A sheet sorting system and method

Abstract

This application relates to the technical field of sheet sorting, and specifically provides a sheet sorting system and method. The system includes: a conveying component; a grasping mechanism arranged above the conveying component, with shelves on both sides thereof. A plurality of placement areas are allocated on the shelves, and each placement area corresponds to a sheet; a first image acquisition component arranged on the conveying component; an orientation adjustment component installed on the conveying component for adjusting the orientation of the sheet placed on the conveying component; a controller for obtaining the actual orientation of the sheet according to the first image information, and when the actual orientation of the sheet is different from the preset orientation, controlling the orientation adjustment component to adjust the actual orientation of the sheet to be the same as the preset orientation. It is also used to, when the actual orientation of the sheet is the same as the preset orientation, control the conveying component to convey the sheet below the grasping mechanism, and then control the grasping mechanism to place the sheet into the corresponding placement area on the shelf. This system can effectively improve the sorting efficiency and sorting accuracy of the sheets.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of sheet sorting, and more particularly, to a sheet sorting system and method. Background Art

[0002] In the furniture industry, the related art requires manual sorting of sheets. Due to the variety of sheet types, the sizes and shapes of different sheets may vary. Workers take a long time to sort the sheets, and it is easy to make mistakes during the sorting process. Therefore, the related art has problems of low sorting efficiency and low sorting accuracy.

[0003] In view of the above problems, there is currently no effective technical solution. It should be noted that the above information disclosed in this part is only used to understand the background of the inventive concept of the present invention, and thus may include information that does not constitute the prior art. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present application is to provide a sheet sorting system and method, which can effectively improve the sorting efficiency and sorting accuracy of sheets.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present application provides a sheet sorting system, which includes:

[0006] A conveying component for conveying sheets;

[0007] A grasping mechanism is arranged above the conveying component, and is used for grasping the sheets on the conveying component and driving the grasped sheets to lift or move horizontally. There are shelves on both sides of the grasping mechanism, and multiple placement areas are allocated on the shelves, and each placement area is used to place a sheet;

[0008] A first image acquisition component is arranged on the conveying component, and is used for acquiring first image information including the sheets on the conveying component;

[0009] An orientation adjustment component is installed on the conveying component, and is used for adjusting the orientation of the sheets placed on the conveying component;

[0010] A controller is used for obtaining the actual orientation of the sheet according to the first image information, and controlling the orientation adjustment component to adjust the actual orientation of the sheet to be the same as the preset orientation when the actual orientation of the sheet is different from the preset orientation. The controller is also used for, when the actual orientation of the sheet is the same as the preset orientation, controlling the conveying component to convey the sheet below the grasping mechanism, and then controlling the grasping mechanism to place the sheet in the corresponding placement area on the shelf.

[0011] A sheet sorting system provided by the present application can achieve automatic sorting of sheets through the cooperation of a conveying component, a first image acquisition component, an orientation adjustment component, and a grasping mechanism. That is, the present application does not require manual sorting of sheets. Since the present application can accurately and quickly identify sheets based on the first image information, compared with the prior art, the present application can effectively improve the sorting efficiency and sorting accuracy of sheets.

[0012] Optionally, the shelf includes a plurality of storage spaces. Each storage space includes a plurality of storage layers distinguished based on the stacked sheets. Each storage layer includes a number of placement areas. The allocation of the placement areas is performed before sheet sorting. The process of allocating the placement areas includes:

[0013] A1. Select the bottommost storage layer in a storage space that has not been allocated a placement area, and select the first-produced sheet in the production order of the sheets as the sheet to be allocated. The sheet to be allocated is the sheet for which the placement area needs to be allocated;

[0014] A2. Generate a circumscribed rectangle according to the preset distance and the preset contour corresponding to the sheet to be allocated;

[0015] A3. Analyze whether the blank area in the selected storage layer can accommodate the circumscribed rectangle. If so, execute step A4; if not, execute step A5;

[0016] A4. Perform position allocation of the circumscribed rectangle in the blank area to obtain the placement area corresponding to the sheet, and then remove the area where the placement area is located in the blank area;

[0017] A5. Analyze whether the currently selected storage layer is the topmost layer in the corresponding storage space. If so, execute step A6; if not, execute step A7;

[0018] A6. Select the bottommost storage layer in a storage space that has not been allocated a placement area, and return to step A4;

[0019] A7. Select the upper storage layer of the current storage layer, and return to step A4;

[0020] A8. Select the next-produced sheet in the production order of the sheets as the sheet to be allocated, and return to step A1 until the allocation of the last sheet is completed or there is no storage space that has not been allocated a placement area.

[0021] Optionally, step A4 includes:

[0022] A41. Perform multiple random placement position allocations of the circumscribed rectangle in the blank area to obtain a plurality of preliminary placement areas. The preliminary placement areas are subsets of the area in the blank area and their shapes are circumscribed rectangles;

[0023] A42. Rectangularly divide the areas in the blank area except for the preliminary placement areas based on the minimization principle, so that each preliminary placement area corresponds to a number of rectangular areas;

[0024] A43. Select the preliminary placement area with the fewest number of rectangular areas from multiple preliminary placement areas as the placement area;

[0025] A44. Remove the area where the placement area is located in the blank area.

[0026] Since this technical solution first generates multiple feasible sheet placement plans by randomly allocating placement positions for the circumscribed rectangle in the blank area multiple times, and then finds the optimal solution from multiple sheet placement plans based on the principle of minimizing the number of rectangular areas. The size of the preliminary placement area is a fixed value. The fewer the number of rectangular areas corresponding to the preliminary placement area, the larger the maximum size of a single rectangular area in the blank area except for the preliminary placement area. Therefore, this technical solution can effectively increase the size of the circumscribed rectangle that the finally remaining blank area can accommodate, thereby effectively improving the space utilization rate of the shelf.

