A vision guided robotic picking of glass bottles mechanism on an elevator

Abstract

The application belongs to the technical field of empty pharmaceutical glass bottle detection, and particularly relates to a vision-guided robot glass bottle grabbing mechanism on an elevator, which comprises an elevating and arranging mechanism, a vision imaging mechanism and a mechanical hand, the elevating and arranging mechanism adopts a grooved elevating plate chain, the conveying surface of which is transitioned from a slope section to a horizontal section, the slope section is seamlessly connected with an annealing furnace, a transition plate is arranged above the lower end of the slope section and a gap is reserved, a carding roller is arranged above the upper end, the vision imaging mechanism is located above the horizontal section of the elevating plate chain, and the mechanical hand is located in front of the conveying surface of the elevating and arranging mechanism. The application solves the problems of bottle disorder, large posture freedom, unstable transparent / reflective recognition and low model change efficiency in the prior art, and can realize single-row bottle support, posture carding and stable vision positioning under the conditions of disorder, bottle tilting and bottle stacking, thereby improving the grabbing success rate and yield, and reducing the model change and maintenance costs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model belongs to the field of pharmaceutical glass bottle empty bottle detection technology, specifically, it relates to a vision-guided robot grasping mechanism on a lifting machine. Background Technology

[0002] With my country's continuous strengthening of quality control throughout the entire lifecycle of pharmaceuticals, online inspection, sorting, and packaging of pharmaceutical packaging materials (such as pharmaceutical tubular glass bottles and ampoules) have become key nodes in the pharmaceutical production quality control system. Existing typical processes involve: after the glass tubular bottles are formed, they undergo an annealing furnace to eliminate internal stress, and then are conveyed by a transport device to a vision positioning station, where a robotic arm grasps them to complete inspection, sorting, or palletizing / boxing. This process places high demands on the arrangement of the bottles, the accuracy of visual recognition, and the success rate of grasping; instability in any step directly affects yield and cost.

[0003] On existing production lines, bottles at the annealing furnace exit are often arranged in a "disorderly" manner: on the one hand, the bottles are easily congested and randomly rolled due to airflow disturbances, conveying impacts, and friction differences under high-temperature conditions; on the other hand, minor flatness errors at the bottle bottom, uneven conveying surfaces, and rhythm fluctuations can cause bottles to tilt, tip over, or stack. These abnormal postures cause visual interference such as mutual occlusion, discontinuous edges, and enhanced reflected glare, significantly reducing the robustness of contour / feature recognition based on 2D cameras to transparent or light-colored glass, making it difficult to achieve stable 100% recognition.

[0004] To improve recognition rates, common industry practices include: setting up guide rails / grid alignment mechanisms along the conveying path, using forks / star wheels for pitch control, employing vibration or airflow-assisted dispersion, and configuring backlighting, coaxial or multi-angle supplementary lighting. However, these methods have the following shortcomings:

[0005] 1. Difficulty in constraining the degree of freedom of posture: The bottle body can rotate arbitrarily from 0 to 180° during the transport process. If the grasping strategy relies on a specific orientation (such as alignment based on the bottle mouth / shoulder features), the uncertainty of posture will lead to missed grasp, secondary collision or forced twisting, affecting the grasping stability and rhythm.

[0006] 2. Poor adaptability and high changeover costs: Different bottle sizes have significant differences in diameter, height, and bottle mouth structure, requiring frequent adjustments or replacements of mechanical assembly and fixture solutions, resulting in long downtime.

[0007] 3. Limitations of visual ontology: 2D vision is insufficient in feature extraction and segmentation accuracy under conditions of bottle overlap, strong reflection, thin-walled transparency, and low-contrast boundaries. Although line scanning / 3D vision can improve this, it increases cost, deployment space, and maintenance complexity. Furthermore, it still has the problem of missing detection in extremely crowded or large-angle tilted scenarios.

