[0006] Therefore, the present application aims to provide a pipeline bottle overturning removal control system and device to solve the problem of easy interference with surrounding normal bottle-shaped containers and secondary overturning of the normal bottle-shaped containers when grabbing the overturned bottle-shaped containers.

[0007] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a pipeline bottle overturning removal control system is provided, comprising:

[0008] An image processing module is configured to acquire image data in real time, derive position data and attitude data of the bottle-shaped container according to the image data, and output the position data and the attitude data to a robot control module.

[0009] The robot control module is configured to acquire robot-related data, and control a robot to move according to the position data and the attitude data of the bottle-shaped container.

[0010] a constraint control solving module configured to calculate impedance control quantity according to the robot-related data and the posture data of the bottle-shaped containers;

[0011] The robot control module is further configured to generate control instructions according to the impedance control quantity and the position data of the bottle-shaped containers, and send the control instructions to a robot controller, so that the robot performs a rubbing displacement on the upside-down bottle-shaped container away from the other bottle-shaped containers, and then removes the upside-down bottle-shaped container, according to the control instructions.

[0012] Preferably, the image processing module is further capable of detecting the bottle-shaped containers in the image data by using a target detection algorithm, to obtain posture data and position data of the bottle-shaped containers in the image data; and the position data selects the body center of the bottle-shaped containers.

[0013] Preferably, the constraint control solving module is further capable of constructing a quadratic programming equation according to pre-set joint constraints and motion constraints, and calculating the impedance control quantity by bringing the robot-related data and the posture data of the bottle-shaped containers into the quadratic programming equation.

[0014] Preferably, when generating the control instructions, the robot control module is further capable of obtaining the coordinates of the bottle-shaped containers in the camera coordinate system according to the position data, and obtaining the coordinates of the bottle-shaped containers in the base coordinate system by coordinate transformation.

[0015] According to a second aspect of the embodiment of the present application, a pipeline upside-down bottle removal device is provided, comprising:

[0016] a mechanical arm system and an upper computer; the upper computer comprises the pipeline upside-down bottle removal control system in any one of the above embodiments; the mechanical arm system comprises a mechanical arm main body, a camera and an end effector; the end effector comprises a rotating joint, and a first execution component and a second execution component connected to the rotating joint respectively;

[0017] The camera and the end effector are installed on the mechanical arm main body, and the mechanical arm main body is configured to control the position and posture of the end effector and apply impedance control quantity;

[0018] The camera is configured to acquire image data in real time and send the image data to the upper computer;

[0019] The rotating joint is configured to switch the first execution component and the second execution component; the first execution component is configured to perform a rubbing displacement on the upside-down bottle-shaped container to move it away from the other bottle-shaped containers; and the second execution component is configured to remove the upside-down bottle-shaped container after the rubbing displacement.

[0020] Preferably, the first execution component is a friction rod-shaped executor, and the top of the friction rod-shaped executor is provided with an aluminum alloy cylinder with a rubber head.

[0021] Preferably, the second execution component is a pneumatic suction cup, which is used to suck and re-place the rolled-over bottle-shaped container after being rubbed.

[0022] Preferably, the second execution component is a mechanical gripper, which is used to grab and re-place the rolled-over bottle-shaped container after being rubbed.

[0023] The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the present application can include the following beneficial effects:

[0024] It can be understood that the pipeline bottle-over moving-out control system shown in the present application comprises: an image processing module, which is used to acquire image data in real time and obtain position data and attitude data of the bottle-shaped container; a robot control module, which is used to acquire robot-related data; a constraint control solving module, which is used to calculate impedance control quantity according to the robot-related data and the attitude data of the bottle-shaped container; the robot control module is also used to generate control instructions according to the impedance control quantity and the position data of the bottle-shaped container, and send the control instructions to a robot controller, so that the robot can first rub the bottle-over to move away from the remaining bottle-shaped containers according to the control instructions, and then pick up the bottle-over. It can be understood that the technical scheme shown in the present application can automatically separate the bottle-over in the dense bottle-shaped container group without secondary collision, thereby avoiding causing secondary bottle-over of the normal bottle-shaped container.

[0025] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are only exemplary and explanatory, and cannot limit the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0026] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and form part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment consistent with the present application and, together with the specification, serve to explain the principles of the present application.

