Robotic Bin Picking With Sensors and Spacer Tools for Dense Storage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Designing a mechanical system to reliably stow or retrieve items from densely packed containers with varying types and sizes is challenging due to the complexity of identifying suitable locations and rearranging items within the containers.
Innovation Solution
A mechanical system incorporating a gantry or robotic arm with perception sensors, access tools, and spacer tools that analyze container contents and rearrange items to create space for stowing or picking items, using tools like grabber tools and spacer tools to manage retaining elements and optimize container space utilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If items are stowed randomly in containers with many different types and sizes, then container space utilization is improved, but the difficulty of designing a mechanical system to reliably stow and retrieve items increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by using perception sensors to scan and identify container contents before stowing operations, and uses spacer tools to pre-create space in densely packed containers. This allows the mechanical system to plan stow locations in advance rather than attempting random placement, reducing the complexity of real-time decision-making while maintaining high space utilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary tools including perception sensors that mediate between the mechanical system and container contents, and spacer tools that mediate between the grabber tool and densely packed items. These intermediaries enable the mechanical system to interact with diverse items without requiring complex adaptive mechanisms, simplifying the overall system design while achieving high space utilization.
2Quantity of substance
If containers are densely packed with various items, then storage capacity is improved, but the ability to retrieve specific items reliably deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Before retrieval operations, the perception sensor scans the container to identify the location and characteristics of the target item among densely packed contents. This preliminary identification allows the grabber tool to precisely locate and retrieve the specific item without disturbing other items, maintaining retrieval reliability even in densely packed containers.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses perception sensors to continuously monitor container contents and provide feedback about item locations and container state. This feedback loop enables the mechanical system to adapt its retrieval actions in real-time, ensuring reliable retrieval of specific items from densely packed containers by adjusting the grabber tool's position and grip based on sensor data.
3Adaptability or versatility
If perception sensors and spacer tools are added to the mechanical system, then the ability to handle diverse container contents is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The perception sensor and spacer tool are designed as universal components that can handle diverse item types and container configurations. The perception sensor can identify various item characteristics (size, shape, position) while the spacer tool can create space for different item sizes. This multi-functionality allows the system to handle diverse container contents without requiring separate specialized components for each item type, thereby limiting the increase in overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments herein describe a pick or stow system that uses a mechanical system to stow an item into a container, retrieve an item from the container, or both. In one embodiment, the mechanical system includes a gantry or a robotic arm that permits various sensors, tools, or end effectors to interact with a plurality of containers. For example, the plurality of containers may be supported by a rack where each container may have any number of types of items. The gantry or robotic arm can move the sensors, tools, or end effectors to a particular container to either stow an item into the container or pick an item from the container.