An automated stacking device based on the internet of things and a method of using the same

Abstract

This invention discloses an automated stacking device and its usage method based on the Internet of Things (IoT) in the field of glass production system technology. The automated stacking device includes: a light-emitting unit that controls light to continuously illuminate the glass in the conveying direction; an arrival signal acquisition unit that determines whether the glass's occlusion of the light meets a preset condition for horizontal position arrival, and when met, controls the output of a horizontal position signal indicating the glass's arrival at the pickup point; and a longitudinal position determination unit that, based on the horizontal position signal and the light occlusion, determines the longitudinal position of the glass and calculates the center coordinates of the glass. This invention can accurately pick up and transfer glass according to its center coordinates for stacking, thereby improving the stability and accuracy of glass gripping and the alignment of layers during stacking.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of glass production system technology, specifically to an automated stacking device based on the Internet of Things and its usage method. Background Technology

[0002] Transparent glass is a material that allows light to pass through smoothly without significant interference or scattering. It is made of glass, whose main component is silicate, and has high transparency and optical quality.

[0003] However, in the process of implementing the inventive technical solution in the embodiments of this application, the inventors of this application discovered that the above-mentioned technology has at least the following technical problems:

[0004] During the transport of transparent glass, it is difficult to accurately capture the glass boundaries, which makes it difficult for the robotic arm to accurately grasp the glass. As a result, there are certain deviations between the stacked glass layers, making it difficult to stack them neatly.

[0005] Based on this, the present invention designs an automated stacking device based on the Internet of Things and its usage method to solve the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide an automated stacking device based on the Internet of Things and its usage method, in order to solve the problem mentioned in the background art that existing transparent glass cannot accurately determine the center of the glass, thereby affecting the accuracy of the gripping position of the robot arm and the alignment between stacked glass.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: an automated stacking device based on the Internet of Things, comprising: a light-emitting unit, which controls light to continuously irradiate the glass in the conveying direction; an arrival signal acquisition unit, which determines whether the glass's occlusion of the light meets the preset conditions for horizontal position arrival, and when the conditions are met, controls the output of a horizontal position signal of the glass reaching the pickup point; a longitudinal position determination unit, which determines the longitudinal position of the glass based on the horizontal position signal and the occlusion of the light, and calculates the center coordinates of the glass; and a control pickup unit, which picks up the glass according to the center coordinates for transfer and stacking.

[0008] Furthermore, the light-emitting unit includes: a stop block mounted on the conveyor belt transporting the glass to prevent the glass from continuing to move forward after reaching a preset position; and a laser that emits a laser beam in the opposite direction of the glass's movement, the laser beam being arranged along the length of the stop block.

[0009] Furthermore, the arrival signal acquisition unit includes: a light-blocking image capturing module, which controls the capturing of a light-blocking position image of the glass reaching the area where the light-emitting unit is located; and a light-blocking analysis module, which determines whether the glass has reached the light-emitting unit based on the light-blocking position image, and if so, sends the horizontal position signal to the vertical position determination unit.

[0010] Furthermore, the light-blocking image capturing module includes: a bracket mounted on one side of the laser and above the laser beam emitted by the laser; and a camera mounted on the bracket to capture the laser beam emitted by the laser and the glass that is about to reach it.

[0011] Furthermore, the shading analysis module includes: a change area identification module, which controls the identification of the lateral position information of the light beam distortion along the transmission direction of the glass in the shading position image; and a position judgment module, which determines whether the lateral position information meets preset requirements. If it does not meet the requirements, it controls the shading image capturing module to continuously monitor the glass. If it meets the requirements, it controls the horizontal position signal to be sent to the vertical position determination unit.

[0012] Furthermore, the preset requirements include that all lateral positions where the twist occurs are located in the same normal direction of the glass conveying direction, and that the lateral position corresponding to the twist reaches the side wall of the stop.