[0027] Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of a pipeline bottle-over moving-out control system according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0028] Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram of a pipeline bottle-over moving-out device according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0029] Figure 3 is a schematic flowchart of the operation of a pipeline bottle-over moving-out device according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0030] Figure 4 is a bottle-over force diagram according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0031] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a controlled process of a fallen bottle according to an example embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The example embodiments will be described in detail herein with reference to the attached drawings. In the following description, like reference numerals refer to like elements, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The following description of example embodiments is not representative of all possible embodiments consistent with the present application. Rather, it is merely intended to provide an example of apparatus and methods consistent with some aspects of the present application as detailed in the appended claims.

[0033] The present application needs to solve how to smoothly remove the fallen glass medicine bottle from the automatic pharmaceutical production line, and not to affect the surrounding bottles. If the distance between the fallen bottle and the surrounding bottles is far, the fallen bottle can be directly sucked by the mechanical arm gripper or air pump. However, if the distance between the fallen bottle and the surrounding bottles is close, the mechanical arm will have a high probability of knocking down the normal medicine bottle during operation, and cause more serious impact.

[0034] Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of a production line fallen bottle removal control system according to an example embodiment, referring to Figure 1 , a production line fallen bottle removal control system is provided, which is a software part, comprising:

[0035] An image processing module 101 is configured to acquire image data in real time, and derive position data and attitude data of the bottle-shaped container according to the image data.

[0036] It should be noted that the image processing module 101 can also detect the bottle-shaped container in the image data by using a target detection algorithm to obtain the attitude data and position data of the bottle-shaped container in the image data; the position data selects the body center of the bottle-shaped container.

[0037] In specific practice, the image processing module 101 receives the sequence pictures transmitted by the camera to the host computer, detects the fallen bottle by using a target detection algorithm to obtain the position and attitude of the fallen bottle, and transmits the position and attitude to the constraint control solving module 102. The position of the bottle-shaped container selects the body center of the bottle-shaped container, and the attitude determines the direction of the rubbing (perpendicular to the axis).

[0038] A robot control module 103 is configured to acquire robot-related data.

[0039] A constraint control solving module 102 is configured to calculate impedance control quantity according to the robot-related data and the attitude data of the bottle-shaped container.

[0040] It should be noted that the constraint control solving module 102 can also construct a quadratic programming equation according to the pre-set joint constraints and motion constraints; and the robot-related data and the posture data of the bottle-shaped container are brought into the quadratic programming equation to calculate the impedance control quantity.

[0041] In specific practice, the constraint control solving module 102 obtains the current position, posture, external force and external moment of the robot and the end effector from the robot control module 103, and calculates the impedance control quantity according to the quadratic programming equation constructed according to the joint constraints and motion constraints, so as to realize the impedance control of the robot.

[0042] The robot control module 103 is also configured to generate a control instruction according to the impedance control quantity and the position data of the bottle-shaped container, and send the control instruction to a robot controller, so that the robot first performs a rubbing displacement of the upside-down bottle away from the other bottle-shaped containers, and then removes the upside-down bottle according to the control instruction.

[0043] It should be noted that the robot control module 103 can also derive the coordinates of the bottle-shaped container in the camera coordinate system according to the position data when generating the control instruction, and obtain the coordinates of the bottle-shaped container in the base coordinate system through coordinate transformation.

[0044] In specific practice, the calculation of the robot control module 103 includes the conversion of coordinate systems and the sending of control flow. The coordinates of the bottle-shaped container obtained by the camera are relative to the camera coordinate system, and the position of the bottle-shaped container relative to the base coordinate system is obtained through coordinate transformation. In combination with the impedance control quantity calculated by the constraint control solving module 102, a control instruction is sent to the robot controller to realize control.

[0045] It can be understood that the pipeline upside-down bottle removal control system shown in the embodiment includes an image processing module 101 configured to obtain image data in real time to derive position data and posture data of bottle-shaped containers; a robot control module 103 configured to obtain robot-related data; a constraint control solving module 102 configured to calculate an impedance control quantity according to the robot-related data and the posture data of the bottle-shaped containers; and the robot control module 103 is also configured to generate a control instruction according to the impedance control quantity and the position data of the bottle-shaped containers, and send the control instruction to a robot controller, so that the robot first performs a rubbing displacement of the upside-down bottle away from the other bottle-shaped containers, and then removes the upside-down bottle according to the control instruction. It can be understood that the technical solution shown in the embodiment can automatically separate the upside-down bottle in a dense group of bottle-shaped containers without secondary collision, thereby avoiding secondary overturning of normal bottle-shaped containers.

