Automatic system for orienting socks

Abstract

A system (200) for orienting textile products comprising a gripping device (210) arranged to pick up a textile product; an actuator (211) arranged to move the gripping device (210); a vision device (220) arranged to verify the orientation of the textile product; a suction system (230); and a control unit arranged to acquire data from the vision device (220) and to command the suction system (230) in order to generate an appropriate suction force on the textile product. In particular, the vision device (220) comprises two walls (222', 222'') that are at least partially transparent and parallel to each other, and an optical sensor (223). Moreover, the control unit is arranged to command the actuator (211) in such a way that the gripping device (210) interposes the textile product between the two walls (222', 222''), maintaining the grip; actuate the suction system (230) to suck the textile product in such a way as to cause a tension thereof; command a relative movement of the walls (222', 222'') in such a way that the textile product is clamped between the walls (222', 222''); acquire an image of the textile product by means of the optical sensor (223); compare the acquired image with a plurality of previously acquired images; identify an orientation of the textile product; acquire instructions to define whether the identified orientation is correct or incorrect.

Description

TITLEAutomatic system for orienting socks DESCRIPTIONField of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of hosiery.

[0002] In particular, the present invention relates to an automatic system for orienting textile products.Description of the prior art

[0003] In the field of hosiery, semi-finished textile products, such as stockings and / or socks, are arranged in bulk inside a basket, from which such products must be picked up one by one in order to be subsequently sent to the equipment that completes their processing.

[0004] Once the picking-up operation has been carried out, in order to ensure that the subsequent equipment grips the semi-finished textile product from the correct end, it is necessary to interpose an orientation verification system.

[0005] To date, different solutions have been tested. The main ones are based on the use of photocells of various types: through-beam or reflective, with laser beam or with conventional light beam, both in the visible spectrum and in the infrared spectrum. The results, however, are always partial, never exceeding a reliability of 80-85%.

[0006] Solutions based on guillotine systems have also been attempted, with the aim of trying to retain the elastic portion, generally (but not always ) thicker than the toe portion, and allowing the latter to pass through . However, also in this case unsatis factory results are obtained which, even i f in some cases may reach a reliability above 90% for articles having a marked thickness di f ference between the toe and the elastic portion, for other articles , where such di f ference is less marked, the success rate drops to levels lower than those of photocell-based systems . Moreover, such guillotine system is practically applicable only in the case of stockings , since socks are normally devoid of a thickness di f ference between the toe and the elastic portion .

[0007] Therefore , at present , solutions are lacking that provide constant reliability for all types of semi- finished products and that have a success rate higher than that of the devices known in the prior art .

[0008] A further example of prior art is represented by document US7049621B2 , which describes a system for handling and recogni zing textile products by means of vision devices . Such document provides for the acquisition of images of the product in order to determine some characteristics thereof , but does not address the problem of the speci fic orientation of socks nor of other textile products .Summary of the invention

[0009] It is therefore an obj ect of the present invention to provide a system for orienting textile products that allows the orientation of such products to be recogni zed with a reliability higher than that of the devices of the prior art and constant among the various types of products .

[0010] It is also an obj ect of the present invention to provide such a system that allows the orientation of a textile product to be changed when it is initially incorrect .

[0011] It is a further obj ect of the present invention to provide such a system that is capable of gradually improving its ef ficiency by means of deep learning training algorithms .

[0012] These and other obj ects are achieved by a system for orienting textile products comprising : a gripping device arranged to pick up a textile product ; an actuator arranged to move said gripping device ; a vision device arranged to veri fy the orientation of said textile product ; a suction system; a control unit arranged to acquire data from said vision device and to command said suction system to generate an appropriate suction force on saidtextile product ; wherein the main feature is that said vision device comprises : two walls at least partially transparent and parallel to each other ; an optical sensor ; and that said control unit is arranged to : command said actuator in such a way that said gripping device interposes said textile product between said two walls , maintaining the grip ; actuate said suction system for causing the suction of said textile product so as to tension said textile product ; command a relative movement of said walls in such a way that said textile product is pressed between said walls ; acquire an image of said textile product by means of said optical sensor ; compare said acquired image with a plurality of previously acquired images ; identi fy an orientation of said textile product ; acquire instructions to define whether said identi fied orientation is correct or incorrect .

