Printed Product Palletizing Robot With Optical Floor Hazard Warning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies in the graphic industry do not adequately protect operating personnel from dangers associated with robot movements during the handling of printing products.
Innovation Solution
A device that includes a projector to generate an optical marking and an optical start-up warning on the floor within the danger area of the robot arm, alerting personnel to potential hazards and enabling them to avoid the area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a robot arm is used to handle printed products, then productivity is improved, but operating personnel face safety hazards from the robot's movement area
Solution Approach 1:
The projector activates before the robot arm moves to perform preliminary warning action. The optical marking and start-up warning are projected onto the floor in advance, alerting operating personnel to the upcoming hazard before the robot arm enters the danger zone, thus preventing accidents while maintaining productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The projector serves as an intermediary between the robot arm and operating personnel. It translates the robot's movement status into visual optical signals (markings and warnings) that personnel can perceive, creating a communication bridge that warns personnel of hazards without requiring direct interaction between the robot and human operators.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the danger zone is fenced off, then operating personnel are protected, but device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical fencing system is replaced with an optical warning system consisting of a projector that displays visual markings and warnings on the floor. This substitution eliminates the need for physical barriers while maintaining safety, reducing device complexity and space requirements while still protecting operating personnel from robot arm hazards.
3Loss of information
If acoustic notifications are used for machine start-up, then operating personnel are alerted, but the warning effectiveness is insufficient for robot movement hazards
Solution Approach 1:
The projector uses optical color changes and visual transformations to convey different warning states. The optical marking and start-up warning utilize visual signal variations that are more immediately perceivable and informative than acoustic notifications, providing operating personnel with clear, intuitive information about robot arm status and danger zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The warning system transitions from acoustic (one-dimensional sound waves) to optical (two-dimensional visual patterns on the floor). This dimensional change provides richer information content, allowing the display of both static danger zone markings and dynamic start-up warnings simultaneously, improving warning effectiveness for robot movement hazards.
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
The device effectively reduces the risk of injury to operating personnel by visually alerting them to the danger area and the impending movement of the robot arm, thereby allowing them to take necessary precautions.
Implementation Method 1
a projector (20) which generates an optical marking (21) on the floor (3) in the danger zone (12) of the robot arm (11)
Implementation Method 2
which generates an optical start-up warning (22) when the robot arm (11) starts moving
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
An inventive device for placing printed products onto a pallet, comprising a conveyor that transports the printed products (5) to a receiving position (6) and a robot (10) with a robot arm (11) that lifts the printed products (5) from the conveyor at the receiving position (6), moves them to the pallet (8), and places them on the pallet (8) forming a pallet stack, is characterized in that the device (1) includes a projector (20) which generates an optical marker (21) on the floor (3) in the danger zone (12) of the robot arm (11) and which generates an optical start-up warning (22) when the robot arm (11) begins to move. The invention advantageously enables the protection of operating personnel, e.g., of a folding machine and its product delivery system, from hazards caused by robot movements. The invention is used, for example, after the delivery of a folding machine.