METHOD FOR CONVEYING PACKAGES TO A SORTING CONVEYOR USING A GRIPPING ROBOT WITH SUCTION HEADS AND INTEGRATED CAMERA

Description

technical field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of parcel sorting and more particularly to a method of feeding parcels into a sorting conveyor from a bulk of parcels conveyed on a feed conveyor in which a digital image of the bulk of parcels is formed using a first camera arranged above the feed conveyor, a parcel to be individualized is identified using a control unit having a gripping face on the top of the parcel not covered by another parcel in said digital image of the bulk of parcels, said control unit being parameterized to control in return a suction cup gripping robot having a gripping hand with a palm from which said suction cups extend so as to grasp by suction said parcel to be individualized identified in the digital image and to place it on the sorting conveyor. Previous technique

[0002] Logistics platforms today use parcel sorting facilities designed to automatically feed parcels to sorting conveyors, such as the facility described in patent EP3041615.

[0003] This type of installation generally includes a camera placed above a feed conveyor capable of forming a digital image of the bulk of packages.

[0004] This type of installation also includes a suction cup gripping robot with a gripping hand with a palm from which suction cups are erected, which, under the control of a control unit, is able to grasp a package to be individualized from the bulk of packages and move it onto the sorting conveyor.

[0005] When the robotic gripper moves the package to be individualized onto the sorting conveyor, it is common for the top face of the package, which is also the gripping face by which the package is seized by the robotic gripper, not to have a sorting indication.

[0006] The sorting indication is usually affixed to only one side of the package and it is essential that it be visible on the top side of the package to allow its detection during its conveyor on the sorting conveyor.

[0007] Therefore, if the sorting indicator is not visible on the top of the package, the package is manually turned over so that the sorting indicator is facing upwards. This repetitive and awkward task significantly slows down the sorting process. Description of the invention

[0008] The present invention relates to an automated method for feeding parcels into a sorting conveyor, contributing to solving the problems mentioned above.

[0009] To this end, the invention relates to a method of feeding packages onto a sorting conveyor from a bulk of packages conveyed on a feed conveyor, in which a digital image of the bulk of packages is formed using a first camera positioned above the feed conveyor; a package to be individualized is identified using a control unit, having a gripping face on the top of the package not covered by another package in said digital image of the bulk of packages; said control unit being parameterized to control, in turn, a suction cup gripping robot comprising a gripping hand with a palm from which said suction cups extend so as to grasp by suction said package to be individualized identified in the digital image and to place it on the sorting conveyor, characterized in that when said gripping robot is above said package to be individualized and before grasping it,A digital image of the gripping face of said package to be individualized is formed using a second camera arranged in the palm of the hand between the suction cups of said gripping robot, and in that the control unit is configured to identify the presence or absence of an index of presence of a sorting indication in said digital image of the gripping face of the package and to control the gripping robot in order to move the package from the feed conveyor directly onto the sorting conveyor or to deposit the package from the feed conveyor onto a package turning device designed to turn and deposit the package onto the sorting conveyor.

[0010] The method according to the invention may have the following characteristics: The bulk parcel is briefly illuminated when the digital image of the parcel to be individualized is formed by the second camera using a pulsed lighting system controlled by the control unit and arranged in the palm of the hand between the suction cups and around the camera of said gripping robot; the identification of the index of presence of a sorting indication is deduced by the control unit from the direct detection of a destination address or from the detection of a graphic index indicating the presence of a destination address on said gripping face, such as a commercial logo.

[0011] The idea behind the invention is to detect on the gripping face of the package to be individualized, the presence or absence of an indication of sorting, and this before the package is injected onto the sorting conveyor, so as to automatically turn the package over when it is placed on the sorting conveyor and thus facilitate the processing of the package in the sorting process.

[0012] The idea also involves performing this detection during the movement of the gripping robot to grasp the package to be individualized, and more particularly when the first camera is directly above and as close as possible to the package to be individualized.