[0013] Advantageously, said vision device comprises an external box having an opening, and said control unit isarranged to command said gripping device to insert said textile product into said opening, interposing it between said two walls.

[0014] In particular, said two walls are a fixed wall, arranged close to said opening, and a movable wall, arranged to translate toward said fixed wall.

[0015] Advantageously, said vision device comprises a light emitter arranged to illuminate said textile product from a side opposite to said optical sensor.

[0016] In particular, said control unit makes use of deep learning algorithms to identify said orientation of said textile product.

[0017] Advantageously, said suction system comprises: an inlet manifold arranged to suck said textile product toward said suction system; a first channel arranged to convey said textile product toward an outlet manifold, by means of a first suction nozzle; a second channel arranged to convey said textile product toward a rejection manifold, by means of a second suction nozzle.

[0018] In particular, said suction system is connected to said external box by means of said inlet manifold, arranged on a side opposite to said opening.

[0019] Advantageously, said control unit:in the event that it has identified a correct orientation of said textile product, is arranged to activate said first suction nozzle to suck said textile product into said first channel and cause it to exit from said outlet manifold; in the event that it has not been able to identify an orientation of said textile product, is arranged to activate said second suction nozzle to suck said textile product into said second channel and cause it to exit from said rejection manifold; in the event that it has identified an incorrect orientation of said textile product, is arranged to command said suction system to change the orientation of said textile product and cause it to exit from said outlet manifold.

[0020] In particular, said suction system comprises a reversing valve and a third suction nozzle arranged in said second channel.

[0021] Advantageously, said control unit, in the event that it has identified an incorrect orientation of said textile product, is arranged to: close said reversing valve; activate said third suction nozzle to reverse the orientation of said textile product; deactivate said third suction nozzle and activatesaid first suction noz zle to cause said textile product to exit from said outlet mani fold .Brief description of the drawings

[0022] The invention wil l be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings , which illustrate some exemplary and non-limiting embodiments thereof , in which :Figure 1 shows a possible embodiment of the system for orienting textile products according to the present invention;Figure 2 shows a detail of the embodiment of Figure 1 ;Figure 3 shows the walls inside the vision device with a possible textile product interposed therebetween;Figure 3A shows , in a styli zed form, an image acquired by the vision device in which the textile product has a first orientation;Figure 3B shows , in a styli zed form, an image acquired by the vision system in which the textile product has a second orientation;Figure 4 shows the suction system during an operation for rej ecting the textile product ;Figure 5 shows the suction system during an operation for sending a textile product having a correct orientation to the subsequent equipment ;Figure 6 shows the suction system during a first phase of the operation for sending a textile product having an incorrect orientation to the subsequent equipment ;Figure 7 shows the suction system during a second phase of the operation for sending a textile product having an incorrect orientation to the subsequent equipment .Description of some preferred embodiments

[0023] With reference to Figures 1 and 2 , in a possible embodiment , the system 200 for orienting textile products according to the present invention comprises a gripping device 210 arranged to pick up a textile product , an actuator 211 arranged to move the gripping device 210 , a vision device 220 arranged to veri fy the orientation of the textile product , and a suction system 230 .

[0024] The system 200 further comprises a control unit arranged to acquire data from the vision device 220 and to command the suction system 230 in order to generate an appropriate suction force on the textile product .

[0025] In particular, with reference to Figure 3 , the vision device 220 comprises two walls 222 ' , 222 ' ’ that are at least partially transparent and parallel to each other, and an optical sensor 223 .

