Robot Article Accumulation Layout for Delayed Discharge Judgment
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Solution Overview
Problem
In article accumulating apparatus where the accumulating conveyor is disposed in series with the conveying conveyor without a temporary placement table, there is a risk of unnecessary discharge of articles as they move onto the accumulating conveyor if not picked up by the parallel robot, leading to inefficiencies and errors in judgment.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus includes a conveyance unit, an accumulation unit, and a discharge unit, with the discharge unit positioned within the robot's movable range, allowing for increased time to judge whether to discharge articles, and featuring a control unit that determines discharge based on article position detection, reducing unnecessary discharges by delaying judgment until the article reaches the downstream end of the robot's range.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the discharge unit is positioned upstream of the robot movable range to prevent articles from moving onto the accumulating conveyor, then articles that should be discharged are prevented from falling through gaps, but articles that are actually alright not to discharge are needlessly discharged
Solution Approach 1:
The discharge unit is positioned downstream within the robot movable range, allowing the system to wait until the article reaches a position where the robot can still access it. This preliminary positioning enables delayed judgment about whether discharge is necessary, reducing needless discharge while maintaining reliability through the safety gap design.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyance surface and accumulation surface are positioned with a minimal gap (equal to or less than article thickness) to act as an intermediary safety mechanism. This gap prevents articles from falling through while allowing the discharge unit to be positioned optimally for accurate judgment, mediating between the need for early discharge prevention and late discharge accuracy.
2Device complexity
If the discharge unit is disposed in series with the conveying conveyor without a temporary placement table, then the system structure is simplified, but there is a risk that articles judged as unable to be picked up will end up moving as is onto the accumulating conveyor
Solution Approach 1:
The critical parameter is the distance between the conveyance surface and accumulation surface, set to be equal to or less than the article thickness. This parameter change maintains structural simplicity by eliminating the temporary placement table while ensuring safety by preventing articles from falling through the gap during transfer.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of adding a temporary placement table in the horizontal dimension to improve safety, the solution moves to the vertical dimension by controlling the gap between conveyance and accumulation surfaces. This dimensional shift maintains structural simplicity while achieving the safety function.
3Loss of time
If the discharge unit is positioned downstream within the robot movable range to reduce needless discharge, then time for judgment is increased, but the article may fall through the gap between conveyance and accumulation surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The gap between the conveyance surface and accumulation surface is precisely controlled to be equal to or less than the article thickness dimension. This parameter change allows the discharge unit to be positioned downstream for better judgment timing while preventing the harmful effect of articles falling through the gap.
Data Source
AI summary
An article accumulating apparatus that uses a robot to transfer to a predetermined location and accumulate an article conveyed thereto is disclosed. The article accumulating apparatus includes a conveyance unit, an accumulation unit, and a discharge unit. The conveyance unit is configured to convey the article. The accumulation unit is disposed in series with the conveyance unit and is configured to accumulate the article. The discharge unit is configured to discharge the article in the conveyance unit to an area outside the accumulation unit. The discharge unit is disposed in a robot movable range that is a range in which the robot holds and transfers the article to the accumulation unit.