[0013] Furthermore, the longitudinal position determination unit includes: a twist length determination module, which collects the coordinate positions of the laser beams at the two boundaries of all laser beams corresponding to the twist, and calculates the twist length between the two coordinate positions; and a center calculation module, which determines the center coordinates of the glass by the midpoint coordinates of the twist length reaching the sidewall of the block.

[0014] Furthermore, the control and picking unit includes: a stacking robot disposed on one side of the conveyor belt; and a signal control module, which acquires the center coordinates calculated by the center calculation module and controls the stacking robot to pick up the glass in a center-corresponding manner.

[0015] The present invention also provides a method of using the aforementioned IoT-based automated stacking device, comprising the following steps:

[0016] Step 1: Control the light to continuously shine on the glass in the conveying direction;

[0017] Step 2: Determine whether the glass's blocking of light meets the preset conditions for reaching the horizontal position, and if so, control the output of the horizontal position signal of the glass reaching the pickup point;

[0018] Step 3: Based on the horizontal position signal and the light obstruction, determine the longitudinal position of the glass and calculate the center coordinates of the glass.

[0019] Step 4: Grab the glass according to the center coordinates and transfer and stack it.

[0020] The one or more technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present invention have at least the following technical effects or advantages: By irradiating the end surface of the transparent glass with a laser beam, the refraction and distortion of the laser beam on the glass can accurately determine whether the glass remains vertical and reaches the preset pickup position. Simultaneously, by determining whether the linearity formed by each distortion point corresponds to the glass conveying normal direction, it can be determined whether the glass has accurately reached the pickup position. Furthermore, the coordinates of the boundary points of the glass end along the conveying normal direction can be determined based on the distortion points, thereby determining the midpoint coordinates of the glass width, i.e., obtaining the center coordinates of the glass. This facilitates accurate pickup and stacking of the glass according to its center coordinates, improving the stability and accuracy of glass gripping, as well as layer alignment during stacking. Attached Figure Description

[0021] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the automated stacking device of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention during automated stacking;

[0024] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating the method of using the automated stacking device of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0026] like Figure 1 As shown, an automated stacking device based on the Internet of Things includes: a light-emitting unit that controls light to continuously illuminate the glass in the conveying direction; an arrival signal acquisition unit that determines whether the glass's occlusion of the light meets a preset condition for horizontal position arrival, and when the condition is met, controls the output of a horizontal position signal indicating that the glass has arrived at the pickup point; a longitudinal position determination unit that determines the longitudinal position of the glass based on the horizontal position signal and the light occlusion, and calculates the center coordinates of the glass; and a control pickup unit that picks up the glass according to the center coordinates for transfer and stacking.

[0027] As can be seen from the above, during the acquisition of glass location information and automated stacking, a light-emitting unit emits light along the glass end, causing light refraction and distortion when it illuminates the nearest glass. An arrival signal acquisition unit collects the horizontal position signal at the point of distortion where the glass reaches its transport endpoint, i.e., the pickup position. A longitudinal position determination unit further determines the positions of various points along the width of the glass based on this horizontal position signal, thus determining the coordinates of these points and ultimately the center of the glass. The pickup unit then uses these center coordinates to pick up and stack the glass accordingly. This method accurately locates the center coordinates of the transparent glass, achieving stable and accurate glass pickup.

[0028] like Figure 2 As shown, the light-emitting unit includes: a block 1, which is installed on the conveyor belt 2 that transports the glass to prevent the glass from continuing to move forward after reaching a preset position; and a laser 3, which emits a laser beam in the opposite direction to the movement of the glass, and the laser beam is arranged along the length of the block 1.

[0029] In this embodiment, a stop block 1 is used to prevent the glass from moving further when it reaches the stop block 1, as the side wall of the stop block prevents the glass from continuing to move. A laser beam is generated by the laser 3 towards the glass end face, facilitating further analysis and processing of the laser beam by the signal acquisition unit and the longitudinal position determination unit.