[0026] Moreover, the control unit is arranged to : command the actuator 211 in such a way that the gripping device 210 interposes the textile product between the two walls 222 ' , 222 ' ' , maintaining the grip ; actuate the suction system 230 to suck the textile product in such a way as to cause a tension thereof ; command a relative movement of the walls 222 ' , 222 ' ’ in such a way that the textile product is clamped between the walls 222 ' , 222 ' ' ; acquire an image of the textile product by means of the optical sensor 223 ; compare the acquired image with a plurality of previously acquired images ; identi fy an orientation of the textile product ; acquire instructions to evaluate whether the identi fied orientation is correct or incorrect .

[0027] In this way, thanks to the clamping of the textile product between the two walls 222 ' , 222 ' ’ , the system 200 according to the present invention allows the orientation of the textile product to be recogni zed with a reliability that is much higher than that of the systems of the prior art .

[0028] Moreover, the system 200 achieves such orientation recognition ef fectiveness in a manner that is totallyindependent of the type of textile product , and in particular regardless of the color di f ference between di f ferent types of textile products and of the thickness di f ference between one side and the other of the product itsel f .

[0029] In particular, with reference to Figures 3A and 3B, the control unit identi fies whether the orientation of the textile product is a first orientation ( Fig . 3A) or a second orientation ( Fig . 3B ) . I f the equipment that is to carry out the subsequent processing downstream of the system 200 requires that the textile product reaches it with the first orientation, the control unit defines such first orientation as a correct orientation and the second orientation as an incorrect orientation . Conversely, the control unit defines the first orientation as incorrect and the second orientation as correct i f the subsequent equipment requires that the textile product reaches it with the second orientation .

[0030] Advantageously, the vision device 220 comprises an external box 225 having an opening 221 , and the control unit is arranged to command the gripping device 210 to insert the textile product into the opening 221 , interposing it between the two walls 222 ' , 222 ' ' .

[0031] In particular, the two walls 222 ' , 222 ' ' are a fixed wall arranged close to the opening 221 , and a movable wallarranged to translate toward the fixed wall in order to generate the relative movement of the walls 2.2.2. ' , 222 ' ' .

[0032] Advantageously, the vision device 220 may comprise a light emitter arranged to illuminate the textile product from a side opposite to the optical sensor 223 , so as to make the orientation recognition more independent of the thickness and color of the textile product .

[0033] In particular, the control unit may make use of deep learning algorithms to identi fy the orientation of the textile product . In this way, the system 200 can be trained to achieve an ever-increasing orientation recognition ef fectiveness .

[0034] In particular, also with reference to Figures 4 to 7 , the suction system 230 compri ses an inlet mani fold 231 connected to the external box 225 on a side opposite to the opening 221 and arranged to suck the textile product toward the suction system 230 , a first channel 230a arranged to convey the textile product toward an outlet mani fold 236 by means of a first suction noz zle 235 , and a second channel 230b arranged to convey the textile product toward a rej ection mani fold 234 by means of a second suction noz zle 233 .

[0035] In this way, in the event that a correct orientation of the textile product has been identi fied, the control unit is arranged to activate the first suction noz zle 235 to suckthe textile product into the first channel 230a and cause it to exit from the outlet manifold 236 [Fig. 5] .

[0036] Conversely, in the event that the control unit has not been able to identify the orientation of the textile product, the control unit is arranged to activate the second suction nozzle 233 to suck the textile product into the second channel 230b and cause it to exit from the rejection manifold 234 [Fig. 4] .

[0037] In the illustrated embodiment, the suction system 230 further comprises a reversing valve 232' and a third suction nozzle 232 arranged in the second channel 230b.

[0038] In this way, in the event that an incorrect orientation of the textile product has been identified, the control unit is arranged to command the suction system 230 in order to change the orientation of the textile product and cause it to exit from the outlet manifold 236.

[0039] In particular, in order to carry out such process, the control unit is arranged to close the reversing valve 232' and activate the third suction nozzle 232 to reverse the orientation of the textile product [Fig. 6] and, subsequently, deactivate the third suction nozzle 232 and activate the first suction nozzle 235 to cause the textile product to exit from the outlet manifold 236 [Fig. 7] .

