End-of-Arm Tool Ejecting Totes via Staging Arms
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for destacking and transporting stacked containers, such as totes, are inefficient and often require manual labor, limiting the number of totes that can be stacked due to nesting configurations, which restricts horizontal or outward movement and requires manual handling.
Innovation Solution
An end-of-arm tool (EOAT) equipped with unloading arms, retractable teeth, and actuators that lift, transport, and eject totes one at a time, using a robotic arm to manage the stack and prevent undesired movement, allowing for efficient destacking and reconfiguration of tote stacks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual destacking is used, then totes can be handled with simple equipment, but labor efficiency is low and the number of totes that can be stacked is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The EOAT is divided into multiple functional segments: unloading arms for individual tote extraction, retractable teeth for secure engagement, actuators for controlled movement, and retainers for stack stabilization. This segmentation allows automated handling of multiple totes while maintaining manageable system complexity through modular functional components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies nesting by allowing totes to be stacked one inside another in a vertical configuration, with the EOAT designed to access and extract individual totes from the nested stack. The unloading arms can reach between nested totes to engage and eject them one at a time, enabling efficient handling of stacked containers while maximizing space utilization.
2Quantity of substance
If totes are stacked in nested configurations, then space utilization is improved, but horizontal movement is restricted and manual handling is required
Solution Approach 1:
The unloading arms are designed with dynamic capabilities, including actuators that enable them to move horizontally and vertically to access individual totes in the stack. The retractable teeth can extend and retract to engage and disengage from totes, providing dynamic control over the extraction process. This dynamic design allows automated horizontal movement capability while maintaining high stack density.
3Productivity
If automated arms are used to manage stacks, then handling efficiency increases, but control precision is challenging due to stack stability requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The retainers are positioned to prevent undesired movement of totes in the stack before the extraction process begins. By pre-establishing this stabilizing constraint, the system eliminates potential instability issues that would otherwise complicate the automated extraction process, allowing for precise control during tote ejection without risking stack collapse or misalignment.
Data Source
AI summary
An end-of-arm tool lifts a stack of totes and ejects a lowermost tote one at a time. The tool includes fixed unloading arms on which an outgoing tote slides in response to a pusher. A pair of staging arms lift the totes above the outgoing tote to free the outgoing tote and enable the outgoing tote to slide on the unloading arms.