A cigarette case code disc control system and a code disc taking and delivering control method

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of tobacco box code disc control systems and code disc fetch and delivery control method, tobacco box code disc control system includes: tobacco box conveying equipment, multiple manipulators, tray placement station, latent robot, robot transport section and tobacco box storage area;Tobacco box conveying equipment is used to convey tobacco box, multiple manipulators are respectively arranged at the same side of tobacco box conveying equipment, and the manipulator is used to grab tobacco box and place tobacco box on empty tray, to form real tray;Tray placement station is respectively arranged around manipulator, and tobacco box conveying equipment and robot transport section are respectively located at the two sides of manipulator;Robot waiting area is further provided between robot transport section and manipulator, and real tray temporary storage area is further provided outside robot transport section.Effectively solve the problem that latent robot cannot timely transport real tray when real tray is too much, reduce the waiting time of manipulator, and improve the working efficiency of manipulator.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of automatic cigarette box tamper technology, and more specifically, to a cigarette box tamper control system and a tamper pick-up and delivery control method. Background Technology

[0002] Currently available robotic palletizing systems typically use two robotic arms for palletizing, usually one as the primary arm and one as a backup. Before entering the robotic arm palletizing channel, a barcode scanner identifies the cigarette brand. Carts of the same brand are sent to the same channel and stacked together on a single tray. Once stacked, a stealth robot transports the trays to the warehouse storage area. The number of stealth robots is calculated based on the average throughput during normal operation, with one or two additional robots as backups.

[0003] The stealth robots wait in the charging area, which is far from the palletizing area. Due to uneven or unpredictable cigarette flow, palletized cigarettes are often not retrieved promptly, causing the robotic arms to stop working. Furthermore, multiple pallets may be waiting to be retrieved simultaneously, or multiple workstations may be waiting to replenish empty pallets, causing the robotic arms to stop working and resulting in a large number of cigarette boxes entering the manual passageway, requiring manual palletizing and warehousing, significantly increasing manual labor. Increasing the number of stealth robots would also cause traffic congestion, further increasing labor costs.

[0004] Therefore, how to provide a cigarette box code tray control system and a code tray pickup and delivery control method has become a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved in this field. Summary of the Invention

[0005] One objective of this invention is to provide a new technical solution for a cigarette box code tray control system and a code tray retrieval and delivery control method.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a cigarette box palletizing control system is provided, comprising: a cigarette box conveying device, multiple robotic arms, a pallet placement station, a stealthy robot, a robot transport route, and a cigarette box storage area; the cigarette box conveying device is used to convey cigarette boxes, the multiple robotic arms are respectively disposed on the same side of the cigarette box conveying device, the robotic arms are used to grasp cigarette boxes and place them on empty pallets to form full pallets; the pallet placement station is respectively disposed around the robotic arms, the pallet placement station is used to store empty pallets; the cigarette box storage area is used to store full pallets;

[0007] The stealth robot is used to transport empty pallets to the pallet placement station;

[0008] The cigarette box conveying equipment and the robot transport section are located on both sides of the robotic arm; a robot waiting area is also provided between the robot transport section and the robotic arm to store unused dormant robots; a pallet temporary storage area is also provided outside the robot transport section for short-term storage of pallets.

[0009] Optionally, the cigarette box conveying equipment includes a conveyor line, a barcode scanner, and multiple lane conveyors. The barcode scanner is located at the first end of the conveyor line and is used to identify the label information of the cigarette boxes. The first ends of the multiple lane conveyors are connected to the conveyor line and are used to convey cigarette boxes of different brands. The robotic arm is located at the second end of the lane conveyor.

[0010] Optionally, the cigarette box conveying equipment further includes a vertical sorting device, which is located at the connection between the first end of the dividing conveyor and the conveyor line, and is used to convey cigarette boxes of different brands to the corresponding dividing conveyors.

[0011] Optionally, the cigarette box stacking control system further includes an empty pallet splitter, which is located on one side of the robotic arm and is used to split stacked empty pallets into individual empty pallets.