[0008] 4. High requirements for consistency of bottle mouth orientation in subsequent processes: Existing solutions generally lack a dynamic correction mechanism for changes in bottle mouth orientation before and after grasping, which leads to inconsistencies in the orientation of the bottle mouth in subsequent processes such as inspection and packaging, thus affecting alignment accuracy and cycle time.

[0009] Due to the combined effects of the aforementioned factors, existing pharmaceutical vials, after annealing and in the packaging stage, generally suffer from low recognition success rates and significantly affected grasping success rates by posture fluctuations. This leads to increased scrap rates, material and energy waste, increased manual intervention, and a decrease in overall production line cycle time, especially in scenarios with high production capacity, multiple specification switching, and high cleanliness requirements. Therefore, there is an urgent need for an integrated technology solution for aligning, recognizing, and grasping vials that can maintain high recognition and grasping success rates even under conditions of disordered arrangement, tilting, and stacking, in order to achieve stable, reliable, and high-yield handling and packaging of pharmaceutical vials. Utility Model Content

[0010] This application addresses the problems of disordered bottle arrangement, large degree of freedom in posture, unstable recognition of transparent / reflective surfaces, and low changeover efficiency in existing technologies. It proposes a vision-guided robot grasping mechanism on a lifting machine. This mechanism achieves directional and continuous feeding of disordered bottle flow through the coordination of "lifting and sorting (height limit of transition plate + roller alignment + single bottle support of plate chain groove), visual imaging positioning, and adaptive rotation / grabbing of the robot arm according to the bottle mouth orientation". This improves the recognition rate, grasping success rate and production cycle time, and is compatible with multiple specifications.

[0011] To achieve the technical objective of this utility model, the following technical solution will be adopted:

[0012] A vision-guided robot mechanism for grasping glass bottles on a lifting machine includes a lifting and sorting mechanism, a vision imaging mechanism, and a robotic arm; the lifting and sorting mechanism includes a conveying component, a transition plate, and a combing roller.

[0013] The conveying assembly uses a lifting plate chain for conveying. The lifting plate chain has multiple grooves, each groove is used to support a single row of bottles and keep the bottle axis perpendicular to the conveying direction. The upper surface of the lifting plate chain is a conveying surface, which includes an inclined section extending from bottom to top and a horizontal section connected to the top of the inclined section. The conveying direction is from the inclined section to the horizontal section. The lower end of the inclined section is connected to the bottle outlet end of the annealing furnace to achieve seamless transfer of disordered bottles.

[0014] The transition plate is positioned above the lower end of the inclined section and spans both sides of the conveying direction of the lifting plate chain, with a preset gap maintained between the transition plate and the upper surface of the inclined section; the combing roller is positioned above the upper end of the inclined section and spans both sides of the conveying direction of the lifting plate chain; the vision imaging mechanism is positioned above the horizontal section, and the robotic arm is positioned at the front end of the horizontal section.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the lifting plate chain further comprises two annular chains and multiple plates, with several plates fixedly connected at equal intervals between the two annular chains, and adjacent plates being joined in a V-shape to form a groove for accommodating the bottle.

[0016] In a preferred implementation, the preset gap between the transition plate and the upper surface of the inclined section of the lifting plate chain is set according to the maximum diameter of the target bottle shape.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment, the lifting and sorting mechanism further includes a frame; the frame includes two symmetrical and spaced guard plates with obtuse-angled zigzag structures and a support frame connected to the bottom of the two guard plates, and the conveying assembly is disposed between the two guard plates and connected to the two guard plates.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment, the visual imaging mechanism further includes a support and an industrial camera; the support is connected to the frame and mounted above the lifting and sorting mechanism, and the industrial camera is mounted on the support from above and is located above the horizontal section of the lifting plate chain.

[0019] In a preferred embodiment, the visual imaging mechanism further includes a light source; wherein two light sources are disposed on the bracket and located on both sides of the industrial camera, and another light source is disposed on one side of the bracket.

[0020] In a preferred implementation, the light source is further defined as a ring-shaped surface light source or a strip-shaped surface light source.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment, the robotic arm further includes a suction cup assembly having multiple suction cup openings arranged in a linear array along the conveying direction of the bottle, and the center distance of each suction cup opening matches the center distance of the grooves of the lifting plate chain.