[0027] Optionally, step A41 includes:

[0028] A411. Randomly allocate placement positions for the circumscribed rectangle in the blank area multiple times to obtain multiple preliminary placement areas, and at least one edge of the preliminary placement area is perpendicular to one edge of the blank area;

[0029] A412. Make the distance between the edge of the preliminary placement area and one edge of the blank area be 0.

[0030] Since after obtaining multiple preliminary placement areas, this technical solution first makes the distance between the edge of the preliminary placement area and one edge of the blank area be 0, and then performs area division on the blank area except for the preliminary placement area and screening of the preliminary placement areas. Therefore, this technical solution can make the finally selected placement area close to the edge of the blank area, thereby further increasing the size of the circumscribed rectangle that the other areas in the blank area except for the area where the placement area is located can accommodate, so as to increase the size of the circumscribed rectangle that the finally remaining blank area can accommodate, and further improve the space utilization rate of the shelf 3.

[0031] Optionally, the orientation adjustment component includes a rotation component and a clamping component. The rotation component is slidably mounted on the conveying component, and the clamping component is mounted on the rotation component. The rotation component is used to drive the clamping component to rotate. The process by which the controller controls the orientation adjustment component to adjust the actual orientation of the sheet to be the same as the preset orientation when the actual orientation of the sheet is different from the preset orientation includes:

[0032] B1. Obtain the center line of the sheet based on the first image information according to the bounding box method;

[0033] B2. Control the rotation assembly to drive the clamping assembly to rotate according to the center line of the board, so that the center line of the clamping assembly is aligned with the center line of the board;

[0034] B3. Control the clamping assembly to clamp the board, and then control the rotation assembly to drive the clamping assembly to rotate to adjust the orientation of the board until the actual orientation of the board is the same as the preset orientation.

[0035] Since before adjusting the orientation of the board, this technical solution first aligns the center line of the clamping assembly with the center line of the board by using the rotation assembly to drive the clamping assembly to rotate, this technical solution can effectively improve the clamping accuracy of the clamping assembly, thereby effectively avoiding the situation that the board accidentally shifts during the process of adjusting its orientation due to insufficient clamping accuracy of the clamping assembly.

[0036] Optionally, an identification code bound to the preset board parameters is posted on the board. The board sorting system further includes a removal mechanism installed on one side of the conveying assembly. The controller further includes steps executed before step B1:

[0037] B4. Obtain the actual parameters of the board according to the first image information, and obtain the preset board parameters corresponding to the board according to the identification code in the first image information;

[0038] B5. Analyze whether the board is qualified according to the actual parameters and preset parameters of the board. If so, execute step B1; if not, execute step B6;

[0039] B6. Move the unqualified board to the side of the conveying assembly close to the removal mechanism through the cooperation of the rotation assembly and the clamping assembly, and then control the removal mechanism to remove the unqualified board from the conveying assembly.

[0040] Optionally, the controller is further configured to control the grasping mechanism to grasp the auxiliary cushion block and use the grasped auxiliary cushion block to fill the placement area corresponding to the unqualified board when analyzing that there is an unqualified board.

[0041] Since the above technical solution will use the removal mechanism to remove the unqualified board from the conveying assembly, that is, the above technical solution may cause the situation that the board located above the placement area corresponding to the unqualified board cannot be placed smoothly. And this technical solution can enable the board located above the placement area corresponding to the unqualified board to be placed smoothly by using the auxiliary cushion block to fill the placement area corresponding to the unqualified board. Therefore, this technical solution can effectively avoid the situation that the placement of the board located above the unqualified board is affected due to no board being placed in the placement area corresponding to the unqualified board.

[0042] Optionally, the process by which the controller controls the grasping mechanism to grasp the auxiliary cushion blocks and use the grasped auxiliary cushion blocks to fill the placement area corresponding to the unqualified board includes:

[0043] Based on the preset divided area size, the placement area corresponding to the unqualified board is divided into areas to obtain a plurality of first filling areas;

[0044] Control the grasping mechanism to grasp the auxiliary cushion blocks, and use the grasped auxiliary cushion blocks to fill the centers of the respective first filling areas.

[0045] Since this technical solution is equivalent to filling only one auxiliary cushion block in each first filling area, this technical solution can effectively reduce the number of auxiliary cushion blocks required to fill the placement area corresponding to the unqualified board, thereby effectively improving the filling efficiency of the auxiliary cushion blocks, and further effectively improving the board sorting efficiency of the board sorting system.

[0046] Optionally, the number of grasping mechanisms is multiple, and shelves are provided on both sides of each grasping mechanism.

[0047] Since the number of grasping mechanisms in this technical solution is multiple, and shelves are provided on both sides of each grasping mechanism, and during the process of one of the grasping mechanisms placing a board on its corresponding shelf, this technical solution can use other grasping mechanisms to place other boards on their corresponding shelves, that is, this technical solution can achieve feeding of multiple boards simultaneously, so this technical solution can effectively improve the utilization rate of the conveying component and the board sorting efficiency.

[0048] In a second aspect, the present application also provides a board sorting method. The board sorting method is applied to the board sorting system in the first aspect above, and the board sorting method includes the following steps:

[0049] S1. Obtain the actual orientation of the board according to the first image information, and when the actual orientation of the board is different from the preset orientation, control the orientation adjustment component to adjust the actual orientation of the board to be the same as the preset orientation;

[0050] S2. When the actual orientation of the board is the same as the preset orientation, control the conveying component to convey the board to below the grasping mechanism, and then control the grasping mechanism to place the board in the placement area corresponding to the shelf.

[0051] The board sorting method provided by the present application can achieve automatic sorting of boards through the cooperation of the conveying component, the first image acquisition component, the orientation adjustment component, and the grasping mechanism, that is, the present application does not need to sort the boards manually. And since the present application can accurately and quickly identify the boards according to the first image information, compared with the prior art, the present application can effectively improve the board sorting efficiency and sorting accuracy.