[0046] Another aspect of the embodiment of the present application provides a pipeline bottle overturning and moving-out device, which is a hardware part, referring to Figure 2 , comprising:

[0047] a mechanical arm system 200 and a host computer 100; the host computer 100 comprises the pipeline bottle overturning and moving-out control system according to any one of the above; the mechanical arm system 200 comprises a mechanical arm body 201, a camera 202 and an end effector 203; the end effector 203 comprises a rotating joint, and a first execution component and a second execution component connected to the rotating joint respectively;

[0048] the camera 202 and the end effector 203 are installed on the mechanical arm body 201, the mechanical arm body 201 is used for controlling the position and posture of the end effector 203 and applying impedance control quantity;

[0049] the camera 202 is used for acquiring image data in real time and sending the image data to the host computer 100;

[0050] the rotating joint is used for switching the first execution component and the second execution component; the first execution component is used for rubbing and moving the overturned bottle-shaped container away from the remaining bottle-shaped containers; and the second execution component is used for moving and picking up the rubbed and overturned bottle-shaped container.

[0051] It should be noted that the first execution component is a friction rod-shaped executor, and the top of the friction rod-shaped executor is provided with an aluminum alloy cylinder with a rubber head.

[0052] It should be noted that the second execution component is a pneumatic suction cup, which is used for sucking and picking up the rubbed and overturned bottle-shaped container and placing it again.

[0053] It should be noted that the second execution component is a mechanical gripper, which is used for grabbing and placing the rubbed and overturned bottle-shaped container again.

[0054] In Figure 2 , an operation platform 300 is further included, and the bottle-shaped containers are transported on the operation platform 300; when the bottle-shaped containers are overturned on the operation platform 300, the mechanical arm body 201 can perform bottle overturning and moving-out operation.

[0055] In specific practice, the state and instruction are transmitted between the host computer 100 and the robot system 200, and the end effector 203 is controlled to roll the bottle container. Among them, the host computer 100 is mainly used for real-time calculation and generation of control strategy. The robot main body 201 is used to control the position and posture of the end effector 203, and to apply impedance control amount; the camera 202 is used for visual feedback to obtain the position of the bottle container and the contact between the robot and the bottle container; the end effector 203 includes two execution components, and the switching of the components is realized through a rotating joint. The first execution component is a friction rod-shaped executor, and its basic structure is an aluminum alloy cylinder with a rubber head at the top, which is mainly used for rolling the bottle container. The second execution component is a pneumatic suction cup, which is used to suck up the isolated bottle container and place it again. The operation platform transports the medicine bottles through the conveying belt to complete the filling process and the like.

[0056] Figure 3 is a running flow diagram of a pipeline bottle removal device according to an exemplary embodiment, see Figure 3 , first, the camera obtains images in real time, and the images are transmitted to the host computer. The host computer detects whether there is a bottle and the position and posture of the bottle by combining machine vision algorithm, calculates the robot control instruction by algorithm, and transmits the instruction to the robot controller to control the robot to track and move to the bottle. After the robot end contacts the bottle, the contact point between the robot end and the bottle no longer changes, and the robot end friction rod-shaped executor rolls the bottle. The rolling distance is determined by the vision algorithm according to the environment around the bottle. After it is ensured that the bottle will not interfere with the surrounding environment, the end effector is converted into a gas pump suction head to move the medicine bottle to the specified position.

[0057] According to the contact mode between the current robot end effector and the bottle and the operation platform, the algorithm of the constraint is constructed. First, the friction rod-shaped executor of the robot is refined. The end effector selected by the application is a rubber head with a diameter of about 5mm, which can ensure that the contact type with the medicine bottle is point contact, and can provide a larger friction coefficient to reduce the possibility of relative sliding. In addition, the small size of the end can minimize the impact on the environment around the bottle, which helps to enhance the stability of the system. Therefore, there are point contact between the end effector and the bottle, and point surface contact between the latter two. The stress of the bottle is shown in Figure 4 .