[0022] The beneficial effects of this utility model are:

[0023] First, the visual-guided robot glass bottle grasping mechanism of this utility model integrates a grooved lifting plate chain on the elevator. The inclined section seamlessly connects with the bottle outlet of the annealing furnace. A transition plate with a preset gap is set above the lower end of the inclined section, and a combing roller is arranged at the upper end. A visual imaging mechanism is arranged above the horizontal section, and a robot arm is configured at the front end, forming a continuous process of introduction, combing, positioning, image acquisition, grasping, and unified orientation: disordered glass bottles are supported by the grooves during transportation, their posture is flexibly combed and corrected, and the bottle axis is kept perpendicular to the transportation direction. The preset gap plays a buffering and anti-squeezing role, reducing the risk of collision, overlap, and jamming. After entering the horizontal section, a stable, constant speed, and equidistant working condition is established. Two-dimensional vision can obtain clear images and output accurate pose and bottle mouth azimuth angle. The system uses high-precision gripping and axis-alignment during handling to ensure uniform bottle mouth orientation, thereby improving sorting and gripping success rate and cycle time, reducing scratches and breakage, and lowering labor and maintenance costs. Simultaneously, the adjustable transition plate gap, roller position, and visual parameters enable rapid compatibility and changeover for bottles of different diameters and heights, eliminating interference from stacking and large-angle tilting on imaging. This avoids the need for existing high-cost line scanning and 3D systems, achieving stable recognition and positioning accuracy while ensuring alignment consistency in subsequent processes such as palletizing, racking, capping / labeling. This comprehensively improves the automation level and yield rate of the entire production line. It provides a systematic technical solution to address key shortcomings of existing technologies, such as difficulty in constraining the degree of freedom of posture, poor adaptability and high changeover costs, limitations of the visual body, and poor consistency in bottle mouth orientation.

[0024] Secondly, in the preferred implementation, this utility model uses two ring chains fixed at equal intervals and adjacent plates spliced ​​in a V-shape to form a stable groove, which can limit the bottle body in both axial and radial directions, reducing the risk of rolling and tipping. The preset gap between the transition plate and the upper surface of the inclined section of the lifting plate chain is set according to the maximum diameter of the target bottle, which not only ensures sufficient gap to avoid rubbing and jamming, but also forms a smooth guiding transition, reducing impact and noise.

[0025] Third, in the preferred implementation, this utility model, through frame design, has two symmetrical and spaced obtuse-angled folded line guard plates and the bottom support frame forming a high-rigidity and stable semi-enclosed guide channel. The conveying component is located in the middle and connected to the guard plates, which can provide double-sided limiting and guiding for materials or workpieces. The obtuse-angled folded lines realize segmented buffering and flow guidance, reduce the impact and wear of materials contacting the guard plates, and at the same time improve the overall bending and deformation resistance of the guard plates.

[0026] Fourth, in the preferred implementation, the visual imaging mechanism of this utility model is supported by a bracket rigidly connected to the frame and arranged above the lifting and sorting mechanism when viewed from above, and is located directly above the horizontal section of the lifting plate chain, ensuring that the target is in a uniform posture and within the focal plane, reducing occlusion and perspective distortion, and ensuring stable imaging; the light sources on both sides, together with the supplementary light on one side of the bracket, form three-way uniform illumination, suppressing shadows and high reflective areas. The light source adopts a ring surface light source or a strip surface light source, which has soft light distribution and uniform illuminance, and can be flexibly adjusted according to the size and material of the workpiece, making it highly adaptable.

