System for individually handling articles that is capable of dealing with instances of multiple articles being picked up at once, and associated method

Abstract

A system (SYS) for individually handling articles that is capable of dealing with an instance of a plurality of articles being picked up simultaneously, the system comprising: a first unit (CONV1) for collective movement of articles; a second unit (CONV2) for collective movement of articles that is configured to, in a first operating mode, move articles in a first direction (Dir1); a unit (MA) for individually moving articles from the first movement unit (CONV1) to the second movement unit (CONV2); a unit (CONT) for detecting an instance of at least two articles being picked up simultaneously by the unit for individually moving articles, the second movement unit being configured to, in a second operating mode, move the articles in a second direction opposite to the first direction (Dir1), and the system being configured to switch from the first operating mode to the second operating mode in response to detection of an instance of at least two articles being picked up simultaneously.

Description

Individual item handling system capable of handling multiple grips, and associated method TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention relates to a system for individual handling of articles between two units for collectively moving these articles, for example for the individual placement of these articles according to a predetermined pitch on a conveyor belt during a picking operation in a sorting installation. TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND

[0002] Systems for sorting items such as luggage, parcels, postal items use conveyors, such as conveyor belts, capable of transporting a plurality of items simultaneously and / or gripping robots capable of handling each of these items individually.

[0003] Conveyors and gripper robots can be used in combination, for example for a bin picking operation: the articles are originally in bulk and possibly stacked on a first conveyor belt, then are handled individually by a gripper robot for individualized placement, for example on an inserter responsible for introducing each of the articles into a machine dedicated to sorting these articles. The inserter can be formed by a second conveyor belt.

[0004] The gripper robot is equipped with a gripping head, responsible for gripping the articles to be moved individually from the first conveyor belt to the inserter. However, it sometimes happens that the head accidentally grips more than one article, this is called a "multiple grip". This is the case, for example, when a gripping head uses a plurality of suction cups to grip articles, and some of the suction cups attach to a first article and others attach to a second article. Such an event is accidental and preferably avoided. However, when it occurs, it is necessary to detect it and then process the multiple articles gripped in a particular way, generally by sending them on an alternative sorting trajectory or by preventing all the articles placed on the second conveyor belt, except one, from continuing its movement on this second belt. On this subject, reference may be made to patent documents US 4,733,226 and FR 2,546,083.Regardless of the specific treatment applied to the multiple items seized, the objective is to avoid the simultaneous insertion of several objects into the sorting machine.

[0005] Some systems anticipate the risk of multiple picking by sending a set of insufficiently sorted items on the first conveyor belt, very close to each other or even stacked, on an alternative sorting path, and therefore risking causing multiple picking.

[0006] However, conventional multi-pick management systems tend to slow down the item handling rate and therefore reduce sorting throughput. This can be the case, for example, when the gripping robot itself is used to steer items onto an alternative path, possibly after having already placed them once on the second conveyor belt.

[0007] An object of the invention is an article handling system for handling articles moved simultaneously due to accidental multiple picking.

[0008] To achieve this goal, a first aspect of the invention is an individual article handling system capable of handling a simultaneous pick-up of several articles, the system comprising: a first collective article movement unit; a second collective article movement unit configured to, in a first operating mode, move articles in a first direction; an individual article handling unit configured to move articles from the first article movement unit to the second article movement unit;a unit configured to detect a simultaneous gripping of at least two articles by the individual article handling unit, wherein the second moving unit is configured to, in a second mode of operation, move the articles in a second direction opposite the first direction, and wherein the system is configured to transition from the first mode of operation to the second mode of operation in response to a detection of a simultaneous gripping of at least two articles by the individual article handling unit.;

[0009] A possible application of this system is to avoid the simultaneous insertion of more than one item into a sorting machine without slowing down the rate of individual handling of the items and therefore of their sorting. Indeed, the individual item handling unit is dedicated to the operations of a first operating mode, used for the operations of transferring the items from the first movement unit to the second movement unit. It is in fact the second movement unit which is responsible for sending the simultaneously seized items to an alternative processing route. Thus, the individual item handling unit does not have to perform tasks other than the transfer of the items from the first movement unit to the second movement unit nor to slow down its work rate, even in the event of detection of a multiple pick.

