External Gripper Palletizing for Variable Container Positioning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatic palletizing and depalletizing devices face challenges in handling containers of different sizes and varying positions/orientations with minimal sensor technology, requiring complex and costly systems for precise positioning, which limits their applicability to standardized containers.
Innovation Solution
A device and method using external grippers that can grip containers at their edges, allowing for secure handling without precise positioning, combined with a simple sensor system like a laser scanner for rough determination of container position and orientation, enabling the use of both standardized and non-standardized containers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If complex sensor devices with multiple CCD cameras and scanning units are used to precisely determine the position of gripping shafts, then the positioning precision is improved, but the device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the gripping function from the gripping shafts themselves and relocates it to the outer surfaces of the container. By using external grippers that grip the outer surface of the container instead of requiring internal gripping shafts, the system eliminates the need for complex sensor devices to locate small gripping shafts, while maintaining sufficient positioning precision through gross positioning of the external grippers.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces expensive, complex sensor systems with simpler, more economical external grippers that have larger dimensions and can be positioned with less precision. The external grippers act as a more robust, cost-effective solution that does not require sophisticated sensing and positioning infrastructure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If gripping shafts are used on containers, then standardized container handling is enabled, but containers with no, covered or defective gripping shafts cannot be handled
Solution Approach 1:
The external grippers are designed to grip the outer surface of containers in a universal manner that does not depend on the presence, condition, or configuration of gripping shafts. This multi-functional approach allows the same gripping mechanism to handle various container types including those with no gripping shafts, covered gripping shafts, or defective gripping shafts, thereby improving both adaptability and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having the gripper reach inside the container to grip the gripping shafts (internal gripping), the invention inverts the approach by having the gripper grip the outer surface of the container from the outside (external gripping). This inversion makes the system independent of the internal container features and more reliable across different container conditions.
3Adaptability or versatility
If external grippers with large gripper jaw spacing are used, then containers with varying sizes can be handled, but precise positioning requirements are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The external grippers are designed with adjustable or movable gripping elements that can adapt their position and spacing dynamically to accommodate containers of varying sizes. This dynamic capability allows the gripper to maintain effective gripping force across different container dimensions without requiring high-precision positioning systems, as the gripper can adjust to the specific container being handled.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The apparatus has a control device functionally connected to a sensor device e.g. tactile sensor, including a laser measuring system e.g. laser scanner, for detecting a position and an orientation of a container e.g. small-load carrier, to be gripped. A gripping device grips the container, where the gripping device has an outer gripper e.g. double/triple gripper, movable relative to the container for gripping an edge of the container. The sensor device and gripping device are arranged on a gripping head (56), where the head is operatively attached to a robot (36). An independent claim is also included for a process for palletising/depalletising containers.