[0027] Fifth, in the preferred implementation, this utility model arranges multiple suction cup openings of the suction cup assembly in a linear array along the bottle conveying direction, and precisely matches the center distance of each suction cup opening with the center distance of the lifting plate chain groove. This allows each suction cup opening to correspond one-to-one with the corresponding bottle position, enabling simultaneous, rapid, and stable picking and placing of multiple bottles without the need for bottle-by-bottle alignment and compensation. Attached Figure Description

[0028] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a vision-guided robot grasping a glass bottle on a hoist, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 2 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the lifting and sorting mechanism according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0030] Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the visual imaging mechanism according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0031] Figure 4 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the robotic arm according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0032] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram showing the comparison between the state of the bottle on the annealing furnace and after being processed by the lifting and sorting mechanism in an embodiment of this utility model.

[0033] Among them, 1-lifting and sorting mechanism; 10-transition plate; 11-lifting plate chain; 12-combing roller; 13-first motor; 14-frame; 2-visual imaging mechanism; 20-support; 21-industrial camera; 22-light source; 3-protective railing; 4-robotic arm; 40-telescopic cylinder; 41-hollow motor; 42-suction cup assembly; 43-robotic arm; 44-second motor. Detailed Implementation

[0034] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions of this application, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0035] The directional terms such as above, below, left, right, front, and back used in this application are based on the positional relationships shown in the attached drawings. Different attached drawings may result in different positional relationships, therefore they should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of protection.

[0036] In this application, the terms "installation," "connection," "interlocking," "linking," and "fixing," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, an integral connection, a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or a connection that allows communication between components. They can also refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. They can refer to the internal connection of two components or the interaction between two components. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in this application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0037] This utility model describes a vision-guided robot mechanism for grasping glass bottles on a lifting machine, particularly suitable for online posture detection, positioning, and orientation grasping of pharmaceutical controlled glass bottles after annealing. Addressing the shortcomings of existing production lines, such as disordered bottle arrangement at the annealing furnace exit, difficulty in constraining posture freedom, unstable two-dimensional visual recognition due to transparency / reflection, poor adaptability to specification switching, and the lack of dynamic correction for high requirements on bottle mouth orientation consistency in subsequent processes, this device utilizes the synergy of a lifting and sorting mechanism, a visual imaging mechanism, and a robotic arm: single-row bottle support is achieved using the equal-pitch grooves of the lifting plate chain; a transition plate limits the height for initial screening of stacked / standing / tilted bottles; a combing and rolling mechanism arranges the bottles in order; and the visual imaging mechanism outputs the bottle position in real time on the planar section. With orientation coordinates, the robotic arm continuously grasps and transports bottles based on the orientation of the bottle opening, either rotating 180° or maintaining the original orientation. This transforms the disordered bottle flow from the annealing furnace into a target queue of single bottles, single tanks, horizontally placed bottles with known bottle opening orientations. It can achieve stable grasping at 0° or 180° orientations, reduce interference from occlusion and glare on recognition, and ensure the orientation consistency of subsequent processes such as palletizing / packing / sterilization and shelving. This enables online continuous operation in the annealing, inspection, and palletizing stages, and simultaneously improves yield and cycle time.

[0038] Example

[0039] As per the instruction manual Figure 1-5 A vision-guided robot mechanism for grasping glass bottles on a hoist includes a lifting and sorting mechanism 1, a vision imaging mechanism 2, and a robotic arm 4. This vision-guided robot mechanism on the hoist achieves continuous operation of automatic bottle sorting, bottle mouth orientation recognition, and on-demand rotational transport through a coordinated approach of mechanical pre-sorting, visual recognition, and robotic grasping.

[0040] The lifting and finishing mechanism 1 includes a conveying assembly, a transition plate 10, and a carding roller 12. The conveying assembly uses a lifting chain 11 for transport. The lifting chain 11 has several plates, and the mating surfaces of adjacent plates form grooves arranged at equal pitches along the conveying direction, with a transverse geometric orientation (perpendicular to the conveying direction). Each groove supports a single row of bottles, ensuring the bottle axis is perpendicular to the conveying direction, and the groove pitch matches the plate pitch. The upper surface of the lifting chain 11 is the conveying surface, with an obtuse-angled zigzag structure, including an inclined section extending from bottom to top and a horizontal section connecting to the top of the inclined section. The conveying direction moves from the inclined section to the horizontal section. The lower end of the inclined section connects to the bottle outlet of the annealing furnace, allowing the disordered bottles from the annealing furnace to be seamlessly transferred to the inclined section of the lifting chain 11.