[0012] Optionally, the cigarette box code control system further includes a central control system and a scheduling controller. The central control system is connected to the lurking robot and the scheduling controller, respectively. The lurking robot is connected to the scheduling controller, and the scheduling controller controls the operation of the lurking robot.

[0013] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a method for controlling the loading and unloading of a cigarette box is provided, comprising the above-described cigarette box loading and unloading control system, including: a cigarette box conveying device for conveying cigarette boxes;

[0014] A robotic arm is used to grab cigarette boxes from a cigarette box conveying device and place them on an empty pallet to form a full pallet.

[0015] A robot waiting area; used to store dormant robots that are not currently in operation, the dormant robots including a first scheduling robot and a second scheduling robot;

[0016] Pallet storage area, used to store pallets;

[0017] The aforementioned code disk retrieval and delivery control method includes the following steps:

[0018] Obtain information on the number of lurking robots in the robot waiting area and the number of physical pallets;

[0019] Based on the obtained information on the number of physical pallets, if it is determined whether the number of physical pallets is greater than 2 and the number of lurking robots is greater than 1, then the first scheduling robot is controlled to transport the physical pallets to the physical pallet temporary storage area, and the second scheduling robot is controlled to transport the empty pallets to the corresponding pallet placement station.

[0020] Optionally, if the number of physical pallets is greater than 2 and the number of lurking robots is equal to 1, or if the number of physical pallets is equal to 2 and the number of lurking robots is equal to 1, then the first scheduling robot is controlled to transport the physical pallets to the physical pallet storage area, and then the first scheduling robot is controlled to transport the empty pallets to the corresponding pallet placement station.

[0021] Optionally, if the number of actual pallets is less than 2, the first scheduling robot is controlled to transport the actual pallets to the cigarette box storage area, and then the first scheduling robot is controlled to transport the empty pallets to the corresponding pallet placement station.

[0022] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows:

[0023] This invention addresses the issue of multiple robotic arms positioned on the same side of a cigarette box conveying device, with pallet placement stations arranged around the robotic arms. The cigarette box conveying device and the robot transport path are located on either side of the robotic arms. A robot waiting area is provided between the robot transport path and the robotic arms, and a temporary storage area for full pallets is located outside the robot transport path. During the cigarette box receiving process, the cigarette boxes are conveyed to the robotic arms via the cigarette box conveying device. The robotic arms grasp the cigarette boxes conveyed by the device and place them on empty pallets at the pallet placement stations, forming full pallets. At this point, a stealth robot transports the full pallets to the cigarette box storage area or the full pallet temporary storage area. Subsequently, the stealth robot transports empty pallets to the pallet placement stations. This effectively solves the problem of the stealth robot being unable to transport full pallets in a timely manner when there are too many full pallets, reducing the waiting time of the robotic arms and improving their working efficiency.

[0024] Other features and advantages of the invention will become clear from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0025] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with their description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

[0026] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of the cigarette box code disk control system of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of the encoder disk pick-up and delivery control method of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 3 This is a structural diagram of a first embodiment of the code disk pickup and delivery control method of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 4 This is a structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of the code disk pick-up and delivery control method of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 5 This is a structural diagram of Embodiment 3 of the code disk pick-up and delivery control method of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 6 This is a structural diagram of Embodiment 4 of the code disk pick-up and delivery control method of the present invention.

[0032] The diagram shows the following: 1. Cigarette box conveying equipment; 11. Conveyor line; 12. Barcode scanner; 13. Separate conveyor; 14. Vertical sorting device; 2. Robot arm; 3. Pallet placement station; 4. Hidden robot; 5. Robot transport route; 6. Robot waiting area; 7. Full pallet temporary storage area; 8. Empty pallet splitter; 9. Cigarette box. Detailed Implementation

[0033] Various exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangement, numerical expressions, and values ​​of the components and steps set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention.

[0034] The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative and is in no way intended to limit the invention or its application or use.