[0030] Furthermore, the arrival signal acquisition unit includes: a light-blocking image capturing module, which controls the capturing of a light-blocking position image of the glass reaching the area where the light-emitting unit is located; and a light-blocking analysis module, which determines whether the glass has reached the light-emitting unit based on the light-blocking position image, and if so, sends the horizontal position signal to the vertical position determination unit.

[0031] In this embodiment, a light-blocking image capturing module continuously captures images of the location where the laser beam illuminates the glass end. A light-blocking analysis module determines whether the light-blocking position reaches the side wall of the light-emitting unit, i.e., the block 1. After determination, a horizontal position signal is sent to the vertical position determination unit.

[0032] like Figure 2 As shown, the light-blocking image capturing module includes: a bracket 4, which is mounted on one side of the laser 3 and above the laser beam emitted by the laser 3; and a camera 5, which is mounted on the bracket 4 to capture the laser beam emitted by the laser 3 and the glass that is about to reach it.

[0033] In this embodiment, the camera 5 is mounted at a preset height using a bracket 4, so as to determine the position where the laser beam is distorted when it hits the glass end face.

[0034] Furthermore, the light-blocking analysis module includes: a change area identification module, which controls the identification of the lateral position information of the light beam distortion along the transmission direction of the glass in the light-blocking position image; and a position judgment module, which determines whether the lateral position information meets preset requirements. If it does not meet the requirements, it controls the light-blocking image capturing module to continuously monitor the glass. If it meets the requirements, it controls the horizontal position signal to be sent to the vertical position determination unit.

[0035] In this embodiment, a change area identification module is used to determine the area where distortion occurs. Furthermore, a position determination module is used to determine whether the lateral position information meets preset requirements, thereby determining whether the glass end face reaches the side wall of the stop block 1.

[0036] Furthermore, the preset requirements include that all lateral positions where the twist occurs are located in the same normal direction of the glass conveying direction, and that the lateral position corresponding to the twist reaches the side wall of the stop 1.

[0037] Furthermore, the longitudinal position determination unit includes: a twist length determination module, which collects the coordinate positions of the laser beams at the two boundaries of all laser beams corresponding to the twist, and calculates the twist length between the two coordinate positions; and a center calculation module, which uses the midpoint coordinates of the twist length reaching the sidewall of the block 1 as the center coordinates of the glass.

[0038] In this embodiment, the twist length determination module determines that when the laser beam is twisted, twist points are formed on the glass along the glass end face. When all twist points are positioned along the glass transport normal, the coordinates of the two outermost twist points along the transport normal are determined, which are the boundaries of the laser beam. The twist length can be obtained from these two coordinate positions. The center calculation module then further calculates the midpoint coordinates of these two coordinate positions, which are the center coordinates of the glass.

[0039] like Figure 2 As shown, the control and picking unit includes: a stacking robot 6, which is disposed on one side of the conveyor belt 2; and a signal control module, which collects the center coordinates calculated by the center calculation module and controls the stacking robot 6 to pick up the glass in a center-corresponding manner.

[0040] In this embodiment, the calculated center coordinates of the glass are collected by the signal control module, and the robotic arm of the stacking robot 6 is controlled to accurately pick up and transfer the glass based on the center coordinates of the glass.

[0041] like Figure 3 As shown, the present invention also provides a method of using the aforementioned IoT-based automated stacking device, comprising the following steps:

[0042] Step 1: Control the light to continuously shine on the glass in the conveying direction;

[0043] Step 2: Determine whether the glass's blocking of light meets the preset conditions for reaching the horizontal position, and if so, control the output of the horizontal position signal of the glass reaching the pickup point;

[0044] Step 3: Based on the horizontal position signal and the light obstruction, determine the longitudinal position of the glass and calculate the center coordinates of the glass.

[0045] Step 4: Grab the glass according to the center coordinates and transfer and stack it.