[0041] The transition plate 10 is positioned above the lower end of the inclined section of the lifting chain 11 and spans both sides of the lifting chain 11 in the conveying direction. It maintains a preset gap with the upper surface of the inclined section of the lifting chain 11, which only allows a single row of horizontally lying bottles to pass through. The transition plate 10 is used to physically limit the height of stacked, upright, or tilted bottles, first removing individual bottles with abnormal postures and causing them to fall back to the annealing furnace conveyor belt or the pre-stage diversion. The initial screening transition plate only has a transitional function and does not have this function.

[0042] The combing roller 12 is positioned above the upper end of the inclined section of the lifting chain 11 and spans both sides of the lifting chain 11 along the conveying direction, with its axis arranged transversely relative to the conveying direction. The combing roller 12 generates a slight tangential force with the bottle surface, straightening the bottles that have passed the initial screening and whose bottle mouth angle is within the range of 0°-180° to a horizontal transverse posture and stably guiding them into the chain groove of the lifting chain 11. Through the height limitation of the transition plate 10 and the alignment of the combing roller 12, two-stage mechanical sorting is achieved, enabling the bottles entering the planar section to form a stable queue of single bottles, single grooves, and horizontal transverse placement.

[0043] The vision imaging mechanism 2 is positioned above the planar section of the lifting chain 11. It performs real-time imaging and posture recognition on the passing bottles, outputs target coordinate data including pose, and sends it to the robot arm 4 for subsequent execution. The robot arm 4 is positioned at the front end of the horizontal section of the lifting chain 11. It sequentially grasps the bottles based on the coordinate information provided by the vision imaging mechanism 2, and executes a strategy of 180° rotation or maintaining the original orientation based on the bottle opening orientation. This orderly transports the bottles to a predetermined workstation or carrier, achieving directional unloading.

[0044] Furthermore, the lifting and sorting mechanism 1 also includes a frame 14. The frame 14 includes two symmetrical and spaced guard plates with obtuse-angled zigzag structures, and a support frame connected to the bottom of the two guard plates. Each guard plate has a bearing seat at its upper end, zigzag point, and lower end, and the central axes of the three bearing seats on the same side are collinear to ensure that the shaft system is aligned and parallel to the link. The conveying assembly also includes a first motor 13, a drive sprocket, a driven sprocket, a shaft, and bearings. The bearings are installed in the bearing seats of the guard plates. There are three shafts, each shaft is located between the two guard plates and connected to the three shafts mentioned above. One end of the shaft located at the upper end of the guard plate is equipped with a drive sprocket, and the other end is equipped with a driven sprocket. Both ends of the other two shafts are equipped with driven sprockets. Thus, each guard plate has three sprockets on its inner side. The first motor 13 is connected to the shaft equipped with the drive sprocket via a coupling to output power. The lifting chain 11 also includes two annular chains, which form a closed loop along the zigzag line of the guard plate by winding around the upper sprocket, the angled sprocket, and the lower sprocket on the same side. Several plates are fixedly connected at equal intervals between the two annular chains to form the lifting chain 11, and adjacent plates are joined in a V-shape to form a groove for accommodating the bottle. Driven by the first motor 13, the lifting chain 11 smoothly rotates between the inclined section (lifting section) and the horizontal section and continuously circulates with the help of the angled sprocket, realizing the lifting, positioning, and horizontal conveying of the bottle. The bearing is installed in the bearing seat to provide low-friction support and maintain the coaxiality and operational stability of the whole machine.