[0013] This allows for a better quality digital image which facilitates the detection of an indication of sorting presence, generally not visible with the first camera located above the bulk of parcels.

[0014] The aim of the invention is also to improve the speed and efficiency of parcel sorting while minimizing awkward and repetitive manual tasks such as turning parcels over and moving them from one conveyor to another. Brief description of the drawings

[0015] The present invention will be better understood and other advantages will become apparent upon reading the detailed description of an embodiment taken by way of non-limiting example and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which: there [ Fig.1 ] is a schematic representation of a sorting installation for implementing the process of the invention; the [ Fig. 2 ] is a schematic side view representation of part of a suction cup robotic gripper with a camera integrated into the robotic gripper to perform the method of the invention. ; the [ Fig.3 ] is a diagram illustrating the process according to the invention. Detailed description of the invention

[0016] The parcel sorting process 1 according to the invention refers to a sorting installation 2 as illustrated in the [ Fig.1 ], comprising a feed conveyor 3 designed to move the packages 1 in bulk along a first conveying direction D1, a sorting conveyor 4 designed to convey the packages 1 along a second conveying direction D2 to appropriate sorting outlets 5 and a gripper robot 6 designed to move the packages 1 one by one from the bulk of packages 1 from the feed conveyor 3 onto the sorting conveyor 4.

[0017] Parcel 1 refers to any type of item usually sorted in postal sorting centers or logistics platforms, such as Small Imported Packets also known as PPI.

[0018] As depicted on the [ Fig.1], a camera 7 is positioned above the feed conveyor 3, and in this case, at a downstream end of the feed conveyor 3 relative to the first conveying direction D1.

[0019] The camera 7 here has a field of vision enabling it to form a digital image of the bulk parcel 1 corresponding to a gripping zone Z1 in which the parcels 1 can be grasped by the gripping robot 6.

[0020] The robotic gripper 6, shown on the [ Fig. 2 ], includes in particular a movable arm 8 at the end of which is mounted a grasping hand 9 with a palm 10 from which suction cups 11 extend.

[0021] The gripping robot 6 is specially designed to grasp parcels 1 by suction by creating a vacuum in the suction cups 11.

[0022] Once package 1 has been sucked up by suction cups 11, hand 9 is moved by arm 8 to be positioned above sorting conveyor 4.

[0023] The packages 1 are then deposited on a deposit area Z2 by simply stopping the suction, here at an upstream end of the sorting conveyor 4. Each package 1 from the bulk of packages 1 from the feed conveyor 3 is thus injected onto the sorting conveyor 4 in series.

[0024] The sorting installation 2 also includes a control unit 12 configured to identify, in the digital image of the bulk parcel 1, a parcel 1 to be individualized having a gripping face on the top of parcel 1 not covered by another parcel 1.

[0025] In response to this identification, the control unit 12 drives the gripper robot 6 to grasp and move a package 1 on the sorting conveyor 4, and more specifically to control its movement between the gripping zone Z1 and the depositing zone Z2 and the suction in the suction cups 11.

[0026] The gripping robot 6 is also equipped with a second camera 13 arranged in the palm 10 of the hand 9 of the gripping robot 6 between the suction cups 11 designed to form a digital image of the gripping face of the parcel 1 to be individualized before it is grasped by the suction cups 11.

[0027] The control unit 12 is also configured to identify the presence or absence of a presence index of a sorting indication in the digital image of the gripping face of the package 1 and to control the gripping robot 6 in return.

[0028] The identification of the index of presence of a sorting indication is here deduced by the control unit 12 from the direct detection of a destination address or from the detection of a graphic index indicating the presence of a destination address on said gripping face, such as a commercial logo.

[0029] Destination address also refers to distribution address or postal address.

[0030] This identification of the sorting indication index is carried out when the gripping robot 6 is above the package 1 to be individualized opposite its gripping face.