[0010] According to additional non-limiting characteristics of the first aspect of the invention, considered individually or in any technically feasible combination:

[0011] - the system may comprise an article receiving unit located below the second moving unit, the system being able to be configured so as to, in response to the detection of a simultaneous gripping of at least two articles moved from the first article moving unit to the second article moving unit, switch to the second mode of operation and drop into the receiving unit the at least two articles which had been picked up and moved simultaneously from the first moving unit to the second moving unit;

[0012] - in the first mode of operation, the second article moving unit may be configured to move the articles from an input end to an output end of the second article moving unit, the article receiving unit may be located below the input end of the second moving unit;

[0013] - a space may be interposed between the first movement unit and the second movement unit, the article reception unit being able to be located directly above this space;

[0014] - the system may comprise at least one sensor and a computing device configured to control at least the second article moving unit, the computing device being operatively connectable to the at least one sensor and configured to, in response to data generated by the at least one sensor, control a transition from the first operating mode to the second operating mode upon detection of the simultaneous gripping of at least two articles by the individual article handling unit;

[0015] - the sensor may be a camera having in its field of vision an area of ​​the second item movement unit;

[0016] - the computing device may be configured to perform an analysis of an image captured by the camera and determine whether at least two items have been deposited together on the second moving unit, in which case the computing device may determine that the individual item handling unit has performed a multiple pick;

[0017] - the system may further comprise a sorting machine and a unit for inserting articles into the sorting machine, the insertion unit being able to be arranged so as to transport articles from the second article transport unit to the sorting machine;

[0018] - the first article transport unit and the second article transport unit may be belt or roller conveyors and the individual article handling unit may comprise a robotic arm; and

[0019] - the system may be configured such that the individual article handling unit transfers articles from the first article transport unit to the second article transport unit regardless of detecting a simultaneous pick-up of at least two articles.

[0020] The invention extends to a method for handling articles implementing the system according to the invention, the method comprising: transporting articles on the first article moving unit; moving articles from the first article moving unit to the second article moving unit by means of the individual article handling unit; detecting a simultaneous movement of at least two articles when moving articles from the first article moving unit to the second article moving unit by the individual article handling unit; and in response to detecting a simultaneous movement of at least two articles, dropping into an article receiving unit the at least two articles moved simultaneously on the second article moving unit by reversing a direction of movement of the articles by the second moving unit.

[0021] According to additional non-limiting characteristics of the method according to the invention, considered individually or according to any technically feasible combination:

[0022] - the individual item handling unit can move items from the first item moving unit to the second item moving unit regardless of detecting simultaneous movement of at least two items; and

[0023] - the method may further comprise a step of sorting the articles, in which the articles are arranged according to a predetermined pitch in preparation for this sorting step. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0024] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the detailed description of the invention which follows with reference to the appended figures in which:

[0025] It represents an overall view of an installation in which the system according to the invention is integrated;

[0026] Illustrates a first mode of operation of the system according to the invention, using a top view;

[0027] Illustrates a second mode of operation of the system according to the invention, with a view at a first instant;

[0028] Illustrates a second mode of operation of the system according to the invention, with a view at a second instant subsequent to the first instant;

[0029] Illustrates the second mode of operation using a side view corresponding to an instant immediately between the first and second instants;

[0030] Illustrates a method according to the invention, which can be implemented by the system of 4; and

[0031] Illustrates alternatives to the system in Figures 2 to 5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0032] Figures 1 to 5 illustrate one embodiment of a handling system according to the invention, as well as an associated method of handling articles.