[0052] As can be seen from the above, a sheet sorting system and method provided by the present application can achieve automatic sorting of sheets through the cooperation of a conveying component, a first image acquisition component, an orientation adjustment component, and a grasping mechanism. That is, the present application does not require manual sorting of sheets. Since the present application can accurately and quickly identify sheets based on the first image information, compared with the prior art, the present application can effectively improve the sorting efficiency and sorting accuracy of sheets. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] Figure 1 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of a sheet sorting system provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0054] Figure 2 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of a removal mechanism provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0055] Figure 3 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of an orientation adjustment component provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0056] Figure 4 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of an auxiliary cushion block providing mechanism provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0057] Figure 5 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of a grasping mechanism provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0058] Figure 6 FIG. is a schematic control relationship diagram of a sheet sorting system provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0059] Figure 7 FIG. is a schematic diagram of an assigned area and a preliminary placement area provided by the first embodiment of the present application.

[0060] Figure 8 FIG. is a schematic diagram of an assigned area, a preliminary placement area, and a rectangular area provided by the first embodiment of the present application.

[0061] Figure 9 FIG. is a schematic diagram of an assigned area and a preliminary placement area provided by the second embodiment of the present application.

[0062] Figure 10 FIG. is a schematic diagram of an assigned area, a preliminary placement area, and a rectangular area provided by the second embodiment of the present application.

[0063] Figure 11 FIG. is a flowchart of a sheet sorting method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0064] Reference numerals: 1, conveying assembly; 2, grasping mechanism; 21, frame; 22, multi-axis moving mechanism; 23, second adsorption assembly; 3, shelf; 4, first image acquisition assembly; 5, orientation adjustment assembly; 51, rotating assembly; 52, clamping assembly; 6, controller; 7, pressure sensor; 8, removing mechanism; 81, placing table; 82, rotating telescopic cylinder; 83, first adsorption assembly; 84, second image acquisition assembly; 9, auxiliary cushion block; 10, auxiliary cushion block providing mechanism; 11, mechanical travel limit switch. Detailed implementation manners

[0065] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the present application described and illustrated herein can be arranged and designed in a variety of different configurations. Therefore, the detailed description of the embodiments of the present application provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the present application to be protected, but only represents the selected embodiments of the present application. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present application without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0066] It should be noted that similar reference numerals and letters indicate similar items in the following drawings. Therefore, once an item is defined in one drawing, it does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent drawings. At the same time, in the description of the present application, the terms "first", "second", etc. are only used for distinguishing descriptions and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0067] In the first aspect, as Figures 1 - 10 shown, the present application provides a sheet sorting system, which includes:

[0068] A conveying assembly 1 for conveying sheets;

[0069] A grasping mechanism 2 is arranged above the conveying assembly 1 for grasping the sheets on the conveying assembly 1 and driving the grasped sheets to lift or move horizontally. Shelves 3 are provided on both sides thereof, and a plurality of placement areas are allocated on the shelves 3, and each placement area is used for placing a sheet;

[0070] A first image acquisition assembly 4 is arranged on the conveying assembly 1 for acquiring first image information including the sheets on the conveying assembly 1;

[0071] An orientation adjustment assembly 5 is installed on the conveying assembly 1 for adjusting the orientation of the sheets placed on the conveying assembly 1;

[0072] A controller 6, configured to obtain the actual orientation of the sheet according to the first image information, and when the actual orientation of the sheet is different from the preset orientation, control the orientation adjustment component 5 to adjust the actual orientation of the sheet to be the same as the preset orientation. The controller 6 is further configured to, when the actual orientation of the sheet is the same as the preset orientation, control the conveying component 1 to convey the sheet under the grasping mechanism 2, and then control the grasping mechanism 2 to place the sheet in the corresponding placement area of the shelf 3.

[0073] Among them, the conveying component 1 of this embodiment can be a roller conveyor line or a belt conveyor line, and the conveying component 1 can achieve the stable conveyance of the sheet. The grasping mechanism 2 of this embodiment can be an existing robotic arm or other mechanisms capable of grasping and moving objects. Since the grasping mechanism 2 is installed above the conveying component 1, the grasping mechanism 2 can effectively cover the working area of the conveying component 1 to achieve the operations of grasping the sheet on the conveying component 1 and placing the grasped sheet in the corresponding placement area on the shelf 3. The shelf 3 of this embodiment can be an existing shelf 3, and multiple placement areas are allocated on the shelf 3. The time node for allocating the placement areas is preferably before the time node of starting to produce the sheet. Each placement area is used to place one sheet, that is, one sheet can be placed in each placement area. The first image acquisition component 4 of this embodiment is preferably a camera, and the first image acquisition component 4 is installed on the conveying component 1 to ensure effectively acquiring the first image information including the sheet placed on the conveying component 1 and providing data support for subsequent sheet orientation recognition. The orientation adjustment component 5 of this embodiment can be a robotic arm or other components capable of adjusting the orientation of an object. The orientation adjustment component 5 is installed on the conveying component 1, and the orientation adjustment component 5 can adjust the orientation of the sheet placed on the conveying component 1.

[0074] The controller 6 of this embodiment is electrically connected to the conveying component 1, the grasping mechanism 2, the first image acquisition component 4, and the orientation adjustment component 5 respectively. The specific process of the sheet sorting system of this embodiment for sorting sheets can be: when the sheet is placed on the conveying component 1, control the conveying component 1 to move the sheet under the first image acquisition component 4; use the first image acquisition component 4 to acquire the first image information, and based on the existing visual recognition technology, obtain the actual orientation of the sheet according to the first image information; when the actual orientation of the sheet is different from the preset orientation, control the orientation adjustment component 5 to adjust the actual orientation of the sheet to be the same as the preset orientation; when the actual orientation of the sheet is the same as the preset orientation, control the conveying component 1 to move the sheet under the grasping mechanism 2, and then control the grasping mechanism 2 to place the sheet in the corresponding placement area of the shelf 3.