[0035] Techniques, methods, and equipment known to those skilled in the art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, such techniques, methods, and equipment should be considered part of the specification.

[0036] In all the examples shown and discussed herein, any specific values ​​should be interpreted as merely exemplary and not as limitations. Therefore, other examples of exemplary embodiments may have different values.

[0037] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment of the invention provides a cigarette box palletizing control system, including: a cigarette box conveying device 1, multiple robotic arms 2, a pallet placement station 3, a lurking robot 4, a robot transport route 5, and a cigarette box storage area; the cigarette box conveying device 1 is used to convey cigarette boxes 9, the multiple robotic arms 2 are respectively arranged on the same side of the cigarette box conveying device 1, the robotic arms 2 are used to grab cigarette boxes 9 and place the cigarette boxes 9 on empty pallets to form full pallets; the pallet placement station 3 is respectively arranged around the robotic arms 2, and the pallet placement station 3 is used to store empty pallets; the cigarette box storage area is used to store full pallets.

[0038] The stealth robot 4 is used to transport empty pallets to the pallet placement station 3.

[0039] The cigarette box conveying equipment 1 and the robot transport section 5 are located on both sides of the robotic arm 2. A robot waiting area 6 is also set between the robot transport section 5 and the robotic arm 2 to store the dormant robots 4 that are not in operation. A pallet temporary storage area 7 is also set outside the robot transport section 5 to store pallets for a short time.

[0040] Specifically, empty pallets are placed on pallet placement station 3. Multiple pallet placement stations 3 can hold cigarette boxes 9 of different brands, thereby distinguishing different brands of cigarette boxes 9 and avoiding confusion between them. Multiple cigarette boxes 9 can be placed on one empty pallet.

[0041] When transporting full and empty pallets, the stealth robot 4 must move along the robot transport route 5. The movement trajectory of the stealth robot 4 is limited to avoid causing injury to other equipment or operators during the movement.

[0042] In addition, there may be one or more cigarette storage areas, which will not be discussed here.

[0043] It should be noted that during the warehousing process of cigarette boxes 9, two hidden robots 4 are generally used to transport empty and full pallets. When there are too many hidden robots 4, it will cause traffic congestion, and at some times, multiple hidden robots 4 will be waiting to work, which will result in a waste of resources.

[0044] In this embodiment, the lurking robot 4 includes a first scheduling robot and a second scheduling robot.

[0045] The specific operating procedure is as follows: During the warehousing process of cigarette boxes 9, firstly, cigarette boxes 9 are placed on cigarette box conveying equipment 1. Cigarette box conveying equipment 1 transports cigarette boxes 9 to the vicinity of robotic arm 2. Robotic arm 2 picks up cigarette boxes 9 transported by cigarette box conveying equipment 1 and places them on empty pallets in pallet placement station 3, forming full pallets. At this time, if the number of full pallets is greater than 2, and the lurking robot 4 has only 1 first scheduling robot, the first scheduling robot transports the full pallets to the full pallet temporary storage area 7, and then the first scheduling robot transports the empty pallets to the corresponding pallet placement station 3.

[0046] If the number of full pallets is greater than 2, and the lurking robot 4 has a first scheduling robot and a second scheduling robot, the first scheduling robot will transport the full pallets to the full pallet temporary storage area 7, and the second scheduling robot will transport the empty pallets to the corresponding pallet placement station 3.

[0047] If the number of actual pallets is equal to 2, and the number of hidden robots 4 includes a first scheduling robot and a second scheduling robot, the first scheduling robot will transport the actual pallets to the cigarette box storage area, and the second scheduling robot will transport the empty pallets to the corresponding pallet placement station 3.

[0048] If the number of actual pallets is greater than 2 and there is only 1 first scheduling robot for the number of hidden robots 4, or if the number of actual pallets is equal to 2 and there is only 1 first scheduling robot for the number of hidden robots 4, the first scheduling robot will transport the actual pallets to the actual pallet storage area 7 and then transport the empty pallets to the corresponding pallet placement station 3.