[0033] The illustrates a sorting installation FAC, comprising a work zone WZ in which articles IT to be sorted brought by a truck Trck are brought in bulk by means of a first article moving unit CONV1. A robotic manipulator arm MA as an individual article handling device is configured to pick up the articles IT one by one and place them in an orderly manner on a second article moving unit CONV2 leading to an inserter as an article insertion unit INS, a sorting machine SORT comprising for example a circular conveyor belt CCB receiving the articles from the inserter INS and sorting outlets Out (three outlets shown here) to which articles are directed according to their final destination.The CONV1 and CONV2 item movement units are systems for collective item movement and can independently consist of one or more conveyors such as conveyor belts or rollers. The installation can, for example, be designed to sort postal parcels and divide them into distribution rounds, each corresponding to one of the Out sorting outlets.

[0034] More specifically, it illustrates a system SYS for individual article handling integrated into the FAC sorting installation, with the first article movement unit CONV1 and its working area WZ, the second article movement unit CONV2, the article insertion unit INS, and the manipulator arm MA.

[0035] The manipulator arm MA is equipped with a gripping head GH, and the first article moving unit moves the articles IT from a bulk unloading area of ​​the truck to the working area WZ in a direction Dir0 represented by an arrow in the figure. The gripping head GH can be equipped with suction cups connected to a pumping system, each suction cup can be individually controlled so as to apply a vacuum to the surface of an article to be grasped. The articles arrive in bulk from the right of the figure. The manipulator arm MA has the function of individually manipulating the articles by grasping them one by one to place them in order on the second moving unit CONV2 towards the left of the figure.A CONT unit for controlling the sorting line, and therefore the SYS system for individual handling of articles, comprises a digital camera CAM such as a camera as a sensor and a computer device INF comprising a computer memory and functionally connected to the digital camera CAM and to the manipulator arm MA. The CONT unit is functionally connected to the various elements constituting the sorting installation, and in particular to the second article movement unit CONV2. The CAM camera has in its field of vision an area of ​​the second article movement unit, preferably an area encompassing a region where the robotic arm deposits the articles on the second article movement unit, the essential thing being that the camera can capture images of the articles deposited on the second article movement unit.

[0036] Illustrates the SYS item handling system in a first operating mode, which is the default operating mode and is implemented in the absence of multiple grip detection.

[0037] In this mode, the IT articles brought into the work area WZ by the first object moving unit CONV1 are manipulated by the manipulator arm MA so as to change them from a disordered state resulting from the bulk unloading of the truck Trck on the first article moving unit CONV1 to an ordered state on the second article moving unit CONV2. The second unit CONV2 has an input end ENT and an output end EX and is configured to, in this operating mode, move the IT articles from the ENT end to the EX end to pass them to the article insertion unit INS.

[0038] The disordered state is characterized by an irregular distribution of the articles, possibly with articles piled on top of each other. The ordered state is characterized, for example, by placing the articles one by one on a continuously rotating conveyor belt, in such a way that each of the articles is placed in the middle of the conveyor belt, according to a constant pitch P and defined as the distance separating two of the articles placed consecutively on the conveyor belt by the manipulator arm.

[0039] In this mode, the second movement unit and the insertion unit are configured so as to move the articles placed there towards an entrance of the sorting machine SORT, in the same direction Dir1 which is defined, in this embodiment, as going from a zone DZ for depositing the articles by the manipulator arm MA on the second article movement unit CONV2 towards the article insertion unit INS.

[0040] Figures 3 to 5 illustrate the SYS article handling system in a second mode of operation, which is implemented in the event of multiple grip detection.

[0041] The detection can be done in any known conventional way. One method consists of controlling the image capture by means of the arm: its position and the actions it performs are permanently controlled by the CONT unit controlling the sorting line. Thus, as soon as the arm leaves the WZ working area after having picked up an article, an acquisition of an image of this WZ working area is commanded to prepare for the next article pick-up. Similarly, as soon as the arm leaves the DZ article depositing area after having placed an article, an acquisition of an image of this DZ depositing area is commanded for the detection of multiple taking, followed by a conventional analysis of the captured images, by classic clipping processing or by neural network, for example. The detection then consists of detecting that at least two articles have been placed together on the second CONV2 unit of article movements in the DZ depositing area.This solution can be implemented by means of the CAM camera and the INF computing device. A plurality of cameras can be employed, each of the cameras being able to be directed towards a respective one of the areas of interest (WZ, DZ).