[0031] Thus, in the presence of the sorting indication, the control unit 12 is configured to control the gripping robot 6 to move the package 1 to be individualized directly onto the sorting conveyor 4 and in the absence of the sorting indication to deposit the package 1 from the feed conveyor 3 onto a package 1 turning device 14 itself designed to turn and deposit the package 1 onto the sorting conveyor 4.

[0032] The gripping robot 6 is also equipped with a pulsed lighting system 15 controlled by the control unit 12 designed to briefly illuminate the bulk of parcels 1 when the digital image of the parcel 1 to be individualized is formed by the second camera 13. The lighting system 15 is advantageously arranged in the palm 10 of the hand 9 between the suction cups 11 and around the second camera 13 so as not to alter the field of vision of the second camera 13 nor the gripping capacity of the suction cups 11.

[0033] The steps of the process according to the invention are summarized in the diagram of the [ Fig.3in which at step 100 the digital image of the bulk parcel 1 is formed by the first camera 7; at step 200, the control unit deduces a parcel to be individualized from the image of the bulk parcel 1 and in turn commands the gripping robot 6 to position it opposite the gripping face of parcel 1; at step 300, the digital image of the parcel 1 to be individualized is formed by the second camera 13; at step 400, the control unit 12 deduces the presence or absence of an index of presence of a sorting indication; at step 500, in the presence of an index of presence of a sorting indication, the control unit 12 commands the gripping robot 6 to move the parcel 1 to be individualized directly onto the sorting conveyor 4;at step 510, in the absence of an indication of the presence of a sorting indication, the control unit 12 commands the gripping robot 6 to move the package 1 to be individualized onto a turning device 14: at step 610, the turning device 14 turns the package 1 180° directly onto the sorting conveyor 4.

[0034] Such a parcel sorting process according to the invention, implemented in a sorting installation 1 described above, will improve sorting capacity by optimizing the likelihood that the gripping face of the parcel 1 to be individualized will bear a sorting indicator. Detecting this sorting indicator on the parcel to be individualized during the movement of the robotic gripper 6 and just before grasping parcel 1 thus reduces the sorting process time and the installation's footprint by eliminating the need for operator access to the machine for this type of operation.

[0035] It goes without saying that the present invention cannot be limited to the embodiment described above, which may be modified without going out of the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. Method for feeding packages (1) of a sorting conveyor (4) from a bulk of packages conveyed on a feed conveyor (3), wherein a digital image of the bulk of packages is formed using a first camera (7) disposed above the feed conveyor, using a control-command unit (12), a package to be individualised is identified having a gripping face on the top of the package not covered by another package in said digital image of the bulk of packages, said control-command unit being configured to control in return a gripping robot (6) with suction cups (11) comprising a gripping hand (9) with a palm (10) from which said suction cups extend so as to grasp by suction said package to be individualised identified in the digital image and to deposit it on the sorting conveyor, characterised in that, when said gripping robot is above said package to be individualised and before gripping it, a digital image of the gripping face of said package to be individualised is formed using a second camera (13) arranged in the palm of the hand between the suction cups of said gripping robot, and in that the control-command unit is configured to identify the presence or absence of an index of presence of a sorting indication in said digital image of the gripping face of the package and to control in return the gripping robot in order to respectively move the package from the supply conveyor directly onto the sorting conveyor or to deposit the package from the feed conveyor onto a package-turnover device designed to turn over and deposit the package on the sorting conveyor.

2. Method for feeding packages according to claim 1, wherein the bulk of packages is briefly illuminated when the digital image of the package to be individualised is formed by the second camera using a pulsed illumination system (15) controlled by the control-command unit and arranged in the palm of the hand between the suction cups and around the camera of said gripping robot.

3. Method for feeding packages according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the identification of the index of presence of a sorting indication is deduced by the control-command unit from the direct detection of a destination address or the detection of a graphic index indicating the presence of a destination address on said gripping face, such as a commercial logo.