Egg Depalletiser Image-Guided Forking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing depalletizing technologies for trays of eggs face challenges such as prolonged operation time, high labor costs, and risk of egg breakage due to imprecise movement and physical effort, especially when dealing with imperfectly stacked trays.
Innovation Solution
An automatic depalletizer equipped with a mechanical arm, image acquisition means, and a control unit that uses cameras or sensors to calculate and adjust the position of forking elements to align with empty areas on the trays, allowing precise and efficient picking up without manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a robotic system with pre-calculated positions is used to move the head automatically, then productivity is improved and labor costs are reduced, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to imprecise positioning causing egg breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary imaging and position calculation before the actual forking action. The control unit calculates the correct head position in advance based on images of the tray stack, allowing the robotic system to move to the precise location before attempting to fork, thereby avoiding egg breakage while maintaining high productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses image acquisition means to capture the actual position of trays, and the control unit uses this feedback information to calculate and adjust the head position dynamically. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures accurate positioning even when trays are imperfectly stacked, resolving the contradiction between speed and precision
2Manufacturing precision
If manual depalletizing is used, then manufacturing precision is maintained through operator judgment, but productivity deteriorates due to prolonged operation time and labor costs
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automatic depalletizing where the robotic head independently identifies tray positions using image acquisition means and self-adjusts its position based on control unit calculations. This eliminates the need for manual operator intervention while maintaining precision, thereby dramatically improving productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical system with an automated system combining image acquisition means, control unit with position calculation, and robotic head movement. This substitution eliminates human labor while maintaining positioning accuracy through optical sensing and computational control
3Ease of operation
If a pneumatic handling device with balancing system is used, then ease of operation is improved by reducing physical effort, but productivity deteriorates due to prolonged operation time
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs all operations automatically without requiring operator physical effort or manual balancing. The robotic head with image-guided positioning independently completes the entire depalletizing cycle, eliminating both physical effort and prolonged operation time, thereby improving both ease of operation and productivity
Data Source
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AI summary
Described is a depalletiser (1) for trays of eggs, comprising a head (2) movable in space and comprising a plurality of elements (5) for forking a tray of eggs and a unit for controlling means for moving the head designed to control the movement of the head (2) in space. More specifically, the depalletiser (1) comprises image acquisition means (6) which are facing the tray of eggs and designed to acquire at least an image of a predetermined side of the tray to be depalletised. The control unit is designed to process the image for the purpose of identifying the position in space of the empty areas 29 of the predetermined side of the tray for insertion of the forking elements (5) of the head (2).