[0042] It is also possible to configure a camera to observe the item(s) gripped by the manipulator arm at the time of gripping or during its or their transfer between CONV1 and CONV2, and to analyze the image to directly determine whether one or at least two items were gripped simultaneously.

[0043] Illustrates a situation in which two articles IT1 and IT2 have been picked up and placed together by the individual article handling unit on the second article moving unit CONV2, after a single article IT0, due to an accidental multiple picking up of articles by the individual article handling unit. To determine the occurrence of this multiple picking up, it is possible, for example, to use, during a test step, a criterion according to which at least two articles, detected on an image captured by the camera CAM and analyzed by the computing device INF, are present on the second unit CONV2 over an interval of length L in the direction Dir1, L being a predetermined length, for example a function of the expected dimensions of the articles to be processed.

[0044] Alternatively, in another embodiment, it can be detected that at least two articles have been gripped simultaneously at the work area WZ by analyzing an image of this work area showing the disappearance of the at least two articles following a gripping operation of the individual article handling unit. It is also possible to directly image the object(s) gripped by the gripping head, possibly by means of a camera mounted on the manipulator arm or the gripping head itself, and to carry out an image analysis and a count of the gripped articles, possibly during the transfer of the object(s) to the second article moving unit CONV2."Simultaneous gripping" means that a single movement of the individual item handling unit was necessary to transfer at least two items from the first item moving unit CONV1 to the second item moving unit CONV2, meaning that at least two items were gripped at one time by the gripping head of the individual item handling unit.

[0045] Alternatively, any other known conventional method of detecting multiple picking of articles by an individual article handling system could be used.

[0046] Regardless of the method chosen for detecting the multiple grip, in response to the detection of this multiple grip of the two articles IT1 and IT2 by the individual article handling unit, the computer device INF switches the handling system SYS to a second operating mode.

[0047] Illustrated in this second mode of operation: the direction of movement of the articles by the second article movement unit CONV2 is reversed with respect to the first mode of operation to pass from the direction Dir1 to a direction Dir2 opposite to Dir1. The system SYS is arranged in such a way that the articles IT1 and IT2 then fall into a receptacle REC constituting an article reception unit located below the unit CONV2, as illustrated by the.

[0048] More specifically, the article recovery unit is located below the input end ENT of the second movement unit. Thus, when the system SYS enters the second operating mode, the articles present on the second movement unit CONV2 are transported towards the input end ENT, and are eventually caused to fall into the receptacle REC.

[0049] A SP space can be arranged between the first CONV1 unit for moving items and the ENT entrance of the second CONV unit 2de déplacement d’article, et le réceptacle REC peut être situé à l’aplomb de cet espace SP, comme illustré par la.

[0050] The second operating mode may have a predetermined duration, long enough to allow the items IT1 and IT2 deposited simultaneously on the second conveyor unit CONV2 to fall into the receptacle, but too short to allow the item IT0 to fall. This duration may be calculated from the pitch P and the speed of movement of the items on the second item movement unit CONV2 in the second operating mode. After the predetermined duration, the system returns to the first operating mode.

[0051] Alternatively, the second operating mode can be applied to force the articles to move back towards the entry end ENT over a sufficient distance to cause the articles picked up during the multiple grip to fall, or sensors (photoelectric cell detecting the fall, weighing of the receptacle, camera for image analysis, etc.) can be installed so as to detect the fall of the articles into the receptacle and, in response to this detection, force the system SYS to return to the first operating mode.

[0052] In all cases, the second mode of operation is applied only briefly, sufficiently to cause the articles deposited together on the second conveyor unit following a multiple pick to fall into the receptacle, after which the system returns to the first mode of operation.