[0075] A sheet sorting system provided by the present application can achieve automatic sorting of sheets through the cooperation of a conveying component 1, a first image acquisition component 4, an orientation adjustment component 5, and a grasping mechanism 2. That is, the present application does not require manual sorting of sheets. Since the present application can accurately and quickly identify sheets based on the first image information, compared with the prior art, the present application can effectively improve the sorting efficiency and accuracy of sheets. In addition, since the present application will only control the grasping mechanism 2 to place the sheet into the corresponding placement area of the shelf 3 when the actual orientation of the sheet is consistent with the preset orientation, the present application can effectively avoid the situation where the sheet placed on the shelf 3 protrudes from its corresponding placement area due to the inconsistency between the actual orientation and the preset orientation of the sheet, thereby effectively avoiding the situation where the subsequent sheet placement is affected due to the sheet placed on the shelf 3 protruding from its corresponding placement area.

[0076] In some preferred embodiments, the shelf 3 includes a plurality of storage spaces. Each storage space includes a plurality of storage layers differentiated based on stacked sheets. Each storage layer includes a number of placement areas. The allocation of the placement areas is performed before sheet sorting. The process of allocating the placement areas includes:

[0077] A1. Select the bottommost storage layer in an unallocated storage space, and select the first-produced sheet in the production order of the sheets as the sheet to be allocated. The sheet to be allocated is the sheet that needs to have its placement area allocated.

[0078] A2. Generate a circumscribed rectangle according to a preset distance and the preset contour corresponding to the sheet to be allocated.

[0079] A3. Analyze whether the blank area in the selected storage layer can accommodate the circumscribed rectangle. If so, execute step A4; if not, execute step A5.

[0080] A4. Allocate the position of the circumscribed rectangle in the blank area to obtain the placement area corresponding to the sheet, and then remove the area where the placement area is located in the blank area.

[0081] A5. Analyze whether the currently selected storage layer is the topmost layer in the corresponding storage space. If so, execute step A6; if not, execute step A7.

[0082] A6. Select the bottommost storage layer in an unallocated storage space, and return to step A4.

[0083] A7. Select the upper storage layer of the current storage layer, and return to step A4.

[0084] A8. Select the next produced sheet as the sheet to be allocated according to the production order of the sheets, and return to step A1 until the allocation of the last block is completed or there is no storage space where the placement area has not been allocated.

[0085] The storage space of this embodiment includes multiple storage layers differentiated based on stacked plates. The multiple storage layers within the same storage space are arranged vertically, that is, the number of storage layers contained in the same storage space is equal to the maximum number of layers of plates stacked vertically within the storage space. Therefore, this embodiment is equivalent to stacking multiple layers of plates within a single storage space. Since relevant personnel will design the plates before plate production, the preset contour in step A2 is pre-determined information, and this preset contour can reflect the outer contour of the plates to be sorted. The specific process of step A2 can be: generating a minimum bounding rectangle based on the preset contour corresponding to the plates to be allocated; generating a bounding rectangle based on the minimum bounding rectangle and a preset distance. This bounding rectangle is located outside the minimum bounding rectangle and its distance from the minimum bounding rectangle is equal to the preset distance, that is, the bounding rectangle is equivalent to an equidistant entity of the minimum bounding rectangle. It should be understood that by setting the preset distance in this embodiment, it can be avoided that due to errors in the operation of the grasping mechanism 2, adjacent plates collide and the plates are damaged. Step A3 can determine whether the blank area in the selected storage layer can accommodate the bounding rectangle based on existing rectangle collision detection algorithms. Step A4 can perform position allocation of the bounding rectangle in the blank area based on existing position allocation algorithms to obtain the placement area corresponding to the plates. The size of this bounding rectangle is the same as the size of the placement area. Since only one plate can be placed in the same area of the same storage layer, after obtaining the placement area, step A4 needs to remove the area where the placement area is located in the blank area to avoid the situation where the area corresponding to the placement area is repeatedly selected. After completing the removal of the area where the placement area is located in the blank area, this embodiment will execute step A8 to re-determine the plates to be allocated and return to step A1. It should be understood that when performing position allocation of the bounding rectangle, the bounding rectangle does not protrude from the storage layer. It should be understood that the same storage space is only used to store the plates of the same order. Since this embodiment allocates the placement area in the order of plate production, this embodiment is equivalent to sorting the plates in the order of plate production. It should also be understood that since this embodiment performs position allocation of the bounding rectangle for the storage layers within the same storage space in the order from bottom to top, there is only a blank area in the storage layer selected in step A7 that is one layer above the currently selected storage layer. Preferably, when there is only a blank area in the storage layer, this embodiment allocates the bounding rectangle corresponding to the plates to be allocated in the lower right corner of the storage layer. It should be understood that the area where the placement area is located in the blank area removed in step A4 is the area where the plates with completed placement area allocation are located. Therefore, the area where the placement area is located in the blank area removed in step A4 is equivalent to the allocated area.

[0086] In some preferred embodiments, step A4 includes:

[0087] A41. Randomly allocate the positions of the circumscribed rectangles in the blank area multiple times to obtain multiple preliminary placement areas. The preliminary placement areas are subsets of the blank area and their shapes are circumscribed rectangles.

[0088] A42. Based on the minimization principle, divide the area in the blank area except the preliminary placement areas into rectangles respectively, so that each preliminary placement area corresponds to several rectangular areas.

[0089] A43. Select the preliminary placement area with the smallest number of rectangular areas from the multiple preliminary placement areas as the placement area.

[0090] A44. Remove the area where the placement area is located in the blank area.