[0045] To prevent the bottle from rolling and scratching within the groove, nylon is preferred for the plates to enhance wear resistance and anti-slip properties. When the plates are made of metal, an anti-slip and wear-resistant elastic layer is applied to the entire surface of adjacent plates in contact with the bottle. This elastic layer is made of one or more materials such as TPU, silicone, TPEE, or EPDM, with a Shore A hardness of 50-85 and a thickness of 1.0-3.0 mm. It is symmetrically laid along both sides of the V-shaped groove and forms a rounded transition near the bottom of the groove to eliminate scratches. The surface of this anti-slip and wear-resistant elastic layer is processed with fine ribs, herringbone patterns, micro-protrusions, or laser-etched microtextures.

[0046] In the preferred embodiment of this application, the upper surface of the inclined section of the transition plate 10 and the lifting plate chain 11 maintains a preset gap d, which is set according to the maximum diameter D of the target bottle type, preferably d = 1.05D ± 5%. The transition plate 10 can be connected to the outer side of the two protective plates through an adjustable bracket, and the preset gap d can be adjusted to adapt to bottle types of different diameters. The adjustment method is simple and quick.

[0047] The combing roller 12 uses high-temperature resistant elastic fiber or silicone soft brush to remove surface burrs / debris, straighten the wall surface and the periphery of the mouth as the bottle moves forward with the conveyor belt. At the same time, the height, pressing amount and speed of the combing roller 12 are adapted to different bottle diameters and wall thicknesses to avoid scratches and secondary disturbances (such as changes in bottle posture, being carried off-center or rebounding).

[0048] In a preferred embodiment of this application, the combing roller 12 is made of hollow aluminum alloy or stainless steel core, with end caps at both ends of the core, which are rotatably connected to the end caps. The surface of the core is covered with a silicone soft brush sleeve. The end caps at both ends of the core are fixed to both sides of the lifting chain 11 along the conveying direction by brackets, and one end of the core is driven to rotate by a motor.

[0049] Furthermore, the visual imaging mechanism 2 includes a support 20, an industrial camera 21, and a light source 22. The support 20 can be connected to the frame 14 and mounted above the lifting and sorting mechanism 1, or it can be fixed to the ground at its bottom and mounted above the lifting and sorting mechanism 1 independently. In the implementation of this application, as shown in the appendix to the specification... Figure 1 As shown, the bracket 20 is fixed by being connected to the frame 14.

[0050] The bracket 20 has an overall inverted L-shaped structure. An industrial camera 21 and multiple light sources 22 are mounted on the top of this inverted L-shaped structure (viewed from above), and at least one light source 22 is located on each side of the inverted L-shaped structure. The industrial camera 21 is positioned above the horizontal section of the lifting chain 11. In this implementation, light sources 22 are respectively located on both sides of the industrial camera 21. The light sources 22 are either ring-shaped or strip-shaped surface light sources; to suppress glass reflection, polarized light / diffuse structured light can be selected. The camera mounting height h and the field of view (FOV) cover N grooves, where N = 3-8.

[0051] In a preferred embodiment of this application, the camera of the visual imaging mechanism 2 is triggered by a robotic arm controller and continuously acquires images covering the planar segment of the lifting chain 11 at fixed intervals. Conventional visual algorithms are used to perform target detection and multi-target tracking on the continuous images. Once a bottle is determined to have entered the camera's field of view and meets the grasping conditions (e.g., no obstruction, solvable posture, within the allowable working area), the bottle's center of gravity position, bottle opening orientation angle, occupant slot index, and their corresponding confidence scores are calculated. Based on timestamp alignment, the image coordinates are converted in real-time to transport coordinates / world coordinates. The camera coordinate system and the robotic arm's base coordinate system undergo a rigid transformation through hand-eye calibration, thereby generating a grasping pose (position and attitude) that can be directly executed by the robotic arm.

[0052] Furthermore, the robotic arm 4 includes a telescopic cylinder 40, a hollow motor 41, a suction cup assembly 42, a robotic arm 43, and a second motor 44. The second motor 44 is fixedly mounted on the base plate of the equipment frame, and its output shaft drives the rotation of the robotic arm 43 through a reduction mechanism. A cable / air pipe inlet is provided below the second motor 44, which is connected to the control cabinet and vacuum source. The robotic arm 43 is composed of a first arm and a second arm connected in series. One end of the first arm is connected to the output shaft of the second motor 44, and the other end is hinged to one end of the second arm. A mounting plate is provided at the bottom of the second arm, serving as the mounting reference surface for the telescopic cylinder 40, the hollow motor 41, and the suction cup assembly 42. The rotation axes of both the first and second arms are parallel to the vertical direction.