[0053] Furthermore, the SYS system is preferably arranged so that the transition to the second operating mode does not lead to a slowdown in the transfer rate of the manipulator arm.

[0054] Since the manipulator arm is not involved in the diversion of the items seized during a multiple grab, it can continue its package transfer operations without slowing down.

[0055] Illustrates a method for sorting articles using, for example, the FAC sorting installation illustrated by figures 1 to 5.

[0056] In a step S10, articles IT are placed in bulk on the first article moving unit CONV1, at a placement end, located opposite the work zone WZ. This may, for example, be the bulk unloading of the contents of the truck Trck.

[0057] At a step S20, the loosely placed articles are brought collectively to the working area WZ by the article moving unit CONV1. During this movement, a granulation can be carried out, reducing the density of the articles in order to facilitate their individual handling at the next step.

[0058] In a step S30, the articles are transferred individually from the first article moving unit CONV1 to the second article moving unit CONV2 by means of the individual article handling unit MA.

[0059] Following each transfer action of step S30, a test step TES is applied, designed to detect whether (Y) or not (N) the at least two articles have been moved together by the individual article handling unit.

[0060] In the event of a negative response to the test, indicated by N in the, the system remains in the first operating mode, the individual article handling system continues in a loop repeating its transfer actions TR one by one of the articles from the first CONV1 movement unit to the second CONV2 movement unit.

[0061] In the event of a positive response to the test, indicated by Y in the, the individual article handling system temporarily switches to the second operating mode during a step S35, which results in the reversal of the direction of movement of the articles by the second article movement unit CONV2 and the fall of the at least two articles into the receptacle REC. The articles received in the receptacle can, for example, be brought back to the first article movement unit CONV1 to be brought back to the work area during step S20 to be transferred individually to the second article movement unit CONV2 during step S30. As in the event of a negative response to the test, the individual article handling system SYS continues in a loop to repeat its transfer actions TR one by one of the articles from the first movement unit CONV1 to the second movement unit CONV2 by means of the manipulator arm MA.

[0062] We see that the individual item handling unit MA transfers items from the first item transport unit CONV1 to the second item transport unit CONV2 regardless of the detection of a simultaneous pick-up of at least two items. This means that the transfer rate of the individual item handling unit MA remains the same whether a multiple pick-up is detected or not.

[0063] A step S40 follows the test step TES and, if applicable, the period of step S35 that the system SYS enters the second operating mode. During step 40, the articles are moved by the second unit CONV2, passed to the inserter INS, and then inserted into the sorting machine SORT, resulting in a sorting of these articles.

[0064] Illustrates alternative embodiments of the invention indicated by A, B and C. In A), the direction Dir0 and the direction Dir1 are parallel, a space SP is provided between CONV1 and CONV2. In B), two CONV2 units for moving articles are placed parallel to each other, associated with INS units of respective insertions and alignment direction Dir1 inclined with respect to the direction Dir0. In C), two CONV2 units for moving articles are placed inclined with respect to each other, associated with INS units of respective insertions and alignment direction Dir1 a and Dir1 b each inclined relative to the direction Dir0. In C), a common SP space is arranged between the first CONV1 unit for moving articles and each of the two CONV2 units for moving articles, an REC unit for receiving articles being located directly above the common SP space.

[0065] Other variations are possible, for example in the types of sorting machine, item moving units, individual item handling devices, or sensors.

[0066] The figures in this document are not necessarily to scale. Some features and components may be shown exaggerated in relation to other components or in a somewhat schematic form, and some details of conventional items may not be shown in the interest of clarity and conciseness.