[0091] Step A41 is equivalent to exploring multiple feasible sheet placement schemes by randomly allocating the positions of the circumscribed rectangles in the blank area multiple times. The minimization principle of Step A42 is to minimize the number of rectangular areas obtained by dividing the area in the blank area except the preliminary placement areas into rectangles. The number of times of dividing the area in the blank area except the preliminary placement areas in Step A42 is the same as the number of preliminary placement areas obtained in Step A41, that is, this embodiment is equivalent to dividing all sheet placement schemes into rectangles. Step A43 is equivalent to selecting the preliminary placement area with the smallest number of corresponding rectangular areas from the multiple preliminary placement areas as the final placement area, that is, this embodiment is equivalent to first generating multiple feasible sheet placement schemes and then finding the optimal solution from multiple sheet placement schemes. It should be understood that if the number of preliminary placement areas selected based on the minimization principle of the number of rectangular areas is multiple, then this embodiment secondarily selects the final placement area from the selected preliminary placement areas based on the principle of maximizing the size of a single rectangular area. Since this embodiment first generates multiple feasible sheet placement schemes by randomly allocating the positions of the circumscribed rectangles in the blank area multiple times and then finds the optimal solution from multiple sheet placement schemes, and the size of the preliminary placement area is a fixed value, the fewer the number of rectangular areas corresponding to the preliminary placement area, the larger the maximum size of a single rectangular area in the blank area except the preliminary placement area. Therefore, this embodiment can effectively increase the size of the circumscribed rectangle that the finally remaining blank area can accommodate, thereby effectively improving the space utilization rate of the shelf 3. Take Figure 8 and Figure 10 as an example. Dividing the blank area except the preliminary placement areas in Figure 8 will obtain three rectangular areas, and dividing the blank area except the preliminary placement areas in Figure 10 will obtain two rectangular areas. Since Figure 8 has a larger number of rectangular areas than Figure 10 , this embodiment will selectFigure 10 The preliminary placement area is used as the placement area.

[0092] In some preferred embodiments, step A41 includes:

[0093] A411. Randomly allocate the placement positions of the circumscribed rectangle in the blank area for multiple times to obtain multiple preliminary placement areas, and at least one edge of the preliminary placement area is perpendicular to one edge of the blank area;

[0094] A412. Make the distance between the edge of the preliminary placement area and one edge of the blank area be 0.

[0095] Since after obtaining multiple preliminary placement areas, in this embodiment, the distance between the edge of the preliminary placement area and one edge of the blank area is first made 0, and then the blank area except the preliminary placement area is divided and the preliminary placement areas are screened, so this embodiment can make the finally screened placement area close to the edge of the blank area, thereby further increasing the size of the circumscribed rectangle that can be accommodated in the other area except the area where the placement area is located in the blank area, so as to increase the size of the circumscribed rectangle that can be accommodated in the finally remaining blank area, and further improve the space utilization rate of the shelf 3.

[0096] In some preferred embodiments, the orientation adjustment assembly 5 includes a rotation assembly 51 and a clamping assembly 52. The rotation assembly 51 is slidably mounted on the conveying assembly 1, the clamping assembly 52 is mounted on the rotation assembly 51, and the rotation assembly 51 is used to drive the clamping assembly 52 to rotate. When the actual orientation of the sheet is different from the preset orientation, the process of the controller 6 controlling the orientation adjustment assembly 5 to adjust the actual orientation of the sheet to be the same as the preset orientation includes:

[0097] B1. Obtain the center line of the sheet based on the bounding box method according to the first image information;

[0098] B2. Control the rotation assembly 51 to drive the clamping assembly 52 to rotate according to the center line of the sheet, so that the center line of the clamping assembly 52 is aligned with the center line of the sheet;

[0099] B3. Control the clamping assembly 52 to clamp the sheet, and then control the rotation assembly 51 to drive the clamping assembly 52 to rotate to adjust the orientation of the sheet until the actual orientation of the sheet is the same as the preset orientation.

[0100] The bounding box method in step B1 is an existing algorithm. This bounding box method can mark the position and range of the sheet in the first image information and obtain the center line of the sheet based on the position and range of the sheet. This center line of the sheet is a straight line passing through the center of the sheet. The center line of the clamping assembly 52 in step B2 is preferably a straight line passing through the center of the clamping assembly 52 and parallel to the clamping direction of the clamping assembly 52. After the clamping assembly 52 clamps the sheet, the clamping assembly 52 will not move relative to the sheet, that is, the relationship between the center line of the clamping assembly 52 and the center line of the sheet will not change. Therefore, step B3 can synchronously adjust the orientation of the clamping assembly 52 and the sheet by controlling the rotation of the rotation assembly 51 to drive the clamping assembly 52 to rotate. Since before adjusting the orientation of the sheet, in this embodiment, the center line of the clamping assembly 52 is aligned with the center line of the sheet (the center line of the clamping assembly 52 is parallel to the center line of the sheet) by driving the clamping assembly 52 to rotate by using the rotation assembly 51, this embodiment can effectively improve the clamping accuracy of the clamping assembly 52, thereby effectively avoiding the situation that the sheet accidentally shifts during the process of adjusting its orientation due to insufficient clamping accuracy of the clamping assembly 52. It should be understood that when the rotation assembly 51 drives the clamping assembly 52 to rotate, the rotation assembly 51 will rotate relative to the conveying assembly 1.

[0101] In some preferred embodiments, the rotation assembly 51 includes two rotation motors, and the clamping assembly 52 includes two telescopic cylinder groups. The two rotation motors are respectively slidably mounted on both sides of the conveying assembly 1, and the two telescopic cylinder groups are respectively mounted on the piston ends of the two rotation motors. Each telescopic cylinder group includes a plurality of telescopic cylinders. This embodiment is equivalent to making the clamping assembly 52 have multiple clamping ends and clamping the sheet from both sides of the sheet by the orientation adjusting assembly 5. Preferably, a pressure sensor 7 is mounted on the piston end of each telescopic cylinder. The controller 6 is further configured to control the telescopic cylinder corresponding to the pressure information to stop working when the pressure information collected by the pressure sensor 7 reaches a preset pressure, so as to avoid the situation that the sheet is damaged due to the excessive force applied by the telescopic cylinder to the sheet.