[0049] If the number of full pallets is less than 2, the first dispatching robot will transport the full pallets to the cigarette box storage area and then transport the empty pallets to the corresponding pallet placement station 3.

[0050] Next, when the number of subsequent pallets is less than or equal to 1, the second scheduling robot will transport the pallets in the pallet temporary storage area 7 to the cigarette box storage area.

[0051] This invention addresses the issue of multiple robotic arms 2 positioned on the same side of a cigarette box conveying device 1, with pallet placement stations 3 arranged around the robotic arms 2. The cigarette box conveying device 1 and the robot transport route 5 are located on opposite sides of the robotic arms 2. A robot waiting area 6 is provided between the robot transport route 5 and the robotic arms 2, and a pallet storage area 7 is provided outside the robot transport route 5. During the cigarette box 9 storage process, the cigarette box 9 is conveyed to the robotic arms 2 via the cigarette box conveying device 1. The robotic arms 2 pick up the cigarette box 9 conveyed by the cigarette box conveying device 1 and place it on an empty pallet at the pallet placement station 3, forming a full pallet. At this time, a lurking robot 4 transports the full pallet to the cigarette box storage area or the full pallet storage area 7. Then, the lurking robot 4 transports the empty pallet to the pallet placement station 3. This effectively solves the problem of the lurking robot 4 being unable to transport full pallets in a timely manner when there are too many full pallets, reducing the waiting time of the robotic arms 2 and improving their working efficiency.

[0052] In one embodiment of the cigarette box code control system of the present invention, the cigarette box code control system further includes a central control system and a scheduling controller. The central control system is connected to the lurking robot 4 and the scheduling controller respectively. The lurking robot 4 is connected to the scheduling controller, and the scheduling controller controls the operation of the lurking robot 4.

[0053] Specifically, when the central control system receives real-time information from the pallet placement station 3 and the hidden robot 4, such as when an empty code tray on the pallet placement station 3 is converted into a full code tray or when the pallet placement station 3 lacks an empty code tray, the central control system sends control information to the scheduling controller. The scheduling controller then controls the hidden robot 4 to work, thereby enabling the hidden robot 4 to transport the full code tray on the pallet placement station 3 to the cigarette box storage area and transport the empty code tray to the pallet placement station 3, effectively improving work efficiency.

[0054] Furthermore, the cigarette box code control system of the present invention also includes multiple charging piles, which are used to provide charging for the lurking robot 4 so that the lurking robot 4 can work efficiently and continuously.

[0055] In one embodiment of the cigarette box code control system of the present invention, the cigarette box conveying device 1 includes a conveyor line 11, a barcode scanner 12 and multiple lane conveyors 13. The barcode scanner 12 is set on the first end of the conveyor line 11 and is used to identify the label information of the cigarette box 9. The first ends of the multiple lane conveyors 13 are connected to the conveyor line 11 and are used to convey cigarette boxes 9 of different brands. The robot arm 2 is located at the second end of the lane conveyor 13.

[0056] Specifically, conveyor line 11 is used to convey smoke boxes 9.

[0057] During the warehousing process of cigarette boxes 9, cigarette boxes 9 are first placed on conveyor line 11 and transported to the next process. When cigarette boxes 9 of different brands are transported to barcode scanner 12, barcode scanner 12 identifies the labels of different brands of cigarette boxes 9 and transports the different brands of cigarette boxes 9 to the corresponding lane conveyor 13. Then, lane conveyor 13 transports cigarette boxes 9 to robot arm 2. Robot arm 2 grabs cigarette boxes 9 and places them on an empty code tray to form a full code tray. At this time, the lurking robot 4 transports the full code tray to the cigarette box storage area, realizing the warehousing of cigarette boxes 9.

[0058] In one embodiment of the cigarette box pallet control system of the present invention, the cigarette box conveying equipment 1 further includes a vertical sorting device 14, which is disposed at the connection between the first end of the channel conveyor 13 and the conveyor line 11, and is used to convey cigarette boxes 9 of different brands to the corresponding channel conveyor 13.

