System and method for managing the loading and unloading of tyres in an unknown arrangement
Patent Information
- Application Number
- EP2023797784
- Authority / Receiving Office
- EP · EP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2022-12-14
- Filing Date
- 2023-10-26
- Publication Date
- 2025-10-22
AI Technical Summary
Existing tire management systems struggle with efficiently loading and unloading tires in unknown arrangements, particularly in scenarios where tires are randomly twisted and of varying sizes, making it difficult to grasp and position them accurately without specific hardware installations or prior knowledge of their configuration.
A method and system that utilizes a gripping device with a detection system and neural networks for few-shot learning to identify and grasp tires by determining key parameters such as internal and external limits, rim radius, and tire diameter, allowing for precise gripping and rearrangement in a predetermined order, even in unknown arrangements.
Enables efficient and accurate loading and unloading of tires in unknown configurations, optimizing storage and transport processes by using vision techniques and neural networks to reconstruct the scene and determine ideal grip points, improving handling and storage efficiency.
Smart Images
Figure 1.1
Abstract
Claims
Claims 1. A method for managing the loading and unloading of tires arranged in an unknown arrangement, the method implemented by a system for executing programmed instructions stored in a memory of one or more processors of the system for managing the movement of a gripping device (100) in order to optimize the execution of the orders for the tires received, characterized in that the management method comprises the following steps: a step of carrying out a picking process carried out in a dedicated loading space of a management facility (500) incorporating one or more target locations for the tires intended for picking; a step of carrying out a loading process of one or more target locations dedicated to processing the orders received at the management facility (500) upstream of the launch of the picking process;a step of transporting the loaded target locations from the loading space to a processing space of the management facility (500); an unloading step carried out at the processing space of the management facility (500); a step of picking up tires according to the orders received at the management facility (500), during which the unloaded tires are brought to at least one station (540) with a fixed robot comprising at least one device (100) assigned to picking up the unloaded tires intended to carry out one or more orders in progress; a step of loading a target location (550) assigned to each station (540), during which the device (100) takes the tire(s) identified during the picking step and arranges them in the assigned target location (550);and a step of positioning the loaded target locations (550) in one or more distribution systems serving the management facility (500), during which each distribution system is capable of discharging the tires arranged to carry out each received order in a predetermined order.; 2. The management method of claim 1, wherein the unpacking process comprises a picking process from one or more images taken by the picking device (100), comprising the following steps: a step of determining one or more parameters of a target tire (P*) in the unknown arrangement of tires, during which the device (100) obtains one or more digital images of the arranged tires to identify the tire that becomes a candidate for picking, and wherein the parameters of the imaged target tire comprise at least one of the following parameters: an inner boundary (Fi) and an outer boundary (FE) which together define the boundaries of the sidewall (F) of the target tire (P*); a rim radius (Rj) defined as the distance between a center point (C) of the target tire and the inner boundary (Fi) of the sidewall (F); an inner sidewall diameter defined as twice the rim radius (Rj);a tire radius (Rp) defined as the distance between the center point (C) and the outer boundary (FE) of the sidewall (F); and a tire diameter defined as twice the tire radius (Rp); a step of determining the diameter of the target tire (P*); a step of determining the tire radii (Rp) and rim radii (Rj) of the target tire (P*); a step of approaching the device (100) toward the target tire (P*) identified for picking up; a step of picking up the target tire (P*) by the gripper (108); and a step of taking out the target tire (P*) from the tire arrangement to put it in a target location; wherein, during the step of determining one or more parameters of the target tire (P*), the picking device (100) obtains one or more digital images of the tires (P200) arranged in an identified target location to identify the tire that becomes the candidate for picking up.; 3. The management method of claim 1, in which the picking process comprises a picking process based on few-shot learning comprising the following steps: a step (1002) of acquiring data corresponding to the tires arranged, during which a detection system of the gripping device (100) captures an initial image of the tires (P200) arranged randomly; a step (1004) of feeding an extraction neural network and an attention neural network, during which the two neural networks are trained by taking a plurality of sample images obtained during the data acquisition step (1002) as training data and a plurality of image object classifications as data labels;a step (1006) of performing a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction process entirely performed on the basis of the data of the extraction neural network and the attention neural network, during which coordinates corresponding to the location of an identified target tire and its orientation are reconstructed from these data, so that this reconstruction serves to provide the geometric information necessary to generate an ideal gripping point of the identified target tire; a step (1008) of approaching the gripping device towards the identified target tire, during which the attention neural network sends to the gripping device the coordinates corresponding to the location of the identified target tire and its orientation; and a step of outputting the identified target tire from the tire arrangement to put it in the target location.; 4. The management method of claim 3, wherein the step (1004) of feeding the extraction neural network and the attention neural network comprises the following steps: a step (1004a) of training the extraction neural network to segment a scene seen by the detection system of the management system (100); and a step (1004b) of constructing the attention mechanism, during which the attention neural network extracts features differentiated among different categories in a target tire detection model, so that the model is guided to locate key areas in a segmented image; wherein the step (1004a) of training the extraction neural network comprises a step of segmenting data based on a plurality of cycles of a repetitive movement of the gripping device during one or more picking cycles.