[0053] The telescopic cylinder 40 is fixed to the mounting plate at the bottom of the second arm, with its piston rod axis pointing vertically downwards. The end of the piston rod is connected to the sliding guide post of the back plate of the suction cup assembly 42 via a universal joint and a positioning pin, enabling vertical lifting and lowering. The hollow motor 41 is fixed to the mounting plate at the bottom of the second arm, with its output shaft pointing vertically downwards and connected to the suction cup assembly 42. The vacuum manifold passes through the hollow hole of the hollow motor 41 and reaches the distribution cavity of the suction cup back plate of the suction cup assembly 42.

[0054] The suction cup assembly 42 includes a back plate, a dispensing cavity, a quick-change template, and multiple suction cup openings. The back plate is fixedly connected to the output end of the hollow motor 41, which drives the suction cup assembly 42 to rotate around a vertical axis. The rotation is compensated based on the orientation angle provided by the visual imaging mechanism 2, ensuring that the bottle openings of each (or each row) of bottles are aligned before placement. The quick-change template is connected to the back plate, facilitating the replacement of different pitches and row numbers. Multiple suction cup openings are arranged in a linear array along the bottle conveying direction. The center distance between each suction cup opening matches the center distance of the grooves in the lifting plate chain 11. Each suction cup opening is connected to the dispensing cavity via an independent throttle valve / check valve to prevent air leakage from individual empty spaces.

[0055] During operation, the vision imaging mechanism 2 outputs the target coordinates of the bottle's pose and the bottle opening's orientation angle. The controller sets a unified orientation and analyzes whether the bottle opening is consistent with the unified orientation. When it is determined that it is consistent with the unified orientation, the hollow motor 41 does not rotate. When it is determined that it is opposite to the unified orientation, the hollow motor 41 rotates 180°.

[0056] Furthermore, the vision-guided robot's glass bottle grasping mechanism on the lifting machine also includes a protective fence 3. The protective fence 3 comprises several posts, a perimeter panel, and a mounting base. The posts are fixed to the ground via the mounting base, and the perimeter panel surrounds the lifting and sorting mechanism 1 and the robotic arm 4 to form a protective enclosure. The perimeter panel includes a metal mesh panel and / or a transparent protective panel. The metal mesh panel is a welded steel wire mesh with a mesh size ≤25mm and a wire diameter ≥3mm, and the transparent protective panel is a polycarbonate sheet with a thickness ≥6mm.

[0057] The working principle of the vision-guided robot grasping glass bottle mechanism on the elevator of this utility model:

[0058] First, the randomly ordered bottles ascend along the inclined section of the lifting chain. The preset gap of the transition plate is set according to the maximum diameter of the target bottle type, allowing only a single row of horizontally positioned bottles to pass through, completing one screening step. Then, the combing roller rotates, applying a slight tangential force to the bottles that have passed through the initial screening. This guides the bottles with opening angles between 0° and 180° to a horizontal, transverse posture and stably guides them into the chain groove, while simultaneously removing surface burrs and adhering substances. The height, pressure, and rotation speed of the combing roller are automatically adapted to the bottle diameter and wall thickness to avoid scratches and secondary disturbances, ensuring a stable "single row of bottles, single groove, horizontal transverse" queue. Adjacent plates are spliced ​​to form a V-shaped groove, keeping the bottle axis perpendicular to the conveying direction and completing a continuous transition from the inclined section to the horizontal section along the chain. The entire contact surface with the bottle is covered with a non-slip, wear-resistant, and elastic layer to suppress rolling and scratches, improving clamping and conveying stability. Finally, an industrial camera, in conjunction with a ring or strip light source, views from above, covering N grooves and acquiring real-time images of the bottles. The vision imaging mechanism 2 converts the bottle's state and position into coordinates and sends them to the robot arm, generating a gripping pose that the robot arm can execute. The robot arm sequentially grips each bottle, rotating it 180 degrees via a hollow motor or keeping it stationary, and after gripping multiple bottles, transports them to a predetermined location.