[0046] In the description of this specification, references to terms such as "an embodiment," "example," "specific example," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0047] The preferred embodiments of the present invention disclosed above are merely illustrative of the invention. These preferred embodiments do not exhaustively describe all details, nor do they limit the invention to the specific implementations described. Clearly, many modifications and variations can be made based on the content of this specification. This specification selects and specifically describes these embodiments to better explain the principles and practical applications of the invention, thereby enabling those skilled in the art to better understand and utilize the invention. The invention is limited only by the claims and their full scope and equivalents.

Claims

1. An automated stacking device based on the Internet of Things, characterized in that, include: A light-emitting unit, wherein the light-emitting unit controls light to continuously irradiate the glass in the conveying direction; Arrival signal acquisition unit, the arrival signal acquisition unit determines whether the glass's blocking of light meets the preset conditions for horizontal position arrival, and when it does, controls the output of the horizontal position signal of the glass reaching the pickup point; A longitudinal position determination unit determines the longitudinal position of the glass based on the horizontal position signal and the occlusion of light, and calculates the center coordinates of the glass. as well as A control pickup unit is provided, which picks up the glass according to the center coordinates and transfers and stacks it. The light-emitting unit includes: A stop (1), the stop (1) being mounted on the conveyor belt (2) that transports the glass, to prevent the glass from continuing to move forward after reaching a preset position; and A laser (3) emits a laser beam in the opposite direction to the glass, and the laser beam is arranged along the length of the block (1). The arrival signal acquisition unit includes: A light-blocking image capturing module, wherein the light-blocking image capturing module controls the capturing of an image of the light-blocking position of the glass reaching the area where the light-emitting unit is located; and The light-blocking analysis module determines whether the glass reaches the light-emitting unit based on the light-blocking position image. If it does, the module sends the horizontal position signal to the vertical position determination unit. The shading analysis module includes: A change region recognition module, which controls the recognition of the lateral position information of the light beam distortion along the glass transmission direction in the light-blocking position image; and The position determination module determines whether the horizontal position information meets the preset requirements. If it does not meet the requirements, it controls the light-blocking image capturing module to continuously monitor the glass. If it meets the requirements, it controls the horizontal position signal to be sent to the vertical position determination unit. The longitudinal position determination unit includes: A twist length determination module acquires the coordinate positions of the laser beams at the two boundaries of all laser beams corresponding to the twists, and calculates the twist length between the two coordinate positions; and The central calculation module determines the center coordinates of the glass by taking the midpoint coordinates of the twist length reaching the sidewall of the block (1).

2. The automated stacking device based on the Internet of Things according to claim 1, characterized in that, The light-blocking image capturing module includes: A bracket (4) is mounted on one side of the laser (3) and is positioned above the laser beam emitted by the laser (3); and A camera (5) is mounted on the bracket (4) to capture images of the laser beam emitted by the laser (3) and the glass that is about to reach it.

3. The automated stacking device based on the Internet of Things according to claim 1, characterized in that, The preset requirements include that all lateral positions where the twist occurs are located in the same normal direction of the glass conveying direction, and that the lateral position corresponding to the twist reaches the side wall of the stop (1).

4. The automated stacking device based on the Internet of Things according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control pickup unit includes: A stacking robot (6) is disposed on one side of the conveyor belt (2); and The signal control module collects the center coordinates calculated by the center calculation module and controls the stacking robot (6) to pick up the glass in a center-corresponding manner.

5. A method of using an IoT-based automated stacking device as described in any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step 1: Control the light to continuously shine on the glass in the conveying direction; Step 2: Determine whether the glass's blocking of light meets the preset conditions for reaching the horizontal position, and if so, control the output of the horizontal position signal of the glass reaching the pickup point; Step 3: Based on the horizontal position signal and the light obstruction, determine the longitudinal position of the glass and calculate the center coordinates of the glass. Step 4: Grab the glass according to the center coordinates and transfer and stack it.

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