Robotic Garment Carrier Weighing for Accurate Piece Counting
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Solution Overview
Problem
The garment and textile industry faces challenges in automating the manufacturing process due to the unique, soft, flexible, and amorphous nature of textiles, leading to labor-intensive and inefficient production methods.
Innovation Solution
A robotic system with a weigh station and weight sensors is used to accurately determine the number of non-rigid workpieces, employing a robotic carrier that can move between workstations and correct its path based on weight measurements and center of gravity detection, enabling efficient automation of garment manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual labor is used to handle garments, then flexibility and adaptability are maintained, but labor intensity and production time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service automation where garments are automatically handled, weighed, and tracked through the manufacturing process without continuous human intervention. The robotic carrier autonomously transports workpieces between workstations, and the weigh station automatically determines garment count and weight, eliminating the need for manual counting and handling while maintaining process flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
Manual mechanical handling operations are replaced with an automated robotic system. The robotic carrier substitutes human operators for transporting garments, and electronic weighing systems replace manual counting methods. This substitution maintains operational flexibility while dramatically improving productivity and reducing labor intensity.
2Productivity
If automated systems are introduced to reduce labor, then productivity increases, but the system becomes more complex due to the unique properties of textiles
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic carrier is designed as a multi-functional universal platform that performs multiple tasks: transporting garments between workstations, carrying weight sensors for automatic counting, and integrating with the control system. This universal device handles various garment types and manufacturing operations, reducing the need for multiple specialized systems and thereby managing complexity while maintaining high productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The weigh station acts as an intermediary between the robotic carrier and the control system. It automatically weighs garments, determines the number of workpieces, and communicates this information to the central controller, simplifying the overall system architecture by providing a dedicated interface that handles the complex task of garment characterization without requiring direct complex interactions between all system components.
3Measurement precision
If weight-based counting is used to determine number of workpieces, then counting accuracy improves, but measurement precision challenges arise due to weight variation in garments
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the weigh station continuously measures garment weight and compares it against expected weight ranges stored in memory. The control system receives this feedback information and uses it to accurately determine the number of workpieces. This feedback loop compensates for weight variations in individual garments, maintaining high counting accuracy and measurement reliability even when garment weights differ due to material variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adapts to weight variations by changing the measurement parameters dynamically. Instead of using a fixed weight value, the system stores expected weight ranges in memory and adjusts its counting logic based on the actual measured weight. This parameter adaptation allows accurate counting despite variations in garment materials, sizes, and styles, thereby maintaining both precision and reliability.
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 system allows for reliable and efficient automation of garment manufacturing by accurately counting and handling non-rigid workpieces, reducing labor intensity and improving production efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a scale configured to weigh the robotic carrier and one or more workpiece items loaded onto the robotic carrier
Implementation Method 2
The weight sensors can be piezoelectric sensors
Data Source
AI summary
A system for determining a discrete number of flexible, non-rigid workpiece items loaded onto a robotic carrier. The system includes a robotic carrier capable of traveling to multiple workstations, at least one of which is a weigh station. A loading mechanism is functional to load one or more workpieces onto the robotic carrier which weighed by the weigh station. By comparing the weight of the loaded items with a predetermined weight range of a single workpiece, the number of discrete workpieces loaded onto the robotic carrier can be determined. In addition, a method can be provided for determine position error of a mobile robot based on a detected center of gravity of the mobile robot.