[0058] The relationship between the robot impedance control amount and the change of the posture of the bottle is constructed. The cross section with the body center is selected for stress analysis, see Figure 4 , the bottle is subjected to four forces, which are the force F applied by the end, the gravity G, the support force N given by the ground to the bottle, and the friction force f applied by the operation platform to the medicine bottle. In order to facilitate processing, the stress analysis is carried out by using the knowledge of screw theory, so there is the following formula:

[0059] ∑w = w h +w p +w grav = 0

[0060] where w h , w p , w grav are the wrenches exerted by the end-effector, the operating platform, and the gravity on the inverted bottle respectively, the whole motion is quasi-static process, each differential state is in force balance, and the total wrench ∑w is 0.

[0061] According to the Coulomb friction law, the following constraints can be established:

[0062] -μN ≤ f ≤ μN

[0063] where μ is the friction coefficient between the inverted bottle and the operating platform.

[0064] Then, the relationship between force and motion is described by using the complementarity constraints. First, the contact velocity between the inverted bottle and the operating platform v is decomposed as follows:

[0065]

[0066] Then, the following constraints are established by combining the force balance relationship:

[0067]

[0068]

[0069] where the symbol "0 ≤ a⊥b ≥ 0" means that a ≥ 0, b ≥ 0, and ab = 0.

[0070] Further, the quadratic programming equation is constructed as follows:

[0071]

[0072] ΔF = KΔx tar

[0073] where Δx tar is the change amount of the target impedance, v θ is the direction of the target impedance change, Δθ is the change amount of the rotation angle of the inverted bottle, γ j is the correction coefficient, F + γ j ΔF is the size of the total force exerted by the robot end, which needs to satisfy the joint constraints and motion constraints, and K is the stiffness coefficient matrix.

[0074] This equation is the pharmaceutical automated robot rubbing impedance control algorithm, which can indirectly control the force by using impedance control and move the medicine bottle under the premise of satisfying the friction constraints.

[0075] The control process is as follows Figure 5 When the inverted bottle is close to the normal bottle, the friction rod-shaped actuator can move the inverted bottle away by a distance. Figure 5

[0076] The embodiment realizes the secondary-collision-free automatic separation of the closely contacted bottle-shaped containers in a cluster environment. An impedance control algorithm with rubbing belt constraint is proposed. Based on the algorithm, the inverted bottle automatic rubbing separation system can accurately control the safe separation of the closely contacted bottle-shaped containers. Compared with the direct poking bottle-shaped containers, the rubbing separation method does not require a certain initial interval between the normal bottle and the inverted bottle. The poking requires the interval, otherwise it is difficult for the poking rod to generate a horizontal force. Secondly, compared with the poking, the moving speed and distance of the glass medicine bottle in the whole movement process of the rubbing are controllable. The poking scheme can only control the moving direction of the glass medicine bottle and cannot make the moving medicine bottle stop immediately. The end effector with the functions of friction and adsorption is proposed.

[0077] It can be understood that the same or similar parts in the above embodiments can be mutually referred to, and the contents not described in detail in some embodiments can be referred to the same or similar contents in other embodiments.

[0078] It should be noted that, in the description of the present application, the terms "first", "second", and the like are only used for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance. In addition, in the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "a plurality of" is at least two.

[0079] Any process or method descriptions in flow charts or otherwise described herein represent embodiments that can be understood as a sequence of steps of executable instructions for computing devices or processing devices that configure assemblies for performing the various processes. The embodiments of the present application should not be construed as limited to any particular order or sequence of steps unless otherwise specified herein. The various steps described herein can be implemented as a computer program, software, or firmware routines that are executed by a processing device, such as a general purpose computer or a dedicated computer. In some embodiments, the order of steps can be changed, one or more steps can be omitted, and / or one or more steps can be added, and the application should not be construed as limited to the order, steps, or sequence described herein, but can be practiced in other ways not expressly described or illustrated herein.