Claims

CLAIMS1. A system (200) for the orientation of textile products comprising :- a gripping device (210) arranged to pick up a textile product;- an actuator (211) arranged to move said gripping device (210) ;- a vision device (220) arranged to verify the orientation of said textile product;- a suction system (230) ;- a control unit arranged to acquire data from said vision device (220) and to command said suction system (230) to generate an appropriate suction force on said textile product; said system (200) characterized in that said vision device (220) comprises:- two walls (222' , 222' ' ) at least partially transparent and parallel to each other;- an optical sensor (223) ; and in that said control unit is arranged to:- command said actuator (211) in such a way that said gripping device (210) interposes said textile product between said two walls ( 222 ’ , 222 ’ ’ ) , maintaining the grip;- actuate said suction system (230) for causing thesuction of said textile product so as to tension said textile product;- command a relative movement of said walls (222' , 222’ ’ ) in such a way that said textile product is pressed between said walls {222’ , 222’ ’ ) ;- acquire an image of said textile product by means of said optical sensor (223) ;- compare said acquired image with a plurality of previously acquired images;- identify an orientation of said textile product;- acquire instructions to define whether the identified orientation is correct or incorrect.

2. The system (200) for the orientation of textile products, according to claim 1, wherein said vision device (220) comprises an external box (225) having an opening (221) and wherein said control unit is arranged to command said gripping device (210) to insert said textile product into said opening (221) by interposing it between said two walls ( 222 ’ , 222 ’ ’ ) .

3. The system (200) for the orientation of textile products, according to claim 2, wherein said two walls {222' , 222’ ’ ) are a fixed wall, arranged close to said opening (221) , and a movable wall, arranged to move toward said fixed wall.

4. The system (200) for the orientation of textileproducts, according to claim 1, wherein said vision device (220) comprises a light emitter arranged to illuminate said textile product from a side opposite to said optical sensor (223) .

5. The system (200) for the orientation of textile products, according to claim 1, wherein said control unit makes use of deep learning algorithms to identify said orientation of said textile product.

6. The system (200) for the orientation of textile products, according to claim 1, wherein said suction system (230) comprises:- an inlet manifold (231) arranged to suck said textile product toward said suction system (230) ;- a first channel (230a) arranged to lead said textile product toward an outlet manifold (236) , by means of a first suction nozzle (235) ;- a second channel (230b) arranged to lead said textile product to a rejection manifold (234) , by means of a second suction nozzle (233) .

7. The system (200) for the orientation of textile products, according to claims 2 and 6, wherein said suction system (230) is connected to said external box (225) by means of said inlet manifold (231) , said inlet manifold (231) being located on the opposite side of said opening (221) .

8. The system (200) for the orientation of textile products, according to claim 6, wherein said control unit :- in the event that it has identified a correct orientation of said textile product, is arranged to activate said first suction nozzle (235) to suck said textile product into said first channel (230a) and cause it to exit from said outlet manifold (236) ;- in the event that it has not been able to identify an orientation of said textile product, is arranged to activate said second suction nozzle (233) to suck said textile product into said second channel (230b) and cause it to exit from said rejection manifold (234 ) ;- in the event that it has identified an incorrect orientation of said textile product, is arranged to command said suction system (230) to change the orientation of said textile product and cause it to exit from said outlet manifold (236) .

9. The system (200) for the orientation of textile products, according to claim 8, wherein said suction system (230) comprises a reversing valve ( 232 ’ ) and a third suction nozzle (232) located in said second channel (230b)and wherein said control unit, in the event that it has identified an incorrect orientation of said textile product, is arranged to:- close said reversing valve (232' ) ; - activate said third suction nozzle (232) to reverse the orientation of said textile product; deactivate said third suction nozzle (232) and activate said first suction nozzle (235) to cause said textile product to exit from said outlet manifold (236) .

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