5. The management method of claim 3 or claim 4, wherein, during the step (1006) of carrying out the 3D reconstruction process, the orientation, dimensions and location of the identified target tire are reconstructed from the data of the extraction neural network and the attention neural network.
6. The method for managing any one of claim 4 or claim 5, wherein: the step (1002) of acquiring the data of the few-shot learning process comprises a step of constructing a point cloud from one or more RGB-D images; and the step (1008) of approaching the gripping device (100) comprises a step of gripping the identified target tire at the ideal gripping point calculated during the step (1006) of carrying out the 3D reconstruction process.
7. The management method of any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein a step of outputting the identified target tire comprises a step of transporting the identified target tire to a predetermined target location, this step being performed by the gripping device (100).
8. The method of any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the picking process comprises the following steps: a step of providing a detection system comprising one or more sensors for taking one or more images of the physical environment around the picking device (100) incorporating the tire arrangement and for collecting representative data in the field of view of the sensors; and a step of providing a processor comprising an image processing module which applies the representative data to a deployed neural network and which analyzes the taken images to determine, using the deployed neural network, one or more parameters of a target tire imaged in the field of view of the sensors;such that the device (100) is set in motion based on the determined parameters of the target tire, so that the gripper (108) can carry out the gripping of a target tire chosen by the detection system.; 9. The management method of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the unloading step comprises a step of dumping the tires (P500) received at the facility (500) onto a circulation means installed at the processing space of the management facility (500) which turns in a predetermined direction to take the dumped tires (P500) to one or more stations (540) of the facility (500).
10. The management method of claim 9, wherein the picking step comprises a step of performing a picking process, during which the robot assigned to a station (540) identifies the tire(s) intended for arrangement in a target location arranged at the station.
11. The management method of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein one or more steps of the stacking process are repeated in a predetermined order to arrange the tires in a predetermined target arrangement.
12. The management method of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the step of transporting the loaded target locations comprises a step of provisioning a transport means (400), during which the loaded target locations are arranged in the transport means in a predetermined order which allows the processing in a corresponding order of the orders received at the facility (500).
13. The management method of any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising a step of performing a locking process performed by a box (200) serving at a target location disposed in at least one of the loading space and at a target location (550) assigned to each station (540), the box comprising: a substantially rectangular holding frame for allowing loading and holding of the tires in the box; a pair of substantially identical movable walls (202); a drop-off platform (204) comprising an upper surface (204a) where the movable walls (202) are connected in a tilting manner and an opposite front surface (204b); wherein each movable wall (202) comprises: an upper portion (202a) and a lower portion (202b) which form a compaction system of the body (200), and wherein: the upper portion (202a) comprises substantially parallel elements (202a') with a predetermined length which extends between a controlling end (202a”) and an opposite locking end (202a'”) of the upper portion (202);the lower portion (202b) comprises substantially parallel elements (202b') with a predetermined length extending between a fixing end (202b”) disposed adjacent the upper surface (204a) of the platform (204) and an opposite locking end (202b'”) such that the locking ends (202a'”, 202b'”) are disposed adjacent to each other where the movable walls (202) are brought into an unlocked position, where each respective movable wall (202) remains inclined to allow loading and arrangement of the tires in the box (200), the elements (202b') being spaced apart by a predetermined width such that they are substantially aligned with the elements (202a') of the upper portion (202a);wherein the attachment end (202b”) of the lower portion (202b) of the box (200) is disposed adjacent the upper surface (204a) of the platform (204), the attachment end (202b”) comprising one or more known attachment means that facilitate a tilting movement of each movable wall (202) allowing each movable wall (202) to pivotally move up and down allowing it to be tilted between the unlocked position and a locked position, where each movable wall (202) moves up to block and abut the tires arranged in the box (200), in which the elements (202a', 202b') meet and are locked to compact the tires arranged in the box (200).; 14. The management method of claim 13, wherein, during the unloading step: each filled crate (200) is placed in the processing space of the management facility (500) in the reverse order of its loading; and at the processing space, the unlocking of the upper and lower parts (202a, 202b) of each movable wall (202) is carried out, which allows the unloading of the tires arranged in the crate (200).
15. The management method of claim 13 or claim 14, wherein the loading process comprises the following steps: a step of positioning one or more boxes (200) in the unstacking space of the facility (500) during which a target box (200*) is identified as a target location for one or more unstashed tires during the unstacking process; a step of loading the target box (200*) during which a gripping device (100) arranges the unstashed tires in the target box (200*) in a predicted arrangement based on the parameters of the unstashed tires;and a step of locking the target box (200*) to press it against the tires arranged therein, during which the locking ends (202a'”, 202b'”) of each movable wall (202) of the target box (200*) approach each other to lock the tires arranged in the target box (200*) and to maintain them in the intended arrangement during the transport of the target box (200*).;