Rotating Feeder Bed for Cylindrical Part Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing feeders for robots struggle with feeding cylindrical parts, which tend to roll and are difficult to grip, leading to slowed production, inefficient cleaning of the vision system, and high labor costs due to complex and laborious part repositioning and handling processes.
Innovation Solution
A feeder with a rotating supporting bed connected to a motor, allowing parts to change position and arrangement, combined with impulse generation means like a bounce magnet to facilitate gripping, reduces the need for manual intervention and minimizes part agitation, enabling efficient handling of various part geometries and materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If linear or vibration advancement is used to feed parts, then parts can be advanced to the robot, but cylindrical parts tend to roll and cannot be gripped easily
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting bed is made rotatable about a vertical axis, allowing the arrangement of parts on the bed to be varied continuously. This dynamic reconfiguration enables cylindrical parts to be positioned in non-rolling orientations, solving the gripping reliability problem while maintaining feeding productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention adds rotational freedom in the vertical dimension to the part arrangement system. By rotating the supporting bed about a vertical axis, parts can be reoriented in three-dimensional space, allowing cylindrical parts to be presented to the robot in orientations that prevent rolling and facilitate gripping
2Productivity
If the robot picks up parts continuously, then production continues, but the position and arrangement of parts on the bed cannot be varied, slowing the production chain
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable supporting bed provides continuous variability in part positions and arrangements without interrupting the picking process. The bed can be rotated during operation to present different part configurations to the robot, maintaining both continuous production and operational flexibility
3Device complexity
If the feeder operates with fixed part arrangement, then the structure is simple, but cleaning the backlighting system is complicated due to difficult accessibility
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting bed is designed as a separate, rotatable component that can be independently accessed. This segmentation allows the bed and its surrounding area to be easily rotated into position for cleaning the backlighting system, maintaining structural simplicity while improving maintenance accessibility
4Productivity
If parts are reintroduced after pickup to maintain continuous cycle, then the production loop continues, but excessive nonproductive times and large space requirements occur
Solution Approach 1:
By utilizing vertical rotation of the supporting bed rather than horizontal conveyor systems, the invention eliminates the need for large空间的 part return paths. Parts remain on the rotating bed and can be repositioned vertically and rotationally, eliminating downtime and space requirements for external conveyor belts, ramps, and chutes
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 feeder enhances the chances of successful part gripping, reduces production downtime, simplifies cleaning, and minimizes labor costs by allowing continuous part processing and reducing the number of cycles, thereby improving production efficiency and economic competitiveness.
Implementation Method 1
impulse generation means, such as a bounce magnet, to facilitate gripping
Data Source
AI summary
A feeder for robots, automation systems, comprising a frame that has a supporting bed for the parts to be fed and optical cameras for recognizing the parts to be fed, the supporting bed being rotatable about a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the plane of arrangement of the parts to be fed.