Adaptive Pickup Arm Layout for Variable-Shape Part Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing transfer apparatuses struggle with picking up parts of various shapes accurately and efficiently, leading to increased errors and reduced work efficiency due to fixed pickup heads that cannot adapt to slight differences in part shapes.
Innovation Solution
A transfer apparatus with extendable pickup arms and adsorption hands that adjust their positions based on graphics data to securely grasp parts of varying shapes, allowing multiple arms to cooperate for complex parts, and ensuring all arms are utilized efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If pickup heads are located at pre-defined positions, then the device structure is simple, but the device cannot respond to slight differences in shape among parts and may not pick up desired parts
Solution Approach 1:
The pickup arm is designed with an extendable arm portion that can change its length dynamically. The arm portion extends or retracts based on the size and shape of the part to be picked up, allowing the adsorption hand to reach different positions on the part. This dynamic adjustment enables the device to adapt to parts of various shapes while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
2Productivity
If multiple pickup heads are provided, then more parts can be handled simultaneously improving productivity, but some pickup heads do not contribute to the pickup operation reducing work efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a single pickup arm with an extendable arm portion that can dynamically adjust its reach. Multiple pickup operations are achieved by extending the arm to different positions rather than using multiple fixed pickup heads. This eliminates idle time associated with non-contributing pickup heads while maintaining the ability to handle multiple parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The single pickup arm with extendable arm portion serves multiple functions that would traditionally require multiple fixed pickup heads. By making the arm portion extendable, one pickup arm can perform the work of multiple pickup heads, improving work efficiency while maintaining productivity.
3Reliability
If one pickup arm is used for each part, then pickup accuracy is high, but multiple pickup arms are needed for complex shapes reducing device simplicity
Solution Approach 1:
The pickup arm includes an extendable arm portion that can extend to reach different parts of a complex-shaped component. This allows a single pickup arm to perform multiple pickup operations on different sections of the same part, maintaining pickup accuracy without requiring multiple separate pickup arms.
Solution Approach 2:
The arm portion is divided into multiple segments that can extend and retract independently. This segmentation allows the arm to navigate around complex shapes and reach multiple pickup points on a single part, achieving high pickup reliability while using only one pickup arm.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The apparatus effectively reduces pickup errors and enhances efficiency by adaptively grasping parts of different shapes without fail, enabling seamless transfer to the next step while allowing unused arms to handle additional parts.
Implementation Method 1
an adsorption hand adsorbing each of the plurality of parts at a tip of the arm portion
Data Source
AI summary
A transfer apparatus picks up and transfers plurality of parts, placed on one same plane as a result of a sheet being cut in a cutting step, to a next step. The transfer apparatus includes a plurality of pickup arms each including an extendable arm portion and an adsorption hand adsorbing each of the plurality of parts at a tip of the arm portion. The plurality of pickup arms are movable between the cutting step and the next step. The transfer apparatus further includes controller driving and controlling the plurality of pickup arms. The controller causes relative positions, as seen in a plan view, of the adsorption hands to be changed based on graphics data used in the cutting step, and causes each of the plurality of parts to be adsorbed and picked up by at least one of the adsorption hands.