Robot Box Tilting and Pivot Placement for Tight Palletizing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robots face challenges in palletizing boxes due to their strength, which can lead to pushing, sliding, or toppling of boxes, and inaccuracies in positioning, resulting in poor palletization with gaps or spaces between boxes, especially when dealing with boxes of different weights or weight distributions.
Innovation Solution
A robot system that includes a method for palletizing boxes by receiving a target box location, positioning the box at an initial offset, tilting it, and shifting it to align with threshold distances, using sensor data for compensation and contact force/velocity determination to ensure accurate placement without disrupting adjacent boxes, and releasing the box to pivot into place.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a robot uses its strength to place boxes quickly, then productivity increases, but boxes may be pushed, slid, or toppled resulting in poor positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The robot dynamically changes operational parameters including box tilt angle, shifting speed, and release timing based on box characteristics and target position. This allows the robot to place boxes gently without pushing or toppling while maintaining efficient palletization speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs dynamic control where the robot continuously adjusts its manipulation strategy during the palletization process. The box is tilted at varying angles and shifted at controlled speeds, with release timing optimized for each specific placement scenario to prevent displacement of adjacent boxes.
2Manufacturing precision
If the robot positions boxes directly at target location, then manufacturing precision improves, but perception errors cause inaccurate placement
Solution Approach 1:
The robot performs preliminary positioning actions including placing the box at an initial offset position and tilting it before final placement. These preparatory actions create a controlled setup that compensates for potential perception errors and allows for precise final positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses sensor data to monitor box position and orientation during manipulation, providing feedback that allows the robot to adjust its placement strategy in real-time. This closed-loop control compensates for perception errors and ensures accurate box placement at the target location.
3Device complexity
If the robot releases the box without tilting, then device complexity decreases, but boxes do not align properly creating gaps in the palletization
Solution Approach 1:
The box placement process is segmented into distinct phases: initial positioning at an offset, tilting to a specific angle, shifting to alignment position, and final release. This segmentation allows each phase to be optimized independently, ensuring proper alignment while maintaining manageable procedural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The box is preliminarily tilted at a specific angle before final release. This preliminary tilting action ensures that when the box is released, it pivots correctly into its final position, eliminating gaps and achieving precise alignment with adjacent boxes without requiring complex manipulation procedures.
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 system enables reliable and efficient palletization of boxes with minimal space between them, maintaining the integrity of the stack and preventing movement during transport by compensating for perception errors and varying box weights.
Implementation Method 1
releasing, by the robot, the box from the robot, the release of the box causing the box to pivot toward a boundary edge of the target box location
Data Source
AI summary
A method for palletizing by a robot includes positioning an object at an initial position adjacent to a target object location, tilting the object at an angle relative to a ground plane, shifting the object in a first direction from the initial position toward a first alignment position, shifting the object in a second direction from the first alignment position toward a second alignment position, and releasing the object from the robot to pivot the object toward the target object location.