[0102] In some preferred embodiments, an identification code bound to preset sheet parameters is posted on the sheet. The sheet sorting system further includes a removing mechanism 8. The removing mechanism 8 is mounted on one side of the conveying assembly 1. The controller 6 further includes steps executed before step B1:

[0103] B4. Obtain the actual parameters of the sheet according to the first image information, and obtain the preset sheet parameters corresponding to the sheet according to the identification code in the first image information;

[0104] B5. Analyze whether the sheet is qualified according to the actual parameters and preset parameters of the sheet. If so, execute step B1; if not, execute step B6;

[0105] B6. Through the cooperation of the rotating assembly 51 and the clamping assembly 52, move the unqualified sheet to one side of the conveying assembly 1 close to the removing mechanism 8, and then control the removing mechanism 8 to remove the unqualified sheet from the conveying assembly 1.

[0106] The identification code of this embodiment is preferably a two-dimensional code. It should be understood that since the identification code is posted on the sheet, and the first image information is an image of the sheet on the conveying assembly 1, that is, the first image information also includes the identification code. Therefore, this embodiment can use existing identification code recognition technologies to recognize the identification code in the first image information to obtain the preset sheet parameters bound to it. The preset sheet parameters preferably include the shape and size of the sheet, and the preset sheet parameters are equivalent to the expected parameters of the sheet. Step B4 can use existing visual recognition technologies to obtain the actual sheet parameters according to the first image information. The actual sheet parameters are the actual parameters of the sheet. Therefore, step B5 can analyze whether the sheet is qualified by comparing the actual sheet parameters with the preset sheet parameters. The removing mechanism 8 of this embodiment preferably includes a placement table 81, a rotary telescopic cylinder 82, a first adsorption assembly 83, and a second image acquisition assembly 84. The rotary telescopic cylinder 82 and the second image acquisition assembly 84 are both installed on the placement table 81. The first adsorption assembly 83 is installed at the piston end of the rotary telescopic cylinder 82. The second image acquisition assembly 84 is used to acquire the second image information of the unqualified sheet (the sheet with different actual sheet parameters from the preset sheet parameters or the sheet with the difference between the actual sheet parameters and the preset sheet parameters exceeding the preset range) placed on the conveying assembly 1. The controller 6 of this embodiment can transfer the unqualified sheet from the conveying assembly 1 to the placement table 81 through the cooperation of the rotary telescopic cylinder 82 and the first adsorption assembly 83 according to the second image information, so as to control the removing mechanism 8 to remove the unqualified sheet from the conveying assembly 1. Since steps B4 - B6 are executed before step B1, that is, this embodiment is equivalent to first detecting whether the sheet is qualified. If the sheet is unqualified, the unqualified sheet is removed from the conveying line through the cooperation of the rotating assembly 51, the clamping assembly 52, and the removing mechanism 8. If the sheet is qualified, the subsequent sheet orientation adjustment and sheet placement steps are continued. Therefore, this embodiment is equivalent to only placing the qualified sheets on the shelf 3. Therefore, this embodiment can avoid the situation that the subsequent sheet sorting is affected due to the unqualified sheets being placed on the shelf 3.

[0107] In some preferred embodiments, the controller 6 is further configured to control the grasping mechanism 2 to grasp the auxiliary cushion block 9 and use the grasped auxiliary cushion block 9 to fill the placement area corresponding to the unqualified sheet. In this application, the sheets are sequentially placed on the shelf 3 according to the production order of the sheets. Since the above embodiment uses the removal mechanism 8 to remove the unqualified sheets from the conveying component 1, that is, in the above embodiment, the sheets located above the placement area corresponding to the unqualified sheets may not be placed smoothly. And this embodiment can enable the sheets located above the placement area corresponding to the unqualified sheets to be placed smoothly by filling the placement area corresponding to the unqualified sheets with the auxiliary cushion block 9. Therefore, this embodiment can effectively avoid the situation that the placement of the sheets located above the unqualified sheets is affected due to no sheet placement in the placement area corresponding to the unqualified sheets.

[0108] In some preferred embodiments, the process in which the controller 6 controls the grasping mechanism 2 to grasp the auxiliary cushion block 9 and use the grasped auxiliary cushion block 9 to fill the placement area corresponding to the unqualified sheet includes:

[0109] Based on the preset divided area size, the placement area corresponding to the unqualified sheet is divided into areas to obtain a plurality of first filling areas;

[0110] Control the grasping mechanism 2 to grasp the auxiliary cushion block 9 and use the grasped auxiliary cushion block 9 to fill the centers of the respective first filling areas.

[0111] The preset divided area size of this embodiment is preferably a square with a side length of 10 cm. Since this embodiment is equivalent to filling only one auxiliary cushion block 9 in each first filling area, this embodiment can effectively reduce the number of auxiliary cushion blocks 9 required to fill the placement area corresponding to the unqualified sheet, thereby effectively improving the filling efficiency of the auxiliary cushion block 9, and further effectively improving the sheet sorting efficiency of the sheet sorting system. Preferably, during the sheet sorting process and before switching the storage layer, this embodiment first analyzes whether the remaining blank area in the current storage layer can accommodate a second filling area with the size of the preset divided area size. If so, it controls the grasping mechanism 2 to grasp the auxiliary cushion block 9 and uses the grasped auxiliary cushion block 9 to fill the centers of the respective second filling areas. Therefore, this embodiment can effectively avoid the situation that the subsequent sheet placement is affected due to the overly large size of the remaining blank area in the current storage layer.

