Sorting Device Manipulators for Ceramic Slabs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current sorting devices for sheet-like products are complex, bulky, and inflexible, requiring significant changes to accommodate variations in product size and resulting in inefficient transfer processes.
Innovation Solution
A sorting device with two manipulators, each equipped with independently activatable suction cups aligned along the main direction, allowing for efficient picking up and alignment of products parallel to this direction, and capable of movement along multiple axes to adapt to different orientations and sizes, reducing the need for additional orientation devices and simplifying the structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a bulky plate with suction cups and anthropomorphic robotic arm is used to grip and transfer products, then the products can be picked up and transferred, but the device becomes complex and bulky with large footprint
Solution Approach 1:
The sorting device is divided into multiple independent manipulators, each responsible for specific rows of products. Each manipulator has its own gripping means with suction cups, allowing independent operation. This segmentation eliminates the need for a single large bulky plate and robotic arm, reducing overall device complexity and footprint while maintaining reliable product gripping and transfer capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The manipulators are arranged in a distributed spatial configuration rather than using a single centralized gripping plate. Multiple manipulators operate in parallel from different positions, transferring products along the main direction X. This dimensional redistribution reduces the footprint and simplifies the structure by eliminating the need for a large overhead robotic arm or portal structure.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a fixed sorting device structure is used, then the device is stable, but it cannot adapt quickly to changes in product size
Solution Approach 1:
Each manipulator is equipped with movable gripping means that can adjust their position along the main direction X. The manipulators themselves can be repositioned along their respective axes. This dynamic capability allows the sorting device to adapt to different product sizes and configurations while maintaining structural stability during operation. The system transitions from a fixed structure to a dynamically adjustable one, resolving the contradiction between stability and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The manipulators are designed with universal gripping capability using suction cups that can accommodate different product sizes and shapes. Each manipulator can handle multiple rows of products and can be repositioned to work with different product configurations. This multi-functionality allows a single manipulator design to serve various sorting requirements, enhancing adaptability without compromising structural stability.
3Reliability
If additional orientation devices and roller conveyors are used to separate rows, then products can be sorted, but the transfer time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the intermediate orientation devices and roller conveyors from the sorting process. Instead of transferring all products and then orienting them, each manipulator directly picks up products in the correct orientation from the platform and deposits them onto the conveyor already aligned with the main direction X. This extraction of unnecessary intermediate steps significantly reduces transfer time while maintaining reliable sorting capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The manipulators are positioned and configured to perform preliminary alignment of products during the picking-up phase. By ensuring products are gripped and transferred in the correct orientation from the start, the system eliminates the need for subsequent orientation operations. This preliminary action approach prevents time loss that would otherwise be required for post-transfer orientation adjustments.
4Device complexity
If a simplified manipulator structure is used, then the device footprint is reduced, but the ability to handle multiple orientations may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The sorting function is segmented across multiple manipulators, each handling specific rows of products. This segmentation allows each manipulator to have a simplified structure focused on a single primary function (transferring products along direction X), while the collective system maintains comprehensive orientation handling capability through the distributed arrangement of manipulators at different positions.
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 simplifies the structure and footprint of sorting devices, enhances flexibility in handling products of varying sizes, and significantly reduces transfer times by enabling direct alignment and movement of products along a main direction without additional orientation, thereby improving productivity and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
the gripping means (21) comprises two or more suction cups (22)... the suction cups (22)... are particularly effective for adhering, on command, to the surface of the ceramic slabs
Data Source
AI summary
A sorting device for sheet-like products. such as ceramic slabs or tiles, having a main product conveyance direction (X), characterised in that it comprises a first manipulator (2), provided with gripping means (21), configured to connect to one or more products, which are aligned along a direction parallel to the main direction (X), in which the first manipulator (2) is movable along the main direction (X) between a pick-up position, in which the gripping means (21) is able to pick up one or more products. and a release position, in which the gripping means (21) is able to release the products.