Automated Coil Storage System with Segmented Tray Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for storing and picking coils of flexible tapes with electronic components in electronic board assembly are prone to operator errors, leading to potential damage and incorrect assembly due to the possibility of picking the wrong coil when multiple coils are stored on a single tray.
Innovation Solution
A system that accommodates two trays per housing, each holding a single coil, with a Cartesian robot and computer-controlled management to ensure precise identification and handling, eliminating the need for operator choice and reducing the risk of errors by using aligned trays and guide channels for secure placement and retrieval.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If multiple coils are stored on a single tray to increase storage capacity, then the accumulation capacity of the magazine is improved, but the reliability of coil picking deteriorates due to operator errors
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the storage by allocating one coil per tray, and one tray per housing. This segmentation eliminates the ambiguity of selecting among multiple coils on a single tray, thereby maintaining high reliability while achieving high storage capacity through the multiplicity of housings and trays in the accumulation structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary automated picking system that includes a robot equipped with a sensor. This intermediary device reads the identification code on the coil, verifies it against the required code, and automatically picks the correct coil. This mediator eliminates operator error entirely, resolving the reliability issue while allowing high storage capacity.
2Productivity
If automated handling systems are used to pick trays, then the productivity is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs a sensor-equipped robot that autonomously reads the identification code on the coil and determines whether to pick it. This self-service capability reduces the need for complex centralized control systems, as the picking decision is made locally by the robot based on code verification, thereby improving productivity without excessively increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated system incorporates feedback through the sensor that reads the identification code on the coil. The system compares the read code with the required code and adjusts its picking action accordingly. This feedback mechanism ensures accurate coil selection while maintaining manageable system complexity through straightforward control logic.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for the storage and picking of coils arranged on trays housed in an accumulation structure includes a plurality of walls defining a vertical direction and which are spaced apart, facing each other and aligned one after the other along a horizontal direction orthogonal to the vertical direction. Between the walls there is included a plurality of accommodation spaces superimposed and spaced apart one after the other according to the vertical direction and delimited at the walls by a guide that defines a transverse direction of insertion/extraction of the trays in/from the aforesaid accommodation spaces. The transverse direction is orthogonal to the frontal plane of the accumulation structure. The depth of the accommodation spaces is at least the same as the length of two or more trays which are coplanar with each other when the trays are arranged aligned with each other one after the other within a respective accommodation space.