[0112] In some preferred embodiments, the number of the grasping mechanisms 2 is multiple, and the shelves 3 are arranged on both sides of each grasping mechanism 2. Since the number of the grasping mechanisms 2 in this embodiment is multiple, and the shelves 3 are arranged on both sides of each grasping mechanism 2, during the process of one of the grasping mechanisms 2 placing the board on its corresponding shelf 3, this embodiment can use other grasping mechanisms 2 to place other boards on their corresponding shelves 3, that is, this embodiment can realize feeding of multiple boards simultaneously. Therefore, this embodiment can effectively improve the utilization rate of the conveying component 1 and the board sorting efficiency.

[0113] In some preferred embodiments, the grasping mechanism 2 includes a frame 21, a multi-axis moving mechanism 22, a second adsorption component 23, and a third image acquisition component (not shown in the figure). The multi-axis moving mechanism 22 and the third image acquisition component are both installed on the frame 21, and the second adsorption component 23 is installed on the multi-axis moving mechanism 22. The third image acquisition component is used to acquire the third image information of the board on the conveying component 1. The process of the controller 6 controlling the grasping mechanism 2 to place the board in the corresponding placement area of the shelf 3 includes: controlling the multi-axis moving mechanism 22 to move the second adsorption component 23 to contact with the board according to the third image information; controlling the second adsorption component 23 to adsorb the board; controlling the multi-axis moving mechanism 22 to move the adsorbed board to the corresponding placement area of the shelf 3, and then controlling the second adsorption component 23 to release the adsorption of the board. The multi-axis moving mechanism 22 of this embodiment can drive the second adsorption component 23 to lift or move horizontally. Preferably, a mechanical stroke limit switch 11 for restricting the sliding position of the multi-axis moving mechanism 22 is further installed on the frame 21 of this embodiment to avoid the situation that the multi-axis moving mechanism 22 is damaged due to collision between the multi-axis moving mechanism 22 and the frame 21 or the shelf 3.

[0114] In some preferred embodiments, the second adsorption assembly 23 includes a negative pressure generating assembly and a plurality of adsorption groups. All the adsorption groups are connected to the negative pressure generating assembly. Each adsorption group includes an adsorption unit and a on-off switching assembly. The on-off switching assembly is used to switch its corresponding adsorption unit between two states: being connected to and cut off from the negative pressure generating assembly. Preferably, the controller 6 of this embodiment is further configured to determine a target adsorption group from the plurality of adsorption groups according to the projection of the sheet on the second adsorption assembly 23, and then control the on-off switching assembly of the target adsorption group to connect its corresponding adsorption unit to the negative pressure generating assembly. That is, this embodiment is equivalent to using only some adsorption units to adsorb the sheet, thereby effectively reducing energy consumption and reducing the load on the negative pressure generating assembly. More preferably, a volume acquisition assembly for acquiring volume information is provided on the second adsorption assembly 23. The controller 6 is further configured to generate an alarm message when the volume information is greater than or equal to a preset volume (preferably 100 decibels). Since the volume information being greater than or equal to the preset volume is usually caused by factors such as air leakage in the second adsorption assembly 23, blockage of the second adsorption assembly 23, or too high working vacuum degree of the negative pressure generating assembly, and these factors will all cause the negative pressure generating assembly to operate overloaded. Therefore, when the volume information is greater than or equal to the preset volume, this embodiment needs to generate an alarm message to remind relevant personnel to repair the second adsorption assembly 23.

[0115] In some preferred embodiments, the sheet sorting system further includes an auxiliary cushion block providing mechanism 10. The auxiliary cushion block providing mechanism 10 is arranged on one side of the conveying assembly 1. The auxiliary cushion block providing mechanism 10 is used to place the auxiliary cushion block 9 on the conveying assembly 1 when auxiliary cushion blocks 9 need to be filled. The structure of the auxiliary cushion block providing mechanism 10 in this embodiment is preferably the same as the structure of the removing mechanism 8 in the above embodiment.

[0116] As can be seen from the above, a sheet sorting system provided by the present application can realize automatic sorting of sheets through the cooperation of the conveying assembly 1, the first image acquisition assembly 4, the orientation adjustment assembly 5, and the grasping mechanism 2. That is, the present application does not need to sort sheets manually. Since the present application can accurately and quickly identify sheets according to the first image information, compared with the prior art, the present application can effectively improve the sorting efficiency and sorting accuracy of sheets.

[0117] Second aspect, as Figure 11 shown, the present application further provides a sheet sorting method. The sheet sorting method is applied to the sheet sorting system provided in the first aspect above. The sheet sorting method includes the following steps:

[0118] S1. Obtain the actual orientation of the sheet according to the first image information, and when the actual orientation of the sheet is different from the preset orientation, control the orientation adjustment assembly 5 to adjust the actual orientation of the sheet to be the same as the preset orientation;

[0119] S2. When the actual orientation of the board is the same as the preset orientation, control the conveying component 1 to convey the board under the grasping mechanism 2, and then control the grasping mechanism 2 to place the board in the corresponding placement area of the shelf 3.

[0120] A board sorting method provided by this application is applied to the board sorting system provided in the first aspect above. The principle of the board sorting method provided in this embodiment is the same as that of the board sorting system provided in the first aspect above, and will not be elaborated in detail here.

[0121] As can be seen from the above, a board sorting system and method provided by this application can realize automatic sorting of boards through the cooperation of the conveying component 1, the first image acquisition component 4, the orientation adjustment component 5, and the grasping mechanism 2. That is, this application does not need to sort boards manually. And because this application can accurately and quickly identify boards according to the first image information, compared with the prior art, this application can effectively improve the sorting efficiency and sorting accuracy of boards.

[0122] In the embodiments provided by this application, it should be understood that in this text, relational terms such as first and second are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations.