[0059] This invention sets up a vertical sorting device 14 at the connection between the first end of the split conveyor 13 and the conveyor line 11. The vertical sorting device 14 can transport cigarette boxes 9 of different brands to the corresponding split conveyor 13, thereby achieving fast and accurate sorting of logistics packages and realizing automated operation, saving manpower and space.

[0060] In one embodiment of the cigarette box rack control system of the present invention, the cigarette box rack control system further includes an empty pallet splitter 8, which is disposed on one side of the robot arm 2 and is used to split stacked empty pallets into individual empty pallets.

[0061] Specifically, after the code disk splitter splits the stacked empty code disks into individual empty code disks, the lurking robot 4 transports the individual empty code disks to the pallet placement station 3.

[0062] According to a second aspect of the invention, such as Figures 2 to 6 As shown, a method for controlling the pickup and delivery of cigarette boxes is provided, including the above-mentioned cigarette box code control system, comprising: a cigarette box conveying device 1 for conveying cigarette boxes 9;

[0063] Robotic arm 2 is used to grab the cigarette box 9 on the cigarette box conveying equipment 1 and place the cigarette box 9 on an empty pallet to form a solid pallet;

[0064] Robot waiting area 6; used to store idle robots 4, the idle robots 4 including a first scheduling robot and a second scheduling robot;

[0065] Pallet storage area 7 is used to store pallets.

[0066] The aforementioned code disk retrieval and delivery control method includes the following steps:

[0067] Step S1: Obtain the number of lurking robots 4 in the robot waiting area 6 and the number of physical pallets;

[0068] Step S2: Based on the obtained information on the number of physical pallets, determine whether the number of physical pallets is greater than 2 and whether the number of lurking robots 4 is greater than 1. Then, control the first scheduling robot to transport the physical pallet to the physical pallet temporary storage area 7, and the second scheduling robot to transport the empty pallet to the corresponding pallet placement station 3.

[0069] In addition, when the number of actual pallets is 2 and the number of lurking robots 4 is greater than 1, the first scheduling robot is controlled to transport the actual pallets to the cigarette box storage area, and the second scheduling robot is controlled to transport the empty pallets to the corresponding pallet placement station 3.

[0070] It should be noted that when the number of full pallets is less than or equal to 1, the second scheduling robot will transport the full pallets in the full pallet temporary storage area 7 to the cigarette box storage area, and the first scheduling robot will transport the full pallets to the cigarette box storage area separately and transport the empty pallets to the corresponding pallet placement station 3.

[0071] This invention first obtains the number of lurking robots 4 and the number of full pallets in the robot waiting area 6. If the number of full pallets is greater than 2 and the number of lurking robots 4 is greater than 1, the first scheduling robot is controlled to transport the full pallets to the full pallet temporary storage area 7, and the second scheduling robot transports the empty pallets to the corresponding pallet placement station 3. This effectively solves the problem that when there are too many full pallets, the lurking robots 4 cannot transport the full pallets in time, reduces the waiting time of the robot arm 2, and improves the working efficiency of the robot arm 2.

[0072] In one embodiment of the code disk pick-up and drop-off control method of the present invention, such as Figures 2 to 6 As shown, if the number of physical pallets is greater than 2 and the number of lurking robots 4 is equal to 1, or if the number of physical pallets is equal to 2 and the number of lurking robots 4 is equal to 1, then the first scheduling robot is controlled to transport the physical pallets to the physical pallet storage area 7, and then the first scheduling robot is controlled to transport the empty pallets to the corresponding pallet placement station 3.

[0073] This invention, by controlling the first scheduling robot to transport the full pallet to the full pallet temporary storage area 7 when the number of full pallets is greater than 2 and the number of hidden robots 4 is equal to 1, or when the number of full pallets is equal to 2 and the number of hidden robots 4 is equal to 1, and then controlling the first scheduling robot to transport the empty pallet to the corresponding pallet placement station 3, effectively alleviates the peak period of full pallet transportation and significantly improves the utilization rate of the robot arm 2.

