Boxing System Suction Height Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional box-packing systems face difficulties in accelerating the packing process due to the suction part's inability to reliably hold articles at high speeds, leading to inefficiencies in the packing process.

Innovation Solution

A box-packing system that includes a robot with a suction part, arm, and drive part, where the control device acquires thickness information to determine a predetermined height location for the suction part to hold the article, ensuring secure grasping and maintaining suction during horizontal movement, and incorporates a seal check mechanism to evaluate the packaging material's integrity.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If the robot operates at high speed to accelerate the packing process, then productivity is improved, but the suction part cannot reliably hold the article

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepacking process speedVSAvoidsuction holding reliability
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The evening part flattens the soft packaging material before the suction part attempts to hold the article. This preliminary action ensures the article has a uniform surface that can reliably engage with the suction part even at high speeds, resolving the contradiction between speed and holding reliability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically adjusts the suction part's height location based on measured thickness information of the article. By changing the positional parameter of the suction part to match the actual article thickness, reliable suction holding is achieved regardless of operating speed variations

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Device complexity

If the suction part operates without thickness information, then device complexity is reduced, but manufacturing precision deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontrol system complexityVSAvoidsuction height positioning accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The control device measures the thickness information of the article and uses this feedback to automatically adjust the suction part's height location. This closed-loop feedback mechanism achieves precise positioning without requiring complex manual calibration or predetermined settings

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system automatically adapts to each article's thickness by measuring it and adjusting the suction height accordingly. The system serves itself by using the article's own physical characteristics (thickness) to determine the optimal suction parameters, eliminating the need for external intervention or complex pre-programming

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

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

This approach allows for the acceleration of the packing process by ensuring the suction part can reliably hold articles at high speeds, improving the efficiency of the packing process and ensuring the quality of packed items by evaluating the packaging material's sealing defects.

Implementation Method 1

The suction part sucks and holds the article from above

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectSuction: Suction

Data Source

PatentEP3112277B1Boxing system
Publication Date: 2021.10.27 ISHIDA CO LTD
  • EP3112277B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3112277B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3112277B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A box-packing system (100) comprises a first conveyor (11), a first robot (30) sucking, holding, and transporting a package, and a control device (70). The package is packaged with a soft packaging material, and is conveyed by the first conveyor (11). The control device (70) controls the first robot (30) to move the package to a box-packing preparation area. Moreover, the first robot (30) has a suction part sucking and holding the package from above, an arm that is able to move the suction part in the horizontal direction and the up-down direction, and a servomotor. The servomotor drives the arm in order for the suction part to suck and hold the package at a predetermined height location. An acquisition part (72) of the control device (70) acquires thickness information of the package. The determination part (73) determines the predetermined height location on the basis of the thickness information. The command generation part (74) generates a command for driving the servomotor on the basis of the predetermined height location determined by the determination part (73).