[0067] Of course, the invention is not limited to the method of implementation described and variant embodiments can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

Claims

System (SYS) for individual handling of articles capable of processing a simultaneous grip of several articles, the system comprising:a first unit (CONV1) for collective movement of articles;a second unit (CONV2) for collective movement of articles configured to, in a first operating mode, move articles in a first direction (Dir1);a unit (MA) for individual handling of articles configured to move articles (IT) from the first unit (CONV1) for moving articles to the second unit (CONV2) for moving articles;a unit (CONT) configured to detect a simultaneous gripping of at least two articles by the individual article handling unit (MA),in which the second movement unit (CONV2) is configured to, in a second operating mode, move the articles in a second direction (Dir2) opposite to the first direction (Dir1), andin which the system (SYS) is configured to switch from the first operating mode to the second operating mode in response to a detection of a simultaneous gripping of at least two articles (IT1, IT2) by the individual article handling unit (MA).; System (SYS) according to claim 1, comprising an article receiving unit (REC) located below the second moving unit (CONV2), the system being configured so as to, in response to the detection of a simultaneous gripping of at least two articles (IT1, IT2) moved from the first article moving unit (CONV1) to the second article moving unit (CONV2), switch to the second operating mode and drop into the receiving unit (REC) the at least two articles (IT1, IT2) which had been picked up and moved simultaneously from the first moving unit (CONV1) to the second moving unit (CONV2). System (SYS) according to claim 2, wherein, in the first mode of operation, the second article moving unit (CONV2) is configured to move the articles (IT) from an input end (ENT) to an output end (EX) of the second article moving unit (CONV2), the article receiving unit (REC) being located below the input end (ENT) of the second moving unit (CONV2). System (SYS) according to claim 3, in which a space (SP) is interposed between the first movement unit (CONV1) and the second movement unit (CONV2), the article reception unit (REC) being located directly above this space (SP). System (SYS) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising at least one sensor (CAM) and a computing device (INF) configured to control at least the second article movement unit, the computing device being functionally connected to the at least one sensor and configured to, in response to data generated by the at least one sensor, control a transition from the first operating mode to the second operating mode in the event of detection of the simultaneous gripping of at least two articles (IT1, IT2) by the individual article handling unit (MA). System (SYS) according to claim 5, wherein the sensor is a camera (CAM) having in its field of vision an area of the second unit (CONV2) for moving articles. System (SYS) according to claim 6, wherein the computing device (INF) is configured to perform an analysis of an image captured by the camera (CAM) and determine whether at least two articles (IT1, IT2) have been deposited together on the second moving unit (CONV2), in which case the computing device (INF) determines that the individual article handling unit (MA) has performed a multiple pick. System (SYS) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a sorting machine (SORT) and a unit (INS) for inserting articles into the sorting machine (SORT), the insertion unit (INS) being arranged to transport articles from the second unit (CONV2) for transporting articles to the sorting machine (SORT). System (SYS) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first article transport unit (CONV1) and the second article transport unit (CONV2) are belt or roller conveyors and the individual article handling unit (MA) comprises a robotic arm. System (SYS) according to any one of the preceding claims, configured so that the individual article handling unit (MA) transfers articles from the first article transport unit (CONV1) to the second article transport unit (CONV2) independently of the detection of a simultaneous gripping of at least two articles. Method (100) for handling articles implementing the system (SYS) according to any one of the preceding claims, the method comprising:- transporting (S20) articles onto the first article moving unit (CONV1);- moving (S30) articles from the first article moving unit (CONV1) to the second article moving unit (CONV2) by means of the individual article handling unit (MA);- detecting (TES) a simultaneous movement of at least two articles (IT1, IT2) during the movement of articles from the first article moving unit to the second article moving unit by the individual article handling unit;and- in response to the detection (Y) of a simultaneous movement of at least two articles, dropping (S35) into an article reception unit (REC) the at least two articles (IT1, IT2) moved simultaneously on the second article movement unit by reversing a direction of movement of the articles by the second movement unit (CONV2).; The article handling method (100) of claim 11, wherein the individual article handling unit (MA) moves articles from the first article moving unit (CONV1) to the second article moving unit (CONV2) regardless of detecting simultaneous movement of at least two articles. A method (100) for sorting articles implementing the method for handling articles according to claim 11 or 12, further comprising a step (S40) of sorting the articles, wherein the articles are arranged according to a predetermined pitch (P) in preparation for this sorting step.

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