[0074] In one embodiment of the code disk pick-up and drop-off control method of the present invention, such as Figures 2 to 6 As shown, if the number of actual pallets is less than 2, the first scheduling robot is controlled to transport the actual pallets to the cigarette box storage area, and then the first scheduling robot is controlled to transport the empty pallets to the corresponding pallet placement station 3.

[0075] Specifically, when the number of actual pallets is less than 2, that is, when the number of actual pallets is 1 or 0, regardless of whether there is one or two lurking robots 4, the first scheduling robot is controlled to transport the actual pallet to the cigarette box storage area, and then the first scheduling robot is controlled to transport the empty pallet to the corresponding pallet placement station 3.

[0076] While specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail by way of examples, those skilled in the art should understand that the examples are for illustrative purposes only and not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can be made to the above embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for controlling the pickup and delivery of a code disk, characterized in that, The system includes a cigarette box palletizing control system, which comprises a cigarette box conveying device, multiple robotic arms, pallet placement stations, a stealth robot, a robot transport route, and a cigarette box storage area. The cigarette box conveying device transports cigarette boxes. Multiple robotic arms are positioned on the same side of the conveying device, grasping cigarette boxes and placing them on empty pallets to form full pallets. Pallet placement stations are located around the robotic arms and are used to store empty pallets. The cigarette box storage area stores full pallets. The stealth robot is used to transport empty pallets to the pallet placement station; The cigarette box conveying equipment and the robot transport section are located on both sides of the robotic arm; a robot waiting area is also provided between the robot transport section and the robotic arm to store unused dormant robots; a pallet temporary storage area is also provided outside the robot transport section for short-term storage of pallets. The cigarette box stacking control system also includes an empty pallet splitter, which is located on one side of the robotic arm and is used to split stacked empty pallets into individual empty pallets. The stealth robot includes a first scheduling robot and a second scheduling robot; The code disk retrieval and delivery control method includes the following steps: Obtain information on the number of lurking robots in the robot waiting area and the number of physical pallets; Based on the obtained information on the number of physical pallets, if the number of physical pallets is greater than 2 and the number of lurking robots is greater than 1, then the first scheduling robot is controlled to transport the physical pallets to the physical pallet temporary storage area, and the second scheduling robot is controlled to transport the empty pallets to the corresponding pallet placement station. If the number of physical pallets is greater than 2 and the number of hidden robots is equal to 1, or if the number of physical pallets is equal to 2 and the number of hidden robots is equal to 1, then the first scheduling robot is controlled to transport the physical pallets to the physical pallet temporary storage area, and then the first scheduling robot is controlled to transport the empty pallets to the corresponding pallet placement station. If the number of actual pallets is less than 2, then the first scheduling robot is controlled to transport the actual pallets to the cigarette box storage area, and then the first scheduling robot is controlled to transport the empty pallets to the corresponding pallet placement station.

2. The code disk pick-up and delivery control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cigarette box conveying equipment includes a conveyor line, a barcode scanner, and multiple lane conveyors. The barcode scanner is located at the first end of the conveyor line and is used to identify the label information of the cigarette boxes. The first ends of the multiple lane conveyors are connected to the conveyor line and are used to convey cigarette boxes of different brands. The robotic arm is located at the second end of the lane conveyor.

3. The code disk pick-up and delivery control method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The cigarette box conveying equipment also includes a vertical sorting device, which is located at the connection between the first end of the dividing conveyor and the conveyor line, and is used to convey cigarette boxes of different brands to the corresponding dividing conveyors.

4. The code disk pick-up and delivery control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cigarette box code control system also includes a central control system and a scheduling controller. The central control system is connected to the hidden robot and the scheduling controller respectively. The hidden robot is connected to the scheduling controller, and the scheduling controller controls the operation of the hidden robot.

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