[0080] It should be understood that the parts of the present application can be realized by hardware, software, firmware or their combination. In the above-mentioned embodiments, a plurality of steps or methods can be realized by software or firmware stored in a memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system. For example, if realized by hardware, and as in another embodiment, it can be realized by any one or their combination of the following technologies known in the art: discrete logic circuit with logic gate circuit for implementing logic function on data signal, dedicated integrated circuit with suitable combination logic gate circuit, programmable gate array (PGA), field programmable gate array (FPGA) and the like.

[0081] ​Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the steps of the method carried out by the above-mentioned embodiments can be instructed by a program to complete the relevant hardware, and the program can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. When the program is executed, it includes one of the steps of the method embodiment or a combination thereof.

[0082] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated into one processing module, or each unit can exist physically independently, or two or more units can be integrated into one module. The integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module. When the integrated module is realized in the form of a software functional module and sold or used as an independent product, it can also be stored in a computer readable storage medium.

[0083] The storage medium mentioned above can be a read-only memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc.

[0084] In the description of the present specification, the description of the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "an example", "a specific example" or "some examples" means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In the present specification, the illustrative description of the above terms does not necessarily mean the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.

[0085] Although the embodiments of the present application have been shown and described above, it can be understood that the above-mentioned embodiments are exemplary and cannot be understood as limiting the present application, and those skilled in the art can make changes, modifications, replacements and variations to the above-mentioned embodiments within the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A pipelined bottle-out control system, characterized by, The system comprises: an image processing module configured to acquire image data in real time, and derive position data and attitude data of the bottle-shaped container based on the image data; a robot control module configured to acquire the position, attitude, external force and external moment of the current robot and end effector; a constraint control solving module configured to calculate impedance control quantity based on the position, attitude, external force and external moment of the current robot and end effector, and the attitude data of the bottle-shaped container, including: constructing a quadratic programming equation based on pre-set joint constraints and motion constraints; and substituting the position, attitude, external force and external moment of the current robot and end effector, and the attitude data of the bottle-shaped container into the quadratic programming equation to calculate the impedance control quantity; the robot control module is further configured to generate control instructions based on the impedance control quantity and the position data of the bottle-shaped container, and send the control instructions to a robot controller, so that the robot first performs a rubbing displacement on the upside-down bottle-shaped container to move it away from the other bottle-shaped containers, and then picks up the upside-down bottle-shaped container. The robot control module generates control instructions based on the impedance control quantity and the position data of the bottle-shaped container, including: deriving the coordinates of the bottle-shaped container in the camera coordinate system based on the position data, obtaining the coordinates of the bottle-shaped container in the base coordinate system through coordinate transformation based on the coordinates of the bottle-shaped container in the camera coordinate system, and combining the coordinates of the bottle-shaped container in the base coordinate system with the impedance control quantity to obtain the control instructions.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the image processing module is further capable of detecting the bottle-shaped container in the image data using a target detection algorithm to obtain the attitude data and position data of the bottle-shaped container in the image data; and the position data selects the body center of the bottle-shaped container.

3. A pipelined bottle unstacking and removal apparatus, characterized by, The system comprises: a mechanical arm system and an upper computer; the upper computer comprises the pipeline bottle-upside-down-picking-out control system of any one of claims 1 or 2; the mechanical arm system comprises a mechanical arm main body, a camera and an end effector; the end effector comprises a rotating joint, and a first execution component and a second execution component connected to the rotating joint respectively; the camera is installed on the mechanical arm main body and the end effector, and the mechanical arm main body is configured to control the position and attitude of the end effector and apply impedance control quantity; the camera is configured to acquire image data in real time and send the image data to the upper computer; the rotating joint is configured to switch the first execution component and the second execution component; the first execution component is configured to perform a rubbing displacement on the upside-down bottle-shaped container to move it away from the other bottle-shaped containers; and the second execution component is configured to pick up the upside-down bottle-shaped container after the rubbing displacement.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein, The first execution component is a friction rod-shaped execution component, and the top of the friction rod-shaped execution component is provided with an aluminum alloy cylinder with a rubber head.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein, The second execution component is a pneumatic suction cup configured to pick up the upside-down bottle-shaped container after the rubbing displacement and place it again.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein, The second execution component is a mechanical gripper configured to pick up the upside-down bottle-shaped container after the rubbing displacement and place it again.

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