[0123] The above are only the embodiments of this application and are not used to limit the protection scope of this application. For those skilled in the art, this application can have various changes and modifications. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of this application shall be included in the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A plate sorting system, characterized in that: The plate sorting system comprises: A conveying assembly, used for conveying plates; A grabbing mechanism is arranged above the conveying assembly, and is used to grab the plates on the conveying assembly and drive the grabbed plates to rise and fall or move horizontally. There are shelves on both sides of the grabbing mechanism, and the shelves include a plurality of storage spaces, each of which includes a plurality of storage layers differentiated by stacking the plates, and each of which includes a plurality of placement areas. The allocation of the placement areas is performed before the plates are sorted, and each of which is used to place a plate; A first image acquisition component is disposed on the conveying component and is used to acquire first image information of a plate on the conveying component; An orientation adjustment component, installed on the conveying component, for adjusting the orientation of the plate placed on the conveying component; a controller, configured to obtain the actual orientation of the sheet according to the first image information, and to control the orientation adjustment component to adjust the actual orientation of the sheet to be the same as the preset orientation when the actual orientation of the sheet is different from the preset orientation, and to control the conveying component to convey the sheet to the bottom of the gripping mechanism when the actual orientation of the sheet is the same as the preset orientation, and then control the gripping mechanism to place the sheet into the placement area corresponding to the shelf; The allocation process of the placement area includes: A1. Select the bottom storage layer in a storage space that has not been allocated a placement area, and select the first produced plate as the plate to be allocated according to the production sequence of the plates, wherein the plate to be allocated is the plate that needs to be allocated a placement area; A2, generating a circumscribed rectangle according to a preset distance and a preset contour corresponding to the sheet to be distributed; A3, analyzing whether the blank area in the selected storage layer can accommodate the circumscribed rectangle, if so, executing step A4, if not, executing step A5; A4, allocating the position of the circumscribed rectangle in the blank area to obtain a placement area corresponding to the plate, and then removing the area where the placement area is located in the blank area; A5, analyzing whether the currently selected storage layer is the highest layer in the corresponding storage space, if yes, executing step A6, if no, executing step A7; A6, selecting the lowest storage layer in the storage space that has not been allocated a placement area, and returning to step A4; A7, select the previous storage layer of the current storage layer, and return to step A4; A8. Select the next produced plate as the plate to be allocated according to the production sequence of the plates, and return to step A1 until the allocation of the last plate is completed or there is no storage space that has not been allocated a placement area.

2. The sheet material sorting system according to claim 1, characterized in that: Step A4 includes: A41, performing multiple random placement position allocations on the circumscribed rectangle in the blank area to obtain multiple preliminary placement areas, where the preliminary placement areas are area subsets in the blank area and are shaped like circumscribed rectangles; A42, dividing the areas in the blank area except the preliminary placement area into rectangles based on the minimization principle, so that each of the preliminary placement areas corresponds to a plurality of rectangular areas; A43, selecting a preliminary placement area with the least number of rectangular areas from the plurality of preliminary placement areas as a placement area; A44. Remove the area in the blank area where the placement area is located.

3. The sheet material sorting system according to claim 2, characterized in that: Step A41 includes: A411, performing multiple random placement position allocations on the circumscribed rectangle in the blank area to obtain multiple preliminary placement areas, wherein at least one edge of the preliminary placement area is perpendicular to an edge of the blank area; A412. Set the distance between the edge of the preliminary placement area and an edge of the blank area to 0.

4. The sheet material sorting system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The orientation adjustment component includes a rotating component and a clamping component, the rotating component is slidably mounted on the conveying component, the clamping component is mounted on the rotating component, the rotating component is used to drive the clamping component to rotate, and the controller controls the orientation adjustment component to adjust the actual orientation of the plate to the same as the preset orientation when the actual orientation of the plate is different from the preset orientation. The process includes: B1. Obtaining the center line of the plate according to the first image information based on the bounding box method; B2. Controlling the rotating assembly to drive the clamping assembly to rotate according to the center line of the plate, so that the center line of the clamping assembly is aligned with the center line of the plate; B3. Control the clamping assembly to clamp the plate, and then control the rotating assembly to drive the clamping assembly to rotate, so as to adjust the orientation of the plate until the actual orientation of the plate is the same as the preset orientation.

5. The sheet material sorting system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The plate is posted with an identification code bound to a preset plate parameter. The plate sorting system further includes a removal mechanism installed on one side of the conveying assembly. The controller further includes a step performed before step B1: B4. Acquire actual plate parameters according to the first image information, and acquire preset plate parameters corresponding to the plate according to the identification code in the first image information; B5. Analyze whether the plate is qualified according to the actual plate parameters and the preset plate parameters. If so, execute step B1; if not, execute step B6; B6. The unqualified sheet material is moved to the side of the conveying assembly close to the removal mechanism through the cooperation of the rotating assembly and the clamping assembly, and then the removal mechanism is controlled to remove the unqualified sheet material from the conveying assembly.

6. The sheet material sorting system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The controller is also used to control the grasping mechanism to grasp the auxiliary pad and fill the placement area corresponding to the unqualified plate with the grasped auxiliary pad when analyzing the existence of unqualified plate.

7. The sheet material sorting system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The process of the controller controlling the grabbing mechanism to grab the auxiliary pad and using the grabbed auxiliary pad to fill the placement area corresponding to the unqualified plate includes: Dividing the placement area corresponding to the unqualified plate into regions based on a preset divided area size to obtain a plurality of first filling regions; The grabbing mechanism is controlled to grab the auxiliary pads, and the centers of the first filling areas are filled with the grabbed auxiliary pads.

8. The sheet material sorting system according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are multiple grabbing mechanisms, and the shelves are arranged on both sides of each grabbing mechanism.

9. A plate sorting method, characterized in that: The plate sorting method is applied in the plate sorting system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, and the plate sorting method comprises the following steps: S1. Acquire the actual orientation of the plate according to the first image information, and control the orientation adjustment component to adjust the actual orientation of the plate to be the same as the preset orientation when the actual orientation of the plate is different from the preset orientation; S2. When the actual orientation of the plate is the same as the preset orientation, control the conveying assembly to convey the plate to below the gripping mechanism, and then control the gripping mechanism to place the plate into a placement area corresponding to the shelf.

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