AGV Conveyor Pickup Arms for In-Motion Article Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for transferring items from conveyors to automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) are inefficient and can complicate the system constitution and increase costs when using arm robots, leading to prolonged transit times.
Innovation Solution
An automatic guided vehicle system with a pair of arms that reciprocate orthogonally to the transportation direction, protruding and retracting to efficiently transfer items from a conveyor to the AGV while it travels at a higher speed than the conveyor, using a controller to coordinate the arms' movements and adjust speed based on item weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If an item is transported using a conveyor and the item is loaded onto an automatic guided vehicle by a robot after the item arrives at the end of the conveyor, then the item can be transferred from conveyor to AGV, but it takes a long time from when the conveyor starts transporting the item to when the item is loaded onto the automatic guided vehicle so that the item is not moved efficiently
Solution Approach 1:
The AGV travels alongside the conveyor at a higher speed before the item reaches the transfer point. The arms are positioned in advance to intercept the item as it passes by, rather than waiting for the item to arrive at the conveyor end. This preliminary positioning and interception action eliminates the waiting time that would otherwise occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The pair of arms act as intermediaries between the conveyor and the AGV. These arms extend from the AGV to intercept items directly from the conveyor mid-travel, serving as a mechanical mediator that enables transfer without requiring the item to complete its full conveyor journey or the AGV to stop and receive items sequentially.
2Productivity
If an arm robot is applied to load items onto an automatic guided vehicle, then the item transfer function is achieved, but the system constitution becomes complicated and system costs will increase
Solution Approach 1:
The transfer function is merged into the AGV itself by equipping it with a pair of arms that can both transfer items from the conveyor and carry items to the storage shelf. This combines multiple functions (transfer mechanism + transport vehicle) into a single integrated system, eliminating the need for separate robots and reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The AGV is designed with multi-functionality: it serves as both the transport vehicle and the transfer mechanism through its integrated arms. The arms can perform both the transfer operation from conveyor and the subsequent placement on storage shelves, making the AGV a universal device that performs multiple operations that would traditionally require separate specialized equipment.
Data Source
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AI summary
In an automatic guided vehicle (10), a controller 74 controls each of traveling drive motors (33, 45, 55, 56) to cause the automatic guided vehicle (10) to travel along a conveyor device (11A) at a traveling speed higher than a transportation speed of an article, cause an arm (42) on an upstream side in a transportation direction to protrude to a space above the conveyor device (11A), cause the arm (42) on a downstream side in the transportation direction to protrude if the arm (42) on the upstream side catches up with the article, cause the arms (42) to sandwich the article therebetween, cause each of claws (51) to protrude from a distal end side of each of the arms (42), cause each of the arms (42) to retract into the automatic guided vehicle (10), hook each of the claws (51) onto the article, and transfer the article to the automatic guided vehicle (10).