[0059] The above description is merely an embodiment of this utility model, and common knowledge regarding specific structures and characteristics of the solutions is not described in detail here. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this application is not limited to the details of the above exemplary embodiments, and that this application can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of this application. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered exemplary and non-limiting in all respects, and the scope of this application is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. Therefore, it is intended that all variations falling within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the claims be included within this application. No reference numerals in the claims should be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A vision-guided robot mechanism for grasping glass bottles on a hoist, characterized in that, It includes a lifting and sorting mechanism (1), a vision imaging mechanism (2), and a robotic arm (4); the lifting and sorting mechanism (1) includes a conveying component, a transition plate (10), and a carding roller (12). The conveying assembly uses a lifting plate chain (11) for conveying. The lifting plate chain (11) has multiple grooves, each groove is used to support a single row of bottles and keep the bottle axis perpendicular to the conveying direction. The upper surface of the lifting plate chain (11) is a conveying surface, which includes an inclined section extending from bottom to top and a horizontal section connected to the top of the inclined section. The conveying direction is from the inclined section to the horizontal section. The lower end of the inclined section is connected to the bottle outlet end of the annealing furnace to achieve seamless transfer of disordered bottles. The transition plate (10) is positioned above the lower end of the inclined section and spans both sides of the conveying direction of the lifting plate chain (11). A preset gap is maintained between the transition plate (10) and the upper surface of the inclined section. The combing roller (12) is positioned above the upper end of the inclined section and spans both sides of the conveying direction of the lifting plate chain (11). The visual imaging mechanism (2) is positioned above the horizontal section, and the robotic arm (4) is positioned at the front end of the horizontal section.

2. The vision-guided robot glass bottle grasping mechanism on a hoist according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lifting plate chain (11) includes two annular chains and multiple plates. Several plates are fixed at equal intervals between the two annular chains, and adjacent plates are spliced ​​in a V-shape to form a groove for accommodating the bottle.

3. The vision-guided robot glass bottle grasping mechanism on a hoist according to claim 1, characterized in that, The preset gap between the transition plate (10) and the upper surface of the inclined section of the lifting plate chain (11) is set according to the maximum diameter of the target bottle shape.

4. The vision-guided robot glass bottle grasping mechanism on a hoist according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lifting and sorting mechanism (1) also includes a frame (14); the frame (14) includes two symmetrical and spaced guard plates with obtuse angle folded line structure and a support frame connected to the bottom of the two guard plates, and the conveying component is disposed between the two guard plates and connected to the two guard plates.

5. The vision-guided robot glass bottle grasping mechanism on a hoist according to claim 4, characterized in that, The visual imaging mechanism (2) includes a bracket (20) and an industrial camera (21); the bracket (20) is connected to the frame (14) and is mounted above the lifting and sorting mechanism (1); the industrial camera (21) is mounted on the bracket (20) from above and is located above the horizontal section of the lifting plate chain (11).

6. The vision-guided robot glass bottle grasping mechanism on a hoist according to claim 5, characterized in that, The visual imaging mechanism (2) also includes a light source (22); wherein two light sources (22) are mounted on the bracket (20) and located on both sides of the industrial camera (21), and another light source (22) is mounted on one side of the bracket (20).

7. The vision-guided robot glass bottle grasping mechanism on a hoist according to claim 6, characterized in that, The light source (22) is a ring-shaped surface light source or a strip-shaped surface light source.

8. The vision-guided robot glass bottle grasping mechanism on a hoist according to claim 1, characterized in that, The robotic arm (4) includes a suction cup assembly (42) having multiple suction cup openings arranged in a linear array along the conveying direction of the bottle, and the center distance of each suction cup opening matching the center distance of the groove of the lifting plate chain (11).

Images